"So, the True Demon Sect is holding a Dao Companion Selection Tournament?" Chen Jiuyang asked.
Elder Han nodded slowly. "That's right."
"All things in the world have two sides, yin and yang. The Heavenly Charm Physique has many benefits, but becoming a Tribulation of Love also invites backlash from the Heavenly Charm Physique. My Han clan's Tribulation of Love practitioners, from ancient times to the present, have all met untimely ends. After much research, we finally developed the Dao Companion Selection."
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank slightly. He hadn't expected Qiu Yihan's Heavenly Charm Physique to have such a secret, one not even recorded in the Divine Physician's inheritance.
Could the chains on his body and his difficulty in breaking through cultivation be related to Qiu Yihan?
This question churned in Chen Jiuyang's mind, but he couldn't ask it. He would ask the Han clan more about it after he secured the position of Saintess's Dao Companion.
"Young Chen, rest well. Tomorrow, you will participate in the internal competition for the Dao Companion Selection."
"I hope you can survive."
Elder Han rose, leaning on his cane as he walked away.
Chen Jiuyang sat alone in the room, picking up the Han Ling Sword left by Elder Han. Even through the scabbard, Chen Jiuyang felt a strong chill and a sense of resistance.
"Those not of the same clan cannot communicate with it; those who are not the sword master cannot command the spirit sword," Chen Jiuyang murmured softly, recalling a line from the Divine Physician's inheritance.
Although the Han Ling Sword was resistant, it did not prevent Chen Jiuyang from using it.
"Three days..."
A sharp glint flashed in Chen Jiuyang's eyes. It would take two days to cultivate the Three Revolutions Pure Yang, and then combine it with the Three Revolutions Pure Yang Pills he had refined.
As long as he could survive for three days, Chen Jiuyang would live through this Dao Companion Selection Tournament. If he couldn't, like the Tribulation of Love practitioners of the Heavenly Charm Physique throughout history, he would meet an untimely end or be killed by others.
Chen Jiuyang returned to the cultivation room to refine more pills, making thorough preparations.
The next morning.
Chen Jiuyang washed up and dressed with renewed vigor, then walked out of his room.
Fang Bahua's face was solemn as he said, "May Young Master's martial luck be prosperous today!"
Granny Gui and the Crippled Old Man were also present. They cupped their fists and bowed slightly to Chen Jiuyang.
The other maids and servants shouted in unison, "We wish Young Master Chen boundless fortune and that he becomes the Han clan's Saintess's Dao Companion!"
Chen Jiuyang nodded slowly, gripping the Han Ling Sword, and walked out of the courtyard.
The Han clan's territory was bustling with activity.
"Young Master Chen, please follow me." Granny Gui led Chen Jiuyang out and to a tall mountain within the Han clan's ancestral grounds. The area was densely packed with people.
Most of them were Grandmasters of the Earth Realm, with only a very few in the Profound Realm.
The powerful figures of the demonic path had gathered, creating an almost palpable pressure that made it difficult to breathe.
Solemn and murderous.
However, Chen Jiuyang unexpectedly saw the Chen family patriarch and the old man from the Martial Ranking who had been secretly protecting him.
"Greetings, Patriarch. How did you get here?" Chen Jiuyang asked the Chen family patriarch.
"Heh heh," the Chen family patriarch chuckled. "Our Chen family's young master has successfully entered the True Demon Sect's Saintess Dao Companion internal competition. Elder Han sent an invitation last night, inviting me to watch."
Chen Jiuyang nodded. This was to reassure the Chen family patriarch and provide backup, preventing Chen Jiuyang from being ambushed.
"Senior, why are you here?" Chen Jiuyang looked at the old man from the Martial Ranking.
The old man from the Martial Ranking said faintly, "Young Chen, the Han clan's forbidden grounds can only be entered by Dao Companion Selection participants. Otherwise, they will meet an untimely end. My appearance here is to inform you that once you enter the Han clan's forbidden grounds, I will be unable to help you in any way."
"However, once you leave the Han clan's forbidden grounds, you will be protected by our Martial Ranking rules."
