Chapter 36: Chaotic Battle

The four members of Taiyuan Gate passed through one after another “flame teeth” in the flame passage, their vital energy depleting time and again, and they spent a great deal of spirit stones and medicinal pills. Finally, they reached the cave safely.
They thought they were the first among the nine sects to successfully pass the challenge. But as soon as they entered the cave, they were shocked to find Qu Yi already there, meditating, seemingly having been there for a long time.
Naturally, the four from Taiyuan Gate were extremely surprised.
Hearing Tai Ming’s shocked cry, Qu Yi opened his eyes and smiled at them, saying, “Tai Ming, Shan Zhen, Shan Ren, Shan Zhen—you four from Taiyuan Gate have actually all made it through this perilous challenge unharmed.”
Upon hearing this, Tai Ming’s face immediately turned angry, and he shouted, “Qu Yi, you couldn’t have reached here so quickly by passing the challenge alone. How did you do it?”
Seeing the relaxed smile on Qu Yi’s face and thinking of their own arduous experiences, Tai Ming was filled with resentment.
Qu Yi chuckled, seemingly intent on angering them, and said, “All nine sects are wrong. Choosing the Fire Control Technique as this flame passage is the easiest route. I just flew here the whole way. I’ve been resting in this cave for two months already.”
Upon hearing this, Tai Ming, Shan Zhen, Shan Ren, and Shan Zhen were shocked, their breaths catching in their throats. Could such a thing really be true?
Qu Yi continued, smiling, “Not only did I master the Fire Control Technique, but I also obtained the Fire Soaring Sword along the way—a low-grade immortal weapon.”
As he spoke, he took out the Fire Soaring Sword and the Flame Token, waving them at the four from Taiyuan Gate.
The four from Taiyuan Gate’s eyes burned with anger. They thought to themselves how unfair this world was—while they had risked their lives to reach this cave, Qu Yi had come easily by flying, and he had even taken all the treasures. Fortunately, they quickly calmed down. Though filled with rage, they found a place in the cave to sit in silence.
Qu Yi found it amusing that his lie had made them so angry they wanted to spit blood. Seeing that they didn’t provoke him, he stopped teasing them or attacking them. There were still the Five Wastelands ahead, and keeping these strong members of the nine sects there to struggle would be useful for him as well.
Later, on the day after the four strong members of Jin Yang Sect—Jin Xiong, Feng Han, Feng Jian, and Feng Bian—reached the cave, they too successfully passed the fire dragon attacks in the flame passage and arrived in the cave.

Naturally, Jin Yang and the three others were also surprised to see the four people from Taiyuan Gate and Qu Yi, but they didn’t say much and quickly found a place to rest and meditate. The four members of Qingyun Sect entered the Flame Passage. Under the intense attacks of flame arrows, one of them died, leaving only three. At this point, Qing Xu, Bi Feng, and Bi Jiu entered the cave in a depressed mood. The three from Lanyang Palace, as they mainly practiced fire-based techniques, suffered little damage despite being attacked by flame rays in the Flame Passage and successfully passed through. Lan Wei, Lie Gao, and Lie Ke also arrived at the cave. The four from Yingtian Sect—Ying Hua, Shun Hou, Shun Shi, and Shun Wen—faced attacks from flame beings in the Flame Passage. Relying on their own earth-based energy defenses, they managed to overcome the dangers and reach the cave. The four from Cangyang Valley—Cang Huang, Heng Ping, Heng Bo, and Heng Dang—suffered from countless attacks of flame rain but, using their earth-based energy defenses, barely made it through the Flame Passage and arrived at the cave as well. The four demon cultivators from Baishou Peak—the leader One-Claw Green Dragon, along with Howling Wind Dragon, Earth-Shattering Fox, and Green-Eyed Blue Phoenix—were squeezed by numerous flame trees in the Flame Passage but managed to survive and safely reached the cave. The four demon cultivators from Xianyue Cliff—led by One-Claw Earth Dragon, along with Peak-Stepping Wolf, Abyssal Fierce Monkey, and Thousand-Form Worm—were burned by endless flames in the Flame Passage, suffering greatly, but still managed to make it through with great perseverance and arrived at the cave. The four demon cultivators from Jiugong Island—led by One-Claw Water Dragon, along with Three-Eyed Dragon Turtle, Ice-Eyed Crocodile Dragon, and Three-Color Toad—walked continuously in the Flame Passage without being attacked by flames and easily reached the cave. When all the powerful warriors from the nine sects arrived at the cave, the white jade table in the center suddenly emitted a white light, illuminating the entire cave. Immediately afterward, the entire cave’s appearance changed—the originally dull cave walls transformed completely, forming a white jade dome with blindingly bright light. The white jade table suddenly sank, and a circular area appeared on the ground—clearly a space teleportation array. “A space teleportation array!” The powerful warriors from the nine sects exclaimed in shock, finally realizing that this cave was the end of the Flame Cavern. At that moment, Qu Yi suddenly appeared beside the space teleportation array, holding two Poison Fruit in his hand, looking as if he would release them at the slightest disturbance. The warriors from the nine sects quickly retreated in fear, worried that Qu Yi might go mad suddenly. Qu Yi chuckled, stepped into the space teleportation array, and said, “Gentlemen, I’ll be leaving first.”

