While he was speaking,

suddenly, in the place where the Tunnel Armor Sect was gathered, a branch of plum blossom unexpectedly sprouted.

This branch of plum blossom, at first, was merely a single stem with a flower bud hanging on it,

The flower bud grew rapidly, and within a few breaths, the flower bloomed into a pure, transparent plum blossom without any impurities, releasing a fragrance that spread far and wide,

But soon, the petals of the plum blossom took on color,

Starting with pure white, then a hint of yellow, finally turning completely apricot yellow, the flower withered, and the petals fell one by one,

By the time the last petal touched the ground, suddenly, a disciple of the Tunnel Armor Sect started to experience a distended abdomen,

Soon enough, he appeared like a pregnant woman in her sixth month, his expression was extremely pained, and his eyes were filled with terror as he reached out to Hulu Taoist, shrieking: "Great Ancestor save me."

Hulu Taoist quickly rushed to the disciple and rested his hand on the belly, immediately hearing the sound of "blood energy surging."

"Why is your blood energy so vigorous?"

As he voiced his suspicion, the disciple’s belly expanded again, his Daoist robe tore apart,

Only then did the crowd see that the disciple’s belly, due to excessive swelling, was veined,

Distended severely, his skin became a semi-transparent quality, and in the sunlight, those nearby could vaguely see countless insects frantically wriggling inside his belly.

"Great Ancestor, save me."

The disciple seemed to be in extreme pain, disregarding the usual rigid sect rules, abandoned etiquette and conventions, and reached out to grab Hulu Taoist’s robe sleeve,

With enough force, he actually tore the Great Ancestor’s sleeve,

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

In quick succession, a crisp sound first of his sleeve tearing, and the second was the sound of his belly bursting,

His innards had already turned into a large puddle of viscous liquid, rushing out from the rupture in his belly,

In that viscous liquid, there were countless "insects," but these insects had no real form, resembling shadows more than anything else,

Hulu Taoist felt repulsed upon seeing this, pinched up a flame of Dao fire, and scattered it towards the shadows.

The Dao fire blazed fiercely, continuously burning the pool of liquid, scorching it dry, emitting an unusually fetid odor, but those "insect shadows" remained unharmed, burrowed into the ground,

Next, a second plum blossom sprouted from the ground, and then red, the plum blossom bloomed, withered, and wilted again,

Then again, another disciple of the Tunnel Armor Sect began to experience a distended belly...

"What is going on here? What underworld thing is this?"

Plum blossoms, distended disciples like pregnant women, impervious insect shadows, all of this let Hulu Taoist witness the most perplexing scene of his life,

This long-term dedicated Taoist also found himself somewhat dazed.

...

Hulu Taoist was caught in the situation, unable to fully understand some things,

But Zhou Xuan, always detached from the scene and looking down from the second level, saw the situation clearly.

"So it’s like this."

Zhou Xuan stood up, fanning himself, and shouted towards Hulu Taoist in the distance,

"Hulu Taoist, you still haven’t figured it out? If you can’t comprehend it, I, Zhou Xuan, will mercifully explain it for you,

The Battlefield requires each side to have only four people in combat, so what about the extra people? Naturally, they are to be killed, so before our deadly battle begins, remember, you have between twenty to thirty disciples, only four can survive."

"Who lives and who dies, the Battlefield lets you choose among yourselves, the time when the plum blossom blooms and withers is your choosing which disciple should die,

If you proactively kill a disciple, the plum blossom will not harm you again, however, if you can’t decide and don’t actively kill a disciple in the sect, once the flower blooms and fades, the Battlefield will choose and kill for you."

Zhou Xuan explained the pattern he observed, causing panic among the Tunnel Armor Sect,

The Battlefield’s approach is practically forcing the Tunnel Armor Sect to fight amongst themselves.

Hulu Taoist was the first to react, immediately shouted: "Don’t listen to Zhou Xuan’s misleading words, the one killing you is that plum blossom, if I destroy that plum blossom, it’s resolved?"

He waited for the new plum blossom to emerge, then immediately stepped onto the Star Position, setting up a Taoist Array around that plum blossom.

Then, he pinched a hand sign with his right hand, detonating the Taoist Array, destroying the plum blossom,

However,

Though the plum blossom was destroyed, still a disciple’s belly swelled up again, then the belly burst, dying irreversibly.

Zhou Xuan leaned against the railing and chuckled lightly: "Hulu Taoist, I told you, that plum blossom merely serves as a reminder to your sect to choose the next disciple to die. It’s just a time-telling tool; what use is it to destroy it?"

Does dismantling a clock on a timed bomb prevent it from exploding?

"Best avoid deceiving yourself to little avail."

Zhou Xuan coldly said.

And at this moment, the new plum blossom bloomed again, the shadow of death once again blanketed the Tunnel Armor Sect.

The plum blossom’s selection of the next to die is entirely random, that means the next to die could be any Tunnel Armor Sect member, disciple, or even the Supreme Elder.

This sense of impending death, like King Yan marking attendance, once marked, cannot be escaped.

It’s several times stronger than the general feeling of death, and the fear it brings is several times more intense than ordinary death.