Chapter 117: Impossible Occurrence

Within the Wheel of Life and Death, a tall tower pierced the heavens, its entire body cast in bronze-purple metal, densely embedded with countless small windows.

The sky overhead was bleak and heavy, as though rain would fall at any moment, creating an oppressive atmosphere. From afar, a narrow staircase spiraled tightly around the outside of the tower, winding upward from the base toward the summit.

At this moment, a group of cultivators was rushing down from the top of the tower, while a massive black shadow trailed them from the sky above, descending along the spiral path wrapped around the tower.

As they fled, they constantly glanced back, though the black shadow was now only a li behind, it wasn’t descending in a straight line but was instead coiling downward along the outer stairway. For now, it couldn’t catch up.

All the while, the cultivators unleashed spells upward, fending off waves of spirit beasts and demonic birds flying out from the countless tower windows.

Enormous Bloodshadow Eagles, swarms of Black Abyss Bats, and bloodthirsty Crimson Mosquitoes surged forth in tides.

The sky was ablaze with multicolored spell-lights flashing nonstop; explosions thundered one after another. The spirit birds seemed endless, pouring continuously from the tower's windows.

They fearlessly dove toward the cultivators on the path. Though one batch after another was slain, the next wave would immediately fill the sky, utterly relentless.

The cultivators' descent was slow. Though the attacks all came from the tower, the spirit beasts quickly scattered, attacking from every direction, making escape impossible.

One Qi Condensation cultivator in a Grand Profound Sect robe was simultaneously besieged by three giant Skywing Birds. He summoned a lantern-shaped spirit treasure, from which crimson flames flared outward.

Where the crimson glow struck the birds’ violet feathers, smoke sizzled and rose. The birds screeched in agony, but refused to fall.

Their eyes burned with red light. After several breaths of bombardment, one of the Skywing Birds had lost most of its feathers, struggling to even stay aloft.

It gave a final, piercing cry and threw itself directly at the lantern, wings curled inward as if embracing it.

At once, thick black smoke poured from its body as a burnt stench filled the air. It was clearly dead.

But its desperate assault dimmed much of the lantern's glow, giving the other two Skywing Birds an opening. With a shriek, they dove in unison.

The Grand Profound cultivator hadn’t expected such intelligence from the beasts, willing to sacrifice themselves to cover their comrades’ attack.

Panicked, his mind faltered. His hand seals slowed for just a moment and that was enough.

Two gusts of wind from the birds’ wings slammed into him like razors. The force was unstoppable. The nearby cultivators couldn’t save him in time.

“No-!”

With a scream, he was flung from the path, tumbling into the endless mist and clouds below. His cries quickly faded into the depths.

Up front, two leading cultivators glanced back.

One of them, while fending off attackers, spoke grimly:

“Brother Wang, if this continues, we may lose half our force before even meeting the Wraith Sect or the beast clans.

“Brother Quan,” replied the other, “although we’ve uncovered the secret of this place, it’s still just speculation from that Core Formation senior. Now that both routes have merged, the attacks we face are far denser than expected, something we couldn’t have foreseen.

“We’ve already cleared over six or seven li. Even if only fifty of us remain, we’ll still have the strength to defeat either the Wraith Sect or the beast clans.”

As he spoke, this young man slashed through the air. Sword light flashed in crisscrossing arcs, shredding over a dozen Black Abyss Bats into a mist of blood, clearly an inner sword disciple from the Ten-Step Court.

“But Brother Wang,” Quan continued, “even so, only two Foundation Establishment cultivators can enter each path at a time. It’ll still come down to one-on-one battles.”

“Unless one of us falls or withdraws, only then can another enter to engage. If only we Foundation Establishment cultivators could number seventy-two like the Qi Condensation disciples…”

He glanced sideways at his companion, an inner sword cultivator. He himself wore the robes of Grand Profound Sect. Strangely enough, both exuded the aura of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Even more baffling, both of them were on the same path outside the bronze tower in the Wheel of Life and Death.

Behind them, over sixty cultivators followed, far exceeding the usual limit of thirty-seven per path.

And what was even more inexplicable: they came from two rival sects.

Despite this irregularity, the rules of the Life-and-Death Wheel hadn’t reacted. The path continued to stretch forward as if nothing were amiss.

Such an anomaly shouldn’t exist, yet here it was, playing out in full.

At the very core of the Life-and-Death Wheel, in a space suffused with yellow earth energy, there was no one present, yet an aged voice muttered to itself:

“Heh… to think someone could see through the Five Elements spatial laws and manipulate them for their own ends.

