Chapter 151: The Appointment

"By the way, how is it that I haven't seen Fellow Daoist Li Xiran?" Liang Yan asked again.

"Little Mei is not certain about that either. Only a few days after she arrived here, she claimed she had some personal matters to attend to, and she hasn't been seen since."

Upon hearing this, Liang Yan nodded with a somewhat helpless expression. It was clearly this very Li Xiran who had made the Luo River appointment with him in the past. Now that he had already arrived in Luo City, Li Xiran was still nowhere to be found, which was truly speechless.

"Since Fellow Daoist Li is not around, might I trouble Miss Xiaomei to clear up some doubts and explain the general situation of this tournament for me?"

"Hehe, naturally." Nangong Xiaomei smiled gently and began to narrate the details for him right there in the grand hall.

As it turned out, this Luo River Tournament was jointly initiated by the four major sects Liang Yan had previously learned about. A total of sixteen sects and thirty-two cultivators would participate, with each sect permitted to send only two cultivators to the competition.

The tournament was divided into five rounds. In the first round, the thirty-two individuals would be divided into sixteen groups to fight in pairs, with the victors advancing to the next round. Following this cycle, the progression would be thirty-two down to sixteen, sixteen to eight, eight to four, and four to two.

The final round would determine the first and second places between the two previous victors, while the two defeated contestants would battle for the third and fourth places. Only the cultivators ranking in the top three would be awarded a Spirit-Refining Pill.

The rules were extremely simple, and after Nangong Xiaomei gave a brief explanation, Liang Yan understood them completely.

"The strange thing is that Tanshan Sect, as one of the four major sects that originally initiated this tournament, suddenly announced its withdrawal from the competition a short while ago."

Nangong Xiaomei continued with a puzzled expression, "There are various rumors regarding the specific reason. However, according to grapevine news, it is said that their founding ancestor, Fan Tanshan, has been missing for half a year. Presently, the Tanshan Sect is plagued by wavering morale and has completely sealed off its mountain gates."

Liang Yan smiled inwardly upon hearing this, thinking to himself, *Indeed, that Fan Tanshan was captured alive by Uncle Gou and brought to the Four Bright Mountains Palace. Right now, his body has perished and his dao has vanished, long since reduced to a cup of yellow soil. The Tanshan Sect's days of tyranny and dominance probably no longer exist either.*

However, it was naturally impossible for him to voice such a confidential matter. He merely shook his head slightly and said, "Grapevine news is not worth believing. Since the Tanshan Sect has withdrawn from the tournament, I suppose another sect will step in to take their place?"

Nangong Xiaomei glanced at him and said, "Indeed. The sect that temporarily joined is called the 'Heavenly Ghost Sect.' This sect is rather mysterious, seemingly a newly emerged sect from the recent period."

"The Heavenly Ghost Sect..." Liang Yan shook his head slightly. He had virtually no understanding of these sects, nor did he know anything about the strength of the participating cultivators.

"I can only take it one step at a time and play it by ear when the time comes in the arena. In any case, I must find a way to get my hands on this Spirit-Refining Pill," Liang Yan thought to himself.

With his divine abilities having greatly advanced and full of confidence in himself, he did not harbor too much worry.

"By the way, if Fellow Daoist Liang has nowhere else to stay, why not temporarily lodge in our Spirit Treasure Pavilion for a few nights?" Nangong Xiaomei offered at this moment.

"Hehe, then I shall gratefully accept!" Liang Yan said with a smile.

Nangong Xiaomei saw that he agreed and immediately clapped her hands, prompting a maidservant to walk into the garden at once.

"Show Young Master Liang to the distinguished guest room to rest."

"Understood!" The maidservant acknowledged, bowed gracefully toward Liang Yan, and gestured with an inviting hand.

Without further ado, Liang Yan simply nodded, followed behind the maidservant, and departed.

"Elder Sister! Do you think that stinky-faced freak can make it into the top three?" Not long after Liang Yan left, Lu Xiaosong popped out from behind Nangong Xiaomei and asked with a curious expression.

"Unlikely!"

