Hundred Sects Battle

The main peak plaza of Xuan Yuan Sect, morning mist still lingering.

Qin Yuan and the other four stood in the center of the plaza. Behind them was a dense mass of sect disciples, and before them, on a high platform, stood the Sect Master Lu Xuanfeng and the elders of each peak.

Today was the day the Hundred Sects Battle would begin.

"Everything that needed to be said has been said these past few days," Lu Xuanfeng's gaze swept over the five, his tone grave. "Within the battlefield, life and death are not considered. Everything you do will be seen by us outside. But remember—survival is the most important thing."

Chu Wuyue's white pupils burned with fighting intent. "Sect Master, rest assured, we will not fail."

Yun Qingyao said softly, "This disciple remembers."

Han Bing and Ye Guying nodded in silence.

Qin Yuan's expression was calm, as if he were merely attending an ordinary trial.

Lu Xuanfeng looked at them, a flicker of relief and also a hint of worry in his eyes. He turned to the disciples below and announced loudly, "The Hundred Sects Battle is a century-defining event for Qingzhou. Though our Xuan Yuan Sect is weak, this generation has these five!"

His voice echoed across the plaza, stirring waves of cheers.

"Senior Brother Qin! Senior Brother Chu! Senior Sister Yun!"

"Bring glory to Xuan Yuan!"

"Return victorious!"

The sound surged like a tide.

In the crowd, Zhou Ming and Zhao Tiezhu clenched their fists, their eyes slightly red. They knew that this departure might be a final farewell.

Lu Xuanfeng raised his hand, quieting the commotion. "The Hundred Sects Battlefield is an independent secret realm left from ancient times. You will be randomly teleported to various locations and must find a 'safe zone' before sunset, otherwise... you will face the 'cleansing' of the night."

He paused, then added, "Each sect has a different number of participants. Strong sects like the Vajra Sect and Spirit Sword Sect can send twenty people. As for our Xuan Yuan Sect... five are enough."

His words were blunt—if they were weak, sending more people would just be sending them to their deaths.

The five fell silent.

"Time is up," Lu Xuanfeng looked up at the sky.

The morning sun rose to its zenith, its rays falling upon the formation diagram in the center of the plaza. The diagram, ten zhang in diameter, was inscribed with complex spatial runes and was now gradually lighting up.

Lu Xuanfeng formed hand seals, pouring his immense spiritual energy into the formation.

"Open!"

BOOM—!!!

The formation erupted in a blinding white light, a massive pillar shooting into the sky, tearing through the clouds!

In the center of the pillar, space warped, forming a swirling vortex.

A terrifying suction erupted from within!

"Enter!" Lu Xuanfeng roared.

Qin Yuan and the other four leaped into the vortex simultaneously.

On the plaza, all the disciples held their breath, watching their figures disappear into the pillar of light.

Lu Xuanfeng gazed at the sky and murmured, "Come back alive..."

The moment he passed through the vortex, Qin Yuan felt as if he had been thrown into a tumbler, his world spinning.

After an unknown period, his feet finally touched the ground.

He opened his eyes.

Before him lay a boundless expanse of yellow earth.

The sky was a dark crimson, like congealed blood. There were no clouds, no birds, only a few black cracks stretching across the heavens. The earth was dry and cracked, barren, with only scattered bones and broken weapons thrust into the soil as far as the eye could see.

A pungent smell of sulfur permeated the air, mixed with a faint, indiscernible scent of blood.

Qin Yuan took a deep breath, his brow furrowed.

Besides the thin spiritual energy, the air was mixed with a chilling, strange, and malevolent aura. It felt alive, slowly seeping into his skin, attempting to erode his spiritual power.

"Ominous Aura..." Qin Yuan immediately circulated his cultivation technique, forming a faint protective spiritual light around his body to isolate the aura.

He glanced up at the sky.

There were no sun or moon in the dark crimson sky, but by instinct, he guessed it was afternoon. At most, two hours remained until sunset.

"I must find a safe zone before sunset," Qin Yuan recalled Lu Xuanfeng's warning.

The "cleansing" at night—he didn't know what it was, but it was certainly not simple.

He released his spiritual sense, extending it for ten li around him.

Within ten li, there was only deathly silence. No living beings, no structures, only yellow earth and bones.

He chose a direction and began to move.

After walking for about half an hour, the terrain ahead changed.

