Niu Jinshui nodded with satisfaction and sat back in his chair.

Ping Yundan gestured to Tang Honggong. Tang Honggong stepped forward and stood at the edge of the flying bridge.

"Disciples of Xiongjin Mountain and Mengyuan Mountain, the Dao strives for precedence, the brave are Xiong Jun, and success makes one a talent. The Sect's Heroic Talent Battle begins today. Whether you are an observer or a participant, no one can remain aloof, no one can wander outside the mountain. Because the Refining Spirit Sect is everyone's home. Because Xiong Jun is everyone's head. If the home is poor, the Qi is short; if the head is weak, the body is Virtual. If the Disciple is strong, the Sect prospers. If Xiong Jun is dominant, the Sect flourishes."

Every word from Tang Honggong made the Disciples in Red Cloud Valley even more excited.

"In this selection battle, participating Disciples must advance bravely, must give their all, until the last trace of Spiritual Qi is exhausted, until all inner talents are stimulated. Please use your blood and sweat, please use your wisdom, please use your Soul, to gain supreme honor in the two mountains of Lu Dong, let the three peaks of Lu Xi remember your names, and be a role model for the entire Sect to learn from!"

This uncle's speech was truly like sprinkling chili into blood. Qian Duoduo took a deep breath, feeling a sense of anticipation for the Xiong Jun Battle for the first time.

Ping Yundan stepped forward, "Tang Zhangzuo spoke of righteousness, now I will speak of benefits. In this selection battle, both the Sect and the two mountains have generous rewards. Entering the top one hundred will be rewarded with five hundred thousand and a low-grade artisan artifact. Entering the top ten will be rewarded with a million and a mid-grade artisan artifact."

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and the white mist below the valley dissipated, revealing the true appearance of the selection battlefield.

It was a giant black snake, ten li long. Its head was to the east, and its tail to the west. Four large fangs protruded from its head, forming a large gate. The snake's body was half-hidden, half-visible, with a colorful and brilliant light inside, holding unknown Magic Treasures.

"This treasure is our Sect's supreme treasure, named Burial Instrument. It forms its own Secret Realm, containing countless Magic Treasures. In this selection, your task is to Transmigration the Secret Realm and obtain one Magic Treasure from within. Each person is limited to one. The shorter the time taken, and the higher the grade of the Magic Treasure obtained, the better the result."

After Ping Yundan finished explaining, she took a step back.

Tang Honggong gripped the railing of the flying bridge with both hands and shouted loudly, "Participating Disciples, enter the valley! After three bell rings, everyone departs!"

Qian Duoduo and over a thousand participating Disciples entered the valley and stood before the giant snake. The giant snake had its eyes closed, but its body subtly undulated, indicating it was a living creature.

The pressure it exuded was many times greater than that of the Purple-Forehead Golden Tiger and the Seven-Colored Golden Bull, just like when Qian Duoduo was at Ningqi Level 1, facing the Seven-Colored Golden Bull.

If this giant snake were to exhale, these thousand-plus Orange Robe Disciples would probably be blown out of the sky.

A thought suddenly flashed through Qian Duoduo's mind: "Could it be a Magic Treasure? If so, what level would it be?"

"Dong."

At the first bell ring, all the Disciples on the viewing platforms of the two mountains stood up.

"Dong." One by one, Magic Treasures lit up, and all participating Disciples ascended into the air.

Qian Duoduo stood on his Golden Rooster Sword, his body leaning slightly forward.

"Dong!" The third bell rang.

Qian Duoduo channeled his Eternal Wealth and Nobility Art to the fullest and charged into the giant snake's mouth. His Spiritual Vein had already reached the ninth level of the first layer, all turning into sea green, beginning to transition to profound green.

The wind howled around him, and over a thousand Orange Robe Disciples converged into a torrent.

Upon entering the snake's mouth, Qian Duoduo felt as if he had passed through an invisible door, and then the scenery before him shifted, and he found himself in a canyon. It was summer in the canyon, and below was a turbulent river. Tens of thousands of beautiful fish and shrimp swam in the river.

No! He looked closely; those fish and shrimp were not fish and shrimp, but Magic Treasures!

What kind of supreme treasure was this Burial Instrument, to actually give life to Magic Treasures?