Nangong Xiaomei shook her head and said, "I did look favorably upon him before, but now I realize there are actually many cultivators of formidable strength participating this tournament. To name just one, that fellow Li Huan from earlier has already cultivated their sect-defending technique, the 'Sea of Blood Infinite Transforming Blade Scripture,' to the second layer realm, which is truly a rare sight among Qi-condensation cultivators."

"Sigh, we already gave him the chance; he has only himself to blame if he couldn't seize it!" Lu Xiaosong carried her hands behind her back, putting on a preternaturally mature air...

After Liang Yan followed the maidservant into a guest chamber, he did not go out again. Instead, he sat cross-legged inside the room, circulating his Qi and quietly practicing his cultivation.

There were only a few days left until the Luo River Tournament. Since he was determined to win the Spirit-Refining Pill, he naturally did not want to stir up extra trouble during these few days. He intended simply to stay in this room, circulate his Qi, and adjust his condition to the absolute optimum.

That very evening, just as Liang Yan was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and circulating his Qi, his ears suddenly twitched and his eyes snapped wide open.

"Which friend has come? Why not step inside and converse?"

Liang Yan let out a cold shout and immediately rushed out of the door.

He saw that the spacious courtyard was completely empty, without a single trace of a person.

However, a single sheet of xuan paper was floating in the middle of the courtyard, dotted with what appeared to be small characters written upon it.

Liang Yan pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand in a beckoning gesture. The xuan paper drifted leisurely over and finally landed in his palm.

Lowering his head to look, he saw inscribed upon it:

"At the third quarter of the Hai hour, meet me at the Ten-Mile Slope outside the city."

The signature was none other than Li Xiran!

Liang Yan could not help frowning slightly upon reading this. In his impression, this Li Xiran was a straightforward and direct person.

Since she had come here in the middle of the night, why did she not show herself and instead leave a note asking him to meet her outside the city?

"Could it be that she has some unspeakable hardship, or is there something she needs my help with?" After thinking for a while, Liang Yan could only come up with these two possibilities.

"Since she left a note for me alone, naturally she didn't want Nangong Xiaomei to know. Very well, since I accepted favors from her in the past, I shall make this trip for her today."

With these thoughts in mind, Liang Yan turned to close the door behind him, tapped lightly with the tip of his foot, and vaulted over the high wall of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, heading straight out of Luo City.

Ten-Mile Slope was not too far from Luo City. With Liang Yan's traveling speed, it took him less than half an hour to arrive. Raising his head to look at the sky, he thought to himself, *I've arrived slightly ahead of the appointed time; I might as well wait here for a moment.*

He sat cross-legged on the spot. Not long after, a gust of gentle breeze swept by, followed closely by a graceful figure arriving right on schedule.

Liang Yan looked up and saw that this person was dressed in black with a long saber strapped to her back—it was impressively none other than Li Xiran, who had made the Luo River appointment with him back then.

"Fellow Daoist Li, we haven't seen each other in half a year. I never expected your cultivation to have advanced once again. Truly a joyous occasion worthy of congratulation!" Liang Yan stood up, cupped his fists, and took the lead in greeting her with a smile.

At this moment, Li Xiran's cultivation realm had advanced from the sixth layer of Qi Condensation half a year ago to the seventh layer!

Although he himself was also currently at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, that was because the Heavenly Mystery珠 in the forbidden grounds of the Yixing Pavilion had absorbed the purple demonic shadow, resulting in a sudden, inexplicable surge in his cultivation.

In comparison, Li Xiran, who had been cultivating normally, was actually able to advance a layer within half a year, which was sufficient proof of her extraordinary talent.

Hearing Liang Yan's praise, Li Xiran first smiled faintly, but then she said with a somewhat guarded and cautious expression, "Fellow Daoist Liang, you asked me to meet you here in the middle of the night. Do you have some unspeakable secret difficulty?"

As soon as Li Xiran uttered these words, Liang Yan was instantly struck dumb.

"What! Wasn't it you who asked me to come here?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he instantly realized something, and the Li Xiran opposite him was likewise looking at him with a face full of shock and suspicion.

"This scene and this setting feel strangely familiar..." Liang Yan thought in his mind.