Chapter 112: A Slide Tackle, Slipped Into the Demonic Beast’s Stomach…

“Who found this place? I remember the original Illusory Realm didn’t have this many quicksand whirlpools.”

In front of the Shadow Recording Stone, a group of elders watched helplessly as disciples continued to fall into the quicksand one after another.

After finishing her tasks, Xin Wanbai hurried back to supervise the disciples’ competition. However, as soon as she saw the beginning, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

The disciples had only been in for less than fifteen minutes when a large number of them stepped into traps. Even worse, some unlucky ones had just been teleported in and landed right in the quicksand whirlpool, not even having time to react before being sucked down.

The Returning Immortal Sect disciples were the first to enter, and their luck was still decent, but the other sects were in terrible shape.

Shang Liu was also dissatisfied and said, “This Illusory Realm connects to the southeastern part of the Red Flame Desert. The quicksand whirlpools are mainly concentrated in the west. The quicksand in this Illusory Realm should be fake.”

The elders were shocked. “Fake?”

“If the quicksand whirlpools are fake, then someone must have tampered with the Pangu Illusion Realm. The only one capable of covering such a large area with illusions like this is Sect Leader Wunian…”

“It was me who modified the Illusory Realm,” the Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect said as he entered, his face calm.

Shang Liu smiled and said, “I didn’t expect Sect Leader Shen to have the time to manage this. When you came to White Tiger West, I didn’t see Sect Leader Shen so attentive.”

The Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect slowly spoke, “I’ve discussed this with the Sect Leaders of the other two major sects. The timing was tight, so I didn’t have a chance to inform you. These juniors all have good potential, and the Illusory Realm needed a bit more difficulty. It’s been the same for thousands of years—naturally, it can get boring.”

“Looks like Sect Leader Shen’s cultivation level has improved again,” Shang Liu said, “Congratulations.”

Not only could he create a second-tier realm connected to the Pangu Illusion Realm, but he could also make the illusion barrier cover such a large area. This was beyond what an ordinary Talisman Cultivator could do.

“No need to congratulate me. You all should worry about your own disciples first. After all, my illusion barrier is not something that ordinary people can break.”

As he finished speaking, the expressions of the elders turned serious, and they all looked toward the Shadow Recording Stone.

Just now, another twenty to thirty people had been eliminated.

There was no doubt that the difficulty of the third round was far greater than the previous two. Since the Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect had suddenly altered the Illusory Realm, the subsequent rounds would certainly be changed as well.

Murong Yi said, “If I’m not mistaken, the method to break this must be related to ‘state of mind,’ right?”

The Sect Leader of Clear Thought Sect rarely showed a hint of a smile, “After all these years, you’re still able to catch my intent at a glance. If it were back then… never mind, mentioning it might upset you.”

Murong Yi calmly replied, “It’s all in the past; I no longer care.”

He subconsciously touched the silver fan at his waist, his gaze passing through the various Shadow Recording Stones, eventually landing on the image of Returning Immortal Sect’s second-seat team.

The three second-seats couldn’t establish contact with their team; they had all been separated.

Luo Qianxue had been teleported into the Demonic Beast’s den and was already fighting, while Qu Ruotian had been teleported into an oasis, but was isolated and helpless. As for Lian Mu…

He looked at the image of Lian Mu, who was half-hanging in the air, cautiously testing the edge of the quicksand whirlpool with her foot, and couldn’t help but purse his lips: “…”

Why hasn’t she found a way out yet? Is the quicksand whirlpool that fun?

“You all think, where will the Fire Core Flower be in this round?” Elder Cheng Ling from Crimson Sky Sect asked with a smile.

The quicksand whirlpools were swallowing disciples too quickly, drawing all the elders’ attention. Up until now, they hadn’t had a chance to look at where the Fire Core Flower had been placed.

The Senior Alchemist from Clear Thought Sect also smiled, half-jokingly saying, “It can’t possibly be near Lian Mu again, can it?”

“…”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone fell silent and looked towards the Shadow Recording Stone of Returning Immortal Sect’s second-seat. After confirming that the Fire Core Flower wasn’t near her, they all sighed in relief.

“At this hour, even if we find it, it’s no use. Only one of the two Fire Core Flowers counts, and we’ll have to wait a long time.”

Meanwhile, inside the Illusory Realm.

Lian Mu had tested the quicksand whirlpools many times and discovered that they seemed to move, and they covered quite a large area.

As soon as something entered their absorption range, they would immediately begin to sink. Once the object was removed, the whirlpool would return to calm, looking no different from the surrounding sand.

At first, she was very cautious, fearing that something might suddenly jump out from beneath the sand. After several tests, she realized that it was all artificial and fake.

By the fifth time she put her foot down, her mood had completely calmed. This time, when she made contact with the whirlpool, there was no reaction at all.

Lian Mu vaguely guessed the purpose of these quicksand whirlpools in the Illusory Realm, but she didn’t plan to take any risks. If she stepped on a real one by mistake, it would be difficult to handle.

Lian Mu sat on her broomstick, floating in midair. She looked around and saw no traces of any living beings, not even a single Demonic Beast.

Murong Yi had shown them a map earlier, but once they actually entered, the map wasn’t very helpful. The whole place looked the same: endless sand dunes with no way to tell where they were.

It was getting hotter.

Lian Mu looked up and saw that another sun had appeared in the sky. Now there were three.

If she were walking on the sand without a protective barrier, she’d probably be half-baked by the time she found a place to rest.

There were a few oases scattered throughout the desert, and high-level Demonic Beasts preferred to stay near them.

Going to one of the oases might make things much better.

After thinking for a moment, she chose to fly towards the direction without a sun. She had barely flown for a while when a hot wind blew towards her, carrying with it a large amount of sand, making it almost impossible for her to open her eyes.

Lian Mu closed her eyes, raised her hand to shield them, but the next moment, the wind suddenly intensified, whipping up a sandstorm several yards high.

She realized the wind wasn’t right, and tried to fly around it, but it followed her.

After flying several miles, the wind was still trailing her. So, she swung her sword, and heard a miserable scream.

“A Wind Beast?” Lian Mu looked at the wind that had been split in two, its sand flowing like blood, moving in a certain direction.

After being attacked, the wind quickly scattered, then gathered again, whipping up another cloud of yellow sand, trying to swallow her.

Lian Mu became a bit irritated. “Tch.”

Encountering a Wind Beast in the desert was troublesome.

The Wind Beast in front of her had an unstable form, belonging to the lowest class. It was easy to detect, but under these special circumstances, it was rather difficult to deal with.

Low-level Wind Beasts typically take the form of crystal cores and have no physical bodies. The crystal cores drift through the wind, and when they encounter danger or are hunting, they gather nearby dust to shape into a form, using the wind mixed with debris to torment and kill their prey.

Lian Mu quickly scanned her surroundings but did not spot anything resembling the crystal core of a Wind Beast. She rarely encountered such low-level Wind Beasts, so she couldn’t identify it immediately.

The Wind Beast, having lost part of its body, became agitated. The wind it whipped up formed a curved wall, trapping Lian Mu inside.

The sand brushed across Lian Mu’s face, sticking to her skin like seeds falling into the soil, embedding itself within.

Suddenly, Lian Mu felt a sharp pain on her face. She gathered her spiritual power in her hand and instinctively swung her sword. After slicing through the wind wall in front of her, the sand on her face fell away.

The Wind Beast let out a human-like wail, sharp and ear-piercing, its volume deafening.

Low-level Wind Beasts are most afraid of pain. Once attacked, they start screaming. Their cries resemble those of a person about to die, attracting nearby Demonic Beasts that are hunting.

As expected, after two wails, the ground beneath Lian Mu’s feet began to shake. A section of the sand nearby suddenly bulged, forming a long strip that quickly slithered toward her.

Lian Mu didn’t have time to think. She swung her sword several more times, slicing the Wind Beast into pieces. The severed parts instantly dissipated, the sand falling back to the ground, leaving only a small wind vortex floating in midair.

She focused her gaze. That was the Wind Beast’s crystal core.

Taking advantage of its weakness, Lian Mu grabbed the small wind vortex. It seemed intangible, but when held, it was solid, shaped like a cicada.

Without hesitation, she tried to crush it. But as soon as she applied pressure, the cicada-shaped crystal core let out a strange, high-pitched scream.

The next moment, a massive yellow-headed viper burst out of the sand, its head adorned with sharp horns, its eyes red and its tongue flicking in and out. Even when half-standing, it was over ten meters tall.

Just one glance, and Lian Mu could tell that this Demonic Beast was ranked above the fourth tier.

Lian Mu: “…”

What terrible luck.

She didn’t even have time to dispose of the Wind Beast’s crystal core before she rushed forward, sword in hand.

The giant viper locked its eyes on her, its tail emerging from the sand to lash toward her with tremendous force.

Lian Mu dodged to the side, and the place where she had been struck kicked up a few feet of sand. Along with the remnants of the Wind Beast, the sandstorm engulfed the area around her.

The giant viper flicked its tail and lunged at her with its jaws open.

Lian Mu’s mind raced, and in the end, she made up her mind. With a sliding tackle, she slid straight into the giant viper’s mouth.

The viper blinked in surprise, seemingly not expecting food to arrive so easily. It closed its mouth and swallowed her whole, then flicked its tail and burrowed back into the sand, slithering off into the distance.

Outside the Illusory Realm, the group of elders watched in stunned silence.

“What’s going on?” Xin Wanbai widened her eyes. “Although Three Spirit Roots are somewhat struggling against a fourth-tier Demonic Beast, they shouldn’t just give up like that.”

Shang Liu glanced at the image of Azure Profound Sect’s team. The Chief Team had chosen to split up, with Ying You, Yu Qingyu, and Jiang Yuechen heading off to find a path, while Feng Yunyi and Yuan Huai stayed in the oasis to rest.

He was quite satisfied with the status of his own sect, so he turned to look at Returning Immortal Sect’s team and said, “Your Second-Seat Sword Cultivator is still lacking.”

Xin Wanbai furrowed her brows. Based on her understanding of Lian Mu, she shouldn’t be one to give up so easily, but she couldn’t figure out her purpose behind this move.

If she wanted to break through internally, Lian Mu’s sword rank wasn’t enough. A seventh-tier sword would do little damage to a fourth-tier Demonic Beast. The giant viper’s scales couldn’t be broken by Lian Mu’s sword, and the longer she stayed inside its stomach, the more dangerous it became.

This was clearly a death wish…

Murong Yi patted her shoulder and comforted her, “Don’t worry, she’s got a lot of luck. If she dares to go in, she’ll definitely come out.”

“When she comes out, you should have a good talk with her,” Xin Wanbai said. “She’s always walking on the edge of danger. It’s easy to end up in trouble. Throwing away your future for a competition isn’t worth it.”

Murong Yi lowered his gaze, as if recalling something, then smiled faintly, his voice hoarse. “Alright.”