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The Foundation Establishment cultivators—both righteous disciples and rogue practitioners—realized they stood no chance against the Golden Core experts present. Those with self-awareness wisely infused their heart's blood into their jade pendants and teleported away.
However, two cultivators, perhaps confident in their own abilities, chose to stay and actively challenge Liu Yue.
They exchanged a glance, drew their magical artifacts, and launched a coordinated assault, intending to overpower Liu Yue through their combined strength.
But the gap between realms was not so easily bridged. Liu Yue didn't even bother to unsheathe the great blade on his back. Instead, he used his hand as a blade, slashing out a terrifying arc of energy that sent both attackers flying into the distance.
Defeated and humbled, the duo wasted no time activating their jade pendants and fleeing the scene.
Soon, only nine Golden Core cultivators and Su Miaoqing remained in the clearing.
Mo Yu, the demonic cultivator, looked at Su Miaoqing before sneering at Xiao Yifeng. "Does this Fellow Daoist from the Wentian Sect truly intend to bring his Junior Sister inside?"
"Is there a reason I shouldn't?" Xiao Yifeng replied with a hearty laugh.
"Then you’ll have to see who is willing to give up their spot for her. Unless you plan to yield your own? You’re quite the chivalrous one—you and Lin Xiao would make a fine pair of brothers. Don't worry, this lord will take good care of your Junior Sister once we're inside," Mo Yu laughed maniacally.
Xiao Yifeng looked at him calmly. After a pause, he smiled. "As long as you die, won't a spot open up? I was wondering who to choose, but since you are actively courting death, I’ll fulfill your wish!"
He snorted coldly. "Myriad Sword Art!"
Secretly, he crushed a Golden Core sword qi talisman hidden in his palm. Sword light surged around his body. Fortune smiled upon him; he actually triggered the Quartet. The burst of Golden Core sword qi, mingling with his execution of the Thousand Sword Art, created a magnificent spectacle. Countless flying swords swirled around him, the momentum vast and imposing.
Supported by the Quartet effect and the sword qi talisman, his fake Myriad Sword Art appeared virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. The Wentian Sect’s Myriad Sword Art was renowned in the cultivation world as a technique executable only by those at the Golden Core stage.
Xiao Yifeng did not hesitate. He thrust his long sword forward, and streams of sword qi surged like a school of swimming fish, rushing toward his opponent. He had taken the initiative to strike first.
Mo Yu, furious, laughed in anger. "Good! I didn't provoke you, yet you come looking for trouble with me? You really think I'm easy to bully!"
A faint, ghostly cold light rose from his hands as he formed them into claws, knocking away the incoming sword qi one by one. His feet moved against the current of the attack, leaving an afterimage where he stood.
His figure appeared behind Xiao Yifeng like a phantom. Xiao Yifeng seemed completely unaware of the flank. Mo Yu’s hand, glowing with a chilling light, slapped toward the back of Xiao Yifeng’s head, aiming to recreate the tragedy of the middle-aged man from earlier. In the distance, Su Miaoqing’s heart skipped a beat in terror.
However, just as his hand was about to make contact, alarm bells rang loudly in Mo Yu's mind. Something was wrong. Given Wuchen’s strength as a True Disciple of the Wentian Sect, how could he allow an enemy to close in so easily?
Yet, the bizarre reality was unfolding right before his eyes. With no time to second-guess, Mo Yu increased his force, gathering all his strength for a heavy, lethal strike.
Bang!
He felt as though he had struck an iron wall. A dragon’s roar resounded through the air, and a blinding golden light instantly erupted from Xiao Yifeng’s body.
The onlookers felt a terrifying, majestic aura rise and then recede like the tide in a split second. When their vision cleared, they saw a scene that defied belief.
Mo Yu stood frozen, staring incredulously at a massive hole in his chest. He had been completely pierced through by the golden light that surged from Xiao Yifeng.
He opened his mouth, struggling to speak, but Xiao Yifeng gave him no such chance. Whirling around, Xiao Yifeng thrust his sword into Mo Yu’s body. With surgical precision, he dug the Golden Core out of the corpse and caught it in his hand with a smooth backhand motion.
"Truly a fool who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. You think you can tease my Junior Sister?" Xiao Yifeng sneered.
Flames instantly surged along his blade, reducing Mo Yu’s corpse to ashes in the blink of an eye.
Only a Storage Ring remained, falling into Xiao Yifeng’s hand. He casually slipped it onto his finger as if he had done nothing of consequence, then drifted back to Su Miaoqing’s side, offering her a reassuring smile.
Su Miaoqing was dumbfounded, unsure of what had just transpired. But she quickly realized it must have been the Coiling Dragon Pendant automatically protecting its master.
Xiao Yifeng had deliberately lured the opponent into attacking him to trigger the pendant's auto-defense. The Nascent Soul-level protective force had instantly obliterated the enemy. Presumably, his Myriad Sword Art had been nothing more than a bluff.
The others, unaware of these subtle twists, could only re-evaluate Xiao Yifeng’s threat level.
To instantly kill Mo Yu... such strength would place him among the elite, even within the Golden Core stage. He was likely at least a mid-Golden Core cultivator.
Carrying the momentum of his brutal victory, Xiao Yifeng spoke lightly, "Now there are only nine of us. Can we enter the Immortal Abode?"
As soon as his words fell, the mysterious voice echoed across the field once more. "Nine individuals remain. Conditions for opening the Immortal Abode met."
The jade pendants in everyone’s hands floated into the air. Nine beams of golden light shot from the jade, striking the great gate of the Immortal Abode.
Suddenly, the gate transformed. The structure, originally ethereal and radiating immortal qi, began to seep countless streams of blood. The entire gate turned as black as ink.
The characters for "Reincarnation Immortal Abode" warped, becoming three crimson characters: Gate of Hell.
The statues of the man and woman flanking the gate twisted into the hideous, ferocious forms of Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
The pitch-black gate slowly creaked open. Inside, a blue vortex swirled sluggishly, emitting a vast, oppressive aura—like a black hole waiting to devour everything.
A strange, ominous feeling settled in everyone’s hearts. For a moment, no one dared to take the first step.
After a long silence, Wang Laoxie let out a loud laugh. "Since no one else is moving, I’ll go in first. The treasures inside belong to me! I’d like to see what tricks they’re playing with these ghosts and gods."
With that, he transformed into a stream of light and vanished into the gate.
Seeing this, the others hesitated no longer. Few who cultivated to the Golden Core stage were truly timid. After layering several protective magical artifacts over their bodies, they disappeared into the gate one by one.
In the blink of an eye, only Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing remained.
Once they were alone, Xiao Yifeng handed the Coiling Dragon Pendant back to Su Miaoqing.
"Xiao Feng, if you give this pendant to me, what about you? Take it back, quickly." Su Miaoqing tried to push it back into his hands.
"Senior Sister, we agreed that you would listen to me once we entered. Why are you always so disobedient? I have my reasons for giving it to you."
Xiao Yifeng feigned anger and forced the pendant back into her hand. "Besides, don't I have plenty of talismans? Senior Sister, Immortal Abodes usually contain illusions. Remember: whatever you see, it’s all fake! Let’s go. We worked hard to get here; we can't waste this fated chance."
Without waiting for a reply, he pulled Su Miaoqing along and flew toward the entrance. Together, they vanished into the darkness of the gate.
Immediately, a gentle singing voice drifted into Xiao Yifeng’s ears. Before he could react, his consciousness faded, and he uncontrollably fell into a deep sleep.