Chapter 58: Competing for Three Peaks Valley

Su Yuan responded calmly, "I have no interest in taking disciples. You may come to my Three Peaks Valley, and I can offer some guidance, but I make no promises about your progress. I suggest you choose Spirit Peak Valley instead—it's truly more suitable for your cultivation!" Gu You shook his head. "I still choose Three Peaks Valley. Valley Master Su's teachings are as vast as the sea. I feel I need your guidance more. Given this opportunity to join Three Peaks Valley, I naturally won't give it up." Su Yuan shrugged at the other peak masters. "He's stubborn—nothing I can do about it." Then he told Gu You, "Stand behind me." Gu You immediately moved behind Su Yuan's seat, standing there with visible delight. The peak masters exchanged glances. Two looked grave, while the others remained composed. Next came the second disciple's test—Xie Yingying! Her results showed she'd reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining, though only at the late stage, not yet peak. She approached under the peak masters' expectant gazes. Wang Siming, master of Mystic Peak Valley, spoke first: "Xie Yingying, I'm Wang Siming, master of Mystic Peak Valley. We specialize in mystic communion techniques to connect with all things. Since you excel in fire techniques, cultivating with us would help you communicate with fire spirits, establishing deeper connections. This would greatly aid your comprehension of Fire Aspect and its essence. Among all peak masters, I was first to grasp an aspect and open the path to Nascent Soul precisely because of this! So choosing Mystic Peak Valley is undoubtedly right!" Su Yuan smiled—wasn't this just an inferior version of Dao Follows Nature? And likely harder to learn with mediocre effects, not even one ten-thousandth as good as [Dao Follows Nature]. Xie Yingying blinked in confusion. "But I can already talk to fire spirits. Why would I need to learn that?" Wang Siming was stunned. What kind of talent was this? So powerful? With such innate ability, Mystic Peak Valley's signature techniques became instantly irrelevant. Before he could explain further, Xie Yingying immediately bowed to Su Yuan, sweetly saying, "Valley Master, Valley Master! I want to join Three Peaks Valley!" Su Yuan waved her off. "Stand behind me." "Oh!" Xie Yingying happily skipped behind Su Yuan, then turned to wave at Nangong Xianweng, signaling him to join Three Peaks Valley too. The third candidate was another girl—Li Yuexin. Blessed with stronger innate Spiritual Sense, Li Yuexin had advantages in cultivation, having reached mid-stage fourth layer Qi Refining—also astonishing. This time, Divine Peak Valley's master You Chunli spoke first: "Young lady, come with me!" Yet Li Yuexin didn't budge. "Apologies, Peak Master You, but I can't join Divine Peak Valley." You Chunli frowned. "Aren't you pursuing the Divine Sense path? Why reject Divine Peak Valley?" Li Yuexin explained, "Among Valley Master Su's teachings is a manual called 'Seven Stars Mystic Truth Spirit Tempering Art: Volume One'—exceptionally profound for Spiritual Sense cultivation. There's also 'Sword Resonance: Su Yuan's Revised Edition,' containing Divine Sense attack techniques. Mastering these two texts alone could let me dominate the cultivation world!" You Chunli looked puzzled at Su Yuan. "You have Divine Sense cultivation techniques? Our founder wouldn't have created two identical legacies, surely?" Su Yuan coughed. "This manual contains my own Spirit cultivation method—not the founder's legacy. So your techniques are the orthodox tradition, mine are not." Turning to Li Yuexin, he added, "You've only seen my manuals—they might not surpass the founder's. Choosing my teachings so hastily isn't wise." Li Yuexin smiled instead. "Teacher Su, before joining, I studied many cultivation texts. I'm certain your teachings are extraordinary. Since you created them yourself, you'll surely innovate further. Surpassing the founder isn't impossible." Intrigued, You Chunli challenged Su Yuan: "Let's spar and see your current Divine Sense prowess!" Su Yuan waved dismissively. "I'm truly not skilled." "What, afraid of hurting me? Or of me hurting you?" You Chunli scoffed. "No, I've rarely used Divine Sense—genuinely inexperienced." "Then a simple test—we'll clash using just one percent of our Divine Sense." "Fine," Su Yuan agreed. Under everyone's curious gazes, Su Yuan and You Chunli rose into the air, standing parallel at a distance. Su Yuan looked inward at his consciousness sea. Unlike ordinary misty consciousness seas, his resembled endless darkness with seven shining stars—his Divine Sense manifesting as starlight, while the stars themselves were condensed from his soul. Humans have three souls and seven earthly aspects—Su Yuan had used each