As the Martial Arts Contest was drawing near, the Mortal Realm, Devil Realm, and Demon Realm became busier than usual. All the major forces and families were busy sending their people to attend the contest.
After another five months, the appointed day that Lyu Liang and his friends agreed to meet arrived.
Early in the morning, Lyu Liang took the lead to walk to the gate of the Sword Character Immortal Palace to wait for everyone. Following him, it was Li Wuyi, radiating the Late-stage Gold Core aura.
The duo were delighted when they met. After all, they had not seen each other for more than a decade. As he saw Lyu Liang’s Late-stage Gold Core aura, Li Wuyi said happily, “You’re fucking good!” Then they laughed and frolicked together.
After a while, a red figure glided over. It was Shangguan Ying, whom Lyu Liang had been eager to see over the past years. She became more and more attractive now.
Li Wuyi started to call Shangguan Ying “Sister-in-law” while Lyu Liang was wearing a silly smile. Hearing this, Shangguan Ying, who had already known that they had sworn to be brothers, blushed. It was rare that she did not lower her head like before. It seemed that she had made great progress over the past decade. Now she was at the Peak of Gold Core Level.
Subsequently, Xu Mubai also arrived, emanating the Peak Gold Core aura. The three brothers met and naturally had endless words to say. Shangguan Ying stood by Lyu Liang’s side tacitly, sometimes smiling and sometimes shaking her head.
After one hour, an apologetic voice came from a distance. It was Zhu Yan in a blue robe. After Lyu Liang introduced them separately, Zhu Yan soon became a part of the crowd with his passionate and extrovert personality.
At this time, the founding father of Sword Character sent a voice message through the jade and asked the five people to come to the main hall of the Immortal Palace. He had some warnings to tell them before they set off.
In the main hall of the Immortal Palace, the founding father of Sword Character and Xuan Nyu Fairy stood side by side, looking at the five people in front of them and showing a satisfying look.
The founding father of Sword Character nodded slightly and said, “Well, I’ll give a brief introduction of the tests you will take for entering the Land of Origin. The Martial Arts Contest will be held in the Thousands Beast Mansion which belongs to the Dongfang family, the number one force in the Kunlun Territory, and is next to the southeast border of the Zishui Country. The qualification will be divided into three parts. First, the qualification for the test ground; second, the qualification for the Martial Arts Contest; third, the qualification for the Land of Origin.
“We’ll start from the first test. There is a protective Bounded Domain around the Thousands Beast Mansion. Only the participants, who go through the Bounded Domain, are qualified to take part in the follow-up tests. As for what kind of the Bounded Domain, you will know it only when the test begins. Now it is only certain that at least three of the teammates go through the Bounded Domain successfully, then it’s counted as ‘pass’.
“Next, the second test. After entering Thousands Beast Mansion, you’ll get into Thousand Beast Space. As long as you pass the test inside within limited time, you can get the qualification for the Martial Arts Contest.
“The last one is the Martial Arts Contest. After the preliminary round, there are 32 teams left. Then they will duel with each other and the top eight teams will be allowed to enter the Land of Origin.”
After he finished his words, the founding father of Sword Character glanced at the crowd and said solemnly, “The first test should not be difficult for you, but pay attention to the second one! Thousands Beast Mansion has hosted the Martial Arts Contest more than 100 times since the Immortal Allies made the rule for the Land of Origin. Every time, there were many people who failed the second test. Except for those who gave up, most of them couldn’t escape death, so all of you should be careful! Well, that’s all. If you’re ready, then go. As for how to get the Zishui Country, you can go to the fourth floor of the Tianshui Pavilion where someone will tell you about it.”
Then Xuan Nyu Fairy also asked them to be careful before the five people bowed to express their appreciation and started the journey to the Zishui Country.
As for the Tianshui Pavilion, Lyu Liang and his fellows did not go there because Zhu Yan was born in Zishui Country. For him, returning to his country was like going home.
Sure enough, with Zhu Yan’s help, it only took them two months to reach Zishui Country of the Kunlun Territory. At that time, there were less than three months left before the Land of Origin reopened.
When Lyu Liang and his fellows planned to spend a night at a tavern, Zhu Yan strongly disagreed and invited them to live in his house hospitably. His said it was very close to the Thousands Beast Mansion and they would clearly see the Sect-Protection Formation when they walked out of his house.
Under Zhu Yan’s gracious invitation, Lyu Liang and his fellows came to a luxurious mansion. As they just arrived at the gate, a dumpy elder with white eyebrows stepped out with a smile to greet them. He was at the Late-stage of Gold Core Level. Followed by a group of servants, he cried while walking. “Yan’er, are those all your fellows? I’m Zhu Xuangui and I’ve already prepared accommodations and meals for everyone. Come! Please come in!”
Zhu Yan was stunned and then he quickly stepped forward. Lyu Liang and his fellows hurried to catch up with them and expressed their appreciation. Surrounded by a group of servants, the five young people went to their rooms respectively.
Zhu Yan stared at the smiling Zhu Xuangui with a fierce look as he ground out using sound transmission technique, “Old stupid turtle, I asked you to prepare the house. Why did you come personally? How dare you take advantage of me!”
Zhu Xuangui’s smile broadened. He stroked his own goatee and replied in the same way, “Don’t be mad. Now I’m the owner of the house. And it is convincing by doing this. Look, the servants I arranged are all good, right? How real it is! I came here because I was so excited. Since I can’t go there, I have to come here to cheer you on. Oh, not only me, the other two, your mother and your brother, will arrive in two days. Don’t expose yourself.”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan angrily rolled his eyes and helplessly turned to walk away, leaving Zhu Xuangui behind, who was smirking.
