For the Demon Slaying Assembly three hundred years from now, mighty figures well versed in the dao of divination had expended their lifespans to peer into a fragment of the future.
The result of their divination was… ten dead, zero survivors.
Indeed, not a sliver of life, not a shred of hope.
Yet even so, these powerhouses gathered without hesitation, joining hands as one.
If there was no road to life, they would tread one out with their blood!
And now, what had Tang Yan witnessed?
He had seen a prodigy emerge from nowhere whose talent far outstripped that of the Heavenly God.
If this was not Heaven taking pity on them, what was it?
The other three were similarly moved.
They naturally understood what five-element perfection signified.
It meant the Master of the Robe Division had a chance to surpass the Heavenly God.
It also meant he had a chance to truly contend against the extraterrestrial demons.
Perhaps the Demon Slaying Assembly would no longer be ten dead and zero survivors, but ten dead and one survivor.
With a solemn face, Tang Yan said, "This matter must be reported to Lord Yu and Lord Long Pan!"
As he spoke, he transmitted what he had discovered today to the outside world.
……
Within a valley in the Five Elements Forbidden Ground, several dozen coffins lay in dead silence.
Suddenly, the lid of the central coffin was shoved aside.
A man of striking, androgynous beauty sat up.
He was draped in a feathered robe, breathtakingly handsome—none other than Yu, one of the two peak Divine Domain powerhouses of the Five Elements Forbidden Ground.
He glanced toward the remaining coffins, his expression calm as an unruffled well.
A moment later, the other coffins were pushed open one after another.
A burly man rose to his feet and spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground. "Lord Yu, didn't we just hold a gathering? Why wake us all up again?"
Meanwhile, a dazed, muddle-headed old man muttered, "What time is it? Has the Demon Slaying Assembly arrived?"
The rest of the experts all looked toward Yu with bewildered expressions.
With only three hundred years remaining until the Demon Slaying Assembly, they would never awaken unless something momentous had occurred.
"Do you remember the Master of the Robe Division from a few days ago?" Yu asked in a gentle voice.
"What about him?" the burly man asked curiously.
The other experts exchanged glances.
Waking them up was related to the Master of the Robe Division?
Could he truly be a spy sent by the extraterrestrial demons?
"Tang Yan sent word. The Master of the Robe Division possesses top-tier water-attribute talent, surpassing even his own," Yu said calmly.
"Stronger than Tang Yan? That talent is truly top-notch. Given a thousand years, he might well become a new Heavenly God. What a pity," one of the giants sighed.
"How much stronger?" someone else asked.
Yu replied placidly, "Not by much. With a single Water Spirit, he is able to comprehend a wisp of water essence qi."
"……"
"……"
Silence fell over the clearing.
Only after a dozen breaths did the burly man manage to force out the words, "Doesn't that mean he can achieve water-element perfection in just one month?"
Was this exaggerated?
It was beyond exaggerated!
Who on earth achieved water-element perfection in a single month?
Others required several thousand years, yet he could accomplish it in a month?
Wasn't this difference simply too vast?
If Qi Yuan knew their thoughts, he would definitely tell them the difference was actually quite modest—merely the gap between an ordinary worker's wage on Blue Star and a celebrity earning 2.08 million a day.
"Most importantly, his top-tier talent is not limited to the water attribute; the other four attributes are identical." Yu's voice remained calm, yet anyone could detect the wisp of joy contained within it.
"What? All five attributes are at that level?"
"Is he even human!"
"Damn it all!"
Every powerhouse present was thoroughly shaken.
In this moment, not a single trace remained of their demeanor as supreme experts.
The graveyard of coffins became as clamorous as a bustling marketplace.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
As Divine Domain experts, they fully understood what five-element perfection implied.
It meant the Master of the Robe Division had the potential to shatter the shackles and walk a path that led even further than that of the Heavenly God.
"Unfortunately, only three hundred years remain," someone suddenly sighed mournfully.
A bitter look surfaced on the faces of the Divine Domain experts.
The Master of the Robe Division's talent far surpassed that of the Heavenly God.
Yet having just broken through to the Divine Domain, three hundred years would barely be enough to polish his cultivation, let alone advance it substantially.
"At the very least, there are still three hundred years," Yu spoke, his voice gentle yet immensely resolute. "Now that the Master of the Robe Division is here, we must think of how to break this impasse!"
If the Demon Slaying Assembly was ten dead and zero survivors, then they would do everything in their power and pay any price to turn it into ten dead and one survivor!
Initially, they had hidden in the forbidden grounds to resist the extraterrestrial demons perhaps solely to preserve their own lives.
People were inherently selfish, all the more so for old turtles who had lived for so many years.
Later on, resisting the extraterrestrial demons had gradually turned into a mission, an obsession.
To claim they fought for the common people of the world might sound a bit too grandiose, but it was not entirely off the mark either.
"I propose… Divine Reflection," Yu said softly.
The valley fell so utterly silent that not even the sound of breathing could be heard; one could hear a pin drop.
"Those who refuse will be slain!" Yu swept a frigid gaze across the crowd, his tone turning domineering and tyrannical for the first time.
"I have no objections!"
"No objections from me either!"
"Haha, as long as it helps beat those bastard sons of extraterrestrial demons to death, I'll do whatever it takes!"
The Divine Domain powerhouses laughed and bantered; not a single one refused.
Divine Reflection was a specialized secret art mastered only by Divine Domain powerhouses.
They could project all of their cultivation insights, including every single memory and experience of their lives, straight into the depths of a person's soul.
Every insight, every memory.
