Chapter 233: Jade Treasure Chest
"Nothing more than this!"
Gazing at the trembling forest around him, the Blood Demon Sect true disciple let out a cold snort. At once, the blood fiend energy within his body erupted, his figure transforming into streaks of bloody light, wreaking havoc throughout the woods.
Clearly, this Blood Demon Sect true disciple could not find Ji Xinglan's exact position, so he chose the simplest and crudest method: destroy the forest. Once it was destroyed, the enemy would naturally be forced to reveal himself.
As the Blood Demon Sect true disciple laid waste to the trees, the forest under Ji Xinglan's control launched counterattacks. But those strikes could not truly harm him—at best, they could only hinder his movement, which was ultimately meaningless.
Ji Xinglan could only feel helpless. His strengths lay in survival and restraining the enemy. If he had a helper, he could truly bring out his value.
One-on-one combat was not his specialty. If things continued this way, failure was only a matter of time.
"Hm!"
Just as Ji Xinglan was considering activating his identity token to withdraw once the forest reached fifty percent destruction, a figure stepped into the woods.
Melded with the forest, Ji Xinglan instantly perceived the newcomer's identity.
Suppressing the surge of joy in his heart, he once more directed the trees to strike at the Blood Demon Sect true disciple, concealing the arrival of that figure.
"All of this is nothing but meaningless resistance!" Having destroyed yet another section of forest, the Blood Demon Sect true disciple grew increasingly confident.
Shennong Valley true disciples were troublesome to kill, but their combat power was nothing special. If given some time to completely destroy this forest, he would be able to force his target out.
"There you are!"
Just as that thought rose in his mind, a figure appeared ahead. At once, the Blood Demon Sect true disciple pounced without hesitation.
He could not risk allowing his opponent to activate the identity token and escape.
"Now, die—"
With a savage grin, he charged at the figure before him. But his words suddenly froze in his throat. The person standing there was not the Shennong Valley true disciple, but Lin Wu of the Grand Yan Sword Sect.
This was the one who had defeated a fourth-rank demon king!
The Blood Demon Sect true disciple prided himself on being able to at least fight against a fourth-rank demon king, but he knew he had no hope of victory. To be able to defeat a fourth-rank demon king—that kind of strength was terrifying.
Still, as a true disciple of a top-tier sect, he had his own pride. Even if he was outmatched, it would not be easy for the opponent to kill him outright.
He was still unaware that another true disciple on his side had already fallen to Gu Mo. Had he known, he would have fled at once instead of pausing to gauge Lin wu's strength.
"Die!"
After a moment of stunned silence, the Blood Demon Sect true disciple attacked. No matter how fearsome the rumors, no true disciple would retreat without testing them. To become a true disciple, one had to be confident in one's own strength. Unless truly defeated, that confidence could never be shaken.
"Sky-Cleave!"
As the Blood Demon Sect true disciple lunged, Gu Mo raised the ice-type half-spiritual weapon in his hand, unleashing a massive arc of sword light. This sword strike lacked the overwhelming might of the Sun Gold-Crow Sword, yet its power still reached the Nascent Soul level.
Because this time, Gu Mo had "added an ingredient"—the power of Immortality.
"So strong!"
Feeling the razor-sharp sword light, the Blood Demon Sect true disciple was shaken to the core. He finally realized that the rumors were no exaggeration. This sword indeed carried the might to defeat a fourth-rank demon king.
But he was no clumsy wild boar demon king. Such an attack could be dodged, after which he would counter at the right moment.
Just as he prepared to evade, vines suddenly burst forth, binding him tight.
This was no one-on-one battle. It was two against one: besides Gu Mo's sword-cultivator avatar, there was also a Shennong Valley true disciple present.
Though Ji Xinglan was weak in direct combat, his support skills from the rear were exceptional.
"Damn!"
Entangled by the vines, the Blood Demon Sect true disciple felt dread flood his heart. From the moment he saw Lin Wu, his entire attention had been locked onto him. Gu Mo's threat was too great for him to split his focus.
And because of this, he neglected Ji Xinglan, who now struck at the critical moment, creating the perfect opening for Gu Mo.
"Break!"
As the deadly sword light bore down, the Blood Demon Sect true disciple roared, igniting his blood fiend energy like roaring flames.
Yet in the face of that icy sword light, the flames were swiftly extinguished—along with his life.
Ji Xinglan's attacks could not harm him. But Gu Mo's sword-cultivator avatar was another story.
