In just over a dozen breaths, only six demonic beasts remained on the field. During the initial clash, due to the close proximity, a few demonic beasts had relied on their formidable physiques to charge into the midst of the Qi Condensation cultivators. In close-quarters combat, the demonic beasts' innate talents were stronger, and in their surprise attack, these few beasts had managed to kill three people in succession.
The remaining beasts were all inherently poisonous creatures, naturally resistant to other toxins. Their eyes were now bloodshot as they charged madly into the crowd. For a moment, they actually pushed the Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators back. But gradually, the Malevolent Spirit Sect disciples regained the upper hand. At that moment, two of the demonic beasts suddenly unleashed long-hidden divine abilities, killing three more people in an instant. Having exhausted their strength, these two beasts slowed down and were subsequently hacked into a pile of mangled flesh by the enraged Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators.
Li Yan was besieging a demonic beast with several others. This sudden turn of events had caught them off guard, and they were unable to provide aid in time. The sudden burst and subsequent death of those two beasts seemed to ignite the ferocity of the remaining four. They adopted a stance of pure physical defense and charged forward in a desperate, last-ditch effort. The cultivators, knowing this was the final struggle, were on full alert.
Who would have thought that at the same time, the late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard would suddenly toss aside the blue rhomboid crystal in its hand and flash into the midst of the Qi Condensation cultivators. This move was completely unexpected by everyone, even stunning Gong Chenying, who had been on guard. In that moment of shock, the second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard had already plunged into the unprepared crowd. With its cultivation comparable to a peak human Foundation Establishment cultivator, its sneak attack was devastating. Given the vast difference in realms, a single wave of its hand killed one person. As it prepared to continue its slaughter, Gong Chenying, enraged, made her move. A massive beam of light slashed towards two demonic beasts blocking the way, while a small golden axe flew toward the neck of the second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard. The two demonic beasts were utterly unable to withstand Gong Chenying's furious strike and were instantly sliced into four pieces.
As for the second-tier demonic beast, just as it was about to continue its massacre, it felt a sense of impending doom. It hastily swung its twin blades, crossing them behind it to block. With two heavy thuds, its two plank-like broadswords were pierced straight through by the small golden axe. In its panic, it dodged just in time to avoid a fatal blow. Before it could regain its footing, a figure flickered before it. Gong Chenying had closed the distance, and a flash of green light from her halberd slashed at its neck. It hurriedly blocked with its already damaged twin blades, but at the same time, it felt a sharp pain in its abdomen and its consciousness began to fade. Still, it managed to block Gong Chenying's strike. Gong Chenying sidestepped and slammed a fierce elbow into its head.
Gong Chenying's face was deathly pale, and the hand holding the golden axe trembled slightly. It was obvious that controlling this axe was a great strain on her. This small golden axe was truly formidable; with these two consecutive strikes, not only the other cultivators, but even the second-tier demonic beast had no idea how it had appeared. Gong Chenying would not have used it unless absolutely necessary, for afterward, she would be at her weakest.
She retracted the golden axe and looked at the last two demonic beasts, which had now been hacked to a pulp. She then glanced at the corpses on the ground and sighed inwardly.
At this moment, outside the Wheel of Life and Death, on the peaks surrounding the spherical mountain, most of the cultivators from the various sects were sitting in meditation. Some, however, were staring at the central spherical peak. The twenty passages from before had all disappeared, but more than a dozen bands of light could be seen, flickering in and out of view among the mountain's forests.
"Another one disappeared," Zhao Min said in a low voice on the Malevolent Spirit Sect's peak.
"From here, it's impossible to know whether the cultivators on that band of light encountered another and are fighting, or if they were wiped out and absorbed," a charming, seductive voice replied softly.
Li Changting tossed her beautiful hair, her face a picture of helplessness. She looked at Zhao Min, then at Li Wuyi on the other side. Ever since Li Yan and the others had entered the Wheel of Life and Death, these two had been staring at the bands of light for so long. Weren't they bored? After all, with these flickering bands, there was no way to know who was on them or what they were experiencing.
"It seems the situation isn't looking too good for Sixth Junior Sister, Little Martial Uncle, and the others," Li Wuyi said, his gaze sweeping over the Ten-Pace Courtyard, the Supreme Mystery Teachings, and the Pure Land Sect one by one. His heart grew heavier and heavier. In the beginning, these sects had looked just as anxious as they did, but as seven or eight bands of light vanished, they seemed to be growing more and more excited.
"They seem to be getting more confident as more paths disappear," Zhao Min said, also looking at those sects, her brow furrowed on her jade-like face. She didn't even notice that her pristine hands, hidden in her sleeves, were slick with sweat.
"Eight bands have disappeared now. Discounting the chances of encountering demonic beasts or the Malevolent Spirit Sect in the first wave, at least a small half should have converged by now," said a gracefully beautiful woman atop the Ten-Pace Courtyard's peak, speaking in a low voice to Sword King Xiahuà and the other Golden Core cultivators.
"Heh, that should be so," Sword King Xiahuà said, sparing his words as usual. His gaze then returned to the spherical peak in the center, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Among the three sects, Ten-Pace Courtyard has the strongest attack, and the Pure Land Sect has the strongest defense. If our sect converges with them, we'll be the ones to suffer in the end," Hangwu mused atop the Supreme Mystery Teachings' peak, gazing at the sea of white clouds roiling like a celestial paradise in the distance, as if talking to himself.
"It's worth it to sever the Malevolent Spirit Sect's immortal roots that have grown for decades. These past few years, their reach has grown too long, and they've already annexed many of our border territories," said a hale and hearty old man behind him, also a Golden Core, looking out at the boundless sea of clouds with a hint of resentment.
"Heh, look over there. The monks from the Pure Land Sect aren't concerned at all. What they're concerned about is how to get more benefits from the Ten-Pace Courtyard and our sect when the Malevolent Spirit Sect comes looking for trouble after this is over. Otherwise, who's to say those bald donkeys won't spill the secrets and then turn around and deal with us alongside the Malevolent Spirit Sect," Hangwu said with a mocking tone, though it was unclear if he was mocking himself or the Pure Land Sect's scheming.
"This secret was originally discovered by a senior of our sect by chance thousands of years ago while training in the Wheel of Life and Death. If it weren't to increase the odds against the Malevolent Spirit Sect, we could have just teamed up with the Ten-Pace Courtyard privately," a Daoist nun behind Hangwu complained, her pretty face twisted with a hint of savagery.
"Heh, Hang Zhi, I know your disciple was killed by that Chan Monk named Zhiwei from the Pure Land Sect during the harvesting fifteen years ago. The reason we ultimately brought the Pure Land Sect in was because of the demonic beast faction. Those not of our kind are sure to have different loyalties, and we cannot ally with demonic beasts. This means we have to account for the eight extra paths of demonic beasts. Therefore, we could only ally with the Pure Land Sect as well. As for your disciple's matter, I hope you will seek revenge in a future harvest," Hangwu said without turning back, but his tone had become stern. Compared to personal grudges, the sect's affairs were paramount. He didn't want a Golden Core cultivator to jeopardize the sect's decisions because of petty thoughts; even he wouldn't be able to save this junior sister then.
Inside a giant yellow sphere within the Wheel of Life and Death, Wang Lang looked at Quan Jiuxing before him and couldn't help but frown.
"I didn't expect to run into you. Who will lead the team in later?" Wang Lang said with a cold expression, his eyes sweeping over the cultivators behind Quan Jiuxing. There were twenty-five of them left. It seemed their first wave hadn't run into the other two sects either.
Quan Jiuxing stood several dozen feet away with two swords crossed on his back, his posture tall and straight. His lively eyes flickered a few times as he also glanced at the Ten-Pace Courtyard cultivators behind Wang Lang. There were about thirty-one of them. He sighed inwardly. Sword cultivators were indeed powerful. Even though his side had formed the Seven-Star Stepping Lock Formation, they had still lost nine people and had three injured while clearing the trials and finally encountering a team of demonic beasts.
He understood Wang Lang's meaning. After they converged, the two of them would naturally lead the team through this trial together. But at the ten-li meeting point, because only one of them could enter the sphere, while up to seventy-two Qi Condensation cultivators could enter, the entry would have to be led by one of them. At that time, if the cultivators inside the sphere were still from the Ten-Pace Courtyard, the Pure Land Sect, or the Supreme Mystery Teachings, they could rely on their secret method to deceive the rules here and still separate. Since their maximum number of Qi Condensation cultivators was seventy-two, they couldn't merge a third team. Even though their two teams now had fewer than seventy-two Qi Condensation cultivators combined, the other team certainly wouldn't send more people over, as that would weaken their own strength.
If they encountered a team from the Malevolent Spirit Sect or demonic beasts in the sphere, the Qi Condensation cultivators who entered would be commanded by either Wang Lang or himself, Quan Jiuxing. The one who remained outside could only enter after a Foundation Establishment cultivator inside had died. Moreover, the person outside would be at extreme risk, because the people inside had to eliminate the enemy before the black shadow arrived. Otherwise, even with a secret protective method, it was said one could only last for five breaths under the black shadow, and no one wanted to test that.
The Qi Condensation cultivators who entered the sphere could also be used as cannon fodder by the other side's Foundation Establishment cultivator. All of this had to be considered.
"Then what is Brother Wang's opinion?" Quan Jiuxing asked, looking into Wang Lang's eyes.
"The stronger one goes in," Wang Lang said bluntly.
"Oh? Does that mean we have to fight it out here?" Quan Jiuxing's face also turned cold. Deciding the victor here would mean wasting the time they had gained against the encroaching black shadow.
"That won't be necessary. We'll go out now, take the same path, each guarding one side. We'll see who reaches the ten-li mark first," Wang Lang said, having clearly thought this through. He glanced at the black shadow that had already begun to cover the sphere.
"Alright, as Brother Wang wishes. Please," said Quan Jiuxing. With that, both of them waved the blue rhomboid crystals they had been holding. They focused their minds, as if sensing the aura within the crystals. A moment later, they opened their eyes, gently tossed the crystals to let them float in front of them, and then each carefully took out a green gourd from their robes. Holding the bottom with one hand, they opened the stopper with the other. The hand supporting the gourd pulsed with spirit power, and each gourd spat out two to three thin threads of multicolored light that wrapped around the blue rhomboid crystals in the air. Wang Lang's gourd sprayed out threads of green and black light, while Quan Jiuxing's produced yellow, black, and white. The threads, of varying lengths, vanished into the crystals upon contact. The blue rhomboid crystals then flowed with a five-colored light before returning to normal.
Seeing this, the two men quickly stoppered the gourds and carefully put them away. However, when Quan Jiuxing saw that Wang Lang had only released two threads of light, an imperceptible cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Just as they finished putting away the gourds, the two floating blue rhomboid crystals suddenly began to sway like compass needles. One corner of each crystal simultaneously pointed towards a direction on the sphere's wall, instantly shooting out two beams of blue light. The beams hit the wall without a sound, causing it to ripple.
"Let's go!" Upon seeing this, Wang Lang and Quan Jiuxing reached out and grabbed their crystals, shouted to their respective groups, and were the first to flash towards the wall.