From the skies above, the incoming groups split into two directions.

  On the side of the Demonic Sect, the first to appear was an impossibly luxurious flying pavilion.

  Its eaves swept upward like wings; its beams and pillars were intricately carved and painted. From within the structure came the faint sound of flutes and zithers, laughter and murmured voices a scene of decadence and false peace, as if an entire revelry floated in the air.

  Wen Shan stared at it for a long moment, a faint sense of unease stirring in his heart. Something about it felt… unreal.Then it struck him this “pavilion” was likely not a real building at all, but rather a massive Soul Banner disguised in the form of a floating palace.

  In that case, the figures seen within… must be the disciples of Luoshan City.

  Behind that came a vast flying vessel.

  At first, it was shrouded in clouds and mist, its form unclear.But as it drew nearer, Wen Shan’s pupils constricted violently.

  It was no ordinary ship. It was a grotesque construct of flesh and blood, stitched together from twisted human limbs and organs.The railing was formed from warped bones and sinew; the bow was studded with countless men and women’s bodies, their expressions hollow, their flesh still faintly writhing.Dozens of mouths embedded in the hull opened and closed soundlessly, releasing voiceless wails.

  That, most likely… was where the Xuan Sect’s disciples resided.

  “Do you see it?” came his senior sister’s cold voice beside him. “This is the Demonic Sect. Even their artifacts reek of blasphemy and decay.”

  Wen Shan nodded obediently, shifting his gaze toward the final flying artifact.

  Trailing behind the others was the massive construct belonging to the Three Talents Workshop.

  At the last moment before departure, Liu Jiu had finally refined fifteen Thunderstriking Talismans saving Steward Zhu’s miserable life, and earning himself a place within the Workshop.

  Their flying artifact was the largest of them all.

  It looked like a colossal cauldron, towering dozens of zhang high. Yet it was not made of bronze its surface resembled dark rock, rough and ancient. Embedded across its stony walls were countless human faces, so lifelike that they seemed almost alive: some contorted in pain, some twisted in mad laughter, and some completely expressionless. Even a single glance at it was enough to shake one’s soul.

  “Don’t look at that cauldron,” his senior sister warned softly. “Inside it are the disciples of the Three Talents Workshop.”

  Yet beneath her calm tone, Wen Shan heard a trace of bitterness even hatred.

  What was going on?Why did she hate the Workshop so much?Though all these sects were part of the Demonic path, her reaction to the others had never been this intense.

  Just what made the Three Talents Workshop so special or so detestable in her eyes?

  Before he could ponder further, she continued, “Forget them. The righteous sects have arrived as well.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  At her reminder, Wen Shan turned his gaze to the opposite direction.

  There, he saw a titanic bronze sword, hundreds of zhang long, its blade ancient and majestic.Upon its back stood dozens of upright figures the disciples of the Divine Iron Battalion.

  Next to it hovered a patch of golden farmland suspended in the air, where waves of rice shimmered under invisible wind. A few cultivators in straw raincoats sat leisurely upon the embankments these were the disciples of Five Grains Mountain.

  Further away, a massive green gourd soared through the clouds, occasionally spewing out thick, drunken mist the mark of the Chivalrous Alliance.

  And finally, an ancient, endless vine stretched across the sky, lush with vitality the sacred living artifact of Hundred Apricot Grove, said to embody their mission to heal and nurture the world.

  “I see…” Wen Shan murmured, awe in his tone.

  He wanted to ask which cultivation paths these four righteous sects followed, but his senior sister offered only brief introductions, revealing nothing more.

  Soon, the four great demonic sects and the five righteous sects gathered in one place.

  Each was led by figures whose presence was as deep and unfathomable as his senior sister’s terrifying beings who radiated suppressed power.

  Fortunately, as agreed beforehand, none made the first move. Even when tempers flared and words clashed, no one dared break the fragile peace.

  They quickly reached an accord and prepared to enter the secret realm.

  But one problem remained the order of entry.

  Which sect would enter first? Which would follow?No matter the arrangement, someone would be displeased.

  Luckily, his senior sister had already considered this. She proposed a unique yet perfectly fair method:

  They would enter in turns.

  Each sect would send ten disciples into the secret realm. Thus, there would be ten rounds of entry one disciple per sect in each round, until all had entered.

  To maintain fairness, they decided to enter in ascending order of cultivation, from weakest to strongest.

  As a result… Wen Shan and Qin Yi were placed in the first group.

  Taking a deep breath, Wen Shan stood behind Qin Yi, the two pretending not to know each other.

  It was not necessarily a bad arrangement nor a good one.

  Soon, after receiving approval from their respective leaders, nine disciples from different sects stepped forward and walked toward the ripple-like entrance of the secret realm.

  After a blinding whirl of color and motion, Wen Shan’s consciousness returned.

  The first thing he noticed was that his spiritual power was gone completely drained.

  The hollow emptiness where his qi once flowed sent a sharp wave of panic through him.

  What… what was happening?Why had all his spiritual energy vanished the moment he entered?

  But that was not the only strange thing.

  Qin Yi was gone.Even though they had entered almost simultaneously, they were now separated.

  And as for where he was… it looked like a tomb chamber.

  Slowly, Wen Shan rose to his feet and scanned the surroundings.

  It was a square stone room, its walls built from cold blue-green stone, utterly bare and lifeless.

  Around him lay a dozen or so unconscious cultivators disciples from other sects.

  In the corners of the chamber, piles of white bones were stacked high, blanketed in layers of age-old dust.

  There was only one exit: a tightly sealed stone door, bound by an enormous bronze lock.

  Floating around the lock were five small orbs of light, each rotating slowly, each glowing with a different elemental hue.

  On the cold surface of the lock, ancient characters were carved:

  “Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth choose one of the Five.”

  “Break the correct one, and life endures.Choose wrongly twice… and death is eternal.”

  Wen Shan understood immediately.

  The rule was simple destroy the correct orb, and the door would open.But make two wrong choices, and the lock would close forever,trapping them all inside this tomb for eternity.

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