“Late-stage Core Formation, in seclusion?” The voice of the man transmitting the message clearly faltered for a moment before he let out a long sigh, after which no further sound was heard.
The white-robed cultivator from the Ancient Sword Sect didn’t say much either. With a wave of his hand, a beam of white light struck a seemingly ordinary bluestone nearby. Instantly, light flickered among the scattered rocks, and after a flash of white radiance, the man vanished without a trace. The pile of rubble turned out to be a cleverly disguised teleportation array.
Meanwhile, the gray-robed elder, seeing the other party leave, casually found a nearby boulder to sit cross-legged upon.
At the other end of the teleportation array, in a modestly sized stone chamber of the Hundred Crafts Academy, the scholar’s figure materialized within the array amidst a white glow. Surrounding him stood several high-ranking cultivators from the three sects, including the elder surnamed Fu.
“How goes it, Junior Brother? Are preparations on the other side nearly complete?” The cultivator surnamed Jiang asked without hesitation as soon as the scholar appeared.
“Rest assured, Senior Brother. Everything at the Holy Land is ready. We can teleport over now,” the scholar replied with a smile.
“Excellent! Brother Duan, please bring in those ten juniors. As agreed, each of our three sects will send one Core Formation cultivator to accompany them. Our side will have Elder Wang, while the Falling Cloud Sect has already assigned Peak Master Yu. Brother Jiang, who will your side send?” The elder surnamed Fu nodded in satisfaction as he spoke.
Upon hearing this, the red-robed elder wordlessly pushed open the door and stepped out.
“What’s so great about the Holy Land? It’s not like we haven’t been there before. Let Junior Brother Bai handle it,” the elder surnamed Jiang replied indifferently.
“That works too. I recall that although Fellow Daoist Bai has never served at the Holy Land, he was one of the ten disciples in the Sword Trial Competition back then. This will be a nostalgic return for him,” the elder surnamed Fu chuckled.
The green-robed scholar nodded calmly in agreement, saying nothing. However, the white-clad young woman beside him smiled charmingly and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, displaying an air of deep affection.
Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the stone chamber, and the red-robed elder walked in calmly, followed by the top ten disciples from the three sects.
This time, although the Falling Cloud Sect still hadn’t secured first place, they had four disciples in the top ten—the highest among the three sects. While the elder surnamed Duan maintained a composed expression, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride inwardly.
With this thought, his gaze naturally drifted toward his sect’s four disciples: the woman surnamed Mu from Sky Spring Peak, a cold-faced young man named Sun Huo from Fire Cloud Peak, and the other two—Han Li and that Du Dong.
Han Li was one thing, but at the sight of Du Dong, the Fire Cloud Peak Master’s expression remained unchanged, though a cold snort echoed in his heart, accompanied by a flicker of mockery.
As for the disciple who had secured first place this time, it was a black-clad youth whose demeanor was as sharp as an unsheathed sword. This youth, named Meng Di from the Ancient Sword Sect, possessed the “Nine Spirit Sword Body.”
The “Nine Spirit Sword Body” was renowned as one of the three great sword cultivation physiques in the cultivation world—no trivial matter. Wielding a top-tier sword artifact, this youth had dominated the competition, with no opponent able to withstand his relentless sword aura for more than a few moments. He claimed first place with absolute superiority.
Thinking of this, the red-robed elder couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy toward the Ancient Sword Sect’s good fortune.
Han Li observed the room full of “Core Formation experts” with cold detachment, feeling neither surprise nor joy. After securing three consecutive victories, he deliberately lost to a formidable Foundation Establishment opponent from the Hundred Crafts Academy. This placed him among the five other defeated contestants vying for ranks seven through ten. In the end, he feigned exhaustion of talismans, barely scraping through to claim ninth place.
As for Du Dong, whether by coincidence or design, he too lost in the fourth round and then deliberately conceded to Han Li, landing in last place. This left Han Li speechless.
The highest-ranked disciple from the Falling Cloud Sect was the young man named Sun Huo, whose cultivation was quite impressive, securing third place.
However, in Han Li’s eyes, if this disciple’s magical tools had been better suited to his techniques, he could have easily defeated the Hundred Crafts Academy disciple in second place—barring the black-clad youth in first.