This was equivalent to opening themselves up completely to the Master of the Robe Division without holding back a single secret.
Furthermore, performing Divine Reflection would severely deplete their vitality, requiring a century of slumber to recover.
Thus, Divine Domain experts almost never employed Divine Reflection unless their lifespans were on the verge of expiring.
Looking at the crowd, Yu said softly, "I am grateful to you all."
At that moment, the burly man asked, "Where did Lord Long Pan go? Why is his coffin empty?"
Yu glanced toward the horizon, in the direction of the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground.
"He went to the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground. The people there are not so easy to talk to, so he had to persuade them into granting their Divine Reflections to the Master of the Robe Division."
*Hiss!*
A collective gasp escaped their lips.
Long Pan, that taciturn, full-bearded man, had actually gone to the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground.
Calling it 'persuading' the experts of the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground was a euphemism—he was clearly going to beat them into submission!
It seemed Lord Long Pan and Lord Yu were both utterly resolute in their determination to help the Master of the Robe Division grow rapidly.
Right then, space rippled within the Five Elements Forbidden Ground.
The very man they had just spoken of, the taciturn, bearded Long Pan, returned.
Blood dripped continuously from his left sleeve.
Looking at the assembly, he parted his lips in a grin. "The people of the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground have been persuaded by me."
No one spoke, their eyes glued to his dripping arm.
Long Pan was exceedingly strong, undefeated throughout his life; his sole defeat had been against the Heavenly God while fused with the Bridal Gown Imperial Princess.
Yet he was wounded now. It was plain to see just how fierce and brutal the battle between Long Pan and those experts of the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground had been.
Long Pan said calmly, "They've stayed in the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground for too long, and their speech has turned thoroughly snide. A clash was inevitable."
Recalling something, however, he added, "Still, they are our allies after all, so I couldn't push things too far.
"They laid down one condition: if the Master of the Robe Division can defeat Zanghua, they will perform Divine Reflection."
Having said his piece, Long Pan walked over to his coffin, lay inside, and pulled the lid shut with his hand.
All the others likewise retreated into their coffins.
The area returned once more to utter silence.
Not far away, a young girl in green squatted on the ground, hugging her shoulders as silent sobs wracked her frame.
At that moment, the gentle Ancestor Shui appeared and kindly stroked the green-clad girl's head. She said nothing, merely stroking her hair in quiet solace.
After crying for a long time, the girl lifted her stubborn, reddened eyes. "Ancestor Shui, must it really come to this?"
Ancestor Shui wore a benevolent expression. "Child, we will not truly perish. We will merely continue to exist in this world in a different form."
"Ancestor Shui…" Embracing Ancestor Shui, the green-clad girl could not stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.
For the Master of the Robe Division to achieve five-element perfection meant he would take complete control of the Five Elements Forbidden Ground.
……
Qi Yuan emerged from the core region.
Looking at the four people in the distance, a smile appeared in his eyes. "You folks are quite thoughtful."
He had noticed them during his battle earlier, but had paid them no heed.
Now preparing to log off, he intended to drop by and greet them.
To his surprise, he found the four of them restraining a cluster of Five Spirits that had fled.
Not many, only several dozen.
Yet those several dozen Five Spirits were baring their fangs and brandishing their claws at the red-robed man, looking as though they wanted nothing more than to tear him to shreds.
"Master of the Robe Division, please comprehend them," Tang Yan said.
These Five Spirits had escaped from the core region and were subsequently captured by them.
Being able to do something for the Master of the Robe Division and help him speed up his progress was an effort well worth undertaking in their eyes.
Brandishing his sword, Qi Yuan effortlessly cut down the several dozen Five Spirits.
He gained another burst of EXP alongside more five-element essence qi.
Although he had slaughtered a great deal of Five Spirits today, gathering the full five elements would still take at least half a month.
This left him feeling rather melancholy.
Catching Qi Yuan's expression, Tang Yan asked, "Does something trouble the Master of the Robe Division? We are willing to help ease your burden."
Tang Yan would gladly take the initiative in anything that could enhance their alliance's strength.
"Sigh, it's just too slow. I'll have to grind for half a month before reaching five-element perfection. It really is far too slow," Qi Yuan lamented with absolute sincerity.
The Five Elements Forbidden Ground was a dungeon, the Five Elements Trial Ground was a dungeon inside that dungeon, and the core region was a dungeon inside the dungeon inside the dungeon.
Yet clearing such a dungeon would still take him half a month.
He was simply too much of a scrub.
He rambled on, repeatedly criticizing himself for being such dead weight.
Tang Yan: "……"
The bun-haired woman: "……"
Li Qin: "……"
The red-robed man: "……You're… you're a complete menace!"
He was thoroughly exasperated.
He felt that the Master of the Robe Division's mouth was truly detestable to the extreme.
Achieving five-element perfection in half a month?
And he still considered that slow?
Even if one deployed five clones of himself with different attributes simultaneously, it would take three thousand years.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Tang Yan also regained his composure. "I will rally the others to help bind more Five Spirits so the Master of the Robe Division may slay them."
He didn't even bother saying 'comprehend' anymore, directly calling it 'slaying.'
In any case, the Master of the Robe Division slaying them was identical to comprehending them.
"Thank you all so much." Feeling lucky that he had been clever enough to grab a large handful of five elements flowing sand earlier, Qi Yuan said, "These are little trinkets I picked up in the core region. Perhaps they'll be of use to you, so take them as a gift."
Qi Yuan tossed the five elements flowing sand toward the four people present.
Chapter 60