Chapter 538: What's There to Talk About

Although Chu Liang had performed excellently by eliminating an entire team on his own, it did not stir up too big of a wave. After all, he was not the only one who had made such achievements. Many strong teams had efficiently eliminated those around them the moment they landed.

This included the team from the Penglai Supreme Sect.

As the most powerful immortal sect in the world, the Penglai Supreme Sect had obviously made choices that aligned with their status. With a flash of brilliance, the four of them appeared on the main street of Misty Waters City.

At the end of the street, the silhouettes of people from another team could be seen, and atop a nearby pavilion, figures also emerged.

In this eastern section of Misty Waters City, within visible range alone, there were already three teams gathered.

It was unclear whether the other two teams were confident enough to fight their way out of Misty Waters City or if they were simply gambling on the chance that no one else would also make a sneaky move and land here. Regardless of the reasons, when they saw the team from the Penglai Supreme Sect, they were stunned.

"Go on," said Yang Shenlong. "You may do whatever your heart desires."

"Heh," Qi Lin'er chuckled wickedly, a gleam of excitement and cruelty flashing in his eyes.

Whoosh—

In the blink of an eye, he shot forward like an unleashed wild dog, racing toward the team at the end of the street. In just a few flashes, he had arrived before them!

One against four!

The team on the rooftop wanted to seize this opportunity to turn back and escape.

But then, they saw Xi Miaoxian already landing on the rooftop with her robes fluttering in the air. She was beautiful as always. With a gentle smile, she sent forth a talisman brimming with deadly intent.

It was the Talisman of Life Destruction, a powerful talisman she had acquired from the Celestial Talisman Master's Hidden Realm. After countless rituals to refine it, she could finally unleash the talisman's exceptional power, and nothing could stand in its path!

Swoosh—

She swept past with the Talisman of Life Destruction, and it grazed the cultivator who couldn't dodge in time. Instantly, the cultivator collapsed, leaving behind only a soul crystal on the ground as his lifeforce was snuffed out in a flash.

The remaining three tried to flee, but the green tiles beneath their feet seemed to stretch endlessly, turning the rooftop into an inescapable path. No matter how they leapt or struggled, they couldn't break free from the confines of the roof!

When they turned, swords in hand, ready to fight Xi Miaoxian to the death, they found that she had vanished, replaced by the Talisman of Life Destruction. It dawned on them that Xi Miaoxian had swapped places with the talisman—she was now standing where the talisman had been. Through the masterful execution of this illusion, they were completely trapped.

Xi Miaoxian came from Yingzhou, one of the three islands of Penglai. She was always great at using illusion, stealth, and manipulation techniques, but when it came to direct fighting and killing, she wasn't as strong. This Talisman of Life Destruction perfectly compensated for this weakness.

In no time, she trapped the remaining three cultivators and took them down with the Talisman of Life Destruction. The fight was over in seconds.

By the time she returned, Qi Lin'er was already back at the original spot, waiting for her.

"Let's clean out this city first," Yang Shenlong said calmly.

It was as if the two victories they had just secured were barely worth mentioning.

In truth, for him, they probably weren't.

Before Yang Shenlong even spoke, Yang Yuhu had already unleashed a swarm of white Mirage Flutterbugs, glowing like tiny stars as they drifted on the wind. These bugs, native to the island of Penglai, spread swiftly through the entire city in mere moments.

"There are sixteen teams in the city," Yang Yuhu then reported. "Nine are now fighting. The rest are hiding."

"We'll split up," Yang Shenlong commanded. "First, track down the ones in hiding. As for those fighting, let them finish their fights. We'll collect their soul crystals afterward."

At his command, the three moved in perfect harmony, each shooting off in a different direction.

Meanwhile, Yang Shenlong casually strolled down the street.

...

In the Competition of the Hundred Sects, each immortal sect went with different strategies.

Some teams began by aggressively hunting for soul crystals, while others chose to lie low amid the chaos, quietly observing and conserving their strength, waiting to fight for the soul crystals at a later time.

By then, defeating a single team would be enough to claim all the soul crystals they had gathered, essentially letting others do the hard work while they swooped in to reap the rewards in one decisive strike.