"Burial Instrument, does it mean to bury Magical Artifacts?"

Just as he thought this, the Magic Treasures in the water sensed people above them, looked up, opened their large mouths, and burst out of the water, biting at them.

In an instant, their front and sides were filled with leaping fierce fish and powerful shrimp. Some were transformed from low-grade Mortal Weapons, some from mid-grade Mortal Weapons, and even high-grade Mortal Weapons.

Some fish had large heads and sprayed water from their mouths. Some shrimp had small mouths and shot Spiritual Qi outwards. Some fish had sharp teeth and directly bit at the participating Disciples. Water mist rose from the river, and treasure lights flew chaotically, as participating Disciples hurriedly dodged. Those who could not dodge had to resist with their attacks.

A Ling Lian fish the size of a Spiritual Wolf, with only one eye, swung its huge tail and charged directly at Qian Duoduo.

Qian Duoduo used force with his left hand, grabbing its tail, fixing it in the air, and then squeezed hard. The Ling Lian fish revealed its true form: a somewhat damaged Magical Hammer, a mid-grade Mortal Weapon.

Interesting. But a mid-grade Mortal Weapon was certainly not Qian Duoduo's goal. Qian Duoduo casually threw away the Magical Hammer. The Magical Hammer fell back into the river, transforming back into a lively Ling Lian fish.

Ahead of Qian Duoduo, Dugu Yunshan was no longer visible. Cao Yueying and Deng Feihong were in front of Qian Duoduo. The two of them were throwing fish at each other one moment, and then sending shrimp to each other the next. Truly a deep sisterly affection, not to be forgotten even in the selection battle.

Waves of fish rushed over, and participating Disciples displayed their abilities, charging forward. The canyon was only ten li long; it would only take the time of an incense stick to cross it.

However, after three incense sticks' worth of time, the river still showed no end. The participating Disciples began to panic, and more and more people were knocked down by the flying fish and shrimp, falling into the river.

Those Disciples who fell into the river were never seen again. They must have been eliminated. In his Spiritual Awareness, Qian Duoduo saw that two or three hundred participating Disciples behind him had already fallen into the water.

The fish and shrimp in the river pursued them, launching attacks again and again, refusing to give up. And this river seemed endless.

The light gradually dimmed, and finally, Qian Duoduo saw a black landmass ahead. It was a small island in the middle of the river.

The Golden Rooster Sword accelerated, and Qian Duoduo landed on the island. Streaks of light carrying participating Disciples flew in, landing around him.

Putting away his Golden Rooster Sword, Qian Duoduo saw a light curtain spanning the river in front of the island. The silver-haired Dugu Yunshan was sitting cross-legged before the light curtain, his expression indifferent, his body as clean and new as when they started.

As he was observing, Ping Yundan's voice came from the sky. "The first stage of the selection battle is over. You will rest for one night. The second stage will begin tomorrow morning after three bell rings."

Qian Duoduo looked around. Besides Dugu Yunshan, Cao Yueying, and Deng Feihong, he also saw two familiar faces: Yan Boyuan and Xu Fa. He was making progress, and so was everyone else. Their expressions were serious. After nodding to Qian Duoduo, they sat cross-legged to meditate, seizing the time to restore their Spiritual Qi.

There were about five or six hundred participating Disciples on the island. This meant that about half of them had been eliminated. Many of the Disciples who reached the island were injured. Some were not injured, but their Magical Artifacts were damaged.

At this moment, Qian Duoduo suddenly noticed that along the edge of the island, every ten zhang or so, there was a crucible. There were three hundred crucibles in a circle around the island.

He walked over curiously, placed his hand on a crucible, and with a burst of Spiritual Qi, fire shot out from the crucible.

The crucible actually worked well. Qian Duoduo took out some spiritual copper ore, put it into the crucible for refining, and in a short while, a batch of spiritual copper was produced. However, this batch of spiritual copper was no different from what he usually refined.

Seeing that the crucibles were effective, the participating Disciples nearby also started to tinker with them. Immediately, the edge of the island lit up with scattered furnace fires. Some participating Disciples even used the crucibles to repair their damaged Magical Artifacts.

Suddenly, with a "splash," a sound of water came from beside Qian Duoduo, and an adult-sized Ling Qing fish burst out of the water, its sharp teeth snapping at his head.