This was not just Qi Xingchen's doubt, but also the doubt of countless cultivators.
As Qi Xingchen had said, no cultivator had advanced to the Mahayana stage in thousands of years, so why did so many suddenly emerge this year like bamboo shoots after a spring rain?
Of course, Qi Xingchen's words were not entirely accurate, because in fact, there had been cultivators who advanced to the Mahayana stage in these thousands of years, such as Li Tingyun of the Supreme Sect, the Mountain Master Hu Yu of Qunyu Mountain, and the Venerable Qingyun who was like a fleeting blossom, disappearing in an instant.
However, it had to be said that these cultivators were not one in a thousand, but one in tens of thousands, and one rarely appeared in several centuries.
"Is there something wrong with the Heavenly Dao?" Many cultivators, combining the previous incidents of no heavenly tribulation during advancement and falling into demonic possession, speculated uneasily.
No one knew who was fanning the flames behind the scenes, but this speculation quickly spread from Nügui City, and the entire cultivation world began to panic. Beneath the lively and grand scene of the Divine Enlightenment Grand Assembly, undercurrents surged.
It was in this atmosphere that the finals of the martial arts and alchemy competitions began.
Bai Shengyi and her companions arrived at their accommodation just before the deadline. Before they could even communicate with Elder Yun and the others, they saw a giant immortal ship floating above Nügui City, magnificent and exquisite, clearly a Saint-grade spiritual artifact!
Immediately after, a grand and steady voice echoed throughout Nügui City, "Disciples of each sect participating in the martial arts competition, ascend the Immortal-Revering Ship."
"It's Mountain Master Yue Qing!" Feng Wuya said, "Shengyi, you should depart."
Elder Yun, who had just come out to greet them, immediately turned back, carrying a gray linen sack, and stuffed it into Bai Shengyi's arms, "I almost forgot, young friend Bai, take your own spiritual pets with you."
The linen sack immediately came alive, sticking out its head and growling at Elder Yun.
Bai Shengyi looked at the dejected crescent moon cat, stunned, "Ah?"
"Your own cat, you forgot?" Elder Yun: "Xunmeng and Xiaoxiao have competitions these days, and this cat is really disobedient, so you'd better take it yourself."
Amitabha.
Bai Shengyi guiltily accepted the crescent moon cat. She was guilty. She had been staying in the Divine Enlightenment Continent for too long and had truly forgotten about the crescent moon cat.
The crescent moon cat seemed unwilling to acknowledge her, only showing her its backside.
Elder Yun's brows relaxed as he finally saw this "little ancestor" off and urged, "Alright, alright, hurry to the Immortal-Revering Ship."
"What about Senior Sister Baixia..." Bai Shengyi paused. She now knew that Senior Sister Baixia still insisted on participating in the competition.
However, based on the situation described by Senior Brother Jing Fei, she should be carefully recuperating. Therefore, Bai Shengyi did not agree with her going to the secret realm.
The black spots on Baixia's face had faded a lot, but she still covered her face with a white veil.
Perhaps it was because of this reason that the woman who had resolutely and decisively severed ties with Yun Youyue now always exuded a sense of melancholy.
"Junior Sister Bai, you don't need to worry about me, my body has almost recovered."
She paused, showing a smile to comfort everyone, "Besides, wealth is sought in danger, and opportunities do not wait. It would be a pity to miss such an important opportunity."
Elder Yun said to Baixia, "Since you've decided to go, then go. But you must remember, although the academy hopes you can achieve good results, it does not wish for you to risk your lives for them. Opportunities are destined, but man can conquer destiny."
Bai Shengyi no longer persuaded her, hugged the crescent moon cat, and led everyone towards the Immortal-Revering Ship.
This martial arts competition was arranged in the new secret realm, the Vast Universe Minor Secret Realm. Afterwards, the items obtained by each sect within the secret realm would be converted into points and added to the Divine Enlightenment Grand Assembly competition points.
Since the gains within the secret realm still belonged to the sect, all the major sects wanted to take this opportunity to gain more benefits. After much deliberation, the rules of the martial arts competition still limited age but not cultivation. All participants were under one hundred years old, but the allocation of spots was still based on the results of the previous Divine Enlightenment Grand Assembly, with nearly seventy percent of the spots occupied by the One Sect, Two Pavilions, Three Mountains, and first-class sects.
