Chapter 432

【World Universal Language Analysis Completed, Loading...】

A burst of information suddenly appeared in her mind—a completely new language, unlike that of Taixuan Realm.

How to write everyday conversation...

Chi Jiuyu absorbed the information while her thoughts raced.

Honestly, this Xian Sect competition was downright strange—rules, the most important thing, weren't fully explained from the start!

And this beta version of the Taixuan Xian Network? They hadn't even mentioned it before.

emm...

Could it be that this Xian Sect competition was just set up to test the Taixuan Xian Network?

Chi Jiuyu's mind spun rapidly.

Her exceptional intuition had indeed sensed part of the "truth," though she herself hadn't cared.

After slightly activating her magic power, she muttered, "I can't sense any spiritual energy..."

The spiritual energy level in the void was shockingly low—impossible to inhale and replenish magic power.

And this was still for someone like her, a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator.

For a Qi Gathering cultivator without a Dao Foundation, or even a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator, their internal spiritual force and true origin would degrade and collapse due to the hostile environment.

Given this spiritual energy level...

Only upon reaching Jin Dan, once the Golden Core becomes perfectly sealed and unbroken, could one fully avoid losing cultivation.

But replenishing magic power was still virtually impossible.

Unless one was an elite among Void Return cultivators, with a self-sustaining internal cycle...

Soon, Chi Jiuyu, as a modern cultivator, mastered the basic operation of this "beta version of the Taixuan Xian Network."

At the very least, "close" and "summon" were no problem.

Just as she summoned it again, new text appeared on the pale blue translucent panel.

【Location Complete!】

【World Name: Xuanxiang Realm】

【Energy Level: Void Return】

【Supernatural System Emphasis: Xian Path】

【Current Location: Mortal Realm (Spirit-Dead Zone)】

Just a few lines, then it stopped.

What else?

Chi Jiuyu blinked.

What the hell, give me more info already!

So idiotic, no wonder it's still a beta version.

But given that the previous evaluation of her as "the Number One Prodigy of All Heavenly Realms" had been fair, Chi Jiuyu merely muttered a couple of complaints in her mind before observing her surroundings.

She stood atop a high cliff, endless dense forest stretching into the distance...

Well, not exactly endless.

Her Spirit Transformation Stage vision allowed her to see the forest's edge without using any divine ability.

A small river flowed into the distance; several uniquely shaped houses sat among fields, wisps of smoke rose, and a few people worked in the fields.

It looked like a village, but every household had weapons ready.

emm...

Golden light flared in her eyes, instantly revealing what lay farther away.

Beyond this mountain where the village sat, after traversing a more complex mountain path, lay a flat, open official road.

Soon, the golden light in Chi Jiuyu's eyes faded.

【This must be a bandit den.】

Recalling the sect's recent intelligence, she formed a judgment.

"First, go to the Cultivation Realm of this world."

In this world, the Xian and mortal realms were completely severed—more extreme than the last world she'd been tested in. She needed to clarify the world's background first; the previous intel was too vague.

Hummm~!

The blue-gold long sword in her hand trembled slightly, then unsheathed on its own, circled her once, and halted before her.

With a light leap, she sat directly atop the blade and vanished with the wind.

She chose this method because this competition's rules resembled a "battle royale."

Transforming the swordlight into a rainbow consumed more magic power; in this spirit-dead zone, replenishing magic power relied solely on pills—if she exhausted too much and encountered another contestant...

She'd be screwed!

Due to her primordial sword, her starting supplies were already fewer than others'...

Sigh~

This time it's gotten so complicated.

In past Xian Sect competitions, though Secret Realms had been used, a complete world like this was unprecedented.

This time... the bastards from Taishang Dao Sect must be thrilled.

As she pondered her next moves in this competition, she began studying the so-called "Eternity Balance System."

Her intuition told her that whether she gained an advantage in this competition depended entirely on this "system."

Far away, beyond the forest, the village.

A middle-aged man, his face weathered from labor, straightened his back and pounded his lower spine.

Looking toward the horizon, he saw a tiny black dot flash between the clouds.

Huh?!

Could it be some bird flying extremely high?

He thought he was just exhausted, so he rubbed his eyes and looked up again—the tiny black dot on the horizon had not vanished.

Only when someone called his name did he turn his gaze away and return to his labor, face to the earth, back to the sky.

……

……

Meanwhile, in the Cultivation Realm.

