Chapter 125: All Are Astonished

Dongfangxiu felt a tightening in their chest, hurriedly lifted their head to look upward, only to see a white figure surge toward them. They just tried to raise their sword to block, but the opponent's long sword struck hard, shaking the sword out of their hand!

Then, with a "Bang", excruciating pain shot through their chest.

The onlookers outside the secret realm were all shocked!

The high‑ponytail girl stomped her feet hard onto Dongfangxiu's chest, both of them plummeting rapidly, and as Dongfangxiu tried to raise a palm to strike her, she kicked their arm hard.

Crack—

Dongfangxiu's arm emitted a sound of bone cracking; the pain twisted their face into a snarl, and they let out a muffled groan.

"You…"

"Get down!" Yuan Yao thrust her foot down hard, kicking them forcefully down.

"Yuan Yao—" Dongfangxiu's face was full of disbelief.

She then used the momentum to embed the Phantom Spirit Sword into the sheer cliff, and the sword instantly, at a visible speed, split into a rope that shot upward.

Yuan Yao grabbed the rope and quickly climbed upward.

As she climbed, a huge thud of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed from deep within the cliff, making everyone's heart race.

Yuan Yao climbed even faster.

In no time, she reached the top of the cliff.

She leaned over to glance at the bottomless abyss below, then patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

Finally got rid of them!

She must leave here quickly.

Just as she turned to leave, a thought struck her, a cunning glint flashing in her eyes, and she looked back at the cliff.

She sheathed her long sword and swiftly laid a formation barrier across the cliff.

She intended to set a gravity array for Dongfangxiu, trapping them temporarily at the base of the cliff.

After completing all this, she stepped away.

At the dark, damp bottom of the cliff, the young man dressed in black and white crashed onto the ground, his face contorted in pain, lips pale, and a trickle of fresh blood spilling from his mouth corner.

He was trying to get up.

In the next moment, an invisible, overwhelming gravity bore down on him.

Boom!

Dongfangxiu hunched their back, chest constricted, nearly unable to support their body; they strained to lift their head, eyes gloomily fixed on the cliff above, and roared, "Yuan Yao!!!"

The angrier they became, the more the chest that Yuan Yao had kicked throbbed, as if sharp stones were grinding harshly against a bloodied, muddied wound.

Dongfangxiu gritted their teeth, spat out a mouthful of blood foam, then quickly retrieved a Healing Wound Pill from their storage and swallowed it.

Afterwards, under the suppression of the gravity formation, they stood up, reaching out to summon their heavy sword back.

Just as they prepared to surge up the cliff in one move, sudden bolts of lightning streaked toward them; their complexion flickered, and they hurriedly raised their sword to block!

Rumble—

More and more lightning bolts struck toward them!

Dongfangxiu hurriedly defended, but at a moment of inattention they were hit by lightning, looking utterly disheveled.

And at this moment—

The onlookers outside the secret realm watched these scenes, their emotions shifting from initial shock to complexity.

Yuan Yao had actually dealt a harsh blow to Dongfangxiu, trapping the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator Dongfangxiu temporarily at the cliff's base.

The Carefree Sect disciples were also dumbfounded, unable to say a word for a moment.

After they recovered, they said with a complicated expression, "Junior sister, you're truly clever!"

"Junior sister is a blessed person; when faced with trouble she will surely turn misfortune into fortune."

As they kept speaking, they grew proud.

"Junior sister truly can! To think you could spin Dongfangxiu around like that, hahaha…"

"Dongfangxiu isn't that strong, either."

"Junior sister, keep it up!"

The members of other sects, hearing the Carefree Sect disciples' words, said: "..."

The Saint Gate sect leader, seated on the high platform, smiled, "What an interesting little girl."

The Thunder Sect leader echoed, "The disciple of Thousand Mountain Immortal Lord is indeed clever. Yet, clever as she is, she truly also has strength."

They could see that Yuan Yao's spiritual power is strong.

Otherwise Yuan Yao wouldn't have been able to withstand Dongfangxiu's Nascent Soul Realm pressure.

Moreover, Yuan Yao is only at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment Realm, yet she has refined her swordsmanship and body techniques to this degree; her talent and comprehension are evidently extremely high.

Thinking this, the Thunder Sect leader glanced toward Thousand Mountain Immortal Lord.

The Saint Gate sect leader, smiling, said, "Carefree Sect leader, in my view, your faction is about to produce another extraordinarily gifted prodigy!"

The Carefree Sect leader, hearing this, replied, "Not at all, it's you Saint Gate who are full of talent and hidden dragons! So many outstanding disciples, truly enviable."

The Saint Gate sect leader, after hearing that, lightly waved the snow‑white feather fan in hand and said leisurely, "Thank you, thank you; our sect is merely a small doorway, and thanks to everyone's generous support we have reached today's stature."

Several officials present showed varied expressions upon hearing this.

Though the Saint Gate leader spoke modestly, there was an air of boasting.

Everyone knows that the strongest sect in Ninth Province is Saint Gate.

If Saint Gate is just a small doorway, then what does their sect amount to?

The officials also were too lazy to bother him.

Yet the Saint Gate leader, being talkative, after evaluating this disciple and another, still wanted to chat with them.

Who doesn't know he's very cunning; he's merely extracting information about their sect's disciples.

…

Inside the secret realm.

After leaving the cliff edge, Yuan Yao went toward the forest outskirts; during this time she found two flags, one green and one blue.

She could earn three points.

As Yuan Yao walked, she encountered a person.

She immediately attacked that person and quickly set up a formation to trap them.

"Repent to me." Yuan Yao gave a slight smile.

That person: "?"

After about a quarter of an hour, the person was shaken by the formation, reflecting on themselves before Yuan Yao; as they spoke, they seemed to have a great awakening, actually gaining an enlightenment and leveling up.

Yuan Yao: "?"

"Thank you, fellow Daoist!" After leveling up, the person gratefully looked at her and proactively gave all the flags they had collected to Yuan Yao.

After finishing everything, that person ran away.

Because she feared Yuan Yao would crush her competition jade token.

Yuan Yao didn't chase either; she lowered her gaze to look at the flags in her hand and smiled.

After sending the flags to the jade token, she found her ranking had improved somewhat, but the increase wasn't large.

Still not in the top 7000.

She curiously checked the current points ranking.

First place: Xiao Zhufeng.

Second place: Ying Wuji.

…

Ninth place: Xiao Lingwei.

…

Twenty-first place: Xue Jin.

…

One hundred fifty-sixth place: Song Yan.

…

Three hundred seventy-ninth place: Cang Li.

…

One thousand nine hundred fiftieth place: Lu Xiangxiang.

…

Eight thousand and first place: Yuan Yao.

After checking the points ranking, Yuan Yao discovered she was behind all the participating senior brothers and sisters of the Carefree Sect.

That is to say, she is at the bottom.

Yuan Yao expressionlessly put away the jade token.

Forget it, ranking isn't important.

Gaining lifespan by conquering the target person is what's most important.

She comforted herself with this thought.

But the next moment, she pursed her lips, her eyes turning resolute.

No!

She cannot let the gap with the Eldest Senior Brother and the others become too large!