After a simple communication, smiles gradually appeared on the faces of Elder Peng and the other seven elders. Occasionally, they would cast their gazes toward Li Yan, who was standing to the side. When Baili Yuan and Gan Shi each presented two storage pouches, the eight of them swept their Divine Sense inside and actually showed signs of excitement.
"The Malevolent Spirit Sect has some fine methods. All of your disciples are extraordinary. To think that you still managed to outwit two of my demonic race teams under a pincer attack and take the first and second place rewards. I, Yin, am impressed, truly impressed." Just then, a cold voice came from the demonic cultivators' side, drowning out all other discussions, every word crystal clear. It was Yin Congfeng . A faint smile played on his lips as he looked at Elder Peng and the others from the Malevolent Spirit Sect . The three of them had already learned from Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an that the Malevolent Spirit Sect had taken the top two spots. They couldn't help but sigh inwardly. When it came to scheming, Jin and Wu still needed more experience.
Yan Motian , on the other hand, gave the two a sound scolding. "The first and second place were in your grasp, yet you had to fight to the death for the sake of your own clan's benefit, and in the end, you get last place, and have to split it. You stupid oafs." He cursed Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an until they were covered in shame. Their hatred for Baili Yuan naturally grew a bit more.
"Eight of my demonic cultivator teams went in, and only two came out. But three of your Malevolent Spirit Sect teams went in, and three came out. Including the injured in the Spirit-Storing Pouches, you must have preserved more than forty people. Impressive, impressive," Lin Mingyu said with a smile, tapping his folding fan against his palm. He looked as if he didn't care about losing so many demonic cultivators, but his words were dripping with sourness.
The moment the two of them spoke, they had directed their animosity toward the Malevolent Spirit Sect .
Hearing this, Elder Peng and the others couldn't help but roll their eyes. Elder Yi of Four Symbols Peak slowly said, "You win some, you lose some." The three, Yin Congfeng and his companions, showed no sign of anger at these words. They simply gave Elder Yi a fist-in-palm salute and were quite direct about it. However, their hearts still ached for the first and second place rewards. The duck that was in their hands had flown away, so they couldn't help but be a bit talkative.
Yan Motian let out a heavy, cold snort. This snort fell upon the ears of Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an , making them sway. They both let out a "wah" and vomited a large mouthful of blood, their auras instantly weakening.
"A...mi...ta...bha... I wonder what masters my sect encountered, that they have all returned to paradise." A resounding Buddhist chant rang out. Great Master Yisong's face was now ashen. Not a single person from the Pure Land Sect had returned; they had all perished. He spoke almost one word at a time, his bright red kasaya rustling loudly. His gaze first swept over Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an , then over Baili Yuan and Gan Shi's groups.
"I am also extremely curious. This time, my courtyard and the Pure Land Sect were almost completely wiped out. The competition is over. Can you not produce the antidote?" From another direction, Sword King Xiahuà of the Ten-Pace Courtyard also frowned as he looked at the demonic cultivators and the Malevolent Spirit Sect . Their Ten-Pace Courtyard was not much better off than the Pure Land Sect . Although one person had come out in the end, he was half-dead. The most critical thing was that the poison Wang Lang was afflicted with was extremely strange. For a time, their group of Golden Core cultivators was unable to treat it, which terrified them. They could only temporarily suppress it with spirit power and wait until they returned to the sect for the old ancestors to act.
When it came to poison, both the demonic cultivators and the Malevolent Spirit Sect were experts. So for a time, they didn't know which side Wang Lang had encountered.
"This was a trial. Are you trying to settle scores now?" Elder Peng looked at Great Master Yisong with an unfriendly expression.
"Elder Peng has misunderstood. Amitabha. From the moment the thought arose, this humble monk has become attached to appearances. If you are unwilling to speak, then let it be." A sharp glint flashed through Great Master Yisong's eyes, and then he put his palms together and apologized. But the auras of the Buddhas behind him were surging, their momentum rising. They had no intention of letting it be.
