Chapter 385 – Luring Into the Trap

“General, are you still guarding here? It’s so late, you should rest early. Leave this place to us.”

On the White Tiger Great Wall, the Great General of the White Tiger Army, Transformation Soul Stage Cultivator Xiahou Lei, heard the voice beside him but did not respond immediately.

He gazed into the distance at the ten-thousand-mile demon cloud stirred up by the million-strong demon army, sinking into deep contemplation.

Seeing this, the White Tiger soldiers beside him seemed to understand something and did not speak further.

Instead, they stood with Xiahou Lei on the White Tiger Great Wall.

The White Tiger Great Wall was now bustling with activity, its ramparts filled with patrolling cultivators.

Not only that, but these cultivators’ cultivation levels were quite impressive.

Every one of them was at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The squad leaders above them were even at the peak of Foundation Establishment, or even Golden Core Stage existences.

With so many cultivators gathered together, even without relying on the White Tiger Great Wall,

they were confident they could repel the million demons outside.

But this raised a question.

What was the true purpose of this demon army?

Even they knew that a mere million demons couldn’t breach the White Tiger Great Wall.

The demons who gathered this army couldn’t be unaware of this.

Yet they still came.

If it was for ‘hunting,’ they could have dispersed their forces to cover the entire White Tiger Great Wall.

This way, although it would be more difficult to threaten the White Tiger Great Wall,

it would also disperse the White Tiger Army’s military strength, thereby causing casualties to some extent.

But they didn’t do this, instead gathering all together.

Putting on a posture of decisive battle.

This was completely different from previous occurrences.

Unusual events must have hidden reasons.

As the Great General of the White Tiger Army, Xiahou Lei instinctively felt that this demon invasion wasn’t as simple as it appeared on the surface.

There must be some special purpose hidden within.

The problem was he couldn’t discern what this purpose was.

This made it even more difficult for Xiahou Lei to calm his mind.

After watching for who knows how long, Xiahou Lei suddenly spoke: “Jiancai, what do you think these beasts’ true purpose is?”

Hearing Xiahou Lei’s words, Jiancai was momentarily stunned, then he also looked toward the million demons’ direction. After thinking for a moment, he said: “As for these beasts’ intentions, even an ordinary person could figure it out with their Foot’s toes.”

“Nine times out of ten, it’s still for so-called hunting, to obtain more Blood Food for those greater demons above them.”

“Is that so…”

Xiahou Lei looked at Jiancai, seemingly not agreeing with this explanation.

Under Xiahou Lei’s gaze, Jiancai became somewhat uncertain.

He tentatively asked: “General, could these wretched creatures have some other purpose?”

“But with their current strength, forget breaching the White Tiger Great Wall, even causing us large-scale casualties would be quite difficult.”

“I really can’t think of any other purpose they might have besides hunting for Blood Food.”

“Yes, besides hunting, what other purpose could they have…”

Xiahou Lei followed Jiancai’s words, unconsciously murmuring to himself.

Although he always felt there was something strange about this situation,

Xiahou Lei ultimately decided not to dwell on it further.

After all, everyone has their own responsibilities.

As long as they fulfilled their own duties, no matter what happened, they would have the strength to fight.Currently, their task at the White Tiger Great Wall was to guard this place well.

As for everything else, they would leave it to others to handle.

With this thought, Xiahou Lei finally regained his usual authority.

“Pass down the order: everyone must stay alert. This great battle is not merely a trial but also a rare Opportunity.”

“As long as one survives this great battle, it will be a tremendous gain for each individual.”

“Yes.”

Jian Cai’s spirits lifted, and he relayed these words faithfully to everyone on the White Tiger Great Wall.

In truth, even without Xiahou Lei’s reminder, those on the White Tiger Great Wall understood this well.

In times of peace, earning military merits was no easy feat.

Although there were many followers of the Demonic Path within the Immortal Alliance now,

these individuals had little skill in fighting but were exceptionally good at hiding.

Tracking them down often required immense effort, with no guarantee of success in the end.

Toiling for long hours without necessarily gaining much merit was, for many Cultivators, an unprofitable endeavor.

