"What is your opinion then, Brother Wu?" Jin Chuiyan said, enunciating each word.
"Either you and I continue to fight until a victor is decided—though someone else might arrive shortly. Or, you and I board this disc together, and our remaining clansmen board one at a time from each side until the disc can hold no more. Those who are left will stay here." Wu Wu'an had evidently been considering this problem, and he spoke slowly. His words, however, were merciless. If the disc could not accommodate all the demonic cultivators present, the ones left behind would have to wait here to be teleported out. If high-level cultivators or demonic cultivators arrived later, their deaths would be almost certain.
After hearing this, Jin Chuiyan's expression softened slightly. He didn't speak immediately, but after a moment of thought, he said, "Fine! But I wonder, after we are teleported, how will the treasures be divided?"
"Naturally, they will be divided equally. If one party has no use for an item, they can exchange it for spirit stones or other items of equivalent value," Wu Wu'an replied, his face devoid of expression.
"Brother Wu's proposal is acceptable. However, if we should encounter those human cultivators after teleporting, I hope Brother Wu will join me in attacking them. We must exterminate them and take back all their treasures to be split evenly. What do you say?"
"But of course. Even if Brother Jin had not mentioned it, I would have acted should such a situation arise."
The rest was simple. Under each other's wary gaze, Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an slowly flew toward the disc from opposite directions. When they were both hovering above it, they paused, staring at one another, before landing on the third disc simultaneously. Only then did they both breathe a sigh of relief. After all, neither wanted any more mishaps at this stage. Furthermore, neither trusted the other to land first. If one landed and activated the disc alone, what use would it be to kill the remaining first-tier demonic cultivators? All of them combined weren't worth a fraction of the rewards.
"Heh heh, Brother Wu, would you care to try the discs on the two upper tiers? Perhaps you'll make a new discovery," Jin Chuiyan said with a sudden smile, his body shifting with the disc's rotation. His gaze roamed the surroundings before finally settling on the darkened discs of the upper two tiers.
"Oh? My fortunes are not as great as Brother Jin's. I think I'll pass. Why don't you go and try, Brother Jin? Who knows, you might really be teleported right into the midst of those human cultivators." Wu Wu'an stood on the opposite edge of the disc, facing Jin Chuiyan from afar. As the disc turned, the light from below cast flickering shadows across his face.
"Heh heh," Jin Chuiyan chuckled twice at Wu Wu'an's words and said no more. Instead, he waved a hand at the Golden Flame Saint Lion clan below. A first-tier Golden Flame Saint Lion strode toward the disc. Seeing this, Wu Wu'an narrowed his slender eyes but did not speak. He waited until the Golden Flame Saint Lion had stepped onto the disc before waving a hand behind him and casting out several beams of spirit light. After his gesture, a first-tier Green Crystal Centipede also flew over and stood upon the disc. The beams of spirit light he had cast had already thawed the previously frozen demonic beasts, and he had sent the remaining light into the bodies of a few beasts whose auras had grown weak, causing their conditions to improve instantly.
In this manner, one demonic beast from each side boarded in succession. Before long, every last one of them was standing on the disc.
Seeing all their kin aboard, Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an felt a sense of relief. After all, unless absolutely necessary, they didn't want to leave their own people behind.
"Brother Jin, if you please," Wu Wu'an said to Jin Chuiyan.
"I thought Brother Wu would be the one to activate it," Jin Chuiyan said as he slapped his waist. A flash of light appeared, and a blue rhomboid crystal materialized in his hand.
The moment they had stepped onto the disc, they had noticed an indentation at its center. Its shape was extremely familiar—it matched the blue rhomboid crystal used to pass each trial. As there were no slots around the disc for embedding spirit stones to activate the teleportation, the answer was obvious.
The blue crystal in Jin Chuiyan's hand shot into the indentation at the disc's center. The instant the crystal seated itself, countless rays of light erupted from the edge of the disc, shooting toward the dome of the sphere, only to be blocked when they reached the top, remaining unseen from the outside. These rays of light immediately formed pillars of light around the disc, enveloping the dozens of demonic cultivators within. The disc then began to spin at a speed a hundred times faster than before. When the rotation reached a certain point, where only a madly churning pillar of light could be seen, there was a soft hiss. The pillar of light scattered into a sky full of motes that filled the entire sphere. The frantically spinning third disc slowly decelerated, its surface now completely empty. Unbeknownst to Wu Wu'an, the blue rhomboid crystal in his storage pouch had also disintegrated and vanished at the same moment.
"Is this the Anfeng Grass recorded in the ancient texts? It's been extinct in the outside world for hundreds of thousands of years! This is too precious. I heard Martial Ancestor Feng has been searching for it for several centuries. Bringing this back will surely delight him! And this... this is a Broad-Ear Flower! It's a main ingredient for refining the 'Nurturing Soul Pill' for Golden Core stage cultivators. These stalks must be at least ten thousand years old. The oldest ones in the sect are barely four thousand! And there are even finished 'Mist-Guarding Pills' here! Look at their quality, they must be at least fifth-tier, mid-grade! And the techniques in these few jade slips ... Hiss! This is a low-grade 'Meridian Soul-Piercing Nail,' a low-grade group-attack magical treasure! This is excellent! Oh? Could this be the legendary 'Heart-Refining Lamp'? This is a mid-grade magical treasure, isn't it?..."
