Chapter 103 – Starting The Competition

There was a slight cracking sound as some of the lines on Gu Suihan’s heart-soul disappeared, and it no longer looked as damaged as it had once been.

“Advanced Foundation Establishment.” Gu Suihan suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were bright like the stars, with a strange swirling whirlpool within his pupils that seemed to encompass the greatest mysteries of life.

“Origin Core. I’m only at Origin Core,” muttered Gu Suihan like he had gone mad. His black hair flapped wildly despite the lack of wind, and the spinning wheel behind him had shattered. Only an odd symbol shone brightly in his pupils. Violence, bloodthirstiness, and a frostiness burst forth from his reddened eyes. In that instant, the entire hut was filled with the sounds of ghosts crying, wolves howling, flying sand, and moving stones. Questioning Heaven trembled violently on Gu Suihan’s lap like it was faced with its greatest enemy.

“Shush!” The redness in Gu Suihan’s eyes slowly faded, and he frowned as he looked down at his tense sword.

If someone else were around, they would have seen how the bloodied mist from Gu Suihan’s body was as bloody as thousands of dead bodies stacked on each other, reaching high up in the sky, and how a strange set of runes had formed in the middle of it.

“This time, all of them are going to become food for me.” The extreme bloodthirsty look in his bloodshot eyes disappeared after a second. He stood up and looked at the wall in front of him as if he could see the thousands of disciples from varying schools of cultivation and martial arts outside.

At that moment, he confirmed that it was impossible to unravel the mystery behind the hide he had inherited from his master in this world. The bloodthirstiness he had hidden for so long was finally ready to burst out of him. That demonic technique that could make one’s hair stand on end and send shivers down one’s spine was ready to descend on this world.

“Who’s there?” shouted someone within the Seven Kill Sect grounds in shock and anger. Xiexin zhenren’s expression was aggressive as he roared like a madman. The tiny bit of Gu Suihan’s soul fire that he had in his sleeve had suddenly disappeared.

Yet, all he could do was watch the soul fire fly away, and he couldn’t stop it at all. This made him feel terribly uneasy, and a deep-seated terror instantly filled his heart.

“Why are you shouting?” The spiritual sense of several others appeared at the top of the mountain where Xiexin zhenren was.

“The part of Gu Suihan’s soul fire that was left behind in the sect has suddenly disappeared,” Xiexin zhenren replied to them via telepathy with a murderous look on his face.

“There are two possibilities. Either he used a secret technique to summon his soul fire back because he’s trying to escape from our control and intends to ruin our plans; or two, it’s the Sect Leader who took that soul fire, and he intends to threaten Gu Suihan with it,” responded Yun Lianyi after giving it some thought.

“Didn’t you say Gu Suihan swore by the Way? If he goes against his promise, he won’t be able to escape the threat of being possessed by his own wayward thoughts in the future,” said Wan Fentian in an irritated voice.

Xiexin zhenren was already in a foul mood, so when he heard Wan Fentian’s annoyed tone of voice, he retorted angrily, “He did swear by the Way. I witnessed that with my own eyes.”

“What are you worried about then? Did you think that this pathetic Lower World would have other people above Origin Core besides You Hantian and a few others?” Yun Lianyi sounded sarcastic and even hateful. “Any techniques and items required for a breakthrough are all with those old fogeys. That Gu Suihan is just a wandering cultivator, so I wouldn’t think he’d be capable of doing this himself.”

“But…” Xiexin zhenren was still unsettled.

Before he could go on, Wan Fentian cut him off impatiently, “No buts. Gu Suihan is only at Foundation Establishment, so if he actually tries to ruin our plans, that’s as good as a mayfly trying to shake a tree. It’s a bold but futile dream. There’s no way one Gu Suihan could affect the big picture.”

After he had said that, all of them went their own way and ignored the extremely grim expression on Xiexin zhenren’s face.

“Humph!” Xiexin zhenren remained standing there for a few moments before angrily storming back to Peak Four.

In the end, Mo Yuluo did not look for Gu Suihan again.

As such, Gu Suihan had no choice but to go with his original plan. Time and fate were unpredictable things, and Gu Suihan was already prepared for such an event.

Setting aside what plans Mo Yuluo might have, nobody could stand in the way of her will not to allow someone else to kill her and take over her body, even if that person was her own mother.

