Not long ago.
"Lost?" On the spirit vessel, Wen Shuangbai's heart skipped a beat upon hearing Lu Jiayao's words. Thinking they had already secured victory this round, she immediately sprang into action, rushing to inspect the formation.
The others quickly followed.
Upon checking, they realized the city lord's vessel wasn’t lost.
Instead, a team had shattered the city lord's token, requesting the spirit vessel to pick them up.
Wen Shuangbai gazed thoughtfully at the flickering point on the transmission axis.
If she remembered correctly, this location was roughly where the monks from the Divine Evolution Temple had been abandoned earlier.
Recalling this, she tilted her head and asked, "What’s the situation outside?"
Xie Ziyin stood by the window with crossed arms, observing.
Below, as the underground tomb exploded, the entire Divine Ghost Valley seemed to descend into apocalyptic chaos. The ground fractured inch by inch, black sand surging like tidal waves, devouring everything with annihilating force.
"It’s about to collapse," Xie Ziyin withdrew his gaze, looking at Wen Shuangbai as he guessed, "So, it’s the Divine Evolution Temple?"
"...Mhm." Was this man a mind reader? Wen Shuangbai sought the group's opinion. "Do we pick them up?"
If they didn’t, she could immediately turn the spirit vessel around and leave before the Divine Ghost Valley was destroyed.
If they did, time would be tight. But for Qingling Mountain, this was advantageous.
The primary task of this round’s Divine Ghost Valley trial was to collect a hundred Divine Ghost Grass and deliver it to the city lord's vessel.
The blood sacrifice formation underground and the so-called divine bone of unknown origin were hidden tasks.
So far, the only ones who had completed the main task were the Jade Rhinoceros Valley, who had left early, and their own group, who had joined the city lord's faction after submitting the grass.
Neither the Divine Evolution Temple nor the Violet Flame Realm had finished.
If the Divine Evolution Temple succeeded but the Violet Flame Realm failed, the latter would be eliminated this round!
The final battle at the Sacred Tower would then be a three-way clash between Qingling Mountain, Jade Rhinoceros Valley, and the Divine Evolution Temple!
Thus, picking them up or not determined who they’d face in the final round.
At the same moment, in the same space, Xie Ziyin’s thoughts aligned almost perfectly with Wen Shuangbai’s. A single exchanged glance conveyed their mutual understanding.
If they had to choose between the two, all six present would undoubtedly pick the Divine Evolution Temple.
Not because they particularly liked monks, but because they despised the Violet Flame Realm more. Except for Lu Jiayao, who genuinely admired the monks.
While the spirit vessel was still far from the dunes below, the kindhearted Lu Jiayao leaned out the hatch, lowering an iron rope as he shouted into the wind, "Brother Buddha Son! Grab the rope and climb up! Shuangbai won’t let us descend further! Hurry—grab—it!!!"
Behind him, Shen Hefeng, Yin Xuan, and Li Zhuohua watched while munching on melon seeds, their expressions a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Though Fat Buddha Son was plump, he was nimble. He quickly scaled the iron rope and boarded the vessel, his round face filled with surprise. "Amitabha, why is it you all?!"
Shen Hefeng flicked a melon seed shell at the two monks’ bald heads, grinning. "Lucky for you it’s us, or you old baldies would’ve been eliminated this round."
Fat Buddha Son scratched his head, bewildered. "Amitabha, where are the city lord’s people?"
Li Zhuohua tapped his gilded sword, raising an eyebrow. "Why so nosy? You wanna go find them or something?!"
Yin Xuan, recalling the camaraderie between their sects from past rituals, stepped in gently. "They’re gone. We… sent them off."
Instantly, Fat Buddha Son understood. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and clasped his hands. "Amitabha. Then, the Divine Ghost Grass I gathered…?"
"Brother Buddha Son, just give it to me!" Lu Jiayao helped Thin Monk aboard, secured the hatch, and jogged over, patting his city lord’s attendant robes. "Right now, I’m the newly appointed attendant! Handing it to me counts!"
Fat Buddha Son: "??"
Wearing the city lord’s robes made him part of the faction?
Skeptical but compliant, the monk handed over the grass. Moments later, he cheerfully received the Sacred Tower’s mission completion notice.
Amitabha! Losing three pounds in the Divine Ghost Valley was worth it!
---
Underground Tomb.
The obsidian divine bone crumbled into dust under the starlight. With its destruction at the formation’s core, the newly activated blood sacrifice array rebounded violently. Primordial killing intent shattered the bronze walls, surging toward Di Qi and Di Yanran in the chamber!
Golden light flickered in Di Qi’s eyes as he spat out a mouthful of heart’s blood—the first time he’d used the Di family’s secret art in the Sacred Tower trials.
The blood transformed into a golden dragon, its roar dispersing the remnants of the Heavenly Thunder Pearls as it clashed with the formation’s power.
Behind him, Di Qi held Di Yanran, using his bloodstained fingers to draw a teleportation array. They vanished from the tomb, reappearing at its entrance where he’d pre-set a marker.
But the tomb’s upheaval affected the entire Divine Ghost Valley. As the divine bone was destroyed, the valley quaked, on the verge of collapse.
Di Qi immediately crushed the city lord’s token.
Soon, the sky rippled as a silver spirit vessel cut through the clouds.
Even amidst the apocalypse, the refined man remained composed. He heard the vessel’s approach, yet his tender gaze never left the woman in his arms.
Until—the silver vessel didn’t stop. It sped up, brazenly soaring past Di Qi’s head without a second glance!
