Danger on Every Side

Elder Xiao, who was still serving as the acting sect leader and was seated in the upper right seat, immediately softened his tone upon seeing the disciple. "You've returned just in time. We were just about to discuss with you the arrangements for attending the sect competition this time."

The sect leader of Ten Thousand Daos Born had been stuck at the Nascent Spirit Transformation Stage. After finally finding a glimmer of fortuitous opportunity, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon sect affairs and begin a long period of seclusion.

Elder Xiao was his senior brother, and his cultivation was also extraordinary. That's why he was entrusted with the important task of acting sect leader, and he held the position for five years.

Seeing that Sang Ying did not refuse, Elder Xiao continued, "Those who have come here today are all people whom I, Ten Thousand Daos Born, can trust. I will speak frankly. Over the years, Ten Thousand Daos Born has suffered repeated defeats in the sect's grand competition, and many disciples have perished in the Demon Beast battlefield."

"The sect's weakness makes you all seem inferior." Elder Xiao's eyes were deep and dark. Bai Kejin, and even Lan Fusheng lowered his head.

"Even if we can't win first place in this competition, Ten Thousand Daos Born absolutely cannot settle for third. Do you understand?!"

Elder Xiao's voice was as loud as a bell, making it impossible for anyone in the hall not to hear it.

The solemn-faced disciples immediately responded loudly, "Understood!"

"Very good." Elder Xiao nodded. "All the new disciples will participate in this competition. As the chief disciple, Sang Ying should take on the responsibility of leading the team."

Seeing Sang Ying nod in agreement, Elder Xiao then turned his gaze to Dong Fuzhu and the others. "You are all outstanding disciples of Ten Thousand Daos Born. Sang Ying is the leader, and you will assist her. If something happens to Sang Ying on the Demon Beast battlefield, you will continue to lead the remaining disciples."

Although he didn't want to think the worst, there's always a chance of something going wrong, so Elder Xiao had to consider things more carefully.

Fortunately, the five people below did not feel defeated, but instead agreed earnestly.

Seeing their serious expressions, as if they were already on the battlefield, Elder Xiao felt a surge of emotion.

He meticulously pointed out the precautions needed during the competition, then handed several Law Artifacts to Sang Ying and the others before slowly saying, "One last thing: if your opponents are also prepared, you must prioritize your lives. At worst, you'll just lose again. It's not like we, Ten Thousand Daos Born, can't afford to lose."

Elder Xiao rarely made a joke, but it left a particularly bad taste in the ears of his disciples.

Although they had only been members of the sect for a short time, they already considered themselves part of it. How could they willingly watch Ten Thousand Daos Born suffer humiliation?

Elder Xiao was unaware of the disciples' resentment, and he quickly changed the subject, diverting everyone's attention elsewhere.

"Although we were well-prepared for this competition, the other two sects should not be underestimated."

The entire Immortal Spirit Realm naturally has more than just the three sects of Ten Thousand Daos Born and Azure Feather Sect. It's just that these three sects are so powerful that they almost overshadow the brilliance of the other sects, which is why the Immortal Spirit Realm only knows the names of these three sects and is unaware of the others.

However, in the sect competition, other smaller sects will also try to get a share of the spoils.

Clever smaller sects will choose to align themselves with larger sects, not caring about rankings, but focusing solely on protecting the disciples of the larger sects. After the grand competition, they can then obtain many valuable items from the larger sects.

In previous years, both the Mara Gate and the Azure Feather Sect have taken in many small sects like this, and on several occasions they even pushed the weak and isolated Ten Thousand Daos Born down to fourth place!

It seems they won't abandon these methods this time either.

After a moment of silence in the hall, Jiulian, who had been sitting silently in the corner, suddenly said, "If you really can't resist and want to find an ally, the Taotie Gate would be a good choice."

Sang Ying's eyelashes fluttered slightly. She remembered that it was a sect specializing in food cultivation. Because food cultivation placed too much emphasis on talent and inheritance, it had never been very famous in the Immortal Spirit Realm.

