If even the sect leaders couldn’t handle it, it must be an incredibly terrifying and unnatural entity!

The shadow struggled and trembled for a long time, finally extending a shadow that resembled a hand. It tried to lift it up and hovered above Lin Jie’s head, hesitating for a long time, but ultimately, it didn't fall.

It remained there, just above Lin Jie’s hair, lightly tapping twice.

Yu Xian peered into the spatial rift, then urged Lin Jie, "Xiao Lin, the cycle of reincarnation waits for no one. This formation is a half-reverse heaven formation, and if it stays open too long, your sister won’t be able to enter!"

Lin Jie glanced at the spatial rift and then at the shadow in front of him, whose human form was still vague and unclear. His face was full of reluctance.

But he knew the matter couldn’t be delayed any longer. In the end, it was Junxiao who decisively waved his sleeve, pulling the shadow over. After casting a glance at Lin Jie, he raised his hand and tapped the shadow on its forehead, sending it into the rift of reincarnation.

As the last shadow entered, Junxiao raised his hand, signaling the end. The eye-like rift suddenly closed, and the sky returned to its original state, with wind and drifting leaves, leaving no trace of the gap behind.

Seeing Lin Jie still dumbly staring at the empty space, Yu Xian waved his hand in front of his eyes. "Junxiao just marked your sister’s forehead. After her reincarnation, it will be easier to find her. When that time comes, you can go and see her. It's a wish granted to meet her once more."

After speaking, Yu Xian casually waved his sleeve again, and the formation that had been surrounding the tree disappeared completely.

In the place in the circle,  where the evil tree had once grown, a withered, shriveled branch remained. After trembling in the wind for a moment, it suddenly burst apart into dust, sending a cloud of powder into the air.

At the moment the dust cloud rose, the dark clouds in the sky grew even heavier, with thunder and lightning crashing down, as if signaling something. The lightning strikes did not lessen but became more violent, striking down upon the forest, causing old trees to fall and shaking the ground with each powerful impact.

The tremor seemed to travel deep underground, as if thunder was rolling under the loess, building toward a terrifying earth-shaking force.

Outside of Wanchao Valley, at the altar of the Hengtian Sect’s secret realm entrance, the sect leaders and elders from various sects were sitting between the four gates, waiting for their disciples to return while casually discussing the current state of their sects, maintaining a calm and polite demeanor.

This was not the first time they had held such a trial, so they had a rough estimate of when the disciples would start emerging from Wanchao Valley. Based on previous experience, the first disciples to emerge were usually from Hengtian Sect or Qingyun Sect, occasionally with Shaoyang Sect taking the lead. The chances of other sects emerging at the top were rare.

The first group of disciples usually numbered no more than five, but no less than two, and they typically emerged when the sun was just slightly westward.

The elders of Shaoyang Sect, known for their straightforward and candid manner, glanced at the incense on the central altar and then at the sun. One of them remarked, "It seems it’s about time."

As soon as these words were spoken, the attention of the sects shifted to the four gates, while Hengtian Sect, which had already taken the lead, remained calm. The sect leader of Hengtian Sect exchanged a few words with the sect leader of Qingyun Sect before slowly turning his gaze toward the gates.

Just as the Shaoyang Sect elder had predicted, not long after, a flash of light appeared at the White Tiger gate. Three young disciples from Qingyun Sect, supporting each other, emerged. As soon as they appeared, they stood up straight, saluted the elders of all the sects, and were about to say a few words when the ground suddenly shook, causing the unprepared disciples to stumble.

The elders and sect leaders on the altar immediately furrowed their brows and quickly stood up.

They weren’t alarmed without reason. The bright, clear sky above Hengtian Sect had suddenly darkened, with large clouds gathering and covering the entire sect, clearly signaling something menacing. Furthermore, from the barely sealed White Tiger Gate, some malicious aura leaked out.

This aura was no ordinary one. It contained not only intense killing and vengeful energy, but also an overwhelming spiritual energy, even stronger than that leaking from the places with the most abundant spiritual energy in all the sects.

The other sects were confused, unable to understand what could have such a powerful aura in Hengtian Sect's Wanchao Valley. But the sect leaders and elders of Hengtian Sect knew exactly what it was.

The moment the scent was detected, everyone from Hengtian Sect felt a sudden, unmistakable shiver in their hearts because they were all too familiar with that particular smell—

After the blood beasts were raised and sacrificed to the Sanqing Pool, for a long period of time, the area surrounding the Sanqing Pool would constantly carry this scent. It was the mingling of the blood beasts and the ice essence from within the Sanqing Pool.

At that moment, the elders of Hengtian Sect exchanged quick glances before all their eyes turned toward the sect leader. Meanwhile, the eyes of the other sect members also turned to Hengtian Sect.

The sect leader of Hengtian Sect’s face turned as cold as ice, his brows furrowed as he stared at the recently closed White Tiger Gate. No one here knew the layout of Wanchao Valley better than he did.

Only the disciples of Hengtian, Xuanwei and Changling Sects were supposed to encounter the blood beasts, and without a doubt, those disciples, guided by the Nine Kill Formation, would have no chance to resist the blood beasts, let alone injure them.

But if the blood beasts were not injured, that scent should never have spread. Not only should the White Tiger Gate not have smelled it, but even opening the Vermilion Bird Gate shouldn’t have caused the scent of blood beasts to reach the depths of the forest. Furthermore, that scent carried the distinct trace of ice essence!

Though it was suggested that the ice soul be connected with the depths of Wanchao Valley to ensure no potential threats slipped through, both the sect leader and the elders of Hengtian Sect knew very well that such an “emergency measure” would never truly happen. If those disciples had been capable of exterminating the blood beasts and reaching the ice soul, they wouldn’t still be stuck in Hengtian Sect, living out their insignificant lives!

While the Hengtian Sect leaders were all pondering how to keep the other sects from suspecting anything, they suddenly felt another tremor underfoot, as if the entire altar might collapse!

Before the shaking had even settled, ripples resembling water waves spread from the four gates of Green dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise Gates.

(NT: The Four Guardian Beasts, are significant mythological creatures in Chinese cosmology, each representing a cardinal direction and a season, and being associated with specific attributes. They symbolize the balance of forces in nature and human life)

It grew more distinct, more turbulent, and nearly seemed to form towering waves. In the instant the waves surged, four deafening cracking sounds rang out, echoing across the altar. Before the reverberations could fade, the four gates collapsed with a tremendous crash, and an overwhelming wave of demonic and malicious aura rushed from every direction, carrying strong spiritual power.

At the same time, deep within the dense forest of Wan Chao Valley, the dust cloud created by the shattered evil tree formed a misty, frosted barrier, floating in the air like a veil.

Junxiao and Yu Xian both frowned, almost simultaneously raising their hands. Two sword lights slashed down, splitting the mist in half. Once the dust cloud dispersed, it revealed an invisible entrance, and behind the mist, it was no longer the dense forest that had been seen earlier, but a vast, bright blue lake.

"How did a lake suddenly appear?" One of the younger disciples exclaimed in surprise, causing all the unaware youths to widen their eyes and stare at the brilliant blue lake embedded in the ground. Even Lin Jie and Meng Xi couldn’t hide their astonishment.

Only Yu Xian and Junxiao, who recognized what it was, had serious expressions. They quickly swept the curious youths behind them, warning in a low voice, "Don’t move! That’s something deadly!"

"Deadly?" After witnessing the abilities of Junxiao and Yu Xian, these chickens immediately obeyed, staying behind them without hesitation. However, some still couldn’t help but wonder, "Is it another evil entity like the giant tree?"

At the mention of the evil tree, all the young disciples shuddered. But then they heard Yu Xian speak up, "Of course not. This is a thousand times more dangerous than that evil tree ! Many powerful beings have perished because of it. Even if your sect leader came, he’d be nothing but food for it!"

Upon hearing this, the disciples froze in place, staring wide-eyed and speechless.

If even the sect leaders couldn’t handle it, it must be an incredibly terrifying and unnatural entity!

Before they had time to figure out the situation, a deafening sound like a mountain collapsing erupted, and the earth trembled continuously, with the thunderous noise resembling a dragon twisting beneath the ground. The surrounding dense forest was suddenly whipped by fierce winds, breaking off thick branches and old trees. The wind seemed to have originated from that bright blue area.

It was like a massive vortex, relentlessly pulling everything around it, including the forest and anything within it.

Countless old trees, as they snapped, were sucked into the vortex, and the moment they touched the ice soul beneath them, they immediately withered and died, as if all their vitality had been drained.

The entire forest, thousands of trees, were nearly all absorbed within moments.

Countless broken branches spun rapidly through the air, swirling around the ice soul as if the ice soul itself were the eye of a tornado that had suddenly formed on flat ground.

The dark, oppressive clouds above were also caught in the whirlpool, forming a massive vortex above the ice soul. The flashes of lightning and thunder had been drawn into the center of that swirling cloud, with each bolt striking downward. Every time a bolt hit the ice soul, it would create a web of dark thunder and lightning around it, which then spread outward, cracking the ground beneath with deep, vein-like fissures.

Junxiao and Yu Xian didn’t hesitate. Without a word, they placed three protective seals around the group of young chickens, enveloping them in a protective barrier.

However, the moment the seals were placed, Junxiao suddenly felt that Bai Ke, who he had been holding tightly, began to struggle violently in his grip. Then, with a burst of golden light, it headed straight toward the ice soul…

 

Translator : DarNan