Chapter 111: Desert Lava – Only by being surrounded can one have the chance to break through…

The third round of the competition began the day after all the disciples had arrived.

Clear Thought Sect didn’t engage in any unnecessary activities; once they arrived, they got straight to business. Perhaps their people knew that, given the customs and eating habits of White Tiger West, if several banquets were held, the disciples from other sects wouldn’t be able to handle it.

As usual, the drawing for positions was done before entering the Illusory Realm.

This time, it was the Chief Talisman Cultivator’s turn to draw, and Bai Li Que chose to let Lian Mu take his place and draw on his behalf. The disciples of Returning Immortal Sect, who had witnessed Lian Mu’s good luck, all agreed with this decision.

So, when the Chief Talisman Cultivators of the other three sects took their turns, only then did the Returning Immortal Sect make a move.

Lian Mu, under the gaze of everyone, walked up to stand beside the Chief Talisman Cultivators. In the last round, when Returning Immortal Sect had placed second, she had stood next to Jiang Yuechen of Azure Profound Sect, with Shen Wuxie behind her.

Seeing her, Shen Wuxie immediately furrowed his brows. “Why can Returning Immortal Sect send their second-in-command to draw? She’s not a Talisman Cultivator. Has your Chief Talisman Cultivator from Returning Immortal Sect died?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd below inhaled sharply. Tang Wuxun’s expression darkened—he hadn’t expected that after Shen Wuxie returned to White Tiger West, he would be even more arrogant without showing any restraint.

Could the young master of the Bai Li family be easily offended?!

Tang Wuxun’s fingers slightly trembled, and he subconsciously looked toward Returning Immortal Sect, only to see Bai Li Que’s calm face. On the other hand, Bai Li Yu from their own team looked terrible.

Bai Li Yu whispered to Tang Wuxun, “Look at your choice of Chief. He has a big mouth and spends all his time offending people. He even dares to insult my cousin. I think you White Tiger West people have been living too peacefully for too long.”

Tang Wuxun, who had been scolded countless times because of Shen Wuxie: “…”

“This… seems there’s no strict rule that only Talisman Cultivators must draw, right?” Crimson Sky Sect Senior smiled and said.

In places where Talisman Cultivators are famous, it is a show of respect to have them draw, but in reality, the Immortal Sect Grand Competition didn’t specify who must hold the drawing rights for any given Illusory Realm.

Shen Wuxie: “But this is unfair. She…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly went silent. Everyone looked up and realized that it was the Sect Leader who had acted.

The Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect casually said, “My nephew speaks without discretion; I hope you, young friends, can forgive him.”

He nodded at Lian Mu, “Since Returning Immortal Sect has asked you to draw, they must trust your luck. You need not be swayed by others, just go ahead and draw.”

Lian Mu smiled and thanked him. As she passed by Shen Wuxie, she stepped on the tip of his toe. “It’s fine, I can solve it.”

Shen Wuxie immediately grimaced in pain, opening his mouth to say something, but he had been hit with a Silencing Curse. Some people didn’t see the battle underfoot and thought he couldn’t speak because he had broken down.

The people on the stage saw everything clearly, but since it was Shen Wuxie who had caused the trouble, the Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect merely glanced at him and didn’t stop it.

When it was Lian Mu’s turn to draw, Shen Wuxie suddenly broke free from his restraints and rushed up to draw himself. He quickly reached out and grabbed the slip that Lian Mu had chosen, snatching it from her hand halfway through.

His hand was fast, and he inserted the slip into the nearby furnace, signifying that it now belonged to Clear Thought Sect.

Lian Mu: “?”

The crowd: “???”

Isn’t anyone going to stop him?!

Guan Huai Lin from below furrowed his brows, just about to speak, but Bai Li Que stopped him.

“Shen Wuxie is getting bolder,” Crimson Sky Sect’s Lu Feishuang smiled with a hint of sarcasm. “The eldest son of the Shen family is like this. No wonder the Shen family doesn’t care about him.”

“He can’t become the young master of the Shen family, so he’s eager to show off to everyone,” Chang Sun Li also laughed. “But he knows how to pick his moments. The Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect is also from the Shen family, and he’s always been indulgent with him. It’s hard to do anything. With such backing, he could challenge the Four Great Sects just with his mouth.”

Everyone was watching Clear Thought Sect’s Sect Leader’s actions, wondering what he would do next.

“Here we go again,” Xu Xianxing said with some anger. “In previous years, they liked to snatch the slips. And now, they’re doing it again.”

Since Returning Immortal Sect often placed last and had no standing among the Four Great Sects, in previous years when slips were snatched, the disciples who had drawn were always in a compromising position when questioned. Other sects would just watch the spectacle, taking no action.

The Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect didn’t say anything, but one of the Talisman Cultivator Seniors asked, “Young friend, he was reckless earlier. Would you like to draw again?”

His tone was serious, carrying a hint of pressure.

Lian Mu glanced toward Returning Immortal Sect and shook her head. “No need. I’ll draw the next one.”

She then took another slip from the furnace and casually inserted it into the furnace.

Shen Wuxie lifted the Silencing Curse himself and spoke in a voice loud enough for both to hear, “Good, at least you know your place.”

After all four had drawn their slips, they moved to a corner to wait.

Lian Mu changed her position so that Jiang Yuechen was between her and Shen Wuxie. Shen Wuxie, as if showing off, lifted his chin and snorted.

Jiang Yuechen: “…”

How unlucky to have two enemies fighting each other right when the drawing started.

She quietly stepped back, not wanting to be caught in their crossfire.

After Shen Wuxie had snatched the slip, he felt quite pleased with himself and couldn’t help but speak loudly to the Talisman Cultivator of Crimson Sky Sect.

