Translator: CinderTL
Qi Liang chuckled softly, leaning close to Jiang Qinqin's ear. His breath brushed against her cheek as he whispered, "Venerable He Yu of the Blood Refinement Branch and Hua Gu of the Joyous Union Lineage have been plotting to establish their own sects and break away from the Holy Sect for centuries. They've never abandoned this ambition."
"What?" Jiang Qinqin was stunned.
"Mengdie is the true heir Hua Gu chose. As for you... hehe..." Qi Liang revealed the cruel truth.
From the beginning, Jiang Qinqin and Gong Niang's only purpose had been to serve as training tools for Mengdie.
"So that's how it is..."
Jiang Qinqin finally understood. Memories flooded her mind, and the mysteries that had once baffled her now became clear.
No wonder Mengdie had become a direct disciple, receiving constant guidance from Hua Gu, while she and Gong Niang were merely figureheads.
"What about the Crimson Heart Faction?"
Qi Liang shook his head. "The Mad Daoist doesn't care about such things and has never considered expansion. That's why the Crimson Heart Faction has the fewest members and the weakest strength. There's no need to worry about them."
Jiang Qinqin wasn't stupid. Pointing to the spot where Sima Xin had been standing, she hesitated, "Then... he..."
Qi Liang nodded. "Correct. He's my elder brother's man, tasked with monitoring me."
Jiang Qinqin understood everything. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Qi Liang smiled. "Our strength is still too weak. We need to take things step by step. For now, we'll help you become the Holy Son of Joyous Harmony Mountain."
"Alright, I'm willing to help you," Jiang Qinqin said, having already grasped Qi Liang's ambition.
Qi Liang reached out to cover her mouth, shaking his head. "No, no, no. It's not about helping me. It's about helping yourself. Without me, you're doomed."
As he spoke, he gently pried open Jiang Qinqin's small mouth and slipped in a pill, a faint smile playing on his lips. "This way, we can both rest easy."
Jiang Qinqin didn't resist. She knew she had no choice.
On the other side, You Jianfeng was inspecting the formation, checking for any flaws.
His ten Junior Brothers stood in their designated positions, ready to activate the formation the moment anyone intruded. Countless sword-like projectiles would rain down, leaving even Qi Liang with no chance of survival.
You Jianfeng nodded in satisfaction, watching the approaching rainbow light. With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Take cover!"
With that, he leaped onto a tree trunk and settled in to wait, determined to claim a token this time!
As time passed, You Jianfeng began to sense something amiss. Why was the commotion so intense?
From his perch, he saw dust rising in the distance, trees snapping in half, and faint roars and screeches carried on the wind.
His unease grew stronger. Squinting, he focused his gaze. The first figures to catch his eye were a muscular, bare-chested man and a bald woman. The bald woman cradled a small beast in her arms.
"Tu Wanshan?"
You Jianfeng recognized him instantly. Behind them, countless demonic beasts roared as they stampeded forward, engulfing a human figure that vanished without a sound in moments.
"Holy shit?!"
The Junior Brothers below heard the commotion too. One looked up and asked, "Senior Brother, has it arrived?"
You Jianfeng roared, "What the hell are you waiting for? Run! Beast tide!"
With that, he sprinted away, abandoning all else.
He couldn't understand why he was so unlucky. First, he'd encountered Xu Sanyan, and now he was caught in a beast tide. As one of the Ten Great Talents, when had he ever been so utterly humiliated?
"Awoooo!"
The earth trembled as thousands of beasts roared. Tu Wanshan saw You Jianfeng ahead and immediately had an idea. He rummaged through his storage pouch, pulled it off, and shouted,
"You Jianfeng, catch!"
You Jianfeng turned to see a streak of rainbow light hurtling toward him. He recognized it instantly—it was the Holy Son Token he'd been dreaming of!
He instinctively reached out and caught the storage pouch. The rainbow light pierced through the bag and shot into the sky. Inside, without a doubt, was the Holy Son Token.
But why was Tu Wanshan giving it to him?
Was it a final act of kindness before death, knowing he couldn't escape?
You Jianfeng scoffed. He didn't believe Tu Wanshan was being so altruistic. There had to be a catch. Yet, despite his suspicions, the allure of the Holy Son Token was too strong to resist.
Regardless, he'd kept his promise to himself and finally obtained a Holy Son Token.
The Bald Woman didn't understand Tu Wanshan's actions either. She looked at him with a puzzled expression, but Tu Wanshan didn't bother to explain. He simply grabbed her arm, slightly changed their direction, and sprinted forward to the left.
As You Jianfeng ran, he frantically opened his storage pouch. The first thing that caught his eye was an ancient, unadorned token with a large, eye-catching character for "Holy" carved on it.
It was the Holy Son Token.
You Jianfeng's nostrils twitched, and his heart skipped a beat. He pulled out the token and saw that a porcelain bottle beneath it had shattered, spilling crimson blood that filled the entire pouch. Even the back of the Holy Son Token was stained with blood.
"Damn it, Sixth Stage beast blood?!"
You Jianfeng's mind exploded. Now he finally understood Tu Wanshan's plan: the dog-faced bastard had been using him to divert the beast tide!
He turned his head sharply and saw Tu Wanshan already leading the others in the opposite direction, while the beast tide had slightly adjusted its course, now heading straight for him.
"Tu Wanshan! May you rot in hell!!"
You Jianfeng screamed in agony, but he dared not stop running. The beast tide behind him surged like a relentless wave, chasing him relentlessly forward.
Tu Wanshan led the remaining dozen or so people for a while longer, finally escaping the beast tide's range. Only then did the weight lift from his chest. Everyone collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
Tu Wanshan pulled out a porcelain bottle and distributed a pill to each person to restore their Spiritual Power.
Abandoning the Holy Son Token was a desperate choice, made only because they had no other option. If they hadn't acted, everyone would have died.
After running for so long, even Tu Wanshan, who was at Foundation Establishment Perfection, was struggling. Only a thin layer of Spiritual Power remained in his Qi Sea. If he was in such dire straits, the situation for his Junior Brothers and Sisters with lower cultivation levels was unimaginable.
The Bald Woman stroked the small beast's fur, then turned to look at the Junior Brothers and Sisters behind them, half their original number. Her mood was somber.
Tu Wanshan patted her head without offering any words of comfort. Ever since they had entered the Holy Son Competition, it had been inevitable that most of them would die.
After a moment of meditation, a young man opened his eyes and whispered, "Senior Brother, the Holy Son Token is gone. What do we do now?"
Tu Wanshan watched the rainbow light grow more distant and said, "Follow it. If You Jianfeng dies, the Holy Son Token will naturally fall back into our hands. If he survives, we'll just take it back!"
"Yes," the others nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the distance. Tu Wanshan tensed, raising his eyes to see a group of women slowly emerging from the forest. Leading them was none other than Mengdie.
It turned out that Mengdie's group had been heading straight for the Divine Tree after leaving the Phoenix Tree Forest. But before they could reach it, the beast tide had erupted.
Mengdie had been forced to follow the beast tide, chasing the rainbow light all the way here, where they had finally encountered Tu Wanshan and his group.
(End of the Chapter)
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