The Mountains Roar as One, Awakening the Mountain God

Rumble—!

As the Dark-Yellow Wu-Earth Essence was completely dislodged, the earth vein's dragon qi, dormant for ten thousand years, seemed to have had its backbone ripped away. A furious roar from the depths of the Underground Palace shook space itself.

Aboveground, the mountains for a hundred miles roared in unison.

Countless sleeping abominations were crushed by the pressure. Broken rock poured down like rain.

Directly above the ruins of the Pill Kiln, a pillar of light shot skyward, mingling the heavy ocher aura of earth with azure divinity. Like a sword piercing heaven, it punched through the long-gathered clouds of azure Baleful Intent and reached the firmament.

Omen after omen appeared.

"What is that? The earth vein is surging, divinity is soaring... A treasure powerful enough to anchor an entire region has emerged!"

Several miles away, amid a heap of rubble, a young man in a silver-patterned spell robe jerked his head up.

The sword at his waist trembled violently, as though submitting to the pressure within that pillar of light. Behind him, three cultivators who likewise radiated the aura of Qi Refining Perfection lit up with wild delight.

"A sight like that could never come from ordinary spirit herbs. If we seize that treasure, we'll have Merit in hand, and our rankings might climb even higher!"

"Move! If we're late, there won't even be soup left!"

Greed spread like wildfire through the hearts of these favored sons of heaven.

In that moment, they cast aside the secret realm's dangers and the examination's brutality. Dozens of streaks of light cut through the Azure Nether mist, all heading straight for the source of the omen.

The Underground Palace, the Sacrificial Altar.

The air grew so still it was suffocating. From outside came dozens of undisguised spiritual pressures steeped in greed