Chapter 45: Opportunity in the Holy Land, Liu Qingtian’s Response

In the Main Peak Hall, Liu Qingtian was currently handling Sect affairs.

“Master,” Zhou Chen respectfully greeted.

“Chen’er has arrived? Do you have questions about the upcoming Core Disciple assessment?”

Liu Qingtian put down the Jade Slip, looking at his Disciple, who was increasingly surprising him, with a smile.

Foundation Establishment third layer in such a short time was the fastest he had ever seen.

“This Disciple does have a question, it’s about… Blazing Fire Holy Land,” Zhou Chen said, carefully choosing his words.

“Blazing Fire Holy Land?!” Liu Qingtian’s smile instantly froze, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp.

An invisible pressure permeated the air, instantly locking onto Zhou Chen. “Where did you hear that name?”

Zhou Chen felt his breath catch, secretly startled by Liu Qingtian’s intense reaction. He quickly said, “This Disciple merely overheard a few Loose Cultivators mention it while adventuring outside. Their words were filled with reverence and longing, as if it were an extremely powerful place. This Disciple was curious, so I presumptuously came to ask Master.”

He deliberately omitted the part about Wang Yue saving Ye Chen, only fabricating that he heard it from Loose Cultivators.

Liu Qingtian scrutinized Zhou Chen, seeing that his eyes were clear, and apart from his Qi being at the Foundation Establishment second layer, there was nothing unusual.

The pressure slowly dissipated, but the solemnity on his face remained undiminished.

He waved his hand to set up an isolation barrier, ensuring no sound would leak out.

“Chen’er, this Blazing Fire Holy Land is no small matter! It is not a power from our Southern Domain, but an unsurpassed Holy Land located in the vast Central Continent! It is one of the colossal entities standing at the Peak of the entire Heavenly Profound Continent!” Liu Qingtian’s voice carried an unprecedented seriousness.

“The reason a Holy Land dares to call itself ‘Holy’ is because within such Sects, Saint Realm powerhouses are merely Elders, and it’s not even rare to have hidden Emperor Realm magnates! Rumor has it there are even supreme existences transcending the Emperor Realm! Its profound Legacy and terrifying foundation are far beyond our imagination!”

Zhou Chen’s heart shook violently! Saint Realm as Elders? Emperor Realm not rare? Existences beyond the Emperor Realm?

He had always known the Holy Land was strong, but he never expected it to be strong to such an inconceivable degree!

This was simply the super behemoth of the Cultivation world! No wonder the Blood Demon Sect Third Elder didn’t even dare to utter a peep in front of Wang Yue.

“Our so-called top Sects in the Southern Domain are as insignificant as ants before the Blazing Fire Holy Land!” Liu Qingtian’s tone carried a hint of complexity.

“The Holy Land widely recruits Disciples, and anyone who can pass its rigorous assessment can obtain unimaginable resources and guidance, transforming from a carp into a Dragon! But precisely because of its power, the internal competition is tens of thousands of times more brutal than in our Sects! Holy Land token… that is an recommendation token only qualified to be issued by Core Disciple or Core Elder level figures. Holding it can exempt one from the preliminary screening and directly participate in the formal assessment of the Holy Land’s grand opening ceremony.”

He looked at Zhou Chen meaningfully, “This matter is a secret. The Loose Cultivators outside are merely spreading hearsay. You must never mention it outside again, nor should you harbor any unrealistic fantasies about the Holy Land. That is not a level you can currently reach; a slight misstep could lead to utter annihilation!”

“This Disciple remembers Master’s teachings!” Zhou Chen responded solemnly, his heart churning.

The Cultivation world truly cannot be underestimated, even with his Golden Finger.

The weight of this token was even heavier than he had imagined! This kid, Ye Chen, truly had Heaven chasing after him and feeding him!

Seeing that Zhou Chen was receptive, Liu Qingtian nodded in satisfaction, his tone softening slightly.

“However, since you have already reached Foundation Establishment and are preparing to participate in the Core Disciple assessment… as long as you successfully become a Core Disciple, there is an Opportunity related to the Blazing Fire Holy Land, perhaps…”

Halfway through his sentence, Liu Qingtian suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of something extremely important, and looked at Zhou Chen with burning eyes.

“Wait! Chen’er, I was so happy about your fast Cultivation speed that I forgot to ask you the most important thing! What rank of Dao Foundation did you establish? Third Rank? Or Fourth Rank?”

Zhou Chen’s astonishing Cultivation speed, in Liu Qingtian’s view, was likely due to consuming certain Heaven And Earth Treasure to forcefully raise his Realm, and the Dao Foundation’s rank probably wouldn’t be too high.

Zhou Chen’s heart skipped a beat.

He knew that the Dao Foundation he condensed was the terrifying Ninth Rank Dao Foundation, the supreme Dao Foundation of legend.

If the news got out, he feared it would attract old monsters from the Saint Realm, or even the Emperor Realm, to capture him and dissect him for research!

He had to hide it!

He lowered his head, feigning a hint of embarrassment, yet with a touch of “pride,” he replied.

“Reporting to Master, this Disciple… fortunately established a Fifth Rank Dao Foundation.”

He didn’t dare to say above Sixth Rank, fearing it would be too shocking. Fifth Rank was just within the scope of a peerless Genius, which could explain his Cultivation speed without being too Heaven-Defying.

“Fifth Rank Dao Foundation?!!!”

Liu Qingtian suddenly stood up, his eyes wide, the muscles on his face twitching slightly, as if he had heard something out of a fantasy!

His voice instantly rose eight octaves, shaking dust from the ceiling of the Main Hall.

“You… what did you say? Fifth… Fifth Rank?! Are you sure it’s a Fifth Rank Dao Foundation?!!” Liu Qingtian flashed in front of Zhou Chen, gripping his shoulders tightly, so excited that his beard trembled.

In Wenxian Sect’s ten thousand years, only a handful of people had achieved a Fifth Rank Dao Foundation, and every single one of them became a pillar of Wenxian Sect!

His greatest hope was for Zhou Chen to achieve a Fourth Rank, which would have been excellent. He never expected… Fifth Rank?!

“Ma… Master… this Disciple is certain, it really is a Fifth Rank Dao Foundation.” Zhou Chen was startled by his Master’s reaction, secretly thinking himself lucky he didn’t say Ninth Rank.

“Good! Good! Good!” Liu Qingtian said “good” three times in a row, his face flushed with excitement, pacing around the hall, unable to control himself.

“Fifth Rank Dao Foundation! Hahaha! Heaven bless my Disciple! Heaven bless my Wenxian Sect! In the future, you will surely reach the Nascent Soul Realm! No, even the Saint Realm is within reach! A towering pillar!”

In fact, Liu Qingtian’s daughter, Liu Qianru, also had a Fifth Rank Dao Foundation; this was Wenxian Sect’s biggest secret currently.

They publicly claimed Liu Qianru only had a Fourth Rank Dao Foundation to protect her.

Liu Qingtian laughed for a while before he managed to calm his excited emotions, looking at Zhou Chen with unparalleled admiration and relief.

“Fifth Rank Dao Foundation! This matter is top secret! Besides me, you must not tell anyone else! Including your Senior Sister!”

Liu Qingtian solemnly instructed, “This is of great importance! You must never expose it until you have enough strength to protect yourself!”

“This Disciple understands!” Zhou Chen solemnly agreed.

Liu Qingtian fumbled in his storage ring for a moment, taking out an inner armor of ancient design, shimmering with a dull yellow light. It was covered in profound runes and exuded a steady, weighty aura.

“Chen’er, this is a Profound Rank High Grade defensive Spiritual Artifact—the Heaven And Earth Armor! It is refined from ten-thousand-year-old Profound Turtle Shell mixed with refined mithril and supplemented with the Earth Spirit Essence of a Core Formation Realm cultivator. Infusing it with spiritual power can activate its defensive capabilities.”

Liu Qingtian paused.