Chapter 105: Chapter 103: Altering Aptitude

A gentle, jade-like yellow glint flashed in his eyes before they returned to their usual depth.

But a closer look revealed a divine light simmering beneath that depth, one that could perceive the most minute details.

He gently clenched his fist. The surging power within his body moved as easily as a limb. His rushing Innate True Qi flowed with unprecedented smoothness, more docile than ever before.

With a mere thought, the speed of his Circulation was now over seventy percent faster than before!

A feeling of unprecedented affinity with nature’s spiritual energy welled up within him.

This was nothing less than a complete metamorphosis!

Having successfully used the Crimson Cicada Embryo Storage to enhance his aptitude, Qi Yun closed his eyes. The obscure, esoteric points of his cultivation that had once been impossible to grasp now began to make sense with just a moment of thought.

It seemed that if he just calmed his mind to ponder them, he could immediately achieve a thorough understanding.

It was no longer like before, where he would rack his brains in deep thought only to fail to grasp their true meaning.

’Is this... what it feels like to be a genius?’

Experiencing the feeling of being a genius firsthand, Qi Yun couldn’t help but break into a gleeful smile.

This point alone made his trip to the Peach Garden an incredible success.

After a moment of elation, Qi Yun quickly composed himself and considered his next move.

Four days had passed since he entered the Peach Garden.

According to what those Three Sects Cultivators had said earlier, the Three Sects were still continuously expanding the paths into the Peach Garden, intending to send in more True Cultivator Disciples with higher Cultivation.

’By my calculations, it should be about time for them to arrive.’

’Time to go!’

After a moment of thought, Qi Yun made his decision.

’I’ve already reaped enough rewards. If I keep loitering here, I might run into a high-Realm True Cultivator from the Three Sects. Wouldn’t all my hard work have been for nothing?’

With that thought, Qi Yun’s form flickered. He executed Gathering Form and Scattering Qi and sped toward a location he had scouted out earlier.

It was an inconspicuous corner of the Ninth Layer, where several thick branches intertwined, hiding a small space inside that could barely fit two or three people.

Qi Yun planned to lie low there until the dust settled and everything was over.

Hurrying along, relying on the superior stealth and high mobility of Gathering Form and Scattering Qi, Qi Yun bypassed several groups of Three Sects disciples and successfully arrived before the tree hollow.

A wisp of Pure Qi flickered and slipped into the hollow.

Looking at the reasonably clean space, Qi Yun nodded in satisfaction. He casually took out the Great Marvelous True Luo from his Storage Bracelet and sat down cross-legged.

’During the previous fierce battle, with the help of the White Bone Skeleton, my Innate Divine Rhyme grew much stronger. I should take this chance. Perhaps I can break through the Qi Refining Fifth Layer and reach the Sixth Layer in one go.’

With this thought, Qi Yun silently began to circulate his Cultivation Method and calmly entered a meditative state.

The Abyssal Iron Sand, like dark water on either side of him, fell silent and still. The White Bone Skeleton, its eye sockets flickering with dark green Yin Fire, gradually quieted and settled to the ground.

「...」

While Qi Yun lay hidden in the tree hollow, fiercely attempting to break through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer...

...the entire Peach Garden Secret Realm had already transformed into a true flesh-and-blood grinder!

A large number of True Cultivators from the Three Sects, led by Fan Wushi, had already flooded in.

They acted with ruthless decisiveness, wasting no time on words. Their Divine Senses swept out, and any disciple they found wearing the Holy Sect’s attire with a slightly weaker aura was met with lightning-fast, lethal force. No quarter was given!

Countless Outer Mansion Disciples of the Holy Sect didn’t even have a chance to react before they were torn apart and devoured by waves of Evil Poison Techniques and sharp Sword Qi, dying in despair.

Blood stained the scorched earth of the Peach Garden red.

However, just as the Outer Mansion Disciples were on the verge of being completely slaughtered, and the morale of the Three Sects’ True Cultivators was at its peak...

"Kill!"

A bone-chilling roar, filled with killing intent, exploded like a clap of thunder!

One after another, incomparably tyrannical auras erupted from hidden points throughout the Secret Realm, soaring into the sky.

The Inner Mansion True Cultivators of the Holy Sect, who had come on orders, had finally entered the fray!

Every one of these Inner Mansion True Cultivators was an elite who had survived rigorous selection and brutal competition.

Whether it was their Cultivation Skills, the Magic they commanded, or the Magical Artifacts they possessed, they were all clearly superior to the ordinary True Cultivators of the Three Sects!

They were like tigers pouncing on a flock of sheep.

The moment they engaged, they displayed astonishing combat prowess.

One Inner Mansion Disciple of the Holy Sect controlled eight Flying Knives wreathed in black flames.

With a flash of their blades, he cleaved a Zombie Alliance Cultivator and his zombie in two. The blades’ momentum didn’t falter as they then sliced another disciple from the Yellow Springs Netherworld in half at the waist!