Elder Peng glanced in the direction of the Pure Land Sect and ignored them. He turned his head and spoke lightly.
"Which of you fought with Martial Nephew Wang Lang? The competition is over. If it was you, then bring out the antidote."
"Martial Uncle Peng, your niece did fight with him, but it was more like I was being chased by him. As for the poison he was afflicted with, I do not know. Your niece was in hiding the whole time and doesn't know what happened to him after," Gong Chenying replied with a bow.
"Oh. What about you two?" Elder Peng nodded and looked at Baili Yuan and Gan Shi. Both of them shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.
"Sword King Xiahuà, you see... it seems we are unable to help," Elder Peng said, turning back to Sword King Xiahuà with a smile.
"Oh? Then may I ask this martial niece, how did he chase you? And how did you escape?" Sword King Xiahuà instantly fixed his gaze on Gong Chenying.
"Xiahuà, you've gone too far." Before Gong Chenying could speak, a cold and stunning voice suddenly came out. It was none other than Peak Master Li Yuyin of Never-Parting Peak .
Gong Chenying also shook her head. "If I can't win, I run. There's no reason."
"Martial Uncle Xiahuà, I can testify to that. At that time, I was fighting with Brother Baili of the Malevolent Spirit Sect , and ahead of us, Wang Lang was indeed pursuing an opponent." Just as Gong Chenying's voice fell, a crisp voice came from the direction of the Supreme Mystery Teachings . A beautiful figure was standing there, looking somewhat desolate. It was Qiu Jiuzhen. She gave a respectful bow to Sword King Xiahuà, but in the moment she lowered her head, a trace of resentment flashed through her eyes. But when she raised her head again, her eyes were crystal clear. Her sudden words caused a cold silence on the Supreme Mystery Teachings' side. Immortal Elder Hang Zhi's brows furrowed slightly, and in the end, she sighed inwardly and did not stop her. Moreover, no one noticed that Qiu Jiuzhen's wording was vague. She didn't explicitly say that Wang Lang was chasing Gong Chenying. Indeed, at that time, Gong Chenying was outside her Divine Sense range. She really didn't know who was fighting Wang Lang; it was just a guess.
But she had just said he was chasing an "opponent." To outsiders, it sounded like Wang Lang had fought with Gong Chenying.
After hearing this, Baili Yuan from the other side also gave Qiu Jiuzhen a fist-in-palm salute and said lightly, "You let me win!"
Sword King Xiahuà's brows furrowed even tighter. He stared at Qiu Jiuzhen for a while, then looked at the calm-faced Baili Yuan, and withdrew his gaze. He did not press further. Looking at their expressions, it didn't seem like they were faking. For a moment, he couldn't be sure who had made the move. Besides, this was a normal trial; he could only probe indirectly under the pretext of asking for an antidote.
According to Elder Peng's intention, he simply didn't want Gong Chenying to admit that she had fought with Wang Lang. It was not good to be targeted by a Golden Core grand cultivator for no reason. But he had learned from Baili Yuan that Qiu Jiuzhen could probably guess that Wang Lang and Gong Chenying had fought. In that case, he could only say a few random things. Anyway, looking at Wang Lang's half-dead state, it was clear that Xiahuà and the others had no way to treat him, not even a chance to wake him up. He hadn't expected this kid Li Yan's Fragmented Poison Body to be so domineering.
Who knew that Qiu Jiuzhen would stand up and say such a thing? Even Gong Chenying found it strange. But after the surprise, Gong Chenying couldn't help but glance at Li Yan beside her, thinking to herself, 'This fellow deliberately let Qiu Jiuzhen hear him earlier.' Li Yan just flashed her a smile, showing his white teeth.
For a time, the atmosphere here became strange. None of the parties spoke again, but their momentum grew stronger and stronger. Especially the Ten-Pace Courtyard and the Pure Land Sect , and this time, even the Supreme Mystery Teachings were looking over with unfriendly gazes. The Malevolent Spirit Sect , on the other hand, just looked coldly at the three sects.