Although the Divine Enlightenment Academy had become Divine Enlightenment Mountain, due to its mediocre performance in the last Divine Enlightenment Grand Assembly, it only received eight spots, namely Bai Shengyi, Jing Fei, Baixia, Hua Xueji, Li Shiqing, Sun Ling, Sun Chongyang, and Zhan Jiuzhou.
Zhan Jiuzhou also met the requirements and was forcefully put into the team by Qin Si. As for the original Sun Chongyang, Li Shiqing, and Sun Ling, they replaced Ximen Hongchun, Qin Sanxiang, and Chu Tianle.
Inside the Immortal-Revering Ship, Bai Shengyi was discussing the martial arts competition with everyone.
"To be honest, shouldn't our Dean also meet the requirements for participation?" Baixia suddenly said with a smile.
Bai Shengyi was stunned for a moment, pondered for a moment, and nodded, "Indeed, there is no rule that sect leaders and masters cannot participate."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but laugh herself.
"Then the Dean has suffered a loss," Baixia said.
Li Shiqing glanced at Baixia. She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she felt that Baixia's words were a bit strange.
She pursed her lips, "Captain, you should continue talking about the situation within the secret realm."
Baixia's smile faded slightly. Jing Fei looked at her worriedly, "Are you alright? Is your wound hurting again?"
The wound referred to the black spots on her face, and Jing Fei had always called it that to avoid Baixia overthinking.
"I'm fine," Baixia said with a feigned cheerful smile, "Don't get distracted, listen carefully to what the captain is saying."
Bai Shengyi had noticed the unusual friendship between Jing Fei and Baixia in the Sanghai Secret Realm, so she didn't find it strange that they were whispering together.
She continued, "I'm not very clear about the situation within the secret realm, only that the cultivation within the secret realm will all be suppressed below the peak of the Nascent Soul stage."
"If that's the case, why have several people broken through to Mahayana in the past few days..." Li Shiqing would not believe that these people, who had not broken through earlier or later, had just broken through at this time by coincidence.
Bai Shengyi said, "Being at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage does not mean that their strength is only at the Nascent Soul stage, so everyone must not let their guard down. As far as I know, the One Sect, Two Pavilions, and Three Mountains have sent their elite teams. Most of them are at the late Nascent Soul stage or above. As for the Supreme Sect, their disciples this time include Yuan Bingxin of the Mahayana stage, and five at the mid-stage of the Soul Transformation."
It could be said that in this trip to the Vast Universe Minor Secret Realm, those with Golden Core cultivation were already at the bottom.
"Indeed, there are mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people," Sun Ling murmured, "There are so many geniuses under a hundred years old. The sects from the outer continent are truly deeply rooted."
In contrast, among the eight of them, she, Li Shiqing, and Sun Chongyang were also famous geniuses of the Divine Enlightenment Academy, but after all their efforts, they were only at the early Nascent Soul stage.
"There's no need to be discouraged," Jing Fei was the most stable, "We are already at Nascent Soul before the age of fifty. Are we afraid of not reaching Soul Transformation or Mahayana before one hundred years old?"
"What Senior Brother Jing Fei said is what I wanted to say too," Bai Shengyi said, "The outer continent disciples have high cultivation, but we are not bad either. To be honest, at our age, how many in the outer continent can have our cultivation? Besides, in exploring secret realms, cultivation cannot determine everything."
As if to echo Bai Shengyi's words, a humming sound echoed from the Immortal-Revering Ship, and Yue Bufan's loud voice reached everyone's ears.
"Everyone disembark, take your jade tokens, and enter the secret realm!"
A howling gale swept in. Unknowingly, they had arrived at the center of the Extreme South Desolate River, which was the entrance to the Vast Universe Minor Secret Realm.
Bai Shengyi leaped out of the Immortal-Revering Ship, grabbed the jade token floating in mid-air, and took the lead into the entrance, "Let's go. Be careful of yourselves after entering the secret realm. Make sure to wear the spiritual connection bracelets given by Elder Yun. If you get separated, it will be convenient to regroup."
The entrance flashed with spiritual light. Vaguely, Bai Shengyi seemed to see Yun Youyue's figure, but when she looked closer, her vision blurred, and she had already entered the secret realm.
A dim sky, a sky full of stars. Within the Vast Universe Minor Secret Realm, it was actually night!
"This is not an illusion, it's just night." There was no one around. The Reincarnation Brush flew out from her sea of consciousness. "Ayi, the rules of heaven and earth here have constructed their own world. Do you feel it?"