Chapter 456: The Profound Mirror Reverts to Emptiness: Debate Beyond the Realm

Chi Jiuyu's movement paused.

But before her eyes, several new lines of text appeared.

【Current number of non-eliminated participants】

【Soul Transformation group: 63】

【Nascent Soul group: 76】

【Jin Dan group: 48】

Huh?!

Are Jin Dan participants fighting this hard? More than half have already been eliminated!

Hmm…

Xiao Yunlu's foundation is still insufficient, and without my vast competition experience, I wonder how she's doing now?

Chi Jiuyu took a large bite of meat.

And these Nascent Soul participants who should've been in my group are being such cowards!

Even now, over seventy are still left!

Are they all sleepwalking?!

"I'd rather have been placed in the Nascent Soul group to raise the intensity for them…"

Another line of text appeared soon after.

【Current Rankings (Soul Transformation)】

The crucial part is here.

Since she was in the Soul Transformation group, only the overall rankings for that group were displayed to her.

【Lin Changsheng (Xiang Jianzong), currently ranked first, points: 6】

【Chang Xiao (Taishang Dao Sect), currently ranked second, points: 5】

【Qiu Zheng (Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect), currently ranked third, points: 4】

【Wu Zhongfeng (Huanhuan Sect), currently ranked fourth, points: 3】

……

The top few positions were roughly like this.

Before the "team battle" erupted in Zhitui Xiancheng.

A major city under Tianling Sect's jurisdiction also descended into chaos, and Lin Changsheng and Chang Xiao had somehow formed an alliance.

Together, they eliminated nearly all participants near that top-tier city, instantly boosting their points to an extremely high level.

"Six points…"

Chi Jiuyu suddenly found the meat in her hand tasteless.

Chang Xiao was no ordinary person—he had been the second-place finisher in the previous Xian Sect Grand Competition's Soul Transformation group.

And notably, in the environment of Taishang Dao Sect, he wasn't a cowardly cultivator; instead, he had cultivated numerous "body-incorporating techniques," a true "close-range mage!"

The rankings continued to appear.

After two more participants with two points each, the rest had only one point earned, or none at all so far.

Non-eliminated participants appeared in dark blue.

Eliminated participants appeared in gray.

【Chi Jiuyu (Xiang Jianzong), currently ranked sixth, points: 1】

Because this point was earned partly by luck, her ranking was relatively low.

"Where are my golden wings!"

Those were the proof of my exception to enter the Soul Transformation group!

They're not globally active!

Bad review!

After mentally complaining about the sect master's "inefficient handling," she continued scrolling down.

【Zhao Ruohan (Taishang Dao Sect), no ranking, points: 0】

【Ye Zhiwei (Jishi Valley), no ranking, points: 0】

【Zhao Ruoming (Taishang Dao Sect), no ranking, points: 0】

Xiao Zhao, Xiao Ye, and Dog Brother all still had zero points…

Not yet gray, so they must have escaped in time.

Chi Jiuyu watched while summarizing and analyzing the information.

Thus, the rankings continued until the 105th, then ended.

【Zhan Xing (Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect), 105th, points: 0】

That unlucky body cultivator was Chi Jiuyu's only point.

Since he was eliminated earliest and had no points when eliminated, he was naturally ranked last.

Usually, this person would be mocked on the Spirit Net for months.

But body cultivators generally have higher mental resilience than physical strength, so no need to worry.

After carefully reading through everything and reviewing it several times, Chi Jiuyu put it away and calmly resumed eating her roasted meat.

Heaven and earth are vast, but eating is the greatest.

A few minutes later.

Some bones, completely picked clean, lay discarded nearby.

The fire that had just been blazing was now extinguished, and a tent had been set up beside it.

Mainly because she was completely clueless about construction-type techniques, only knowing how to dig holes, and the spirit coin cost for daily necessities like these was very low...

So she made do with them.

Inside the tent, Chi Jiuyu lay on her back with her hands clasped behind her head.

"6 points, 5 points, 4 points... why are a few points missing?"

The Soul Transformation group had a total of one hundred and five people; now sixty-three remained, so by rights there should be forty-two points.

But no matter how she calculated, the existing points added up to only thirty-five...

A full seven points short!

"Emm... did someone really get killed by the cultivators of this world?"

To crash and burn at this level — that's just too pathetic!

……

……

The next morning at dawn.

Chi Jiuyu, up early, casually knocked out a beast resembling a lion-tiger that had come to her tent to "open a blind box."

After a simple wash, she swallowed two healing pills refined by Ye Zhiwei and did a round of breathing exercises.

She waited until the last traces of her injuries had fully healed.

A streak of sword light shot out of the barren forest, heading toward the prosperous areas of the Xuanxiang Realm.

The highest scorer already had six points — she couldn't keep slacking off like this any longer!

She was going to take the initiative!

