“Silence!”

Hong Guang boomed as he stepped forward. “Line up according to yesterday’s groupings by level.”

Ye Lan stepped forward. Among those who hadn’t secured direct Spectator Spots yesterday, she alone had cleared the eleventh level.

Having her own private illusion realm meant claiming a Spectator Spot would be as simple as plucking fruit from a tree. Next came five cultivators who had passed the tenth level, including Li Qingwan. Ten more followed from the ninth level. The remaining forty, having only cleared the eighth level, would share a single illusion. If the first three groups secured all their spots, only six seats would remain for the forty in the fourth group.

“The final twenty-two Spectator Spots will be decided here,” Hong Guang announced. “Slay ghostly soldiers and generals to accumulate martial fortune.”

With a wave, sixty-four tokens flew into the cultivators’ hands. “These record your martial fortune. Stealing others’ tokens also boosts your count. The illusion lasts seven days. Afterward, the top twenty-two earn Spectator Spots. Understood?”

“Understood!” the crowd chorused.

Hong Guang scanned the ranks before joining three fellow Condensing Essence cultivators in channeling true essence into the Western Expedition of Illusion Stone. Yang Lingrui felt the same tugging sensation he’d experienced in the Mayfly Treasure Land’s inheritance land. The cultivators rose into the air, swallowed by the spiritual treasure.

“Exhausting,” grumbled one cultivator as the four withdrew their energy. “This stone drains true essence like a sponge.”

“Quit whining,” another retorted. “Plenty would kill for this duty.”

“Any standouts, Hong Guang?”

“The academy’s twin jewels show promise. The rest? Mediocre.”

“True talents already qualified earlier. These leftovers might become second-tier at best.”

Inside the illusion, death came swiftly.

“Yang Lingrui.”

The voice found him moments after he’d slain two ghostly soldiers. In this vast illusion, the tracker’s precision reeked of foul methods.

“How’d you locate me?”

“My secrets stay mine.” The smirking cultivator circled him. “No personal grudge here. Pity you angered someone… influential.”

“That person issued a bounty. Your head’s now worth a Condensing Essence stage!”

“Heh, never thought my head’d be so pricey.”

Yang Lingrui snorted coldly.

“Exactly! So today, Friend, you’ll kindly die!”

Boom!

The cultivator’s aura abruptly exploded, leaping from Eighth Level to ninth level in an instant!

He lunged forward, black flames swirling in his palm. Within two breaths, he stood before Yang Lingrui.

Yang Lingrui panicked, flustered by the sudden killing move.

Thud!

The palm strike smashed squarely into his chest.

The attacker grinned wildly—this was easier than expected! A Condensing Essence stage reward, his for the taking!

But then his eyes narrowed.

“Why’s it feel… wrong?”

Yang Lingrui’s body began fading like mist.

“No! This—”

Ssszt!

Before he finished speaking, a bloody hole pierced his forehead.

He crumpled to the ground, face frozen in shock.

Yang Lingrui then performed the Yang Family’s standard procedure—looting the corpse. He retrieved a compass-shaped spiritual treasure of superior quality, suitable for late-stage Gathering Qi cultivators.

Channeling spiritual power into it, the needle twitched before pointing at him. After some inspection, Yang Lingrui plucked out a wisp of blood qi from the device. The needle immediately spun wildly.

“So that’s how they tracked me.”

This cultivator had come prepared with both tool and blood sample. Worse, others likely hunted him too—someone had offered a Condensing Essence stage as bounty. Only that madwoman Su Lingyun would splurge so extravagantly.

“Too scared to target He Shenglai, so you bully me instead? Young Mistress Su truly embodies petty villainy.”

Yang Lingrui smirked, flicking a pale talisman into existence.

“If fools want to line up and donate treasures, I’ll gladly collect. Bring it on—the more, the merrier!”

The illusion lasted seven days. For the first three, Yang Lingrui simply wandered its edges. Intel from hidden sources confirmed five more hunters sought his head. Better to lure them all together than hunt individually.

As expected, the five coordinated from the second day onward, herding him toward a barren patch at the illusion’s edge. Yang Lingrui feigned ignorance, letting them corner him.

But when the group converged, their prey had vanished.

“Impossible! Where is he?”

Frantically checking their compasses, they found the needles lifeless.

“A clone?”

“Don’t be stupid! A Gathering Qi cultivator lacks true essence for clones!”

“Search every inch!”

They combed the area, even upturning soil—all for nothing.

Yang Lingrui stood paces behind them, clutching a faintly glowing spiritual concealment talisman. The Perfected Gathering Qi artifact rendered him invisible to both sight and divine awareness. Not a hair could they touch.

“Finally gathered.”

He’d waited patiently for this moment. As the five regrouped, Yang Lingrui produced a seething blue talisman with his free hand.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep