Feng Jinhuang’s mentality had completely collapsed.
Originally, she had been brimming with confidence, leading nine Taiyi experts and 140 Golden Immortal clansmen to seek opportunities. Even if they failed to obtain the Chaos Supreme Treasure, they could at least secure a batch of valuable accompanying treasures or even search for the hidden Lingxiao Treasury in the lower realm!
But alas, reality was far harsher than her dreams.
It seemed like they had gained a sliver of the treasures’ accompanying opportunities—yet it also felt like they had gained nothing at all.
The first trial, the Spiritual Treasure Paradise, had been the sweet bait. The second trial, the Five Elements Mountain Range, was the brutal stick!
Eating the sweet bait only to be beaten by the stick—this seemed inevitable. But the bait hadn’t been sweet enough, and the stick was far too heavy, wiping out 90% of her clansmen in just two strikes. She simply couldn’t endure it!
What infuriated Feng Jinhuang the most was that the five great clans had reaped the most rewards in the Spiritual Treasure Paradise, while her Taichu Xinhun Clan had strictly restrained themselves under her orders, taking only a tiny fraction.
Yet, in the second trial, the Guardian Spirit ignored the greedy five clans and targeted her Taichu Xinhun Clan instead?
What, was the Guardian Spirit also a bully who preyed on the weak?
The five clans were a tough nut to crack, so it picked her Taichu Xinhun Clan as the soft persimmon to squeeze?
140 Golden Immortal disciples, plus one Taiyi elder—gone, just like that!
The Taichu Xinhun Clan was already sparsely populated. These were the backbone of their clan!
How could she possibly face the elders upon her return?
Especially since the captured Taiyi expert was the last surviving descendant of her elder brother!
Now that she had lost him, how could she ever face her brother again?
She was a sinner!
She had sensed the extreme danger of this secret realm, yet she had still been blinded by greed, failing to make the right choice!
If Heaven granted her another chance, she would have forced her clansmen to halt before that stone tablet, turn around, and search for the elusive Lingxiao Treasury instead!
But there were no second chances...
"Young Great Luo, please remain calm. Do not act rashly. Your clansmen are still safe for now. If you wish to keep them unharmed, then follow my instructions. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee their lives."
Suddenly!
An ethereal voice drifted into Feng Jinhuang’s mind.
She froze, then shuddered in terror.
This was telepathic communication—yet in the Five Elements Mountain Range, where all magic power was suppressed, who else but that damned Guardian Spirit could still wield spells so effortlessly?!
Suppressing her fury, she lowered her head expressionlessly and murmured, "As long as you do not harm them or cross my bottom line, I will obey your instructions."
There was no choice. When under another’s roof, one had to bow. The other party held her lifeline in their grasp—the initiative was theirs. She could only endure humiliation to survive.
"Good. You no longer need to be on guard. Lead your remaining clansmen straight to the mountain peak. I, as the spirit of the Five Elements Mountain Range, swear I will not attack you again!"
Chen Yi made the promise with practiced ease.
Feng Jinhuang fell silent for a moment before suddenly shouting, "All clansmen, heed my order! This is no place to linger. We have no retreat left! To avoid further pointless sacrifices, travel light and advance at full speed—push forward, push forward!"
"As the Elder commands!"
The remaining eight Taiyi clansmen did not hesitate. They immediately rose and began scaling the mountain at full speed!
This was the best choice under the current circumstances.
Staying put to defend would only allow the hidden Guardian Spirit to pick them off one by one, slowly whittling them down to death!
So they could not afford to sit and wait for doom!
Just follow the Elder’s orders!
As the Taichu Xinhun Clan surged ahead, the five great ancient clans grew frantic.
The importance of seizing the initiative was undeniable—not just for claiming scarce resources first, but also as a demonstration of capability in the face of trials, earning the favor of the supreme treasures!
More importantly, though the Taichu Xinhun Clan had suffered heavy losses, they had also shed their burdens. Without the deadweight slowing them down, their speed far outstripped that of the five great clans!
A slight lead could be caught up to, but an overwhelming one? Impossible!
The five great clan elders, who had been gloating over the Taichu Xinhun Clan’s losses just moments ago, were no longer smiling. Their expressions turned grave.
"Everyone, what should we do?" The Yin-Yang Daoist, the Great Luo elder of the Green Lotus Ancient Clan, asked with a dark face.
"This is bad. Unless we also travel light, we’ll never catch up to them!" The elder of the Taixu Star God Ancient Clan also looked grim.
"What’s so hard about it? If we can’t move fast, then we’ll just stop her!" The Great Luo elder of the Timeflow Dragon Clan bared his fangs, eyes glinting with ruthlessness.
"But!" The Great Luo elder of the Primordial Chaos Ancient Clan hesitated. "Can we even stop her? And even if we could, if she deliberately causes trouble, we’ll be the ones in trouble!"
"We must not intercept her!" The cold and aloof Great Luo elder of the Abyssal Nether Ancient Clan said firmly. "We can stop her for a time, but not forever. If she wishes to leave, the path lies at her feet!"
"Our large numbers have become a disadvantage. Perhaps we should..."
He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
Before a supreme treasure, even kin could be sacrificed!
Their clans were populous, after all. A few Golden Immortals were nothing compared to the value of a Chaos Supreme Treasure!
Taiyi clansmen held significant weight, but so be it—one lifetime was nothing. They could always expend great resources to resurrect them from the River of Time and nurture them anew!
"Hah, your Abyssal Clan is truly heartless. Abandoning hundreds of clansmen without hesitation—aren’t you afraid of sowing dissent?" The Timeflow Dragon Clan elder sneered.
"If you’re so afraid, then you stay behind. My Abyssal Clan will take the lead. Once we obtain the Chaos Supreme Treasure, we’ll prepare generous gifts to thank you!" the Abyssal Nether elder retorted coldly.
"Hah! I suppose my clan’s treasury is the ‘generous gift’ you’re eyeing?"
"Naturally. You’re the one who wants to play the saint while acting like a whore. How shameless!"
"You dare insult me?!"
The Abyssal Nether elder ignored him, turning his back to address his clansmen calmly.
"One lifetime is but a drop in eternity. Rebirth awaits in the Abyssal Depths. All Taiyi clansmen, follow me at full speed. The rest shall continue gathering Five Elements ores for our future return!"
With that, he led all his Taiyi clansmen forward, unburdened.
The other four great clans fell silent before making the same choice.
There was no helping it. They had only been a loose alliance to begin with. With heaven-defying benefits at stake, once one side acted, the rest had to follow—or fall behind.
And falling behind meant suffering defeat. They had no choice!
Thus, the Great Luo alliance of the five great clans crumbled. Each left their clansmen behind to cover their advance!
From the shadows, Chen Yi smirked. With just a simple stratagem to lure the tiger from the mountain, he could now enjoy this rare feast!
He wouldn’t hold back.
......
OS: I’m truly... burned out...
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