Within the jurisdiction of Tianji Palace, one of the Zhengdaoda Sects: Zhitui Xiancheng.

This was a city open only to those who had entered the Dao path and cultivated the Paper Shedding Immortal Path.

Outside the city, Zhao Ruoming stood by the roadside, watching from afar the cultivators lining up to enter.

Wrong.

According to this world's terminology, these people should be called "cultivators."

【Name: Zhao Ruoming】

【Age: 25】

【Realm: Spirit Transformation Stage, Early Stage】

【Current System Load: Amplification Light Type I】

【Current Points: 0】

【Evaluation: It's Not a Sin for a Man to Cry】

"……"

When he first saw this evaluation, he even suspected it was written by his mentally unstable sister or the utterly abstract Chi Jiuyu.

Speaking of the main topic: his initial spawn point was favorable—he appeared directly outside Zhitui Xiancheng. The spiritual energy concentration wasn't high, but it wasn't as extreme as the mortal world's total spiritual depletion.

He had planned to find local cultivators and inquire about the world's conditions, since the previous data had been too vague…

But he never expected that before he could act, he witnessed something utterly horrifying.

He saw that at the city gate of Zhitui Xiancheng, every cultivator, regardless of their realm, obediently queued up.

Moreover, before entering, each had to cut off a piece of skin three point two cun long and one point two cun wide and hand it to the city guards, whose skin was deathly pale, like paper dolls.

Their skin was peculiar—or rather, "beautiful"—bland white, fine and delicate, frost and snow surpassed, with faint bamboo-fiber patterns visible.

There also seemed to be a strange fragrance; each time a guard received a piece, he would carefully sniff it, his expression filled with ecstasy.

Those of higher realm saw their wounds spontaneously wriggle and heal quickly.

But those of lower cultivation suffered terribly—their skin cut away, blood streamed down their fingertips.

Yet strangely, they showed no change in expression, merely pulling out a vividly colored sheet of paper and pressing it over the wound; once the paper fully fused with the flesh, they walked into the city with eager anticipation.

!

"Zhitui Xiancheng…"

After frowning for a long while, Zhao Ruoming finally decided to enter and investigate.

Though this scene was absurd, he had seen many demonic scrolls stored in his sect—far more cruel methods by hundreds or thousands of times.

Although after the "Tai Xuan Blood Calamity," such phenomena had become rare.

Since it was demonic, he needn't hold back—using harsher methods was acceptable…

He acted immediately.

He took a Concealment Pill from his storage ring and swallowed it, then activated a Spirit-Stealth Talisman, channeling a thread of magic power to trigger the "Supreme Fifth Generation" invisibility module on his right wristband, activating anti-soul-perception, anti-thermal-imaging, anti-divination, anti-karmic-tracing, and other functions.

Finally, he activated the Supreme Dao Sect's strongest and most complete stealth technique—the Supreme Concealment and Spirit-Stealth Art.

Pill, talisman, artifact, technique… four layers of protection should be sufficient.

But after thinking, he still activated his innate talent—Qianyuan Immortal Pure Xuan Guang.

With the Xuan Guang protecting him, Zhao Ruoming finally felt somewhat at ease.

Since his last use of his innate talent ended in defeat against Chi Jiuyu, he had reflected deeply and no longer rejected his innate talent.

He also studied his sect's "Steady Cultivation Method."

Undeniably, though some of their ideas were extreme, many were quite sound.

Unfortunately, his avatar technique had not yet reached perfection, leaving gaps in anti-divination and anti-karmic-tracing; using it prematurely carried extreme risk.

According to the sect's best-selling "Steady Survival Guide," using an incomplete (non-mastery) avatar technique = suicide.

This was especially critical in an unfamiliar environment.

Otherwise, he'd be eliminated before even finding Ye Zhiwei—how embarrassing!

With a thought, Zhao Ruoming's form nearly teleported, Xuan Guang shielding him as he moved toward Zhitui Xiancheng.

"Ye Zhiwei, wait for me!"

As he drew near, he clearly sensed the array's fluctuation covering the entire city.

A Nascent Soul-level array, under overload, could even approach Spirit Transformation power—but the array's overall structure…

Had zero defensive measures; any Type I array virus could seize control.

But out of caution, Zhao Ruoming still took out a Supreme Type III Array Virus!

Supreme Type III…

Hmm…

What if there were hidden defense mechanisms?

After two seconds of hesitation, he put it away and retrieved a golden prismatic crystal—the Lingyin Type III Array Virus.

