The Greenwood Sword, the talismans prepared by Second Uncle, seeds, spirit stones, healing pills, and a few simple array tools.
After checking her things one last time, Xu Jingzhi was already knocking at her door: "Junior Brother Ye, are you ready?"
Mo Tiange responded, "Coming."
Outside in the courtyard, all the cultivators from their residence had gathered. Except for Senior Brother Zhou, everyone wore expressions of varying degrees of nervousness. They had all entered the sect through the Immortal Platform Meet. Each had decent cultivation, yet none had obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill. It could be said that these people had joined the sect precisely for the chance at a Foundation Establishment Pill. Mo Tiange was no exception.
For rogue cultivators, the greatest difficulty wasn't the lack of spiritual veins or pills, but the inability to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. Poor spiritual veins could be endured; a lack of pills could be remedied by slowly earning money to buy them. With such arduous cultivation, given sufficient opportunity and diligence, reaching Qi Refining Level 10 wasn't too difficult. But a Foundation Establishment Pill—a rogue cultivator simply had no means to acquire it. Any sect or clan capable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills would never sell them. Only under special circumstances would a few leak out, and even then, they fetched sky-high prices, often selling for thousands of spirit stones, a sum utterly beyond the means of an ordinary cultivator.
Thus, only by entering a sect did they have a chance to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, and only then could they attempt Foundation Establishment.
Senior Brother Zhou swept his gaze over them and said, "How important today is, I need not elaborate. I trust you all understand in your hearts. Your future prospects depend entirely on your struggle today. Let's go."
The location for the minor competition was ultimately set at the Zixia Sect.
This result was no surprise to anyone. Since the Zixia Sect intended to flaunt its power, the outcome was inevitable.
The Yunwu Sect, Zixia Sect, and Golden Blade Sect were the three major sects in this remote corner of the Kunwu Eastern Region. The three sects coexisted and restrained each other, maintaining a delicate balance. In the past, it wasn't unheard of for one sect to become particularly powerful. Usually, at such a time, that sect would become the leader of the three. The current situation clearly indicated the Zixia Sect was pursuing that leading position.
However, this had little to do with lowly Qi Refining disciples like them. Regardless of what happened among the higher-ups, they only needed to focus on their cultivation; such matters wouldn't involve them.
On the day of the minor competition, Sect Leader Fang once again appeared before the disciples. This time, it was even more solemn than the Mist Valley competition, with a full five Core Formation cultivators present. The entire Yunwu Sect only had about seven or eight Core Formation cultivators in total. Presumably, aside from those in secluded cultivation, they were all here.
Mo Tiange frowned inwardly. It seemed this minor competition was merely a pretext; privately, it was likely a contest of strength among the three sects. Core Formation cultivators usually never appeared before ordinary disciples. They only saw the sect leader during events like sect entry or the Mist Valley competition. Yet now, for a mere minor competition—similar to the Mist Valley event—there were actually five Core Formation cultivators accompanying them. This was clearly not simple.
The journey from the Yunwu Sect to the Zixia Sect took about three hours on a Core Formation Patriarch's flying treasure, slightly farther than the trip to Mist Valley. Upon arriving at the Zixia Sect, the Yunwu Sect disciples felt their horizons broaden.
The Zixia Sect was situated atop a towering peak, a thousand zhang high, piercing the clouds. Neat jade steps stretched from the mountain foot all the way up to the grand mountain gate, followed by a vast square and majestic halls. Looking down from the sky, Mo Tiange had to admit that compared to the Zixia Sect's grandeur, the Yunwu Sect seemed somewhat shabby.
The Zixia Sect's square was more than twice the size of the Yunwu Sect's. All the Qi Refining disciples from the three sects participating in the minor competition gathered on the square without feeling the slightest bit crowded. Several competition platforms were neatly arranged in the center of the square, with disciples from the three sects occupying their respective corners. The Golden Blade Sect had the fewest disciples, showing little change from last time. The Yunwu Sect's numbers had increased slightly, while the Zixia Sect's disciples were clearly the most numerous, densely packed, filling the right side of the platforms completely.
Next, disciples from the three sects drew lots. With a total of over a thousand participants, the drawing process was drawn out. Mo Tiange glanced up unintentionally and noticed that the sect leaders of the three sects were not present, nor were any Golden Core cultivators. Her suspicions were confirmed. It seemed today was indeed a contest of strength among the three sects, with the Zixia Sect intending to suppress the other two.
