Chapter 157: Pre-Ordered Full-Party Wipe Combo — No Need to Ask, It’s Definitely Lian Mu…

On the day of departure for Azure Dragon East, the Four Great Sects gathered atop the outer walls of Sand City, near the Clear Thought Sect. This time, the supervising duties fell to an elder of the Clear Thought Sect.

Everyone knew that the truly formidable elders of the Clear Thought Sect had long cultivated a state of “No-Mind Dao Heart.” To them, even the Immortal Sect Grand Competition was a trivial matter, unrelated to their own cultivation and hardly worth their attention. This supervisory role was just a formality, and they couldn’t care less about what the disciples were up to.

As a result, preparations for the journey were rather casual. Disciples wandered freely among the various sects’ formations, looking for familiar faces. Robes of four different colors mingled together in a chaotic mess.

Guan Huailin was trying to rally the Returning Immortal Sect disciples amidst the crowd, but the rest of the chief team and Lian Mu were nowhere to be seen.

He stood alone at the front of the Returning Immortal Sect’s formation, right next to the Azure Profound Sect, who had already lined up neatly. Meanwhile, Clear Thought Sect disciples were still running around like headless chickens.

As for the Crimson Sky Sect—well, they were even more unruly. People were flying up and down, causing a ruckus in the air and on the ground. Team Leader Lu Feishuang didn’t bother to rein them in, letting them run wild.

Watching the shadows flit across the sky, Guan Huailin began to suspect that Lian Mu and her crew had already flown off to Azure Dragon East on their own. She did have a habit of acting solo, and those few always liked tagging along with her.

“Guan Huailin, why are you the only chief here from the Returning Immortal Sect? Where are the others?” someone from the Crimson Sky Sect called out.

“Don’t tell me they went ahead with Lian Mu? She’s acting more like the team leader than you. Even Wen Yun—who can’t stand anyone—follows her around.”

Guan Huailin looked back and replied calmly, “Fellow cultivators of the Crimson Sky Sect, I’d appreciate it if you stopped trying to sow discord between me and my sectmates. That trick won’t work on me.”

His blunt response left the Crimson Sky Sect disciples feeling a bit awkward. They laughed it off and wandered away.

“The hour draws near. All disciples, return to your formations and prepare to depart,” a Clear Thought Sect elder finally spoke from above.

At his command, disciples from all sects quickly returned to their places, forming orderly lines in no time.

Still, the Returning Immortal Sect was missing four chiefs and one vice-chief.

As everyone scanned the area with puzzled eyes, a few figures slowly rose from below the wall—it was the missing group, arriving just in time.

But…

Everyone stared in stunned silence.

“…”

Why were they all in wheelchairs? None of them looked injured yesterday.

At the front was Lian Mu, followed by five others, all seated in wheelchairs just like her.

Their wheelchairs were faster than silver kites, zipping into the Returning Immortal Sect’s formation with a “whoosh.” But since they were all sitting down, they looked noticeably shorter than everyone else.

The Clear Thought Sect elder pressed his lips together, unsure what to say. After a moment of silence, he chose to turn a blind eye.

“What the hell did they do? Six people crippled overnight?”

“Uh… I remember Xu Xianxing’s been crippled for a while now. Maybe the others didn’t want him to feel left out and decided to join him?”

“Heh. Even if they weren’t crippled, I’d still laugh at them.”

Guan Huailin couldn’t help but ask, “Junior brothers and sisters, we’re about to depart… you…”

How were they planning to travel like this?

And… why was Guan Shize involved too?!

“Senior Brother Guan, could you move aside? I’m going first,” Wen Yun said as he spun his wheels toward the edge of the wall, looking like he was about to roll right off.

Xu Xianxing shouted, “Hey! You can’t go alone! We go together!”

With that, he rolled after him. Bai Li Que was about to launch himself as well, but Lian Mu and Ji Mingyue each stepped on one of his rear wheels, stopping him in place. Then they used the leverage to launch themselves forward.

