Huchen Wuding was furious. He composed himself and said apologetically to Li Yan, "Brother Li, in the end, you were dragged into this. And even if Uncle Sang participates in the final assessment, you might only have a fifty percent chance of survival. It all depends on the Ancestor's whim.
"If I didn't know about these things and agreed to let Uncle Sang participate, and in the end, Uncle Sang... at that time, the Ancestor might have spared you, thinking you were unaware and that Uncle Sang had... fallen in a fair competition. Only then would it be possible to let you go.
"But now, the Ancestor should know that Uncle Sang has told us everything. Whether he participates or not, you are already aware. Under these circumstances..."
Huchen Wuding felt extremely guilty towards Li Yan. Although Li Yan had come for the "Netherworld Order," he had, after all, saved their lives before.
Zhuo Lingfeng first shook his head. "The reason I pulled Fellow Daoist Li into the light shield just now was because I felt that the Huchen Ancestor might have already regarded him as one of us, one of the Young Master's supporters. So..."
He didn't continue, but sighed softly and patted Huchen Wuding's shoulder again. "Wuding, live well. If... I mean if, if it's possible, bring my remains back to that valley. Only you know that place. If you can't, hehe... perhaps I will be left with no remains in the assessment. Then just forget it." Facing the assessment set up by a Nascent Soul poison cultivator, Zhuo Lingfeng had no confidence that even a trace of himself would remain after death. This time, he didn't call Huchen Wuding "Young Master" anymore, but called him by his name, his words filled with reluctance.
Then he cupped his hands to Li Yan and said no more, intending to remove the light shield and leave. He himself was a dead man walking; there was nothing he could do to help Li Yan.
Just as Zhuo Lingfeng was about to wave his hand to remove the light shield, Li Yan suddenly spoke. "I will participate in this final assessment."
Looking at the serious-faced Li Yan, Zhuo Lingfeng's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Huchen Wuding was also somewhat stunned. After a moment, Zhuo Lingfeng said with a bitter smile.
"Fellow Daoist Li, I know you may be surprisingly strong, and I have seen you use poison in the forest before. You are certainly countless times stronger than me. But even if you have a trump card and win in the end, so what? At that time, not only will I still have to die, but you will surely die too. You won't even have that last few percent chance of survival."
"Hehe, since Fellow Daoist Zhuo has some confidence in my use of poison, why don't we win this round fair and square? And after winning, we may not necessarily face a dead end," Li Yan suddenly broke into a smile. He had never wanted to get involved in all this; he just wanted to get the "Netherworld Order" and leave. Now that the Huchen family had developed killing intent towards him, he might as well help Huchen Wuding and his companion. Although he didn't have much confidence in an assessment set up by a Nascent Soul poison cultivator, Li Yan was confident that it wouldn't be so easy to poison him to death.
In this way, Zhuo Lingfeng would not have to perish in the assessment. And next, he still had a trump card that might make the Huchen Ancestor wary. Li Yan estimated that the Huchen Ancestor would probably not dare to kill him then. As long as he didn't die, Zhuo Lingfeng wouldn't have to die either. Otherwise, why wouldn't the Huchen Ancestor worry about him spreading rumors outside? However, Li Yan's trump card was not just his identity from the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
"Oh? Brother Li is confident he can keep you and Uncle Sang safe? Is... is this true?" Huchen Wuding said in surprise and delight upon hearing this.
Beside him, Zhuo Lingfeng, although he heard Li Yan say he might be able to keep him safe, showed no joy. Instead, his brow furrowed tightly. He was half-convinced and half-doubtful of Li Yan's words. Given Li Yan's age, he would never believe that Li Yan was also a Nascent Soul old monster. Since he didn't have that much cultivation, how could he possibly contend with a Nascent Soul old monster?
Zhuo Lingfeng guessed that Li Yan might be a disciple of some great family or great sect, perhaps even one of the four major sects. But so what? If a Nascent Soul cultivator was determined to have them die, even if Li Yan's cultivation reached the Golden Core realm, as long as he wasn't at the Nascent Soul realm, the Huchen Ancestor could let them go in public, and then quietly make them disappear from this world without anyone knowing. It would be useless no matter how powerful their backing was.
"Fellow Daoist Li, are you sure you want to do this? The result of doing this is that you will lose even your last chance of escape."
"Let's go out and give it a try," Li Yan nodded to the two of them. Zhuo Lingfeng saw that Li Yan was not joking in the slightest and thought to himself, 'So be it. I'll consider it living a little longer, and I can take this opportunity to say a few more words to the Young Master.' So he delayed no longer. With a wave of his hand, the light shield around them instantly disappeared, revealing the three of them.
The light shield here was very conspicuous in the plaza. Although many people couldn't see or hear what the three of them were saying inside, they still glanced this way from the corners of their eyes from time to time. The moment the light shield disappeared, this place once again became the focus of attention.
Huchen Wuding faced the gazes of the crowd without paying them any mind. He just nodded to the main viewing platform and then began to speak softly with Zhuo Lingfeng beside him, having no intention of saying a word to anyone else.
Seeing Huchen Wuding agree, the Huchen Ancestor sneered inwardly, then said with a kind expression, "Then let's prepare to begin. The location of your competition is still in the rear mountain valley." As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and a huge light screen appeared once again in the sky above the plaza.
As the Huchen Ancestor's sleeve waved, ripples gently spread across the light screen, and a mountain peak appeared on it. The mountain was covered with clusters of shrubs and patches of flowers and grass. On the mountainside, there was a large, dense forest. This vegetation extended from the foot of the mountain to the top. From the size of the flowers, grass, and trees, the mountain was about three hundred zhang high, which could already be considered a large mountain.
"This assessment is quite simple. The two of you just need to walk from the foot of the mountain to the top. Whoever reaches the top first wins," the Huchen Ancestor said with a smile, as if this competition were really very easy. But after the people below carefully looked at the mountain, their expressions changed again and again.
"That's Snake Wasp King Grass and Stinking Earthworm Leaf! These two herbs have been missing for nearly a thousand years, yet they appear here. They are the hosts of snake wasps and three-legged carrion worms. Look, there's also Golden Blood Radish! It's several times more terrifying than a man-eating flower. The fine thorns on it are like a series of needles. Any living creature entangled by it will be left without a single scrap in a matter of moments..."
"And not just those. Look, isn't that cluster of shrubs the Seven-Horned Root? That's a first-grade spirit plant with some intelligence. They are good at surrounding their prey, and the seven tentacles on their top branches can spray a large amount of mucus. It's said that ordinary cultivators below the eighth level of Qi Condensation can't escape with their own magical power..."
"So many rare spirit plants, hiss..."
Huchen Huiqing stared at the light screen, her mouth agape. After a moment, she murmured, "Even if one has cultivated the Ghostly Poison Scroll to the fifth layer, they might not make it halfway before perishing."
On the other side, Ye Luoyan, after seeing this, also felt a sense of unease, although she had some confidence in the person she had chosen.
'At the very least, he's countless times stronger than that 'Farewell Snow Sect' cultivator who isn't even a poison cultivator. In the end, even if he can't reach the summit, as long as he's a few steps ahead of him, it's a guaranteed win,' Ye Luoyan thought to herself. She had, of course, also inquired about Zhuo Lingfeng's identity.
At this moment, Xie Xiaoxiao's pretty face looked as if water could drip from it at any moment. This round was clearly a gift from the Ancestor to the Fourth Branch. Although it wasn't the Third Branch's bastard lineage, Ye Luoyan was even more detestable, having fooled her like an idiot all these years.
Chi Dongli stretched out her jade-like hand and gently patted Huchen Huiqing's back. With her astuteness, she thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out what play the Ancestor was putting on. The Ancestor, who had always valued ability and aptitude, why had he suddenly favored the weaker party who had already been defeated?
Unease appeared on Huchen Wandong's face. He sat beside the Huchen Ancestor, wanting to ask several times, but the Ancestor's previous attitude made him dare not. From the bottom of his heart, he did not want the future Patriarch to be Huchen Jianghai. In his mind, the Ancestor was not a muddled person. He should have continued to suppress the Ye family while their strength was not yet strong. This current approach was clearly helping them, which was unwise.
If the people on the main viewing platform were like this, not to mention the disciples below. Huchen Qiukong and Huchen Tai were both Huchen Wandong's private disciples. They naturally knew Huchen Wandong's thoughts. After they were defeated, they of course hoped that Huchen Wuding could win. But now, this final assessment was clearly very favorable to the Third Branch. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that heaven and earth were on their side.
On a side viewing platform, Huchen Wanli looked at the still-unconscious Huchen Jianghai in the distance and had gradually calmed down. But the hatred in his heart now far surpassed his hatred for Huchen Wuding. 'Fourth Brother, it's a real pity you didn't become an actor among mortals. What a great performance. But will you live to see the day you become the Patriarch? There's still nearly a sixty-year cycle of time left. I truly hope you live every day well...'
"Brother Li, are you confident? Just the poisonous things I recognize here number no less than fourteen. The least seen among them has been gone for at least six hundred years. I think that when someone steps on the mountain path, these things will definitely not just attack with their own instincts. With the Ancestor's methods, I think it might cause more changes, even combination changes. If that's the case, I have no confidence I can make it through."
When the light screen appeared, Huchen Wuding's gaze had shifted to it. Although he was dissatisfied with the final assessment, he was also full of doubts, not knowing what method the Huchen Ancestor planned to use to have Uncle Sang perish. But when he saw it, he felt his heart jump, and then he asked Li Yan via voice transmission without turning his head.
Li Yan had also been staring at the light screen. He had only recognized seven of the things on it. Hearing Huchen Wuding say he had seen fourteen, he was impressed. He had read quite a few books on poison cultivation over the years, even to the point of being widely read, but it seemed he was still no match for a true poison cultivation heritage family. "Oh? You've seen fourteen. Then can you briefly describe them, so I can compare them with what I've seen?"
Li Yan didn't say he had only seen seven. It wasn't because he was embarrassed, but because he was afraid Huchen Wuding would lose hope immediately. He just said it vaguely.
Huchen Wuding didn't think too much about it at this time and really started talking quickly. He also hoped he could give Li Yan some help.
Seeing Huchen Wuding suddenly stop talking to him, Zhuo Lingfeng had already guessed that he and Li Yan were probably communicating about something. He also looked at the light screen and couldn't help but shake his head. He could recognize two of the plants on it; the rest he had never seen before. If he were to enter, he had no confidence in how long he could last with just his own cultivation. This was different from fighting a poison cultivator. He could have many ways to prevent the opponent from acting, or attack from a distance. But this time, it was knowing that it was teeming with poison, and you had to enter.
While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the Huchen Ancestor glanced at the crowd. His glance, whether one was paying attention to him or talking with others, felt like a pair of cold, emotionless eyes staring at them from the void. Everyone's heart tightened, and the entire plaza fell silent again. Huchen Wuding and Li Yan were the same. After a brief pause, they quickly started communicating via voice transmission again.
"In this round, there are no particularly strong poisons. It's just an illusion created by a magical treasure I once used. And I have deliberately suppressed its power to less than twenty percent. I think a Foundation Establishment cultivator should be able to pass. Moreover, this round allows the use of various divine abilities and magical treasures. Even if you encounter danger, I will intervene. It's just that there are some fundamental forbidden arts here that are the basic support of the magical treasure's refinement. They support the normal use of the entire magical treasure, and I cannot eliminate them. Otherwise, without the support of these fundamental forbidden arts, the magical treasure would collapse.
"Do not touch the places where these fundamental forbidden arts are generated. Once you touch them, even I might not be able to save you in time. Therefore, I have set up red spiritual light shields in the places where there are fundamental forbidden arts. When you pass by these places, you will easily see them. Be sure to stay away, just keep a distance of three zhang. There's nothing else. I am here for everything; I won't let any harm come to you. Alright, let's begin!" the Huchen Ancestor said with a smile on his face. But when he mentioned the "fundamental forbidden arts" within the magical treasure, his face became a little more solemn.