“Different from previous years, in this Bai Luqiu Alliance, in addition to the spiritual materials collected by the participating disciples, the sect has decided to give additional rewards to encourage the top ten disciples with the highest gains. The specific prizes can be seen by yourselves,” the old man with a black beard said as he raised his hand, and a white flag appeared in the air, with shining golden characters written on it, followed by small annotations.
“The rewards for this alliance are unexpectedly generous!”
“The sect rarely makes such a big move. If I had known earlier, I would have signed up too!”
When the disciples present saw the rewards, they were all shocked and started discussing.
Yuan Ming’s gaze swept over and his face also showed a hint of surprise.
The rewards prepared by the sect this time were not insignificant. The rewards for the top three were all related to Foundation Establishment. The first prize was a Foundation Establishment Pill, the second prize was a Mind-settling Incense, and the third prize was a Condensing Yuan Pill.
According to the annotations, this Mind-settling Incense was a kind of spiritual incense from the Eastern Region of the Southern Wilderness. True to its name, it could calm one’s mind and keep one in a state of absolute tranquility, which was of great help for breaking through the Foundation Establishment stage.
For other disciples or cultivators of the Bi Luo Cave, this spiritual incense could be considered a novelty, but for Yuan Ming, it was not that surprising.
The Condensing Yuan Pill was a kind of pill that could accelerate the condensation of mana, which was also of great assistance for Foundation Establishment.
Both the Mind-settling Incense and the Condensing Yuan Pill were precious items, not to mention the Foundation Establishment Pill. The fact that the Bi Luo Cave took out these three things showed how much importance they attached to this Bai Luqiu Alliance.
As for the rewards from the fourth to the tenth place, they were all magical treasures, pills for advancing cultivation, and a considerable amount of spiritual stones. Although they couldn’t compare to the Foundation Establishment Pill and the Mind-settling Incense, they were still quite valuable.
When other participating disciples saw such valuable rewards, they were both surprised and delighted.
Some people’s eyes turned cold as they looked at the other participants.
With such valuable rewards, instead of working hard to find treasures and spiritual materials and compete for rankings, it would be better to eliminate the competition directly by reducing the number of disciples from the same sect.
The fact that only forty to fifty people from the Bi Luo Cave signed up for the Bai Luqiu Alliance showed that the more they killed, the greater the chance of entering the top ten.
A crisp sound of a bell rang out, and the bodies of those who had murderous intent trembled, almost falling to the ground, while others were not greatly affected.
The Grand Cave Master had a small white bell in his hand, emitting a soft white light.
He raised his hand and struck the bell. The white light on the bell suddenly surged, and then dozens of white bell shadows shot out, accurately entering the bodies of all the participants.
Yuan Ming’s body also merged with a white bell shadow, and he was suddenly startled. He quickly activated his divine sense to investigate, but found nothing.
“Don’t worry, the bell shadow just now was the Warning Heart Imprint emitted by my Warning Heart Bell. It will automatically disappear after a while,” the Grand Cave Master said.
“May I ask, Grand Cave Master, what is the effect of this Warning Heart Imprint?” a voice rang out, belonging to a tall Bi Luo Cave disciple with a scar on his face that extended from his right eye to his chin.
Yuan Ming recognized this person. His name was “Wu Luo,” and he was the personal disciple of the Second Cave Master, highly respected among the younger generation of the Bi Luo Cave.
“That is exactly what I want to talk about. In the past Bai Luqiu Alliances, disciples from the five sects fought and killed each other to seize spiritual materials and treasures. Some disciples of our sect showed no mercy to their fellow disciples for the sake of rankings and benefits. This time, we absolutely cannot allow such fratricide to happen! The Warning Heart Imprint can sense killing intent and will be triggered when you harm your fellow disciples. Those who trigger the Warning Heart Imprint, no matter how much they gain, will be deprived of the qualification to enter the top ten!” The Grand Cave Master’s gaze suddenly became sharp as he slowly spoke.
“Yes,” the participating disciples did not dare to meet his gaze and lowered their heads in agreement.
Those who had planned to harm their fellow disciples and reduce their competitors also immediately abandoned this idea.
“The same goes for all of you. Don’t think that the sect is unaware of your secret fights. It’s fine to have friendly competitions and exchanges among fellow disciples, but there should be limits. The Bi Luo Cave currently needs unity and must not engage in internal strife!” The Second Cave Master looked at the disciples and elders who did not participate in the alliance and said in a deep voice.
Everyone who was swept by his gaze trembled in fear, and some people turned their heads in guilt.
Under the pressure, these people all answered in unison.
Yuan Ming frowned secretly. The Bi Luo Cave had previously ignored the conflicts between disciples and even adopted an indulgent attitude. Why did their attitude suddenly change? Could it be that something had happened that forced the Bi Luo Cave to make a change?
The more astute individuals in the crowd also guessed this and looked at the Grand Cave Master and the Second Cave Master with a hint of doubt in their eyes.
“Don’t let this stop you from improving. Necessary competitions can still exist. Otherwise, how can we improve our strength? Especially when dealing with other sects, we take the initiative to cause trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble. The Elder has brought the Bi Luo Cave into the ranks of the Five Great Sects with his own strength, making other sects dare not to encroach. If the disciples of our sect are cowardly in everything, how can we stand firm?” The Grand Cave Master’s face revealed a smile as he spoke.
When the disciples of the Bi Luo Cave heard this, their expressions relaxed.
The Elder, as the pillar of the Bi Luo Cave, had long been deeply rooted in their hearts. It was said that his cultivation had already reached the peak of the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, surpassing the three Cave Masters. He was one of the few powerful cultivators in the entire Southern Wilderness and Northern Region.
