Chapter 171: Curtain Falls
Outside the blessed realm, the cultivators and elders gathered to spectate had already fallen into animated discussion. The topic was none other than Song Yan, and Li Yi.
Yang Wenxuan sat in the elders’ seats, his gaze deep and unfathomable as he regarded Song Yan, his mind churning with calculations unknown.
Beside him stood a young female disciple of striking appearance, bearing no small resemblance to Qin Ying.
“Has the Qin clan made any contact with this person?”
Caught unawares by Elder Yang’s voice transmission, the young woman seemed not the slightest bit startled. “I heard that Senior Sister attempted to approach him, but he refused…”
Yang Wenxuan gave a slight nod. “Oh? And why is that?”
“This person is a disciple under Qin Xijun.”
Upon hearing that name, Yang Wenxuan’s gaze shifted, his peripheral vision flickering toward Qin Xijun.
He shook his head faintly and sighed. “Every family has its troubles…”
“Elder Yang, shall I go and…”
The young woman’s meaning was plain.
Yet Yang Wenxuan merely lowered his eyes. “If even Qin Ying could not persuade him, do you believe you could?”
The young woman’s heart sank, though on the surface she merely lowered her head.
“However, there is something peculiar about this one.”
Yang Wenxuan’s gaze burned bright. “Back at Silence Valley, I had already investigated him.”
“Triple spirit root talent, no patron to speak of, and yet he has somehow risen to this height…”
Yang Wenxuan turned the matter over in his mind.
A demonic spy?
The likelihood was slim. If he were truly an agent of the demonic path, he would not be foolish enough to draw so much attention to himself.
Some manner of fortuitous encounter, perhaps?
Or had he truly reaped some benefit from Wang Xi’s corpse back at Silence Valley?
“When the time comes, I shall accompany you.”
“Yes, Elder.”
……
At the outermost edge of the battlefield within the blessed realm, in a corner no one cared to notice.
Lin Qing trailed behind the restrictions at an unhurried pace, slowly making his way inward, showing not the slightest interest in claiming more spirit patterns.
His brow was furrowed slightly, as though troubled by a headache.
Not far away, a female cultivator watched him with guarded wariness.
It was Yuwen Yao.
“What was that just now?”
She murmured to herself, “I haven’t had a drop of wine today, so how did I…”
“It felt as though I entered a painting?”
Gazing at Lin Qing, he pondered, “Could this be some extraordinary treasure of his?”
Prior to this, Lin Qing had ceased fighting after obtaining fifty-odd spirit patterns.
He knew that fifty-odd spirit patterns were more than enough to secure a place among the top twenty-two.
Spirit herbs had already become scarce, and the remaining time would be better spent cultivating in meditation here rather than squandered on a futile search.
He deployed the Wandering Scroll, using it as a simple illusion barrier for protection.
He had not expected that even such a remote location could be found by this female cultivator.
What was more baffling still was that her spiritual energy fluctuations were exceedingly violent.
She could even exit the ink treasure of her own volition!
Lin Qing was wary.
Having learned his lesson from the Sect Master, he was now a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, perceiving enemies in every shadow.
Whatever unfamiliar phenomenon he encountered, he grew exceedingly cautious.
Yuwen Yao, for her part, was eager to test herself against this unremarkable junior brother.
However, the final restrictions had already begun to contract, and neither wished to be eliminated at this critical juncture.
And so, the strange scene before them came to be.
On the Ancient Vine Forest, the series of battles sparked by a single Golden Vein Spirit-Dispersing Grass naturally drew the attention of both.
Each harbored their own thoughts.
Yuwen Yao felt a tinge of regret.
Trapped in that painting world for so long, she had already missed her chances to face Kong You, Song Yan, and Li Yi in direct combat. To strike now would lack the thrill she craved.
Lin Qing, watching Song Yan as he sat in meditation, was lost in thought.
Having lived a second life, many things had indeed changed.
He was well aware of this.
Tracing the source of it all, everything seemed to revolve around this junior brother named Song Yan.
In his “previous life,” this person had not even existed within the sect.
“Is this a blessing, or a curse…”
He unconsciously touched the golden vertical mark between his brows. A faint, throbbing ache emanated from within.
“And this person—friend, or foe?”
Within the Ancient Vine Forest, fewer and fewer cultivators remained.
Li Yi harvested spirit patterns with abandon. By now, the count on his jade token had reached “four hundred and twenty-four.”
Clang—
At a certain moment, the resounding peal of a great bell suddenly echoed throughout the entirety of the Sword Trial Realm.
From the sky came the voice of Elder Xu Ziqing.
