Chapter 472: Chi Jiu Yu Eliminated

In a stretch of pitch-black void, where almost nothing existed.

Mu Yong strode forward in great steps; there was no sound around him, the silence was unnerving.

As he pressed deeper, though he felt no weariness whatsoever, his faint breathing grew heavier and heavier.

Gradually, he felt that every breath he took was like thunder exploding beside his ears.

Even the grinding of bone and flesh within him, the sound of blood flowing, became incomparably clear, as if several great rivers were rumbling within his body, surging endlessly forward.

'Indeed, the feeling of approaching the Celestial Trajectory in a Qi Refining body is completely different.' So thought Mu Yong.

In his previous life, having attained the Return-to-Void position, he could arrive in a single thought…

No, that's wrong!

That was merely a false memory fabricated for him by that old ghost Xuan Qi; perhaps the true situation near the Celestial Trajectory was exactly like this.

Thinking this, Mu Yong channeled a wisp of spiritual power into the luminous pearl in his hand.

He immediately felt that the lives of a hundred thousand mortals, five thousand Qi Refining cultivators, a thousand Golden Core cultivators, and fifty Nascent Soul cultivators were all within the reach of a single thought.

Reassured somewhat, he glanced back.

Yet he was startled to discover that behind him, indistinct light and shadow flowed, as if everything had been sped up by a thousandfold.

And within that play of light and shadow, a figure was rushing toward him at great speed — a Soul Transformation cultivator supporting a spirit jade platter.

Mu Yong immediately recognized that person's identity.

But just as he thought that Soul Transformation cultivator would swiftly catch up behind him, he discovered that the cultivator's speed of approach grew slower and slower, until finally it was as if completely frozen.

Without looking closely, it would even be hard to notice that he was still advancing.

The bizarre situation made his heart clench.

This was absolutely not normal!

He could swear that the Xuan Xiang Celestial Trajectory in his previous life's memory was definitely not this bizarre.

The memory was indeed fake!

"Huu…"

He let out a long breath, then clenched his teeth.

Continue forward!

At this point there was no room for regret; turning back now would likely earn him a furious soul-extraction and refinement by the old ghost Xuan Xing, tortured for a thousand years.

And so, he walked on, unsure how long.

The nine six-layered Armillary Spheres in his field of vision grew larger and larger, even the inscriptions on the instrument tracks were clearly visible.

The very core of the instrument tracks emanated a bright yet gentle light, resonating with the spiritual power within him.

Warm and ethereal, the very first glance instinctively inspired longing and yearning.

That was the light of spirituality, the most primordial essence of all living beings, which the Celestial Trajectory had been harvesting day and night over these years!

'Herding spirits… nourishing self… grazing… all living beings!'

In his ears arose a broken, broken, grand and vast, yet also delicate and faint voice.

Combining the deep resonance of bells and chimes with the clear, soaring quality of strings and flutes, as if every sound in the world had been blended together.

Spirituality!

It was an essential element for cultivating the *Mu Ling Yang Wu Hua Cang Zhen Jing*; only by absorbing spirituality could one transform from human into Cang…

A sudden enlightenment rose in Mu Yong's heart, but in the next instant he felt a trace of reluctance.

The Celestial Trajectory harvests all living beings, treating all things as cattle and sheep — was this utterly repulsive world truly correct…

Thinking of this, he saw that warm, gentle light of spirituality suddenly take on a shade of darkness.

No, that's wrong!

Mu Yong was suddenly startled awake, and saw five fingers, like immortal divine pillars, silently rising slowly from that void darkness, and seizing in one grasp the incomprehensibly vast six-layered bronze Armillary Sphere.

In an instant, a figure burst into his perception — one clad in a black robe with black hair, whose aura was overwhelmingly domineering, a presence that even the vastness of the universe could not contain.

The Celestial Trajectory, which harvested all beings and was enough to refine every Return-to-Void cultivator in the Xuan Xiang Realm, was nothing more than a luminous pearl in his palm.

His existence utterly transcended everything Mu Yong knew; had He not willed it, Mu Yong could never have glimpsed even a hairsbreadth of Him.

Overlord!

A title suddenly appeared in his mind, and Mu Yong froze on the spot.

……

……

"Worthy indeed of the one chosen by the world to be its savior."

The Overlord toyed with the six-layered bronze Armillary Sphere in his hand, watching with great interest the Mu Yong who stood frozen on the spot.

Just like Xu Xing, he too had not employed any method of deduction or divination.

