Chapter 461: The Blood-Burning Berserker Needs a Healer

In just a few breaths.

Whether the massive iron monster, towering like a mountain, or the crimson meteor that shattered dark clouds and split the sky.

Both vanished completely, leaving only a straight white trail in the sky.

The lingering spiritual energy in the city seemed also affected by the glowing structure behind the iron giant, becoming wildly chaotic, making Mu Yong dare not inhale or exhale even slightly.

The roar of engines still lingered in his ears, humming like he stood beside a hive of bees.

Mu Yong's gaze was slightly dazed.

They came quickly and left just as swiftly.

If not for the lingering anomalies in and around the city, he might have doubted whether what he had just seen was merely an illusion…

He stared at the direction they had departed for a long while.

"Senior Mu, just now those…"

A voice from behind snapped Mu Yong back to awareness.

He turned to see the Miao-level disciples, who had scattered in panic moments earlier, now all returned, several of them hesitating nervously as they watched him.

Ever since that day he tricked those few into Zhanglutang, the remaining Miao-level disciples, regardless of their prior attitude, had since begun calling him "Senior."

Their expressions were uneasy; the one at the front asked: "Just now those…"

From the moment they were chosen, filled with pride upon stepping onto the Immortal Path, to the resentment of having their cultivation constantly drained by the Xuanxiang Tian Gui, to the helplessness of accepting reality.

Now they were left only with confusion and dread about the future.

After all, even Mu Yong, a "reincarnator" who had once been a Return to Void cultivator, had been stunned by what just happened—how much more so them?

Mu Yong naturally understood what they were thinking, but only shook his head slightly: "I don't know what they were."

Hearing this, the others fell silent and did not press further.

In truth, they didn't expect Mu Yong to know anything—he was just a Miao-level Qi Condensation cultivator, no different from themselves.

They had merely clung to a sliver of hope because he had seemed calmer just now.

Mu Yong scanned the group and sighed: "Let's finish our mission as quickly as possible and return to the sect. Outside the sect, it's too dangerous."

No matter how powerful he had been in his past life, he was now merely a lowly Qi Condensation cultivator, a pawn to be manipulated and used—what could he do?

The group exchanged glances and felt this made sense.

"Yes."

With that, they scattered and resumed their tasks.

Even those who had previously gone to great lengths to slack off now dared not show the slightest laziness.

They couldn't afford to delay!

The situation outside was growing increasingly incomprehensible—if they kept wandering outside the sect, they might be crushed under someone's foot at any moment.

Mu Yong also took up the sect-issued recording device and continued documenting locations throughout the city.

At the same time, he constantly pondered what he should do next…

Yet after much thought, as he walked through more than half the city, he still could not devise any particularly good solution.

Fuck!

…

…

On the other side.

Hum!

Hum!

Hum!

Several ship-mounted spiritual energy cannons fired, leaving searing trails of spiritual arcs in the void, while a crimson meteor darted ceaselessly among them.

That's right, Qiu Zheng was still being hunted by the participants from Shenji Lianbao Pavilion.

Even after using two explosive secret techniques to instantly boost his escape speed, he still hadn't shaken them off.

He ran while cursing loudly, and even employed his own learned sonic arts to ensure his voice pierced through the soundproofing systems of those **things.

Fuck you all!

You bunch of unethical things!

If after the Grand Competition you don't go to Jishigu to soothe your hearts, I'll take your surnames!

The effect was striking: the Shenji Lianbao Pavilion participants, who had previously mocked and retorted in the ruined Miao city, were now utterly silent.

They merely kept using ship-mounted spiritual energy cannons to block Qiu Zheng's escape paths.

But then again…

Qiu Zheng couldn't directly confront this divine mechanism, forged from the refinement of several ore veins and assembled with one thousand two hundred and ninety-six unique spiritual structures.

But body cultivators were famously tough and stubborn!

Even if he accidentally took a hit, he'd only stagger slightly, suffer minor skin damage, and recover within a breath.

Yet that relentless "mental assault" was real, genuine damage—hours of nonstop cursing, not a single phrase repeated.

So though they were the hunters, the Shenji Lianbao Pavilion participants were far more enraged.

It was fucking ridiculous!

To be honest, from the moment the Shenji Lianbao Pavilion group fell silent, they had already begun to regret it.

Why provoke a low-class body cultivator brute? Wasn't that just inviting suffering because life was too miserable?

Why not bother the idiot alchemists at Jishigu?

But unfortunately, Qiu Zheng had drawn their hatred far too effectively…

And so the stalemate continued.

