I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

"Foundation Pill?!"

These three words were like a highly concentrated stimulant, instantly striking the heart of every Kunlun disciple.

It's important to understand that at Kunlun University, only a very few exceptionally talented individuals or "scrolling kings" like Zhao Feng, who train day and night, have reached the threshold of the Qi Refining peak. For the vast majority of students who are still stuck at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment is a legendary realm.

One step to Foundation Establishment grants five hundred years of lifespan, and the ability to ride a sword through the azure sky—that is the true difference between immortals and mortals!

"Let's fight! The worst that can happen is death!"

"I'll be a hero again in eighteen years! But if I miss this elixir, I'll regret it for the rest of my life!"

The wages of avarice is death.

In the world of cultivation, this saying has been perfectly exemplified.

The students, who had been hesitant and observing, now had a burning flame of greed and fanaticism in their eyes. Like a blue torrent, they rushed into the bronze gate that reeked of blood.

Gu Qing stood on the cloud, watching this scene with a deep and unfathomable gaze.

"Desire is always the primary driving force."

"Even if hell lies ahead, as long as a carrot is hung on the ground, humans will jump down laughing."

……

Location: Demon-Sealing Tower, Second Floor, Bone-Rotting Swamp

If the first level is a gladiatorial arena filled with bloodshed and violence, then the second level is a gloomy and terrifying graveyard.

The spatial laws here were folded and expanded, transforming into a boundless black swamp. A pale yellow miasma permeated the air, reducing visibility to less than five meters. Bubbles gurgled in the mud beneath their feet, and occasionally, fragments of unrotted animal bones could be seen floating on the surface.

"Watch your step, don't step on solid ground, use the 'Lightness Technique' to gain momentum."

Chu Tian walked at the front of the group. The hem of his green robe was soaked with mud and water, and the Qingming sword, which was originally as cold as water, was now covered with black and red blood.

Behind him was a makeshift elite squad of five.

Wang Tiechui carried the wolf bone he had just stolen, acting as the off-tank; Lin Xiaolu held a handful of antidote pills, constantly monitoring her teammates' condition; and two top students from the talisman and formation departments were responsible for controlling the battlefield.

"Senior Brother, this place is too eerie."

Lin Xiaolu's voice trembled slightly, "My divine sense is severely compressed here, and I can only sense things within ten meters around me. And... it's so quiet here."

Yes, it's too quiet.

Apart from the sound of bubbles bursting, there was no chirping of insects or birds. This deathly silence was even more unsettling than the roars of beasts on the first floor.

"Splash—"

Suddenly, the mud pit on the left exploded without warning.

A giant crocodile covered in rotting flesh and with only one eye, like a cannonball, opened its barbed maw and bit at the last-walking formation-major boy.

[Monster: Corpse Crocodile (Qi Refining Level 7)]

【Characteristics: Highly venomous, camouflage, and incredibly strong bite】

"Be careful!"

The boy reacted quickly, instinctively summoning a protective mirror artifact.

Click!

A crisp sound.

The protective mirror, which was strong enough to withstand ordinary flying swords, shattered like a soda cracker under the force of the crocodile's bite.

The immense impact sent the boy flying, half of his shoulder being scraped by the crocodile's teeth, his flesh instantly turning purplish-black.

"Ah!!" the boy screamed, "It's poisonous! My spiritual power is draining away!"

"Iron Hammer! Push it up!" Chu Tian shouted, advancing instead of retreating.

"They're here!"

Wang Tiechui roared and used the wolf bone in his hand as a club to smash it hard against the crocodile's head.

"Shut up!"

boom!

A dull thud. The crocodile's head snapped to the side, but it wasn't fatally injured. Its skin was too thick, and covered with a layer of slippery, decaying flesh, which absorbed most of the force.

It flicked its tail, lashing out at Wang Tiechui like a steel whip.

Wang Tiechui could only lift his casting hammer to withstand the blow, which sent him sliding backward several meters, his legs carving two deep furrows in the mud.

"Its weak point is its abdomen! Flip it over!"

Chu Tian had already arrived.

He did not use sword control techniques for ranged attacks because spiritual energy would be consumed too quickly outside the body in this poisonous environment.

He chose to get close.

With a light touch of his toes on the driftwood, Chu Tian, ​​like a nimble swallow, instantly darted over the crocodile's head.

He reversed the longsword in his hand, twisted his body strangely in the air, and used the momentum of his fall to stab the crocodile's relatively soft white belly flesh hard.

"Pfft!"

The blade sank in all the way to the hilt.

Corrosive black blood gushed out, splattering all over Chu Tian.

He felt a burning pain on his skin, but he didn't even flinch.

"stir!"

Chu Tian flicked his wrist, channeling spiritual energy into the sword and causing it to violently destroy the crocodile's internal organs.

"Roar—!!!"

The carrion crocodile struggled violently, its massive body churning in the mud, stirring up clouds of poisonous mud.

"Immobilization charm! Don't let it escape!"

The students from the talisman department finally found an opportunity, accurately affixing three yellow talismans to the crocodile's back.

A flash of golden light caused the crocodile's movements to freeze for a moment.

That one moment is enough.

Chu Tian drew his sword, drawing out a spray of black blood. Then, with a flash of cold light, a hideous head flew up and rolled into the mud.

The battle is over.

Time taken: 30 seconds.

But everyone looked like they had just been pulled out of the water, panting heavily.

"Quick! Antidote pills!"

