Chapter 159

Wang Yu looked at the vast halo in the distance, where a green light array had appeared, along with the faint shadow of an ancient gate within it, and for some reason, he felt an intense unease.

If not for the four Golden Core elders having already appeared, and the two demonic Golden Core cultivators having already fled, he truly would have run away, far away.

At this moment, the earthquakes and gales in this region vanished the moment the strange phenomena emerged within the halo.

Although he strained his superhuman hearing to catch the elders' conversation, some elder had casually cast a silence spell, leaving him only able to watch the four Golden Core elders' lips move slightly, yet hear not a single word—forced to stand there helplessly staring.

This filled him with great frustration.

Just then, a booming voice suddenly echoed from the sky.

"Disciples of the Four Symbols Sect, assemble immediately."

"Disciples of the Golden Steel Temple, assemble immediately."

"Disciples of the Thousand Bamboo Sect, assemble immediately."

Hearing their respective sect elders summoning them, the disciples of the four sects who had been keeping their distance dared not hesitate—they soared back from all directions.

As for the disciples who had remained in camp, they now became the minority.

It seemed those Qi Condensation disciples brave enough to attend the four sects' assembly were not truly foolish.

The dozen or so Foundation Establishment elders who had accompanied the Golden Core elders remained in camp, none daring to slip away.

Now, they too rose into the air and stood solemnly below the four elders.

Over eight hundred Qi Condensation disciples quickly gathered at the center of the camp, silently awaiting the elders' instructions.

Yet most of their gazes could not help but be drawn to the strange spectacle within the giant halo above, their expressions varied.

But the elders in the sky clearly had no intention of delivering a long speech; after whispering among themselves, the purple-red-robed Lieguang elder stepped forward and roared down to the disciples:

"Due to the interference of demonic traitors, this four-sect assembly cannot proceed normally. After consultation, we have decided to transform it into the Jialan Trial. The participants remain unchanged; the only changes are the opponents, the trial grounds, and the objective."

"Listen well, all disciples: the great gate above you is the entrance to the Jialan Secret Realm, left behind centuries ago by the famed Jialan True Person. Within lie countless resources and treasures, but the entrance is sealed by powerful restrictions—only Qi Condensation disciples may enter."

"Now, the demons have activated the entire secret realm; their disciples will enter through another entrance."

"This Jialan Trial will take place within the Jialan Secret Realm. Your opponents are the Qi Condensation disciples of the Black Soul Sect, the Joy Palace, and the Mara Sect. Your sole objective: kill every demonic disciple and seize all resources and treasures within the realm."

"In one word: kill, kill, kill!"

Lieguang's voice grew colder with each word; when he spat out the three "kill" syllables, a crimson light erupted from his body, surging skyward and spreading outward in all directions, staining half the sky red, the surrounding void thick with scorching heat.

Below, the disciples of the four sects were stunned, yet since all were strong, none showed panic or shock—only stunned silence, utterly beyond their expectations.

Seeing this reaction, the four Golden Core elders were satisfied; Tianchan elder cleared his throat and added:

"The Jialan Trial differs from the four-sect assembly—it is mandatory. All present disciples must participate, and you bear full responsibility for life or death. But do not fear: though the demons may have slightly more disciples entering the realm, their overall strength is likely lower than yours. One-on-one, I believe the victor will be you."

"Due to the danger of the Jialan Trial, my three comrades and I have agreed: the rewards will be doubled from the original four-sect assembly standards."

"The ranking system has only one criterion: collect the identity tokens of slain demonic disciples to calculate merit. The more demonic disciples you kill, the higher your merit."

"One merit for an outer-disciple, ten for an inner-disciple, one hundred for a true heir."

"This merit not only determines your rank and rewards, but may also be directly exchanged for other prizes."

"Furthermore, all resources and treasures you acquire within the realm belong to you—but if you wish to sell them, you must first offer them to your sect."

To boost their disciples' morale, these four Golden Core elders had gone to extremes.

Upon hearing Tianchan elder's words, the disciples below could no longer contain themselves—they erupted in commotion.

Most were stunned with joy; some disciples who considered themselves vastly superior to their peers openly displayed ecstatic expressions.

At that moment, the old woman in green also spoke coldly:

"This Jialan Trial has one ultimate objective: the fifth Jialan Key, hidden deep within the realm."

"Whoever retrieves this key and brings it out to us will be declared the Jialan Trial's top ranker, regardless of how many demonic disciples others kill—and will receive an immediate reward of one thousand merit points."

"If the demonic side proves too powerful and you cannot stop them, destroy the key-bearer. Though you will not claim first place, you will still earn five hundred merit points."

"Moreover, if the demons find the fifth key first, and you force them to abandon it before they can extract it from the realm, all disciples will receive a substantial bonus in merit points."

"Conversely, if the demons successfully take the key out, every disciple will be heavily penalized in merit points."

Hearing this, many disciples were stunned, some wavering between hope and dread.

Wang Yu, hearing the elders' successive words, felt his heart sink.

He had no desire whatsoever to join this so-called "Jialan Trial"—the Jialan Secret Realm was clearly a blood-soaked battlefield of life and death.

He had come to the four-sect assembly only to collect rewards for later cultivation; the assembly itself never risked anyone's life.

His goal in the cultivation world was clear: avoid all risks, survive quietly, and extend his lifespan through breakthroughs in major realms.

He had never entertained the idea of fighting demonic disciples to the death.

Yet now, the four Golden Core elders watched from above, explicitly declaring the trial mandatory—every disciple must participate. How could he dare refuse?

He could not even voice refusal, nor show the slightest hint of dissent on his face.

Was he truly forced to carve out a path to survival through bloodshed?

Ordinary demonic disciples were one thing—but if he were unlucky enough to encounter a demonic true heir, survival might be impossible.

Wang Yu appeared calm on the surface, but his mind churned wildly, desperately searching for a way out.