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

Ice Soul Peak, a forbidden area in the back mountain.

The first rays of morning sunlight fell on the cold jade bed, reflecting an ambiguous yet icy luster.

Mo Chengyue, supporting his back, shakily climbed off the frigid jade bed, which was cold enough to freeze a Foundation Establishment cultivator to death.

My legs feel weak.

My legs are really weak.

If anyone tells you that "dual cultivation" is a blissful, heavenly experience, spit in their face.

Especially when your cultivation partner is a Nascent Soul stage "rich woman" whose cultivation level is two major realms higher than yours, who has just stabilized her cultivation and is gradually entering a better state, and who has a huge demand.

That's not happiness.

That's called "doing everything you can to survive".

"You...you're leaving already?"

A lazy and aloof voice came from behind.

Leng Yuexin leaned against the headboard, the snow-white robe that symbolized the majesty of the law enforcement elder was now loosely draped over her body, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin that was enough to break even a saint's defenses.

Her usually icy eyes now held a rare, moist, alluring quality.

It's like a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg, with a corner of it being forcibly melted from the inside.

Mo Chengyue froze, his survival instinct kicking in instantly.

"Reporting to the elder, today is the closing ceremony of the competition, and this disciple still needs to go... to collect the participation award."

"If I'm late, I'm afraid I'll have my spirit stones deducted."

Upon hearing this, Leng Yuexin's lips curled into a slight, ambiguous smile.

"Participation prize?"

"Wasn't the benefit you received from me last night enough?"

Indeed a lot.

After a night of "yin and yang harmony," the purity of Mo Chengyue's spiritual energy increased by at least 30%.

The Yin-Yang Virtue Harmony Scripture was like a greedy black hole, frantically drawing out the overflowing Yin cold energy from Leng Yuexin's body as he repeatedly teetered on the edge of life and death.

The bottleneck in the mid-stage of Foundation Building has actually begun to loosen.

This cultivation speed is enough to infuriate countless geniuses.

But the price was... his back was about to break.

"Elder, you jest. This disciple just wants to... be a law-abiding disciple." Mo Chengyue chuckled dryly, then slipped away, ready to make his escape at any moment.

Leng Yuexin didn't make things difficult for him anymore.

She extended her slender, jade-like fingers and pointed them in the air.

A streak of light instantly disappeared into Mo Chengyue's brow.

"This is the token of Ice Soul Peak."

"If you get bullied outside, stand up for yourself."

"Although you are a piece of trash, you are still my... medicinal ingredient."

"No one else may touch what belongs to me."

Mo Chengyue's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Elder!"

That's the benefit of sucking up to someone powerful!

Although the process was a bit painful, with this get-out-of-jail-free card, as long as I don't provoke those few freaks in the sect, I can basically walk around with impunity.

……

After leaving Ice Soul Peak, Mo Chengyue rushed to the main peak of the Joyful Union Sect.

On the Tai Chi Square.

Tens of thousands of disciples gathered here, but instead of being excited by the just-concluded competition, their discussions were as noisy as boiling water.

However, in the most inconspicuous corner of the square.

Mo Chengyue leaned against a white marble pillar, utterly dejected, holding a cup of goji berry tea that had long since gone cold, his legs trembling slightly.

"What a tragedy..."

Mo Chengyue rubbed his aching lower back, tears welling up in his eyes.

I almost lost my life while "delivering my taxes" at Ice Soul Peak.

That crazy woman, Leng Yuexin, was unusually violent in her cultivation tonight, perhaps due to the stimulation from the competition during the day. She practically treated him like a human mouth, sucking him in with incredible ferocity.

If it weren't for the fact that the "Yin Yang De He Jing" was truly powerful and could form a perfect internal cycle, he would probably be a dried-up corpse by now, thrown into the back mountain to feed the spirit beasts.

"We barely made it back alive, and now we have to hold a closing ceremony."

Mo Chengyue yawned, his eyelids drooping.

