Suddenly, the sky changed dramatically, a strong wind arose, white mist rose, and the sound of a zither slowly rang out from all directions. Countless white veils, mixed with a powerful aura, rushed towards the Pear Blossom Fairy.

The Pear Blossom Fairy sensed something was wrong. Her eyes narrowed, and she quickly flipped over to dodge the afterimages of the white veils. However, the music changed again, and the momentum surged. The white veils dispersed, and then countless ice blades suddenly appeared.

The audience was shocked, truly not expecting the situation to reverse so dramatically in an instant.

Just a second ago, Lu Fuyue was being sucked into the Jiangshan Wanli Map, but the next second, in less than a moment, she broke through the legendary ninth-grade spiritual artifact Jiangshan Wanli Map and appeared in front of them unharmed.

You must know, a ninth-grade spiritual artifact is a legendary treasure that even sect patriarchs would fight over. If this "Ten Thousand Miles of Landscape" painting hadn't already recognized a master, and if its reputation hadn't been a concern, this ninth-grade spiritual artifact might have already changed hands.

For hundreds of years, Lu Fuyue was the first cultivator to successfully and safely emerge from the Jiangshan Wanli Map.

Lu Fuyue's gaze fell indifferently on the white-clad female cultivator opposite her, who was constantly dodging ice blades, and then she subtly accelerated the circulation of her internal energy.

A large amount of spiritual energy surged from her dantian into the Weak Water Zither. At the same time, she pressed her fingers hard on the strings, and instantly a series of binding forces fell on the Pear Blossom Fairy.

Instantly, Fairy Pear Blossom's body was frozen in place, and most of her cultivation was suppressed, leaving her no choice but to let the ice blades fall on her.

A feeling of powerlessness welled up from the bottom of her heart, and her expression changed instantly. She subconsciously looked at Lu Fuyue, "You've been hiding your cultivation level?"

Although her natal artifact was destroyed and her cultivation was greatly reduced, she shouldn't be trapped by a mere peak Nascent Soul cultivator.

But the next second, Fairy Pear Blossom's pupils shrank slightly, as if she had been frightened by something. Her face turned pale, and she quickly shook her head, staring straight at Lu Fuyue. "No, that's not right. You are indeed at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage."

Unbeknownst to her, the breakthrough in Lu Fuyue's mental state brought about by the "Painting Realm of Mortal Life" not only propelled her cultivation to the peak of the early stage of Tribulation Transcending, but also caused the Phoenix Body Refining Technique to break through a whole major realm, from the previous peak of the sixth level to the peak of the late stage of the seventh level.

Therefore, even if Lu Fuyue's cultivation level was suppressed to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, it would be enough for this final cultivation competition.

Lu Fuyue ignored her, lowered her eyes, and continued playing the zither. The music was no longer as turbulent as before, but gradually became calmer.

However, the gentler the music, the stronger the bindings on Fairy Pear Blossom became. Countless ice blades flew towards her, but Fairy Pear Blossom could not dodge them. As a result, large and small wounds appeared on her body, and her white clothes were stained with blood.

Finally, the Pear Blossom Fairy collapsed to the ground, exhausted. She opened her eyes with difficulty, glanced at Lu Fuyue with a complicated expression, and then fainted from excessive blood loss in a short while.

The audience was stunned by this scene.

"Am I seeing things? The person who fell was Fairy Pear Blossom, not Fairy Lu?"

"Yes, yes, I also saw the Pear Blossom Fairy fall down. Are our eyes all malfunctioning?"

"Me too."

"Me too……"

The crowd grew louder, with people speaking in disbelief.

The Pear Blossom Fairy was a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator and had been cultivating for nearly a thousand years. Although Lu Fuyue was less than a hundred years old, she had already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

The distance between the half-step to the Nascent Soul stage and the peak of the Nascent Soul stage may seem to be only one step, but in reality, it is like an insurmountable chasm.

Now, the Pear Blossom Fairy has actually been defeated by a junior whose cultivation level is even lower than hers, how could they not be shocked?

On the high platform.

Lu Zhengming and Elder Jianqing were also surprised that Lu Fuyue would actually win first place. For a moment, they stared blankly at the white-robed female cultivator standing on the stage, unable to recover from their shock.

The sect leaders and elders of other sects were also in a state of great shock.

Shouldn't it be Lu Fuyue who should have fallen?

The surroundings were completely silent; the scene was truly shocking.

After a long while.

Elder Jianqing was the first to regain his senses and announced loudly, "The first place winner of this cultivation competition is Lu Fuyue, a disciple of the Tianxuan Sect."

"Second place in the cultivation competition: Rogue cultivator Pear Blossom Fairy."

"Third place in the cultivation competition, Xuanqing, a disciple of Wanfo Temple."

The resounding voice, imbued with spiritual energy, echoed throughout the entire cultivation competition, reaching the ears of everyone present.

Even at this point, they were still stunned and stood there blankly, looking at each other. Fairy Pear Blossom had lost, lost to a Nascent Soul Peak cultivator.

Only Jiang Li and the others, upon hearing Elder Jian Qing announce the final rankings of the competition, excitedly cried out, "Senior Sister, Senior Sister..."

My senior sister... she really won...

Lu Fuyue looked up at the sound and met Jiang Li's bright eyes.

The others were also infected by her charm, and subconsciously waved their hands and shouted loudly, "Fairy Lu, Fairy Lu..."

Instantly, these sounds resounded through the sky, and all the cultivators in Cloud City couldn't help but look in the direction of the cultivation competition.

On the high platform.

Lu Zhengming laughed too. As expected of his daughter, she's amazing!

...

However, just as Lu Fuyue was about to turn around and leave the stage, a slightly familiar voice suddenly emerged from the crowd, "Wait, when did a mere demonic cultivator become the champion of the cultivation competition?"

Everyone looked over.

Then, a middle-aged male cultivator with a face full of scars stepped forward.

Lu Fuyue looked up at him, her expression unchanged.

So that's where they were waiting for her.

On the high platform, Lu Zhengming's expression changed drastically upon recognizing the newcomer. He abruptly stood up and stared intently at the person. How could it be him...?

The elder of the Li Huo Sect immediately noticed that something was wrong with Lu Zhengming. He stroked his beard and looked up at the middle-aged male cultivator who had just appeared.

But as he took a closer look, his pupils instantly contracted, and he instinctively stood up. "Lu Zhengxuan, you're not dead?"

The other sect leaders and elders with more seniority naturally recognized the newcomer and were greatly surprised.

Hundreds of years ago, Lu Zhengxuan, the chief disciple of the Tianxuan Sect, was not only exceptionally talented, but also deeply loved by the former sect leader of the Tianxuan Sect.

There were even rumors that Lu Zhengxuan was the only candidate chosen by the Tianxuan Sect to become its sect leader.

However, no one expected that in order to break through the legendary Tribulation Stage, Lu Zhengxuan would actually use the flesh and blood of his wife and son to refine an evil pill for his cultivation.