But this great battle was different.

The terrifying and ferocious Demons in the eyes of ordinary people

were, in the eyes of the White Tiger Army, nothing but walking military merits—

Gifts delivered right to their doorstep.

Not only did the Demons regard the Cultivators on the White Tiger Great Wall as prey,

but the Cultivators on the White Tiger Great Wall also saw them as prey.

Time slipped away steadily in this eerie standoff.

Great Wilderness Pagoda, Dao Academy competition venue.

As today was the final day of the Dao Academy competition,

the Arena for this round was arranged in a new Arena within the Great Wilderness Pagoda.

Strangely, however, this Arena was much smaller than the previous ones.

Each of the earlier Arenas had been large enough to accommodate a hundred thousand spectators,

but this one could only seat twenty thousand—

a reduction in capacity by five times.

Moreover, the entry requirements for this round were particularly unusual.

Without belonging to a School, even if no one stopped you, spectators could not enter the Arena.

Ordinary spectators didn’t mind this arrangement much,

assuming that the Barren Wilderness Academy was taking the Dao Academy competition very seriously and worried about potential disruptions.

But for those with ulterior motives, this change was undoubtedly peculiar.

“Strange, has the Great Wilderness Pagoda ever opened such a floor before?”

Shen, one of the Five Revered Ones of the Great Thousand Mountains, frowned as he watched the orderly line entering the Arena in the distance.

His intuition told him that this Arena was completely different from the previous ones,

exuding peculiarity from every angle.

Hearing this, the Revered One Foot beside him calmly said, “Isn’t it within our expectations that the Immortal Alliance would take precautions?”

“If they had no reaction at all, I would find that strange instead.”

“This arrangement precisely indicates that, although they’ve detected something amiss, they still haven’t pinpointed the crux of the problem.”

“For us, this is not only not a bad thing but actually a good one.”

“After all, people are most off-guard when they are at their most confident.”

“The Great Wilderness Pagoda, believing it has made ample preparations, is precisely at its most vulnerable—and that is our best Opportunity.”

Hearing Foot’s words, the other two Revered Ones nearby fell silent for a long while.

In the end, they also agreed with Foot’s reasoning, finding her words persuasive.In truth, whether this Arena had issues or not, they no longer had any choice.

Even if they clearly knew it might be a trap.

They had to plunge right in.

Because even if there were traps, they believed that with their ample preparations,

even if they couldn’t complete the mission, escaping unscathed shouldn’t be a problem.

After all, the ‘Fiend Skin’ that could even deceive the Nine Provinces Immortal Cauldron would find it no difficulty to fool the Great Wilderness Pagoda’s inspections.

And reality proved them right.

The three of them, holding the so-called tickets, quickly entered the Arena.

The Arena was already packed with people at this point.

Scattered among the crowd, the three of them appeared utterly inconspicuous.

Additionally, some Great Thousand Mountains disciples began quietly leaving their original seats under the pretext of going to the restroom, heading toward other areas.

But what they didn’t know was that this time, their every move was being closely watched by the Immortal Alliance.

In a special space within the Arena, imperceptible to ordinary people,

Xiao held a small Pagoda in his hand, intently observing the changes within it.

Upon closer inspection, the Pagoda contained numerous tiny figures.

These figures were densely packed, resembling ants.

Looking even closer, one would realize that these so-called tiny figures were exact replicas of the audience currently seated in the Arena’s stands.

Some of these figures bore eerie markings.

There weren’t many of these peculiar figures—only about a hundred or so—scattered throughout the Arena.

And these peculiar figures were none other than the Cultivators from the Great Thousand Mountains.

“So, have you identified those rats?” Xiao turned his head. The speaker was a Cultivator wearing a Seven Stars · Tianxuan mask.

The Central Seven Stars—this was the Immortal Alliance’s most deeply concealed force.

The fact that a Central Seven Stars member had come to the Great Wilderness Pagoda demonstrated the Immortal Alliance’s emphasis on this operation.

