Chapter 82 is a bit difficult to complete. Would you like to claim the reward?

"Withdraw?" Dong Lu stared directly at Zhu Shengli, his light brown eyes calm as still water: "Dingsheng Sect has no precedent for this."

"Pfft." Nanmen Hong laughed out loud, his laughter filled with undisguised sarcasm.

A precedent. Wasn't he the one who couldn't stand the sect's ways and was the first to leave? After him, a whole string of Linfeng disciples left the sect.

As someone who personally experienced what happened to Lin Feng back then, Dong Lu can now say such things without batting an eye.

His once timid and cowardly junior sister has become increasingly composed.

Nanmen Hong's ambiguous smile was still lingering at the corner of his mouth when Dong Lu turned his gaze to him: "There has been a precedent of expelling someone from the sect."

His smile froze, Nanmen Hong's expression changed, his eyes turning as cold as a snake: "What do you mean?"

Dong Lu didn't back down and looked directly at him: "It's just a supplementary explanation. The real person's reaction seems a bit excessive."

Nanmen Hong: "Donglu, you've really improved a lot these days, haven't you?"

Zhu Shengli disregarded the rivalry between the two men and pressed Dong Lu relentlessly: "Whether there's a precedent or not is your internal matter. You're merely the peak master of Lin Peak; you can't do what Quan Peak does, much less what Ding Sheng Sect does. I'll now send a telepathic message to Yuan Liu!"

“Master Zhu is right. The bond between master and disciple lies between them.” Despite Zhu Shengli’s rude words, Donglu calmly picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and continued, “What we have said is meaningless, including Yuan Liu’s. I think Uncle Liu would never agree to your request.”

“It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t agree.” Zhu Shenglin stood up and gestured to another member of the Zhu family to speak for him: “My family’s Shi Bai can agree.”

He walked out without looking back.

As Zhu Shengli temporarily left the scene, the remaining team leaders exchanged glances.

The fact that a disciple participating in the spiritual cultivation competition had left the sect was unprecedented.

If Zhu Shibai really withdraws, will his previous achievements still count? Will Dingsheng Sect be able to bring in other people to replace him?

All of these are important matters that need to be discussed.

The other leaders looked at each other, and finally their gazes fell on Venerable Chongjue.

Venerable Chongjue pondered for a moment and then said, "If that is the case, according to the rules, Dingsheng Sect should submit an application, and then the people present should vote to decide."

The decision was made by vote. The team leaders present were hoping that there would be fewer disciples from other sects participating in the exam, especially if the Dingsheng Sect actually submitted an application to replace a disciple.

All of them will definitely fail.

The team leaders on site were pleased with the outcome.

“Eastern Continent,” Venerable Chongjue said, “If the Dingsheng Sect needs replacements, it can submit an application to the Ten Cultivators.”

“Venerable Chongjue.” Facing Chongjue, who was at the Mahayana stage, Donglu was neither humble nor arrogant, but polite and distant in his tone: “This matter is still in its infancy, and there is no need for you to worry about it.”

Having said that, ignoring the murmurs of everyone present, Dong Lu turned his gaze back to the projection stone.

This was an expected response. Chongjue didn't care about Donglu's attitude; in fact, his mind was entirely focused on his disciples' current situation in the competition.

He was not satisfied with Hong Qizong's performance in the examination.

Like all the other cultivators observing the test, Chongjue initially paid no attention to the duel between Meng Yingyang, Mu Huanhui, and Ye Wentang. His attention was drawn to the duel between Shen Qingluo and the Shen family, and he also observed the performance of the other Hongqi Sect disciples participating in the test.

When he turned his attention back to Meng Yingyang, Mu Huanhui was already lying on the ground with Ye Wentang.

Ji Mingran was also present. She had only just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and her formation was also restricted. Although she now knew that she could also control a sword, sword control was only a basic sword technique. She could not possibly get involved in the duel between two peak Foundation Establishment sword cultivators.

More likely, she instigated a confrontation between Ye Wentang and Mu Huanhui, resulting in both of them suffering heavy losses.

Zhu Shibai's assistance in helping her escape the scene is proof of this.

Fortunately, Meng Yingyang managed to control the situation, protecting Mu Huanhui's heart meridian while finishing off Ye Wentang with a single sword strike, eliminating the latter from the competition.

Otherwise, one of his Hong Qizong members would be eliminated.

Chongjue was melancholy.

This competition is different from the past; Hong Qizong must win, absolutely.

This means there can be no mistakes, and it means that Hong Qizong must win every match with an absolute advantage.

However, Dingsheng Sect had already completed the challenge mission ahead of them, and Hongqi Sect no longer maintained its leading position since the Spiritual Cultivation Competition.

If Ding Shengzong Zhu Shibai really withdraws from the competition, it would be an excellent situation, but it's not enough.

Hong Qizong still needs strong support to ensure his invincibility.

Fortunately, he had a backup plan.

While everyone was arguing, no one noticed that Venerable Chongjue was lost in thought not because he was completely focused on the competition scene of Hongqi Sect, but because his spirit left his body.

