At this moment, Hun Changqing was in the middle of a dense forest where bizarre trees stood tall, four or five times larger than normal trees.
Pitch-black throughout and utterly grotesque, the terrain was filled with jagged rocks and overgrown weeds, while the canopy of heaven was an oppressive shade of heavy black that made people feel quite stifled.
Hun Changqing sighed helplessly.
"I can only say they truly live up to being Soul Clan elders, turning even a newly opened space into this kind of state. Why do people from the Soul Clan all love this aesthetic, and is there no sense of beauty at all?"
Hun Changqing smiled helplessly and began preparing to search for points, for he was also quite tempted by the rewards of this trial.
Although with his strength defeating Hun Feng and Hun Yu out of his rank would not be a massive problem, he did not plan to do so.
The strength he had displayed within the clan over the years was moderate and steady, and there was no need to draw the attention of certain people right as he was about to leave.
As for the reward for the top three, the elevation of the Dou Di Bloodline, he had no need for it whatsoever; he only required his own pure Supreme Yin True Body.
As for the Child Flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame, that thing was nothing short of a trap.
In the end, those Soul Clan cultivators who possessed a Child Flame had all been controlled by the Nihility Devouring Flame, and Hun Changqing was not out of his mind to lust after such a thing.
As for the reward of alchemy by that Hun Xuzi, it indeed held no small temptation for Hun Changqing.
However, compared to the rewards, securing second place and drawing unnecessary attention seemed rather troublesome.
His excursion this time would undoubtedly stir up a bit of a commotion, so what he sought above all for this outing was concealment-ideally, any commotion kicked up outside would never be associated with him.
Therefore, he had no choice but to abandon the reward for second place; Hun Changqing only needed to steadily secure a spot in the top ten and acquire a vast amount of cultivation resources.
Based on the cultivation level he had previously revealed, breaking into the top ten was merely a matter of course.
Hun Changqing formed his Dou Qi wings-oh no, they should be called True Qi Transforming Wings. Although the energy was somewhat different, Hun Changqing had not yet broken away from the cultivation system of the Dou Qi Continent; it was just that the energy form was slightly peculiar.
Unfolding his True Qi Transforming Wings, Hun Changqing soared into the sky, beginning to fly across the upper airspace of this bizarre forest at an extremely swift pace while simultaneously employing his soul power to sense the movements of the magical beasts within this strange forest.
Meanwhile, at another location some distance away from the forest, Hun Feng and Hun Yu, those two bitter rivals, happened to run into each other and predictably started fighting.
"Damn it, Hun Feng! You are only higher than me by a minor realm, and if I hadn't been cultivating a Dou Technique recently, you would have been surpassed by me long ago. Let you taste the Dou Technique I most recently comprehended-the Ghost Dancing Soul Hand!"
Within a valley, Hun Yu's roar resounded through the heavens and earth as majestic Dou Qi converged around his body, his hands channeling energy forward.
wisps of black qi emerged from his hands, slowly condensing in front of Hun Yu into a gigantic black palm.
The palm was pitch-black and wreathed in black qi, and countless ghostly entities and souls seemed to be struggling, roaring, and wailing within the palm, looking eerie and terrifying.
Across from Hun Yu, Hun Feng saw this move of Dou Technique and his gaze also grew grave, putting away his previous playful posture.
Naturally, he knew this Dou Technique-a mid-grade Di-tier Dou Technique within the clan possessing terrifyingly powerful might.
It was exceedingly difficult to cultivate, requiring the souls of many powerful individuals alongside ghostly entities, plus countless precious medicinal herbs.
Furthermore, one had to endure the soul erosion of powerful beings and the corrosion of ghostly yin-qi before successfully mastering it.
He simply had not expected that this Hun Yu had actually managed to cultivate this move to success.
"Hmph, Dark Soul Corroding Wind!"
Hun Feng let out a cold hoot, waving his hands as Dou Qi surged, condensing five dozens-of-meters-long hurricanes around his body with a momentum that was startling to behold.
The five hurricanes instantly met that gigantic black hand, yet the black hand showed not the slightest fear. Striking out at two of the hurricanes, the terrifying ghost-qi followed the descent of the palm and instantly shattered those two hurricanes into disarray.
Seeing this, Hun Feng felt a jolt in his heart, hastily controlling the remaining three hurricanes to sweep toward the giant hand in unison.
The wind-attribute Dou Qi of the hurricanes, laced with the special methods of the Soul Clan, managed for a moment to match the terrifying ghost-qi of the ghost hand on equal terms, deadlocking with it.
Finding that both sides were deadlocked and feeling somewhat anxious, Hun Feng spoke to Hun Yu.
"Hun Yu, we have only just entered the secret realm, and this is not the time for us to decide the victor. How about we first clear out the others together?"
Having heard Hun Feng's words, though Hun Yu possessed a somewhat volatile temper, he was not someone incapable of discerning the situation, so he agreed, and instantly the two of them dissipated their Dou Techniques.
"Indeed, we are meant to determine the victor upon the trial platform, not in this unknown secret realm. I will defeat you in front of everyone; for now, joining forces to clear away the others will at least save us some trouble."
Hun Yu cast a cold glance at Hun Feng and said indifferently.
Hearing Hun Yu's words, Hun Feng felt utter disdain in his heart, though outwardly he said nothing more.