Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 99: Clues

What Li Yan didn’t know was that, just as he had hesitated earlier, deep atop the mountain behind that stone stele, within a secluded stone cave, an elder clothed in coarse gray linen was sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion.

The elder, with a head full of silver hair and a face as youthful as a baby’s, chuckled lightly.

“It's that little brat again. He actually noticed the anomaly among those Qi Condensation disciples, how amusing.

"Aside from Buxing and the other Core Formation elders, only a dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators noticed anything unusual about the Grand Profound Sect’s Qi Condensation disciples.

"This boy is rather strange. It’s been a few years since I last saw him, but with his mixed spirit roots, his spiritual power has become even purer?”

The elder still remembered Li Yan, the disciple with the fractured poison body.

“What exactly is Grand Profound Sect planning with this kind of move? If there's a variable in the Wheel of Life and Death, it must lie within these Qi Condensation disciples... Forget it, let Buxing and the others handle it.”

After pondering for a moment, the gray-robed elder let go of the thought and slowly closed his eyes again.

His duty here was to ensure that the secret realm’s passage would not be deliberately sabotaged. The Grand Profound Sect and the Pure Land Sect had long been discontent with the secret realm entrances controlled by the Ten-Step Court and the Wraith Sect. If given a chance to destroy them secretly, they certainly would act.

After all, with the entrance under someone else's control, who knew when the Ten-Step Court and Wraith Sect might secretly strike a deal with the beasts within the secret realm and enter stealthily in the future? Resources would then be quietly divided between the two sects, leaving the others powerless.

The passage into the secret realm was constructed by Nascent Soul cultivators. For Core Formation cultivators to destroy it, they would need the combined effort of dozens or a supreme magical treasure. But even then, everyone inside would perish. The Grand Profound Sect wouldn’t sacrifice such promising disciples.

Since the gray-robed elder hadn’t sensed any Nascent Soul-level cultivator hiding their cultivation within, he focused solely on ensuring the passage’s safety, ignoring the suspicious Qi Condensation disciples.

He had no interest in these juniors’ petty rivalries.

Old fellows like him only enjoyed watching fledglings endure blood and storms, only through this could they become the true pillars of their sect in the future.

The elder had already discerned that the three sects might be attempting to use the loss of Wraith Sect’s Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators to create a gap in cultivation levels over the coming decades, even centuries.

But as a Nascent Soul old ancestor, he had no desire to interfere. If such matters needed constant attention from Nascent Soul cultivators, then what was the point of having a sect? Core Formation elders must go through trials themselves for the sect to thrive.

As the alternating black-and-white light swirled before his eyes, Li Yan felt dizzy, as if traveling through time and space. An inexplicable sense of disorientation overtook him.

When he came to, his feet landed softly.

Regaining his composure, he looked down to find himself standing on grass.

At the same time, a suffocatingly dense spiritual energy rushed toward him, making it hard to breathe. But instead of panic, Li Yan was ecstatic.

The spiritual energy in the Wraith Sect was already incredibly dense, doubling his cultivation efficiency. He had never imagined that a place could exist where the air was even richer in spiritual power.

He lifted his head to see an expanse of green stretching endlessly before him. They were now at the edge of a great plain, filled with knee-high wild grasses and blooming flowers.

Above them stretched a pure blue sky, with sunlight streaming down in refreshing waves.

Behind them lay a dense forest, with massive trees, several people wide, rising in layers that stretched far into the distance...

Across the grassy fields, wild beasts and low-level demon beasts occasionally dashed by, casting glances filled with either hostility or curiosity.

From the deep forest behind them came the occasional roar, some low and guttural, others high-pitched and ear-splitting, startling nearby beasts into alertness or flight.

Some low-level demon beasts stood defiantly in the grassland, howling in defiance as if answering or provoking the calls from the forest...

Among these beasts, Li Yan only recognized a few; most were unfamiliar. Fortunately, with so many cultivators present, the creatures dared not attack upon sensing their powerful auras.

What Li Yan didn’t know was that, as each of them stepped out of the black-and-white vortex, a powerful divine sense scanned their bodies. Only Core Formation cultivators sensed this with the slightest warning.

That was just a sliver of deliberately released aura, meant as a warning to Core Formation cultivators to behave and know their place.

Li Yan greedily breathed in the rich spiritual energy that made even his pores tremble. His mana stirred with liveliness and clarity.

Behind him, the black-and-white vortex still slowly spun. After a moment of recovery, the ten of them walked toward the Wraith Sect’s group, led by the beautiful Peak Mistress of Boundless Peak and two other elders.

As they passed the Foundation Establishment group, a voice whispered into Li Yan’s ear, it was Li Wuyi.