Of course, she wasn't the only one who felt the sting and began actively searching for other contestants.

Especially the contestants from the Divine Mechanism Treasure Refining Pavilion.

Having laid low for two rounds, they had finally finished assembling their large-scale combat dharma artifacts, achieving a qualitative leap in combat power, and were now scouring the area for traces of the World-Saving Valley contestants.

However, the schemers of the Grand Supreme Dao Sect remained utterly unmoved.

Victory and defeat were like floating clouds; steadiness was the true strategy.

At the same time.

The recently turbulent 【Wu Jue Xiancheng】.

After the body cultivators and sword cultivators were eliminated last night, the stronger remaining contestants had turned their spears against the weaker ones.

Under pursuit and interception, they eliminated one unlucky Heavenly Being of the Hehuan Sect, as well as an alchemist from the World-Saving Valley.

Only then did the battle come to a halt.

Now, the remaining contestants had all left... probably?

The night faded, and morning light spilled down.

One could see that various buildings within the city had collapsed quite a bit due to last night's upheaval; fortunately, the contestants had restrained themselves from letting the shockwaves of their clashes harm innocent people.

So, apart from the five Soul Transformation cultivators killed by that body cultivator at the very start, and the female cultivator casually swatted to death by Wu Zhongfeng, there were basically no other casualties.

Don't even joke!

Several Soul Transformation Immortal Lords capable of driving off a Return-to-Void Immortal Venerable were facing off above the city — the pressure alone was suffocating, let alone trying to loot a burning house...

Within the city, only the ruins of the City Lord's residence remained.

Zhao Ruoming stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at this somewhat desolate city, his mind replaying the events of last night.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, and finally he couldn't help but let out a long sigh...

"Sigh~"

And he'd even been thinking of sharing the spiritual materials with his little sisters after obtaining them!

Yet those girls had run off last night...

Every last one of them sold out their teammates without a shred of hesitation.

Little sis may have been a bit off before, but never this off!

How long had it been since she met Chi Jiuyu...

They really weren't wrong when they said one takes on the color of their company.

Thinking this, Zhao Ruoming's gaze drifted to one side — toward where the 【Zhitui Xiancheng】 team was.

Before last night's incident, the City Lord had actually sent people to buy them off, and sure enough, without the slightest surprise, everyone had been bought.

They had spilled every last bit of information they knew.

"Very well, I'll see you off."

With a thought, he directly activated the Minor Teleportation Talismans he had left on them in advance.

Zhao Ruoming had no intention of making trouble for them, but neither did he intend to return to 【Zhitui Xiancheng】.

Just as Wu Zhongfeng had said.

They were powerless against all this now; what they had to do was remember everything, and then properly complete the Xian Sect Grand Competition.

Hum~

Accompanied by an invisible ripple spreading through the lodging of the 【Zhitui Xiancheng】 team.

Everyone was sent back directly by the Minor Teleportation Talismans.

Zhao Ruoming leapt into the air; under the effect of the "Grand Supreme Fifth Generation" stealth unit, his figure vanished, and as the Yu Qing Xuan Guang flickered faintly in the void, he had already left 【Wu Jue Xiancheng】.

…………

The highest point of the Tianling Sect.

One saw rolling clouds like an immortal realm, and within the dense spiritual energy, several figures sat in meditation.

At the very top sat a figure on a cloud platform, clad in a purple-gold dharma robe, long hair draped over the shoulders, features so exquisite and flawless that not a single blemish could be found.

A purple vertical mark between his brows, his eyes like glazed glass, occasionally flickering with seven-colored light.

He was precisely the second-generation patriarch of the Heavenly Spirit Sect, Xuan Xing.

Like him, there were seven other figures whose auras were towering and vast, their depths unfathomable, making it hard to gauge their strength.

Two Return-to-Void cultivators from the Heavenly Mechanism Palace.

Two Return-to-Void cultivators from the Canglan Jiangong.

Also a Return-to-Void from the Blood Vajra Temple, as well as Return-to-Void cultivators from the Hemiao Dao and the Blazing Prison Mo Sect

Their attire and bearing were all different.

If there was one thing they shared, it was only those glazed-glass eyes flickering with seven-colored light.

Everyone's gaze fell upon the very center.

Surrounded by several hundred gilded small characters, among the nine six-layered bronze armillary sphere apparitions, stood a delicate, exquisite small tower composed of many spirit-energy structural components.

A hexagonal crystal was inlaid at the tower's tip, and under the combined effect of the various spirit-energy components on the tower's body, it was emitting a special spirit-energy frequency.

This was what they had seized from the charm cultivators of the Hehuan Sect.

"The method of harvesting the essence of lust and desire through this is indeed very convenient. What do you all think?"

A burly man with crimson long hair and a body like an iron tower said lightly.

His scorching breath even gave the surrounding flowing spiritual energy a tendency to burn.

