The name floated above the disk, and the entire square of immortal sects erupted in an uproar.
"What's going on?"
"Didn’t Taiqiong Sect only send two cultivators, one at the Qi Condensation Stage and one at the Foundation Establishment Stage?"
"When did they place the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures? When did they register?"
"What does this mean? A cultivator at the Qi Condensation Stage wants to compete with cultivators at the Golden Core Stage?"
"What is Taiqiong Sect up to now?"
Honestly, Hetu also wanted to join them in a heated discussion about what went wrong.
But he didn’t have the chance.
After his name appeared on the Curious Exquisite Bureau, it was etched onto the stone disk.
Immediately after, Hetu felt himself fly up, and everything around him gradually turned into a mist.
Faintly, he saw True Person Baisong reaching out towards him, but it was too late.
Someone grabbed his clothes. Hetu turned to see his junior sister, Qingming.
Then, Hetu and Qingming vanished together into the Curious Exquisite Bureau.
Some people stood up and exclaimed, others shook their heads, and some wore smiles, seemingly watching a show.
The members of the Five Lotus Sword Sect all had grim expressions.
Especially True Person Sizhai, the peak lord of Baolian Peak, who was in charge of overseeing the Curious Exquisite Bureau.
Looking at the stone disk, then at the name [Qingming] appearing again, followed by the Curious Exquisite Bureau automatically closing and dimming.
True Person Sizhai’s heart turned ice-cold.
"How did that female cultivator get in?!"
"Didn’t her name appear on the Curious Exquisite Bureau before?"
"The Curious Exquisite Bureau is indeed malfunctioning, isn’t it?"
"How can anyone believe this?"
People from other immortal sects were already arguing.
But the Curious Exquisite Bureau had closed, and the soonest it could be reopened was ten days later.
As for the malfunction of the Curious Exquisite Bureau, it was already a foregone conclusion.
————————
Hetu, with Qingming, walked through a vast expanse of white mist.
Hetu felt nothing, but the mist seemed rather dense for Qingming.
With every step Qingming took, it was incredibly difficult. If Hetu hadn’t been blocking in front of her, she would likely have been pushed away by this mist composed of spiritual energy.
Hetu didn’t know how long he had walked. Within this cloud of spiritual energy, there was no need to eat or drink, nor sleep or rest.
It felt as if this spiritual energy naturally provided everything needed for survival.
And the concept of time had become muddled since they entered.
But it wasn’t entirely without benefits.
At least Hetu discovered that his junior sister Qingming’s Foundation Establishment Value was soaring. It was [ ] before, and now it had increased by one hundred Foundation Establishment Value.
This one hundred Foundation Establishment Value would take dozens of years of cultivation for someone with mediocre talent.
As for himself.
Qi Condensation Stage (????????)
Alright, it increased a bit of Qi Refining Value, which was better than nothing.
Just as Hetu was lost in thought, the mist before them gradually dissipated.
It felt like passing through a hazy sea of fog; at first, everything was misty, then it suddenly cleared, and vision became sharp.
Stepping forward led to a ten thousand zhang cliff!
"The starting difficulty is a bit too high…"
Hetu looked around the environment. They were standing on a protruding stone disk outside a cliff, only about five steps in diameter.
Without a magical artifact, descending was absolutely impossible.
The Curious Exquisite Bureau contained its own universe, vast and immense.
According to True Person Jiajiu, within the Curious Exquisite Bureau, upon sustaining a certain level of injury, one would be sent out.
But Hetu had no intention of getting deliberately injured. Although it wouldn’t kill them, it would still hurt, right?
"Sect Leader Senior Brother, what do we do now?"
Qingming stood beside Hetu. This time, she didn’t feel any fear of heights.
After walking out of the mist, she felt a sense of relief.
"Let’s go down first."
Hetu said, then suddenly froze.
He had been observing his surroundings, and then he suddenly felt two streams of spiritual energy intermingling, coming from behind.
Then a loud bang echoed from the cliff—
"Boom!"
The two streams of spiritual energy exploded, shaking half the cliff to pieces. Vaguely, several magical artifacts could be seen streaking past.
The stone disk where Hetu and Qingming were standing was protruding from the cliff. Now that the cliff had broken, they naturally lost their balance and plunged into the bottomless abyss.
Qingming remained calm in the face of danger, manipulating the Universe Stone in her hand, trying to gather spiritual energy.
But behind the falling rocks from above, several streams of light were already pouring down.
Under the huge spiritual energy explosion, Qingming’s gathered spiritual energy was instantly dispersed, and large rocks, struck by spells from above, continued to fall rapidly.