Soon, the two sides arrived near a continuous mountain range.

The towering peaks had half their bodies hidden within the drifting clouds and mist, with some unmelted snow piled at their summits.

Qiu Zheng circled around a large mountain, attempting to use the complex terrain here to shake off his pursuers.

However, he saw the seven-layered sharp blades at the shoulder armor of the Divine Mechanism construct detach from the armor's outer shell, fall into the construct's palm, and assemble into an exaggeratedly shaped greatsword.

The dark-purple spirit energy circuits on the armor's outer shell grew increasingly bright, surging into the ghostly-blue spirit energy patterns on the greatsword's surface and resonating.

Then, gripping the sword with both hands, like those sword cultivators who practiced the heavy sword, he slashed horizontally at the continuous mountain range before him!

Hum!

Air currents surged as a fan-shaped spirit energy light arc dozens of kilometers wide swept across; wherever it passed, the snow vaporized soundlessly, and the mountain bodies fractured and disintegrated.

The terrifying scorching spirit tide dispersed the drifting clouds and mist, revealing that all the mountain ranges had been sheared to the same height, with lava flowing at the cut surfaces—utterly horrifying.

Qiu Zheng: "..."

No way?

Did I dig up your ancestral grave or something?!

Seeing the spirit energy light wings behind that Divine Mechanism construct extend and spread once more, rapidly closing in on him.

Qiu Zheng, hiding in a corner, could only curse and scramble out to keep running.

Damn it!

If it weren't for my Greater Teleportation Talismans being used up, I wouldn't need to be this miserable.

The two sides—one chasing, one fleeing—once again vanished into the horizon.

Just like that, after the two sides left and quite some time passed, the scorching spirit tide gradually subsided.

Beneath a severed mountain range, in the gaps between several massive boulders...

"Huff~"

With a soft exhale, a blurry outline appeared, gradually becoming solid, and finally completely clear.

"A mecha? Truly not to be underestimated."

Zhao Ruoming, still shaken, walked out from the gaps between the massive boulders.

He looked up at the remaining half of the mountain, where the lava dripping from the cut surface was gradually solidifying, and his heart grew increasingly heavy.

If I had taken a hit like that, it definitely wouldn't have felt good!

And this probably still isn't full-power output...

No wonder it can chase Qiu Zheng around.

These artificers from the Divine Mechanism Refining Treasure Pavilion really pulled off something big.

Thinking of this, he felt somewhat helpless again.

The first-place Lin Changsheng from the previous session, third-place Yue Zhongfeng, and Qiu Zheng, currently ranked third in this session.

He ran into every single one of them!

Can't he just get an opponent close to his own age!

Just as he was muttering inwardly.

The next moment, Zhao Ruoming's expression suddenly grew solemn!

It was because the miniature reconnaissance robots he had pre-deployed in the surroundings had been triggered, sending him an alert.

Someone was coming!

He immediately instinctively activated the 'Supreme Fifth Generation' stealth unit on his right-hand bracer, turning on anti-divine sense, anti-thermal imaging, anti-divination, anti-karmic tracing, and other functions.

Only then did he begin to check the images fed back by the miniature reconnaissance robots...

At this look, he finally smiled.

He saw the newcomer wearing a blue-green tight-fitting outfit, with a great cauldron wreathed in true fire printed at the cuff.

From the Jishi Valley!

They must have seen that 'mecha' the Divine Mechanism Refining Treasure Pavilion put out, so they were preparing to avoid it.

Surely this time it can't be those contestants in their fifties or sixties again!

Zhao Ruoming refused to believe he'd be that unlucky!

emm...

But to be safe, he'd observe for a while first.

The conflicts on the main timeline where the Soul Transformation group resided grew increasingly fierce.

Compared to that, the first timeline branch where the Nascent Soul group resided was much more peaceful.

Even with only two rounds left, the contestants' initiative wasn't particularly strong, completely lacking the tension of the battle royale mode.

Even the strongest among them were quite slacker-ish.

Mainly because most of these people had participated in the previous Xian Sect Grand Competition, having endured the dark era of being 'ruled' by Chi Jiuyu.

That utterly unreasonable, tier-breaking level of strength left a deep impression on every contestant.

Apart from the one who was beaten into psychological trauma and went to Longxiang Qingtianzong for therapy, there were others who were stimulated by it and had been secretly working hard during this period.

All hoping to regain their footing in this session's Xian Sect Grand Competition...

At the very least, they wanted to make that bastard Chi Jiuyu take them seriously!

Yet the result was... the guy reached Soul Transformation.