"I can't speak for others, but those cooks are very easy to fool; at least they won't sell you out." He curled his lips slightly, as if recalling some amusing past event.

Seeing this, Sang Ying pursed her lips. Others might not notice, but she knew perfectly well that her master's expression clearly indicated that he had tricked the Taotie Gate members quite a bit!

Elder Xiao, who knew his junior brother's temperament very well, coughed lightly and said with some difficulty, "If it doesn't harm you, having more allies isn't a bad thing."

In the past, Ten Thousand Daos Born refused to form alliances with others, firstly because he feared betrayal, and secondly because those worthy of alliance had already been won over by the other two sects.

Now that Jiulian has brought it up herself, it's likely that he was involved in some kind of connection.

The young cultivators below dared not agree casually and all looked at Sang Ying.

Dong Fuzhu immediately approached Sang Ying, displaying an intimate demeanor, and even turned to give Bai Kejin a provocative look.

The sword cultivator, with a cold expression, turned his face away as if he didn't care, but secretly he made a mental note of Dong Fuzhu.

Sang Ying, oblivious to the commotion among her fellow disciples, replied to Elder Xiao, "This disciple will carefully consider how to proceed."

The implication was that she had decided to form an alliance with the other party.

Jiulian, sitting at the head of the table, smiled with satisfaction, once again congratulating herself on having the audacity to snatch this disciple away.

"Besides that, you also need to be careful with the Seven Emotions Pavilion and the Beast Taming Sect. They are the lackeys of the Mara Gate Clan. Although the former's skills are average, they are extremely adept at bewitching people. Young disciples are inexperienced, so don't let them be swayed by their instigation."

Under Jiulian's tutelage, Sang Ying's understanding of the Immortal Spirit Realm was far greater than before. Therefore, upon hearing the words "Seven Emotions Pavilion," Sang Ying immediately understood that it was a sect somewhat similar to the Hehuan Sect Twin Orchid Realm.

However, the Hehuan Sect is predominantly female, while the Seven Emotions Pavilion is half male and half female.

They take human joys and sorrows as their path and are extremely adept at understanding human emotions. It is said that at least half of the young cultivators in the Immortal Spirit Realm have been deceived in matters of the heart by the disciples of the Seven Emotions Pavilion.

This was undoubtedly a formidable opponent, and Sang Ying secretly remembered the elders' advice.

While Ten Thousand Daos Born was carefully preparing for the competition, the sects in the other two states naturally wouldn't lag behind.

Even in the days leading up to the Grand Competition, a flying boat pulled by Demon Beast was still speeding towards the main city of Yao Zhou.

The man on the airship was fully armored, and the whip at his waist was covered with tiny barbs.

If you got close enough, you could almost smell the blood emanating from the whip.

Beside the man lay a huge lion-shaped Demon Beast, its neck tightly chained and its body covered in wounds.

Its once bright golden fur now appeared quite dull, and its outstretched left forefoot was covered in rotting flesh, making it hard to imagine the pain it was enduring.

Seeing that the Demon Beast's gaze was fixed on the Beast Ring at the flying boat's waist, the man gave a smug smile, "Now you know how to obey?"

The Demon Beast remained silent, its round eyes filled with sorrow.

"Don't worry, as long as you behave, I won't do anything to your cub." After all, the cubs of the Crimson Flame King Lion are extremely rare, and he was hoping that the cub would grow up and continue to die for him.

The man tapped the Demon Beast's injured foot with his whip, gradually increasing the pressure. "Remember this, once the competition begins, bite Ten Thousand Daos Born's disciple. Whether you can reunite with that little beast of yours depends on your performance."

The Demon Beast growled in pain, its muscles tensing, but it dared not move the man in front of it.

Because its only child had already been forced into a master-servant contract by the other party.

The flying boat bearing the emblem of the Beast Taming Sect continued its journey, unaware that the disciples aboard were slowly marching towards a tragic future...

A note from the author:

Well, that's all for today.

Sparrow is flapping its wings, revising... or should I say rewriting? (crossed out) Sparrow will get it sorted out as soon as possible!

See you tomorrow! Love you all!