“The time has come. The selection is concluded.” “Since fewer than twenty-two disciples remain within the restrictions, the final duel stage shall be filled by the eliminated cultivators who recorded the highest spirit pattern count.”
Song Yan was startled.
He had been watching Li Yi’s battles the entire time and had not noticed that so few people remained within the restrictions.
Xiao He had already returned to her sleeve. He turned to look—Gu Qingqing was gone.
According to the little serpent, she had been accidentally touched by the restrictions while fleeing in panic and was miserably eliminated.
Otherwise, with Xiao He’s protection, there might well have been a “two spirit pattern” Middle Qi Refining contestant advancing to the next round.
Hummm—
At that moment, the spirit pattern jade tokens at everyone’s waists transformed into streaks of spiritual light and soared skyward.
A flash of white light swept past, and the crowd vanished.
Atop Sword Trial Peak, upon the Discussion Platform, spiritual light rained down like a shower.
When Song Yan opened his eyes, the surrounding disciples had already been teleported out.
Elder Xu Ziqing rose from the elders’ seats and began to read the list of advancing disciples.
“Li Yi, four hundred and twenty-four. Leading for now.”
“Song Yan, one hundred and ninety-one.”
……
From top to bottom, a total of twenty-two fellow cultivators.
Among them, Song Yan also heard the names of several he had not encountered within the blessed realm, though they were not entirely unfamiliar.
Like Senior Brother Lin Qing and Shao Sichen, as well as Xiang Zhaoling, whom Song Yan had always been wary of.
Surprisingly, Senior Brother Sun Zhengfu had also made it among the twenty-two.
His spirit pattern count was meager—only a little over ten.
He must have avoided elimination in the chaos before the time had expired.
Once the reading was complete, Elder Xu Ziqing swept his great sleeve.
“In three days, at the Sword Trial Stage, the twelve will be decided.”
“Rest well. As your senior brother, I wish you all splendid results.”
The selection phase of the sect’s Sword Trial had now officially drawn to a close.
Smack.
A large hand clapped heavily upon Song Yan’s shoulder. Without spiritual energy to cushion the blow, the impact stung badly.
His heart lurched and he instinctively whipped his head around.
There stood Li Yi with his great halberd slung over his shoulder, his laughter so thunderous that young Song Yan’s ears buzzed.
“Hahahaha… Junior Brother Song, your swordsmanship is exquisite. Watching it set my blood boiling.”
He clapped Song Yan’s shoulder again, with fearsome force. “Rest well—in three days, when we face each other, we shall have a proper, satisfying fight!”
Song Yan staggered under the blow, though he could not help but be caught up in the man’s heroic spirit.
He cupped his hands. “Senior Brother’s halberd technique is divine. I trust you will show mercy when the time comes.”
In truth, even now Song Yan did not know this man’s name.
He had only a vague guess.
“Show mercy? Hahahaha…”
Li Yi’s eyes widened and he burst into roaring laughter.
“Can’t do that, can’t do that.”
Waving his hand, he departed from Sword Trial Peak.
The disciples atop the peak were slowly dispersing. At the edge of the plaza, Li Qingfeng lay sprawled across the stone steps, groaning fitfully.
Beside him, Junior Sister Cen Qinghe was tending to his injuries.
Song Yan approached with a half-smile, and Gu Qingqing slunk over as well.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my Fatty Li Junior Brother.”
“How was it? I avenged you, didn’t I?”
Li Qingfeng rolled his eyes, too bothered to respond, and instead shot Gu Qingqing a venomous glare.
“Qingqing, you fool—abetting the tiger! Just look at this fellow, eh? See how arrogant he’s become?”
Gu Qingqing grinned from ear to ear. “Heh heh, don’t be angry, Senior Brother Li.”
“Besides, we did manage to snag a Beauty Fruit. We can sell it to the Pill Hall and get a fair few spirit stones.”
“Oh, right—where’s Brother Sun?”
The Beauty Fruit had also been part of Sun Zhengfu’s share.
Speak of the devil—Brother Sun happened to arrive just then.
“Brother Sun, where did you disappear to? I was looking everywhere for you…”
“Ah…”
Sun Zhengfu looked rather sheepish. “I’m terribly sorry, Junior Brother Li. I ran into someone on the way, and… well, my strength isn’t much to speak of. I took a bit of a beating and found somewhere to recover.”
The fact that no one had noticed him until the time ran out spoke to Brother Sun’s considerable luck.
As they chatted idly, Li Qingfeng gradually regained the ability to move freely.
And so they departed the peak together.
Song Yan and Sun Zhengfu would still be competing in the final round in three days’ time. They needed to preserve their energy and adjust their condition.