Earlier, Chu Liang had mentioned that weaker teams might head to the sea, but strong teams could make the same choice. At this moment, the four members of Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals were quietly drifting on a small boat across the calm waters.

In addition to Zhuge Guanxing and Situ Guanhai, whom Chu Liang had met before, the other two were Li Guanlong, the leader of this team, and Song Guanchao, the youngest member of the team.

Li Guanlong wore yellow robes, with a broad forehead and strong features that gave him a sturdy look. His hair was tied up in a topknot with a yellow ribbon, and he sat facing away from his junior brothers.

At the back of the boat sat Song Guanchao, who had just turned seventeen. He was a fair-skinned and thin young man, appearing young and naive.

Song Guanchao muttered, "Isn't this a bit embarrassing? We're one of the Divine Nine immortal sects, and yet we're hiding out at sea..."

"We're just saving our strength. What if we rushed out and ran into the team from the Penglai Supreme Sect right away?" Li Guanlong calmly replied. "No need to rush. Let me check the surroundings first."

With that, he closed his eyes and placed two fingers on his forehead.

A long moment passed.

"Senior Brother, how's it looking?" Song Guanchao asked.

"Maybe things are bad," Situ Guanhai remarked.

After a moment of silence, Zhuge Guanxing suddenly said, "Did he fall asleep again?"

Situ Guanhai quickly moved forward to check. "Damn, he really did."

When Li Guanlong was young, he had a fortuitous encounter and accidentally swallowed a Curse Insect of Dreams that had existed since ancient times. According to legends, this was a spirit curse insect that could take immortals on divine, dreamlike journeys. However, it had been sealed for countless years, and its mystical powers were now uncertain.

Because of this curse insect, Li Guanlong learned to cultivate in his dreams, which led to rapid progress in his cultivation. However, the side effect was quite obvious. He would just fall asleep at any time.

"Senior Brother, wake up." The junior brothers teamed up to shake him awake.

"Huh?" Li Guanlong jolted awake, blinking in confusion. "Why are you guys pushing me?"

The other three were left speechless. After a moment of awkward silence, one of them finally spoke up, "Weren't you supposed to be checking the surroundings?"

"No, there's nothing around here," Li Guanlong said, shaking his head. "I've already checked almost half of the illusory realm. We're completely safe for now. All the intense fighting is happening elsewhere. Let's lay low for two or three days before we start hunting for soul crystals."

"Wait here for two or three days?" Song Guanchao groaned. "That's way too boring!"

"No worries, I came prepared." Li Guanlong pulled out a square box and opened it to reveal neatly arranged mahjong tiles. "No wonder the Mount Shu Sect loves this game. I tried it out—it's actually pretty fun. Once we start playing, two or three days will fly by."

"Speaking of which..." Zhuge Guanxing smiled slightly.

"Don't use any of your divination tricks here. Let's rely on skill," Situ Guanhai quickly interrupted.

And so, the four disciples of the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals set up a small table on the boat and started playing mahjong.

"Senior Brother, put out a tile already. Why are you taking so long?"

"He fell asleep again!"

"..."

"Wait, no rush to wake him up. Let's take a look at his tiles first," Situ Guanhai suggested.

...

Through the giant mirror of light atop the Emperor's Mount, Immortal Jiuyi first checked on the situation of the teams from the sects in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten. When the crowd saw the team from the Penglai Supreme Sect, they all gasped in amazement, which was expected. But when they saw the team from the Mount Shu Sect, they reacted with surprise, clearly not expecting them to be so strong. Then, when the team from the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals showed up, the crowd couldn't help but laugh.

Immortal Jiuyi remained unfazed, showing no concern over the public display of his sect members' embarrassing actions—or perhaps he didn't see them as embarrassing at all.

However, the two elders from the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals, sitting nearby, were grinding their teeth in frustration.

Of all times to play mahjong, did they really have to choose the once-in-twelve-years Competition of the Hundred Sects? Was it really that urgent?

Do you not realize the entire world will be talking about this? And you're playing so terribly on top of it!

