Her brow furrowed, she instinctively glanced towards the dueling stage. After a sweeping scan, a round-faced girl, clean and tidy, inexplicably appeared on the blood-soaked, corpse-strewn stage, standing there in a daze, like an idiot.
They were utterly shocked: "Why was Xiao Yuan summoned to the dueling stage?!"
Gu Junshi asked one of the servants: "Did she participate in the match?"
The servant, on the verge of tears, replied: "No, no, she didn't. She said she knew her limits, that it didn't matter even if she entered the inner sect, so she never participated."
The others fretted: "What do we do, what do we do! Xiao Yuan will die. She's only at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and many people at the tenth or twelfth level were swallowed by demonic beasts!"
Gu Junshi then asked: "How does one participate in this advancement match?"
"You need to be at the eighth level of Qi Condensation or above, and register. As long as your name is on the current session's roster, you will be summoned to the dueling stage. There are three summons, and after the third, you are forcibly summoned..."
At this point, they seemed to have guessed why Xiao Yuan had appeared on the dueling stage without knowing anything.
Gu Junshi stated directly: "Someone impersonated her name, causing her to be forcibly summoned."
"Who! Who would be so wicked as to harm Xiao Yuan?" They stomped their feet, full of anger and sorrow, all worried about Xiao Yuan's fate on the stage. kanshuwo.xia
Just then, Xiao Yuan on the dueling stage finally came to her senses. Seeing the bloody scene around her, she screamed, unease and fear constricting her breath. She instinctively hugged her head and squatted down, wrapping her arms around herself, trembling like a sieve, forgetting even to resist.
The leopard-shaped demonic beast on her dueling stage seemed to have had its fill. Its lantern-sized vertical pupils stared at the human who had suddenly appeared, a cold, predatory green light flashing in its eyes. It paced and circled, intending to keep her for slow torment.
Why was she summoned to the dueling stage, why were there so many corpses on it, why were there demonic beasts, why...
She was anxious, fearful, and suspicious, her mind gradually going blank, leaving only mechanical, repeated self-questioning... Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, withdrew her arms, tilted her neck, and looked precisely towards the servants.
She was looking for someone based on instinct.
Xiao Yuan, being at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, had far superior vision to mortals. Across the hundreds of meters obscured by mist, she saw a pair of ink-like eyes.
The person stood with hands behind her back by the mountain bridge, the mountain wind ruffling her clothes. Those eyes, at first glance, resembled spring lake water, but the lake surface was still and indifferent. Looking into those eyes made one feel resolute and powerful.
Seeing her, Xiao Yuan, who had been holding back tears, finally let them flow. Her eyes red, she looked at Gu Junshi, unconsciously showing a plea like a young cub nearing death, rubbing against a leg and whimpering for help—save me, save me, I don't want to die...
At this moment, she had long forgotten that the other person was even "weaker" than her, nor did she realize that her soul had already chosen to surrender and depend on her.
However, the usually cold-hearted Gu Junshi remained unmoved.
Life and death are by fate, and seeking help from others is not as good as seeking help from oneself.
She always held herself to this standard, naturally being demanding of herself and equally strict with others.
*Sputter—* Hot blood splattered onto Xiao Yuan's face. Her pupils constricted, a shadow fell upon her, accompanied by a foul, bloody stench. She stiffened her neck and slowly looked up, watching with wide eyes as the demonic beast raised its impossibly sharp claws towards her.
The腥风 (foul wind) and blood mist that rushed at her made her eyes bulge, her chest constricting with a painful tightness. Her mind held only one thought—my life is over.
No one would come to save her; she would die tragically here...
A mournful cry escaped her throat, and she closed her eyes in despair and pity, awaiting death. At that moment, she heard a clear, cold voice by her ear: "Open your eyes."
She jolted, reflexively opening her eyes, only to see a wisp of black energy flow from her clouded, dazed eyes in the next second. It silently merged into her pupils. After her obsidian pupils regained their resplendent luster, a figure woven from light smoke and a few strokes gradually materialized before her, its gender indistinguishable, its front and back unclear.
With a slight lift of its hand, the mountain mist that had been gently flowing around them was sucked into a swirling vortex of power. In the next instant, the smoke-like phantom instantly moved to the front of the demonic beast—
The demonic beast's massive body froze. The phantom transformed into thousands of black threads, coiling and strangling it. Flesh and bone shattered, and as the threads and the phantom turned to dust, the man-eating demonic beast also fell to the ground with a "bang," its life extinguished.
All of this happened in an instant, fleetingly.
At that moment, on the eaves of the flying cornice, Dan Ya, who was playing with a crimson spirit stone, raised an eyebrow and slightly tilted his head, letting out an "Oh."
It seemed something unknown had mixed in.
He stopped his actions, his clear eyes narrowing as he surveyed the dueling stages below, looking from one to another. His gaze lingered for a while on the stage of the young boy.
This young boy was twelve years old in bone age. His cultivation was not the strongest among these outer disciples, but his combat strength was undoubtedly the strongest. It was not unexpected that he remained until the end.
Finally, he looked at Xiao Yuan's dueling stage. The entire stage was empty, with only her remaining.
She was very weak, undoubtedly. Yet, she, at a mere eighth level of Qi Condensation, had easily killed the second-tier demonic beast... Unless she harbored some secret for survival?
His gaze swept over her, then he withdrew it with waning interest.
How far could someone who relied on unorthodox methods for a momentary victory go? This had wasted a coveted inner sect advancement spot.
Xiao Yuan was also dumbfounded.
She... survived?!
But, but who had saved her?
The voice that spoke to her at the critical moment seemed familiar, but due to her extreme nervousness and fear, even what had just happened was like her brain was stuffed with paste, and she couldn't recall it clearly.
She pushed herself up from the ground, trembling.
"The time limit of one incense stick has expired," Dan Ya said, retracting the barrier like a messenger. He then reactivated the trial tower, absorbing all the demonic beasts into it, ignoring their unwilling roars of defiance, and heavily closed the tower gate.
He smiled like spring tide blossoming flowers, soft and pleasant, not at all like the forceful and cruel demeanor he had before the incense stick. He congratulated the few survivors below: "Congratulations. The four who survived this trial can enter the inner sect for cultivation. As for which mountain gate you will be accepted into, it depends on your own capabilities."
Four people: a young boy with a blank, cold expression; Xiao Yuan, stunned by the surprise; one who was lucky to survive by hiding his figure with a low-grade magical treasure; and another who, with two companions, resisted the demonic beasts, but alas, his companions eventually died, leaving only him, covered in wounds, alive.
After Dan Ya finished speaking, he was about to turn and leave, but his peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of a faint figure in a dark green robe gazing out from the side of the mountain. He focused his gaze and a harmless, sinister smile then curved his lips.
A spirit root of waste, a good-looking mortal... she must be the wife of the Heavenly Spirit Root currently gaining much attention within the Great Evolution Sect.
It is said that there are three great joys in a mortal man's life—promotion, wealth, and the death of his wife.
Perhaps, this newly appointed senior brother should send his junior disciple a "joyful" gift as a sign of care.
His cloud robe fluttered, and his long, slender fingers quickly formed a hand seal within his sleeve.
When Gu Junshi sensed something amiss, she saw a strange whirlwind surge from below. It was like a sticky rope wrapping around her and dragging her down. Her feet slipped, and her body was pulled forward uncontrollably, with the cliff abyss directly beneath her feet.