The journey from the Great Xia Imperial City to the ancient site was an arduous trek spanning several hundred miles across the rugged terrain of the Northern Domain. Everyone followed the directives issued by the envoys of the Six Super Sects.
As the massive crowd finally reached their destination, a breathtaking sight greeted them. At the edge of the horizon, a vast, ancient basin stretched out, seemingly extending into infinity. It was a geographic scar upon the earth, so wide that its far borders were lost in a shimmering haze.
Above this basin, a thick, swirling mist clung to the air, enveloping the land in an ethereal shroud. The mist was not stagnant; it pulsed with a rhythmic, low-frequency fluctuation, it was as if the earth itself were breathing, exhaling the remnants of a primordial power that had been sealed away for eons.
Figures descended in a ceaseless stream upon six enormous stone platforms that had been constructed at the basin's edge.
Suspended in mid-air above these structures sat the envoys themselves—the true masters of this gathering. They radiated powerful fluctuations of spiritual Qi that churned like a dormant storm.
Many of the younger prodigies looked up at these figures with unmasked yearning. On the Sky Continent, the Soul Infusion realm was not considered the pinnacle of fighting power, as there were higher heights to climb.
However, within the specific context of the Northern Domain, an expert of the Soul Infusion realm was a god among men.
"There are so many people here," Shen Xi observed, her eyes scanning the massive crowd. "It seems we will easily run into others once we are within the Land of Sacred Relics. The competition inside will certainly be fierce, perhaps more so than any of us anticipated."
"I just hope they don't become an eyesore by constantly bothering us," Mu Chen remarked.
Suddenly, a shift in the air caused Mu Chen and his group to turn their heads simultaneously in a singular direction. The atmosphere, already tense with anticipation, sharpened into something far more lethal.
A familiar figure emerged from the crowd on a nearby platform. It was Ling Xi, the pride of the Ling family, and his eyes were locked onto Mu Chen with a predatory, murderous intent.
Without a single word of warning, Ling Xi threw a punch. Crimson life energy erupted from his fist, surging forth with a terrifying roar. The energy was so dense and vibrant that it resembled a miniature blazing sun, hurtling through the air toward Mu Chen's group.
The attack was launched with such sudden impatience that the air itself screamed under the friction of the life energy.
Xiao Li and the others gasped in shock. They had never expected Ling Xi to be so brazen as to launch an attack here, in front of the envoys and the gathered masses. The sheer lack of restraint was a testament to the depth of his grudge.
Shen Xi remained unfazed, her posture as still as a mountain. In her arms, Nibi let out a long, theatrical yawn. The golden cat's expression was almost comical, resembling a weary scholar sighing over a student who simply refused to learn a basic lesson.
Yun Er and Xiao Li reacted instinctively. As the crimson sun bore down on them, they tried to unleash their own spiritual Qi to form a defense. However, just as their energy began to stir within their meridians, an overwhelming oppression descended from the sky.
It was a heavy, suffocating pressure that acted like an invisible iron hand, ruthlessly suppressing their spiritual energy back into their bodies.
"The envoy from the Holy Sect?" Xiao Li hissed, her face turning pale.
They had never expected an expert of the Soul Infusion realm, a representative of a Super Sect, to openly interfere in a grudge between juniors. The suppression was absolute, leaving them feeling as though they were drowning in deep water.
They were no match for the weight of a Soul Infusion expert's aura; their spiritual energy was rendered completely inert.
Mu Chen watched the incoming crimson energy, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Petty tricks," he said softly though he didn't make any move.
Seeing Mu Chen standing still, Ling Xi's face twisted into a smug smirk. He assumed that Mu Chen had been completely suppressed by the aura of Elder Zhao, the envoy of the Holy Sect who was secretly supporting him.
Ling Xi's heart swelled with a dark satisfaction; he was waiting for the moment the impact would cripple the youth who had humiliated his family.
"Die for me, bastard!" Ling Xi barked, his voice filled with venom.
The crimson life energy slammed into Mu Chen's position. However, the expected sound of bones breaking or a body being thrown back did not occur. Instead, a sharp, muffled impact resonated from a completely different direction.
Elder Zhao, who had been watching the scene with a look of cruel amusement, suddenly felt a solid fist collide with his eye. He let out a startled grunt, staggering back several steps as his vision blurred.
For an expert of his caliber, the physical strength of a Nascent Soul practitioner should not have been enough to cause lasting harm, but the precision was enough to shatter his composure. More importantly, it was enough to ruin his image.
"Aaaah! Damn it! Who is there?" Elder Zhao barked, his voice cracking with rage. He clutched his eye with one hand, his aura fluctuating wildly. "Who dares to strike me? Come out and face me!"
The elder was humiliated. Being hit in the face in front of the envoys of the other five Super Sects and thousands of cultivators was a stain on his reputation that no amount of cultivation could wash away.
When he finally removed his hand from his face, the area around his eye had turned a bruised, swollen black, standing out vividly against his reddened skin.
Xiao Li and Yun Er, seeing the high and mighty envoy sporting a black eye, could no longer hold back their laughter. The absurdity of the situation broke the suffocating tension of the suppression.
Mu Chen turned his gaze back to Ling Xi, who watched him as if he were seeing a ghost. His punch had hit Mu Chen square in the chest, yet the youth hadn't even budged an inch. Not a single thread of his white robes was out of place.
