The other Elders nodded and said to the middle-aged Elder, "Elder Luo, begin."

The one in the middle was Luo Xiaming, the Peak Master of Wipe Sword Peak, who appeared particularly young among the Peak Masters.

He responded with a nod, formed a Dao Seal, and a small tripod appeared out of thin air, suspended in the sky.

Three other Foundation Establishment Realm Elders, including Elder Xu Ziqing, each held a Magical Talisman.

The three of them activated their Spiritual Qi, and the ancient script on the Magical Talismans lit up with a flash of spiritual light.

"Buzz—"

The patterns carved on the small tripod lit up one by one, depicting lifelike flowers, trees, birds, beasts, insects, and fish.

The small tripod slowly descended to the center of the peak’s platform.

"Disciples participating in the Wipe Sword event, once your Magical Talismans are activated, you will be teleported into the Blessed Realm."

"The Magical Talisman is bound to you. If you are severely injured and on the verge of death within the Secret Realm, or if your Spiritual Mark Jade Tablet is stolen, you will be automatically teleported out."

"After one day, the twenty-two Disciples who are still alive will proceed to the duel stage."

"If the number of participants is insufficient, the eliminated Disciples with the highest Spiritual Mark scores will fill the vacancies."

"The other rules have been explained before, so I will not elaborate further."

He waved his large sleeve: "Begin."

As his voice fell, the Magical Talismans in the hands of the participating Wipe Sword Disciples lit up.

Then their figures flickered, transforming into spiritual light, and surged into the small tripod... A Small Blessed Realm, a deep forest.

"This is quite similar to the Jiran Valley incident..."

Song Yan thought, took out the uniformly distributed map, and glanced at it.

Being teleported in, he was naturally separated from Li Qingfeng and the others.

"...I’m at the very edge, with only three Cultivator Disciple markers nearby."

Putting away the map, his Divine Sense spread out.

This ancient forest had existed for an unknown number of years, with countless giant ancient trees amidst the misty mountain air.

From the canopies of the ancient trees, lush and dense branches and leaves extended.

These branches and enormous leaves intertwined, sometimes stretching for several miles, almost allowing one to walk directly on them.

Song Yan leaped up, soaring onto a not-too-high branch, then used it as a springboard to jump higher.

He wasn’t worried about being discovered and ambushed; on the contrary, he was looking forward to someone taking the initiative to attack him.

The view from above was expansive.

"Oh..."

Looking out, this Small World was incredibly vast.

Song Yan retracted what he had said earlier.

This place was incomparable to the previous Secret Realm in Jiran Valley; it could truly be described as boundless.

"This is the grandeur of an immortal’s Small Dongtian."

Xiao He emerged from his Daoist robe, sniffing around; she loved the fresh air here.

Song Yan had a square jade tablet hanging from his waist, with a bright green spiritual mark carved on it.

"One."

This jade tablet was what would be used to record scores this time.

When this jade tablet was taken by someone, its spiritual mark would disappear, and at the same time, the person from whom it was taken would lose the qualification to continue participating, being eliminated.

Besides that, there was another interesting rule.

The selection area for this Wipe Sword event would gradually shrink as time passed.

When the Restriction delineating the Wipe Sword area slowly contracted inward, Cultivators who stayed outside the Restriction for too long would also be teleported out.

Every two hours, the area would shrink once.

"Over 1,600 Cultivators, and ultimately only twenty-two will remain."

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

It was indeed cruel.

Of course.

Only one person could remain.

Whether it was the influence of a Heart Demon or the sharpness of the Sword Dao, this thought naturally arose in his mind.

"In short, I’ll go find those two fellow Disciples nearby first."

Song Yan’s idea was simple.

He was teleported to the very edge at the start, so he could first clear out the fellow Disciples who appeared near him.

Then, as the Restriction advanced, he would move towards the more central areas.

Steady and sure.

This would ensure he accumulated some Spiritual Marks before the final moment and safely preserve some stamina before the final chaotic battle.

"This area is in the southeast corner of the Wipe Sword designated region. On the way to the central area, there’s a lake."

On the map, next to this lake, there was a small grass symbol.

This indicated that there were some Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine that could be collected there.

"All gains within the Blessed Realm do not need to be handed over to the Sect."

"I imagine this place will definitely attract people, which will be a good opportunity to’send them off’."

Song Yan nodded to himself.

He flew directly towards the two small glowing dots nearby on the map.

When other Cultivators were within a certain distance, their positions would be marked on the map.

This greatly improved Song Yan’s efficiency in finding fellow Disciples.

If someone was taken away on the spot, no one would be left to search for treasures and collect medicine.

This was his specific strategy for this Wipe Sword event.

He didn’t expect someone to have the same idea as him.

Moving through the ancient forest, Song Yan suddenly stopped.

His Divine Sense always maintained its maximum range, so when the fellow Cultivator rushing straight towards him appeared within his Perception range, Sword Qi had already begun to accumulate in his sleeve.

"It saves me the trouble of going to find them."

Song Yan slowly cast the Hidden Sword Gathering Spirit Stance, concealing himself within the ancient forest.

"Whoosh..."

A moment later, a figure leaped from a branch on the southwest side, landing on a large cluster of leaves.

His protective Spiritual Qi was very solid. He was half-crouching on the tree branch, a Spiritual Talisman clamped between the fingertips of his left hand, and his right hand forming a Dao Seal, seemingly ready to summon a Spiritual Artifact at any moment.

"Hmm?"

He looked around, but did not see any trace of anyone here.

"The map clearly shows there’s someone here."

This Cultivator was different from the other Disciples; he wore a tight-fitting suit, making it impossible to tell which peak he belonged to.

The rules of the Wipe Sword event did not require everyone to wear Daoist robes.

He shared the same idea as Song Yan.

If one was timid from beginning to end, then if they encountered a strong opponent midway and were eliminated, it would be meaningless.

By striking first and selectively clearing out nearby Cultivators, then slowly following the Restriction towards the center, even if they encountered a strong opponent, they might still maintain a leading position due to a sufficient number of Spiritual Marks.

After all, he was only at the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level; aiming for the top twenty-two was somewhat unrealistic.

However, a higher ranking might still earn him the favor of some Elders, who might offer guidance or bestow treasures and spiritual resources.

His thinking was very clear, but... "Where is this person?"

The Cultivator in the tight suit thought it was strange, but he did not let down his guard, activating the Spiritual Talisman.

The Spiritual Talisman immediately transformed into three flames, slowly circling around him, providing a slight defense.

Then, he took out the map from his qiankun bag.

"Gone?"

On the map, only one glowing dot remained near him. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He was stunned, seemingly somewhat disbelieving, but then he realized something was wrong.

"No..."

"This person’s location overlaps with mine!"

His mind was greatly shaken.

Just then, a sharp aura leisurely arrived.

Looking up, he saw a slender figure on the highest branch of the ancient forest, silhouetted against the sky, completely enveloped in shadow.

Only a pair of golden eyes... were currently looking down at him.