If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

Qingquan Peak, Mochengyue Cave.

Mo Chengyue sat cross-legged on the bed like a miser, counting the inheritance he had "legally inherited" from Hua Nongying.

"Three hundred mid-grade spirit stones, five bottles of Qi-restoring pills, three bottles of an unknown aphrodisiac..."

"Tsk, why does this demoness from Bliss Valley carry so many of these kinds of medicines with her? Isn't she afraid of giving herself a nosebleed from overdosing on them?"

While complaining, he quickly sorted and sealed the items, then threw them into the bottom of the storage bag.

As for those bottles of aphrodisiacs, he hesitated for a moment, but still didn't throw them away.

"Keep it, in case we need it to poison rats later. It's always good to have more skills."

After doing all this, Mo Chengyue let out a long sigh and exclaimed.

"A horse won't get fat without night grass, and a person won't get rich without unexpected wealth. I can accept this overtime pay with a clear conscience."

But this joy did not last long.

As the first rays of dawn pierced the clouds and illuminated the crooked tree on Qingquan Peak, a distant and menacing bell tolled throughout the entire Hehuan Sect.

"when--"

Mo Chengyue shuddered, and the image of his second senior sister Qin Wanzhuang's cold yet terrifying face, along with her friendly greeting about the "Ten Thousand Snake Cave," automatically appeared in his mind.

"If you dare to come in last place again, I'll throw you in here to cool off the snakes."

Mo Chengyue shivered and quickly stuffed the storage bag into his arms and put it close to his body.

"Damn it, the KPI assessment is coming up."

……

The main peak of Hehuan Sect, Yingxian Square.

Today, Hehuan Temple is as bustling as a train station during the Spring Festival travel rush.

Thousands of disciples were arranged in neat square formations according to their affiliation with each peak.

Looking around, the crowds were bustling, the spiritual energy was surging, and the light from various magical artifacts turned the sky into a disco scene.

On the cloud platform, Sect Master Jiang Wei sat in the center, his expression indifferent as still water. Beside him, the elders stood in a row, their aura as deep and unfathomable as the sea.

Mo Chengyue huddled at the very back of the Qingquan Peak group, trying his best to shrink himself into a quail.

"Senior brother."

A monotone greeting came from the side.

Wenren Ji held the broken sword, his bangs covering half his face, exuding a reclusive aura that said "Don't touch me."

But his eyes, peeking out from between his bangs, were fixed intently on the spirited young talents of the various peaks in the distance, his fighting spirit burning hot enough to roast sweet potatoes.

"Calm down, junior brother."

Mo Chengyue lowered his voice, speaking with the tone of someone who had been through it all.

"We're here to make up the numbers, not to risk our lives. Only the living contribute; the dead are just corpses."

Wenren Ji remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "What Senior Brother says is absolutely right. Only by living can one draw the sword."

"That's right."

Mo Chengyue nodded with satisfaction.

Just then, a sharp gaze, as tangible as a blade, grazed across Mo Chengyue's neck.

He turned his head stiffly.

At the very front of the group, Second Senior Sister Qin Wanzhuang, dressed in a black military uniform with her long hair tied up high, looked so heroic that it made one's legs go weak.

She didn't turn around, but the murderous aura directed at Mo Chengyue was as precise as if it had GPS tracking.

Mo Chengyue swallowed hard and shrank his head even further.

This isn't a sect competition; it's a massive workplace execution ground!

The competition rules are as follows:

On the high platform, a white-haired and white-bearded elder made a loud announcement, his voice booming like thunder under the enhancement of spiritual power.

"Foundation Establishment Stage Preliminary Rounds: 100 players per group, free-for-all mode!"

"Those who fall from the ring are defeated!"

"Those who voluntarily admit defeat are the losers!"

"Those who have lost their fighting ability are defeated!"

"Each group has one incense stick's time limit; the ten people remaining on stage at the end will advance!"

The rules are simple and brutal, full of the barbaric aesthetics of the "raising of gu" in the Demonic Sect.

Mo Chengyue clicked his tongue in disbelief as he listened.

A chaotic battle of 100 players?

This is extremely unfriendly to lone wolf players like him!

Under these rules, those who usually form cliques will definitely band together to clear out the lone "retail investors."

"Third group, enter!"

With the elder's command, Mo Chengyue looked at the jade tablet with the character "僄" that lit up in his hand, sighed, and dragged his heavy steps onto the arena.

As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he sensed that something was wrong.