earthly aspect as foundation to form the Big Dipper constellation, constantly drawing external energy to transform into Divine Sense starlight, gradually illuminating his consciousness sea. Around the Big Dipper floated smaller star fragments—condensed from abundant Divine Sense starlight, radiating noticeably stronger Divine Sense than normal. After consideration, Su Yuan still mobilized just one percent of his Divine Sense, readying himself. You Chunli called, "Ready? Begin!" "Now!" Focusing, Su Yuan willed his one percent Divine Sense to surge forth toward You Chunli's consciousness sea. You Chunli simultaneously attacked Su Yuan's consciousness sea with her Divine Sense. For this test, neither dodged—both strikes landed simultaneously. At the edge of Su Yuan's consciousness sea, You Chunli's Divine Sense materialized as a peculiar plant with hundreds of vines, lashing inward! Su Yuan's seven soul-stars immediately shone brighter, activating the Big Dipper formation to protect his soul core! You Chunli laughed. "Only defending your soul? Not your consciousness sea itself? Damage there still harms your soul." Her vines whipped the consciousness sea—yet to her shock, it proved steel-like in resilience, utterly unharmed. During her assault, You Chunli's Divine Sense detected faint array patterns. Concentrated attacks revealed more patterns blocking her efforts. The array's complexity made You Chunli—a third-grade array master—gasp. "What level is this array? Impossible! How?" Though unable to decipher the patterns, she felt inexplicable familiarity. "This feeling..." After several attempts, she recognized certain array transformations. Her pupils shrank. "These are Yuan Pool Valley's natural array restrictions! How did you transplant them into your consciousness sea?" Su Yuan was equally surprised she recognized them. "Sharp eyes, Sister Li. During my Foundation Establishment breakthrough, I felt natural array restrictions would stabilize my spiritual apertures well, so I tried integrating them internally. I thought they only gathered spiritual energy—never expected defensive properties!" You Chunli was dumbfounded. "Impossible! This... this is absurd! Unbelievable!" Su Yuan said, "During Foundation Establishment, perhaps Heaven assisted—when all forces aligned. I succeeded by luck. Sister Li, continuing your attack?" Taking a deep breath, You Chunli abandoned attacking the consciousness sea itself, instead directing hundreds of vines against Su Yuan's Big Dipper formation. Her Divine Sense attacks were razor-sharp—just a few strikes made Su Yuan's Big Dipper tremble, its starlight dimming significantly. As a peak Golden Core cultivator, You Chunli's Divine Sense vastly surpassed Su Yuan's. Even at one percent, Su Yuan struggled against her onslaught. But then, the natural array restrictions in his consciousness sea brightened. A certain array function activated, rapidly drawing true essence from his body and external spiritual energy, converting it into Divine Sense to replenish the Big Dipper formation. The depleted formation quickly regained its radiant brilliance. Both You Chunli and Su Yuan were stunned by the consciousness sea's Divine Sense recovery speed! Having never depleted his Divine Sense so severely before, Su Yuan knew the natural array restrictions could restore it quickly—but not this outrageously fast! Nearly 40% depletion recovered in less than one breath! Yuan Pool's natural array restrictions were monstrously effective! This was precisely why Su Yuan spent over a hundred million spirit stones to construct 118-aperture natural array restrictions—they were simply too powerful! The consciousness sea, like the dantian, was among the spiritual apertures influenced by these restrictions. You Chunli was equally shocked. Her attacking Divine Sense had depleted considerably, and she realized her efforts were futile. Had this not been an agreed test of defensive capability, Su Yuan could have erased her Divine Sense instantly using the natural array restrictions' suppression effects—despite their primary function not being offensive! She dispersed her Divine Sense attack. Meanwhile, in You Chunli's consciousness sea, Su Yuan's Divine Sense had formed a Big Dipper sword array assaulting her defenses. Her consciousness sea was fortified like an impregnable city—a golden pagoda shielded her soul, surrounded by dense Divine Sense forests. Su Yuan's attack only advanced slightly before being worn down by her defenses—though dozens of her Divine Sense trees were felled. Minor damage, quickly recoverable, but Su Yuan had indeed left his mark. Thus ended their simple contest. Opening her eyes, You Chunli immediately asked, "That consciousness sea defense method—is it included in your teachings?" Her voice brimmed with desperate longing.