Five Immortal Sects-Chapter 158: Fish in the Net
After the battle, the inside of the sphere was a scene of devastation. Gong Chenying's side, including the injured cultivators previously stored in spirit-storage bags, was left with only fifteen individuals, all wounded.
In this battle, Gong Chenying was severely injured. Among those familiar to Li Yan, Yu Yiyong died in battle, Hu Ziyi died in battle, Qi Busheng and Mi Yuanzhi died in battle, Wu Shixi was severely injured, Ding Yiwei was severely injured, and Mei Caichu and Cheng Jingnian sustained minor injuries.
Among the fifteen, only six still possessed combat strength. When they emerged from the yellow sphere and reached the fifth stage, they were all in a state of severe weakness.
Gong Chenying barely recovered somewhat, her jade-like face pale and bloodless. She looked at the group, her delicate hand struggling to lift and retrieve the most severely injured individuals. Outside, Mei Caichu and the other six remained.
It was a strange coincidence that the spirit-storage bag was precisely filled with the severely wounded, though it did not include Gong Chenying herself. Among those outside, apart from herself, everyone else had minor injuries.
Gong Chenying looked at Mei Caichu, Cheng Jingnian, and the other six, who were still recovering through meditation. Her gaze then fell upon the final stage ahead, and she couldn't help but frown, her thoughts swirling.
"How can I lead them through this last stage? In my current condition, even if I manage to reach the ten li mark, I fear I won't have the strength for the battle within the sphere. Unless the opponents are in a similar state as us, otherwise…"
Gong Chenying held her abdomen, looking forward, still maintaining an upright posture. But the intermittent cramping pains in her abdomen caused her to subtly frown.
She was gravely wounded. Although she had already applied her sect's spiritual medicine "Ghost Calming Balm" externally and simultaneously swallowed pills for nourishment, this was not something that could recover in a short time.
The sky-breaking beetle demonic beast's final spear thrust was a full-power strike, nearly piercing through her abdomen, or if it had been a few inches lower, Gong Chenying's Dantian Sea would have shattered, rendering her a cripple.
Currently, her best course of action was to immediately rest for several months. Otherwise, if she were to circulate spiritual energy for battle, her wound would inevitably reopen, only worsening her injuries.
"I wonder how little Junior Brother Li is doing now. Has he found Senior Brother Bai and the others? If he returns, will he have a solution…"
Gong Chenying gazed blankly ahead. For some reason, Li Yan's figure appeared before her eyes, and for a moment, she felt a strange trance.
"It's better that Junior Brother Li isn't here, otherwise, in the last stage, he might have ended up like Ziyi and the others, and I wouldn't have been able to account for it to Eldest Senior Brother."
Gong Chenying's expression was somewhat somber. In the previous stage, so many junior nephews died on the spot. Although she knew that demonic beasts possessed formidable combat strength, often one demonic beast could contend with two or three cultivators of the same rank without falling into a disadvantage.
However, she had thought that with the Wraith Sect's methods, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage. But she hadn't expected to encounter the sky-breaking beetle tribe and the sacred light moth tribe, which was a dream combination.
Not only were they incredibly fast, but more terrifyingly, most poisons were useless against them. The sacred light moth tribe also possessed a natural healing divine ability. The battle was actually stalemated for a cup of tea's time, and their side suffered extremely heavy losses.
"The Wraith Sect excels in using poison, controlling insects, and launching stealthy assassinations. Even the other three great sects found us a headache and were rarely willing to engage us in battle when our strengths were roughly equal.
But everything has its counter. Encountering this combination of demonic beasts was our misfortune. In this stage, we can only fight with our lives."
And just as Gong Chenying was pondering.
Suddenly, the scene before her eyes changed dramatically. The normally stable space seemed to be pulled by a great force. All buildings, including the sky and the earth, were instantly stretched, then twisted towards one point, as if forcefully tugged away…
Gong Chenying and the six individuals who were meditating didn't even have time to react. Their bodies were yanked from the ground, then flew higher and farther. In the sky, only the distant exclamations of Mei Caichu and the others remained.
After a bout of dizziness, Gong Chenying and the others appeared in a mountain hollow. This left everyone looking terrified and bewildered, unsure of what had happened.
Just as they were perplexed and cautiously vigilant, an aged voice resounded throughout this heaven and earth.
"This place will no longer restrict team combat. The first to reach the central sphere will complete the Wheel of Life and Death task!"
The voice, like rolling spring thunder, boomed across the sky, spreading in all directions, then slowly faded and diminished, startling birds to scatter in the forest and causing loose rocks to roll down.
At the same time, Wang Lang, with a ferocious expression, stood with three others atop a high peak. From his initial bewilderment to the aged voice sounding and fading, Wang Lang's face constantly twisted as he muttered to himself.
"Is this the consequence of us using the prism crystals? Now even the final stage has changed."
At this moment, Wang Lang was in a state of semi-madness.
In a dense forest seven hundred li away from Wang Lang, the utterly exhausted Qiu Jiu stood with eleven others, also listening to the aged voice booming through the air.
Qiu Jiu looked weary. She raised her head to the sky, and through the thick, tall tree canopy, she saw patches of blue sky, lost in thought.
Behind her, the eleven individuals respectfully looked at their slender captain, who resembled an immortal maiden.
"I wonder how Jiuxing is doing now. How did the final stage suddenly change? I was transmitted here even before engaging with the Wraith Sect's Bai Liyuan.
'No longer restricting team combat, the first to reach the central sphere!' This means we need to rush to the center as quickly as possible. Whoever arrives first will get the ranking first. And the battles along the way might turn into a chaotic free-for-all…
Will I also be able to meet Jiuxing? Then I can go to the center with him!"
A breathtaking smile appeared on Qiu Jiu's fair, pretty face.
"Bai, what exactly is going on?"
A thousand li away from Gong Chenying, on a boundless great plain, Gan Shi looked around and simultaneously questioned Bai Liyuan beside him.
"How would I know? Wasn't I also swept here with you!"
Bai Liyuan had just withdrawn his gaze from the disciples. Not a single person was missing, which relieved him. Subsequently, Bai Liyuan also began to survey his surroundings.
And at this moment, an aged voice boomed like thunder, lingering for a long time until it disappeared, leaving everyone with a bewildered expression.
"Junior Brother Gan, it seems the rules here have changed. I have never seen such a stage in the Wheel of Life and Death in any ancient texts."
A few breaths later, a keen glint flashed in Bai Liyuan's eyes.
"Bai, I've never heard of it either. In that case, we'll just charge straight to the center. I really want to encounter the people from those three sects!"
Killing intent burst forth in Gan Shi's eyes.
"I wonder where Junior Sister Gong is? And has Junior Brother Li also entered this place?"
Bai Liyuan looked at the boundless grassland, a worried expression in his eyes.
Beside a small stream, a team of demonic beasts was rapidly advancing, led by a peak late second-rank Lightning Lion, who was roaring aloud.
"Children, the first-place reward might be a pill that allows you to directly advance to the second rank! We'll charge straight to the center!"
Upon hearing this, the more than a dozen demonic beasts behind him let out a chorus of roars, and their fierce auras surged.
"Kill!"
"Slaughter all who block our path!"
"We'll charge through!"
Similar events were occurring in different parts of this space. The few remaining teams all charged directly towards the center.
...
Gong Chenying was currently leading six individuals out of the mountain hollow. For a period, she had not acted rashly, but instead carefully observed the surrounding movements.
Her divine sense swept across the area, and aside from detecting some wild beasts in the thickets, she found no other abnormalities.
She still walked at the very front. The six individuals behind her maintained a certain distance. However, this was clearly not the situation within the previous passages. There were no attacks from the surroundings, nor were their movements restricted.
After walking for a distance, Gong Chenying discovered that within this space, the movement range of personnel was no longer limited, and there were no more restrictive attacks around them.
After a moment of hesitation, she forced her spiritual power to rise into the sky. As she ascended, Gong Chenying's divine sense continuously expanded outwards, vigilant for any anomalies that might appear at any moment.
It wasn't until she flew to about a hundred zhang high that no attacks appeared. However, in her divine sense, she saw another scene.
About five hundred li in one direction from them, a continuously shimmering metallic sphere of light stood atop a towering mountain peak.
"Central… sphere. It seems that's the final passage point. As long as we reach there, we will have passed the trial of the Wheel of Life and Death."
Gong Chenying quickly made her judgment. And just as she was observing, suddenly, a powerful divine sense swept towards her, covering the sky and earth. Her heart was instantly startled.
"Such powerful divine sense, at least at the Pseudo-Core stage. I wonder if it's Senior Brother Bai and the others, but I definitely cannot act rashly. Otherwise, if an enemy discovers us, in my current state, I truly have no strength left to fight."
Gong Chenying immediately and quietly retracted her divine sense, concealed her aura, and descended back to the ground. But the moment she touched the ground, a heart-pounding sensation of dread arose within her.
She immediately looked around again, only to see that at this moment, on the side of the mountain hollow facing the metallic sphere, wisps of black qi were slowly rising from the thickets and grass, and they were gradually becoming denser.
"No, how can the black shadow from the original sky still be here!"
Gong Chenying felt a chill run through her body. Her recently settled heart instantly tightened again.
There were no more restriction attacks here. After confirming the direction of the center, she intended to conceal her aura all the way, even if it meant taking a detour, no longer engaging in conflict with others, just ensuring that these dozen or so individuals could enter the central sphere.
But who would have thought that unknown powerful enemies were already nearby, and even the ominous black shadows had reappeared. The rules here simply didn't give them much time, forcing them to advance rapidly. It was likely that the other small teams were in a similar situation.
Thus, Gong Chenying had no time to conceal her tracks. Rapid advancement would undoubtedly greatly increase the probability of exposure, which would only invite endless slaughter.
But such an outcome was not something Gong Chenying could control. She had no time to think at the moment. After rapidly landing, her clear, cold voice had already fallen into the ears of Mei Caichu and the others below.
"Quickly move towards the exit of the mountain hollow!"
As she landed, due to her anxiety, she accidentally aggravated her injury. Instantly, a fine layer of sweat beaded on her smooth forehead.
Mei Caichu and the others had been watching Gong Chenying in the air. Seeing her suddenly descend rapidly, and her face looking grim as she stared in a certain direction within the hollow, they couldn't help but turn their heads to look there as well.
With just one glance, the several individuals were scared out of their wits. In the grass dozens of zhang away from them, wisps of black qi were rising, like a soul-reaping hand from the Nine Netherworld, weaving a deadly net, quietly approaching step by step.
Hearing Gong Chenying's urgent voice, the six dared not delay. In a flash, they shot towards the exit of the mountain hollow. After landing, Gong Chenying took a deep breath and immediately rushed over as well, though her movements were somewhat sluggish now.
At the same moment, just as Gong Chenying and her team were flying towards the central metallic sphere, exclamations erupted from various directions. Clearly, they had all discovered the persistent colossal black shadow, which was slowly converging.
It was like fishermen gathering their nets, forming a large circle and continuously driving their prey towards the center. Those who moved too slowly would be caught in the net first.
...