The arena was enormous, large enough to accommodate hundreds of people fighting. At this moment, the arena was already filled with disciples of all kinds, their spiritual energy fluctuations displaying a variety of colors.

But there were a few gazes that had been fixed on him from the very beginning.

Those were five disciples dressed in moon-white Taoist robes, with the words "Yingtian" embroidered on their sleeves.

Yingtian Peak.

The Hehuan Sect is known as a "conservative faction" and usually looks down on Qingquan Peak's "unproductive" style.

They especially despised Mo Chengyue, a legendary good-for-nothing who supposedly rose to power by "living off his wife."

"Oh, isn't this Junior Brother Mo from Clear Spring Peak?"

The leader, a horse-faced male cultivator, walked over with a sinister grin, twirling his longsword in a flashy display.

"I heard that Junior Brother Mo usually keeps to himself and doesn't even bother to take on missions. Why is he here to join in the fun today?"

His four companions immediately spread out in a fan shape, subtly cutting off all of Mo Chengyue's escape routes.

Seeing this, the disciples from the other peaks around them tacitly made way for them, and some even showed expressions of watching a show.

"Hey, this is going to be good. Zhao Gang from Yingtian Peak is a peak early Foundation Establishment cultivator, and he's notoriously ruthless."

"That kid from Qingquan Peak is in trouble. I heard he just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and he only got there by relying on pills."

"There's nothing I can do about it. What can I do when I have a great senior sister, and... hehe, a great elder too?"

Whispers reached my ears, filled with malice and mockery.

Mo Chengyue's face showed a panicked expression, his legs were trembling, and his voice was shaking.

"Senior Brother Zhao... let's talk this out! We're from the same sect, please... please don't embarrass me, okay?"

"A slap in the face?"

Zhao Gang sneered, his eyes full of contempt.

"You dare to challenge me?"

"Brothers, let's get him downstairs first! He's just getting in the way and ruining the prestige of this competition!"

Before the words were even finished, all five of them suddenly sprang to their feet!

"Zheng—"

Five sword lights, like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, sealed off all space around Mo Chengyue. This was no friendly sparring; it was an attempt to humiliate him in public, or even severely injure him!

"Oh my god! Murder!"

Mo Chengyue let out a shrill scream, as if he had been scared out of his wits. Instead of retreating, he turned and ran towards Zhao Gang!

"Trying to run away?"

A cruel glint flashed in Zhao Gang's eyes as he channeled spiritual energy into his longsword and thrust it straight at Mo Chengyue's back.

Just as the tip of the sword was three inches from Mo Chengyue's back.

Mo Chengyue's wide sleeves, which had been frantically swaying, suddenly swung backward!

"call--"

A large cloud of grayish-white powder, like an exploding smoke bomb, slammed into the five people behind them.

The powder had a strange color; it wasn't the green of poisonous miasma, nor the pink of sleeping gas, but instead carried a... pungent kitchen smell?

"What is that?!"

Zhao Gang, who was at the very front, was the first to be hit and didn't even have time to hold his breath, so he took a deep breath.

next second.

A pungent and sour sensation shot straight to the top of his head, instantly exploding in his nasal cavity and trachea!

That was the "Devil's Soul-Severing Pepper" powder that Mo Chengyue had specially gone to the mortal realm to ask the old chef for.

It was mixed with quicklime purified by spiritual energy, and finally a tiny bit of hallucinogenic low-level bewitching grass was added.

This is—the physical version of a mass-destructive, blinding package!

"Ah!! My eyes!!"

"Cough cough cough! This smoke is poisonous! It's so spicy!!"

"Achoo! Achoo—!!"

The five-person group, which had been exuding murderous intent, instantly lost their formation.

Zhao Gang covered his face and let out a pig-like scream, his face instantly covered in tears and snot, and the spiritual power he had gathered dissipated.

There was dead silence around the ring.

Everyone was stunned.

What kind of tactic is this?

Shouldn't a battle between cultivators involve flying swords clashing and spells being thrown at each other?

What the heck is this, sprinkling lime powder?!

"Despicable! Shameless!"

Despite the excruciating pain in his eyes, Zhao Gang wildly brandished his longsword and roared.

"Kill him! Chop him into pieces!!"

The remaining four people were also choked up, but they had inhaled less. Now, their eyes were red and their murderous aura was even stronger than before.

"Go to hell!!"

Ignoring everything else, the four held their breath and pounced on Mo Chengyue like mad dogs.

Mo Chengyue was currently huddled at the edge of the arena, seemingly cornered.