Talented Rune Masters Convention

It wasn't just because he needed to cultivate to improve his cultivation base; every bit of improvement gave him a bit more confidence.

It was also because he was currently carrying the massive sum of money from the sect's transaction with the Multitreasure Pavilion.

He was afraid that if he went out, he might encounter trouble and be ambushed like last time. If this sect transaction fund was intercepted by someone, it would be all over.

Therefore, he did not even dare to step outside.

Having returned to the cultivation world for only a little over ten days, Liu Chun could already clearly feel a sense of repulsion toward the environment and atmosphere here, even though he had lived in this environment for decades previously.

He began to miss his days at the Lingxian Sect.

He hoped that coming out this time would allow him to achieve a good ranking at the Talisman Master Conference, and then he could perhaps gather some news about his younger sister's whereabouts...

If he could successfully find his younger sister, he would take her back to the Lingxian Sect with him.

With these thoughts in mind, he closed his eyes, entered a state of deep meditation, and began to cultivate.

There were fifteen days left until the Talisman Master Conference officially began.

During these days, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu went out to hunt demonic beasts almost every day.

Of course, for the sake of safety, Lin Xiao still spent some spirit stones at the Wanwantong Information Shop in Banxiang City to buy a map showing the rough distribution of demonic beast levels and types outside Banxiang City.

Because the Northern and Southern Spirit Realms were considered relatively remote areas in the entire cultivation world, the spiritual energy concentration here was not high, so the demonic beasts living here generally did not have high cultivation bases either.

Basically, their cultivation levels ranged from the Spirit Opening stage to the Solid Core stage (equivalent to the human cultivators' Golden Core stage). The Channeling Origin stage (equivalent to the human cultivators' Nascent Soul stage) was already extremely rare.

Since demonic beasts generally had their own active territories and normally would not easily wander into the territories of other demonic beasts, this distribution map was quite accurate.

Lin Xiao and his companion never went near those high-level demonic beasts. Although Lin Xiao himself now had a Golden Core cultivation base, Jiang Youfu was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Moreover, many demonic beasts usually appeared in packs. If he couldn't defeat them, they would have to flee in a sorry state. If they got injured on top of that, it wouldn't be worth it.

It was better to play it safe and steady. They just looked for those at the Spirit Opening and Formed Core stages (equivalent to the human cultivators' Foundation Establishment stage) to hunt. It was easy, they could complete their tasks, and they could earn spirit stones.

Meanwhile, Yuan Qing continued to go out every day to gather information and contact his fellow sect members and friends.

Then, at night, when everyone returned to the cave dwelling and met up, they would gather around to soak their feet, chat, and eat snacks.

It was just that often when Yuan Qing returned to the cave dwelling, isolation arrays had basically already been set up in the inner room, even though Lin Xiao and the others were clearly outside.

However, Yuan Qing did not pry into this.

He figured this must be the secret of his benefactors.

Since they didn't mention it, it meant he shouldn't know. So he shouldn't ask, and it was best to pretend he didn't see it and didn't know anything.

Time passed day by day in this manner.

Fifteen days later, the Talisman Master Conference finally officially began.

On this day, Banxiang City could be described as a sea of people.

Flying on swords was not prohibited here, but there was a speed limit.

Therefore, at this moment, numerous cultivators were flying high and low on their swords in the sky, all surrounding the massive Talisman Master Conference venue right in the center of Banxiang City. Everyone's gaze was currently focused on this enormous venue.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu were among them.

At this moment, the two were squeezing onto a single sword, looking expectantly toward the field.

Various people's discussions constantly entered their ears.

I heard that countless talisman masters signed up to participate this time, and before the conference even officially began, ninety percent of the people had already been eliminated.

Whoa! That many! Doesn't that mean there aren't many left?

Then you're mistaken. I heard from a friend of mine in the Tianxuan Sect that the number of cultivators remaining is at least this much.

As he spoke, the man stretched out a hand and opened his fingers to gesture at the other person.

Five thousand?

It's fifty thousand! Otherwise, why do you think this Talisman Master Conference has to be held for so many days?

...

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu, who had eavesdropped on the entire conversation, silently retracted their ears, looked at the talisman masters lining up to enter the venue, and swallowed hard.

Good heavens, fifty thousand people.

At this time, someone else among the spectators on the other side spoke up.

Hey, hey, hey! Look, look! The Tianxuan Sect Master has come out!

Oh my! That is Venerable Liuguang!

Ah! I see the sect master of our sect! The sect master is mighty!

Someone to the side said:

What's so rare about your own sect's master? Haven't you seen him before?

Heh! You make it sound easy. Our sect is a major sect. The territory is vast, and there are numerous disciples. Our sect master is busy with a myriad of affairs every day. Where would he find so much free time to see us disciples?

Fellow Daoist, could it be that you come from some small sect? That's why you can see your own sect master every day and don't find it rare.

Bullshit! That's because our sect master is approachable! That's why he frequently interacts with us disciples!

Seeing that these two were about to roll up their sleeves and get into a big fight after just a few sentences, someone nearby who was afraid of getting dragged into trouble quickly spoke up:

Alright, alright, don't you look at what place this is? There are so many powerful seniors sitting down there. You guys restrain yourselves a bit!

Thinking of the big shots presiding over the venue, the two cultivators then turned their heads away from each other and stopped interacting, bringing the matter to a close.

Although the venue for the Talisman Master Conference was very large, it was impossible to accommodate fifty thousand people competing all at once.

So, it was actually divided into batches.

The number of people entering in each batch was over five thousand, making a total of ten batches.

A very large number of talisman crafting tables had already been prepared in the middle of the venue.

Everyone entered in order and took their places at the talisman crafting tables.

Because today was the first day and there were many people, the content of the assessment was relatively basic talismans.

Each person had to draw ten types of basic talismans within the specified time.

Then, when the time was up, they would quickly leave the venue and wait for the next batch to enter.

Lin Xiao and his companion did not find Liu Chun's figure among the first batch of talisman masters.

The big shots in the venue did not, as Lin Xiao had expected, come over to sit for a while and then leave. Instead, they remained dedicated to their posts, staying in their seats the whole time.

They even chatted a few words with the other seniors next to them from time to time.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao felt it was quite novel.

Before long, people around him seemed to have the same thought and sighed:

I originally thought these powerful seniors were just here to show their faces and sit for a bit as a formality. I didn't expect them to show no intention of leaving at all.

A knowledgeable person next to them who had lived for over a hundred years explained to him:

The last Talisman Master Conference was also like this. These seniors are truly our role models. They do everything so earnestly. It's no wonder they have achieved what they have today.

But at this moment, Liao Pantu in the Soul Nurturing Pendant sent a telepathic message to Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu:

When these old geezers return to their sects, all they do is go into secluded cultivation. They are bored to death on normal days but have to maintain their dignified airs, so naturally, they lack entertainment. Now that they finally have a chance to come out and get some fresh air, and there are old buddies around whom they haven't seen for years to gossip with, how could they possibly leave the venue.