Therefore, how Mu Yong would actually respond when facing the light of spirituality — he had not known beforehand either.

"Rare, truly rare — to still retain some kindness in a world like this."

As a True Immortal, the Overlord had seen far too many people, far too many.

Among them were not a few who ordinarily appeared good and charitable, but at the moment of choice revealed their true nature.

But then again, pursuing profit was human instinct; there was nothing much to say about it. He bore no ill will toward such people, though of course he would not look upon them any more favorably either.

Precisely because of this, those who appeared cold and indifferent in daily life, yet at a critical choice still retained some kindness, were all the more precious and rare.

Xu Xing also glanced at Mu Yong:

"After all, he was chosen through a thousand selections by the World's Will; such a showing is only to be expected."

The reason the World's Will chose Mu Yong to become a 'Reincarnator' was to 'save the world.'

Therefore, character was also an extremely important part of the equation.

After all, if the one chosen had been an extremely wicked person, and he had truly reached the pinnacle of the world by relying on his "memories of rebirth," would he really have chosen to "save the world"?

The answer was obvious.

Mu Yong was chosen under these circumstances, so his character was naturally still passable...

At the very least, compared to the average moral standard of the Profound Manifestation Realm.

Then, his gaze passed over Mu Yong and looked toward the Soul Transformation cultivator who had been frozen completely due to the change in the flow of time, and the Profound Manifestation Return-to-Void cultivators further away who couldn't figure out what was going on.

Although letting them in wouldn't allow them to notice anything either, they didn't want to be disturbed by these people, so they simply adjusted the flow of time in the nearby area.

Let alone Soul Transformation cultivators, even Return-to-Void cultivators, once trapped in that anomalous-time zone, could no longer walk out.

Mu Yong was a special case; he had been let in by the Hegemon, so the effect of the time flow on him wasn't that severe.

Thinking this, Xu Xing looked further into the distance.

As the saying goes, a single thought spans a thousand years.

Although the adjusted time flow wasn't that exaggerated, in just this short period while Mu Yong saw the light of spirituality, two full days had already passed in the Profound Manifestation Realm.

The victories and defeats among some of the contestants had finally been decided.

……

……

In the wasteland, everywhere were deep pits formed by melted gravel turning into dark-red lava.

In one of these deep pits, Chi Jiuyu was half-kneeling on the ground, her complexion an ashen grey, her vital signs utterly feeble.

The nearly-severed throat burned with raging golden flames, and the wound was healing at an extremely slow pace within those flames.

Even though she had been highly vigilant, she had still fallen into seven traps.

Opposite her, the contestant from the Supreme Dao Sect lay on his back, missing one arm, but otherwise seemingly fine.

Scattered throughout the deep pit were many sliced pearls, wooden figures, and sheets of paper.

Clearly, his condition was far better than Chi Jiuyu's.

After resting for two seconds, he slowly climbed to his feet.

"Impressive," he said sincerely. "If I let you cultivate for a few more years, I'm afraid I wouldn't be your match."

His own fighting style was admittedly a bit...

So it was better to show weakness proactively; after all, making an enemy of someone like Chi Jiuyu clearly held no benefit whatsoever.

And talk was talk, but this Chi Jiuyu was truly outrageous.

She was only twenty-three this year, having advanced to Soul Transformation just a year ago.

Yet she had managed, while afflicted by three strange poisons, two negative divine abilities, and two formations specifically targeting sword cultivators, to burn through most of her substitute puppets and still sever one of his arms.

"Heh..." Chi Jiuyu forced herself to stand up.

After swaying unsteadily for a while, she finally steadied herself.

One hand covered her nearly-severed throat.

Boom!

Golden flames surged upward, growing ever more intense, until the wound on her throat was completely repaired.

"..."

No way, you're still going to fight in that state?

Yet Chi Jiuyu did not make a move as he had anticipated.

"No need to say so much."

At this moment, her tone had completely calmed down.

"A loss is a loss; I am indeed not your equal right now."

Even without falling into the traps, this guy's strength was still above her own; this was indisputable.

Moreover, being able to make her fall into traps was itself a form of strength.

She, Elder Ancestor Jiuyu, was not the sort of person who couldn't accept a loss!

Finally, she raised her head and looked at the sky.

'I'm sorry, Master.'

【Notice! The fifth safe zone update will occur in ten seconds. Contestants who have not entered the safe zone will be attacked by same-realm pursuers!】

【You have been eliminated. Ranking pending (Soul Transformation)】 (End of this chapter)