Chapter 3673: Hundred Sects Competition

When Ye Bufan exited his room, Luo Bingyan was seated outside the door, cultivating diligently while acting as his Protector.

Gongsun Hong, meanwhile, sat before his Pill Furnace, tirelessly engaging in Alchemy.

He was a man solely devoted to the Dao of Alchemy, having strived for thousands of years previously without managing to step into the ranks of a Ninth-Rank Immortal Pill Master.

Now that he finally had a Master who was knowledgeable in all things, he needed to seize the opportunity to improve his Alchemy mastery.

Seeing him emerge from the room, Luo Bingyan ended her Cultivation and walked over.

Gongsun Hong also finished the batch of Medicinal Pills at the fastest speed, then stood respectfully by Ye Bufan's side, completely observing the etiquette of a Disciple.

Ye Bufan pulled up a chair for himself and motioned for the two to sit.

"Is there any movement from Dragon Head Mountain? Was the takeover smooth?"

Luo Bingyan replied, "It was very smooth. After being intimidated by you, Long Xuanzhen and the others didn't dare to return at all."

"Those who remained guarding it previously also fled in disarray. Now, it has completely become our Luo Family's property."

"The Long Family is, after all, just a low-tier small Family. If they can't find a stronger backer, they definitely won't dare to return."

At this point, she frowned slightly, "What I'm worried about is Lingyun Sword Sect; I'm afraid they won't let this matter rest."

Ye Bufan asked, "What kind of existence is Lingyun Sword Sect in the Middle Heaven Region? What is the strength of their strongest individual?"

As he was new to the place, he didn't understand the situation here and needed to gather information quickly. Only by knowing oneself and one's enemy could one emerge victorious in every battle.

Luo Bingyan said, "Within a million li radius around us, Lingyun Sword Sect is the strongest existence. It is rumored that their Sect Master has already reached Great Luo Immortal Peak."

Ye Bufan nodded slightly, not taking it much to heart. If the strongest individual was only at Great Luo Immortal Peak, then they couldn't even compare to the Four Great Sects of Qingwei Heaven.

He then asked, "How is the Middle Heaven Region divided? Which Sect is the strongest?"

Gongsun Hong was somewhat surprised, "Master doesn't know the strength divisions of the Middle Heaven Region?"

Ye Bufan shook his head, without any concealment, "I come from the Lower Heaven Region, and I've only just arrived here recently."

Gongsun Hong's eyes were filled with shock.

He didn't mean anything else; he was just shocked that his Master's Alchemy mastery was so high, yet he came from the Lower Heaven Region. It was truly unbelievable.

"Then this Disciple will introduce it to Master."

He quickly composed himself and said, "The Middle Heaven Region and the Lower Heaven Region have very different terrains, resembling a disc shape overall."

"The very center has the most concentrated Spiritual Qi and the most abundant Cultivation resources, while the Spiritual Qi becomes thinner the further one goes towards the edges."

"The disc-shaped part is occupied by our Human Race, while the outer areas are the Spiritual Demon Mountain Range, the Sea of Death, and Hidden Immortal Valley, respectively."

Ye Bufan nodded slightly. He had to admit that the example Gongsun Hong gave was very vivid, allowing him to easily gain a preliminary understanding of the Middle Heaven Region's topography.

"And the strength divisions?"

Gongsun Hong said, "The powerful forces in the Middle Heaven Region are the Three Sects, Five Factions, and Seven Great Families."

"The Three Sects are the strongest, at the very top of the entire Heaven Region, and they also occupy the central area with the most concentrated Spiritual Qi."

"They are Tiandao Sect, Guiyuan Sect, and Bixia Sect."

"The Five Factions are Four Directions Sword Sect, Five Elements Sword Sect, Phantom Shadow Sword Sect, Overlord Blade Faction, and Hehe Sword Sect."

"The Seven Great Families are the Chu Family, Han Family, Qi Family, Yan Family, Zhao Family, Wei Family, and Qin Family."

"There are thousands of large and small forces in the Middle Heaven Region, but the Three Sects, Five Factions, and Seven Great Families are the most powerful."

"Each of them has an Immortal Venerable level expert overseeing it, and each has its own fixed Heaven Region, as well as affiliated Sects, almost occupying the best Cultivation resources in the entire Heaven Region."