Especially this strike: infused with Immortal Power, combined with the mighty Sky-Cleave sword technique from the Nameless Sword Codex and the half-spiritual weapon's amplification—this was a sword strike that even a true Nascent Soul cultivator would be injured taking head-on, let alone a peak Golden Core cultivator.
"Many thanks for your assistance, Lord Lin Wu!"
As the Blood Demon Sect true disciple fell, Ji Xinglan emerged from the forest, cupping his hands in thanks. If not for Gu Mo's timely arrival, he had been ready to use his token and leave.
"Think nothing of it."
Gu Mo nodded. Through this battle, he had come to understand this junior uncle somewhat better. True disciples truly did have their own abilities.
His own easy victory was not his alone. Without Ji Xinglan's interference, he would have needed several more strikes to bring down the Blood Demon Sect true disciple.
And each strike meant more Immortal Power consumed. That cost would have been heavy.
"Shall we move together?"
After some thought, Gu Mo extended the invitation. He still planned to hunt down more demonic true disciples. With someone like Ji Xinglan to restrain enemies, his sword-cultivator avatar's offensive power could be fully unleashed.
"Gladly!"
Ji Xinglan naturally did not refuse. To join hands with such a powerful sword cultivator was an honor, even for a Shennong Valley true disciple like himself.
"Sister Ming, where is the nearest demonic true disciple?" Gu Mo turned to ask Ming Yueyue, who came running up.
"Leave that to me," Ji Xinglan said with a smile. As a true disciple, he naturally knew more.
"Good."
At once, the three set out swiftly toward the next location.
Lin Wu of the Grand Yan Sword Sect—yet another demonic true disciple had fallen to him.
Outside, as news spread of the Blood Demon Sect true disciple's death, the world erupted in an uproar.
To slay two true disciples in the Heavenly Chosen Battle—what strength this was!
If things continued, the demonic sects' true disciples might all be wiped out. In that case, even if one managed to break through, it would mean little.
After all, such staggering losses meant that in the time to come, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators birthed by the demonic path would fall short of the righteous path.
True disciples were almost always Nascent Soul seeds. Losing one true disciple was equivalent to losing a future Nascent Soul elder.
And Nascent Soul True Lords were the true main force in clashes between righteous and demonic cultivators.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Just then, two streaks of light shot out from within the island and landed on the initial island. They were two righteous sect true disciples. Against Gu Mo's sword-cultivator incarnation, the demonic sect's true disciples had seemed weak—but that was only because Gu Mo's strength was overwhelming.
When facing other righteous true disciples, the demonic sect's true disciples were by no means weak—if anything, they were even stronger. As proof, a true disciple of the Yin-Yang Sword Sect and another of the Taiqing Sect had already activated their identity tokens to withdraw from this Heavenly Chosen Battle.
On the righteous side, the trump cards and contingencies were all meant for saving lives. Though they couldn't aid in the battle itself, they could at least allow righteous true disciples to retreat safely.
The two demonic true disciples, however, had no such powerful life-preserving means, and were directly cut down by Gu Mo.
Thus the demonic sect lost two true disciples, while the righteous side lost two who withdrew from the battle. On the surface, the balance between righteous and demonic true disciples had not collapsed.
But everyone knew this was only a superficial balance. The very appearance of Gu Mo's incarnation had long since shattered it.
At this point, the demonic sect could only place their hopes on the true disciple undergoing breakthrough. As long as that disciple succeeded, the balance of power would tilt back toward them.
"Go!"
Learning that two of their true disciples had already fallen, the remaining demonic disciples no longer had any desire to fight on with the righteous true disciples. They all rushed toward the location of their fellow disciple in the midst of his breakthrough, planning to counterattack once he succeeded.
"Don't worry about them. Right now, finding the Jade Treasure Chest is our true chance to turn the tables." On the righteous side, the true disciples made no move to pursue. With strength so evenly matched, if one side wanted to flee, it was difficult to stop them.
Unless a demonic true disciple happened to run straight into Gu Mo's incarnation—but from the time Gu Mo received intelligence to when he could actually arrive at a destination, some time was needed. If the demonic disciples kept moving, even Gu Mo's incarnation would find it hard to catch them.
That Blood Demon Sect disciple earlier had only been caught because Ji Xinglan had entangled him, buying enough time for Gu Mo to arrive.