Hetu had no time to think. He raised his hand and pulled Qingming into his embrace.
He turned sideways, shielding Qingming with his own body.
Then, like a cannonball, he slammed heavily onto the ground.
Boom!
A muffled, earth-shattering sound erupted from the bottom of the cliff. The dust kicked up by the giant rocks hitting the ground spread everywhere.
True Person Ziyang stood with his feet on his immortal sword, hands behind his back.
Behind him, mist filled the air, and the wind howled. His robes fluttered, exuding an aura of immortality, incredibly handsome.
He glanced at the cliff with a hint of regret, then quickly focused.
He formed a hand seal, and sword shadows swirled behind his immortal sword, scattering white sword energy in all directions. Four more figures emerged, flying on magical artifacts.
They were the other four disciples of Shushan Xiaoyao Palace.
However, their target was not Hetu and Qingming, but a black silhouette controlling a magical artifact in the sky!
However, during the clash of magical artifacts and spells just now, that person seemed to have been injured and was now fleeing at extreme speed, controlling their magical artifact.
"Senior Brother, let’s chase them quickly!"
True Person Coushu of Shushan Xiaoyao Palace urged, but True Person Ziyang shook his head and said:
"The enemy’s situation is unknown, and we’ve only seen one person so far. Pursuing rashly might lead into an ambush."
After True Person Ziyang finished speaking, Fairy Chixia looked down at the cliff, towards the dust that had yet to dissipate:
"Senior Brother, saving people is more important."
True Person Ziyang nodded. Fairy Chixia took the lead, flying down towards the bottom. True Person Jia Yi, True Person Bingding, and True Person Coushu exchanged glances and followed, flying on their magical artifacts.
During the aerial battle, the five from Shushan Xiaoyao Palace had actually sensed Hetu and Qingming suddenly appearing on the battlefield.
However, they were in the heat of battle and couldn’t stop at will.
As a result, the two were caught in the crossfire of their battle and fell off the cliff along with falling rocks. Their fate was now unknown.
Fairy Chixia was so eager to go down and check because she vaguely thought she saw Hetu and Qingming.
Why would those two appear here?
Fairy Chixia couldn’t figure it out; only by going down could she know.
But if it were true, at such a height, and with the stray spells from the battle, they likely wouldn't survive.
But before Fairy Chixia could land, she saw two people covered in dust standing on the barren ground below the cliff, beside the rubble.
They... they weren’t dead?!
Not only were they not dead, but they appeared completely unharmed. Hetu was even patting the dust off Qingming's back.
Fairy Chixia paused for a moment before accelerating her descent. Hetu and Qingming had naturally seen the five from Shushan Xiaoyao Palace flying over. However, with such a short distance, there was nowhere to hide.
"Sect Leader Zhen, Qingming, why are you two here?"
Fairy Chixia asked anxiously before even landing.
Behind her, True Person Ziyang and the other disciples of Shushan Xiaoyao Palace had also arrived.
Except for True Person Ziyang, the other three looked flustered and quite vigilant.
"We unintentionally injured the two of you just now. Are you unharmed?"
Hetu was, of course, unharmed. He patted the dust off himself, coughed a couple of times from inhaling it, and then said:
"It’s nothing, nothing. Just my clothes are a bit dirty.
As for why we appeared here, it’s strange. The Curious Exquisite Bureau actually displayed my name and directly sucked me and my junior sister in.
By the way, we don’t have any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures on us."
Hetu stated honestly, but Fairy Chixia and True Person Ziyang’s expressions became somewhat peculiar.
Among them, Hetu quickly noticed divine sense telepathy:
【Fairy Chixia: At such a height, and hit by spells, they are completely unharmed?】
【True Person Jia Yi: Perhaps it’s a protective magical artifact from Taiqiong Sect?】
【True Person Bing Ding: This magical artifact is truly formidable.】
【True Person Coushu: But the timing of these two’s appearance is too strange. Is there a trick involved?】
【True Person Jia Yi: Indeed, why would cultivators at the Qi Condensation Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage enter?】
【True Person Ziyang: Perhaps Taiqiong Sect only had these two, so they were granted an exception. In this critical time, let’s not dwell on such details.】
The five of them communicated via divine sense telepathy for a while. Then, True Person Ziyang looked around and said:
"This place is not safe. You two should come with us."
Hetu listened to True Person Ziyang’s tone. It didn’t sound like they were participating in the Rare Treasure Convention, but more like a battlefield. He couldn’t help but ask:
"What happened?"
True Person Ziyang said gravely:
"Someone died in the Curious Exquisite Bureau."
(Second update, seeking recommendation tickets!)
(There's an inside mole, this chapter ends the transaction!)