Outside the Wheel of Life and Death, the scene was one of peace and harmony. The flowing clouds and gentle breeze remained. On the peaks of the mountains surrounding the spherical main peak, numerous cultivators and demonic beasts were gathered. They sat, stood, or stood with their hands behind their backs, gazing intently at the spherical peak in the center. All the cultivators had been here for three days. Watching the ever-dwindling number of light bands appearing and disappearing in the forest of the spherical peak, the cultivators of each sect wore different expressions.
Under the sun, a few strands of hair gently brushed against a fair, jade-like face, a hint of fortitude in its softness. The gentle breeze swayed a dark green robe, occasionally revealing smooth, snow-white ankles beneath long legs. A fleeting glimpse was enough to make one's heart race. Under the blue sky, her tall and straight figure stood as if at the very summit of a mountain. Her pair of clear, exceptionally bright black-and-white eyes stared fixedly at the seven faintly visible light bands in the center.
'I wonder how Sixth Senior Sister and the others are doing? There are only seven teams left. The chance of survival is too small.' Zhao Min sighed softly in her heart, a look of confusion in her eyes, though it was unclear what else she was thinking about.
Not far away, Li Wuyi was sitting on a rock in meditation. Beside him, however, was a voluptuous and enchanting young woman, idly brushing her jade-like hand through the white clouds floating by. From time to time, she would look at Li Wuyi with her large, lively eyes, and then at Zhao Min standing on the edge of the cliff.
"Wuyi, look, Junior Sister Min has been standing like that for half the day. What do you think she's thinking about?" Li Changting withdrew her hand, letting the clouds drift past her hair and into the distance. She looked at Li Wuyi, her large eyes blinking.
Li Wuyi opened his eyes helplessly. "Junior Sister Li, you and Junior Sister Min should be meditating and healing your wounds right now." He had been interrupted by Li Changting like this countless times.
A cunning look appeared on Li Changting's pale, rosy face. She thought to herself, 'If we were out of the secret realm, finding you would be as hard as finding a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor. Where can you run to in here? Healing? Looking at you is more effective than taking pills.' At this thought, a blush crept onto her face, making her look like a hundred flowers in bloom.
"Junior Sister Li, what's wrong with you? Has your injury flared up? I told you to heal, yet you're so disobedient. There's nothing we can do about the Wheel of Life and Death now except wait. Are you short on pills? I have quite a few here. Or you could just ask your aunt for some; that would be even better." Li Wuyi opened his eyes and was speaking when he saw Li Changting's face turn pink, looking somewhat unnatural. He couldn't help but frown and ask.
Li Changting was stunned for a moment, then her heart filled with joy, fluttering like a fawn. She bit her lip and thought to herself, 'This dear fool does care about me after all. If not, I might as well not heal this injury. If I stay like this, he'll keep worrying about me.' For a time, her mind wandered.
"Junior Sister Li, Junior Sister Li..." Seeing that Li Changting seemed distracted after he spoke, her beautiful eyes filled with a dazed look, Li Wuyi was momentarily stunned by her unparalleled enchantment. Her appearance was truly soul-stirring. But the next moment, he cleared his head, and a bitter smile touched his lips.
"Li Wuyi, you heartless man. You're finally concerned about my injuries today," Li Changting said reproachfully after being snapped out of her daze by Li Wuyi's words. Her heart, however, was filled with sweetness.
"Ahem, ahem... Junior Sister Li, what do you think about Junior Sister Min and our Little Junior Brother..." Hearing Li Changting's words, how could Li Wuyi not understand what she was thinking? His old face flushed red. After a few dry coughs, he composed himself, his eyes darted about, and he quickly changed the subject. At the same time, he thought to himself, 'Little Junior Brother, Junior Sister Min, my apologies. I don't want to do this either, but I have no choice. Just consider it saving your Senior Brother this one time. My apologies!'
Seeing Li Wuyi change the subject, Li Changting snorted softly in her heart. 'As if you can escape my grasp that easily. Sister Wangqing, it seems you can only be the concubine.' At this thought, her face flushed even redder. She inwardly chided herself for how thick-skinned she had become. Her whole being instantly seemed to radiate a more youthful aura. But she knew not to overdo it, so she went along with Li Wuyi's words and looked again at the slender figure in the distance, sighing in her heart.
"Junior Sister Min is too strong-willed. But among our male disciples, besides you, she really does get along best with that Junior Brother Li." Li Changting said slowly after withdrawing her gaze from Zhao Min's back and shooting Li Wuyi a look.