…
"This Heavenly Chosen Battle is growing more and more dangerous." Ding Shiyan sighed to Gu Mo and Du Jinpeng, who were following her.
While the true disciples were busy battling, Ding Shiyan had taken Gu Mo to find Du Jinpeng. The three of them then managed to locate several ordinary chests and bronze chests, making a small gain.
At the very least, this Heavenly Chosen Battle hadn't been in vain. Now, Ding Shiyan was considering when to withdraw. Leaving with their gains intact—that would be a perfect outcome.
As for winning or losing—that was the true disciples' concern, not something ordinary chosen ones like them needed to worry about.
"Withdraw, huh."
Listening to Ding Shiyan's musings, Gu Mo also felt somewhat tempted. If his sword-cultivator incarnation withdrew from the battle now, it would throw both righteous and demonic camps into chaos.
In fact, now would be a rather suitable time to exit.
In terms of gains, the harvest from the Golden Chest had already satisfied Gu Mo. Moreover, having slain two demonic true disciples, such a record would leave no one room to criticize him for leaving now.
Truth be told, if he stayed any longer, when faced with that demonic true disciple breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, even Gu Mo's incarnation had no real confidence.
Top disciples of great sects, upon breaking through to Nascent Soul, were far stronger than ordinary Nascent Souls. If that disciple also possessed some hidden trump card or killing move, the danger would only be greater.
Since his chances weren't high, it might be wiser to withdraw now and render all of the demonic sect's preparations fruitless. Well—not completely fruitless. At least the demonic sect would still claim victory in this Heavenly Chosen Battle.
That was a great gain in terms of prestige. And the treasures of the battle… they likely wouldn't lose out too badly either.
"There's a chest up ahead!"
All of a sudden, Du Jinpeng, who was keeping vigilant watch all around, strode forward quickly. Pushing aside some undergrowth, he revealed a jade-like chest before them.
"Ah!"
The three of them froze at the sight. The highest-grade Jade Treasure Chest of the Heavenly Chosen Battle was just sitting there in the brush? That seemed far too careless.
"The place where it's set doesn't matter. What's crucial is the conditions for opening it." Gu Mo spoke. Finding the chest wasn't the real issue—the true key lay in how it could be opened.
"Can we even manage to open it?" Du Jinpeng asked soberly.
"Most likely not. But…" Ding Shiyan stared at the chest. Honestly, with such a fortuitous treasure before their eyes, how could anyone not feel tempted?
"Why don't we at least take a look at the conditions? If it's too difficult, we'll give up." Du Jinpeng suggested after some thought. Walking away without even trying felt far too bitter.
"That's fine."
Ding Shiyan nodded. She too wanted to know what was required to open this Jade Treasure Chest.
"Then I'll open it."
After confirming with Ding Shiyan and Gu Mo, Du Jinpeng reached out and touched the Jade Treasure Chest.
In that instant, the chest burst out with dazzling radiance that shot into the sky. Then, centered on the chest, a great formation unfolded.
The condition for opening the chest was also revealed: to rely on the formation to defend the Jade Treasure Chest for one full day.
Clearly, this Jade Treasure Chest was designed for the final decisive battle of the Heavenly Chosen contest. By then, everyone would be clashing around it in offense and defense.
"This isn't something we can hold."
Realizing the condition, Ding Shiyan shook her head. She immediately prepared to take Gu Mo and Du Jinpeng away.
But at that moment, figures came rushing from all directions. The pillar of light shooting skyward from the chest had been seen across the entire island, and now every chosen one was hurrying toward it.
Already, the nearest cultivators had arrived.
Those people forced Gu Mo's group of three back into the formation. Sensing the undisguised murderous intent from the demonic disciples among them, Ding Shiyan didn't dare lead Gu Mo and Du Jinpeng away.
With the protection of the formation, the three of them could at least resist for a while. Outside it, how could they possibly withstand so many opponents?
Of course, besides the demonic disciples, righteous chosen were also on their way. Yet faced with the temptation of the Jade Treasure Chest, Ding Shiyan truly didn't dare let them inside either.
"Wait for the true disciples."
At last Ding Shiyan made her choice. They were disciples of the Shennong Valley—so long as their sect's true disciples arrived, their safety should be much more assured.
"Gu Mo-Jinpeng, what are you doing?"
Ding Shiyan turned her head, only to see Gu Mo crouched beside the Jade Treasure Chest, poking and prodding at it curiously. She couldn't help but ask in puzzlement.
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