The boss guarding the treasure vault was the strongest one there, and the Spirit Beast Squad led by Di Xiao had taken on the job with full enthusiasm.
In the little map displayed before the vault, lots of spirit beasts wandered around.
Those spirit beasts were created from Zhu Zhu's data and could respawn endlessly, serving as an early stage test.
In the end, the four Holy Land factions decided to split into five teams. Four teams were led by each Holy Land's top experts to rush the Deep Blue Vault. The remaining route was handled by Cang Li of Kunlun Sword Sect and Shen Yanye of Beastmaster Sect, who were sent to break through the Orange Yellow Vault. To be safe, they were even assigned a Mahayana cultivator to anchor them. A Mahayana cultivator couldn't challenge the Orange Yellow Vault boss, but protecting these Tribulation stage prodigies was no problem.
After all, according to the detailed scoring rules that had just appeared in the game, final victory depended on which faction had the highest points. They currently had twenty thousand starting points. Every person represented ten thousand points. If someone was eliminated, they'd lose ten thousand points. That loss was as big as defeating Di Xiao.
If they could avoid losing anyone, they absolutely would.
Kunlun Sword Sect, Qingxiao Pavilion, Xuandan Gate, and Beastmaster Sect led their disciples separately and split into four paths to challenge the Deep Blue Vault.
Even now, the four Holy Lands still had that habit of doing things their own way. They'd worked together briefly during the demon extermination, but they still preferred to act by sect. This time wasn't any different.
The Wushuang Sect faction also split into five groups. It wasn't that they didn't want more groups. They simply couldn't. Only five Tribulation stage disciples had entered this time, and only Tribulation stage disciples could challenge the Orange Yellow Vault boss.
"Last check on the plan. Mahayana cultivators will clear mobs fast. Tribulation stage disciples focus only on the boss. We're pushing efficiency to the limit. If we run into Di Ying, just run. The vault bosses can't leave their areas. As long as we run fast enough, we won't get wiped."
"As long as we run fast enough, we won't get wiped."
The Wushuang Sect disciples all responded loudly.
"And. What do we do if we run into people from the four Holy Lands? Same rule. Turn around and run. It's not that we can't beat them, it's that fighting them is the wrong move."
"It's not that we can't beat them, it's that fighting them is the wrong move."
Everyone repeated the line again.
"Remember, the game has health bars. If your health drops and you can't find something that restores it, you'll be in real trouble. And even if we find healing items, we need to save them for the final big battle. So avoid fights in the early stages whenever we can. People from the four Holy Lands value their pride way more than we do. If we run, they won't chase." Hong Ye reminded them carefully.
All Wushuang Sect disciples fully agreed.
This time they were facing the peak strength of the four Holy Lands. Their cultivation time was far too short. If they fought head on, they really might not win. Using a bit of strategy made perfect sense.
"All right. Move out." Qin Ping made the call, and everyone split up.
The main contenders for the vaults were Wushuang Sect and the four Holy Lands. Since they were moving in different directions, neither side clashed immediately.
Yun Jin looked at one of the screens with interest.
She couldn't help laughing.
A five person squad from the four Holy Lands was charging straight toward the vault guarded by Dan Dan.
Perfect. She could see how strong Dan Dan had become.
Not long after leaving the Língzūn Trial, the three little ones had passed their lightning tribulation and reached Mahayana.
After that they followed her through ten years in the Polar Night Demon World.
During that time, the gift left behind by Língzūn kept raising Dan Dan's cultivation, and she kept passing down fire attribute Laws through her innate skill.
Ten years later Dan Dan's cultivation had already been pushed to the peak of Mahayana. She only lacked True Meaning in the Law of Flame. And she herself was a super divine beast. Dan Dan's strength now was nothing to underestimate.
But Dan Dan's opponents weren't weak either. The team heading her way was the Xuandan Gate Elite Squad.
Sect Master: Xuan Feng.
Elder: Qing Yun.
Elder: Feng Yu.
Elder: Man Sen.
All four were at Mahayana.
Xuan Feng was the weakest, at mid Mahayana.
Among the others, Qing Yun was already at the peak. Feng Yu and Man Sen were late Mahayana.
Of Xuandan Gate's three ninth grade pill masters, only Li Yun wasn't here. Li Yun had no interest in combat. Even after learning the Medicine Pill Codex, he still preferred a support path and wasn't good at fighting.
When Yun Jin invited them to Wushuang Sect this time, she'd asked for those with the strongest combat power and highest growth potential, so Li Yun didn't come.
In the Xuandan Gate squad, Qing Yun had the highest cultivation, but Man Sen was the strongest fighter.
"Junior brother, you're the main force in this boss challenge. We'll give you full support." Qing Yun said.
"Right. The boss is at most Mahayana. With the three of us assisting, Elder Man will be terrifyingly strong." Feng Yu added.
Man Sen was full of confidence. He flexed his solid muscles and said, "Just handle the mobs. Leave the boss to me. I'll solo it."
After switching to the Medicine Pill Codex, he'd perfected his whole pill system. He felt downright invincible.
Qing Yun and the others hadn't realized how dangerous things actually were. They really thought Man Sen could solo the boss.
However the moment they stepped into the forest, something felt wrong.
Wait…
These were supposed to be small mobs? Why were there so many? And the weakest ones were Tribulation stage? And every now and then, a Mahayana mob popped out?
Their cultivation was higher overall.
But numbers mattered.
While they hesitated, one spirit beast lunged straight at them.
The fight began instantly.
While Xuandan Gate's squad engaged Dan Dan, the Beastmaster Sect squad entered the vault guarded by Huan Huan.
Gun Gun was the only one who didn't get challenged in the first round.
Yun Jin saw the situation on Huan Huan's side and laughed again.
Master Liu Li was there too.
Back then Master Liu Li was the one who entrusted Huan Huan to her. Even she wouldn't have imagined Huan Huan could grow this strong.
Yun Jin was really looking forward to seeing what it'd be like when Master Liu Li and Huan Huan met again.
At the same time, the Wushuang Sect teams had already started tearing through the Orange Yellow Vault.
Their usual formation was three Mahayana cultivators with one Tribulation stage disciple. The Mahayana cultivators swept the mobs clean and the Tribulation stage disciple handled the boss. Their speed was incredible. After clearing the mobs in one area, two Mahayana cultivators would rush to the next area to keep clearing. Once the boss fight ended, they'd regroup and push straight through to the next boss.
Their entire strategy was pure efficiency.
But one team was special. That team had both Bai Yiran and Qin Ping, the strongest members. On top of one Tribulation stage disciple, they also had Yue Zhao tagging along.
"Yue Zhao, think up all the crazy ideas you've got. We all believe in you." Bai Yiran encouraged.
Yue Zhao nodded with overwhelming pressure on his shoulders.