To think they even managed to gather so many Qi Condensation disciples with matching elemental affinities. As for those two Foundation Establishment cultivators, they’re only able to remain together thanks to that blue crystal…

I’ve been asleep far too long. Who knows how many ages have passed? If not for this activation of the Life-and-Death Wheel, I might still be slumbering…

But that mixed-spirit-root disciple… Why does his aura feel so familiar? Where have I sensed it before…?”

The voice trailed off, fading into silence...

A desolate ancient road stretched into the sunset, flanked by endless desert. Crumbling ruins dotted the barren plains, massive shattered statues, broken arms of Buddhas buried in the sand, cracked heads staring upward into the blood-red sky.

Scorpions skittered out from thorny bushes, vanishing into the distant sands, leaving faint trails behind them.

“Rest for half an hour. No matter how much spiritual energy you recover, we move out immediately afterward. Until then, no one is to advance or touch anything nearby.”

Having exited the sphere last, Gong Chenying surveyed the group. Some stood, some sat all examining their surroundings cautiously. Those still standing were likely the more powerful; most others had already begun meditating to recover.

After surviving the first trial, the street of spirit shops, they hadn’t had time to discuss. But everyone here had been handpicked by the Wraith Sect for their excellence. They were no fools.

They had mostly deduced that, so long as one didn’t move or touch anything recklessly, the hidden restrictions wouldn’t activate.

Yet they also knew there were exceptions, such as the shadow that had suddenly appeared after a set time.

Li Yan sat down about three feet from the road’s edge, took out spirit stones and began meditating. But he didn’t fully immerse himself in cultivation.

He stayed alert.

He knew the others did the same. No one dared enter true deep meditation here, at most, they just tried to absorb as much spiritual energy as possible.

He understood Gong Chenying’s dilemma. This wasn’t an ideal place to recover, but most people had exhausted seventy percent of their spiritual power. Only a few retained half, himself among them.

Li Yan had around eighty percent left, thanks to his continuous circulation of the Guishui True Scripture, which sustained a steady replenishment.

If they moved forward now, they’d end up like the monks from the Pure Land Sect, low in numbers, lower in strength. But with the looming threat of the dark shadow’s return, Gong Chenying had no choice but to allow this brief reprieve.

On the ancient road, the group sat cross-legged in silence. To a cultivator in the middle of recovery, half an hour felt like the blink of an eye.

Gong Chenying opened her eyes, only to blink in surprise.

One person was already standing by the roadside, Li Yan.

The spiritual energy here was exceptionally dense, and aided by spirit stones, recovery was rapid. Even so, she had only managed to regain thirty percent. With cultivation, the more advanced one became, the more vast one’s spiritual reserves.

Seeing Li Yan standing there, gazing into the distance, Gong Chenying frowned.

“Did he not expend much energy in the battle? But I remember he fought hard… His physique really is strange.”

A quick scan with her divine sense confirmed it, Li Yan had fully recovered. She hadn’t paid close attention earlier, having exhausted herself.

Others were beginning to rouse now. Gong Chenying scanned them one by one and sighed inwardly.

“Half an hour clearly isn’t enough. At this rate, we won’t even be at forty percent strength compared to when we arrived.”

As she considered their next move, a voice broke the silence.

“Sixth Senior Sister, I ask your pardon for speaking out of turn.

First, we’re already delayed half an hour later than the others. If we set off now in our current condition, even if we reach the end, how many will survive? We'd be in the same plight as the Pure Land Sect, too few and too weak.

Second, the Life-and-Death Wheel has an abundance of spiritual energy. Recovery here is several times faster than in the outside world. That being the case, wouldn’t the creator of this formation have accounted for recovery time in every stage?

Third, If time for recovery was granted, where is the safe place to recover and how long is it meant to be?

Fourth, I’ve recovered almost fully. I can stand watch temporarily. If danger arises, I’ll sound the warning.”

All eyes turned. It was Li Yan, standing by the road. He had withdrawn his gaze from the desert and now looked seriously toward Gong Chenying.

The others were briefly startled by his words, then gradually nodded in agreement.

After all, he was the only one who could speak candidly with her and his reasoning made perfect sense. No one wanted to repeat the tragedy of the Pure Land Sect.

Gong Chenying listened without interrupting. When Li Yan finished, her eyes lingered on him for a moment.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then nodded.

“Very well. We recover fully. Junior Brother, stay alert.”

With that, she closed her eyes again without hesitation.

Brilliant and decisive, she had instantly understood Li Yan’s concise reasoning and acted without wasting another breath.

(Chapter End)