Flee for Your Life!

At the Immortal Cult headquarters, lush white mist flowed within an ancient bronze cauldron, where the consciousnesses of the demonic rogue cultivators resided. The Celestial Eye opened, projecting a light screen that displayed shifting rankings. The Cult Master and Vice Cult Master were watching the outstanding performances of the top-ranked individuals. "Look at this person from Kunlun City. Not bad at all—chanting the Rebirth Mantra before killing someone. Very ritualistic." "I heard he was formerly a monk at a temple who advocated achieving Buddhahood through killing. He slaughtered quite a few people in secret. When the abbot found out and prepared to cane him to death, he saw the gig was up, smashed the Buddha statues, and fled ahead of time. He came to our Immortal Cult to see whether the Immortal Celestial would support his doctrine." "That little fellow from Quhe Commandery has some ideas too—making kin slaughter kin. Controlling a child to kill his father, controlling a grandson to kill his grandfather, and refining them into puppets after death." "Oh, this one is interesting—smashing the load-bearing walls so the buildings collapse, crushing quite a few people to death." The two enthusiastically critiqued the top-ranked cultivators. Those who could make it to the top were all ruthless and vicious; once they grew in power, they stood a high chance of being promoted into the upper echelons. "What about the three little fellows who performed so exceptionally in the first two trials?" The two scrolled through the light screen for a long time before finally locating Lu Yang's trio, only to find them discussing whether or not to visit a brothel. The Vice Cult Master was deeply displeased with their ranking. "Ranked so far down... Could they be righteous undercover agents who don't know how to do bad things?" The Cult Master shook his head with seasoned experience. "You can't look at it like that. From what I see, this one named Lu Yang has a lot of ideas. He probably has a plan to make a stunning splash. One must understand that doing bad deeds doesn't necessarily mean rushing every minute and second; long-term planning is always the best choice." Seeing that Lu Yang wasn't making any big moves, the two scrolled back to the top of the screen to see what evil deed the first-place candidate had committed. "First place is a poisoner. Put poison into a well, wiping out an entire street in one go. He even poisoned the cattle, driving them mad to stampede through the streets and trample many people to death. Very good, very good—that's exactly how poison should be used." "What kind of bizarre method is this? Buying up a large strip of shops, then firing all the shop assistants." "The one below him is similar. After taking over shops, making the workers work overtime without paying wages? Does this count as doing evil?" The Vice Cult Master felt like he was falling behind the times. Suddenly, an overwhelmingly formidable divine soul descended from the sky, breaching the headquarters' manifold formations, and lunged straight toward the ancient bronze cauldron swirling with chaotic aura! As if unable to withstand such a tyrannical impact, a tiny crack surfaced on the ancient bronze cauldron! "Not good! My cauldron!" the Cult Master cried out. The ancient bronze cauldron was called the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, capable of holding all things. It was his natal magical treasure, forged through half a lifetime of painstaking effort, only a hair's breadth away from becoming an immortal treasure! "A divine soul descent! A righteous powerhouse has discovered this place!" The Cult Master could not believe it. What on earth had happened? How could a righteous powerhouse have discovered them in the blink of an eye?! "This aura... It's Yun Zhi of the Dao Seeking Sect?!" Sensing the familiar aura, the Cult Master recalled certain terrifying memories, and a chill ran down his spine. The Vice Cult Master put on a ferocious expression and drew his weapon, preparing to strike her down. "Yun Zhi? She's merely a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect! It's just one person either way. If we rally everyone and swarm her together, can we really not take her down?" Yun Zhi rarely made a move, and her reputation across the Central Continent was obscure. The Dao Seeking Sect's Sect Master, eight elders, and even Dai Bufan were far more famous than her. Yet being obscure did not mean she lacked strength. Anyone who had ever witnessed her in action felt that their understanding of cultivation had been completely overturned! It just so happened that the Cult Master had witnessed Yun Zhi in action before: plucking stars and grasping the moon, reversing yin and yang, suppressing powerful foes with a casual wave. It truly made him feel as though his three thousand years of cultivation had been wasted on a dog. The Cult Master