Zhang Xiaozu was sitting on the bed, stroking the purple mountain essence stone in his hand, with a trace of sadness between his brows.
He originally thought that after entering Liujiabao, he would have a chance to get close to Qingyun Peak, but unexpectedly, Qingyun Peak was actually deep in Liujiabao. As soon as they entered Liujiabao, the contestants were arranged into a small world and were given a tactful warning.
You are not allowed to leave without authorization, otherwise you will be responsible for the consequences.
And depending on the situation, the competition will also be arranged in this small world.
He had no chance to get close to Qingyun Peak.
"It seems we can only look for other opportunities in the future."
Zhang Xiaozu sighed in disappointment and put away the mountain essence stone.
The next day.
The servants of the Liu family brought breakfast over early.
Two side dishes, a bowl of porridge, and two white flour steamed buns.
Just like the meal that greeted them yesterday, it was simple and plain, completely opposite to the luxurious feast that many people imagined.
I don't know whether it's because their status is not qualified enough for the Liu family to entertain them so warmly, or because the Liu family has always been so simple when receiving guests, without extravagance or waste.
However, although the food is simple and plain, it is very delicious.
Whether it's rice noodles or green vegetables and tofu, they all contain very rich spiritual energy. Taking one bite is like eating a primitive golden elixir. I just feel that Liu's
Crops and vegetables are as if they were cultivated by irrigation with spiritual liquid.
This has aroused the envy of many people, saying that Liujiabao is a fairyland on earth, and all the Liu family live a fairy life.
"Good morning, Brother Han."
After breakfast, Zhang Xiaozu walked out of the room and saw the person in the next room who had just come out of the room, so he greeted him friendly.
After coming here yesterday afternoon, they have become familiar with each other.
They lived in rows of simple wooden cabins, but they were not temporarily built to cope with this event. From the age of the wood, it can be seen that these cabins have been built for some years, and similar events may have been held before.
game.
"Good morning, Brother Zhang."
The man next door nodded and smiled at Zhang Xiaopou.
This person's name is Han Chunming, and like Zhang Xiaozu, he is also a specially invited alchemist.
The entry number is 432, followed by Zhang Xiaopou's 4331, so he lives next door to Zhang Xiaopou.
Next door to Zhang Xiaozu, according to the order of the contestants' numbers, the one who lives should be Qi Jinyao. However, because the accommodation area is simple and considering the differences between men and women, it is inconvenient to live together, so the Liu family arranged separate accommodation for the women who participated.
"Good morning, Brother Zhang, good morning, Brother Han..."
"morning."
"morning."
People came out of their rooms one after another, and then walked in groups towards the grass in front of the accommodation area.
At seven o'clock in the morning, all Dan Race participants gathered on the grass.
There were supposed to be 500 people present for the main competition, including 450 specially invited alchemists and 50 qualifying candidates from the preliminary round, but in reality there were only 463 people.
Except for Zhang Xiaozu who snatched a spot in the preliminary round, the rest either didn't come to Paradise City at all, or they gave up the competition like Feng Sijun.
The contestants of the weapon competition were arranged in another small world. Just like the situation here, they were also gathering on the grass of the small world.
At a quarter past seven, a man with a mustache, about sixty years old, wearing Liujiabao clothes, entered the small world.
He walked straight to the front of the grass and introduced himself with a smile: "I, Liu Xingye, you alchemists can just call me by my name. I wonder if you are ready for the competition?"
"It has been prepared for a long time."
"Let's start quickly."
Everyone responded.
"Well, I will take you to today's examination room." Liu Xingye nodded and smiled, "The road is a little far. I hope you will follow closely and don't fall behind. Those who fall behind will be eliminated. Those who accompany you, please stay here.
You are not allowed to go together, otherwise you will be eliminated. Do you understand?"
"Understood."
"Please, sir, lead the way."
Everyone responded.
Liu Xingye stopped talking and led everyone out of the small world and walked north along a stone-paved path.
Zhang Xiaozu's eyes couldn't help but light up when he saw this, and the idea of collecting Qingyun Peak came up in his heart again.
"Brother Liu, do you know what the test questions are for today's competition?"
Zhang Xiaozu asked Liu Zhihuan in a low voice, who was walking side by side.
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhihuan immediately replied with a serious face: "Brother Zhang, don't be joking. How could I know the test questions in advance?"
He really didn't know the test questions, so he was really determined to compete with Zhang Xiaozu.
Zhang Xiaozhu smiled, changed the subject and said, "It's also idle to be idle. Brother Liu, can you introduce us to the surrounding scenery? To add some fun to this boring traveling time."
"I'm very happy, as long as you don't mind making noises." Liu Zhihuan replied with a smile.
"How dare you?"
"If you don't want to hear it???????????????plug your ears."
"Brother Liu, why is that mountain peak red?"
The people around him all wanted to please and make friends with Liu Zhihuan, so naturally they would not find Liu Zhihuan noisy.
"That mountain peak is called Red Flame Peak, because there is a path of inflammation inside the mountain, which is connected to the underground magma sea. The hot magma is like the blood of the human body, swirling along the path of inflammation, so the entire mountain is burned red.