In a panic, Bai Li Que grabbed onto Guan Shize’s wheelchair, dragging him down with him.

Guan Shize: “???”

With a swift kick, Guan Shize broke free. “Apologies, Chief Bai Li.”

He ditched Bai Li Que, cranked up the power, and his wheels started smoking.

But the expected crash never came. Instead, they all slid smoothly off the wall—then their wheelchairs lifted into the air and began to fly.

Lian Mu stomped her foot, igniting flames beneath her chair, and in a blink, she was soaring far ahead. “This time, I’m definitely the first to reach Azure Dragon East!”

“It’s just getting started—who gets there first is still up in the air!” the others called out as they followed her into the sky.

Guan Huailin stood below, stunned for a moment, then let out a faint smile. “They’re still as chaotic as ever.”

The surrounding disciples: “…”

This year’s Returning Immortal Sect disciples are a bunch of lunatics.

The artifact refiners from each sect stood frozen in disbelief: “…”

They actually made flying wheelchairs?

“Why do the Returning Immortal Sect folks always come up with such bizarre things?” Shen Wuxie stared at their receding figures, a hint of envy in his eyes.

Being in the Returning Immortal Sect… you’d never be bored.

Tang Wuxun, however, was worried about something else. “Those are all made from demonic beast materials. Their sect is way too wasteful—burning through precious resources just for fun.”

“Probably because they don’t lack demonic beast materials. Half of the loot from Azure Profound Sect’s last battle was contractually promised to them,” Shen Wuxie said offhandedly.

The moment he spoke, Azure Profound Sect disciples all turned to glare at him.

When it came to attracting hatred, Shen Wuxie was second to none. In just two sentences, he managed to make the entire Azure Profound Sect chief team’s faces go stiff.

Gu Qingyu gritted her teeth. “…Do you think I need you to remind me? Watch yourself, or you’ll get tricked by the Returning Immortal Sect again in the next Illusion Realm.”

Shen Wuxie: “???”

Shen Wuxie: “Why are you snapping at me? I just said one thing. You’re the one who chose to listen. Last round, your Azure Profound Sect lost to the Returning Immortal Sect—that’s just a fact.”

Everyone knew it was true, but saying it right in front of Azure Profound Sect disciples was clearly meant to mock.

Gu Qingyu couldn’t take it and immediately called out to her sectmates. “We’re leaving too. We can’t let the Returning Immortal Sect beat us to Azure Dragon East.”

Shen Wuxie scoffed. “Heh, forget the Returning Immortal Sect—you can’t even catch up to us from the Clear Thought Sect. This is White Tiger West, you might want to remember who’s the fastest in the desert.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Wuxie leapt onto his silver kite, pulled out a talisman, and shot off like a bolt of lightning.

“Don’t be rash…” Ying You tried to stop Gu Qingyu, but before he could finish, she had already taken off.

The Crimson Sky Sect stood to the side, thoroughly entertained by the drama. Ying You and Tang Wuxun exchanged a helpless glance. Both Team Leaders were speechless.

The Returning Immortal Sect wasn’t even present, yet they still managed to stir up conflict. One had to admit, they had a real talent for fanning the flames.

Tang Wuxun, being the more cautious type, spoke in a low voice, “Team Leader Ying, I’m sorry. My sectmate didn’t mean to…”

“I know,” Ying You replied calmly. “He meant to.”

Tang Wuxun gave a wry smile. “Team Leader Ying is truly magnanimous.”

“In the next Illusion Realm, Azure Profound Sect will prioritize meeting with the Clear Thought Sect’s Chief team. You’d better be prepared.” With that, Ying You flew off on his sword to chase after them.

Tang Wuxun closed his eyes for a moment. “…”

Damn that Returning Immortal Sect. Damn Shen Wuxie.

What kind of karma did he have to run into that bunch of lunatics this round?

Beside him, Lu Feishuang watched Ying You’s retreating figure and said meaningfully, “He’s really fired up today.”