kicked the Vice Cult Master to the ground. Was this the time to risk their lives?! "You've never seen her fight, so you don't know how terrifying she is! Listen to me—run, immediately! If you're too slow, not even the Immortal Celestial can save you!" He had become the Cult Master of the Immortal Cult not merely because of his supreme devotion to the Immortal Celestial or his unmatched cultivation, but more importantly because he was sufficiently cautious. He knew when to fight for his life, when to run for his life, and when to accept his fate. Clashing head-on with Yun Zhi wasn't risking your life—it was accepting your doom! The Cult Master cast ancient, profound seals one after another into the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, striving to keep Yun Zhi from breaking out. The Vice Cult Master had never seen the Cult Master lose his composure like this. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he sent voice transmissions to all the upper echelons, issuing an absolute order: escape at once and head to the alternate headquarters. To handle sneak attacks by the righteous sects, the Immortal Cult had prepared detailed emergency plans and escape routes, having run drills many times. The higher-ups were thoroughly familiar with the procedure. In the blink of an eye, the Immortal Cult's upper echelons had fled without leaving a trace of a shadow. The Cult Master executed the divine ability of Three Heads and Six Arms. Two hands cast seals to continually reinforce the suppression on the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, while four hands guided the consciousnesses of everyone else inside the cauldron back to their bodies. The cracks on the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron multiplied, the speed of sealing lagging behind the rate at which new cracks appeared. Seeing that everyone had successfully escaped, the Cult Master breathed a sigh of relief. He severed his connection to the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron and spat out a mouthful of essence blood with a retch—the backlash from his natal magical treasure. His aura plummeted rapidly, his face turning paper-white. The Cult Master couldn't care less about that; he turned around and fled! BOOM—! The Mountains and Rivers Cauldron shattered, the blast shaking the entire headquarters to its foundations. Yun Zhi stepped out from the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, expressionless, like a goddess of war out of ancient legends, sacred and inviolable! She bent down, swiped her fingertip across the essence blood left behind by the Cult Master, and pinched her fingers in divination. A cold glint flashed in her eyes. "In that direction." A blinding, blazing white light coalesced in her hand, like resplendent heavenly thunder destined to purge all evil. With a whoosh, the white-light heavenly thunder shot toward the Cult Master. The Cult Master never imagined that Yun Zhi could still locate him under such circumstances. He tried to dodge, but was too late; a burst of blood bloomed from his shoulder. "Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell!" The Cult Master had no shortage of life-saving arts either. By the time Yun Zhi caught up, only a severed husk of the Cult Master remained. ... The Cult Master staggered back into the alternate headquarters, shoving life-preserving pills into his mouth as if they cost nothing. Forcibly severing his bond with the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron and then casting the Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell secret art—after this double blow, he wouldn't be able to recover without several centuries of quiet cultivation. All of that was still manageable; the most important loss was the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron! That was a treasure cauldron refined with the collective power of the entire cult! The heavenly materials and earthly treasures poured into it rivaled ten years of tax revenue from the Great Xia Dynasty! And such a supreme treasure had fallen into the hands of the Dao Seeking Sect just like that! "How are you feeling?" the Vice Cult Master asked with concern. Having seen Yun Zhi strike earlier, he was shivering in retroactive terror. Had it been him instead, he would have been stone-cold dead long ago. Only the Cult Master's immense ability had kept him alive. "Won't die," the Cult Master replied, lingering dread in his voice. "Fortunately, we had an emergency contingency and prepared a hiding place in advance that severs karmic ties so Yun Zhi can't track us. Otherwise, the Four Great Demonic Cults would have had to rebrand as the Three Great Demonic Cults." "The Mountains and Rivers Cauldron is shattered, so let the third trial end here. Let's see who holds first place now." The Celestial Eye projected a light screen, upon which a name was emblazoned. First Place: Lu Yang. "Huh?"