Five Immortal Sects
Chapter 146: Ten-Step Court Again

From beginning to end, Li Yan had been observing the several individuals. After consuming the pills thrown by Gan Shi, the auras of those Qi Condensation disciples had begun to strengthen.

“These are immortal pills, and merely pills of acceptable grade have such an effect! Cultivating immortality, becoming an immortal!”

Li Yan looked at them, and a sense of helplessness suddenly welled up within him. He thought of his third brother and his parents at home.

“Back then, my third brother's ankle was merely injured by a farm tool, yet it left him with a lifelong disability. If there had been a single pill, even the lowest-grade healing pill, he would be walking as briskly as ever. My parents, who toil year-round, suffer from various hidden ailments within their bodies. A single low-grade pill would be enough to make them feel as robust as in their prime.”

For a moment, Li Yan's heart swelled with emotions, and he seemed somewhat lost in thought.

“Junior Brother Li, shall we go? We can discuss further when we reach the ten-li mark!”

A coarse voice interrupted Li Yan’s thoughts. He couldn’t help but regain his composure, a wry smile in his heart.

“I must increase my cultivation as soon as possible; it’s time to go back for a visit.”

Gazing at the several individuals whose auras had significantly strengthened, Li Yan composed himself and nodded to Gan Shi, saying no more. He continued to rush forward alone, leading the charge.

These few people appeared to be recovering their aura, but they weren't meditating to recuperate. They were merely forcibly refining the pills with spiritual power, which not only wasted most of the medicinal efficacy but also caused their meridians to be instantly subjected to a powerful impact, requiring a certain period for adaptation.

At present, he still had to shoulder the task of leading the way. Fortunately, they were already close to the seven-li mark, and the remaining distance was not too great.

“Senior Brother Rui, I heard that this Little Uncle from Little Bamboo Peak seems to only be at the eighth level, but his attacks are no weaker than a tenth-level Qi Condensation cultivator.”

As they continued forward, the four people at the back, after consuming the pills, including the two severely injured individuals, also felt their auras improve somewhat. This allowed the burly man from Old Lord Peak and the petite girl from Four Symbols Peak to free up a hand and occasionally assist in attacks. For a time, their forwarding speed increased somewhat.

Looking at the dark-skinned youth in front, the petite girl spoke in a low voice, asking the burly man.

“Junior Sister Dai, I only have some impression of this Little Uncle from Little Bamboo Peak; I’m not too familiar with him. It’s just that he defeated Senior Brother Lu Qiutong of our peak in the grand competition, which did make people notice him.”

After Zhu Gaotai's reminder, the burly man from Old Lord Peak, known as "Senior Brother Rui," spoke as if reminiscing.

“Oh, he’s the one who defeated Martial Uncle Du from Four Symbols Peak?”

The petite girl with the surname Dai’s expression changed upon hearing this, and she looked at Li Yan ahead again.

“His poison techniques are very strange. I wonder if there truly is the divine sense poison spoken of at that time.”

A faint voice came, it was Zhu Gaotai.

Upon hearing this, several people’s eyes showed shock…

An hour later, Li Yan was drenched in sweat. Finally, he and Gan Shi, along with the others, reached the ten-li mark. Ahead was a sheer cliff, and amidst the vast expanse of white snow, a gigantic yellow sphere stood there.

Along the way, Gan Shi's power was astonishing. Even with severe injuries, after a brief treatment, he still withstood the vast majority of attacks. Li Yan, on the other hand, took on the attacks from one of the front sides, significantly increasing their forward speed.

Similarly, Li Yan's performance also surprised Gan Shi. Although it was only a small portion of the attacks, Li Yan, by himself, resisted all attacks from that direction, not allowing a single attack to fall behind him. The tightness of his defense was astonishing.

One must know that even when there were enough disciples before, under their combined defense, there would occasionally be some loopholes. Of course, this might be related to their coordination habits, but it still showed Li Yan’s extraordinary abilities.

“This person is said to have only been initiated for about five years, but his spiritual power has already reached the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Truly remarkable.”

Gan Shi thought to himself.

“Elder Brother Gan, you all should heal and reover first.”

Li Yan glanced behind him, seeing the massive black shadow in the sky pressing closer, but at least it would still take another quarter of an hour to reach them. He had consumed quite a bit of spiritual power during the previous stretch of road, but this was not the time for him to rest.

Gan Shi looked at Li Yan, who stood in front. At this moment, what they needed most was indeed recovery. He said no more, took out several porcelain bottles, looked through them one by one, and then took out eight pills and several kinds of medicinal liquids, distributing them to the four people behind him.

As for the eight people in the spiritual storage bag, he didn't concern himself with them. Those people had already used almost all their pills, and they were basically saved. Now was not the time to think about them.

Gan Shi also took out a few pills himself, swallowed them, and immediately sat cross-legged on the snow to meditate. There was still time, so he had to fully focus on recovering as much as possible.

Just as he sat down cross-legged, Li Yan’s voice came to his ears.

“Elder Brother, I’ll be back shortly.”

Amidst the astonished expressions of Gan Shi and the others, Li Yan, holding the blue prism crystal, flashed with a brilliant azure light and then vanished without a trace.

Although Gan Shi already knew how Li Yan had disappeared, seeing it happen right before his eyes still gave him a sense of disbelief. The few people behind him looked even more bewildered.

“Alright, hurry and recover!”

Gan Shi did not turn his head, his voice coming out faintly. The few people behind him exchanged glances, then suppressed the questions in their hearts and forced themselves to focus on recovering.

Li Yan stood in the five-colored space, looking at another white ribbon that was about to move in front of him. His feet did not stop, and he flew directly over.

“A white ribbon. I never expected it to be Ten-Step Court again. I wonder how many teams of cultivators are inside, though their speed is a bit slow. The ribbon is only just now approaching.”

Li Yan’s thoughts raced, but he was already standing on the white ribbon. His divine sense swiftly sank into the core of the prism crystal. In his divine sense, the first nine gates were already dark, and the tenth gate was slowly brightening as it dimmed.

“Almost through the pass.”

Seeing this, Li Yan firmly locked his divine sense onto the tenth semi-circular archway. A bright azure light erupted from his hand, and he rushed towards the tenth gate.

Inside the white ribbon passage, this was an ocean of flowers, with a small path winding forward through them, but it seemed to lead to no end of this flower sea.

Flowers bloomed in myriad forms, their fragrance wafting with the breeze. In the blue sky, a few white clouds moved slowly, and from time to time, bird calls sounded as birds swiftly glided over the flower sea.

This should have been a desirable scenic spot, but at this moment, on a path within the flower sea, there was a scene of bloodshed.

Miao Zhengyi’s face was dark, a massive sword box on his back. He was one of the most powerful outer-sword Foundation Establishment cultivators of Ten-Step Court. His sword box contained a total of three hundred and sixty spiritual swords.

Once arranged into the Earth-Devil Sword Formation, it possessed unfathomable power. At this moment, one hundred and seventy flying swords were transformed by him into a vast sword rain, continuously flying in all directions, slashing the surrounding flower sea into a mess.

With each strike, the flowers transformed into human faces, some with terror, some cold and sinister, some malevolent, some fearful. The struck flowers emitted chaotic male and female voices, either screaming or growling.

From the flower branches, sharp thorns and leaves shot out constantly, as if a dense shower of arrows was rising in this space.

Gazing at the disciples who were walking behind him, their expressions already somewhat blank, Miao Zhengyi couldn't help but let out a long roar. Those disciples, who had been somewhat sluggish, immediately cleared their minds considerably and once again brought out their spiritual artifacts and treasures, shouting as they charged in all directions.

He had to let out such a roar every ten breaths or so!

This stage was very strange. In an boundless sea of flowers, one had to be careful of every plant on the roadside, and even more so of the fragrance emanating from the flowers, which would make people's eyelids heavy and induce drowsiness.

Therefore, this stage was almost entirely traversed by him forcefully charging through alone, making it extremely difficult.

“This time, it’s truly bad luck. We haven’t encountered a single Grand Profound Sect or Pure Land Sect team in the three stages, and the difficulty of passing through is getting higher and higher. What on earth is going on?”

Miao Zhengyi wearily blocked the attacks coming from all directions, his heart anxious.

Ever since he entered the Wheel of Life and Death, he had hoped to encounter the other two sects to carry out the pre-arranged plan, but it had never materialized.

Moreover, starting from the third stage, the difficulty of passing through had increased, and the number of deceased disciples had begun to rise significantly. Now, only six people remained behind him. In this stage alone, seven people had already died, which filled his heart with grief and indignation.

“Wraith Sect, Wraith Sect! If I encounter you in this stage’s sphere, I will slaughter all of you. Even without the assistance of the other two sects, you are still doomed to die.”

Miao Zhengyi gazed at the yellow sphere, whose corner was already faintly visible in the flower sea ahead, thinking bitterly to himself.

Hundreds of zhang in front of him, before the enormous yellow sphere, a figure flashed and disappeared, coming and going in less than a breath.

At the same time, within the heart of the Wheel of Life and Death sphere, that aged voice also murmured to itself.

“A group of people who are not from the Five Immortal Sects are still using the power of the Five Elements. The difficulty of passing through will only increase. Hehehe, you will face despair in the final stage, but will this attract the attention of high-level demonic beasts…”

In the five-colored space, Li Yan quickly flew out of the white ribbon again.

“It was just a team from Ten-Step Court! That sword cultivator is too terrifying. The moment I entered the light gate, he locked onto me. His divine sense is incredibly sharp.”

Inside the white ribbon, Miao Zhengyi suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on a spot hundreds of zhang away, beside the yellow sphere.

“It’s definitely not an illusion. It seems someone appeared in front of us. Is this some kind of unknown thing added to this stage?”

Thinking this, Miao Zhengyi involuntarily slowed down, and the few people behind him also slowed their steps, looking at Miao Zhengyi ahead with some confusion.

However, no one spoke to ask. They were all feeling groggy at the moment and just wanted to rest immediately.

“For the remaining two hundred-odd zhang, you all must stay extremely vigilant. There might be changes.”

Miao Zhengyi issued a reminder, adding spiritual power to his words, which revitalized the spirits of the few people behind him.

Next, for the distance of over two hundred zhang, the group actually walked for almost half an hour. Even after reaching the massive yellow sphere, the strange attack Miao Zhengyi had anticipated did not appear.

This made Miao Zhengyi feel both puzzled and vaguely uneasy. He had absolute faith in his divine sense; how incredibly sharp and sensitive was the divine sense that could control hundreds of flying swords? He just didn't know what was wrong.

(Chapter End)