Di Qi’s head snapped up, disbelief and fury flashing across his face as he watched it depart.
The Di Province cultivators spectating the Violet Flame Realm’s trial erupted in outrage.
[How could Qingling Mountain abandon them like this?! What now? With the teleportation tokens useless and the valley collapsing, will our Qi’er and Yanran be trapped…?]
[No! They’ll make it out. They have to!]
[Why do the wicked Qingling Mountain get to leave unscathed while our Violet Flame Realm disciples are left behind? Is this heaven’s envy? Unjust! Qingling Mountain, mark my words—I’ll curse you all to loveless, friendless, miserable ends!]
[This is too much! Di Qi was right on their escape path! Even lowering a rope would’ve let him board. Yet they left them to die!]
[They’re opponents, but we’re all Mystic Heaven cultivators. Qingling Mountain already won the divine bone round. Must they be so ruthless? This is disgraceful.]
[They’re monsters! After all Violet Flame Realm’s kindness—lodging, supplies, never once offending them since Tian Family Village—this is how they repay us? Qingling Mountain, get out of Di Province! You’re unworthy of the Mystic Heaven trials! Disqualify them!]
【Right, revoke Qingling Mountain’s qualification for the competition at Green Spirit Mountain and drive them out of the Imperial Province!】
The Mystic Heaven Mirror was flooded with curses.
In the Valley of Divine Mystery, Di Qi held Di Yanran in his arms, standing with his head bowed at the center of a black sandstorm. Just before the valley was destroyed, he broke through from the Great Ascension Realm to the initial stage of the Supreme Perfection Realm, then advanced to the middle stage, and finally the high stage. With a claw-like motion, he tore through the void and forcibly escaped the Sacred Tower.
As Wen Shuangbai cheerfully counted the sacred stones obtained by the Valley of Divine Mystery in this round, laughing and chatting with her teammates while exiting the Sacred Tower, a loud thud echoed—two bloodied figures tumbled out of the tower and collapsed onto the ground ahead.
Crimson blood pooled across the floor.
“Hah.” Wen Shuangbai immediately took a step back, staring at the male lead and Di Yanran lying in the blood. It was unexpected, yet somehow made perfect sense.
In such a situation, an ordinary person would have died in the Valley of Divine Mystery. But Di Qi was no ordinary man—he was the protagonist of this story.
As for Di Yanran… was she really Di Yanran?
Wen Shuangbai exchanged a glance with Xie Ziyin, their suspicions long brewing.
The others remained frozen in place, hesitant to act.
Only Lu Jiayao and the Thin Monk from the Divine Evolution Temple couldn’t bear to watch and stepped forward to check on the Di siblings.
But their help wasn’t needed.
In the next moment, Di Xiuyuan, the sect master of the Violet Flame Realm, appeared out of thin air.
The disciples present instinctively felt the oppressive aura of a Saint, their legs trembling uncontrollably, as if compelled to kneel and prostrate.
“What a coincidence, Sect Master Di. Here to pick up your disciples too?” Xu Jingshu, the Pavilion Master of Qingling Mountain, took a step out of the void, standing before Wen Shuangbai and her five companions. Holding a storybook, she smiled, though spiritual energy surged subtly around her.
“Amitabha, Sect Master Di, it has been a while.” The old monk from the Divine Evolution Temple arrived as well, standing side by side with Xu Jingshu, shielding the disciples of their respective sects.
Next came the Turtle Elder of Jade Rhinoceros Valley.
The Turtle Elder didn’t come alone—he brought along elders from the Heavenly Net Witch Sect, the Ten Thousand Saints Palace, and the Primordial Origin Sect.
Among the seven great sects, there were no eternal enemies, only everlasting interests.
Jade Rhinoceros Valley lacked many things, but wealth wasn’t one of them.
And this centuries-old turtle loved nothing more than spending money.
The Violet Flame Realm’s dominance had lasted long enough—it was time for a change.
Di Xiuyuan surveyed the six sects before him, silent for a moment before offering a gentle, grandfatherly smile. “This round was our defeat. We concede gracefully.” His gaze swept over Qingling Mountain, Jade Rhinoceros Valley, and the Divine Evolution Temple. “Congratulations to the three sects advancing to the final battle. I shall take my leave first.”
With a flick of his sleeve, Di Xiuyuan vanished, taking the severely injured and unconscious Di Qi and Di Yanran with him.
Behind him, Lu Jiayao and the Thin Monk stood dumbfounded.
Even Wen Shuangbai couldn’t help but wonder.
What was going on? Jade Rhinoceros Valley siding with them was one thing, but why were the other three sects—some even holding grudges—suddenly aligning with them?
The Turtle Elder clearly had no intention of explaining to the younger generation. Instead, he smiled and proposed to the other elders and pavilion masters, “How about joining this old turtle for a drink? I’ve got some fine millennium-aged liquor.”
“Oh? You old thing still have treasures like that? Let’s go!” The other elders chuckled and followed him.
Xu Jingshu didn’t join them. She turned and lightly tapped Shen Hefeng’s head with her storybook, hinting, “Don’t worry about the rest. Just focus on the competition.”
The Mystic Heaven Competition wasn’t merely a contest between disciples—it signified a reshuffling of power among the seven great sects.
All this time, the sect master, pavilion master, and elders of Qingling Mountain hadn’t been idle. Working with Jade Rhinoceros Valley, they had been secretly undermining the Violet Flame Realm.
Behind them, the six disciples exchanged glances before unanimously giving a thumbs-up.
Classic Qingling Mountain.