Normally, Ying You would never target a sect over a single provocative comment. He’d always been above that kind of thing.

“Maybe he’s just in a bad mood. Even the strongest have their off days. My brother definitely kicked the wrong hornet’s nest this time,” said Shen Wusang.

“When has Shen Wuxie ever not kicked the wrong hornet’s nest? Good thing Lian Mu isn’t the Returning Immortal Sect’s Team Leader—otherwise, in the Illusion Realm, he’d have been killed off who knows how many times already,” Gao Linzhen added. “This time he ran straight into a Team Leader. Now the whole Chief team’s going to suffer for it. Idiot. Thank the heavens he didn’t come with you to the Crimson Sky Sect.”

Shen Wusang didn’t comment on his brother. He turned to Lu Feishuang. “Team Leader, we should get going too.”

“Mm.”

…

…

“What? Azure Profound Sect declared they’re going to take down the Clear Thought Sect?”

High in the sky, Xu Xianxing held a Communication Talisman, listening to a voice transmission from someone behind them.

The few people racing ahead slowed down and circled back to see what was going on.

All of them were seated in floating wheelchairs, hovering mid-air. As odd as it looked, they had to admit—flying while sitting down was incredibly comfortable.

Guan Huailin’s voice came through the talisman. “After you guys left, the Clear Thought Sect’s top talisman cultivator and Azure Profound Sect’s top body cultivator got into a fight. Shen Wuxie mouthed off, and Ying You said the next Illusion Realm, their first target will be the Clear Thought Sect.”

After hearing the whole story, none of them could hold back their laughter.

Ji Mingyue grinned. “We were just messing around, and they actually started fighting because of us. Talk about a happy accident. Now we don’t have to worry about the Clear Thought Sect interfering next round.”

Azure Profound Sect was known for being true to their word. If Ying You said it, he’d definitely follow through—and he had the power to make it happen.

Lian Mu smirked. “Let them tear each other apart. We’ll just sit back and enjoy the show.”

Guan Huailin was also en route, and the wind could be faintly heard through the talisman. He said, “Gu Qingyu and Shen Wuxie are both chasing after you. Be careful you don’t crash again like last time.”

Lian Mu replied, “No worries. When it comes to crashing into people, no one beats us.”

“You’d better slow down a bit,” Guan Huailin warned. “If you run into one of the Venerable Elders ahead, you’re in trouble.”

Lian Mu: “?”

Ji Mingyue: “!”

Bai Li Que: “…”

Wen Yun asked, “Senior Brother Guan, why would a Venerable Elder be up ahead?”

“You didn’t know? The reason there are no Venerable Elders accompanying us this time is because they left early. Venerable Elder Mei already cleared out the demonic beast horde, but there might still be stragglers. The Four Great Sects’ Venerable Elders went ahead to clear the path.”

As soon as the voice from the talisman finished, a loud yelp of pain echoed from nearby—it was Guan Shize, and it sounded like he’d crashed into something.

“Guan Shize? What are you doing here?”

Murong Yi’s voice rang out loud and clear.

Everyone froze, too scared to turn around.

“Who told you to break formation and rush ahead on your own? Don’t you know how dangerous it is to be alone in the desert?” Murong Yi grabbed Guan Shize by the collar, only to realize he was flying in a wheelchair. He raised an eyebrow. “Where are the others?”

What kind of stunt are they pulling now?

Just as he finished speaking, he noticed five more wheelchairs not far off, each occupied by someone all too familiar.

Murong Yi glanced around. “…”

Well, great. These six clearly broke off from the group and even rigged up some bizarre-looking Spirit Artifact to make it seem like they were completely disabled.

No need to ask—Lian Mu was definitely behind this.

The air fell silent for a moment as the Venerable Elders from the other sects all turned to look.

Bai Li Que’s palms were sweating. Even though there was some distance between them and Murong Yi, he instinctively lowered his voice:

“Is it too late to run back now?”