After two days, a blind old lady with white hair walked into the Zhu family’s courtyard under the help of a handsome young man in a cyan robe. Zhu Xuangui introduced them and said they were Zhu Yan’s mother and brother.
Of course, if eyes were able to kill people, Zhu Yan would kill them thousands of times with his sharp eyes…
…
Time passed by. In the blink of an eye, the open day of Land of Origin arrived. Early in the morning, the five young people showed their appreciation to Zhu Xuangui and left for the Thousands Beast Mansion.
As the five young people stepped out of the mansion, Zhu Xuangui, the blind old lady and the cyan-robed youth gathered, looking at them from a distance until they got out of their sight.
“Alas, if I had not accidentally lost my Demon Emperor Horn, I would enter the Land of Origin now.” Zhu Xuangui patted his head with regret.
The cyan-robed youth said with a faint smile, “The little bird is interesting. He actually makes friends with four humans. This is similar to the old bird of those years. Right, Aunt Bai, is Lyu Liang the child you saved 500 years ago? It looks like he got a big opportunity. He actually becomes the owner of the Shadow Domain Beast. He is indeed from the Xuanli Clan!”
The blind old lady said in a solemn voice, “I only want to return the favour of Xuanli Zhen. After all, he helped me before he left. I did not expect that the boy whose soul was sealed by the Mysterious Devil Seal has made such progress! I dare say, he is qualified to fight Early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators with his current strength! I have confidence in him!”
…
Lyu Liang and his fellows kept silent on their way to the Thousands Beast Mansion. Shortly after, they arrived in front of the Sect-Protection Formation. At this time, countless cultivators waited outside, floating in the sky or standing on the ground. It was full of people. Some of them were attacking the formation while most of them were studying it.
Lyu Liang and his fellows observed for a while and saw someone go through the formation. Then a mansion disciple came to lead the participant away. It seemed that he would take the second test.
It was easy for Lyu Liang to pass through the formation. All his teammates knew about it. Shangguan Ying had the immortal standard magic treasure, “Heaven Mixing Cloth”, so she was able to easily pass it too. As for the third one, they went into discussion and decided that Zhu Yan should go for it.
The reason was simple. This guy actually had a upper-grade immortal Talisman, Formation-breaking Talisman. He said that he gained it from the relics of the powerful figure. Anyway, Lyu Liang had already got used it. “A person can own a Soul Cultivation Tree. What else is it impossible for him to have?”
Hence, Lyu Liang went to the registration spot which was set outside of the Thousands Beast Mansion and sighed up for the first test with Shangguan Ying and Zhu Yan. Only when they sighed up, could they officially get the chance to take the second test after going through the formation. Of course, if someone signed up but failed the first test, he would be disqualified from the follow-up tests. Who let you fool the jury?
…
At this time, Li Wuyi and Xu Mubai fixed all their attention on the other three teammates for the trio was about to take the first test.
In front of the light curtain, Lyu Liang smiled slightly and rushed into the domain in a flash. Shangguan Ying waved her Heaven Mixing Cloth and got through it. Zhu Yan leisurely crushed a Formation-breaking Talisman under the jealousy gaze… The first test, Lyu Liang’s team passed!
Then Li Wuyi and Xu Mubai were allowed in. The five people followed a mansion disciple and came in front of a huge cave residence. At this moment, some teams had been walking inside.
“This is the place for the second test, Thousand Beast Space. When you enter it, you can take action separately. Only when three people pass the tests, can all of you pass it. You can kill the demon beasts inside at will. If you feel powerless, you can break the Talisman immediately to ensure your safety. You can only stay there for one hour. If you don’t pass the test within limited time, all of you will fail. Well, now you can go.” The mansion disciple explained while taking out five small Talismans and giving them to the five people. He warned them before they left. “Remember, if you can’t make it, then give it up. Otherwise, you will die!”
Hearing this, Lyu Liang and his fellows got together and had a small meeting. Finally, they reached an agreement: being alive was the most important thing! Once they felt that they could not resist the attack, they would have to crush the Talismans immediately. No one would be allowed to fight to the death! Since they came here together, they would return together!
After that, Lyu Liang took the lead and Zhu Yan brought up the rear. The five people entered the Thousand Beast Space one by one.
…
The moment Lyu Liang entered the space, his Divine Soul felt a bit killing intent. As he expected, a giant eagle was whistling over. Every place its wings passed by was full of sharp Sword Qi.
Lyu Liang smiled slightly. He took out the Celadon Jade Seal to cover himself and dashed out with Feiling. At the same time, countless sword flowers drifted forward. Although the giant eagle looked powerful, it still could not resist the attack from Lyu Liang and was smashed into pieces by the sword flowers. Then it turned into a streak of white light and disappeared in the space.
Lyu Liang was stunned and then started to admire the inventor. It turned out to be not a real demon beast! Then it must be the profound formation set by a powerful figure in space techinque. The Thousands Beast Mansion lived up to the title of being the number one force in the Kunlun Territory. It really had extraordinary foundations!
As Lyu Liang kept going, he met more demon beasts, which were more and more powerful. In the end, Lyu Liang had to activate the Devil Immortal Qi in his Qi Storage Pearl and used his Xuanyuan Swordsmanship and Heart Swordsmanship simultaneously. Relying on the domain-like vortex, he came to the end of the cave.
As he killed the last giant bear, a streak of white light flashed and he disappeared. The next moment, he appeared in a large hall, where several teams were standing in twos and threes. At this time, a mansion disciple came with a smile, cupped his hands, and said, “Congratulations! Taoism Peer, you’ve got through the Thousand Beast Space. Please be patient and wait for your fellows.”
Lyu Liang felt relieved. It looked like he had passed the test. He could not help but wonder, “How are other people going?”
