What does this mean?

Chu Liang stared at the name. It gave him an ominous feeling.

That feeling was right. He tried to reach out to Jiang Yuebai, but his half of the United Hearts Jade had already lost connection to its other half. This meant that the other half of the jade had disappeared from the illusory realm.

Senior Sister Jiang and the others must have encountered the Penglai Supreme Sect's team…

Chu Liang was well aware of how strong his team was.

Senior Brother Xu has reached the fourth level of the fifth realm. Senior Sister Jiang is at the third level of the fifth realm and is proficient in many powerful immortal arts. They're outstanding even among all the talented young cultivators participating in the Assembly of Immortal Sects. In fact, our team should be able to secure a spot in the top ten for the second round even if we have a dog tied to us.

Moreover, they were accompanied by our ally, the Buddhist Cloud Monastery team. Even if they met a formidable foe and lost, they should have been able to escape and kept their soul crystals. However, they couldn't flee… Does that mean the Penglai Supreme Sect team has a powerful sixth-realm cultivator?

That person is most likely Yang Shenlong. If he has indeed reached the sixth realm, he must be incredibly powerful.

As the head disciple, Senior Sister Jiang held all the soul crystals. If there had been any chance to escape, Senior Brother Xu and Ling Ao would have ensured her escape first. If even Senior Sister Jiang couldn't get away, then the others wouldn't have survived either.

Chu Liang thought it over and concluded that he had likely become an orphan.[1] Of course, he could also be called a lone wolf.

As he pondered his next steps, he got a pleasant surprise. He had earned a golden imprint from killing the Black Devil Whale.

It seemed that everything within the illusory realm was indeed as real as reality itself. Even slaying a resurrected Black Devil Whale could yield an imprint. The Black Devil Whale had been a formidable creature, so that likely meant a great treasure awaited him.

When in doubt, reward yourself.

Chu Liang promptly entered the White Pagoda and pressed "Refine."

Boom.

There was a flash of red light, and a small, lustrous white orb floated out. Chu Liang caught it in his hand.

[Great Pill of the Endlessly Devouring Whale: An ancient great pill that contains the real soul of a devil whale. Upon consuming the pill, the cultivator's Sea of Qi will become as vast and endless as a devil whale's consumption capacity. This effect lasts for a quarter of an hour.

Note: The effect of this pill is great, but it should not be used in excess. Use in moderation.]

As Chu Liang read the description, he thought deeply about the pill.

The pill's effect was very similar to the legendary immortal art Boundless Sea of Qi, which had been lost a long time ago. It was said that when a cultivator used the Boundless Sea of Qi, they would have access to an unlimited reserve of cultivation energy. They could use any divine techniques or skills freely without concern that they might deplete their foundational qi.

However, the issue was that it did not enhance the quality of the cultivator's foundational qi or deepen their comprehension of their Great Dao. The Boundless Sea of Qi certainly had a powerful effect, but as for how much it could boost a cultivator's combat strength, that depended on how it was used.

For example, even if a cultivator at the Spiritual Awareness Realm were given unlimited foundational qi, their attacks would still struggle to break through Chu Liang's defenses. Meanwhile, Chu Liang would still be able to easily cause them to explode with a single punch.

In other words, only cultivators who had already learned a powerful divine skill but couldn't use it yet due to their limited cultivation energy could fully benefit from the Great Pill of the Endlessly Devouring Whale.

If Chu Liang had the Violet and Azure Twin Swords in hand to combine with the use of this pill, he could wipe out everyone in the illusory realm within a quarter of an hour. Without the pill, he wouldn't have enough cultivation energy to do that even if he drained his cultivation energy reserve two hundred times over. R₳

As for the warning about using the pill in moderation—well, that seemed unnecessary. After all, he'd only been given one pill; how could he possibly use it in excess?

After rewarding himself, Chu Liang's train of thought cleared up. He spent another moment in deep thought, then he got up and flew toward dry land.

Initially, he'd thought he'd collected enough soul crystals and could take things easy. He was bound to meet with danger as the team's scout, so he had entrusted all the soul crystals to Jiang Yuebai in the rear.

Who knew I'd go from being the scout to the main team in the blink of an eye?