.”
"Oh my god, what is that in front of me? A sea of flowers?" Someone suddenly raised his hand and pointed forward and exclaimed.
Everyone looked up and saw a vast field of purple and red flowers in front of them, with all kinds of flowers vying with each other, forming a sea of flowers that could not be seen to the end.
Everyone was amazed by it.
"This is the big garden of our Liu family. There are more than 270,000 varieties of flowers planted in it. It is March now, and when the flowers are in full bloom, you alchemists will be blessed."
Liu Xingye, who was leading the way, introduced.
Everyone was shocked when they heard the words "big garden". They could only marvel at the fact that Liujiabao is indeed Liujiabao, and a garden has been built with such arrogance.
"This is the fallen rain flower. It only blooms when it rains in warm spring. It bloomed immediately after a little drizzle this morning."
"That's the ghost mother flower. The name is a bit scary, but it's really beautiful when it blooms. There's a poignant story behind it. The legend..."
Liu Xingye led everyone forward through the sea of flowers while introducing the blooming flowers on both sides of the road.
It seems that there is a story behind every flower, either beautiful or sad.
Everyone listened to his eloquent talk and was immersed in it without realizing it, forgetting the fatigue of the journey.
It took about half an hour for the group to cross the sea of flowers.
They thought they would reach the examination room through the sea of flowers, but Liu Xingye took them over another mountain.
The mountain peak was so high that it took them more than an hour to climb over it.
Fortunately, every contestant has some level of cultivation, otherwise there would be no need to take the exam and he would be exhausted halfway through.
However, before they reached the mountain, Liu Xingye took them by boat across a large lake.
After walking for more than ten miles, we finally stopped in front of a magnificent palace.
"Master Liu, are you finally here?"
"It's not a bit far here, it's definitely very far."
"I'll go, it's already noon." Looking at the main hall in front of them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they couldn't help but complain.
"Damn it, am I exhausted and hungry? Why do I smell the aroma of rice and meat wafting out of the hall?" A man sniffed and exclaimed in surprise.
As soon as he finished speaking, someone nodded in agreement: "I seem to have smelled it too."
Zhang Xiaozhu also had a look of astonishment on his face, because his subtle state of mind had extended into the main hall, and he found that it was not an examination room at all, but a place to eat.
"Ha ha…"
Liu Xingye laughed loudly and said loudly: "You alchemists have been walking all morning, and you must be exhausted. However, there is still a short distance from the examination room. We cannot let you alchemists walk hungry.
Go to the competition with enough stomach, so we specially arranged a sumptuous lunch here so that you alchemists can replenish your physical strength, rest your feet, and have enough energy to go to the examination room."
Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard this. They couldn't understand what kind of arrangement the Liu family had made to set up the examination room so far away.
Even Liu Zhihuan looked confused.
"Master Liu, the remaining short distance won't go until dark, right?" someone asked teasingly.
Liu Xingye quickly waved his hand and said: "I promise with my head, it's absolutely not necessary. I just need to walk a thousand steps forward to get there. It's just the right time to digest after a meal."
Okay. If you alchemists don’t mind participating in the competition with tired bodies, we can go directly."
Everyone naturally wants to compete in the best condition, so no one objects to stopping to eat and rest.
Lunch is indeed much richer than breakfast, with two meat and two vegetarian dishes, plus a bowl of white rice.
After walking all morning, everyone was indeed hungry. After eating the food full of spiritual energy, they felt refreshed, their fatigue was gone, and their mental state quickly returned to its best.
Liu Xingye didn't lie. After eating, he came out of the main hall and walked only a thousand steps forward to the competition examination room.
Liu Xingye pointed to a dark void portal and asked everyone to walk in.
Everyone was astonished after passing through the portal, because behind the portal was their starting place this morning, which meant that they had walked all afternoon and returned to the accommodation area.
But what was different from when they left in the morning was that there was a row of desks on the grass where they gathered, with paper and pens placed on the desks.
"Masters of alchemy, please quickly find your seats according to your competition number plate. The first examination of the alchemy competition is about to begin." Liu Xingye shouted.
Everyone could only run to the grass with full of doubts and find their seats as quickly as possible.
After everyone sat down, Liu Xingye walked to the front of the grass and said loudly: "As an excellent alchemist, you must have rich and powerful ability to identify elixirs and spiritual materials, and at the same time, you must also have keen insight.
The first test of the competition is to test everyone’s discernment and insight.”
"From morning to noon, I took you to many places. I don't know if you have noticed that there are many elixirs and spiritual materials on the roadside we passed. Please think carefully, and then put the elixirs and materials that come to mind.
The spiritual material is written on paper."
"ah?"
"Fuck, isn't this just kidding?"
"What kind of game is this?"
When everyone heard this, they shouted in dissatisfaction.
"Let me give you a little reminder. The elixirs and materials on the roadside are all within five steps, so there is no need to think about locations far away from the roadside."
"One point will be awarded if you write the correct one, and one point will be deducted if you write the wrong one."
"Limited to one hour."
"start!"
Following Liu Xingye's order, a prohibition mask popped up around everyone to isolate everything and prevent cheating.