Talisman Emperor

Beneath the same expanse of the night sky.

Li Lufeng was complacent and exceedingly proud of his success.

He gazed at all the disciples of the Dao Institute that were by his side, coughed dryly twice, and then said, "Fellow brothers and sisters, the facts prove that the strategy we adopted was undoubtedly correct. Up until now, when compared to the other four great powers, my Dao Institute has absolutely become the biggest winner!"

His voice was filled with pride.

All the disciples of the Dao Institute were excited, and they praised him successively without end.

"Senior Brother Li possesses both expertise in combat and strategy, and Senior Brother Li has taken every conceivable possibility into account within his plans. We are ashamed of our inferiority when compared to Senior Brother Li."

"Exactly, it's all thanks to the preventive measures Senior Brother Li adopted that we were able to attain our current accomplishments."

Amidst the sighs of praise from everyone, someone sighed and said instead, "But it's unfortunate that Senior Brothers Yea Chen and Yu Jiuhui aren't here. I wonder how they are now."

These words seemed to be slightly sudden, and it caused the smile on the corners of Li Lufeng's mouth to instantly freeze before his expression gradually became indifferent.

The atmosphere suddenly became delicate for no rhyme or reason.

"Don't worry everyone, Junior Brothers Yea Chen and Yu Jiuhui have experienced cultivating in the Ancient Springtime Realm, so their strengths can't be compared to the past any longer. Even if they're acting on their own, there'll definitely be no mishaps unless they encounter a troublesome situation." Li Lufeng pondered deeply for a moment before he said, "Of course, I myself am unable to understand their actions. But no matter what, we're brothers of the same sect in the end. If they become aware of their errors and turn back from their mistaken paths later on in the Dao Discussion, then it couldn't be any better."

These words frankly admitted his displeasure towards Yea Chen and Yu Jiuhui for leaving the group arbitrarily, yet he also displayed his magnanimity, causing him to seem extremely methodical.

As for exactly what his actual thoughts were, no one knew the answer to that.

"Alas, Senior Brother Li has expended much care and thought on all of this. I only hope that no mishaps will occur to Senior Brothers Yea Chen and Yu Jiuhui. All the great figures of our Dao Institute have placed all their hopes on the two of them." Someone sighed with emotion.

"Yeah. Based on the strengths of Senior Brothers Yea Chen and Yu Jiuhui, they're capable of participating in the second round of the Dao Discussion. It would truly be distressing if they suffer a mishap."

Many others chimed in as well.

All of them had utterly not noticed that after he heard these discussions, the smile on Li Lufeng's face had faded and vanished without a trace.

"Alright, there's no need to worry unnecessarily. We've merely obtained three Ancient Dao Engraved Cauldrons now. I hope all of you'll work harder from now on and don't slack off because of this." Li Lufeng interrupted their conversations with a deep voice.

Actually, this was the thing that Li Lufeng was mostly helpless about.

During this month of time, even though he'd gathered all of them to set out together, while it seemed to provide noteworthy effects that allowed the Dao Institute to temporarily become the biggest winner, acting in this way had a flaw that couldn't be overlooked as well.

The flaw was that when compared to those powers that had split up, the amount of Ancient Dao Engraved Cauldrons they obtained seemed pitiably few.

After all, when a single group acted together, they merely had a single objective, and it couldn't compare to those powers that had split up.

Now, Li Lufeng merely hoped that they would be able to obtain even more Ancient Dao Engraved Cauldrons during the next two months of time.

In this way, their Dao Institute was bound to become worthy possessor of the title of biggest winner during the first round of the Dao Discussion!

If all of this could be accomplished, then it would be sufficient to bring countless glory and benefits to him, Li Lufeng!

…

After the Dao Discussion entered its second month, all the cultivators in the outside world noticed that the situation within the Dao Cauldron World had changed!

It was as if they possessed tacit understanding amongst each other, and no matter if it was the Sovereign Sect, Divine Institute, Oracle Mountain, Nuwa's Dao Palace, or the Dao Institute, all of their remaining disciples didn't take the initiative to attack.

Practically all of them adopted the same strategy. They either laid dormant or acted conservatively. None of them fought intensely any longer.

Obviously, the intense battles during the last month had allowed them to clearly realize the situation they were in right now, and so they'd changed their strategies.

In this way, the atmosphere within the Dao Cauldron World had started to calm down. There were practically no battles, and everyone was moving forward carefully.

In the opinion of the cultivators in the outside world, such a change in the situation couldn't help but make them feel slightly depressed.

However, many people noticed that this sort of calm was merely the sign of an impending storm!

…

Chen Xi travelled forward all along the way.

He surmounted countless mountains, passed through numerous rivers, and travelled ceaselessly no matter rain or shine; day or night. Unfortunately, not to mention finding a disciple of Oracle Mountain, he didn't even encounter many enemies.

Such a situation was very easy to judge, and Chen Xi didn't have to think it through to realize that the situation within the Dao Cauldron World had changed.

But he didn't care.

He merely cared about how Gu Yan, Hua Yan, Tu Meng, and the others were right now, and how many of them still remained after so many days had passed?

Along with the passage of time, it was already the middle of the second month of the Dao Discussion

Hmm? At dusk on this day, Chen Xi suddenly sensed something and turned around swiftly to gaze extremely far into the distance, and then he acutely captured a strand of faint fluctuations of battle.

Swoosh!

Chen Xi's figure flashed towards that direction.

As he approached it, the fluctuation of the battle gradually became clearly, and in the end, it even became extremely intense.

An intense battle is being carried out! Chen Xi's heart shook. He took a deep breath while his vital energy was instantly raised to its peak state of battle.

