Translator: AnubisTL
"Hahahaha! I've reached the summit!" An old man with sparse eyelashes burst into wild laughter, the first to reach the peak!
Immediately, he charged toward a medicinal field radiating a fragrant aroma. This field pulsed with the most concentrated spiritual light, and its spirit herbs were undoubtedly the most extraordinary.
Refusing to wait any longer, he grabbed a handful of precious medicines from the field, each appearing to be tens of thousands of years old.
Without hesitation, he shoved the spiritual herbs into his mouth, swallowing them whole without even bothering to identify their properties or species.
In that instant, the brilliant spiritual light emanating from the precious medicines dimmed abruptly, and their rich fragrance faded rapidly.
The core formation realm elder, whose lifespan exceeded a thousand years, stared in bewilderment, utterly baffled by what was happening.
"How could this be? Why am I not feeling the surge of medicinal power?"
"Did I swallow them too quickly, without properly identifying the types of spirit herbs?"
The old man's face was a mixture of shock and uncertainty as he plucked the remaining spirit herbs from the medicinal field.
This time, he carefully examined each herb, confirming they were indeed precious medicines with exceptional age, possessing immense benefits for him.
He swallowed the herbs, but the expected transformation never came.
The spirit herbs released no extraordinary medicinal power, and his mana didn't increase even by a fraction.
His fleshly body, withered like a dried corpse, remained as emaciated as ever, half-buried in the earth and on the verge of death.
"How is this possible?! Even a ten-thousand-year treasure medicine can't improve my condition?" the old man muttered in bewildered despair.
The other cultivators who had climbed the mountain began to scatter, frantically harvesting spirit herbs from the surrounding medicinal fields.
They experienced the same reaction: the herbs showed no extraordinary qualities, feeling no different from eating ordinary weeds!
"Hmph! This old man will get to the bottom of this!"
A Nascent Soul cultivator from overseas roared, unleashing his powerful divine sense power to sweep across the area.
Soon, the misty spiritual light surrounding the medicinal fields nearby dissipated, revealing their true nature.
There were no genuine spirit herbs to be found—only ordinary spiritual herbs that had been growing for a mere few years!
They had all been deceived by some kind of illusion!
"How could this be? Were all these precious medicines just a hoax?!"
"What a cruel joke! There's no peerless holy medicine here—it's all just a mirage, an empty promise!"
"Cough, cough... No! This old man refuses to accept this!"
"Pfft! Who orchestrated this farce to mock us all?"
Several elderly cultivators, who had only months left to live, were so enraged that they coughed violently, some even spitting out mouthfuls of blood as they died in bitter resentment.
The opportunities connected to the other portals were much the same.
In a pavilion radiating an intense pill fragrance, cultivators who broke in found only remnants of pills—some even blackened and discarded!
Another hall housed countless rare spirit materials and even Magical weapons that shimmered with divine light. Yet upon closer inspection, they turned out to be nothing more than common spirit materials.
There was also a lake where dragon fish had occasionally surfaced. But when cultivators bypassed the visible restrictions and entered the lake to catch them, they discovered only ordinary carp!
Inside the Inheritance Temple, where Wu Chong and his group had entered, the suspended corpses ceased their chanting, leaving the group lying prostrate on the ground, their faces frozen in expressions of numb agony.
Of course, not all the opportunities within the Immortal Mansion Ruins were illusions. A few genuine treasures remained.
For example, a pool of violet water contained authentic Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid, capable of aiding core formation. Numerous foundation establishment realm cultivators fought fiercely, risking life and limb, all for a chance to claim the spirit liquid within.
Meanwhile, Gui Li, sect master of the Ghost Sword Sect, stood with his hands clasped behind his back in a bamboo grove. The grove resonated with a mystical rhythm, its leaves rustling even without wind, producing a melodious sound. He was using this to comprehend the Dao, seemingly making significant progress.
The three immortals from the Outer Sea, on the other hand, were trapped within a mystic formation, where four ferocious beasts stalked them relentlessly.
Outside the immortal mansion, the man in black martial robes exhaled deeply, a satisfied smile finally spreading across his face.
"The seven emotions and six desires of humanity are truly profound and boundless: greed, despair, resentment, rage, fear, regret..."
"My elaborate scheme has not been in vain. By collecting such vast quantities of these emotions from high-level cultivators, I have finally perfected my Divine Art!"
"Today, I shall borrow your strength to break through this barrier, then shatter the void at this spatial node and ascend to the upper realm!"
As his words echoed, the man's arms snapped outward, and the profound magical seal coalescing in his hands descended upon the Immortal Mansion Ruins below.
In that instant, the entire mansion began to tremble violently!
He was refining all the cultivators within the mansion, seeking to distill their essence into nourishment to enhance his own cultivation.
"Hahahaha! Today, I, Qin, shall ascend here and create the city's second legend of ascension!"
The man's laughter grew increasingly bold as he poured mana into the mansion, even drawing upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth to fuel it.
Indeed, the entire Immortal Mansion below was a spirit treasure in disguise, capable of being manipulated by him!
Watching from afar, Li Yuhuan stood in shock, having overheard the cultivator's earlier declaration.
This entire situation had been meticulously orchestrated by him.
"Master... where are you? My senior brothers are in danger," Li Yuhuan whispered, her voice trembling. She gazed at the jade talisman she had been burning for so long, a flicker of hope in her eyes.
Finally, as if in response to her plea, the jade talisman glowed with renewed intensity.
On the horizon, a tall, imposing cultivator in a loose, azure daoist robe soared swiftly toward the scene.
Li Qing had arrived!
With a mere glance at the commotion within the massive immortal mansion and another at the man surnamed Qin, he immediately grasped the situation's origins and consequences.
"Fellow Daoist, using an immortal mansion as a furnace to refine so many cultivators as nourishment for your own cultivation—truly a grand scheme," Li Qing declared in a deep, unwavering voice, showing no trace of fear. "But such an act defies the natural order. Do you not fear divine retribution in the days to come?"
The man surnamed Qin turned to regard Li Qing, his eyes narrowing. He sensed an extraordinary aura emanating from Li Qing, which surprised him.
"A mere peak Nascent Soul cultivator dares to speak such arrogance to me? Such audacity!" the man sneered, his tone menacing.
Li Qing remained unfazed, meeting the gaze of this early-stage Divine Transformation great power whose cultivation far surpassed his own. Yet his aura held its ground, refusing to be cowed.
"My sect's elders are within the immortal mansion," Li Qing said confidently. "If you release them, I will turn a blind eye to this matter and allow you to ascend unhindered."
A fierce glint flashed in the Surname Qin man's eyes.
"Too bad. Once this scheme is set in motion, it cannot be undone."
"Furthermore, I believe you should address me as 'Senior.' Since when does a mere Nascent Soul cultivator dare to order me around?"
"Could it be that the absence of Divine Transformation cultivators in this era for too long has eroded your respect for beings like myself?"
As his words fell, the man's aura erupted outward, a crushing spiritual pressure sweeping across thousands of miles, causing every living creature within the region to tremble in fear.
Yet Li Qing remained unfazed. Even facing the overwhelming aura of a near mid-stage Divine Transformation cultivator, he maintained his unwavering dominance.
(End of the Chapter)
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