"I just want to go back to sleep, is that wrong?"

"Does this sect not have labor laws? We work 996 during the day and have to work overtime with the boss at night. This is unbearable."

Just as Mo Chengyue was furiously complaining in his heart.

boom--!!!

A vast and boundless, terrifying pressure, seemingly capable of crushing the heavens, suddenly swept in from the direction of the main hall.

The once bustling square fell silent instantly.

Everyone felt a tightness in their chest, as if an invisible hand was choking them, making it difficult to even breathe.

"This is……"

Mo Chengyue's pupils shrank sharply, and his drowsiness vanished instantly.

Mid-stage Nascent Soul!

Even... the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm!

In the sky, a purple aura appeared from the east, forming a rainbow bridge that stretched for thousands of feet.

A middle-aged man dressed in a long robe with purple and gold dragon patterns stood with his hands behind his back, stepping down the rainbow bridge one step at a time.

With each step he took, a golden lotus flower would bloom in the void beneath his feet.

May every step bring forth lotus blossoms!

Jiang Wei, the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect.

This powerful and ruthless figure, who controlled the demonic path and was renowned in both the righteous and demonic realms, finally revealed his true colors.

If you ignore the terrifying demonic aura surrounding him, he looks like a well-read middle-aged scholar with a lean face, deep eyes, and even a gentle smile on his lips.

But no one present dared to underestimate that smile.

Because the righteous elders who dared to be presumptuous in front of this smile in the previous term are now buried with grass growing three feet tall.

"Greetings, Sect Master!!!"

Tens of thousands of disciples knelt down in unison, their shouts shaking the heavens.

Mo Chengyue quickly knelt down on one knee in the crowd, keeping his head low, afraid of attracting the attention of this big shot.

"Get up, everyone."

Jiang Wei's voice was soft, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, as if whispering right next to them.

"I have watched this competition, and it was very good."

"Talented people emerge in every generation, and I am very pleased to see you all."

Jiang Wei waved his hand casually.

Countless streaks of light flew out from his sleeves, landing precisely in the hands of the disciples of various rankings.

That was the reward for the competition.

Elixirs, magical artifacts, cultivation techniques, tokens... any one of these items would cause a frenzy among cultivation families outside the region.

"Thank you for the reward, Sect Master!"

The disciples were once again moved to express their gratitude.

however.

Holding the storage bag containing spirit stones in his hand, Mo Chengyue felt a sense of foreboding.

He was all too familiar with this "give a sweet treat first" tactic.

This is the "carrot" the boss prepares before he starts exploiting his employees!

really.

The next second, Jiang Wei changed the subject. Although the smile on her face remained the same, her eyes became sharp.

"The rewards have been distributed. Next, I will announce a momentous event that concerns the fate of the sect and the life and death of each and every one of you."

The entire room fell silent.

Even the wind has stopped.

Jiang Wei looked around and slowly uttered the name that shook the entire cultivation world:

"The ancient battlefield ruins of immortals and demons will reopen in one year."

boom--!

It was like a bombshell dropped into deep water.

After a brief silence, a collective gasp filled the air.

"A battlefield between immortals and demons?!"

"Is that the legendary forbidden land, said to be teeming with treasures, but also littered with corpses?"

"I heard that when it opened fifty years ago, more than half of the geniuses who went in died, and those who survived all became powerful figures in their respective fields!"

In the eyes of the disciples, there was not only fear, but also an undisguised greed.

Only Mo Chengyue's face turned even more ashen the moment he heard the news, as if he had eaten a bitter melon.

"I'm not going!"

"I'd rather die than go!"

Mo Chengyue shook his head frantically in his mind.

Are you kidding me?

Is that kind of place even fit for humans?

That's clearly a giant meat grinder!

All the opportunities and treasures are for the protagonist. If a nobody like him goes in, his only fate is to become "nameless corpse A" in the background.

however.

Jiang Wei's next words completely shattered Mo Chengyue's illusions.