The preliminary rounds of the minor competition began under the arrangement of the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Mo Tiange drew number three hundred forty-seven—a middling lot, neither good nor bad. Their housemates had come together this time. After drawing lots, they each went to their assigned competition platforms.
Mo Tiange's first opponent was number three hundred forty-eight, a Zixia Sect disciple at Qi Refining Level 8. The opponent's cultivation wasn't high, and their techniques were ordinary. Under the assault of her Greenwood Sword, they conceded defeat in less than a quarter of an hour.
Jumping off the platform, she felt distracted. For some reason, ever since arriving at the Zixia Sect, she had felt restless and uneasy.
As the first round of matches concluded one after another, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators were about to discuss proceeding to the second round, suddenly, with a thunderous crash, a hall not far away in the Zixia Sect collapsed, spewing towering flames.
The Qi Refining disciples in the square erupted in uproar; the Foundation Establishment cultivators' faces changed dramatically.
From the ruins of the hall, several figures shot out, each enveloped in a defensive light shield, locked in combat. They were clearly high-level cultivators. The pressure generated by their magical battle was immense, instantly making it difficult for the Qi Refining disciples to endure.
Seeing this, a Yunwu Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly shouted, "All Yunwu Sect disciples, gather here!"
The Golden Blade Sect cultivators realized shortly after and also shouted, "Golden Blade Sect disciples, assemble!"
The Qi Refining disciples, unclear about the situation, habitually obeyed. Instantly, chaos erupted in the square as intermingled cultivators ran back and forth, occasionally trampling over others.
Amid the chaos, Mo Tiange saw several familiar figures among the battling cultivators: Yunwu Sect Leader Fang Dingyue, and the Zixia Sect's Sect Leader Li. The Golden Blade Sect's Sect Leader Jin was nowhere to be seen.
It looked like the three sects had turned against each other. No wonder she had felt uneasy earlier. Studying formations made one more sensitive to Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, occasionally allowing one to sense auspicious or ominous signs. This was truly terrible. They were at the Zixia Sect. She was merely a weak Qi Refining disciple. If the Yunwu Sect and Golden Blade Sect truly fell out with the Zixia Sect, these Qi Refining disciples would be in danger. Thinking of this, Mo Tiange's face turned pale.
"Li Mingzhang! You old scoundrel, you actually ambushed me!" Sect Leader Fang, flying mid-air, pointed at Sect Leader Li and cursed vehemently.
Sect Leader Li, however, gave a light, floating laugh: "Fang Dingyue, at this point, you should just admit defeat." As he spoke, he glanced at the square. "If you concede, I'll leave a spark of your Yunwu Sect's legacy today. Otherwise, these future pillars of the Yunwu Sect will all be lost!"
Though his tone was mild, the threat was clear. Sect Leader Fang was instantly furious, his hair seeming to stand on end as he sneered repeatedly. "Don't get too pleased with yourself. If I detonate my Golden Core, your Zixia Sect's legacy won't survive either!" A Core Formation cultivator detonating their Golden Core produced power that could even injure a Nascent Soul cultivator. If he was ruthless enough to resort to mutual destruction, likely not a single disciple from the three sects on this square would survive.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Mo Tiange's palms. Could she really be this unlucky? To die in an internal conflict among the three sects before even reaching Foundation Establishment? That would truly be a death with eyes wide open in grievance.
Sect Leader Li's expression, however, didn't change. He smiled contemptuously. "You think we dared to make a move without preparing for that? Try circulating your spiritual energy..."
Sect Leader Fang's face instantly turned ashen. "You... How dare you annihilate my Yunwu Sect! Aren't you afraid Elder Yan will return and turn against you?!" Elder Yan was the Yunwu Sect's Supreme Elder, its only Nascent Soul Patriarch.
Sect Leader Li snorted. "You think we don't know? Your Elder Yan passed away in seclusion ten years ago! You just didn't dare to announce it!"
These words not only made Sect Leader Fang's face turn deathly pale but also shocked all the Yunwu Sect disciples in the square. Evidently, this matter was a closely guarded secret of the Yunwu Sect, unknown not only to ordinary disciples like them but even to Foundation Establishment disciples. It seemed the Zixia Sect's actions had been meticulously planned for a long time!
Hiding in the crowd, Mo Tiange desperately tried to analyze the current situation. Trapped within the Zixia Sect, escaping alone was impossible. She could only see how these people intended to deal with the Yunwu Sect disciples. Surely they wouldn't slaughter them all? The more she thought, the more cold sweat covered her brow. Second Uncle was still waiting for her to bring back a Foundation Establishment Pill. Who could have guessed this would turn out to be a trap?