Even the Demonic Path Doesn't Have a Technique Like This

The late Foundation Establishment division matches were quite a spectacle to watch. Disciples from the immortal sects took to the field, clashing with ancient cultivators suspected of having dispersed their cultivation to start anew. Each showed off their unique talents and divine abilities, but none drew more attention than Wei Nanfei. He stood out even among the elite of the immortal sects, to the point where everyone dreaded facing him. A Foundation Establishment cultivator had only so many years to live, after all. Who wanted to finish a match only to find their entire lifespan burned away? "Thank goodness the competition had an age limit," Meng Jingzhou remarked with feeling beneath the stage. "Our Dao Seeking Sect really doesn't lack worthy successors." "How so?" "If a bunch of veteran Foundation Establishment old-timers had stepped into the ring, wouldn't they have had to forfeit on the spot?" Bai Ming nodded. That was true enough. The remaining lifespan of those old Foundation Establishment fellows added together wouldn't even equal his own. Wei Nanfei's technique was an inherent counter to veteran cultivators. "There is a flaw in the technique, though," Meng Jingzhou added, knowing a bit about the art Wei Nanfei practiced. "It can't burn the lifespan of anyone whose cultivation is higher than his own. Not that it matters in this competition, of course." The techniques practiced by Dao Seeking Sect disciples were open to all within the sect to facilitate discussion, research, and mutual improvement. If someone kept theirs private, it was usually because it was too embarrassing to mention—such as swearing off women after practicing it. ... "A mutated version of the Heaven-Burning Blood-Igniting Art? How intriguing. Too bad for him, I practice the Turtle Breathing Technique, which can lock down my lifespan. An exact counter." Beneath the arena stage, a tall, burly cultivator slowly opened his eyes, his gaze chillingly cold as a confident smile spread across his face. To others, Wei Nanfei was a formidable foe, but to him, the boy was nothing special. Wei Nanfei had only made it smoothly to the finals out of sheer luck. Had he run into him, what chance would the kid have had to advance? With that, he turned and walked away. He was a competitor in the early Golden Core stage division. ... "Burning others' lifespans... quite an imaginative concept. Good seedling. Had he encountered me in my era, taking him as a disciple wouldn't have been out of the question. What a shame." Beneath the arena stage, a cultivator clad in a black cloak murmured to himself. He pulled back his hood, revealing a face covered in scars: blade cuts, burn marks, frostbite... Each scar represented a battle fought on the edge of life and death. And those battles had forged an extraordinarily formidable combat sense, making him virtually peerless within the same realm. With that, he turned and walked away. He was a competitor in the mid Golden Core stage division. ... "Wei Nanfei, eh? Quite interesting. The Dao Seeking Sect's prodigies are indeed not to be underestimated. As for burning lifespan, it poses no threat to me." Beneath the arena stage, a thin, monkey-like cultivator narrowed his eyes, reviewing Wei Nanfei's past battles. Scene after scene flashed through his mind as he pondered how to counter him. Having experienced so many matches, his combat experience was vast beyond measure; he had devised a countermeasure long ago. With that, he stepped onto the arena stage. He was the referee. ... Fang Sheng stood on the stage, waiting for Wei Nanfei to come up. Before long, Wei Nanfei walked onto the stage, leading a gaggle of chickens, ducks, and pigs. Fang Sheng didn't dare lower his guard. These were no ordinary beasts; they were livestock endowed with cultivation. It seemed Wei Nanfei was also a beast tamer. "Wei Nanfei of the Dao Seeking Sect." "Fang Sheng of the Yi Sect." Both took their stances, the battle ready to erupt at any moment. Just as Fang Sheng had studied Wei Nanfei's matches, Wei Nanfei had studied Fang Sheng's. His conclusion was that this man was a formidable adversary, leaving no room for complacency. Thus, he went all out right from the start. "Heaven-Burning Blood-Igniting Art!" A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Fang Sheng's mouth. "Did you think I came unprepared? Truth be told, before stepping onto the stage, I took a pill specifically designed to counter your technique. You cannot burn my lifespan!" Fang Sheng possessed