Chapter 45: Entry

“What does this mean?”
Nearly a million cultivators from Nan Yin Island saw the lines of text on the green jade. Though they felt extremely comfortable inside, doubts arose in their minds as they couldn’t understand the meaning of those words.
Could the secret lie behind this green jade?
Everyone guessed so, but without certainty, no one dared take the risk to investigate it right away.
Qu Yi glanced at the green jade, then smiled faintly and said, “Brothers, there’s no need to rush. Let’s wait here for a while. When we wiped out those groups, we already obtained a great deal of essence blood. Let’s use this time to further enhance our own strength.”
During the attacks on Gen Zhuang City, Li E City, and Kan Su City, the cultivators of Nan Yin Island gained even more essence blood, which was now stored in their respective space rings, waiting to be refined after returning to the Divine Realm.
Hearing Qu Yi’s words, all the cultivators of Nan Yin Island were overjoyed. They immediately laughed heartily, chose a place to sit down, and began meditating.
Qu Yi smiled faintly before sending a mental message to Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan, “Qing Wu Gui, Wu Yuan, I’m going to the Inch Realm Sphere to refine weapons. You stay here and watch over our brothers on Nan Yin Island.”
As soon as the message was sent, Qu Yi left without waiting for a reply.
Although the cultivators of Nan Yin Island were confused, they knew Qu Yi’s actions were always mysterious, so they didn’t ask further and continued their cultivation.
Qu Yi left the range of the cultivators’ mental perception and entered the Inch Realm Sphere.
On the island, the cultivators of Nan Yin Island had defeated one group after another, acquiring countless space rings filled with an immeasurable amount of material for refining weapons. Now, Qu Yi decided to sort and stack these materials inside the Inch Realm Sphere.
He planned to dispose of all the materials needed to craft weapons at the Divine General level or below, while keeping the higher-grade materials for when he reached the Divine Marshal level.
For now, he would use this time to produce a large number of Divine General-level weapons.
Ten days, a hundred weapons—Qu Yi wouldn’t waste his talent for refining. He would definitely produce a large batch of weapons and then use them extensively on this central island to astonish the world.
※※※
The groups of Divine General-level cultivators from the other seven peripheral islands arrived at the central island and encountered the same scene as those from Nan Yin Island: flat grasslands, abysses that their mental senses couldn’t penetrate, and above those abysses, a huge green jade.

By the time the last group from Kan Island arrived on the Central Island and all groups from the eight outer islands had gathered there, the eight pieces of blue jade on the Central Island appeared simultaneously. All the cultivators saw the inscription on those jade pieces.

As the eight jades appeared, an ancient and indifferent voice sounded—exactly the same voice that had guided all groups when they first arrived at the eight outer islands. “Pass through the blue jades, and there lies a Qingyun Road leading to the core of the Central Island, where the Star-Opening Stone is located. One reminder: once you pass through the blue jades, you cannot return freely. Only when eight people remain can those who entered the core leave. The group battle also marks the end.”

After the voice faded, all the cultivators at the Divine General stage on the Central Island were filled with shock. They finally understood the meaning of the inscription on the blue jades. They could decide for themselves whether to enter the core of the Central Island. Once inside, they would have to fight fiercely to obtain the Star-Opening Stone, and only when eight people remained could those who entered leave.

Each Divine General-level cultivator had made up their mind—those strong enough wanted to try their luck, while those who knew their strength was insufficient would naturally choose to stay.

The cultivators from Nan Yin Island heard this voice and began discussing it eagerly. “Only eight people can survive? It’s terrifyingly high a elimination rate.” “Forget it, bro. This isn’t something we ordinary folks can compete for.” “If only eight can survive, it must be the top experts from the ranking list who are qualified to compete in the core.” “On our Nan Yin Island, only people like the group leader, Xin Wuhen, Tian Buao, Qing Wu Gui, and the rest are qualified to enter. Anyone else who goes in will die.”

…

Everyone was excitedly sharing their thoughts—admiring others’ strength, lamenting their own weakness, rejoicing at not having to take the Qingyun Road, and arguing about who might obtain the Star-Opening Stone.

At that moment, Xin Wuhen, Tian Buao, Qing Wu Gui, and Wu Yuan gathered together, waiting for Qu Yi’s return. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Qu Yi appeared. “Group leader!” Xin Wuhen and Tian Buao exclaimed excitedly as soon as they saw him, even more thrilled than Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan.

Qu Yi smiled faintly and then said, “I heard that warning too—only eight people can return alive. It’s a bit cruel, but I think those eight will all encounter remarkable opportunities, so it’s still worth entering. So, those of you who want to go, decide for yourselves. I won’t force anyone. Once you’ve made up your mind, come with me.”

With three types of aggregated spiritual entities each reaching seventy million in number, coupled with the uniqueness of chaotic energy and several innate spiritual treasures at his disposal, how could Qu Yi even consider not entering? He definitely had to go and take a look.

