“Emperor Jiang Trial!”
Xuanyang exclaimed with fervor, “A Suspended Floating Island, a Five-Edged Giant Tower, containing the sun, moon, and stars within—forming a world of its own. The legendary Emperor Jiang Trial, one of the three great ancient trials of the Nine Provinces. I always thought it was just a rumor…”
“Even this old man grew up listening to tales of the Emperor Jiang Trial,” Yuan Shouyi sighed repeatedly.
“Legend says that anyone who survives two rounds of the Emperor Jiang Trial is bound to become a first-level Jie Xian, and even among Jie Xian cultivators, they would stand out as the elite.”
“Enough talk. It’s time to enter!”
The allure of the Emperor Jiang Trial was simply too great.
Even though the true nature of this tower remained unclear and it couldn’t be confirmed whether it was the genuine Emperor Jiang Trial… cultivators outside had already begun clashing fiercely.
They were scrambling for the right to enter the Secret Realm first.
Although the first to enter would face all dangers alone… this world had never lacked madmen willing to risk their lives.
“Once inside, you must follow Senior Brother Xuanyang’s orders and work together. Hurry!”
Yuan Shouyi’s final task was to escort Jiang Ke’er and the others to the entrance of the Secret Realm.
The area was already jam-packed, with flashes of steel and bloodshed erupting continuously, and every second saw a head roll.
“We have to get inside quickly!” Xuanyang decided without hesitation. “Full speed ahead!”
“Not a chance.”
Unfortunately, cultivators from the Dan Sect Alliance had been waiting long ago.
In the chaos, Jiang Ke’er couldn’t tell who around them belonged to the Dan Sect Alliance and who were other cultivators… all she felt was that everyone nearby was an enemy, seemingly targeting them, trying to slow their advance.
In an instant, everyone bore varying injuries—the situation was grim!
She was ready to fight but was tightly surrounded and protected by the Ta Ming Sect cultivators.
After all, she was a medic cultivator.
“Get on my back and hold on tight,” Qian Yue said.
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Ke’er transformed into a fox and leapt onto Qian Yue’s shoulder, clutching her clothes tightly with her little paws.
A cold blue light shimmered in Qian Yue’s hand, coalescing into two ice crystal daggers.
She bent slightly, gripping the daggers backward.
Qian Yue chanted a spell under her breath, finally whispering, “Shuyue… Liuguang!”
A fierce wind swept past Jiang Ke’er’s ears, ruffling her fur in waves.
It was an astonishing speed.
The surrounding scenery rapidly blurred behind them as Qian Yue’s graceful figure weaved and danced through the dense crowd, blood splattering in her wake.
The spilled blood instantly froze into ice crystals by the biting cold of her daggers, forming deadly killing weapons that exploded outward in all directions!
“Ah—”
Endless screams echoed behind them, but Qian Yue paid no heed to whether those injured were Dan Sect Alliance cultivators or not… everyone around was an enemy.
Two rotating ice shields hovered around Qian Yue’s body, blocking all attacks midair and allowing her to charge steadily toward the entrance!
“Boom—”
A loud explosion suddenly erupted on the ice shield.
The shield shattered, ice shards scattering in all directions.
A shallow scratch was grazed across Qian Yue’s cheek.
She groaned softly, her face pale.
Jiang Ke’er quickly increased the spiritual energy flowing into her and supplemented it with Holy Light Power to heal the wound, easing the pain somewhat.
Her injury was still troublesome, preventing her from unleashing her full strength.
“Hey, we’re going ahead first!”
At the Secret Realm entrance, members of the Fireblade Squad leisurely waved toward Jiang Ke’er’s direction.
The one who had just attacked Qian Yue was a squad spellcaster; evidently, they had no intention of letting Jiang Ke’er’s group enter the Secret Realm smoothly… every second they could delay was a victory.
“Whoosh—”
Several flying swords streaked toward Qian Yue.
She used her ice shield to repel most, but since the shield had been cracked moments ago, one sword slipped through and headed straight for her shoulder.
Fortunately, Jiang Ke’er lunged forward just in time, her small paw slapping the flying sword aside.
The impact pushed Jiang Ke’er backward in midair, and she landed back on Qian Yue’s shoulder.
“Thanks.”
“Of course.”
In that instant, they felt a bond like that of siblings, a tacit understanding between them.
“Thud—”
At that moment, Xuanyang showed no mercy either.
His muscles bulged as he charged like an armored tank, arriving beside Qian Yue and Jiang Ke’er to push forward together.
“We have to hurry!”
After the Fireblade Squad was the first to breach the Secret Realm gate, several other elite teams followed, breaking through the chaos to enter.
At the same time, everyone could clearly see—the Secret Realm gate had shrunk considerably since it was first opened.
Each time five cultivators passed through, the gate’s doors shrank noticeably.
Clearly, the Secret Realm limited how many cultivators could enter. If the Ta Ming Sect members didn’t hurry, they’d be locked out.
“Hahaha, farewell, Ta Ming Sect!”
Not only had the Fireblade Squad and Heavenly Gate Sect entered the Secret Realm early, but elite teams from the Dan Sect Alliance had also slipped in first.
Moreover, after entering, countless Dan Sect Alliance cultivators stayed behind, doing nothing but blocking the Ta Ming Sect’s path.
These Dan Sect Alliance cultivators were vicious, resorting to poison, explosive talismans, and flying sword harassment.
Nothing was beneath them… every strike was lethal, aimed to kill the Ta Ming Sect cultivators outright, forcing them to defend with full effort.
All their usual pretenses fell away at this moment, even the Sect Leader Yuan Shouyi was besieged.
It seemed there was no way out for them now.
“Fine.”
Jiang Ke’er smiled, “So you want to play dirty with poison, huh?”
She pulled out several medicinal pills.
The moment these pills were exposed to the air, they emitted a rich, enticing aroma.
After all, they were Dan Medicine.
These were failed Transformation Origin Pills Jiang Ke’er had accidentally created in recent days while experimenting.
After several human tests by Yuan Tiangang, Jiang Ke’er had sealed these failed pills deep within her inventory, intending to find a secluded, safe place to destroy them humanely…
Her little paw flicked, pulling out one pill after another. The dark green pills flew toward the crowd.
As she sent out pill after pill, Jiang Ke’er shouted, “Charge!”
The pills bounced on the ground with incredible elasticity before…
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—”
Terrifying shockwaves roared outward, accompanied by clouds of dark green mist rushing in all directions.
“Why are medicinal pills exploding?!” Xiao Ming stared in disbelief.
“Don’t ask me, I don’t know either.”
Xiao Ri suddenly seemed to remember something, his face pale with fear: “…You gave Yuan Tiangang these recently?!”
“Uh, well, let’s not talk about the past. At least he’s fine, right?”
“…”
Jiang Ke’er wasn’t sure if Yuan Tiangang was truly alright now.
In any case, the cultivators blocking the Ta Ming Sect had just landed themselves in a world of trouble.