The banquet is about to begin, and Feng Jinhuang's lingering anxiety was completely gone.

With Wuji—that thorn in his side—plucked out, the group of Golden Immortals and Taiyi who descended from the Immortal Realm... became Chen Yi’s feast!

Yet, as the saying goes, every grain on the plate comes from hard labor!

To drive away that troublemaker Wuji, Chen Yi had paid no small price!

After all, it was the current Immortal Emperor taking the reins—achieving a flawless victory was nearly impossible!

His five-star avatar, pushed beyond its limits for too long, was left severely damaged, its origin essence depleted by more than half. Along with it, the eighty-one Chaos-Colored Pearls teetered on the brink of destruction, requiring re-forging and nurturing before they could be used again.

And then there were the forty-nine Chaos-Colored Pearls used to drag Wuji out of the treasure secret realm. In the struggle, they had been tainted by Wuji’s aura, rendered useless, and could only be melted down and reforged.

All in all, Chen Yi had lost enough Chaos Essence to craft another four-star avatar.

Fortunately, compared to his gains, these losses were trivial.

From the six ancient clans—1,138 Golden Immortals, 96 Taiyi, one persuadable Great Luo, and the three Great Luo snatched from Wuji’s grasp—these top-tier talents, he would take them all!

With the thorn removed, the grand banquet could finally begin!

Treasure Secret Realm, Second Trial: The Five Elements Mountain Range.

Feng Jinhuang stood proudly atop the mountain peak, her cold gaze sweeping over the neatly assembled members of the other five ancient clans below. A storm of emotions churned within her.

The moment she witnessed those forty-nine Chaos-Colored Pearls yank the Great Luo elders of the other clans out of the treasure secret realm, she realized she had been deceived!

He was no guardian spirit of the Five Elements Mountain Range—he was a challenger!

And most likely the one who left those encrypted runes on the entrance stele!

Fang Fan, the Ninth-Rank Wealth Attendant of the Ziwei Celestial Court’s Treasury Division!

What fate could possibly await her clansmen in his hands?

With only one treasure to claim, fewer competitors meant greater odds of success.

Were her people even still alive?

Feng Jinhuang’s composure shattered entirely. She didn’t dare dwell on it—as long as there was no confirmation, there was still hope.

But hope was far too slim...

She was the sinner here. She should have trusted her instincts and ordered her clansmen to retreat at the stele’s instructions!

Even empty-handed, it would have been better than total annihilation!

Overwhelmed by guilt, she stood frozen on the mountaintop, unsure where to turn.

"Elder Ancestor, those bastards bullied our clan earlier. Now that their greatest backer is gone, shouldn’t we...?"

At this moment, the eight remaining Taiyi of the Taichu Heart-Soul Clan stepped forward, their eyes dark as they glared at the Golden Immortals of the five clans lining the mountainside—and the Taiyi, now leaderless after losing their Great Luo elder, forming defensive formations in alarm.

After all, they had lost so many clansmen and gained nothing in return. Was that fair?

Meanwhile, the other clans remained intact, missing only a Great Luo elder. Why should they monopolize the rare ores of the Five Elements Mountain Range?

If they didn’t seize this chance, what did the fate of their missing clansmen even mean?

To make up for their losses, the Taichu Heart-Soul Clan had to strike—force them into mining and bar them from the treasure contest!

Such was the way of treasure contention. Leaving them alive was mercy enough!

Faced with her clansmen’s plea, Feng Jinhuang fell silent for a moment before shaking her head. "The situation remains unclear. We wait."

Though the eight Taiyi burned with the urge to act, they ultimately obeyed their elder’s command, forcing themselves to calm down.

After all, back at the entrance stele, their elder had hesitated—yet they had eagerly pushed for action, leading to this disastrous outcome.

Truly, they had learned the hard way: ignore the elder’s words, and suffer the consequences.

So, having learned their lesson, they would wait as instructed.

But this very hesitation cost them their last chance to escape the clutches of doom. From then on, they would never again stand aloft as immortals of the upper realm, free and untroubled. Instead, they would devote their lives to the grand cause of the Ziwei Celestial Court’s rise!

Because Chen Yi, after regrouping, sent another five-star avatar into the fray. Speed-running the first trial, it arrived once more at the second—the Five Elements Mountain Range.

Plop—

A ripple spread across the entrance membrane as the one-star Chen Yi, willingly bearing the Seal of Spirit-Severance, squeezed his way inside.

When Feng Jinhuang’s sharp eyes caught sight of the eighty-one Chaos-Colored Pearls rapidly ascending from the foot of the mountain...

Her last flicker of hope—

Was utterly extinguished.