Chen Wentian and his disciples crossed through the teleportation array into the middle of a strange town square. They had never seen such a style of architecture and buildings before. Everywhere was decorated with motifs of beasts. There were paintings of lions and tigers on the walls. There were carvings of snakes and birds on the pillars and doorways. Lanterns, flags, posters, all had some sort of animal on them.

There were no actual beasts around, just humans. But even the people walking in the streets were bestial as they wore clothes with animal skins or animal prints. As they walked by, they seemed to carry a beastly aura around them. Lin Qingcheng and the rest were apprehensive as they shuffled closer together.

"Haha, don't be nervous." Chen Wentian said.

"This is a border town of the Beast God Sanctum. That's the name for a very large sect that's almost like an empire. The cultivators here all focus on various Daos of bestial abilities. Various immortal beasts all have their special way of cultivating and Beast God Sanctum seeks to emulate, copy, steal, or absorb those cultivation methods. In the process they can gain the strength, resilience, and special abilities of beasts." He explained.

As he talking, the teleportation array behind them flashed brightly as more people appeared. They all wore a grey white uniform with sword patterns on them and carried swords of various sizes. Their leader was a grizzled man of about sixty. His hair was wild and untamed and so was his greying beard. He saw Chen Wentian and quickly headed over.

"Ah, fancy seeing you here. Greetings Immortal Blue Dragon Chen Wentian." The old man said gruffly, the very air around him seemed filled with sharpness.

Chen Wentian greeted him as well, "Good day, Immortal Desolate Sword Peng Yuefeng."

He didn't really any issues with Peng Yuefeng, except for maybe that one time...

"Chen Wentian! Last time I let you take that immortal sword manual. This time, how about we make another bet on this immortal sect competition?" Peng Yuefeng said.

'Ahh, yikes, he's still angry about that.' Chen Wentian thought. 'Oh well, might as well win some more treasures from him.' Chen Wentian wasn't scared of this old fart.

"Look old man, you completely lost the last time, don't be shameless." Chen Wentian said insolently,

Peng Yuefeng's disciples standing behind glared at him angrily. How dare this person disrespect their master! Can someone so young be an immortal? They were cultivators of sword arts and they were sharp and ruthless. If the person in front of them wasn't an immortal, they might have already leap into action.

"Hahaha," Peng Yuefeng loudly laughed, drawing the attention of people in the street. "Chen Wentian, I heard you took in a bunch of weak women as your disciples in some backwater valley."

His sharp little eyes were like tiny swords as he studied Chen Wentian's women briefly before laughing again, "You only have eight disciples? And only one decent disciple? I have brought fifty of the best of the best from my Tower of Swords. I'll let you take a look!"

Peng Yuefeng gestured with his hand and ten men stepped out from the crowd of disciples. They were all at the 10th or 9th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm. They were very young, in the early thirties. The crowd of commoners that had gathered all gasped in awe at this lineup.

Chen Wentian noticed that the fifty disciples Peng Yuefeng brought to the competition were all male. The Tower of Swords accepted a lot of good female disciples so he found this was strange. Chen Wentian couldn't help but think this immortal might have some eccentric tastes. He shuddered as he imagined some terrible scenes.

"Chen Wentian, do you dare bet with me?" Peng Yuefeng loudly declared.

"Of course! What kind of bet?" Chen Wentian asked.

"Overall ranking of our sects. If my sect is better, you'll have to give me Dugu's 10th Sword." Peng Yuefeng said. "If your sect is better, you can have my Desolate Sword. Do you dare?"

His disciples were alarmed. That was master's personal sword! It was a true immortal level weapon. It was the weapon that gave Peng Yuefeng his name. It was too precious!

"Haha! Let’s bet! You offered it; don't say I coveted your sword when you lose!" Chen Wentian quickly grabbed Peng Yuefeng's hand and shook it.

Peng Yuefeng was taken aback for a second by his quick agreement. "Wa... Fine, agreed! Chen Wentian, don't lose my sword art before I win!"

"Haha, same to you. Farewell, see you at the competition!" Chen Wentian was still chuckling as he turned around and let his women away.

Peng Yuefeng stared at him walk away with a weird sense of foreboding. There was no way that kid could win again, right? Peng Yuefeng turned to his mass of disciples with a stern look. "Don't let me down in this competition."

They all bowed in unison, "Yes, master!"

---

The Beast God Sanctum prepared flying boats for the visiting immortal sects and Chen Wentian led his party to the docks and onto one. The flying boat looked like a normal river boat floating in the water. As it rose into the air, the bottom revealed mechanical wings carved with runic inscriptions and allowed it to fly. The vast territory of the Beast God Sanctum passed by as the flying boat headed towards the capital.

Along the way, Chen Wentian and his disciples could see valleys filled with farmland and jagged mountain cliffs that seemed to rise vertically into the air. The boat weaved between mountains and cliffs, skimming over the tops of trees and above rushing rivers. The scenery was stunning like something out of a fairy tale.

While the other girls were busy taking in the sights, Wu Qianyu was standing by herself looking worried.

"Hey, Qianyu, relax..." Chen Wentian said as he rubbed her tense shoulders.

"Master, what if I cannot beat them? They have ten powerful competitors in the main group." Wu Qianyu said softly.

"I believe in you. You're better than all of them. You've started cultivating the Third Movement, right?"

"Mmm. Just the past few days." Wu Qianyu nodded.

"Good, fighting against other sword cultivators is the best way to train this movement. It’s a special trait. You'll do just fine."

He saw nobody was looking and lowered his head to her ears and whispered, "But, if I do lose the bet, then I'll have to punish you... in bed... all night long..."

"Master..." Wu Qianyu complained and squirmed out of his grasp. She walked away in a huff and ignored him, joining her fellow sisters to view the scenery. Chen Wentian laughed as he could see the blushing smile she tried to hide.