Beyond a rising earth slope, low growls could be heard.

Qin Yuan didn't stop, climbing over the slope.

Down the slope, three demonic beasts resembling giant wolves were tearing at a corpse. The corpse was clad in cultivator's robes, its chest ripped open by a large hole, clearly having died not long ago.

Sensing Qin Yuan's presence, the three demonic beasts simultaneously looked up.

Their eyes were blood-red, thick saliva dripped from their mouths, and their bodies were covered in black scales. Their auras had reached the Early Nascent Soul stage!

Three Nascent Soul stage demonic beasts!

In the region where the Xuan Yuan Sect was located, a single Nascent Soul stage demonic beast was enough to become a regional overlord, requiring several elders to join forces to suppress it. Yet here, three appeared so casually!

The demonic beasts let out a low growl, abandoned the corpse, and lunged at Qin Yuan.

They moved with extreme speed, transforming into three streaks of black light, arriving before him in the blink of an eye!

Qin Yuan didn't move.

Only when the claws of the foremost demonic beast were about to strike his face did he raise his right hand, extend his index finger, and gently poke.

"Bang."

His fingertip landed on the demonic beast's forehead.

The demonic beast's forward momentum abruptly stopped, and then its entire head exploded! The headless corpse fell softly to the ground.

Seeing this, the other two demonic beasts showed a flicker of fear in their eyes, but their ferocity intensified as they lunged from the left and right!

Qin Yuan used both hands, as if plucking flowers and leaves, pressing them onto the chests of the two demonic beasts.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

Two muffled sounds, and the chests of both demonic beasts caved in simultaneously. Their internal organs were crushed, and they fell to the ground, dead.

From the moment he acted to the end, three breaths.

Three Nascent Soul stage demonic beasts, all annihilated.

Qin Yuan walked to the cultivator's corpse and crouched down to examine it.

The corpse wore purple robes, with a crescent moon embroidered on its chest—a disciple of the Moonlight Sect. The Moonlight Sect ranked in the middle among the hundred sects, its strength considerably greater than the Xuan Yuan Sect.

This disciple was also in the Early Nascent Soul stage, yet died under the siege of three demonic beasts.

"The battlefield... is indeed cruel." Qin Yuan stood up and continued forward.

After walking for another half an hour, the sounds of fighting and a woman's angry shouts could be heard ahead.

Qin Yuan's Spiritual Sense probed forward, and his brow twitched slightly.

Ten miles away, on a dry riverbed, four figures were engaged in a fierce battle.

Three cultivators in golden robes were besieging a woman in purple robes.

That woman was Zi Ling of the Zi Xiao Sect.

She was quite disheveled at the moment. Her left shoulder bore a wound so deep it exposed bone, and blood had stained half of her robe. She wielded a dagger in her right hand, its purple light flashing, but she was completely suppressed by the combined attack technique of the three.

The three golden-robed cultivators, two men and one woman, were all at the peak of the Early Nascent Soul stage. They cooperated seamlessly, with one person attacking, two providing support, and sealing off all of Zi Ling's escape routes.

"Fairy Zi Ling, why struggle?" The one attacking was a gloomy young man, wielding a golden longsword with sharp sword light. "Hand over the Zi Xiao Token obediently, and we can give you a quick end."

Zi Ling gritted her teeth: "People from the Golden Sword Sect... despicable!"

"Despicable?" Another woman scoffed. "On the battlefield, only life and death matter, what is there to be despicable about? If you blame anyone, blame your bad luck for being caught alone."

The third person was a short, stout man holding a pair of copper hammers. He rumbled, "Big brother, stop wasting words with her. Once we capture her, the Zi Xiao Token will be ours, and we can exchange it for a lot of resources in the safe zone!"

The three intensified their attacks.

Zi Ling struggled to cope, facing constant peril. She was inherently skilled in assassination, and direct confrontation was not her strong suit. Being besieged by three people, she gradually began to falter.

"Pfft!"

The golden longsword inflicted another wound on her right arm, and her dagger almost slipped from her grasp.

"It's over." A sharp glint flashed in the gloomy youth's eyes as he thrust his longsword directly at Zi Ling's heart!

Just as the sword tip was about to touch Zi Ling--

A palm appeared out of thin air, right in front of the sword's edge.

The palm was fair and slender, appearing quite ordinary.