"Are you tickling me?" Mu Chen joked, his voice carrying a hint of genuine amusement.
In Mu Chen's arms, Nibi purred in contentment. The air pressure generated by the impact of the punch had acted as a sudden, brisk coolant for her fur, and she seemed to appreciate the breeze.
Ling Xi's face turned a violent shade of crimson, shifting from embarrassment to utter bewilderment. He had used his full power, yet it had produced no more effect than a gentle wind.
He couldn't help but wonder if this guy practiced some unfathomable form of body cultivation that rendered him immune to life energy.
Elder Zhao, hearing the laughter of the two girls, felt his remaining composure dissolve. His expression turned the color of pig liver.
This time, he didn't just suppress a few juniors; he erupted with his full pressure. The weight was so immense that the surrounding cultivators felt as if a physical mountain had been placed upon their backs and just as they were about to flatten on stone.
"Hahaha! Old Zhao, what is wrong with you?"
A hearty, booming laugh echoed across the basin, cutting through Zhao's pressure like a hot knife through butter.
"Why are you so angry? These are just children. Don't go around hurting the little ones just because you had a minor accident."
Wuji, the envoy from the Sky Sect, laughed heartily as he waved his hand. With a casual gesture, he dissipated the overwhelming pressure released by Elder Zhao, allowing the cultivators below to breathe once more.
Although Wuji didn't know exactly who had landed the punch on Zhao's eye, he privately thought that whoever did it deserved a trophy. He had been annoyed by Old Zhao's arrogance for a long time, but as an envoy, he usually had to maintain a level of decorum.
"Hmph!"
Elder Zhao snorted, his jaw tight. He knew that if he continued to cause a scene, the other envoys would surely intervene. He looked down at Mu Chen, his black eye throbbing. The youth wasn't dead; in fact, he didn't even have a mark on his clothes.
Zhao's face darkened further as he secretly cursed Ling Xi. You useless fool, he thought bitterly. I even lowered myself to help you by blocking his friends, and in the end, you just tickled him?
He felt like he was about to cry from the sheer frustration. Had his sect really chosen the strongest prodigy, or was there something fundamentally wrong with the younger generation?
"Let us waste no more time," one of the other envoys spoke up, his voice echoing with authority. "The ancient ruins must be opened."
The others nodded in agreement. The six experts collaborated, hovering in a circle above the center of the basin. They unleashed their collective strength, their auras intertwining to form a focused beam of light that struck the dense fog.
Slowly, a narrow opening began to tear in the white shroud—the only gateway into the Land of Ancient Ruins.
Through the shimmering void of the opening, the practitioners could vaguely glimpse a landscape of jagged peaks and ancient ruins. Their eyes burned with a feverish excitement. They knew that the fortunes and legacies hidden within depended entirely on their own strength and luck.
"Everyone, enter!" the envoys shouted in unison.
Almost instantly, countless trails of light launched themselves from the stone platforms. Thousands of prodigies transformed into streaks of energy, hurtling into the void and disappearing into the ancient landscape one after another.
"Everyone take care," Yun Er said, turning to Mu Chen, Shen Xi and Xiao Li as they prepared to leap. "Once we enter, we will likely be separated."
Shen Xi smiled softly, her green dress fluttering in the wind. "Don't worry. We will find each other soon enough."
One by one, they entered the void. Shen Xi was the second to last, leaving only Mu Chen standing on the platform. Just as he was about to step into the opening, he paused and turned back toward the hovering Elder Zhao.
"Do you cultivate your face?" Mu Chen asked with a bright, innocent smile. "Doesn't it hurt?"
Nibi meowed in agreement, her tails flicking. Mu Chen chuckled. "Even she feels the same. You should really look into that."
"Damn you two bast—"
Elder Zhao's curse was cut short as, once again, the other side of his face was struck by the same force. He staggered back several steps, his head ringing. Now, both sides of his face were sore, and both eyes were sporting identical black bruises.
By the time Zhao erupted in a volcano-like fury, his Qi bursting forth in all directions, Mu Chen had already entered the ruins in a remarkably good mood.
All the elder could do was endure the humiliation, nursing his bruised face and vowing to deal with Mu Chen when they eventually emerged from the ancient site.
"Hahaha! Yes, Old Zhao!" Wuji burst into uncontrollable laughter once more, pointing at Zhao's symmetrical black eyes. "How did you train your face to look so balanced? Truly impressive!"
The other envoys wore strange expressions. Initially, they had thought the first punch was a joke played by a hidden expert, but they never expected someone from younger generation to be so bold—or so capable.
"Wuji! If you have any advice, come and say it to my face!" Elder Zhao roared, his Qi churning. If I can't touch that boy, at least I can deal with you.
"Very well then," Wuji's eyes sharpened, his playful demeanour vanishing to reveal a cold, lethal intent. "Are you suggesting a fight to the death?"
"Cough, cough, let us not fight now," the other envoys quickly stepped in to mediate. They knew that if these two Soul Infusion experts truly clashed, the shockwaves alone would likely wipe out entire Northern Domain. Now was not the time for such a catastrophic conflict.
Everyone present knew that the enmity between the Sky Sect and the Holy Sect was irreconcilable. They were like fire and water, two forces of nature that would never find peace, always ready to ignite into a war whenever their paths crossed.