"Junior Sister Min is just being respectful to me as her Eldest Senior Brother. She never seems to talk to me about personal matters, let alone about mending her relationship with Master. The moment I mention it, she just storms off. Sigh." Li Wuyi said helplessly. At the same time, hearing Li Changting say that Zhao Min was only close to him and Li Yan, he felt a wave of nervousness for no reason. He didn't know why he wanted to quickly explain himself. Moreover, he had watched Zhao Min grow up. In his mind, Zhao Min was his own sister. No one could say a bad word about her. Even if his most respected Master criticized her, he would argue on her behalf, neither servile nor overbearing.
"What are you so nervous about? Everyone knows Junior Sister Min is the apple of your eye, that you see her as your own kin," Li Changting said, smiling at Li Wuyi. Then she continued.
"However, Junior Sister Min's mood seems to have thawed a little in recent years. She's been going to Little Bamboo Peak more often, too. Every time she comes back, I can see that the thousand-year-old ice seems to be melting. But it seems like every time, she's been chatting with that young boy."
"I have also noticed that Junior Sister Min has been coming to Little Bamboo Peak more often these past few years. Although she hasn't come to visit Master and Martial Mother, they, of course, know. And their moods have improved a lot as well. Master hasn't said anything, but Martial Mother has secretly asked me about Little Junior Brother's daily life." As Li Wuyi spoke, he felt a pang of guilt. 'Little Junior Brother, I'm just going to gossip this once today. I hope you get out soon. This place is really no place for a person to be.'
Zhao Min had no idea that the two wicked people behind her were stealing glances at her back, whispering about matters concerning her. Her mind was indeed on Li Yan at this moment—that rustic boy from the mountain village, chewing on a bamboo leaf under the giant moon, his clear eyes gazing at the dark, rolling mountain range in the distance. And in his eyes, she would always see the kind of familial affection she longed for, warm and tinged with hazy memories.
'He's with Sixth Senior Sister; he should be fine. Sixth Senior Sister's ferocity is no weaker than a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's. And with her formation arts, she wouldn't be at a disadvantage even against a Pseudo-Core cultivator. It's just that his eighth-level Qi Condensation realm is too low. After he comes out, I'll probably be able to chat with him under the moon again.' Zhao Min was naturally indifferent, and her thoughts were very simple. She was just thinking about the relaxation of chatting with that boy, savoring the strong familial bonds and joy of the Mortal Realm. She liked listening to Li Yan talk about everything in his mountain village, as if she were there herself.
Unconsciously, a smile appeared on her seemingly jade-white face. The corners of her mouth turned up, revealing pearly white teeth. Beneath her dark eyebrows, her jewel-like eyes were as clear as a mirror, as calm as water.
Behind them, Elder Peng of the Law-Enforcement Hall, the beautiful Peak Master Li, Elder Yi of Four Symbols Peak, and five other Golden Core Grand Cultivators were sitting together, discussing matters in low voices. Their gazes frequently shifted to the people of the other three sects on their respective mountain peaks. At this moment, the people of those three sects all wore relaxed and composed expressions, which gave the eight of them an increasingly bad feeling.
"There are only seven light bands left now. Judging by the expressions of those three sects, it seems they are very confident in their secret plot for this trip," Elder Peng said with a grave expression.
"If any of our disciples survive this ordeal, we should be able to find out what kind of despicable means the other side used," Elder Yi of Four Symbols Peak also said, his gaze dark. Although they had anticipated this, they hadn't expected that after only two days, only seven of the twenty light bands would remain. This showed how tragic the fighting inside was. And seeing how fearless the three sects were, it was certain that the remaining people were basically all from those three sects.
"If they are all wiped out, then why don't we find an opportunity to annihilate the entire Supreme Mystery Teachings in this secret realm? Then we can just use Soul-Searching to find out everything," the beautiful Peak Master Li said calmly. However, the alluring demeanor in her eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a sharp killing intent. She had decided that when they left, their path would be the same as the Supreme Mystery Teachings', and she would destroy them then.
None of these people were easy to deal with. After the beautiful Peak Master Li spoke, the others also showed fierce lights in their eyes, as if they were not at all worried about causing a great war between the sects.
"If we're going to do it, let's do it thoroughly, without leaving a single trace. Then there will be no evidence. If I'm not mistaken, the demonic beast side was also plotted against by their three sects. We can use this point," an elder said slowly, his eyes narrowed.
At this moment, apart from the demonic beast sects, who were each occupying their own peaks with disdain, the elders of the other three sects also had their own thoughts.
On the peak where the Supreme Mystery Teachings stood, Immortal Elder Hangwu also occasionally glanced toward the Malevolent Spirit Sect, a hard-to-detect glint in his eyes. 'If my calculations are correct, given the vicious nature of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, if they are completely wiped out in the Wheel of Life and Death, we must be careful of their retaliation.'
