Mortal's Journey: Reborn as Xin Ruyin, she begins by possessing Qi Yun's body.

Everyone was secretly amazed. This speed was indeed well-deserved, far beyond what they, as Qi Refining disciples, could achieve when using ordinary magical artifacts.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that most of them do not have high-level flying artifacts. Ordinary disciples' artifacts are slow to fly and consume a lot of spiritual power. If they rely on their own artifacts to travel to the Crimson Forbidden Land, it would probably take at least half a month.

And so, the silver-armored horned python carried everyone, day and night, speeding along the way.

For two whole days and two nights, everyone endured the ordeal on the python's back, daring not to slacken in the slightest. Only Li Huayuan remained steadily standing on the python's head, his expression unchanged, as if he were completely unaffected by the raging wind.

On the morning of the third day, the silver-armored horned python gradually slowed down, and when everyone looked up, they discovered a continuous, nameless, desolate mountain range below.

Not far from the barren mountains lies the border between the Yue Kingdom and the Yuanwu Kingdom.

The silver-armored horned python landed steadily on the summit of an unnamed, desolate mountain.

Looking around, apart from the disciples and managers of Huangfeng Valley, there were no other sects in sight.

Clearly, only Huangfeng Valley has arrived first; the cultivators from the other six sects have not yet arrived.

With nothing to do, many disciples began to look around, secretly looking for teammates.

The Crimson Forbidden Land is extremely dangerous; venturing alone is tantamount to suicide. Teaming up is the best option.

Soon, two disciples at the twelfth level of the Qi Refining stage approached Qi Yunxiao with friendly smiles on their faces.

He respectfully invited him to join his team: "Senior Brother Qi, you are also at the twelfth level of Qi Refining, with profound cultivation. We are both at the twelfth level of Qi Refining as well. Why don't we team up and travel together? We can look after each other when we reach the forbidden area."

Qi Yunxiao shook his head slightly, his tone calm but firm: "Thank you for your kindness, fellow disciples, but I am used to working alone, so I will not team up with you."

He had already made up his mind that the Crimson Forbidden Land was a place where opportunities and dangers coexisted, and that forming a team would certainly allow them to take care of each other.

However, this also easily leads to conflicts. Moreover, since he knows part of the plot, he is more flexible in acting alone. Therefore, he refuses all invitations from anyone.

After declining several invitations, Qi Yunxiao's gaze inadvertently swept towards Han Li.

Han Li was standing not far away, with two cultivators in front of him. Judging from their cultivation aura, they were at the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

The two men were whispering to Han Li, earnestly inviting him to join their team, saying that if the three of them worked together, their chances of survival in the forbidden area would greatly increase.

Han Li merely bowed slightly, his expression remaining calm, and slowly shook his head, politely declining their invitation.

Qi Yunxiao understood. Han Li was always meticulous and cautious, so he probably didn't want to team up with others for fear of unforeseen circumstances.

Just then, Qi Yunxiao's gaze inadvertently fell on one of the two cultivators, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He was an old cultivator, dressed in a faded coarse cloth Taoist robe, with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles. He looked unremarkable, and his cultivation level was only at the eleventh level of Qi Refining. He blended into the crowd and was inconspicuous.

Qi Yunxiao's heart tightened suddenly, and he instantly recognized the other person's identity: "This must be Senior Brother Xiang!"

He glanced at it only once before immediately looking away, without lingering for even a moment longer.

Qi Yunxiao knew in his heart that the seemingly ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator in front of him was actually Xiang Zhili, a Nascent Soul stage expert who had been hiding his identity.

The other party concealed their cultivation level and mingled among the Qi Refining stage disciples, so they certainly wouldn't expect anyone to recognize them.

If he were to glance at him a few more times, or even just show the slightest hint of something unusual, Xiang Zhili would surely notice.

He didn't want to be targeted by this Nascent Soul stage expert because of his momentary curiosity. If that happened, he wouldn't be able to seize any opportunities, and he might even lose his life. He might even be captured and dissected for research, which would be a huge loss.

And so, everyone waited on the mountaintop for a whole day. During this time, several other sects of cultivators arrived one after another. It wasn't until evening that the cultivators from the Qingxu Sect finally arrived.

The disciples of Qingxu Sect, dressed in blue Daoist robes, landed neatly on the mountaintop. Leading them was a gaunt old man in Daoist robes, exuding a profound aura; he was none other than Fuyunzi, a Core Formation cultivator from Qingxu Sect.

Subsequently, Qiong Laoguai, a Core Formation cultivator from the Hidden Moon Sect, also broke away from the group and came alone.

The three of them finally made a bet—a bet on the number of spiritual herbs that the disciples of the three sects would collect during their trip to the Crimson Forbidden Land.

If the Hidden Moon Sect can surpass the combined strength of the Yellow Maple Valley and the Pure Void Sect, then Old Monster Qiong will win.

Qi Yunxiao and many Qi Refining stage disciples stood aside, quietly watching the three Core Formation cultivators use the spiritual medicine they had risked their lives to make a bet.

In the following days, cultivators from the other four sects also arrived one after another. With all seven sects gathered, there were over a hundred disciples in total. The place was bustling with noise, yet there was a sense of oppression.

After the Core Formation cultivators from the seven sects finished their discussion, everyone boarded their respective sects' flying beasts or magical artifacts and flew towards the Yuanwu Kingdom.

The flight was short, taking only a few hours to reach the destination.

A vast, boundless loess slope.

After landing, the group looked around and saw a desolate scene. Apart from piles of jagged rocks, not a single blade of grass could be seen. Yellow sand swirled in the wind, and as far as the eye could see, everything was a vast expanse of yellow, even the horizon was dyed yellow.

A fierce wind howled past, stirring up clouds of dust that stung people's faces, and the air was filled with a dry and desolate atmosphere.

The seven Core Formation cultivators from the seven sects gathered together and discussed in hushed tones for a moment, seemingly finalizing the details of opening the Crimson Forbidden Zone.

After the discussion, the Core Formation cultivator from the Giant Sword Sect stepped forward first, conjuring a huge, earth-yellow giant sword in his hand.

He formed hand seals and chanted incantations as his giant sword soared into the air and slashed towards the open space in the center of the loess slope, attempting to probe the protective wind-element array surrounding the Crimson Forbidden Land.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, the bronze giant sword struck the open ground, instantly stirring up a cloud of yellow sand.

Immediately afterwards, a blinding blue light suddenly surged from the center of the loess slope, and countless sharp wind blades roared out from the blue light, slashing towards the bronze giant sword.

The Core Formation cultivator from the Giant Sword Sect's expression changed slightly. He quickly manipulated his giant sword to defend, and after a series of collisions, the wind blades gradually dissipated.

He then tested the waters three more times by manipulating the giant sword.

On the fourth attempt, when the giant sword struck down again, the blue light emanating from the center of the loess slope dimmed considerably, the wind blades formed became much sparser, and the power was greatly reduced.

"It's ready!"

Li Huayuan shouted and summoned a silver ruler, a magical weapon.

The Core Formation cultivators from the other six sects also unleashed their respective magic treasures. The seven magic treasures simultaneously rose into the air, radiating powerful spiritual energy, and hurtled towards the azure light in the center of the loess slope.