“Little junior brother, something’s strange about those Qi Condensation cultivators. This might be a trap set up for your group’s Wheel of Life and Death. Be careful. The Core Formation elders have likely noticed it as well and will probably warn you again later.”

Li Yan froze in his tracks.

“So senior brother also noticed it... Seems my instincts weren’t wrong.”

He looked sideways to find Li Wuyi quietly speaking with several Foundation Establishment cultivators, never once turning in his direction.

Before long, all cultivators arrived, followed at last by the ten Core Formation elders. By then, the swirling black-and-white passage had shrunk and vanished without a trace.

The five elders led by Peng Buxing walked over, all visibly exhausted from the previous efforts.

Peng Buxing approached the three elders from Boundless Peak, muttered a few words, and finally allowed some relief to show on his face.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the sky darkened slightly, as if something blocked out the sun. Everyone looked up, a fearsome beast had appeared in the air.

Its face resembled that of a ghost, covered in deep wrinkles. Its skin was blood-red, with glowing green eyes that constantly darted around.

Its gaping mouth was lined with countless sharp teeth, gleaming with cold light. Its body was serpent-like, covered in fine scales, and it had three claws beneath it. The moment it appeared, it expanded rapidly to dozens of zhang in size.

It let out a shrill roar that instantly drowned out the howls and shrieks of the forest and plains, truly terrifying.

Elder Peng leapt onto the beast’s ghastly head and shouted to those below:

“Get up here, now!”

The other elders also leapt onto the beast. Seeing this, Li Yan and the others followed suit, soaring into the air and onto the creature.

Meanwhile, Immortal Hang Wu was still whispering with the early-arrived Core Formation cultivators. Some occasionally glanced toward the Wraith Sect’s group with flickering eyes.

As Elder Peng released the beast, their conversation ceased. The next moment, a massive spirit ship appeared in the air. The Grand Profound Sect’s group took to the sky and boarded it.

The giant beast roared again and flew hundreds of zhang into the sky, then shot toward the depths of the grassland, its tail whipping as it went. Beasts below howled back but dared not follow.

The massive spirit ship shimmered brightly and shot off like a comet...

On the beast’s vast back, even with a hundred people aboard, there was no sense of crowding. As they took off, Elder Peng waved his hand and a red glow enveloped the beast’s entire back.

Despite the rapidly receding clouds and tremendous speed, those standing on the beast felt no wind, not even a breeze.

Li Yan stared at the beast beneath him, wondering: With such a fierce aura, it must be at least a second or even third-rank demon beast. Who knows how many divine abilities it possesses? Its speed alone is astonishing...

As he marveled, a deep voice sounded in his ear:

“The Grand Profound Sect’s Qi Condensation disciples’ auras are abnormal. Almost all of them are at late tenth or even great perfection of Qi Condensation.

"This Wheel of Life and Death trip may be extremely dangerous. It seems we’ve fallen into their trap.

"We thought the plot was against Foundation Establishment cultivators. But now that we’ve seen them, their Foundation Establishment disciples show little suspicion, it’s the Qi Condensation ones that are problematic.

"If we see the same pattern in the other two sects, then there’s no doubt that the three factions are colluding.”

Startled, Li Yan looked up to see that all the elders ahead had turned toward them. The one who spoke was Elder Peng, his expression grave.

He paused, glanced over the crowd, and continued:

“If it really is that kind of trap, we can choose to forfeit this Wheel of Life and Death. Only a minority among you are late tenth level Qi Condensation cultivators, and the odds would be severely against you.

"This is the conclusion we elders came to. We’ll explain the consequences to the sect. Apart from gathering resources in the secret realm, any other opportunities will be left to the three sects and the demon beasts to fight over.”

At this, all eight elders wore grim expressions. Though they’d realized this earlier, there was no time to replace the disciples and replacements would also need to be skilled in combat.

The enemy likely used some drug to stimulate cultivation, unifying their disciples’ levels. But while this might bring short-term benefits in the competition, those stimulated by drugs rarely make it to Foundation Establishment. So what’s the point?

“You still have the choice to fight,” Elder Peng’s voice grew louder. “Our Wraith Sect doesn’t rely on realm alone for battle. Besides, only two teams face off at a time in the Wheel of Life and Death, there’s still hope.”

His cold gaze swept across the crowd, including the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The Wheel of Life and Death also required three Foundation Establishment cultivators to enter together. If a team’s main force, the Qi Condensation disciples were wiped out, their Foundation Establishment cultivator would likely die too.

After all, his opponent would be another Foundation Establishment cultivator, backed by several peak Qi Condensation experts. Even if their equal only held him back, the rest could easily kill.

(Chapter End)