Chapter 479

She paused, her tone turning solemn: "Indeed, in sparring and comparing skills, we stop at the point of contact. I, the Venerable One, hereby establish an iron rule that you must all remember: during the match, deliberate maiming of opponents is strictly forbidden! This is the practice of the demonic path, which our righteous path despises!"

After everyone digested this rule, Kui Qian Xianjun continued to announce: "In this Immortal Sect Grand Competition, there are two events. First, the 'Illusory Heart Trial,' which tests the stability of your Dao heart, the firmness of your will, and your adaptability; second, the 'One-on-One Arena Match,' which examines your cultivation arts and divine abilities, practical combat experience, and courage in battle."

"Each participant will earn corresponding points in these two matches based on performance. Ultimately, all disciples' individual points will be summed and added to the total score of their respective continent or island, thereby determining the final ranking of this year's Three Islands and Nine Continents!"

As his words fell, Kui Qian Xianjun on the high platform slightly raised his sleeves, and an invisible force spread out, instantly raising the atmosphere of the entire martial field to its peak.

"Now, I announce——"

Her gaze suddenly sharpened, her voice shaking the nine heavens:

"The Immortal Sect Grand Competition officially begins——!"

Begin——!

Begin——!

The sound rolled like thunder, echoing above the floating capital, and through countless communication media, it reverberated throughout the entire cultivation world!

Around the martial field, salute cannons fired in unison, spiritual light shot into the sky, and tens of thousands of spectator seats erupted with cheers and chants like a mountain's roar and a sea's tsunami.

In the center of the martial field, the young disciples in the twelve-colored formation each had blazing eyes, their fighting spirit soaring.

Yuan Yao looked up at the exploding salute cannons in the sky, hearing the cheers from around her, and at this moment she too felt immensely excited.

"The first match——the Illusory Heart Trial."

As Kui Qian Xianjun's voice fell again, a huge illusory entrance suddenly appeared above the martial field, looking like a water-blue mirror.

Kui Qian Xianjun said: "Disciples, are you ready?"

Ready!

Many disciples shouted in response, their youthful, tender faces showing excited expressions.

Kui Qian Xianjun said in a deep voice: "Then take the identity tokens in your hands and enter the illusory realm."

The disciples produced the identity tokens uniformly distributed before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition; the tokens were white jade in color, marked with each disciple's originating continent or island.

Soon, disciples began disappearing one after another from the center of the martial field.

Yuan Yao watched the figures disappearing ahead, then turned her head to look at her own senior brothers and sisters.

Xiao Lingwei smiled and said: "Just do your best."

Cang Li clasped his hands together and said softly: "My heart is like a rock; the illusory realm cannot possibly destroy the mentality of Cangaotian. Ladies and gentlemen, I, Cangaotian, will go first."

Having said that, he vanished on the spot.

Seeing this, Yuan Yao exchanged a glance with them, and they all gathered their spiritual power to transmit into their identity tokens.

Immediately afterward, they all disappeared from where they stood.

At the same time, on the high platform, a young woman in red robes was gazing at the spot where Cang Li and the others had disappeared.

The young woman was gorgeous, her brows and eyes full of charm; she leaned back in the chair, crossed her legs, propped her chin with one hand, and appeared somewhat nonchalant.

She looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

"My little Li'er has grown so tall......" she said, her red lips slightly curling, her tone carrying a hint of nonchalance.

A certain Xianjun sitting nearby thought the young woman was speaking to him, "President Cang, are you speaking to me?"

"No." the young woman replied, her eyebrows slightly raised.

The young woman was none other than the President of the Dan Alliance of the cultivation world, Cang Conghuan.

Cang Conghuan is currently the strongest alchemist in the cultivation world, her cultivation having reached the late-stage peak of the Void Refinement Realm, and her true age is only forty-three.

Cang Conghuan became the head of the Dan Alliance at the age of twenty-two.

And at this moment——

The water-mirror spirit crystal originally hanging in the air, emitting a soft, clear radiance, now had its light suddenly flow and ripple like water waves.

Immediately after, crystal-clear illusory scenes gradually unfolded within the crystal, like a living scroll revealing its inner scenery in full.

At the same moment, people everywhere in the cultivation world could see the same images.

Moreover, on one side of the water-mirror spirit crystal's display, lines of golden light flickered into existence, revealing the names of all participants in this trial and their respective score rankings.

"What kind of illusory realm is this?" many people exclaimed, their faces showing surprise after seeing the scene inside the illusion.

Within the illusion, the sky was a oppressive gray, as if a thick layer of leaden clouds covered it, letting no light through.

The howling wind swept up sand and rocks across the sky, roaring like a beast as it blew over the barren land, emitting a 'woo-woo' sound that made listeners' flesh creep.

On the broken walls and ruins all around, countless purplish-black vines twined, their color strange, with specks of scarlet dotted upon them, exuding a cold, eerie aura.

Not far from this wasteland stood a massive stone tablet, weathered by wind and frost.

On it, written in an ancient, twisted script, were several vigorous yet obscure words.

"This... this is the demon race's language, right?!"

Someone cried out in alarm.

"Demon language? Then doesn't that mean... the setting of this illusion is a copy of the demon realm?!"

"Good heavens! This year's Immortal Sect Grand Competition actually modeled the illusory trial ground after the outer demon realm? This is absolutely crazy!"

"If that's truly the case, then this Illusory Heart Trial is fraught with danger!"

"Hehe, anyway, our First Continent's participants will surely score high points in the Illusory Heart Trial!"

Everyone chattered in discussion.

And now, within the illusion.

Yuan Yao was transported to a spot not far from the stone tablet; as she cleared her view of the surroundings, her heart gave a slight start.

She could clearly sense that the place was filled with strong demonic energy.

She frowned slightly.

And just then, she saw an unusually familiar figure.

That was none other than Lu Xiangxiang!

Yuan Yao's eyes flickered; she was about to head toward Lu Xiangxiang, but she hadn't expected that Lu Xiangxiang seemed to sense something, turned her head, and saw herself.

At the instant Lu Xiangxiang saw Yuan Yao, a flash of disgust and a barely perceptible panic crossed her eyes; she quickly headed off in some direction.

Yuan Yao felt a stir in her heart and immediately gave chase.

And just then——

An abrupt change occurred!

The ground began to undergo violent changes, making everyone unsteady on their feet; upon looking up again, the scene before them had become completely different.

Almost everyone found themselves in different positions, and their surroundings were likewise completely different.

The wasteland of broken walls and ruins had turned into a huge, gloomy city, its surroundings cold and perilous.

Yuan Yao's steps halted, and she quickly took in her surroundings.

Before she could get a clear look, the scene before her shifted again.