Ye Bufan said, "Even if these families are strong, they can't possibly dominate the entire Middle Heaven Region, can they?"

"No, they don't."

Gongsun Hong said, "Still using the disc as an example, the Three Sects, Five Factions, and Seven Great Families occupy the very center, which has the best resources."

"Although the remaining outer areas have thinner Spiritual Qi and relatively fewer Cultivation resources, the territory is more vast, divided into seventy-two Heaven Regions according to the seventy-two Earthly Fiends."

Ye Bufan asked, "Which Heaven Region are we currently in?"

"Dragon Head Mountain, Gu Family Stronghold, and Luo Family Fort combined are relatively small forces, located in Dile Heaven among the seventy-two Heaven Regions, in the southwest corner."

Ye Bufan asked, "And Lingyun Sword Sect, which Heaven Region do they belong to?"

"Also Dile Heaven, but their strength is relatively strong."

Gongsun Hong said, "The Hundred Sects Tournament will soon be held in the Middle Heaven Region. Dile Heaven will be allocated a participation token, and four Sects are eligible to compete for it. Lingyun Sword Sect is one of them."

Ye Bufan asked with interest, "What is the Hundred Sects Tournament?"

"It's like this…"

As an Eighth-Rank Immortal Pill Master, Gongsun Hong's understanding of the Middle Heaven Region was clearly superior to Luo Bingyan's, and he began to explain in detail.

It turned out that there was an Ancient Ruins in the Middle Heaven Region, named Yuangu Secret Realm. This place had its own Seal power, opening once every hundred years. Only Cultivators under a thousand years old could enter, and the quota was limited, allowing only a hundred people to enter at a time.

Although the Yuangu Secret Realm was located at the border area of the Three Great Sects' spheres of influence, they couldn't simply claim it for themselves.

For such Ancient Ruins, which contained countless treasures, other Sects naturally wanted a share.

After much deliberation, the Hundred Sects Tournament was finally decided upon. Through a series of arena battles, one hundred outstanding Disciples under a thousand years old would be selected to enter the Yuangu Secret Realm.

This competition had been passed down for tens of thousands of years, and this year happened to be the year the Secret Realm opened, so the great battle was about to begin.

Ye Bufan asked at this point, "Where do these hundred Sects come from?"

Gongsun Hong said, "The Three Sects, Five Factions, and Seven Great Families add up to fifteen families, and each brings an affiliated Sect, making thirty families."

"Adding the seventy-two Heaven Regions, that's a total of one hundred and two families."

"However, the Three Sects, Five Factions, and Seven Great Families hold a transcendent status and are guaranteed one spot, as are their affiliated Sects."

"But the remaining seventy-two Heaven Regions are different; powerful Sects must compete for this participation token."

"Among them, four Heaven Regions have relatively few Sects, so they are merged two by two, resulting in one hundred Sects being put forward."

Gongsun Hong looked at Ye Bufan with some emotion, "With Master's strength and age, you are fully qualified to participate in the Hundred Sects Tournament."

"It's just that the Luo Family is too weak; they don't even have the qualification to compete for the token."

"That's fine. uu reads books."

Ye Bufan waved his hand. He was only interested in learning more and had no intention of participating in this competition, as he still had many things to do at the moment.

He was more interested in the Jubao Pavilion auction and asked, "How far is the Jubao Pavilion branch auction house you mentioned from here, and when is a good time for us to depart?"

Gongsun Hong said, "It's not particularly far; we can arrive in half a day."

"Alright, then we'll wait here for Lingyun Sword Sect for three days. We'll depart after three days."

According to Ye Bufan's speculation, Ling Jianyi, having suffered such a great loss, would surely send more experts from Lingyun Sword Sect upon his return.

What he didn't expect was that he waited there for three full days, yet there was no movement whatsoever. He saw neither Lingyun Sword Sect nor anyone from Dragon Head Mountain.

The auction was about to begin, and Ye Bufan could no longer wait.

He instructed Luo Bingyan and the others to activate the protective Formation and not go out unnecessarily. He told them to wait for him to return to resolve any issues, then he took Gongsun Hong and headed towards Jubao Pavilion.