"I understand," Chen Jiuyang replied. Both the Chen family patriarch and the old man from the Martial Ranking were contingency plans.
The Han clan did indeed have him in mind. Chen Jiuyang felt a little more at ease.
The Han clan was, after all, part of the demonic path; they were not his kind of people.
"Dong!!!"
A deep, ancient, and resonant sound of a bronze bell echoed from afar.
Then, a voice filled with authority sounded in everyone's ears: "At this auspicious day and time, our Han clan's Saintess's Dao Companion shall appear."
As the voice fell, a figure dressed in an ancient white dress, breathtakingly beautiful, slowly descended from the sky, stepping like a lotus onto the mountain peak opposite Chen Jiuyang.
Flying by manipulating qi, a hallmark of a Grandmaster of the Earth Realm.
That breathtakingly beautiful figure was none other than Qiu Yihan.
As Qiu Yihan appeared, the crowd erupted in a clamor of praise:
"Is this the Han clan's current Saintess? She is truly captivating!"
"A Heavenly Charm Physique after hundreds of years! I must have it! If I obtain the Heavenly Charm Physique, my chances of reaching the Heavenly Realm will increase by thirty percent!"
"Stop spouting nonsense! This generation's Heavenly Charm Physique is only nineteen years old and already in the Earth Realm. Can you withstand the backlash of the Heavenly Charm Physique?"
"The Saintess of the Han clan's True Demon lineage truly lives up to her name. Just a glance from afar makes my mind reel."
With her breakthrough to the Earth Realm, Qiu Yihan's Heavenly Charm Physique had developed further. Chen Jiuyang, looking at Qiu Yihan from across a mountain, felt his mind wander. For the other cultivators, it was even more so.
A Profound Realm cultivator, ranked among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, stared at Qiu Yihan, drooling, his eyes glazed over, unable to break free from the enchantment of the Heavenly Charm Physique.
Some intelligent individuals directly closed their eyes to avoid being affected by the Heavenly Charm Physique.
On the mountain peak opposite, there was an ancient altar. Below the mountain lay a dead silent, endless primeval forest.
The vast, boundless forest was devoid of even the chirping of insects or the calls of birds.
It was quite eerie, to say the least.
The one hundred and eight individuals were all brimming with true qi, seemingly ready to charge into the Han clan's forbidden forest at any moment.
On the mountain peak, Qiu Yihan circulated her true qi, striking the altar. Then, she bit her finger, drawing a drop of blood.
"Rumble!!!"
The earth shook as if the forest had come alive. Insect chirps and bird calls began to be heard.
Immediately, the authoritative voice sounded: "The Han clan's Saintess Dao Companion Selection will last for seven days. One hundred and eight participants, each with their own mission. Whoever completes their mission first and emerges from the Han clan's forbidden grounds will be the Han clan's current Saintess's Dao Companion."
"!!!"
As the voice fell, a small bamboo slip appeared before Chen Jiuyang's eyes. It was written in ancient Dragon Kingdom script, somewhat obscure and difficult to recognize. Inside was Chen Jiuyang's mission.
It seemed that to become the Han clan's Saintess's Dao Companion, one also had to bring substantial benefits to the Han clan. Moreover, even the Han clan members could not casually enter this forbidden ground.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As soon as the bamboo slip was in hand, the one hundred and eight participating contestants, including Chen Jiuyang, immediately charged down from the mountain peak, heading towards the cold, forbidding Han clan forbidden grounds.
To survive within the Han clan's forbidden grounds, one first had to be fast, avoiding other contestants to prevent being killed.
"Chen Jiuyang, you little bastard, die!"
As Chen Jiuyang rushed down the mountain peak, a voice sounded from behind him. His spiritual sense detected an Earth Realm Grandmaster martial artist striking him mid-air with a palm.
Chen Jiuyang, being only a Profound Realm cultivator, could not dodge in mid-air. He took the palm strike head-on, spitting blood and falling into the forest, disappearing without a trace, his fate unknown.
The Chen family patriarch's expression suddenly darkened.
The feared outcome had occurred.