After that, his figure transformed into a strand of a practically ethereal shadow as he silently approached the battlefield.

Rumble!

The heavens and the earth shook while all things wailed. The rocks in the surroundings collapsed while the earth split apart and all sorts of gorgeous divine radiance shot up and whistled through the sky. They ceaselessly whistled and swept out beneath the sky, and they caused an extremely large area in the surroundings to be reduced into an expanse of chaos.

This battle was vast and intense.

When he looked carefully, the gap between the parties of the battle was too huge.

There were an entire 20 plus people on one side while there was merely a single person on the other side!

When Chen Xi approached silently, he noticed with a single glance that it was surprisingly a battle between all the disciples of the Dao Institute and Kong Youran.

In other words, the battle being carried out now was one where Kong Youran was fighting 26 Universe Enlightened Ancestral Gods from the Dao Institute by herself!

This was the first time Chen Xi had encountered Kong Youran after entering the Dao Cauldron World, and it was also the first time he'd witnessed her combat strength.

Needless to say, as the number one expert of the Universe Enlightened Ancestral Gods in Nuwa's Dao Palace and a direct line descendent of the primeval Peacock King, Kong Youran's combat strength was extremely formidable.

Even if she was facing an entire 26 Universe Enlightened Ancestral Gods from the Dao Institute now, they were actually unable to do anything to her in a short period of time!

It wasn't exaggerated at all to say that throughout the entire Ancient God Domain, existences capable of accomplishing what Kong Youran had accomplished now could be counted with one's fingers.

However, Chen Xi discerned that even though it was impossible for Kong Youran to be crushed in a short period of time, the situation she was in wasn't looking too good.

It was even to the extent that along with the passage of time, the situation she was in grew increasingly dangerous!

After all, those 26 disciples of the Dao Institute weren't ordinary as well. Every single one of them was a peerless genius in the Universe Enlightened Ancestral God Realm, and they possessed extraordinary combat strength that far exceeded ordinary Universe Enlightened Ancestral Gods.

When facing such a siege, no matter how extraordinary Kong Youran's natural talent was or how shocking her combat strength was, it would probably be impossible for her to turn the situation around.

These disciples of the Dao Institute are truly too shameless. Chen Xi's eyes were filled with coldness and indifference as he silently approached the battlefield.

…

After this battle erupted, it had undoubtedly destroyed the calm that had been continuing until now, and it seemed to be especially striking.

Many cultivators in the outside world even didn't dare believe that once a battle erupted, it would actually display such a world shocking scene.

One party to the battle was 26 peerless experts at the Universe Enlightened Ancestral Gods.

The other party to the battle was the number one Universe Enlightened Ancestral God in Nuwa's Dao Palace, Kong Youran.

There was utterly no need to make a comparison between them before one could determine exactly how great the disparity between the two parties to the battle was.

It was exactly because of this that this battle seemed extremely shocking, and it had drawn the attention of all the cultivators in the outside world as soon as it erupted.

Unlike Chen Xi, all the cultivators in the outside world were very clearly aware of the reason that this battle had erupted, and it was all because of an Ancient Dao Engraved Cauldron.

Earlier, Kong Youran and those 26 disciples of the Dao Institute had noticed an undiscovered Ancient Dao Engraved Cauldron at practically the exact same moment, so they made a move simultaneously.

To the surprise of those 26 disciples from the Dao Institute, under such circumstances, Kong Youran actually didn't retreat in the face of difficulties, and she took the initiative to charge forward instead, causing them to have no choice but to meet her in battle.

Actually, they were unwilling to fight with the disciples of any power unless a situation like the one before them right now had occurred.

Yes, if those disciples of the Dao Institute fought, then it would definitely be for the sake of seizing an Ancient Dao Engraved Cauldron. It seemed to be an extremely conservative method, but they'd actually relied on their numerical advantage to eliminate numerous opponents during this period of time.

It was even to the extent that they'd never failed and could be said to be ever successful.

So, even if they encountered a supreme figure like Kong Youran who'd made a name for herself and became renowned in the world a long time ago, they weren't afraid at all.

Because they had the advantage in numbers!

It was just so simple.

It was even to the extent that when they thought about how they would be able to eliminate a peerless figure like Kong Youran from the Dao Discussion, all those disciples of the Dao Institute even felt a type of indescribably excitement.

It was like they were about to overthrow a person of authority that was usually inviolable, and it brought extraordinarily great excitement to them.

Jus think about it, Kong Youran had been defeated by them and eliminated during the first round of the Dao Discussion. How exciting would that be?

So, the battle had erupted, and as soon as it had, it had entered into an extremely intense state!

"If Kong Youran suffers a defeat during this battle and is eliminated, then it will definitely be a heavy blow to Nuwa's Dao Palace!"

"Based on the circumstances, Kong Youran will probably be unable to escape calamity…. A pity, truly a pity. Without her, the second round is bound to lose a great deal of its brilliance."

This was the common view of most cultivators in the outside world.

After all, Kong Youran's opponents were an entire 26 Universe Enlightened Ancestral Gods from the Dao Institute. In a situation where the disparity between the parties in the battle was so huge, how could Kong Youran have any hope of attaining victory in the battle?

It was even to the extent that even her paths of retreat seemed to have already been blocked off completely!

Within Convergence Hall.

This battle that had erupted abruptly had drawn the attention of all the great figures here as well. At this moment, even Yu Zhen and Wen Ting who'd been constantly silent until now couldn't help but lock their gazes onto this battle.

In merely an instant, Yu Zhen's expression became cold like ice.