Another female Inner Mansion Disciple flicked her slender fingers, sending out several formless, intangible soundwaves. Several nearby Three Sects Cultivators were struck as if by a heavy blow, bleeding from all seven orifices as they clutched their heads, howled in agony, and collapsed, writhing on the ground.

The individual strength of the Holy Sect’s Inner Mansion True Cultivators who had just entered the battle completely crushed the Three Sects’ disciples of the same rank.

If their numbers were equal, they could have completely annihilated the Three Sects’ allied forces and driven them out of the Peach Garden!

But the reality was that the number of True Cultivators pouring in from the Three Sects was simply too great.

Often, it took three or even four True Cultivators from the Three Sects, using their numerical advantage, to fearlessly besiege a single Inner Mansion Disciple from the Holy Sect.

Enough ants can bite an elephant to death, and these "ants" were by no means weak themselves.

The brutal, bloody battle instantly reached a fever pitch.

People from both sides were constantly falling.

The Holy Sect’s Inner Mansion Disciples could often take down several, or even more than ten, enemies with them.

But they too would eventually fall, either from exhaustion or a sneak attack.

The Three Sects Cultivators fell in droves, using their lives and blood to slow the advance of the Holy Sect’s elites.

At this moment, on a desolate mountain thousands of miles from the Wuji Holy Sect.

The three towering figures from before appeared once again.

The figure wreathed in Yin Qi that billowed like the rushing Nether River was the first to speak. Its voice was deep and ethereal, as if coming from the depths of the Nine Netherworld:

"According to reliable intelligence, the Infinite Demon Sect’s Inner Mansion is dispatching Inner Mansion True Cultivators from the Nine Palaces, Five Mansions, and Twenty-Three Dao Fields into the Peach Garden."

"It seems our previous calculations were correct."

"The immersion in the Cold Abyss has indeed caused the Infinite Demon Sect to lose control over the Peach Garden."

"Their opening of this great Secret Realm is just to use cannon fodder to probe the situation inside," said the figure shrouded in Yin Qi.

"In that case, we should also make our move. This is a rare opportunity. If we miss it, we’ll have no other chance once the Infinite Demon Sect regains control of the Peach Garden," said the other, androgynous-seeming figure.

"To be safe, let’s divine the heavenly secrets one more time. The Infinite Demon Sect is treacherous and cunning; we cannot afford to be careless."

After a slight hesitation, the last figure spoke.

"Good!"

"Agreed!"

Without hesitation, the other two figures nodded in agreement. They were all too familiar with the Infinite Demon Sect’s reputation.

Having reached a consensus, the three mighty beings said no more.

Their figures shifted slightly, taking their positions in a Trinity Formation.

In that instant, the entire desolate mountain...

...no, the Heaven and Earth Laws within a ten-thousand-mile radius all trembled slightly!

"Commence!"

Three voices—one deep, one ethereal, one strange—rang out simultaneously, yet bizarrely merged into a single, rule-shaking Decree.

BOOM!

Three columns of light shot up from the tops of their skulls, converging with a deafening roar tens of thousands of feet in the air, forming an immense, slowly rotating Chaos Compass.

Upon the compass, countless, impossibly intricate talismans flickered in and out of existence, representing the operational trajectories and infinite variables of all things in the world.

High in the firmament, Starlight was forcibly drawn down, cascading in silver waterfalls of light. From the depths of the earth, the aura of the netherworld was extracted, rising as streams of black dragon-like Evil Qi.

Wind and thunder raged around it, and in the void, an anomaly appeared: golden lotuses and cracks in space flickered alternately into view.

At the center of the compass, light flashed violently as countless fragments of images streamed past—the various possibilities of the future.

Finally, all the light and shadows gradually converged, stabilized, and pointed to a seemingly clear result.

The heavenly secrets showed no obvious traps. Risk and opportunity coexisted. It was the perfect time to make a move!

The divination reached its perfect conclusion. The three beings’ Heart and Spirit relaxed slightly, and the massive Chaos Compass began to slowly dissipate.

In the final moment before the compass completely vanished...

...at the very instant the core light and shadow were about to be extinguished...

...a slender finger suddenly reached out and deftly altered the original heavenly secrets.

The act was fleeting and silent, almost indistinguishable from the normal ripples of fate that occurred at the end of a divination.

This perfect coincidence, coupled with the trio’s slightly relaxed Heart and Spirit due to the successful divination, caused this subtle anomaly—which should have raised alarm—to be overlooked.

It failed to attract the slightest notice from the three mighty beings.

The light faded, and the desolate mountain returned to silence.

"The heavenly secrets are correct," the figure shrouded in Yin Qi said slowly.

"Then, let us begin," the androgynous voice said, a hint of fervor in its tone.

"Proceed as planned," the final figure said, having finally made up its mind.

「...」

「At the same time, within the Infinite Demon Sect.」

「Taixu Mirror Heaven Infinite Hall.」

A group of Foundation Establishment Masters, including Nan Dou Master, rose respectfully and bowed to a figure standing before them with its back turned.

"We respectfully see you off, True Monarch!"

「...」