Once the competition concluded, each of the top ten disciples received a top-tier magical tool. Meng Di, however, was also given a jade box containing a Spirit Stabilizing Pill.
At the sight of the jade box, Han Li made an immediate decision: if this trip went smoothly and he obtained the Spirit Eye Tree’s roots and pill formula, all well and good. If not, he wouldn’t hesitate to “borrow” this item from the Ancient Sword Sect disciple. After all, the Spirit Stabilizing Pill would make his future Core Formation significantly easier.
As Han Li pondered this, the elder surnamed Fu began organizing the disciples for teleportation.
The young cultivators from the three sects, aware of their destination, mostly wore expressions of joy.
Amidst flashes of white light, the scholar surnamed Bai and a ruddy-faced middle-aged cultivator from the Hundred Crafts Academy teleported first, followed by the disciples in pairs.
After a moment of dizziness, Han Li and the others found themselves in a desolate, mist-shrouded area with damp air.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and instinctively released his spiritual sense to probe the surroundings. However, his divine sense extended only a few dozen feet before being repelled by some restriction. A chill ran down his spine—this place was protected by an incredibly powerful array. It would be best to achieve his goals discreetly.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the gray-robed elder rose unhurriedly and flicked a yellow spell seal into the mist, where it vanished.
The thick fog around them churned, then suddenly parted in their direction, revealing a moss-covered stone wall in the distance—as if untouched by human presence.
“Listen carefully,” the scholar surnamed Bai said sternly, preempting the others. “Because the Spirit Water must be used immediately after refinement to cleanse your eyes, you’ve been granted this rare opportunity to enter the three sects’ forbidden grounds. Under normal circumstances, even we are forbidden from approaching this place. Once inside, you may stay for only one day and night. By the next day, you must leave immediately. The area is riddled with restrictions—do not wander recklessly, or you will bear the consequences.”
The low-ranking disciples all nodded in obedient agreement.
Just then, the voice of the man from earlier echoed from the direction of the stone wall: “Enough. Save the instructions for when you’re inside. I’m about to open a gap in the grand array.”
As soon as the man surnamed Yue finished speaking, the stone wall rippled like water, then erupted in blinding green light.
When the group regained their focus, they were stunned to find the green stone wall had vanished, replaced by a massive pair of tightly shut stone doors.
The doors were covered in densely packed runes, shimmering with multicolored spiritual light—evidence of countless powerful restrictions. Outside the doors, several layers of yellow light barriers further sealed them off, making physical contact impossible.
Standing before the towering doors, over thirty feet high, was a yellow-robed cultivator with his hands clasped behind his back. The man appeared to be in his forties, with thick, dark eyebrows slightly raised and an aura of terrifying ferocity that would make any ordinary person tremble in fear, unable to meet his gaze.
“Haha! Senior Brother Yue’s Ghost Fiend Technique has improved significantly. It seems cultivating near the Sacred Tree has accelerated your progress exponentially,” the middle-aged cultivator from the Hundred Crafts Academy remarked enviously, though his voice was soft.
The yellow-robed cultivator heard him clearly and rolled his eyes. “Hmph! If you’re willing to be confined here for fifty or sixty years, you’re welcome to cultivate in seclusion too. But I doubt you’d last!”
The middle-aged cultivator flushed with embarrassment. “I was merely making an observation, Senior Brother Yue. You and Senior Brothers Wu and Tian guard this place with immense dedication. I merely—”
“Enough talk. This restriction was jointly set up by several of our sects’ Nascent Soul elders. I can only open it briefly, so hurry up!”
With that, the yellow-robed cultivator flipped his palm, producing a yellow token. His expression turned solemn as he began chanting.
The token erupted in dazzling yellow light, releasing a radiant mist that dissolved the barriers in its path, opening a passage several yards wide.
“Everyone, move quickly!” the scholar surnamed Bai urged without hesitation, transforming into a streak of white light that shot into the passage.
The gray-robed elder and the middle-aged cultivator from the Hundred Crafts Academy issued similar orders before following suit.
Seeing this, Han Li and the others dared not delay, summoning their artifacts to fly in after them.
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