Family, anyone understand?!

Twenty-two years old and you're already at Soul Transformation?!

Does it have to be this absurd!

Many Nascent Soul competitors who had targeted her felt the sky had collapsed the moment they saw her join the Soul Transformation group against protocol.

A punch held back for too long landed on empty air—this helplessness truly drained one's spirit.

But contrary to this, the second time-stream branch housing the Jin Dan group was the most fiercely competitive of all.

The intensity of conflict between competitors and local cultivators was also the highest.

The team centered around Sheng Wu of the Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect directly clashed head-on with the Blood Vajra Temple of the second time-stream branch.

"If I don't crush him now, I might as well quit cultivation altogether!"

These were his exact words.

Nearly forty competitors joined the great campaign against the Blood Vajra Temple.

Together, they shattered the temple's "Return to Void" cultivator's soul and spirit, leveling even its mountain gate.

After that, Sheng Wu had planned to use the conquered Blood Vajra Temple as a base to gradually uncover the truth of this world and change it.

Yet the destruction of a Modaoda Sect finally triggered a counterattack from the local forces.

Six "Return to Void" cultivators, led by Xuan Xing of the Tianling Sect, joined forces and immediately eliminated Sheng Wu.

In that single battle, besides Sheng Wu, over a dozen competitors were eliminated.

The supreme status of the "Return to Void" was thus restored, and restless hearts were calmed.

……

……

Second time-stream branch, under the jurisdiction of Tianji Palace.

In a remote, desolate forest, tree branches bore withered yellow leaves, and the ground was piled high with fallen foliage.

Goo~!

Goo~!

Bird calls echoed through the forest, deepening the sense of desolation and solitude.

Yet beneath the fallen leaves in the forest.

A subterranean space had been carved out; the damp soil walls bore glowing ferns, their soft light illuminating the entire underground chamber.

"I'm telling you, you're too reckless—wherever it's dangerous, you run straight there."

In the dim light, a girl about one meter fifty tall, with a delicate little face, was muttering as she poured a mixture of spirit herbs into a massive tub.

Swirling steam rose, revealing a figure reclining on her back inside.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me—we're partners, after all!" She grinned, set the herbal bowl aside, and leaned over the tub's edge. "Hey, how many points do you think Senior Jiu Yu has collected so far?"

These two were Zhang Yunlu and Lin Xuanxuan.

During the campaign against the Blood Vajra Temple, Lin Xuanxuan had helped with alchemy, and that was where they met.

Later, when the six "Return to Void" cultivators attacked, Lin Xuanxuan was caught off guard and Suffered Heavy injuries—Zhang Yunlu carried her out.

Since then, the two had traveled together, jointly resisting local forces while also harvesting points from other competitors.

Their journey had gone fairly smoothly so far.

"Senior… I don't know, but she probably has more than me."

【Name: Zhang Yunlu】

【Age: 20】

【realm: Jin Dan Late Stage】

【Current System Load: Amplification Light Type III】

【Current Points: 4】

【Current Rank: 4】

【Evaluation: Blood-burning berserker needs a healer—remember that.】

Four points. Ranked fourth.

"But Senior Jiu Yu only just reached Soul Transformation—she shouldn't have much advantage, right?"

"I believe in Senior!" Zhang Yunlu declared firmly, then added, "Senior is the youngest Soul Transformation cultivator in history."

"Oh come on! I know that already!"

Senior Jiu Yu posted so many moments after reaching Soul Transformation!

Like "I'll stand at the height that belongs to me," "At twenty-two, I've finally reached this point," and so on…

She had always thought Senior Jiu Yu was hard to get along with.

Only after spending time with her recently did she realize how genuinely interesting she was.

Though she loved putting on airs…

Cough! Cough!

Though she enjoyed showing off, she was actually humble and down-to-earth.

Perhaps this was what they called returning to simplicity!

Thinking this, she glanced at the ice crystal longsword hovering before Zhang Yunlu, its blade cracked in several places.

"By the way, I've always wanted to ask—Little Zhang, your sword's material seems pretty ordinary. Haven't you thought about getting a new one?"

If you're short on funds, we can help you out!

She didn't say it aloud, to avoid hurting Little Zhang's pride.

Hmm…

But Little Zhang is a disciple of the Sword Lord—surely even if other areas were neglected for training, her "sword" shouldn't be this bad?

After all, the "sword" is called the second life of a sword cultivator!

"This sword..." Zhang Yunlu lightly caressed its cold blade, a flicker of nostalgia in her eyes, "I'm used to it. I can't bear to replace it." (End of chapter)