On the same row as the seats reserved for the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals, just a short distance away, were the seats for the members of the imperial court.

To the emperor's left sat a noblewoman adorned with pearls and jade, graceful and poised—it was none other than Empress Wu.

Perhaps in an effort to dispel the recent swirling rumors in the capital of Yu, the emperor and Empress Wu attended the event hand in hand, appearing deeply affectionate.

The Competition of the Hundred Sects would last for seven days, but the emperor usually only attended the first and last days, and there was no need to bring his family along. However, this time he was accompanied by the empress, which was likely a deliberate choice.

Not far away sat the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner, his expression calm and composed. Behind him, officials from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau were constantly on the move, frequently coming forward to report updates.

For those familiar with previous Assemblies of the Immortal Sects, it would be clear that there was a noticeably larger presence of personnel from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau and Night Dragon Hall around Emperor's Mound this year—and that was just what was visible on the surface.

Due to an earlier report from the Mount Shu Sect, the imperial court had learned that the West Sea Diabolical Forces might try to disrupt this Assembly of the Immortal Sects, and it would be a significant move. As a result, the imperial court had been on high alert. Though everything appeared normal on the surface, powerful undercurrents were stirring beneath.

At first, they suspected that the diabolical cultivators might strike during the earlier sword duel between the Eminent Ones, given the longstanding blood feud between the West Sea Diabolical Forces and the Sword-Hanging Kingdom. It was highly likely they would attempt to ambush the Sword Emperor of the West Sea.

Thus, the Imperial Supervisory Bureau had specifically warned the two Eminent Ones not to overexert themselves to avoid being caught off guard in a weakened state.

However, the diabolical cultivators did not make a move that day.

From that point onward, it became difficult to predict when the diabolical forces would make their move. The Imperial Supervisory Bureau could only respond by increasing their personnel and tightening security in the surrounding area.

The members from the sects in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten, seated in the spectator stands, had also noticed something was off. Even those unaware of the specifics could sense the growing tension in the atmosphere.

Amidst the seats reserved for the members of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, two elderly men exchanged glances.

One of them, being a scholar dressed in traditional robes with a round belly, muttered softly, "Something feels off, doesn't it?"

The other man, with a ruddy complexion and a warm smile, waved it off. "The Imperial Supervisory Bureau is on high alert. Even if something is wrong, nothing bad will happen."

These two were none other than Old Sun and Old Huang, who had previously shown up at the Mount Shu Summit.

Old Sun was a distinguished figure from Ascending Dragon Academy, while Old Huang served as an elder of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion. Both were highly regarded individuals with many years of experience. Now, seated in the spectator stands, they found themselves surrounded by others. Every gesture they made attracted attention, so they communicated discreetly through voice transmission.

At that moment, someone nearby jokingly asked, "So, Old Huang, which sect do you think will win this year's Assembly of Immortal Sects?"

"Haha..." Old Huang stroked his beard with a smile. "Well, if you're asking me, I'd naturally want my own sect, the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, to win. But aside from that, I'm quite fond of Jiang Yuebai from the Mount Shu Sect, Xi Miaoxian from the Penglai Supreme Sect, and Shen Qingyan from the South Melody Conservatory..."

"They are asking who you think will win, not who you think looks good," Old Sun interrupted sarcastically.

"What's the difference?" Old Huang shrugged. "I want them to win, don't I? But if you're asking about strength, everyone already knows the Penglai Supreme Sect will win. There is nothing to debate about this."

"Have you already forgotten the lesson you learned at the Mount Shu Summit? And you're still making such bold claims?" Old Sun retorted. "I think the Mount Shu Sect might just surprise everyone this year."

"Let's see if the Mount Shu Sect team even makes it to the top ten first," Old Huang said as he shook his head with a chuckle. "I'd love for Jiangjiang to restore the Mount Shu Sect's glory as the head disciple, but we can't ignore the power of the Penglai Supreme Sect. You clearly don't know Yang Shenlong well enough."

"I guess I'll just have to see for myself..." Old Sun started, but his gaze suddenly shifted. "

Huh?

"