Suddenly, a white light flashed from the space teleportation array, and Qu Yi had disappeared. Only then did the powerful warriors from the Nine Sects realize that Qu Yi had used the Poison Fruit as a means to seize the space teleportation array and leave first. “Not good! Qu Yi got to leave first again,” Tai Ming cried in frustration. In the three wastelands ahead, Qu Yi was always the first to enter and leave, which naturally filled the warriors from the Nine Sects with frustration. They all guessed that whoever entered the first wasteland must have received special guidance from Emperor Hao and thus reaped all the advantages. After hearing Tai Ming’s words, the warriors from the Nine Sects seemed to suddenly understand and rushed to compete for a spot in the space teleportation array. With so many of them wanting to enter at once, no one wanted to yield, leading to a standoff. In an instant, the sect leaders exchanged spiritual insights through glances. Suddenly! The four from Hundred Beasts Peak attacked the four from Qingyun Sect, the eight from JinYang Sect and CangYang Valley attacked the four from TaiYuan Gate, the four from XianYue Cliff attacked the four from YingTian Sect, and the four from Jiugong Island attacked the three from LanYang Palace. It turned out that in just a short while, the two demon cultivation sects and the three beast cultivation sects had reached an agreement to unite and eliminate the four most powerful cultivation sects. Both sides knew that if this continued, and the four cultivation sects allied together, neither the demon cultivation sects nor the beast cultivation sects could withstand them, so they took this opportunity to join forces to eliminate the four cultivation sects. In an instant, true energy filled the entire cave, causing chaotic energy levels, as the warriors from the Nine Sects fought fiercely among themselves. Among them, almost everyone possessed a lower-grade immortal weapon, or an elite spiritual weapon. Yet none used their true energy to unleash their innate power to attack; instead, they relied on the sharpness of their elite spiritual weapons to fight. Suddenly, Shan Zhen from TaiYuan Gate let out a painful scream as his Yuan Ying was forced out of his body. It turned out that Feng Jian and Feng Bian from JinYang Sect, along with Xi Bo and Heng Dang from CangYang Valley, all attacked Shan Zhen at the same time, finally hitting him and forcing his Yuan Ying to leave, otherwise it would have destroyed him. At the same time, a green light shot out from the eyes of Bi Jing Qing Luan from Hundred Beasts Peak, breaking through Qingyun Sect’s protective barrier. Meanwhile, the elite spiritual weapon Qing Lan Hook in Bi Jing Qing Luan’s hand struck Bi Jiu, forcing his Yuan Ying to leave as well. With only their Yuan Yings left, Shan Zhen and Bi Jiu’s attacking power was greatly reduced, and they dared not fly around in the chaotic energy any longer, as they were on the verge of suffering fatal attacks.

Suddenly, Tai Ming took out a spirit talisman, with golden energy surging like waves. Shouting loudly, he said, “Stop! If you don’t cease now, I’ll destroy the entire space transmission array, and we’ll all die together!” At these words, everyone immediately scattered. The powerful members of each faction gathered together, panicked. Shan Zhen’s Yuan Ying flew to Tai Ming’s feet, calming down and sighing in relief before gathering golden energy to form his body. Bi Jiu did the same—after flying to Qing Xu’s feet, he quickly formed his own dharma body. With their advanced cultivation levels, both of them had their bodies highly condensed, their Yuan Ying and physical bodies fully integrated, and their bodies already in the form of dharma bodies. Naturally, after absorbing energy to restore their bodies, their cultivation levels returned to full strength. Seeing that everyone had stopped, Tai Ming’s angry gaze calmed down, and he shouted, “You two factions actually dared to launch a sneak attack! Have you forgotten that innate energy cannot be used inside this Haotian Immortal Mansion? Each of our nine factions possesses top-tier spirit weapons. If either side uses their true energy to activate these weapons, triggering innate energy, death is the only outcome. Are you insane?” The powerful members of the Jin Yang Sect, Cang Yang Valley, Bai Shou Peak, Xian Yue Cliff, and Jiu Gong Island simply smiled faintly without responding. Soon after, the leaders of the nine factions exchanged spiritual awareness again, and the hostility from the previous battle disappeared. They laughed together for a while before deciding to draw lots to determine the order of transmission for each faction. The powerful members of the nine factions left the cave one by one. Qu Yi, who had already left the cave earlier, arrived at a place rich in wood energy, surrounded by green bamboo swaying in the wind.