Currently, he only had the four soul crystals he'd "picked up" when he resurfaced from the sea. That amount certainly would not be enough for the Mount Shu Sect team to make it into the top ten, so he couldn't just wait out at sea until the competition ended. That's why he decided to return to land and hunt down a few more teams.

As he soared through the air, he felt a dull ache in his muscles and bones. The airship had exploded with incredible force earlier. Dong Futu's handiwork was indeed extraordinary.

However, the power ratio of the two enchanted formations wasn't quite right. The force that flung him away hadn't been strong enough to allow him to escape the explosion's aftershock. He'd have to mention this to Dong Futu.

Still, Chu Liang was grateful that he had the chance to test the explosion function out in the illusory realm. He wouldn't have dared to blow up his airship just to see how powerful the explosion would be.

…

By the time Chu Liang reached the center of the sea, the sky had turned dark.

A monk in white robes flew toward him.

Chu Liang recognized him instantly. "Pushan?"

"Chu Liang!" Monk Pushan's voice was filled with urgency. "I've finally found you! We're doomed, doomed, doomed..."

Sensing that Pushan was about to unload a huge stream of words, Chu Liang quickly interrupted him. "Where's Enchantress Yi?"

Monk Pushan hurriedly explained, "After you got blown away, I received a message from my brothers saying there was an emergency. So, Enchantress Yi and I split up. She went to look for you, and I went back to check on our teams.

"But by the time I got there, it was too late. I used my Heavenly Eye to check on them from afar and saw Yang Shenlong single-handedly kill all six of them! I'm the only one left from the Buddhist Cloud Monastery team, and I don't dare to go back there. We're doomed; we're both orphans now…"

The Heavenly Eye was one of the Six Great Divine Abilities of Buddhism. It briefly granted a Buddhist monk vision that was similar to the Ji Family's Clairvoyant Vision, which allowed their sight to bypass yin and yang and into the Vault of Heaven.

Nevertheless, the Heavenly Eye couldn't be used for extended periods, making it unsuitable for regular scouting. It was, however, quite useful in this situation, where they needed quick scans for potential danger.

Chu Liang patted Pushan's shoulder. "It's okay. As long as I'm here, you're not an orphan."

"

Eh?

"

Pushan blinked, sensing something was off in that statement.[2]

After a pause, Pushan continued, "Once the battle between Yang Shenlong and our teams was over, I rushed to find you. I have no idea where Enchantress Yi went."

"Let's not search for her now; we have more pressing matters to handle," Chu Liang said.

Chu Liang and Pushan flew toward dry land together.

On the way, Chu Liang added, "Now that each of our sects has only one person left, the two of us must stick together. As long as you're with me, we can gather enough soul crystals to advance."

Monk Pushan replied, "I trust you, but we're already on the fourth day. The competition is in its second half, and only the strongest teams remain. The fights will be more intense than ever. I'm not sure we'll be able to find suitable targets."

Judging from the past assemblies, the final days of the Competition of the Hundred Sects were often the most thrilling. Teams without a single soul crystal could gain enough to advance just by taking down one person, while some strong teams, weakened by earlier fights, might find themselves outnumbered and eliminated… Anything was possible.

However, those possibilities depended on their strength. Chu Liang and Pushan's group was down to just two people, and they were from different sects, so that meant they needed twice the number of soul crystals to advance.

If they both wanted to secure stable positions in the top ten, they needed at least seventy or eighty soul crystals in total.

In the first half of the competition, many participants had managed to wipe out entire teams alone because there had been many weak teams. Now, only strong teams remained, so it was very difficult for anyone to achieve such a feat again. It was no wonder Pushan was apprehensive about their situation.

"Is it really that hard to find a target?" Chu Liang asked puzzledly. "Isn't there a huge target right over there?"

Pushan followed Chu Liang's gaze to the other side of the shore. With the Black Whale Mountain gone, all that remained was a massive hole in the ground. Looking past it, he could make out the outline of a city in the distance. It was massive yet quiet, with only a few scattered lights glowing within.

Pushan realized that he had unknowingly followed Chu Liang all the way to the only city within this illusory realm—Misty Waters City.

The faint moonlight shone down on Pushan's bald head, shrouding it in a soft, slightly bewildering glow.

He asked in disbelief, "You're joking, right?"

1. In the sense that he's lost his whole family/team. ☜

2. Chu Liang was probably implying that he would take over the "dad" role and help Pushan. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD