31: The seven factions of Yue! Enter the forbidden area!

The Silver Armored Horned Python sped through the air, its massive body crashing through the high-altitude currents and creating howling winds on either side.

Two days and two nights of non-stop, rapid travel.

The rolling mountain ranges below turned into blurred ink lines until, finally, a desolate valley appeared at the end of their vision.

The Silver Armored Horned Python's massive body slowly descended, the wind pressure it generated sending sand and stones on the ground flying in all directions.

Southern Jian Prefecture, a nameless valley.

The agreed-upon gathering place for the Seven Sects.

Li Huayuan remained sitting cross-legged on the python's head, eyes tightly shut, indifferent to everything around him, looking like a lifeless statue.

The Yellow Maple Valley Disciples did not dare to disturb him, leaping off the broad back of the python one after another to find places in the valley to rest and wait for the arrival of the other Schools.

Lu Qiu found an inconspicuous corner and leaned his back against a cold, giant rock.

He closed his eyes, seemingly resting, but in reality, his Divine Sense had already silently spread out, perceiving every slight movement in the surroundings.

This wait lasted for more than half a day.

It wasn't until the last rays of the setting sun were about to be swallowed by the horizon that several rapidly enlarging points of light finally appeared on the distant skyline.

The first to arrive was a group of Cultivators wearing Bagua Daoist robes. They held horsetail whisks, had their hair in Daoist buns, and moved with an elegant grace; they were the Disciples of the Qingxu Sect.

Immediately following them, a brilliant glow appeared in the sky.

Upon the glow, a group of male and female Cultivators in fluttering white robes arrived on the wind.

Leading them was a beautiful woman who still retained her charm. Her every frown and smile carried a soul-stirring allure, causing the breathing of many male Disciples with weaker willpower to hitch.

The Yanyue Sect.

Lu Qiu opened his eyes a crack, glanced at them, and then closed them again.

These female Cultivators were all exquisitely beautiful, but hidden beneath that charm were thorns capable of dealing a fatal blow.

Before long, a surge of soaring Evil Qi swept in from the west.

Dozens of men in black arrived on flying swords.

Each of them carried a door-sized, sheathless giant sword on their back. Their expressions were cold and their eyes hollow, as if they were walking weapons.

The Giant Sword Sect.

Their arrival caused the temperature in the valley to drop suddenly, and a metallic, blood-like scent filled the air.

Afterward, a group of Cultivators wearing colorful, gaudy clothes arrived.

They were covered in various leather pouches and bags, inside which living things occasionally squirmed, making rustling sounds that made one's skin crawl.

The Disciples of Spirit Beast Mountain were famous for controlling Spirit Beasts.

Finally, people from the Saber Transformation Dock and Tianque Fortress arrived together.

With this, the Seven Sects of the State of Yue were all gathered.

The leading Core Formation Stage Ancestral Masters of each School gathered together. An invisible light screen enveloped them, cutting off all sound and prying eyes.

Lu Qiu's Divine Sense touched the edge of the light screen and immediately withdrew, without making any further attempts to probe.

A moment later, the light screen dissipated.

Li Huayuan returned to the Yellow Maple Valley lineup with a somewhat grim expression, his majestic gaze sweeping over every Disciple.

He then spoke about the bet between himself, Old Monster Qiong, and Fu Yunzi.

"Listen well, this bet is very important to me! If we can win it, I will definitely not mistreat you."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried the unique penetrating power of a Core Formation Cultivator, clearly entering everyone's ears.

"The Disciples who help me win this time will all be heavily rewarded. The one who contributes the most can be taken under my wing after reaching Foundation Establishment."

As his voice fell.

In the Yellow Maple Valley lineup within the valley, there was first a deathly silence, followed by the sound of heavy, uncontrollable breathing.

To be taken under the wing of a Core Formation Stage Cultivator!

This meant a meteoric rise to success!

The breathing of countless Disciples became rapid, and an unprecedented fanatical light burst from their eyes.

Even the usually indifferent Lu Qiu felt his heart thud heavily.

He knew Li Huayuan's personality very well through his memories of the original story.

Although this man had a fiery temperament, he was extremely protective of his own. Once taken under his wing, it would be equivalent to having an incredibly solid backer within Yellow Maple Valley.

It would undoubtedly make things much more convenient in the future.

This opportunity was worth striving for.

Of course, the premise was that it must not affect his primary goal of obtaining foundation establishment pills.

The Core Formation Ancestral Masters of each School finished their discussion and returned to their respective lineups. They then led their juniors into the air, flying toward the border of Yuanwu Kingdom.

The distance was not far this time.

After just a few hours, the group stopped before a vast, boundless loess slope.

Not a single blade of grass grew here.

Looking out, there was nothing but piles of scattered rocks and a vast expanse of yellow; it was desolate to the extreme.

The seven Core Formation Stage Ancestral Masters said nothing more. They flew into the air simultaneously, each taking a position and quickly performing hand seals.

Seven towering beams of light of different colors shot up from their hands, converging at a single point in the sky. They then turned and slammed down toward the center of the empty loess slope below.

Boom!

Space vibrated violently, like a shattered mirror.

In the very center of the loess slope, a circular passage about ten feet high appeared out of nowhere. The inside of the passage was pitch black and bottomless, and an ancient, weathered aura emanated from it.

"Enter quickly, we can't support this for long!"

The Daoist Fu Yunzi from the Qingxu Sect was the first to shout. Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead, clearly showing that maintaining this passage was a huge drain on him.

Hearing this, the Disciples of the Seven Sects did not dare to delay in the slightest.

The brief atmosphere of harmony in the valley vanished instantly.

In its place was a suffocating, deathly silence.

Everyone looked grim, their eyes filled with vigilance and wariness toward one another.

Everyone knew that once they stepped into the Forbidden Ground, everyone present—including the fellow Disciples they had just been standing with—would become mortal enemies.

For the sake of the foundation establishment pill and that ethereal path to immortality, anyone could stab you in the back.

The Disciples of each School interspersed with one another, flying toward the pitch-black passage in batches. No one yielded, and no one scrambled; everything proceeded in an orderly fashion with a strange tacit understanding.

Lu Qiu was positioned toward the middle-back of the lineup.

In front of him were several aggressive Disciples from the Giant Sword Sect, and behind him were a few cold-looking Cultivators from the Saber Transformation Dock.

He quietly maintained some distance from those in front and behind, neither pushing forward nor falling behind.

The passage was not long, only about sixty meters.

It was passed through almost in a flash.

The moment Lu Qiu flew out of the passage, an irresistible and massive pulling force came from all directions.

Immediately after, there was a violent bout of dizziness.

His internal organs were churning, and the scene before him turned into countless distorted and stretched lines of light and blocks of color; the whole world seemed to be collapsing.

In the next instant, all sensations stopped abruptly.

He vanished without a trace from the exit, randomly teleported to a certain location within the Forbidden Ground by an unknown force.