Chapter 531

The Heavenly Pride participants stared at each other, only able to suppress their dissatisfaction.

Yes.

Immortal Venerable Zong Guang stood with hands behind his back, his expression calm and steady as he spoke: "Tonight is the time for you to enter the Realm Abyss. Before that, you must make all preparations. Even if you came for the Heavenly Pride Ranking, do not forget your most important duty as the younger generation of the cultivation world—to protect the cultivation world!"

"In the Realm Abyss, dangers abound; inside you will encounter the demon and monster clans whose strength is equally formidable, so you must not act on your own, act impulsively, or disregard the safety of the group."

"Do you understand?"

"Upon hearing this, all the Heavenly Pride candidates immediately replied in unison: 'Understood!'"

"Seeing this, Immortal Venerable Zong Guang and the others showed a look of relief."

"Immediately afterward, the thirteen city-defense Elders summoned Ying Wuhuan, Yujing, and Lu Xiangxiang to the council hall and gave them a series of instructions."

"Furthermore, the thirteen city-defense Elders had already devised a deployment plan for all the Heavenly Pride candidates."

"Immortal Venerable Yue Shan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, 'You must remember the deployment plan we devised for you. But if you truly encounter any sudden situation in the Realm Abyss, you must adapt on the spot! The most important thing is to be able to resolve this sudden problem and reduce casualties among the personnel.'"

"Upon hearing this, Ying Wuhuan, Yujing, and Lu Xiangxiang clasped their hands in salute, bowed slightly, and accepted."

"Immortal Venerable Feng Xuan took out three crimson iron whistles and handed them to the three, saying, 'These are the chief's signal whistles. Blowing them will allow others, guided by the Heavenly Pride Jade Tokens, to quickly locate your positions.'"

"Ying Wuhuan raised his hand to receive them, looked at Immortal Venerable Feng Xuan—Ying Wuji's mother—and said, 'I, Wuhuan, will surely not disappoint your expectations.'"

"Immortal Venerable Feng Xuan's expression remained unchanged; she gave a slight nod."

"After Ying Wuhuan, Yujing, and Lu Xiangxiang walked out of the council hall,"

"Lu Xiangxiang seemed to have sensed a message transmission within her storage space, and she inwardly probed it with her divine sense without showing any outward reaction."

"The content of the transmission was—"

"They have entered the Realm Abyss."

"Lu Xiangxiang's gaze suddenly tightened; she knew they would not so easily give up the chance to enter the Realm Abyss."

"In my previous life, too many things happened in the Realm Abyss."

"They must be intending to thwart my plan."

"\"Xiangxiang? \" Ying Wuhuan's voice suddenly pulled Lu Xiangxiang's thoughts back."

"Lu Xiangxiang lifted her gaze to look at the person before her and revealed a smile."

"Ying Wuhuan was swayed by her smile, his brows and eyes softening with a hint of tenderness."

"She and Ying Wuhuan met during a training expedition. Ying Wuhuan fell for her at first sight, but he hid his feelings deeply; if she did not have memories of her past life, she would likely still think they were merely friends."

"Looking at Ying Wuhuan, Lu Xiangxiang was reminded of another person's figure."

"She lowered her eyelids, concealing the hint of coldness in her eyes."

"Ying Wuji…"

"\"I'll go back to my quarters to tidy up first, \" Yujing suddenly said."

"Upon hearing this, Lu Xiangxiang gave Yujing a gentle smile."

"Yujing gave a slight nod and then walked away."

"Lu Xiangxiang watched Yujing's retreating figure, and memories of her past life surfaced: in her previous life, Yujing had died in the Realm Abyss, her abdomen ripped open by a Realm Abyss monster, her limbs shattered, and her skull ultimately taken by a demon clan prodigy…"

"It truly is lamentable."

"A hint of regret appeared in Lu Xiangxiang's eyes; if in this life Yujing could become her subordinate, she would surely save her."

"It's a pity, though, that Yujing gets along well with Yuan Yao and those few despicable people, so she has no intention of warning Yujing or getting on good terms with her."

"Moreover, this life is full of uncertainty."

"Yujing may not necessarily die."

"Lu Xiangxiang slowly raised her head and said, 'Wuhuan, do you think your cousin will enter the Realm Abyss?'"

"Ying Wuhuan's expression shifted slightly, and he asked doubtfully, 'Hasn't he given up the Heavenly Pride Token?'"

"Lu Xiangxiang frowned and said, 'Based on my understanding of him, on the surface he has relinquished the Heavenly Pride Token to express his dissatisfaction with the immortals' verdict on Yuan Yao, but secretly he does not intend to give up entering the Realm Abyss.'"

"Ying Wuhuan: 'You know him quite well?'"

"Upon hearing this, Lu Xiangxiang froze for a moment, lifted her eyes to meet his focused gaze, pressed her lips, and said, 'Not that I know him well, but I have a faint intuition…'"

"\"Xiangxiang, your intuition is usually spot on, \" Ying Wuhuan said; he appeared calm on the surface, but his inner self was churning with great turmoil."

"…"

"Meanwhile, on the other side,"

"In the gloomy abyss, towering ancient trees rose from the ground, their branches twisted and knotted, blocking out the sky and swallowing the already thin light completely. Dark green vines, like tentacles, tightly wound around the trees' rough trunks, climbing upward and then dangling down from above, forming layer after layer of impenetrable natural curtains that swayed faintly in the deathly silence, adding an eerie quality."

"The ground was muddy and slippery, covered with a thick layer of withered branches and fallen leaves"

"Rotting into sludge, it exuded a nauseating stench of rot and decay, mixed with some unknown plant's weird odor that rushed straight into the nostrils, almost making one unable to breathe."

"At that moment, the space twisted, and eleven blurry black figures appeared out of thin air—precisely the group that had been teleported here."

"\"Tsk, what godforsaken place is this? It reeks like a ten-thousand-year-old outhouse! \" a somewhat frivolous male voice rang out—it was Cang Li."

"He instinctively furrowed his brows, his nostrils flaring, his face full of disgust and discomfort, as if the smell had tangible substance, clinging viscously to him."

"Yuan Yao's first reaction was to scan the surroundings, observing the environment."

"\"Based on the aura and environment, this should be the outer region of the Realm Abyss, \" Ying Wuji's steady voice broke the brief silence. \"The Breath Flower only grows in the inner core of the Realm Abyss. Moreover, once the disciples of the demon and monster clans enter the Realm Abyss, they will surely rush nonstop toward the inner core to seize the initiative. \""

"Xiao Lingwei's cold voice timely interjected, \"If that's the case, then we shall strike first! \""

"Looking closely, all eleven wore uniform dark black battle attire of fine fabric with a subtle sheen, clearly not ordinary goods."

"Each face was covered with an identical ferocious fang mask, concealing their features completely. Except for differences in height, build, and girth, it would be nearly impossible to tell their true identities apart; one could only guess from voice and subtle movements."

"Yuan Yao spoke up, \"The disciples of the demon and monster clans are undoubtedly strong, so we must not only strike first but also preempt them. \""

"\"Oh? \" Qian Yunzhou drew out his tone, smiling as he asked, \"I wonder how Sixth Junior Sister intends to preempt them? \""

"Yuan Yao immediately turned to him and corrected, \"Number Seven, mind your form of address. \""

"Qian Yunzhou let out a light sigh, \"Fine, fine, fine. \""

The eleven of them, in order not to expose their identities, had already discussed the matter of code names in advance.

From Song Yan to Yuan Yao, they are numbers one through six.

Qian Yunzhou is number seven.

Ling Huya is number eight.

Zhai Qingye is number nine.

Xiao Zhufeng is number ten.

Dong Jiao is number eleven.