several specially crafted pills capable of temporarily locking down his lifespan. He had commissioned an alchemy grandmaster to refine them specifically to guard against accidents while he lay dormant in deep slumber. Little did he expect they would prove useful here. Expecting Wei Nanfei to freeze in shock upon hearing this, Fang Sheng seized the opening and lunged into close-quarters combat! "Spear Sweeps the Eight Directions!" Wei Nanfei's axes gleamed brilliantly, radiant and blinding, his movements lightning-fast. His eyes shone bright with total focus, completely unfazed as he met the attack head-on. Hum— The two weapons collided, unleashing a piercing metallic drone. "How is this possible? How do you have such power?!" Fang Sheng was horrified as the sheer force drove him backward. He planted his spear into the floor, discharging the recoil. From observing the earlier rounds, Fang Sheng had discerned that Wei Nanfei could burn another person's lifespan to bolster his own realm—that was the power he wielded when utilizing his technique! Yet his own lifespan clearly hadn't been touched. Wei Nanfei let out a cold laugh. "Who told you I was going to burn your lifespan? Did you think I bought all those ingredients from Baixiang Restaurant for nothing?" Realization hit Fang Sheng like a bolt of lightning. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the chickens, ducks, and pigs lying dead of old age. He had miscalculated! The world was teeming with heroes as plentiful as carp crossing a river. Wei Nanfei had long anticipated that someone would devise a way to counter him. Rather than letting an opponent neutralize his edge, he was better off switching his fighting style ahead of time! "Sky-Cleaving Strike!" Wei Nanfei swung his twin axes, his muscles bulging with immense power. The force of his blows drove Fang Sheng back step after step, until he was teetering near the edge of the arena platform. Not good! Another step back and he would lose! "Don't think you can win this match with petty tricks! Strength is everything!" Fang Sheng roared. A mist of spiritual power surged from his dantian, condensing tightly into a core until a plump, solid Golden Core came into being. A breakthrough mid-battle! According to his plan, the optimal time for his breakthrough was half a month away. But things had come to this; to avoid defeat, he had no choice. He, an exalted peak Body Integration cultivator who had dispersed his cultivation to start anew, could not suffer the blow to his pride of losing to a mere Foundation Establishment brat! Besides, the rewards from winning this tournament would more than compensate for any flaws caused by an early breakthrough. Boom— Fang Sheng struck back, unleashing the full might of the Golden Core stage. Formidable though Wei Nanfei was against peers of his own realm, he stood little chance against someone an entire stage above him. "Fighting a Golden Core is still a handful after all..." Wei Nanfei curled his lip. "Look at him, grinning like a fool over a Golden Core breakthrough, as if nobody else could do it." Had it not been for competing in this tournament, he could have broken through half a month ago himself. "Condense." His dantian warmed, and a soothing current surged through his limbs and bones. A Golden Core rose steadily like a blazing morning sun. Meeting Fang Sheng's stunned gaze, Wei Nanfei flashed a genial smile. "Alright, now we're both in the Golden Core stage." "My Golden Core might not compare to Senior Brother Lu Yang's, but against you, it's more than enough!" Reaching into a custom storage ring, he pulled out an assortment of livestock and began burning their lifespans. All bought from Baixiang Restaurant. Without any surprises, Wei Nanfei claimed victory. ... Up on the judges' dais, Qiu Jin'an rubbed his eyes in agony. Why did these ancient cultivators seem so much less formidable than expected? They possessed battle experience, yes, but lacked adaptability. Burning livestock lifespan to boost one's realm—wasn't that an obvious idea? How could none of them think of it? "Burning someone else's lifespan to enhance your own combat prowess... no matter how you slice it, that sounds like a demonic technique," Yang Ding muttered under his breath, yet the Immortal Fairy still overheard. As the Acting Sect Master, she had to defend the sect's honor. "You can't say that. Our Dao Seeking Sect is an orthodox sect certified by the imperial court. How could we possess demonic techniques?" "Besides, even the demonic path doesn't have a technique like this!"