Qingyu Mystic Realm

At this moment, a young-looking cultivator at the very front flew into the air. Their voice, though not loud, clearly echoed across the entire clearing, reaching the ears of every cultivator:

“For this mystic realm trial, rankings will be determined by the cumulative score of each sect.”

“The scoring system for demon beast inner cores is as follows: a first-tier inner core is worth one point, a second-tier inner core is worth two points, and a third-tier inner core is worth three points.”

“All inner cores used for scoring will be returned to their owners after the rankings are verified. Any spiritual plants gathered within the mystic realm do not need to be handed over and will belong entirely to whoever found them.”

“The rewards for the trial rankings have been decided: first place will be awarded one high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.”

“Second place will be awarded one mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, along with several Rejuvenation Pills.”

“Third place will be awarded one mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.”

Before they departed, he had repeatedly warned them not to use the Sky-Blasting Talismans unless absolutely necessary, and to crush their jade tokens to exit if things truly went south.

Even now, looking at the dense crowd before him, he still felt uneasy. Lowering his voice, he added, “Don't be greedy. If you can't win, run.”

“Yes, Master,” the two replied in unison.

As the Qingyu Mystic Realm opened, the two followed the cultivators ahead and stepped into the teleportation portal.

After a wave of spiritual energy fluctuated, Xue Mingzhao opened her eyes to find herself standing on a grassy field.

Surrounded by trees, with sunlight filtering through the leaves, the scenery was quite beautiful, though it was a bit too quiet.

A few first-tier red-eyed rabbits were grazing not far away. Upon spotting her, the uninvited guest, their ears shot up, and they bolted out of sight in an instant.

Xue Mingzhao released the Cloud-Gazing Finch from her spirit beast bag.

The little fellow immediately flapped its wings and flew into the air. Its glazed gold eyes scanned the surroundings, and it let out a disdainful chirp.

It seemed there was nothing valuable nearby.

The girl and the bird made their way deeper into the mystic realm.

After walking just a few steps, a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes.

Xue Mingzhao paused. Tightening her grip on the Exploding Talisman in her hand, she focused her full attention on the shaking grass.

A small iron-skinned wild boar darted out of the bushes. It was covered in dusty gray, with a layer of rough, hard skin on its back that gleamed with a metallic luster in the sunlight.

When it saw Xue Mingzhao, it froze for a moment. Its four hooves scraped the ground in panic, wanting to retreat but not daring to. In the end, it could only stand its ground, snorting and huffing at her.

Xue Mingzhao let out a sigh of relief. It turned out to be just a first-tier cub.

The strength of a first-tier demon beast was roughly equivalent to a Qi Condensation cultivator. Lacking intelligence, they were relatively easy to deal with.

Using a talisman on this little cub would be a complete waste.

Slipping the Exploding Talisman back into her sleeve, she drew the Moon Trace Sword her master had temporarily given her and slashed forward.

The little boar squealed in terror and spun around to dive back into the bushes.

Xue Mingzhao chased after it with her sword and finished it off with a single, clean strike.

She carved out its inner core and stored the boar's carcass in her storage ring.

Dusting off her hands, she was about to call the Cloud-Gazing Finch to keep moving when another rustling sound came from behind her.

Without a second thought, she leaped directly onto a nearby crooked tree and held her breath, peering downward.

The footsteps grew closer and more hurried. It was clearly the sound of someone running.

The person beneath the tree wore a sharp red-and-black outfit. Tall and slender, he was looking around, searching for her trail.

It was Su Ye.

Fearing that the two might get separated in the mystic realm, Wen Shuxian had specially made tracking talismans for them. Before entering the realm, Su Ye had placed one on Xue Mingzhao, and now he had followed the signal all the way here.

Xue Mingzhao breathed a sigh of relief. Jumping down from the tree, she brushed the bark dust off her hands and smiled. “Senior Brother, you got here fast! I just finished off a first-tier iron-skinned wild boar. It was pretty easy to handle.”

Su Ye's expression shifted slightly. “An iron-skinned wild boar? Where did you kill it?”

Xue Mingzhao pointed toward the nearby bushes. “Just a small one. With one strike, I—”

Without waiting for her to finish, Su Ye grabbed her wrist and pulled her back a couple of steps.

Lowering his voice, he spoke with a rare tension. “Iron-skinned wild boars are pack beasts; they never travel alone. If the one you killed was a cub, there must be adult beasts nearby.”

As if to prove his words, heavy hoofbeats began to echo one after another from the surrounding woods.

Five adult iron-skinned wild boars slowly emerged from behind the trees. Their backs were covered in gray hide as thick as armor, and their bulging muscles rippled beneath their skin. With every step they took, the ground trembled slightly.

They were more than three times the size of the cub from earlier. The leader had tusks as long as an arm, and its cloudy eyes glared intently at the two. It snorted heavily, its hooves digging a deep trench into the dirt.

Instead of rushing forward immediately, they slowly fanned out, surrounding the two from all sides.

High above, the Cloud-Gazing Finch flew in frantic circles around their heads, its wings flapping noisily as it let out a series of sharp, rapid chirps.

Xue Mingzhao understood its meaning perfectly: We're doomed, we're doomed, we're surrounded.

Unperturbed, Xue Mingzhao slipped five Exploding Talismans out of her sleeve and grinned.

“Just a minor situation. Don't panic.”

She threw all five talismans at once, and the resulting explosions were incredibly clean.

Before the five iron-skinned wild boars could even squeal, they were blown to pieces, blood and flesh splattering everywhere.

Five demon beast inner cores fell to the ground, glowing faintly amidst the pile of shredded meat.

Xue Mingzhao squatted down to pick them up one by one, her heart aching as she sighed. “The tough hide of an iron-skinned wild boar is great material for artifact refinement, and their meat can be sold for money. Now they've all been blown to smithereens, leaving me with not even a single intact piece of pork. Thank goodness the inner cores are sturdy, or else this would've been a total waste of effort.”

The Chaos Spiritual Root spoke up coldly from her dantian, “Do you hear yourself? You blew them to pieces, yet you're complaining that they didn't leave behind materials for you to take back.”

Pretending not to hear, Xue Mingzhao turned to Su Ye with a serious expression. “Senior Brother, let's try to use as few talismans as possible from now on. These demon beasts are full of valuable materials. It's a huge loss to blow them up. They're basically walking spirit stones.”

Su Ye nodded. Even if they didn't sell them, roasting the meat to eat would be good too.

Ever since he arrived at the Grand Primordium Sect, he hadn't eaten any high-quality spirit beast meat.

Outside the Qingyu Mystic Realm, the Floating Light Array Disks simultaneously broadcasted scenes of the disciples from various sects.

A crowd gathered around the floating light screens of the major sects, occasionally discussing which disciple was performing the best.

As for the disciples of the minor sects in the corners, no one paid them any attention. They would be eliminated before long anyway.

Su Mingyuan was focusing all his attention on the screen showing his two disciples when a familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind him: “Third Junior Brother, long time no see.”