Elder Mude was, after all, a council elder of the Yunxia Sect. Even though he had been mocked as blind for his stance on the Crimson-Letter Monarch, he was still a Golden Core True Being who had cultivated for seven or eight hundred years.
Yet this Gu Qingfeng dared to say to his face that his eight hundred years of cultivation had been wasted on a dog?
Heavens!
Just how audacious was he?
Did he have a death wish?
Gu Qingfeng's words sent a chill down Ouyang Feiyue's spine. Fei Kui trembled in fright. Even Elder Rende's lips twitched uncontrollably. If any other disciple had dared speak like that, Elder Rende would have certainly taught them a lesson. But the one who said it was Gu Qingfeng.
He was the one Huode had said would plunge the world into chaos if his identity were exposed.
How could Rende dare to teach him a lesson? He didn't even dare to reprimand him. Watching Mude tremble with rage, Rende could only try to restrain and persuade him.
"Senior Brother, step aside! If I don't teach him a lesson today, I, Mude... what face will I have left... This is outrageous! Utterly outrageous!"
"Mude, you have always placed undue importance on Spiritual Roots. You talk of nothing else. How many disciples with great potential have been turned away because of your pronouncements about their Spiritual Roots? Having a Spiritual Root is good, but lacking one is not a fatal flaw. To ruin someone's future based on a mere Spiritual Root is sheer pedantic foolishness."
Gu Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, his solitary figure like a lone peak or a heavenly sword. His indifferent expression had grown stern between his brows at some point. The calm in his eyes had vanished, and even his tone carried an overbearing edge.
"Having a Spiritual Root merely means a better affinity with the world's Spiritual Energy, allowing for faster absorption. But that is all. A weak Spiritual Root does not mean one cannot cultivate. Lacking a Spiritual Root does not mean one cannot absorb Spiritual Energy."
With that, Gu Qingfeng took a sudden, massive inhalation. All the various Yang-attributed Spiritual Energy radiating from the trial formation was sucked into his body.
Yes.
All of it.
With one breath, he drained the trial formation of its Yang-attributed Spiritual Energy completely. Everyone witnessed the myriad energies vanish into his body in an instant.
Heavens!
Every single steward, elder, and guest elder on the high platform was dumbstruck. Their expressions of shock were as if they had witnessed something utterly inconceivable.
Even the furious Mude was completely stunned by this sight. He couldn't believe his eyes, muttering, "Impossible... utterly impossible..."
"Nothing is impossible. I said there are no absolutes in this world."
Gu Qingfeng spoke lightly, then asked, "Next trial."
The next trial was refinement.
The task was to refine a single Green Turtle Crystal Ore within one hour.
Although named 'refinement,' this trial tested the purity of one's Spiritual Power.
In the current world, too many focused on cultivation realms while neglecting the purity of their Spiritual Power. This was especially true now with the proliferation of various elixirs. With elixir assistance, breaking through realm barriers held little difficulty. While one's realm might rise, their Spiritual Power grew increasingly turbid.
Once Spiritual Power became turbid, it lost cohesion. The more turbid it was, the more scattered it became. Over time, one might possess high cultivation and a decent realm, but the turbid, scattered Spiritual Power, lacking cohesion, would see its potency greatly diminished.
There were many like this. For instance, although Guang Yuan True Person had formed a Golden Core, he had done so by gorging on various elixirs. He couldn't unleash the true power of a Golden Core and might not even defeat a Purple Mansion True Being with pure Spiritual Power. He was like this, as were Feixue True Person, Mude True Person, and even Rende.
Soon, Fei Kui handed over a Green Turtle Crystal Ore. This thing was extremely hard. An average True Being could refine it, but it would take several hours. Doing it in one hour was impossible.
Yet Gu Qingfeng, holding the Green Turtle Crystal Ore, didn't even glance at it. A flash of light appeared in his palm as Spiritual Power condensed and manifested. His Spiritual Power was strange. It didn't look pure at all; instead, it seemed quite turbid.
The purer the Spiritual Power, the more crystalline and translucent it appeared.
Conversely, the more turbid the Spiritual Power, the more it resembled haze.
Gu Qingfeng's Spiritual Power was like haze, yet not entirely. It was as if the haze was interwoven with flashes of lightning and sparks, looking very peculiar. No one had ever seen such strange Spiritual Power. Without any visible action from him, when his Spiritual Power manifested, an astonishing scene unfolded: the Green Turtle Crystal Ore vanished into smoke and dissipated in the blink of an eye...
Refined?
Yes.
Refined.
In an instant.
His Spiritual Power was clearly turbid, so how... how could he refine the Green Turtle Crystal Ore in an instant?
Ouyang Feiyue knew Gu Qingfeng was extraordinary, but she didn't know how, nor could she guess. Witnessing him absorb all the Yang-attributed Spiritual Energy in an instant had already left her incredulous. Now, seeing him refine the Green Turtle Crystal Ore instantly, she simply couldn't comprehend it.
Her own cultivation wasn't high, and her Spiritual Power wasn't very pure.
However, she had built a Colored Foundation, established a Colored True Form, and opened a Colored Purple Mansion. Although her Spiritual Power wasn't pure, it was the Three-Colored Spiritual Power of the Great Nature. It was far stronger than that of an average Purple Mansion True Being, and she wasn't afraid to face a Golden Core True Being either. At the very least, Ouyang Feiyue was confident her Three-Colored Spiritual Power of the Great Nature could defeat a Golden Core True Being like Guang Yuan, who had relied on elixirs.
Yet even so, she could never refine a Green Turtle Crystal Ore in an instant.
She couldn't figure it out, couldn't understand how this fellow's Spiritual Power, which looked so turbid, could be... so terrifying.
She didn't know.
And no one knew. Even the experienced Mude and Rende, who had cultivated for seven or eight hundred years, didn't know. They only found it unbelievable.
On the trial platform.
Gu Qingfeng's expression remained as calm and indifferent as ever, as if refining the Green Turtle Crystal Ore in an instant was as easy for him as blinking. He merely said softly, "Next trial!"
The next trial tested comprehension.
The chief examiners would randomly select ten obscure cultivation arts for the disciples to comprehend. They would comprehend as much as they could. To prevent any disciple from having practiced one of the arts beforehand, the chief examiners would make random selections for the assessment.
On the high platform, having recovered from their shock, both Elder Mude and Guang Yuan True Person realized the severity of the situation. They didn't know where Huode had found such a mysterious, bizarre, and unfathomable person, nor did they know the true extent of Gu Qingfeng's strength. But one thing they understood better than anyone else:
They absolutely could not let Gu Qingfeng pass the assessment. Otherwise, he would pose a tremendous threat to the competition for the Heir Apparent position.
They thought this, and Feixue True Person, representing Elder Shuide in the assessment, was no less aware.
She too realized the severity of the situation.
She too knew that letting Gu Qingfeng pass would inevitably threaten the Heir Apparent competition.
He absolutely must not pass!
"Gu... Gu Qingfeng, you have one hour to comprehend. We will then conduct a random examination."
Perhaps the shocks Gu Qingfeng had delivered today were too incredible, for even Elder Rende's speech was somewhat halting, his voice trembling.
"No need for an hour."
Gu Qingfeng casually flipped through the ten cultivation arts, then tossed them to the ground, saying, "Examine me now."
Elder Rende found it hard to believe. "You... you're sure?"
"Merely ten basic immortal arts. What need is there for comprehension? A single glance is enough for perfection."