The three sects' plan, which had spanned decades and cost a huge amount of resources, had ended in almost complete annihilation. Only Qiu Jiuzhen, including the injured in her Spirit-Storing Pouch , had brought out a total of sixteen people. The three sects, including Wang Lang, had a total of eighteen people come out, while more than three hundred and thirty had entered. Not only had they failed to annihilate the enemy as planned, but they hadn't even touched the generous final rewards. This was more than just a simple loss.
In contrast, the Malevolent Spirit Sect had more than forty people come out alive, and they had also taken the most generous first and second place rewards. Just looking at the excited expressions of Elder Peng and the others, one could guess that these rewards were even more valuable than the lives of cultivators.
How could this not anger the three sects? They slowly began to lose control of the fire in their hearts. When they returned to their respective sects, they would have to bear the wrath of their old ancestors. Decades of hard work had been wasted in their hands. They would probably receive extremely severe punishment, and might even have their path of cultivation cut off. Thinking of this, the eyes of the Golden Core cultivators from the three sects gradually turned red.
The Malevolent Spirit Sect wasn't giving them a way out. They didn't want to go back and be punished for nothing. In that instant, the Golden Core cultivators of the three sects formed a tacit understanding.
Seeing the atmosphere growing more and more tense, the disciples couldn't help but become nervous. Many of them thought, 'Are these three sides going to tear off all pretenses here and directly surround the Malevolent Spirit Sect?' In terms of current combat power, the Malevolent Spirit Sect only had eight Golden Core elders; they were clearly outnumbered.
But the eight Golden Core elders of the Malevolent Spirit Sect looked completely unconcerned. Suddenly, Elder Peng gave a fist-in-palm salute to the demonic cultivators who were watching the show with great interest. "Brother Yin, Brother Yan, Brother Lin, I wonder if you could come over for a chat? I have some small things for you to look at."
His sudden action stunned Yin Congfeng and the others. The three sects of the Ten-Pace Courtyard were even more confused as to why Elder Peng was doing this at this juncture. The reason they hadn't acted immediately was, of course, that they were still considering the consequences. If the demonic cultivators weren't on the side, as long as they did it cleanly and left no evidence, what could the other sect do even if they knew? On the surface, they still had to be reasonable. They thought that the demonic cultivator powers in the secret realm would be happy to see human cultivators kill each other and would just turn a blind eye. But now, they weren't sure what the demonic cultivators' attitude would be if they acted directly in front of them.
"Oh? Since Elder Peng has said so, we will go over. However, we will not interfere in your sect's affairs." Yin Congfeng thought for a moment. Seeing Elder Peng's confident expression, as if they would suffer a great loss if they didn't go, he couldn't help but become curious.
Yin Congfeng glanced at Yan Motian and Lin Mingyu . After the three of them confirmed with each other through their eyes, they unfolded their figures and flew directly toward the Malevolent Spirit Sect's peak.
With the departure of these three high-level demonic cultivators, the impending storm-like atmosphere dissipated quite a bit. Even the three sects of the Ten-Pace Courtyard halted all their actions.
But to the surprise of the three sects, just as Yin Congfeng and the others flew to the Malevolent Spirit Sect's peak, Elder Yi waved his long sleeve, and another light shield enveloped his own eight people and the three demonic cultivators, not letting them see a thing.
Seeing the light shield envelop them, Yin Congfeng and the other two were not afraid. In this secret realm, human cultivators really wouldn't dare to suddenly attack them.
Inside the light shield, Yin Congfeng looked at the Golden Core cultivators of the Malevolent Spirit Sect and slowly said, "I wonder why Elder Peng has called us here? What is there for us to see? In this situation, I think you should be more worried about your own circumstances."
Elder Peng just smiled and said, "Heh heh, this matter also concerns you all. After I've spoken, perhaps you won't be so calm anymore."
"Oh?" Yin Congfeng and the other two were stunned upon hearing this.