The temporary truce granted Xiaoqi and his companions a brief moment to catch their breath. They proceeded cautiously, avoiding several clearly formidable teams, and also "persuaded" two lone cultivators who had tried to treat them as soft targets, gaining two more jade talismans. Xiaoqi's total jade talisman count had quietly reached eighteen, far exceeding requirements, but he wasn't satisfied, directing the team toward the richer spiritual energy core region.
Li Mo and Wang Zhong were now utterly devoted to Xiaoqi. Though still nervous, following this leader of profound and unpredictable strength, their harvest far exceeded expectations. Their courage grew, and they became increasingly adept at handling "spoils."
Time in the realm seemed to pass especially quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was already the second evening. The setting sun hung like blood, draping this ancient forest in a desolate, beautiful color. The smell of blood in the air seemed thicker than yesterday. Obviously, the three-day survival elimination was becoming increasingly brutal.
Just as Xiaoqi considered whether to find a relatively safe spot to rest for the night—
"Buzz..."
An extremely faint vibration, yet seeming to originate from deep within the earth and directly reach the soul, came without warning. This vibration wasn't a physical earthquake, but rather an energy-level resonance, causing all cultivators within the realm, regardless of cultivation level, to sense it in their hearts at this moment.
Xiaoqi abruptly stopped, head sharply raised, gazing toward the very center of the realm. Li Mo and Wang Zhong's expressions also changed, looking uncertainly in the same direction.
Then, before they could investigate the vibration's source—
"BOOM!!!"
A radiant pillar of light, impossible to describe in words, violently erupted from the far-distant central region of the realm! The pillar was enormous, connecting heaven and earth. Even from such distance, one could feel the boundless, terrifyingly pure spiritual energy it contained and a certain ancient, vast law resonance!
The instant the pillar appeared, the entire "Small Cave Heaven" realm shuddered! Clouds in the sky were churned, forming a massive vortex slowly rotating around the pillar. Beneath the earth, spiritual veins seemed activated, emitting low rumbling. Countless birds and beasts, whether yao-beasts or not, all either prostrated toward the light pillar's direction in submission and lament, or ran about restlessly.
The pillar lasted approximately ten breaths of time before slowlysuppress (retracting), eventually transforming into a peculiar, radiant halo that remained suspended in the sky above the realm's center—like a lighthouse in the night, clearly guiding all survivors toward it.
An indescribable allure, accompanied by those yet-to-fully-subside energy fluctuations, spread outward like a tide in all directions. It was the ultimate longing of life-instinct toward higher-level energy, toward fortune and transformation!
"A treasure! An incredible treasure has emerged!" Wang Zhong (said excitedly), voice trembling, pointing at the distant halo with eyes shining.
Li Mo also breathed rapidly, face flushed: "Such a stunning celestial phenomenon must be a supreme treasure nurtured by the realm's core! Perhaps it's an ancient legacy or a shocking spiritual item!"
Not only them. At this moment, all surviving cultivators in the "Small Cave Heaven" realm, provided they weren't in desperate situations or gravely wounded, almost all saw this earth-shaking phenomenon and felt that incomparable allure.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Figures originally hidden everywhere, whether in combat, hunting, or searching, all simultaneously stopped what they were doing. Their gazes, burning with desire, fixed on that halo at the realm's center. Then, without hesitation, they activated their movement techniques, turning into streams of light, racing toward that direction at full speed!
Fortune! Immense fortune was right before them! Compared to the steady, step-by-step competition for those three jade talismans, this suddenly-emerging treasure was undoubtedly far more attractive! If they could obtain it, perhaps they could soar to heaven in one leap, completely changing their destiny!
The realm, already chaotic, was instantly pushed toward its final climax by this unexpected core disturbance! All conflicts, battles, and alliances seemed temporarily shelved. Everyone's goal became unified (unprecedentedly unified)—rush to the realm's core and compete for the emerged treasure!
"Daoist Tang, we..." Li Mo and Wang Zhong eagerly looked at Xiaoqi, desire nearly overflowing from their eyes. Such fortune—who would miss it?
Xiaoqi stared at the distant radiant halo, brow slightly furrowed. In his heart, alertness far outweighed excitement. Such a stunning phenomenon would attract the entire realm's surviving power. That place would definitely become the most brutal slaughterhouse. Yan Feng, Shui Wu Hen, and others would certainly go. Mu Xue probably wouldn't be absent either. And those truly top experts who had been hiding all along... Going there now was like rushing into the eye of a storm.
However, risk often coexisted with opportunity. He had entered the realm precisely to temper himself and seek breakthrough. This sudden treasure emergence, though enormous danger, was also a greater test and fortune! Moreover, with such a major disturbance, as long as Zhao Tiezhu, Third Sister, and the others were alive, they too would be drawn there. Perhaps they could reunite there.
Quickly weighing pros and cons in his heart, a determined glint flashed in Xiaoqi's eyes.
"Let's go!" He said deeply, body taking the lead. He activated the Swimming Dragon Nine Turns to its extreme, like green smoke hurtling toward the realm's core. Fortune favors the bold. The path of cultivation is defying heaven itself. How could one shrink back from risk?
Li Mo and Wang Zhong were overjoyed, immediately pushing all their spiritual energy, straining to keep up.
Not only them. In all directions, hundreds of figures, like moths drawn to flame, emerged from every corner of the realm, converging into torrents rushing toward the common destination. Between mountains and forests, whooshing sounds rose and fell. Occasional brief conflicts would erupt, yet quickly subsided. Everyone was in a hurry, unwilling to excessive bicker on the road.
The disturbance at the realm's core was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, completely shattering the original order, drawing all survivors into a final (frenzied tide) of interest and survival. A final, far more brutal and chaotic ultimate contest was about to erupt with a thunderous roar at that treasure-radiating place. And Xiaoqi, in this frenzy, was an unremarkable spray, yet one destined to be impossible to ignore.