The effect is 15 percent stronger than the TaiShang Type III, making it the best-performing array virus on the market.

Inject a thread of magic power, guide it with spiritual awareness, and the golden prismatic crystal slowly drifted forward.

Hum~!

Accompanied by a wave of invisible ripples spreading outward, the golden prismatic crystal fully vanished into the void.

Instantly, the entire grand array was infected by the array virus, and control was seized in his hands.

Zhao Ruoming: "..."

Surprisingly smooth.

Fuck!

Don't cultivators in this world install even a few layers of defense on their own grand arrays?!

If someone attacks, won't the array's control be easily stolen?!

Suppressing a flicker of shock, Zhao Ruoming manipulated the array's control to open a gap, then floated straight in.

At this moment, the mayor of 【Zhitui Xiancheng】 remained completely unaware.

He would never have imagined that something like an "array virus" could exist in the world.

After all, arrays are meant for defense, right?

And you seriously add even more layers of defense on top of that?

Isn't that just nesting dolls and removing your pants to fart?!

…………

The performances of the contestants within the 【Xuan Realm】 were naturally observed by several team leaders within the 【Tai Xuan Realm】, the 【Xianzong Sect】 masters on the Cloud Platform, the Alliance of Zhengdaoda Sect's Grand Councilor, and the ancestral elders of all 【Gedaxian Sect】.

Team leaders at the 【Return to Void】 realm could at most see only those within the main timeline; the side timelines were impossible to discern.

Still, conditions across the three timelines were roughly similar: some still wandered in the mortal realm, while others hid and explored across various regions of the 【Cultivation Realm】.

Given the "big escape kill" rules, the first circle hasn't even begun shrinking yet—no one wants to clash with local forces so quickly.

Moreover, with each 【Xian Sect】 fielding fifteen members per group, the total number was only 105.

Thrown into a single world, it was like tossing a handful of sand into the ocean—in the early stage, they barely encountered each other.

Of course, there were exceptions.

An unlucky Dragon Elephant Qingtian Sect body cultivator, through a series of coincidences, accidentally provoked a disciple of Blood Vajra Temple, one of the Three Great Dark Sects.

During the counterattack, his formidable physique drew the covetous eyes of countless dark sect cultivators, and he was relentlessly hunted.

Later, even some cultivators from the 【Zhengdaoda Sect】 couldn't resist the temptation, branded him an illegal cultivator, and joined the pursuit.

This was a heavenly prodigy cultivator from the 【Tai Xuan Realm】!

Thrown into the 【Xuan Realm】, his skin, flesh, bones, blood, and spiritual soul… each part was comparable to the most supreme heavenly treasures!

Everyone wanted to peel his skin, break his bones, and crush his marrow.

Eventually, it even drew the attention of a 【Return to Void】 cultivator.

But the Dragon Elephant Qingtian Sect body cultivator was stubborn and tough—he survived a blow from a 【Return to Void】 cultivator and escaped using the system granted by the 【Tai Xuan Immortal Network】.

Overall, because the participants of this 【Cixian Sect】 Grand Competition still lacked understanding of the 【Xuan Realm】, conflicts had yet to erupt.

Some who had undergone previous outer-realm training and were not in the mortal realm had progressed faster and had already gained preliminary knowledge of the 【Xuan Realm】's world background.

【Tai Xuan Immortal Network】 group chat.

Hong Zun: "Still the same as last time—the Dragon Elephant Qingtian Sect moved first."

Hong Zun: "But this time there's no 【Return to Void】 leading them—their situation will likely be even harder."

Dan Zu: "I've studied it—once the system brought by the Immortal Network is fully unlocked, they'll gain the ability to counterattack."

Dan Zu: "Except for a few exceptions, all other 【Return to Void】 cultivators achieved their realm through external means; the Immortal Network can easily strip their realm by manipulating cosmic rules."

Ba Zun: "/Thumbs Up"

In the Sword Ancestor's Hall.

Xu Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this.

Dan Zu's words were indeed correct.

The rules manipulated by this 【Tai Xuan Immortal Network】 test would not exceed the world's own limits.

Those who achieved 【Return to Void】 through self-cultivation were fine, but those who attained it via the 【Xuan Xiang Tian Gui】 or the "Mu Ling" lineage…

Hah!

Cultivation has always been one step at a time—taking shortcuts always comes at a cost! (End of Chapter)