"Hmph, who will wipe out whom is not yet certain," a tall Taoist behind Hangwu said coldly. His cultivation was impressively at the late-stage of the Golden Core realm, only a step away from the Great Perfection stage. As he spoke, his aura surged, causing the spiritual energy in the surrounding space to feel chaotic.
"Junior Brother Hang Yuan is right. I will personally take care of that slut Li Yuyin, to rid the world of her scourge," the pretty Taoist nun Hang Zhi said hatefully, her face filled with viciousness.
The others couldn't help but shake their heads secretly upon hearing this. Ever since that incident, this Junior Sister Hang Zhi had found all beautiful women displeasing to the eye, especially those with a seductive air.
"I wonder how Jiuxing and the others are doing?" Immortal Elder Hangwu said with a smile on his face.
"Jiuxing is naturally fine. He is a Pseudo-Core cultivator, and with the great treasure bestowed by the sect, he will surely take first place," a middle-aged Taoist said proudly. Quan Jiuxing was a prodigy of his generation for the past several hundred years. He was an absolute genius, whether in his own Supreme Mystery Teachings or compared to the other three sects. The sect valued him greatly, and for this trip, the Sect Master had even bestowed upon him a great treasure for protection. As soon as he finished speaking, the others also smiled and nodded without hesitation.
What they didn't know was that Quan Jiuxing had secretly given that great treasure to Qiu Jiuzhen before entering the Wheel of Life and Death. When faced with the equally talented Wang Lang, who had taken out the magical treasure bestowed by his master from the Ten-Pace Courtyard, he had been left with nothing to counter it.
Similar things were happening in the Ten-Pace Courtyard and the Pure Land Sect. They were also assessing their own losses, and similarly, they all judged their losses to be minimal because they had all secretly brought in magical treasure-level killing weapons.
"Wang Lang will definitely take first place this time. With the power of Liang Liang and Miao Zhengyi, if they join forces with either of the other two sects, slaughtering their enemies will be like chopping melons and vegetables," Sword King Xiahuà said, his long robe whipping in the wind, his deep gaze fixed on the circular peak in the center.
"Amitabha. To go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss, one must dwell in the orthodox and subdue and depart from the deviant..." Great Master Yisong sat cross-legged on a giant rock, his eyelids slightly lowered.
...
This was a boundless, dark space. Here, astral winds howled, and turbulent flows of spiritual energy ran rampant. If an ordinary person were to fall here, their soul would be instantly annihilated by the astral winds, and their physical body would be ground to dust by the turbulent flows in an instant. Even a Golden Core Grand Cultivator would not survive for more than a few breaths here without the protection of a great treasure. There were no living beings here, only endless darkness stretching to the horizon and meteorites of all sizes that occasionally howled and collided with each other.
What was strange was that in a certain place within this turbulent space, a giant meteorite, over a thousand zhang in area, was drifting aimlessly. Often, smaller meteorite belts in its path would be scattered by its massive body, disappearing and shooting off into the endless space. But during these collisions, a light would flash at the edge of the large meteorite, like the flash of a cultivator's immortal art.
What was most bizarre was that at the very front of this giant meteorite, three people were sitting cross-legged. It was truly unbelievable that living beings could survive in such a place. The three of them had hair that trailed for several zhang on the ground, and their clothes were in tatters. To call them clothes was an overstatement; they were just strips of cloth hanging on their bodies. The three of them kept their eyes tightly shut. Only when a meteorite appeared ahead would one of them occasionally raise a hand, and a vast amount of worldly essence power, enough to make even a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor's face change color, would spread out, enveloping the nearly thousand-zhang-wide meteorite. It caused the large and small meteorites crashing in from all sides to turn to dust at the moment of impact. The edge of the giant meteorite would only flash with a piercing light but remain completely unharmed. Just like that, in the silence, the space was unusually quiet. But on this day, one of the three people at the front of the meteorite suddenly raised his head, revealing a thin, withered face. But at this moment, a sharp light shot from his eyes, as if it could shatter all obstacles before him, causing the astral winds in front to instantly part, creating a channel. The turbulent flow within also slowed considerably.
"I have felt a familiar aura. It's just ahead. Perhaps, soon, we can return to that place. Then, everything will change..." As the meteorite slowly drifted, an ancient voice suddenly echoed through the heavens from one of the three people at the front. The moment the voice fell, the surrounding astral winds paused for a moment, and the turbulent flows of space raged even more fiercely. This voice was filled with endless hatred, as if it wanted to kill everything. And what was terrifying was that on the meteorite behind these three people, there were densely packed figures, also sitting cross-legged, equally thin and in tattered clothes, stretching as far as the eye could see. Each of them radiated a powerful aura. As the ancient voice sounded, many of them raised their heads. Beneath their messy, long hair, their gazes were cold and filled with a towering killing intent.