Chapter 117 Chaos: A God-like Opponent, Pig-like Teammates

In the oasis, by the time Azure Profound Sect’s lead team rushed back, only Fengyun Yi and Yuan Huai were left. The two sat alone on one side, protected by a barrier that kept other threats at bay.

Ying You stepped down from his sword, swept a glance around, and asked, “Where are the second-seat sword cultivators and body cultivators who stayed behind?”

Seeing him return, Fengyun Yi and Yuan Huai hurried to greet him.

Hearing his question, Fengyun Yi looked a bit uneasy. “I… sent them out to look for you all. There was no guard here for a while, and the Returning Immortal Sect’s second-seat launched a sneak attack.”

Ying You rubbed his brow and sighed. “I told you from the beginning: all you had to do was stay put and ignore us.”

“You hadn’t come back by the agreed time, and I was worried… I was afraid something happened to you,” Fengyun Yi said.

Jiang Yuechen stepped forward to inspect the barrier. Seeing it intact, he muttered in confusion, “Before we left, I clearly checked—there was no one near this oasis. Where did the Returning Immortal Sect’s second-seat come from?”

Yuan Huai wore an expression of forced endurance as he recounted the whole incident.

Jiang Yuechen fell silent.

The Returning Immortal Sect’s second-seat sword cultivator was a bit too clever—coming up with such a tactic?

Ying You said no more. He only ordered the disciples behind him to pack up and prepare to leave this place.

Just as the group set off, a loud boom suddenly echoed from the sky, followed by a brilliant burst of flame.

Everything before them was illuminated. Fengyun Yi froze for a moment. “It’s morning already? So soon?”

He looked up and saw that the blood moon still hung high—the Sixth Illusion hadn’t ended yet. The light was coming from the northern desert, flooding the entire expanse.

Gu Qingyu said, “What was that? Someone trying to forcefully break through the edge of the illusion?”

As an artifact refiner, Yuan Huai was extremely perceptive and caught the spiritual energy ripple dispersing from the north. “If they’re this strong, why force the barrier? Killing the guardian beast and opening the illusion mirror should be easy.”

“The north—could it be the Returning Immortal Sect?” Jiang Yuechen also sensed something odd. “Could it be Bai Li Que?”

Gu Qingyu said, “With power like that… it can’t be the Returning Immortal Sect. They don’t have anyone that strong. Even Wen Yun couldn’t do this. Their other lead disciples don’t even rank first on the Five Cultivation List—impossible.”

“Not a talisman cultivator,” Ying You frowned slightly. “Nor a body cultivator.”

Everyone looked at him.

Ying You said, “That’s sword qi.”

“How could that be… their lead sword cultivator has a single spiritual root, and dual swords,” Yuan Huai said. “This spiritual ripple doesn’t feel like it came from dual swords.”

Ying You fell silent for a long while, then said, “…We can’t confirm who it is yet. It’s in the north—it might not even be the Returning Immortal Sect. But one thing’s clear: there’s an even stronger cultivator hidden among this year’s disciples.”

Meanwhile, over at the Crimson Sky Sect’s lead team, things were equally unsettled.

The Crimson Sky Sect’s lead team hadn’t planned to open the mirror yet. They had already contacted every scattered team in the second realm—none of their own people were inside, and the timing wasn’t right.

At this moment, the second realm was in the middle of a crimson tide—lava eruptions, a tide of beasts—going in now would be too much for most to handle.

They were still searching for an oasis to hide from the beasts. With the blood moon risen during the Sixth Illusion, the desert beasts had grown more frenzied. They had been slaughtering beasts all the way and were growing tired.

“What’s that?”

Seeing the distant flame in the sky, Changsun Li halted.

Gao Linzhen asked, “Which direction is that?”

“Not sure. But someone definitely tampered with the edge barrier.” Lu Feishuang stared that way; though the sky had darkened again, she replayed that flash in her mind.

So much power unleashed in an instant?

Who could it be…

“Looks like some unlucky sect’s lead talisman cultivator is trapped inside the second realm. With no one to lift the illusion and open the mirror, they’re trying to smash the barrier by force?” Changsun Li sneered. “Sect Master Shen is the foremost talisman cultivator of our time. An illusion barrier personally set by him isn’t something that breaks so easily. Overestimating themselves.”

Crimson Sky Sect’s lead talisman cultivator, Shen Wusang, spoke quietly, “Actually…”

If it really was that burst of power just now, it might be possible.

The Clear Thought Sect’s sect master had never said there was only one way into the second realm—through the four symbols mirror. Cunning as ever, he surely left more than one route to test the disciples.

As a Shen family member, Shen Wusang knew his uncle, the sect master for centuries, very well. Forcing the barrier was likely a route too—but reserved for the one-in-a-thousand kind of genius.

Ordinary people wouldn’t dare challenge Sect Master Shen’s authority. Anyone taking this route would be a bold, formidable genius.

“Could it be that one from Azure Profound Sect?” Gao Linzhen guessed.

Lu Feishuang said, “Not him.”

“Ying You has a water spiritual root, same as Sect Master Shen. When two water-based powers collide, it wouldn’t look like what we just saw.” She said, “That person was clearly a fire spiritual root sword cultivator.”

“Besides, Azure Profound Sect’s lead talisman cultivator was with us before, right beside Ying You. Even if Jiang Yuechen had trouble midway, they have a single-root second-seat—drawing high-level talismans wouldn’t be hard. No need to break the barrier by force.”

“But none of the four sects’ lead sword cultivators have a fire root. Guan Huailin is wind, Gong Rumei is wind too. Who…”

They suddenly realized a possibility. Maybe this person wasn’t even from a lead team.

Lu Feishuang smiled faintly. “So there’s still a hidden sword genius? Another contender for the top spot on the Yulan List. Seems more interesting than Ying You—I’d like to meet them.”

“Not yet.” Shen Wusang said, “That place is far from us. For now, they won’t affect us. To be safe, let’s find an oasis, survive this night, then go open the four symbols mirror first thing. I have a hunch: the Fire Core Flower in the second realm will bloom first.”

Lu Feishuang withdrew her gaze and gave the order, “Keep moving!”

At the western edge of the desert, the Clear Thought Sect’s lead team also saw the fleeting blaze.

Bai Liyu was near the barrier. The edge barriers were linked—when the flame lit up the desert for an instant, he nearly coughed up blood from the shockwave.

Once he steadied himself and looked down, he saw that beside the White Tiger bronze platform, the other three small statues now had the Black Tortoise glowing too.

“Returning Immortal Sect opened the four symbols mirror? Strange, isn’t Bai Li Que inside the second realm?”

The Clear Thought Sect’s lead team had already opened the White Tiger mirror first. Their sectmates inside had passed along the news that the entire Returning Immortal Sect’s lead team was still within.

Tang Wuxun had someone guard the guardian beast’s corpse and take the usable parts, then turned and asked, “What just happened? Why did it suddenly get bright—was that part of the Sixth Illusion too?”

“You’re the team leader—why ask me?” Bai Liyu raised an eyebrow. “My brother’s whereabouts inside the second realm are unknown. I’m going in to find him. Call Shen Wuxie back.”

Tang Wuxun fell silent.

Feng Huanyin couldn’t hold back. “Could you drop it about your cousin? Everyone knows the Bai Li family clings to kinship, but Bai Li Que doesn’t even care about you normally. You’ll just be a nuisance. Get a grip—you’re Clear Thought Sect.”

Bai Liyu said, “You think everyone’s like you and Fengyun Yi? My cousin and I grew up together. If he’s in trouble, of course I’m going to help.”

Feng Huanyin fell silent.

Yuan Wuxu tried to mediate, “Alright, alright, everyone calm down, talk it out.”

But he looked too gentle and quiet, and his voice too soft—nobody heard him at all.

Feng Huanyin, now annoyed, said, “Then go. But every injury you get in the second realm is none of the Clear Thought Sect’s alchemy cultivators’ business.”

Tang Wuxun closed his eyes and fell silent for a long time. He had thought that once he sent off the brainless Shen Wuxie and replaced him with Bai Liyu, things might get better. But he hadn’t expected that in some ways, Bai Liyu was even harder to deal with than Shen Wuxie.

…

Tang Wuxun reflected for a moment and realized it was because he had joined too late. If they had known each other better earlier on, he would never have fought for the team leader position, even if it killed him.

Unfortunately, he was just an artifact refiner with no strength to even truss a chicken. If only he were a sword cultivator — he’d cut down both of them with a single swing.

Bai Liyu let out a cold snort, carrying himself with the air of a young master from a grand clan. Without waiting for Tang Wuxun to say anything, he directly passed through the four symbols mirror and entered the second realm.

Once he set his mind on going, no one could stop him. Even if they did, he wouldn’t behave while staying with the team anyway.

Tang Wuxun watched the four symbols mirror flicker bright then go dark again. After a long time, he slowly took out a talisman to contact Shen Wuxie.

“Clear Thought Sect chief talisman cultivator Shen Wuxie has been eliminated…”

Tang Wuxun: “?”

Tang Wuxun: “How did he…”

Yuan Wuxu hesitated and said slowly, “Mm… this message came in two quarters of an hour ago. At the time we were still dealing with the guardian beast, so none of you seemed to notice. Half an hour ago, Chief Shen’s side sent a final word — apparently… Returning Immortal Sect and Azure Profound Sect have joined forces. Azure Profound Sect’s chief team is now hunting down Clear Thought Sect.”

Tang Wuxun’s brow furrowed tightly. “Azure Profound Sect suddenly teaming up with Returning Immortal Sect… Could it be… Damn, I had felt earlier that something was off between these two sects. During the first round, Azure Profound Sect’s Elder Shang even protected Returning Immortal Sect — they never used to meddle in such things.

Returning Immortal Sect’s second seat provoked Ying You, yet they didn’t react at all this round, and not a single Returning Immortal Sect disciple has been eliminated so far.” The more Tang Wuxun thought about it, the more wrong it felt. “It’s likely they intended to join forces long ago but only made it open this round.”

Returning Immortal Sect had come in last place for nine consecutive rounds and was on the verge of being dropped from the four major sects. If they wanted to turn things around this time, asking Azure Profound Sect for help wasn’t surprising at all. For these two to ally, Returning Immortal Sect must have paid some price.

Feng Huanyin said, “No wonder Shen Wuxie suddenly got eliminated. He must have run into Azure Profound Sect’s chief team. Looks like he wasn’t that stupid after all — he still knew to pass the news back to us.”

“What do we do now?” Yuan Wuxu asked. “The chief talisman cultivator is gone, the second seat has run off too — are we really going to let Azure Profound Sect hunt us down?”

The sudden news gave Tang Wuxun a pounding headache. He thought for a moment, then said sternly, “Gather all talisman cultivators. Find out the whereabouts of the other Azure Profound Sect teams at all costs. Since their chief team wants to target us, we’ll focus on taking down Azure Profound Sect’s grand formation team.”

Azure Profound Sect’s chief team was formidable, but Clear Thought Sect’s chief team wasn’t weak either. Dealing with the disciples in the grand formation team would be more than enough for them.