Xin Wuhen and Tian Buao immediately shouted, “We want to enter, but we want to go with you, team leader.”

Xin Wuhen and Tian Buao both recognized Qu Yi’s strength and were utterly convinced of his superiority. Although they ranked fifteenth and sixteenth on the local rankings and were both highly renowned, after encountering Qu Yi, they realized the vast gap between themselves and him.

Qu Yi shook his head and smiled, “Even after passing through the Green Jade Stone, I can’t guarantee we’ll stay together. I want to protect you, but I might be powerless then. I hope you’ll think this through carefully.”

Xin Wuhen and Tian Buao immediately showed hesitation, their eyes darting around as they struggled with conflicting emotions.

At that moment, Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan looked at Qu Yi and said at the same time, “I want to enter.”

For Qing Wugui, the path of cultivation through combat required a fearless and determined heart—only then could he progress in his training. Any hesitation or doubt would affect his cultivation level.

Wu Yuan had only one thought: as long as there was fighting, it was fine. Staying on this grassland meant boring sitting around, which he disliked. So he wanted to enter the Qingyun Road to face various strong opponents in the divine realm.

“Have you made up your minds?” Qu Yi asked Xin Wuhen and Tian Buao with a smile.

This time, both Xin Wuhen and Tian Buao shook their heads, looking at Qu Yi shamefully, unable to meet Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan’s eyes.

Qu Yi smiled faintly and said, “It’s okay. Only eight people can survive, and the risks inside are indeed great. If you don’t go, no one will blame you. Alright, you two stay here to protect the brothers on Nan Yin Island. Qu Yi, Qing Wugui, and Wu Yuan will enter the Green Jade Stone together.”

With that, Qu Yi, Qing Wugui, and Wu Yuan immediately took off and flew toward the Green Jade Stone above the abyss, then rushed over.

The Green Jade Stone seemed to be constantly observing the surroundings, and at this moment, it emitted three beams of green light that instantly enveloped Qu Yi, Qing Wu Gui, and Wu Yuan, causing them to disappear. Naturally, the figures of Qu Yi, Qing Wu Gui, and Wu Yuan also vanished as the light beams disappeared.

Nearly a million cultivators on Nan Yin Island watched as Qu Yi and the others disappeared, filled with envy.

Similar to the situation on Nan Yin Island, in the other seven regions of the Central Island, those surviving groups also had cultivators who, upon hearing the signaling sound, chose to enter the Green Jade Stone in order to compete for the Star-Opening Stone at the core.

Among them, the top eight on the Earth Ranking—Ling Xu, Liu Xiu, Wei Dongchen, Lu Feixiong, Kang Ji, Xing Bing, Bo Cang, and Ba Yigong—all decided to enter the Green Jade Stone. Yu Wenhan, ranked ninth, and Lan Ruoyun, ranked tenth, also wanted to enter but were persuaded by the eight others, so they did not go in. After all, these ten people had always gotten along well, and since only eight would survive on the Qing Yun Road, none of them wanted to kill each other, which led to the eight entering and persuading Yu Wenhan and Lan Ruoyun to stay back.

Those from the eight regions who entered the Green Jade Stone were all listed on the Earth Ranking, with two exceptions: Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan. These two were not as famous as Qu Yi and thus did not have a ranking, but their strength was quite high.

Once all those who chose to enter the Green Jade Stone had gone in, the eight Green Jade Stones floating above the abyss disappeared quickly.

After entering the Green Jade Stone, Qu Yi, Qing Wu Gui, and Wu Yuan found themselves on a jade platform floating among the clouds. At the edge of the platform was a narrow green stone bridge wide enough for only one person to walk on, appearing and disappearing intermittently as it stretched into the distance, seemingly leading to the core of the Central Island.

“Is this the Qing Yun Road?” Wu Yuan exclaimed as soon as he saw it.

The sound echoed, as if reaching the heavens above and descending into the depths below.

Qu Yi simply smiled, then took out two space rings and said, “Qing Wu Gui, Wu Yuan, these two space rings each contain ten thousand divine artifacts at the Divine General level. Take them.”

These divine artifacts were naturally those that Qu Yi had crafted over the years—a total of thirty thousand in number—of which he kept ten thousand for himself.

Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan didn’t say much; they understood Qu Yi’s intentions and immediately took the space rings, saying, “Be careful.”

There was no need for them to say “thank you” given their close relationship.

Just then, a voice sounded: “Thirty people have entered in total. Next, you will go through the Qingyun Road ahead. Only one person can pass at a time. If two people are on it, both will die.”
As soon as the voice finished speaking, it disappeared.
Qu Yi, Qing Wu Gui, and Wu Yuan exchanged glances upon hearing this.
“I’ll go first,” Qu Yi said outright, leaving no room for refusal.
Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan smiled helplessly before nodding, allowing Qu Yi to go through the Qingyun Road first.