While Venerable Chongjue was seated in the first-class seat on the observation platform, his spiritual consciousness had already left the platform and arrived at the forbidden area of ​​the Hongqi Sect.

......

Venerable Chongjue squinted at the scene before him.

In the forbidden area, the man was suspended in mid-air, thin streams of blood gushing down from the chains that pierced his body. The stench of blood was thick and lingering on the cave's stone surface.

The man was pale-skinned, head bowed and motionless. If it weren't for the blood constantly flowing from his body, one would really think he was a corpse.

"Don't try anything funny." Venerable Chongjue sneered, and the chains binding Yu Tianxing moved slowly, grinding and grinding through his bones, blood, skin, and flesh, making a chilling creaking sound.

The intense pain finally elicited a slight reaction from the man; his body trembled slightly, and his lowered head moved.

His breathing was barely audible, and his heartbeat was even weaker, almost nonexistent.

Chongjue knew that Yu Tianxing would not die. If he were to die so easily, he would not have been lingering on for so long under the relentless devouring of the Soul Devouring Array.

The chain moves every half incense stick's time, and the wound is repeatedly rubbed by the chain, becoming increasingly festering and never healing.

People don't die, but they can still feel pain.

The pain that seeped into his bones only made him more aware, and more aware of the agony.

The cycle repeats endlessly, a living hell.

Yu Tianxing's hostile attitude was precisely to provoke him into killing him so that he could be freed from this predicament.

But he wouldn't do as he wished, and besides, Yu Tianxing still had some use to him.

What a pity. As Chongjue thought this, he pressed down with his outstretched palm, and the moving chains stopped.

I had intended to torment Yu Tianxing a bit more, to dampen his arrogance and make him more obedient, before sending him back to the spiritual cultivation competition.

But then Dingsheng Sect unexpectedly appeared, and the four of them secretly pulled a fast one, completing the challenge ahead of everyone else.

This situation forced him to stop torturing Yu Tianxing ahead of schedule and send him back to the competition.

However, the original purpose of releasing Yu Tianxing was to allow him to lead Hongqi Sect out of this competition as soon as possible and win the third round.

Since the third game is already halfway through, sending him back is part of my plan.

He has them firmly in his grasp, and no matter how arrogant they are, they can't escape his control.

"Healing medicine." Venerable Chongjue threw out a pill, which hit Yu Tianxing's bleeding chain hole. The pill was covered in blood and rolled around until it got stuck in the gap of the chain before it stopped moving.

Chong Jue didn't care whether Yu Tianxing could reach it or not, and turned around with his hands behind his back: "After you finish, quickly return to the competition and remember your mission. Otherwise, your fate will not be just this."

He has learned his lesson and will never again allow Yu Tianxing to provoke him and cause him to seriously injure him.

Before Yu Tianxing could respond, Chongjue finished speaking and left immediately without stopping for a moment.

Yu Tianxing finally lifted his drooping eyelashes, staring at Chong Jue's departing figure, a deep, enigmatic smile appearing on his pale, beautiful face.

......

The spiritual competition is a challenge in the mountains and forests, beside a winding stream.

The clear stream reflected the fresh, juicy red fruit, making one's mouth water. Ji Mingran stared at the fruit, but frowned, feeling somewhat annoyed.

Firstly, she had been holed up in the jungle for seven days and seven nights.

After the kite fell, the four members of Dingsheng Sect waited for a long time, but were still not sent out of the checkpoint. After some thought, the four decided to find a control group to see if everyone was experiencing the same thing.

They then set their sights on the young disciple of the Zhu family who was with them.

The four of them discussed it and decided to take advantage of the dark night to ambush the Xiang Gu Sect with the youngest disciple of the Zhu family.

Previously, the Xiang Gu Sect had been pursuing them together with the remaining disciples of the Yu Shou Sect. They split up, with the Yu Shou Sect disciples riding the Azure Phoenix spirit birds to launch a sky attack, while the Xiang Gu Sect remained on the ground to ambush them.

However, the Azure Phoenix flew further and further away in pursuit of the kite, and the Xiang Gu Sect could not keep up for a while. By the time they caught up, the Azure Phoenix had already fallen.

Having witnessed the complete annihilation of the Beast Taming Sect, the Xiang Gu Sect immediately hid in the dense forest without saying a word, intending to escape the counterattack from the Ding Sheng Sect and the Zhu family.

However, the young disciple of the Zhu family was cautious; they had left behind a Gu worm during the previous battle.

Following the trail of the offspring Gu worms to find the mother Gu worm, they successfully located the hideout of the Xiang Gu Sect disciples and raided it directly.

The young disciple of the Zhu family, together with the four members of the Dingsheng Sect, launched a surprise attack. The participating disciple of the Xianggu Sect was no match for them. In addition, the four members of the Dingsheng Sect had no intention of stealing the kill, so the young disciple of the Zhu family successfully took down the opponent and met the conditions for passing the level.

However, neither of the two teams managed to get out of the level.

After discussing it again, the group decided to hide as well.

Now that they have met the conditions for passing the checkpoint, the more important thing before finding further clues to pass is to ensure that the team is complete.

Staying away from conflict is the best policy.

As they waited day after day, the number of sect teams entering the competition continued to increase, and the disciples from each team were constantly being eliminated.

However, the tricky part is that each sect can never seem to muster enough members. Whenever one sect's team tries to wipe out an entire other sect's team, something unexpected always happens.

Of course, these were all man-made accidents. Seeing that they couldn't pass the level no matter what, the incomplete sect teams either withdrew from the competition by self-destruction or desperately eliminated members of other sects by injuring themselves 100 times while injuring the enemy 3,000 times.

The main point is: if I can't pass the test, you can't pass either.

So, after several days of trying to gather resources, no team managed to achieve the goal of "completely eliminating a sect's team" like the Dingsheng Sect and the Zhu Family.

The teams within the checkpoint were locked in a fierce battle.

In an effort to prevent them from passing through, the incomplete test team began searching for them.

In order to meet the requirements for passing the test, the teams that were complete but failed also began to search for them.

They became the target of public criticism.

The four members of Dingsheng Sect and the disciples of the Zhu family had to hide even more carefully, and Ji Mingran could only give up the idea of ​​taking the opportunity to find the Unnamed Sect's participating team.

Hiding in the woods, I don't know how long I'll have to wait. This is one of my troublesome matters.

Only two troublesome matters remain.

Ji Mingran picked up the fruit, exchanged a glance with Shen Qingluo and Guan Wangzhen who were washing the fruit together, and then his gaze fell on Zhu Shibai, who was sitting alone under the shade of a tree in the distance, sharpening his knives.

He sharpened the knife half-heartedly, his brows no longer displaying the fervor he once had for polishing tools; instead, a somber expression lingered.

Zhu Shibai is not in a good state.

When the kites started to scatter, he was completely distraught, muttering to himself with lifeless eyes, "Kite, my kite, my fighter jet."

This startled the young disciples of the Zhu family, as they had never seen Zhu Shibai like this before.

However, the other three members of Dingsheng Sect were already used to it; this was his usual reaction to losing a newly crafted spiritual weapon, and he was used to it.

What was truly strange was that the next day, the young disciple of the Zhu family suddenly became depressed and then said that they would separate and go into hiding.

Zhu Shibai rallied his spirits to care for the younger generation. After a series of actions, the young disciples of the Zhu family ran even faster. When Zhu Shibai returned after saying goodbye, he was the one who became depressed.

Ji Mingran, Guan Wangzhen, and Shen Qingluo took turns asking, but he did not answer.

It can only be him.

Shaking off the water droplets, Ji Mingran picked up the fruit. "I'll give it to him. He won't eat anything. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators get hungry, and being hungry will affect their performance. That won't do."

Shen Qingluo grabbed Guan Wangzhen, who was trying to drag him over, and said, "Okay, we'll roast the beast meat right away. You can try to persuade him to come and eat with us later."

Ji Mingran agreed and walked towards Zhu Shibai's direction.

The stream was where they warmed themselves by the fire and ate, while Zhu Shibai's place was where everyone rested. It looked close, but it was actually quite a distance away.

This distance ensures that other cultivators can avoid finding their resting place by following the smell of meat, and that in case of an accident, people on both sides can see each other and provide timely assistance.

The place where they hid was particularly dense in the woods, where starlight could only dabble in the gaps between the branches and leaves.

Ji Mingran did not use any magic; he relied solely on his facial senses to determine direction and road conditions, and he walked steadily.

The night breeze swept across the mountains and fields, brushing against my hair and landing on my neck, bringing a cool breeze and a familiar scent.

Ji Mingran paused, stopped, and turned to look at the distance not far to the side, as if sensing something.

Deep in the forest, amidst the swaying shadows of the trees, a man in a black robe wearing a straw hat leaned against a tree, watching her from afar.

In the blink of an eye, the man in black vanished. It was as if everything seen had been an illusion.

He's back? Ji Mingran stood silently for a long time, holding the fruit, but he didn't reappear.

Did he come all this way just to wait for her?

The way he leaned on his arm was just like how he used to wait for her for so long in front of the coffin shop.

With that outfit and pose, it would be hard for her not to recognize him.

Ji Mingran turned around and took a step forward, his steps lighter than before.

It seems that Yu Tianxing's injuries have improved, and he probably came here just to let her know he's safe.

One day later, the long-awaited announcement of customs reopening was made again.

First came the Hongqi sect, then the nameless sect.

Next came Liuhuan Valley, and even Hehuan Sect, which only had three members, eliminated an entire sect.

The announcement came at a rather untimely time.

At that time, she, Shen Qingluo, and Guan Wangzhen had lifted Zhu Shibai up and pressed him against a tree trunk, intending to coerce and entice him to reveal what was bothering him.

But then a voice suddenly popped into his mind: "Congratulations on completing the challenge level. Would you like to claim your reward?"

The four were stunned, and Zhu Shibai forgot to struggle.

A reward? Could it be something similar to the initial ban?

Once they complete the level, can they leave?

Why hesitate?

Of course, the answer is yes!