"This method is indeed convenient, but it is of no great use to us." Another Return-to-Void spoke up. "It's nothing more than being a bit more convenient; the total consumption of materials has not changed."

"This humble one, however, feels it is quite useful."

The soft, seductive voice that seemed to seep into one's bones came from a female cultivator in a purple palace dress, her curves exaggeratedly pronounced.

Her face was plain and holy, possessing an inviolable sacred air.

Even an ordinary cultivation cultivator who merely glanced at her would feel boundless desire flame up in their heart and be enchanted by her.

"What matters is still the origin of these Heavenly Soul Transformation cultivators." Xuan Xing said calmly.

Seeing him finally speak, everyone immediately fell solemn and turned to look at him.

"The world behind them may hold the key to whether we can advance further."

We nurture all beings to sustain ourselves, yet we are trapped at Return-to-Void unable to advance…

Consumables!

They needed more consumables, more spiritual energy to cross the peak of Return-to-Void and advance further!

"It's not that simple."

It was the Return-to-Void of the Canglan Jiangong who spoke, his voice coarse and grating like metal striking stone.

Dressed in white, bearing a bizarre purplish-red longsword on his back.

"If merely the Soul Transformation cultivators serving as the vanguard possess such unrivaled divine abilities, then the existence behind them may very well surpass us."

"…"

Indeed, this was a problem.

"Hehe, this old monk actually feels these Heavenly Soul Transformation cultivators are not of one mind; from this we can see there is also discord among the forces behind them."

A bizarre monk draped in a blood-colored kasaya, seated upon a blood-colored lotus platform, said with a smile.

"We Return-to-Void sovereigns, even if we cannot match them, at worst we can feign compliance and wait for another opportunity."

In short, they simply did not want to give up.

Xuan Xing stared at the nine six-layered bronze armillary sphere apparitions and did not speak again.

Really… was it that simple?

Just then, a Return-to-Void from the Heavenly Mechanism Palace, with an immortal's bearing, white beard and hair, dressed in hemp cloth and wearing a bamboo crown, suddenly laughed.

"My junior brother this time has likely suffered no small loss."

Having said this, he extended his right hand and gave a light sound.

"Come."

Faint ripples stirred in the void, and a weak, dim Return-to-Void divine soul was captured and brought forth.

Judging by his appearance, it was precisely the Return-to-Void who had previously been besieged by numerous contestants at 【Zhitui Xiancheng】!

"Junior brother, why didn't you tell your senior brother when you Suffered Heavy injuries?" the Heavenly Mechanism Palace Return-to-Void said in a gentle tone.

But the dim Return-to-Void divine soul in his hand was full of terror: "You've planted something on me!"

Otherwise, as fellow Return-to-Void cultivators, he could not have so easily captured him from the Heavenly Mechanism Palace and brought him here.

"How could that be? Senior brother did all this out of concern…"

Having said this, magic power surged in his hand, about to refine it into an external incarnation.

"Stop."

The Heavenly Mechanism Palace Return-to-Void only felt his hand go empty; the divine soul in his palm had vanished without a trace!

He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked toward the head seat.

He saw Xuan Xing holding that Return-to-Void divine soul, looking at him calmly.

"Fellow Daoist Xuan Xing, what is the meaning of this?" he asked in confusion.

Xuan Xing's tone remained calm: "The current situation is unclear; every fellow Daoist is an indispensable force."

As he spoke, several hundred gilded small characters flew out from the purple-gold dharma robe on Xuan Xing's body, landing on that Return-to-Void divine soul and merging into it.

The originally weak aura actually began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Flesh and blood grew, marrow and bone were nurtured into being.

In less than ten breaths, not only did that weak, dim divine soul recover to its peak, but even its physical body was completely restored.

Naked, it fell to the ground, transforming into a young man with sword-brow star-eyes.

Huh~

The scattered spiritual energy in the void spontaneously gathered, forming a moon-white ceremonial robe.

He bowed to Xuan Xing: "Thank you, Brother Xuan Xing, for your assistance."

……

……

Outer Sect of Tianling Sect.

Mu Yong had just returned to the sect and hadn't even had time to cultivate when he received another mandatory mission.

He stared at the mission data in his hand, his face as dark as water.

This idiot sect was ordering them to investigate Miao City, which had just erupted in chaos and been attacked by Soul Transformation cultivators.

"I want to apply to become a Ye Level disciple!" Mu Yong set down the data and told the official who had delivered the mission.

But the official merely glanced at him: "Granted, but according to Tianling Sect regulations, you must wait until after this mission."

Fuck!

Mu Yong couldn't help cursing inwardly.

Last time, he was lucky—the two Soul Transformation cultivators didn't kill them.

But who could guarantee it would happen again?

After being reborn, shouldn't life be easier? How come it's almost harder than his previous life! (End of Chapter)