Gan Shi and a dozen others stood in a secret room , their breathing growing ragged as they stared at the dozens of medicinal herbs, six bottles of medicinal pills , and five jade slips on the wooden shelves. Gan Shi inspected the items one by one, his eyes filled with delighted surprise. The dozen Qi Condensation disciples behind him didn't dare to step forward and examine the items, but their hearts were pounding with wild joy. When they returned, the sect would reward them based on their contributions. They might be allowed to copy one of the cultivation manuals here, or be rewarded with precious pills, Spirit Treasures, or magical artifacts. The team leaders might even be rewarded with a magical treasure. And of course, on top of all that, several hundred spirit stones would be awarded to each person.
Magical treasures were especially coveted. Even individuals like Baili Yuan and Gan Shi didn't necessarily possess one. While the rewarded treasure might not be one of the ones found here, the sect would still award them a suitable low-grade magical treasure. As for the top three performing Qi Condensation disciples in this battle, it wasn't impossible for their rewards to include a mid-grade magical artifact or a high-grade Spirit Treasure.
"This is just the second-tier disc. Doesn't that mean Baili's side has even more? If I had known, I would have gotten another blue rhomboid crystal from that kid Li Yan. Wouldn't all three top spots have been ours then?" As Gan Shi continued to inspect the items on the shelves, he suddenly spoke with a hint of regret. His words left the Qi Condensation disciples behind him utterly stunned.
After he and Baili Yuan had entered, they discovered the three tiered discs. A quick observation told them the situation: no other teams had entered yet. But when they saw the crystal-shaped indentations at the center of the discs, they couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. They only had two blue rhomboid crystals. The green gourd Li Yan had given them was useless here. They lamented their misfortune, but knowing it was no time for sighs, they quickly divided their people into two groups. Each of them led a team onto a disc. Following Gan Shi were the old team members like Rui Feikai and Dai Jing, as well as Mei Bucai's group. The rest followed Baili Yuan onto the first disc. As for who would take the highest disc, the Qi Condensation disciples didn't dare say a word, seeing that the two Foundation Establishment martial uncles showed no sign of dispute.
Not long after Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an vanished from the metal sphere, a strange distortion rippled across the platform outside. The vast bloodstains, severed limbs, and corpses left from their battle all disappeared without a trace. The platform was once again spotless, and the only sound was the gentle whisper of the wind. It was as if nothing had ever happened here, as if no one had ever come.
A short time later, a beam of light came whistling through the air. After circling the metal sphere once, the light descended onto the platform extending from it. As the light slowly dissipated, it revealed a massive jade ruyi. Upon it stood nine figures. The one in the lead was the gracefully-figured Daoist, Qiu Jiuzhen. Behind her were eight disciples from the Supreme Mystery Teachings . However, Qiu Jiuzhen's already jade-like face was now even paler. The moment she landed on the platform, she looked around, but to her disappointment, there was still no sign of Quan Jiuxing. Although she had already scanned the area with her Divine Sense while circling above, the absence of a familiar figure shattered her last sliver of hope.
After the nine of them disembarked, the jade ruyi rapidly shrank, transforming into a streak of light that flew into Qiu Jiuzhen's slender hand. As she scanned her surroundings, Qiu Jiuzhen bit her lip. The reason they were late was that they had been searching everywhere for the other two Supreme Mystery Teachings teams. She had a faint feeling that Quan Jiuxing had not yet gone to the mountain where the metal sphere was located. But no matter how she led her team to search, they found no trace of Quan Jiuxing's team, nor of the other Supreme Mystery Teachings team or the Pure Land Sect cultivators. She had already been in this region for nearly an hour. Aside from having sensed Wang Lang's group of four at the beginning, the other two sects were nowhere to be found. This caused the intense unease in her heart to grow stronger. After searching for another half an hour, she had no choice but to head for the central region, hoping to run into Quan Jiuxing or the other two sects on the way or at the center itself.
Now that she had arrived, all that greeted her was the vast, empty platform and a single semicircular archway in front of her. The place was so quiet she could hear the heartbeats of the people beside her, giving it an air of immense desolation.
Just as the jade ruyi transformed into a streak of light and returned to her hand, as Qiu Jiuzhen and the others were observing their surroundings, a crisp sound suddenly echoed from beneath their feet, like a bursting bubble. Then, before the nine of them could react, a massive, transparent bubble rose rapidly from the platform, instantly enveloping all nine of them inside. The sudden change caused their faces to pale in shock.
Even Qiu Jiuzhen hadn't sensed this change before she was trapped within the transparent bubble, a fact that sent a cold sweat down her back.
Before any of them could summon their defenses or make a move, the giant transparent bubble was already carrying them swiftly toward the archway. As it neared the semicircular archway , the bubble rapidly shrank, flashed through the arch, and vanished.
Outside, on the platform of the metal sphere, tranquility returned. The blue sky, the white clouds, the gentle breeze, and an endless, deathly silence.