With him around, the other sects in the Northern Region would not dare to make a move.
“The Elder is indeed domineering,” Yuan Ming secretly commented.
He had been in the sect for quite some time and had never seen the Elder. It was said that this person was in seclusion in the back mountain of the Bi Luo Cave all year round and rarely appeared in front of others. No one had ever seen him make a move.
On a large tree near the square, Xiying crouched and looked through the crowd and the light field, gazing towards the back of the Bi Luo Cave.
Behind the three main peaks of the Bi Luo Cave was a continuous mountain range, with towering trees and desolation. A faint mist pervaded the mountains, drifting among the leaves of the trees with the mountain breeze.A cave dwelling was situated on a green mountain wall, with the words “Biluo Cave” carved into the stone wall on the right. The words were covered in moss, indicating that they had been there for hundreds of years.
The nearly thousand disciples of Biluo Cave were unaware that the name of their sect originated from this place.
The stone door of the cave dwelling was tightly closed, with a faint green light rippling on it.
In a stone chamber deep within Biluo Cave, a young man in a dark green robe was sitting cross-legged. He had high cheekbones and deep-set eyes, a stark contrast to the appearance of the people from the southern border.
The young man in the green robe was forming hand seals, and a black pot about half a foot tall was floating in front of him. The pot was engraved with patterns of landscapes, flowers, and birds, and the words “Soul Suppressing Pot” were engraved under the spout.
The Soul Suppressing Pot was trembling incessantly, and strands of black mist were rising from within it. The lid of the pot was clanging, and there was a small dent at the top of the lid, as if a part of it was missing, which looked somewhat out of place.
“Controlling this Soul Suppressing Pot is indeed a bit difficult without the Soul Suppressing Pearl on the lid.” The young man in the green robe sighed, his hands forming seals like a turning wheel.
Green lights hit the Soul Suppressing Pot one after another, gradually calming the pot and making the overflowing black qi disappear completely.
The young man in the green robe waved his sleeve, and twenty or thirty black bells flew out and landed in front of him. These were Soul Capturing Bells.
“Collect!” The young man in the green robe pointed at the Soul Suppressing Pot with a hand seal, and the lid of the pot floated up, emitting a suction force.
From the twenty or thirty Soul Capturing Bells, strands of soul power as thick as fingers, constantly changing and wriggling, rolled into the Soul Suppressing Pot and were quickly absorbed.
The lid of the pot fell down, sealing the pot tightly.
However, the Soul Suppressing Pot started to tremble again, and the black qi overflowing from the pot was even more than before.
The young man in the green robe’s expression became serious. He waved his sleeve, emitting a green light that enveloped the Soul Suppressing Pot and placed it in a black array on the ground in front of him.
The array quickly started to operate, and a black gloomy light covered the pot, significantly reducing the trembling of the Soul Suppressing Pot.
The young man in the green robe’s expression eased slightly. His hands formed seals, and the black light enveloping the Soul Suppressing Pot became softer, flowing into the pot like water.
After a while, a “crack” sound of something breaking came from inside the Soul Suppressing Pot, and a black light shone from the pot. The lid was blown off, and within a radius of several feet, there were faint sounds of ghostly wailing and howling.
A layer of black light surged from the four walls of the stone chamber, blocking all the ghostly wailing.
“The soul power has finally accumulated enough. I can try to use the power of the soul as a guide. I, Xi Cangqiong, can finally attempt to break through to the late stage of the Core Formation.” The young man in the green robe exhaled lightly, murmuring to himself.
As his words fell, a black light flashed between his eyebrows, revealing a black tiger head phantom. It landed on the ground and sucked towards the Soul Suppressing Pot.
A stream of black qi gushed out from the Soul Suppressing Pot. It looked extremely pure and no longer wriggled at all, entering the black tiger head.
The young man in the green robe had a look of intoxication on his face. He sat down cross-legged, his hands forming seals and clasping in front of him.
A tremendous pressure suddenly emerged, shaking the entire stone chamber, and the air was howling and ringing.
Outside Biluo Cave, a sparrow was squatting on a big tree, hopping agilely on the branches. Its eyes occasionally flashed towards the green stone gate, revealing a touch of spiritual light.
On a big tree far away from the Qingluo Square, Xiying squinted its eyes, anxiously sharpening its claws on the tree. Suddenly, it looked up at the gate of Biluo Cave, its cat eyes showing a surprised look.
“Who’s coming…” It leaped towards the gate of the mountain.
Outside the gate of Biluo Cave, a group of shadowy figures in black suddenly appeared from nowhere, quickly approaching from all directions. There were no less than three to four hundred of them, and they all had a peculiar pattern embroidered on their chests, which looked like a rising sun surrounded by a few white clouds.
Although these people tried their best to hide their tracks, there were too many of them, and they were quickly detected by the surveillance measures set up near the sect by Biluo Cave.
A hidden stake of Biluo Cave leaped out from the bushes and flew towards the mountain gate. He took out a white talisman and activated it, shouting loudly, “A large number of unidentified people are approaching, quickly…”
Before he could finish his words, he felt a black arrow silently shooting from behind. No matter how he dodged, the arrow pierced his throat with a “puff” sound.
The stake’s voice abruptly stopped, and he fell to the ground, soon ceasing to breathe. However, before he died, he used his last strength to crush the talisman in his hand.
A white light shot into the sky, exploding in mid-air and forming a beautiful shower of light.
Almost at the same time, several white lights shot into the sky from the east and west of the Biluo Cave sect gate, turning into fireworks-like showers of light.
Ding, ding, ding! A deafening bell sound rang out, echoing throughout the entire Biluo Cave mountain gate.