Several days later, You Hantian finally came back. His brows were furrowed, and he was silent. It was clear that after so many days of arguing, the Seven Kill Sect had not managed to gain any advantage at all.

After a long time, You Hantian finally exhaled deeply and said in a slightly frosty voice, “Pack your things; we’re leaving in an hour for the secret realm. It’s best that those from the same sect help each other through any difficulties.”

He knew what the Seven Kill Sect disciples were like. They usually believed in the survival of the fittest, and the techniques that were passed to the disciples were very disorganized. There were some disciples who cultivated in the sword, some in ghosts, some in magic, and so on. Their techniques generally leaned toward the more ruthless ones that were meant to kill. The disciples were also well-versed in pulling sneaky tricks while making attacks. So, You Hantian wanted to warn them against infighting.

The crowd started moving. There were so many of them. Some of them were gentle and elegant, some fierce and murderous, some aloof and calm. There were all sorts of disciples in the mix.

Besides the seven major sects, there were cultivators from smaller sects and people like the martial cultivators from Fenglin. Each group stuck to one another and left an empty space that was at least 3,000 meters in diameter in the middle.

“Let’s begin,” said You Hantian with a darkened expression as he threw the people from Vast Sky Sect a hostile glance. He didn’t bother hiding any of his hatred for them.

Immediately after, he saw that the leaders of the major sects took a step forward. Their expressions were solemn as they looked at one another from a distance of a few hundred meters, then they made hand seals at the same time in order to gather qi.

An elderly man from the Ethereal Court flew into the air. A bright green light shot out from his hands, a pressuring and imposing energy bursting forth and pressing down on the lands below it. A strong wind blew up all the fallen leaves, quietly blowing past the hearts of each person and making them shiver.

As the cold winds began to howl, snow filled the skies. The white sky slowly darkened, and a faintly red cloud slowly began to gather above them.

“Illusionary Demon Hole in the Sky! Activate!” All of them shouted loudly at the same time. The beam from their hand seals froze, then turned into one golden beam that shot straight into the cloud above.

KABOOM! An ear-deafening blast resounded in everyone’s ears. But even after absorbing all the energy from the leaders of the various sects, the blood-colored cloud did not grow any larger. Instead, it seemed to be getting smaller.

Even though the cloud was getting smaller, the leaders immediately shifted a few hundred meters backward at the same time while forming layers and layers of protective forcefields to make sure the area in front of them was well protected. But even after doing that, they still did not relax. There was a gleam in their hands as they held up all sorts of spiritual weapons and magic treasures as they waited with bated breath.

Fifteen minutes slowly ticked by. The bloodied cloud finally stopped moving after it had turned into a whirlpool that measured only about three meters across. Something dim flashed across the center of the cloud as if the cloud was brewing something.

The green glow below it was even more brilliant than before. The energizing fragrance of plants instantly filled the air and made everyone feel refreshed after taking a breath of it.

“Sky Shattering Star Anchor!” The elderly man from the Ethereal Court bit his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of his blood on the green glow.

The green glow let out a long howl as it stabbed itself deep into the ground. It expanded in width and looked like a gigantic tree trunk without any branches or leaves. The huge pole had a golden glow on it as it surged upwards toward the mysterious whirlpool above.

Boom! The whirlpool created by the bloodied cloud suddenly shook, and its rotation speed slowed down, but it never stopped. The tree trunk suddenly gave off the sound of something cracking and falling apart. Everyone watched in horror as thick, broken wooden pieces fell out from the whirlpool as the tree trunk wailed continuously.

“Is this something left behind from ancient times?” murmured one of them, his eyes filled with greediness.

He wasn’t the only one. Everyone’s gaze was heated as they stared straight at how powerful the whirlpool was. It could even break the giant tree trunk even though the tree trunk had defied the rules of space.

“The star anchor is actually unable to lock its position down! It must be a high-level secret realm!” the elderly man from the Ethereal Court suddenly started shouting with an excited look on his face.

“My friends, please help to contribute a little more energy.” The old man gritted his teeth and swallowed several pills. The aggressive look in his eyes faded as quickly as it appeared. He suddenly used his palm to slam his own chest three times, causing him to spray three mouthfuls of blood out.

At the same time, the other leaders who were watching did not go up to help but took one step backward with an indifferent look on their faces.