Escape for Your Life!

At the headquarters of the Immortal Cult, a wisp of white vapor flowed within a bronze cauldron, where the consciousnesses of the rogue Rogue Cultivator of the demonic path resided.

The immortal eye opened, projecting a light screen on which rankings flowed.

The cult leader and deputy cult leader were observing the outstanding performances of the top-ranked individuals.

"Look at this guy from Kunlun City, he's not bad. He recites the Rebirth Mantra before killing someone, quite ritualistic."

"I heard he used to be a monk in a temple who advocated killing to become a Buddha. He secretly killed many people. When the abbot found out, he wanted to have him beaten to death. When he saw that his deeds were exposed, he smashed the Buddha statue and ran away beforehand. He came to our Immortal Sect to see if the Immortal Immortals support his ideas."

"That little guy from Quhe County is quite resourceful. He kills his own family, controls his children to kill their fathers, controls his grandsons to kill their grandfathers, and then turns people into puppets after they die."

"Oh, that's interesting. They smashed the load-bearing walls, the building collapsed, and many people were killed."

The two enthusiastically commented on the top-ranked cultivators, noting that those who ranked highly were ruthless and had a high probability of rising to higher levels in the future.

"What about the three little ones who performed exceptionally well in the first two rounds?"

The two scrolled across the light screen for a long time before finally finding Lu Yang and the other two, discovering that they were discussing whether or not to go to a brothel.

The vice-leader was very dissatisfied with the three's ranking. "So low, could they be righteous spies, or are they up to no good?"

The cult leader shook his head with experience. "You can't think like that. I think this Lu Yang is a very thoughtful person. He probably has a plan to make a name for himself. You should know that doing bad things doesn't have to be done in a short time. Long-term planning is the best choice."

Seeing that Lu Yang didn't make any move, the two swiped the light screen to the top to see what mischief the first place winner had done.

"The first place winner was a poisoner. He put poison in a well, killing an entire street in one go. He also poisoned cattle, making them go mad and rampage through the streets, killing many people. Very good, very good. That's how poison should be used."

"What a strange method it is to buy up a whole area of shops and then lay off all the employees."

"The following is similar: after taking over a shop, they make the employees work overtime without paying them? Is that considered a bad thing?"

The vice-leader felt like he was falling behind the times.

Suddenly, an extremely powerful divine soul descended from the sky, breaking through the various formations set up by the headquarters, and rushed straight towards the ancient bronze cauldron that was filled with chaotic energy!

The bronze cauldron seemed unable to withstand such a brutal impact, and a small crack appeared on its surface!

"Oh no, my cauldron!" the cult leader cried out.

The ancient bronze cauldron, named the Mountain and River Cauldron, can contain all things. It is his natal magic Law Treasure, which he spent half his life refining, and is only a step away from becoming a celestial treasure!

"It's a divine soul descending! A powerful righteous cultivator has discovered this place!" The sect leader exclaimed in disbelief. What on earth had happened? How could a powerful righteous cultivator have discovered this place in the blink of an eye?!

"This aura... is it Yun Zhi from the Ask Dao Sect?!" The sect leader sensed the familiar aura, recalled some terrifying past events, and felt a chill run down his spine.

The vice-leader's face hardened, and he drew his weapon, ready to kill her. "Yun Zhi? She's just a disciple of the Ask Dao Sect, one person at most. If we gather everyone and swarm her, surely we can take her down?"

Yun Zhi rarely takes action and is not well-known in the Central Continent. The Sect Master, eight elders, and even Dai Bufan of the Ask Dao Sect are far more famous than her.

But her lack of fame doesn't mean she's weak. Everyone who has seen her fight has found her understanding of cultivation completely overturned!

The sect leader happened to have witnessed Yun Zhi's display of power—plucking stars from the sky, reversing yin and yang, and effortlessly suppressing powerful enemies. He truly felt that all his three thousand years of cultivation had been wasted.

The cult leader kicked the vice-leader to the ground. Was this a time to fight to the death? "You've never seen her in action, you don't know how terrifying she is. Listen to me, run! If you're too late, even an immortal can't save you!"

He was able to become the leader of the Immortal Cult not only because he was the most devout to the Immortal Immortals and had the highest cultivation, but more importantly because he was cautious enough to know when to fight desperately, when to flee for his life, and when to accept his fate.

Going head-on with Yun Zhi isn't fighting for your life, it's just accepting your fate!

The sect leader unleashed a series of ancient and mysterious seals onto the Mountain and River Cauldron to prevent Yun Zhi from rushing out.

The vice-leader had never seen the leader so distraught. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he telepathically instructed all the higher-ups to flee immediately to the backup headquarters.

The Immortal Cult has developed detailed plans and escape routes to counter attacks from righteous sects, and has conducted numerous drills. Its leaders are quite familiar with this system.

In the blink of an eye, the high-ranking members of the Immortal Cult had vanished without a trace.

The cult leader unleashed his Divine Ability having three heads and six arms, forming hand seals to further reinforce the seal of the Mountain and River Cauldron, while using his four hands to return the consciousness of the others within the cauldron to their original positions.

The cracks in the Mountain and River Cauldron were increasing, and the sealing speed could not keep up with the rate at which the cracks appeared.

Seeing that everyone had escaped successfully, the sect leader breathed a sigh of relief, severed the connection with the Mountain and River Cauldron, and coughed up a mouthful of Essence Blood —a backlash from his natal Law Treasure.

His breath quickened, and his face turned deathly pale.

The cult leader didn't care about anything else and turned to run!

Boom--

The Mountain and River Cauldron shattered, causing the entire headquarters to shake violently.

Yun Zhi emerged from the Mountain and River Cauldron, expressionless, like a legendary High Antiquity Goddess of War, sacred and inviolable!

She bent down, smeared the Essence Blood left by the cult leader with her fingertips, made a calculation, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

"In that direction."

A blazing white light condensed in her hand, like a thunderous roar that vanquished evil.

With a whoosh, a white beam of lightning flew towards the sect leader. The sect leader did not expect that Yun Zhi could still discover him even in this way. He tried to dodge but it was too late, and a bloody flower bloomed from his shoulder.

"Shedding its skin like a cicada!" The cult leader also had many ways to save his life.

When Yun Zhi caught up, only the cult leader's mangled body remained.

The cult leader staggered back to the alternate headquarters, stuffing life-extending pills into his mouth like they were free. He forcibly severed the connection with the Mountain and River Cauldron and used the Golden Cicada Shedding Its Secret Method. After two rounds of attacks, he would not be able to recover without hundreds of years of quiet cultivation.

All of these are manageable, but the most important thing is the Mountain and River Cauldron!

That was a precious cauldron crafted with the combined strength of the entire sect, heavenly materials and earthly treasures it consumed could rival the tax revenue of the Great Xia Dynasty for ten years!

Such a priceless treasure has fallen into the hands of the Ask Dao Sect!

"How are you feeling?" the vice-leader asked with concern. He had just witnessed Yun Zhi's attack and was still shaken. If it had been him, he would have been dead long ago. It was only because the leader was so capable that he was still alive.

"She won't die." The cult leader was still shaken. "Luckily, we had a contingency plan. We prepared a hiding place in advance and cut off the cause and effect, so Yun Zhi couldn't find us. Otherwise, the Four Great Demonic Cults would have become the Three Great Demonic Cults."

"The Mountain and River Cauldron is shattered. Let's end the third test here and see who is the first place now."

The Celestial Eye projected a beam of light, on which a name was clearly written.

First place: Lu Yang.

"Um?"