Lin Xiaolu rushed to the injured boy's side, stuffed a pill into his mouth, and then quickly cut away the rotten purple flesh from his wound with a dagger.

"Bear with it!"

The boy was sweating profusely from the pain, biting the stick tightly, afraid to make a sound. Everyone knew that shouting in the swamp would attract more predators.

Chu Tian stood beside the crocodile carcass and wiped the blood off his sword with his sleeve.

His hands were trembling slightly.

Not out of fear, but out of... excitement.

The feeling of that sword piercing flesh, the sensation of warm blood splattering on my face, the adrenaline rush of walking on the edge of life and death...

All of this was impacting his nerves.

In the Trial Tower, his goal is to achieve a "perfect clear" and a "kill without taking damage".

And here, he understood a new truth:

Cultivating immortality means risking your life to seize resources. Perfection isn't required; you just need to survive and kill your enemies.

"Dig out the demon core."

Chu Tian's voice was hoarse, yet it carried an unprecedented coldness and hardness. "Hurry up, the smell of blood will attract other monsters. We must find the entrance to the third level before nightfall."

……

Location: Demon-Sealing Tower, First Floor

Not everyone has it as easy as Chu Tian and his group.

For most ordinary students, this place is a true hell.

"Help! Help me!!"

In a dead end of a maze, three students at the fourth level of Qi Refining were leaning against the wall in despair.

Before them stood five perfectly coordinated Windblade Leopards.

They originally intended to follow the main group and scavenge for any remaining survivors, but they didn't expect the maze's terrain to keep changing, and they fell behind.

"I'm not playing anymore! I want to leave!"

A girl whose psychological defenses had collapsed cried out.

"puff!"

A blade of wind flashed by.

The girl's crying stopped abruptly.

A thin line of blood appeared on her throat, followed by a gushing of blood. Clutching her neck, her eyes filled with disbelief, she collapsed limply to the ground.

"Junior Sister!!"

The remaining two boys were furious.

really dead.

The classmates they spent every day with, the junior sister who was just discussing what magic weapon to exchange for the demon core, turned into a corpse right in front of them.

Blood flowed on the ground, soaking the soles of their shoes.

When fear reaches its extreme, it turns into madness.

"Aaaaaah! I'll fight you to the death!!"

One of the boys roared and charged forward recklessly, slashing wildly with his longsword.

This is a suicidal attack.

But he had no way out.

puff!puff!

The sound of claws tearing flesh rang out one after another.

A few minutes later, the dead end returned to calm.

All that remained were the sounds of a few windblade leopards gnawing at their prey, and the scattered fragments of the shattered green robe.

……

As Gu Qing watched the three red dots on the screen go out, her fingers holding the teacup turned slightly white.

Those were three vibrant lives.

They were three students who had called him "Principal Gu".

The system's cold voice echoed in his mind:

[Host emotional fluctuations detected. Visual signals blocked.]

Survival of the fittest is a fundamental law of civilization's evolution. The deaths of these three individuals will serve as a wake-up call to the remaining two thousand-plus people. Statistically, this is a positive outcome.

"Shut up."

Gu Qing coldly interrupted the system.

He didn't block the screen, but forced himself to watch the bloody scene as the monster dragged away the three students' corpses.

"I don't need you to teach me what the rules are."

Gu Qing's voice was low and deep, as if he were speaking to himself, or perhaps to the heavens and earth:

"I let them in so they could live. But if they can't even get past this, they'll only suffer a worse fate when facing the real Void army in the future."

"I will remember their deaths."

"Their names will be engraved on the first line of the memorial tablet."

Gu Qing took a deep breath, his eyes hardening like iron once more.

"Send the order to Li Guozhong."

"Here." Although Li Guozhong was not present, the communication array next to him automatically recorded the message.

"Notify Bureau 749 to prepare to receive a batch of 'special packages'."

"The materials from the monster corpses transported out of the Demon Locking Tower, apart from those kept by the students themselves, were all sold at low prices to military research institutes."

"in addition……"

Gu Qing paused:

"Prepare three of the finest coffins and send them to the foot of Kunlun Mountain."

……

[Location: Inside the Demon-Sealing Tower]

Although the news of the deaths was not broadcast, the smell of blood and the number of missing people made all the surviving students realize something.

The mind, which had been heated by greed, was completely sobered up by a bucket of ice water.

But strangely, not many people chose to back down and knock on doors for help.

On the contrary, the eyes of the remaining students changed.

It was the look in his eyes that had transformed from a sheep into a wolf.

They began to band together more cautiously, learned to utilize the terrain, and stopped being stingy with elixirs and talismans.

Some people stopped crying after being injured, but gritted their teeth and bandaged themselves, then stabbed the monster in the back.

When some people saw their companions in danger, they overcame their instinct to run away and rushed forward to block the knife.

Fresh blood is indeed the best nourishment.

It nourished the tender hearts of these young cultivators, washing away their impetuosity and naivety, leaving only their most resilient core.

[System Statistics:]

Current number of survivors: 2613.

[450 monsters killed.]

[Breakthrough Signs: Detection indicates that 106 students, under life-or-death pressure, have experienced a loosening of their bottlenecks and are about to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.]

Gu Qing looked at the data, slowly closed her eyes, and then suddenly opened them again.

In those eyes, there was no longer any hesitation, only a resolute determination for the future of humanity.

"This is the price."

"Let's continue, children."

"Survive, and then... keep going."