The Chief Talisman Cultivator of Crimson Sky Sect was Shen Wuxie’s younger brother, Shen Wusan, but the two were very different in personality—one was rowdy, the other calm and composed.

“When I go in first, I won’t be following Tang Wuxun. The Sect Leader has left some powerful Metamorphosis-stage Magical Beasts in the Illusory Realm. Killing them will boost my ranking. I’ll catch them all, and the first Talisman Cultivator among the Four Great Sects will be me.”

Shen Wuxie spoke while looking at Lian Mu, “It’s a shame, some people will always stay in the corner. After all, spiritual roots are something one is born with.”

“…”

After he finished speaking, no one responded to him, not even Shen Wusan, who remained expressionless.

The results of the drawing came out, and the Senior holding the list read, “For this round, Returning Immortal Sect draws first.”

The crowd was stunned for a moment: “…?”

Shen Wuxie was also momentarily stunned.

“Second is Crimson Sky Sect, third is Azure Profound Sect, and Clear Thought Sect is last.”

Lian Mu raised an eyebrow and looked at her hand: “Just as I thought.”

Recently, she had been having nightmares, and every time she entered that phase of dreaming, her luck would turn terribly bad.

The slip that Shen Wuxie had snatched from her was the one she had carefully chosen, but it turned out to be the worst one.

She had only wanted to test if her luck was as bad as she suspected. As for what slip she actually drew, she didn’t care. But Shen Wuxie had intercepted it and taken her last-place slip.

Thinking about it, Lian Mu nodded at Shen Wuxie. “You have quite the eye.”

Shen Wuxie: “…”

Lian Mu was about to step off the stage to join the Returning Immortal Sect team. As she passed by Shen Wuxie, she suddenly stepped on his foot again.

This step was infused with seventy percent of her spiritual power, and it was almost as if he had been hit by a Body Cultivator’s punch.

In front of so many people, Shen Wuxie couldn’t afford to cry out in pain—it would severely damage his dignity. So, he said, “You wait for me, we’ll settle this once we’re inside the Illusory Realm…”

Tang Wuxun’s face darkened as he quickly pulled Shen Wuxie down, tossing him back into the Clear Thought Sect team.

Back with the team, a group of people surrounded Lian Mu.

“Junior Sister, are you alright?”

Lian Mu: “I’m fine. Senior Brother, let’s get ready to enter the Illusory Realm.”

“Next time I’ll draw,” Wen Yun said, “If they dare snatch the slips again, I’ll beat them bloody right by the drawing table.”

Lian Mu: “No need to wait for next time. This Illusory Realm is where we can make a move.”

Shen Wuxie wanted to kill Metamorphosis-stage Magical Beasts, and she needed to as well. This time, a direct confrontation was unavoidable.

“Junior Sister, once we enter the Illusory Realm, we might not be able to contact you right away. You must be careful. Clear Thought Sect and Crimson Sky Sect are both watching us, and Azure Profound Sect won’t let us off easily either,” Guan Huai Lin said with concern.

“Now we’re surrounded on three sides, every step must be careful.”

Lian Mu smiled and replied, “Being surrounded gives us the chance to break through, it’s better than being stuck in a position with no progress.”

“That’s true,” Guan Huai Lin smiled. “We must take this step.”

After showing the two Fire Core Flowers for the round, the Senior of Clear Thought Sect threw them into the mouth of the golden toad beside the Heavenly Array.

“The Pangu Illusion Realm is now open, wishing all fellow cultivators success in their trials.”

Returning Immortal Sect was the first to enter the Illusory Realm, their Chief Team was swallowed by a white light, followed by the rest of the team.

Dry and scorching.

An endless desert, with rolling sand dunes in the distance, and wavering heat waves faintly visible. The sky above the desert was empty, not a trace of green in sight.

Lian Mu was transported to a desolate land, which was clearly the first level of the realm.

She was lucky not to be sent to the second level, where the environment was extremely harsh. If she had ended up there from the start, the troubles would have been more than just a little. But in some ways, she was also unlucky.

Lian Mu found herself separated from her team again. She was alone here, with only one communication talisman, and she couldn’t use it recklessly. She needed to assess the situation first.

Lian Mu stepped on the sand beneath her feet. The scorching heat seeped through her shoes, as if completely ignoring the barrier and sticking to her directly.

It didn’t take long before beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.

Lian Mu felt that something wasn’t quite right. While White Tiger West was hot, it wasn’t this scorching. She looked up and found the cause.

There were two suns in the sky.

At first, Lian Mu didn’t realize, and her shadow was cast in front of her, making her think the sun was behind her. But when she looked up, she was suddenly struck in the eyes by the sun in front of her.

If she remembered correctly, this Illusory Realm had a barrier illusion set up by the Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect, but Murong Yi hadn’t mentioned that there was one in the first level.

Lian Mu moved her foot, attempting to step out, but suddenly felt something slipping beneath her.

She stopped, carefully pulling out the Wealth Bringer and her broom from her Spatial Pouch, then used the tip of Wealth Bringer’s sword to poke at the ground in front of her.

In an instant, the sword of Wealth Bringer sank into the ground, and the sand beneath her feet began to flow rapidly, forming a whirlpool.

Her heart tightened, and she immediately commanded the broom to rise. Taking advantage of the fact that her legs hadn’t sunk yet, she flew into the air.

Where she had been standing, the quicksand quickly formed a depression, the whirlpool expanding continuously. Wealth Bringer was rapidly swallowed up, with only the hilt of the sword remaining outside.

Without hesitation, Lian Mu lowered her height and, before it was completely engulfed, yanked the sword back.

At the same moment, a message came through, informing her that ten disciples who entered the Illusory Realm had been swallowed by the quicksand and eliminated.