Xiao nodded and replied, “Most of the rats have already been marked, and Dao Marks have been placed on them. Once the battle begins, unless I deliberately let them go, they’ll never leave the Great Wilderness Pagoda in this lifetime.”

Tianxuan looked at the scene inside the small Pagoda, thought for a moment, and said, “Can you pinpoint the locations of those big rats?”

Xiao shook his head. “Those big rats are hiding very well. Since they can evade the Nine Provinces Immortal Cauldron, they can naturally evade me as well.”

“I haven’t been able to trace them for now.”

Tianxuan wasn’t surprised by this answer.

After all, he never expected the Great Thousand Mountains’ Transformation Soul Stage Cultivators to be found so easily.

But it didn’t matter if they couldn’t be found.

As long as they were still inside this Arena, they wouldn’t be able to leave easily.

After all, this place was specially prepared for these rats.

As for the audience currently present in the Arena, they were merely a smokescreen to lull the rats into complacency.

Not to mention that many of these audience members were actually high-level Cultivators disguised by the Immortal Alliance.

Even the genuine ordinary people held ‘tickets’ that were far from simple.

They were, in fact, Dao Marks.

If Xiao wished, he could instantly use these Dao Marks to teleport those ordinary audience members out.

The tickets were merely a means to conceal the Dao Marks.

It could be said that for this ‘inviting the gentleman into the urn’ operation, the Immortal Alliance had made thorough preparations.The only thing that slightly surprised them was the million demons currently gathered outside the White Tiger Great Wall.

However, even with these million demons, the Immortal Alliance was absolutely confident they could handle them.

The reason they hadn’t made a move yet was simply because they were preparing to catch bigger fish.

And the time to close the net wasn’t far away.

As for the undercurrents stirring within the Arena, the students of Clear River Dao Academy preparing for the competition remained unaware.

Their attention was entirely focused on Lu Chen, who sat alone in the rest area not far away.

Though it was somewhat embarrassing to admit, Lu Chen alone had brought tremendous pressure upon their entire Clear River Dao Academy.

Many Clear River Dao Academy students themselves believed they stood little chance of winning this Dao Academy competition.

Before coming, they had been so confident of their victory.

With Jiang Dongliu at the Golden Core Stage, how could they possibly lose?

Though they had known that Lihuo Dao Academy also had a Sword Cultivator at the Golden Core Stage.

But even among Golden Core Stage cultivators, there were differences.

They had all witnessed Jiang Dongliu’s talent.

Everyone believed that even among Golden Core Stage cultivators, Jiang Dongliu would undoubtedly be the strongest in this Dao Academy competition.

Yet after witnessing Lu Chen’s two previous matches, they had all changed their minds.

There was no other reason – Lu Chen’s performance was simply too astonishing.

That terrifying cultivation base, that despair-inducing Sword Mountain.

Everything about him made the Clear River Dao Academy students feel that Lu Chen’s Golden Core Stage was far from being of ordinary quality as many had assumed.

Many people, upon learning that Lu Chen had achieved the Golden Core Stage during high school, not only didn’t consider him exceptionally talented but thought he was digging his own grave, recklessly wasting his potential.

After all, achieving the Golden Core Stage in high school meant he had very little time for accumulation.

How high could the quality of a Golden Core achieved in such a short time possibly be?

They thought he was just an impulsive youth eager to show off, sacrificing his future in the process.

But after this Dao Academy competition, these people had all changed their minds.

Given Lu Chen’s performance, this was no ordinary Golden Core.

Calling it a Heavenly Path Golden Core wouldn’t be an exaggeration in the slightest.

This was also Jiang Dongliu’s view.

He had long believed that the quality of Lu Chen’s Golden Core couldn’t possibly be as low as outsiders speculated.

After all, he had personally sparred with Lu Chen before.

Though Lu Chen hadn’t achieved the Golden Core Stage at that time, it had given him a preliminary understanding of Lu Chen’s character.

He understood clearly that Lu Chen wasn’t the type to chase fame and fortune at the expense of his future.

If Lu Chen chose to condense his Golden Core, he must have been certain of success before proceeding.

The reason Jiang Dongliu had previously believed his chances of winning were good was precisely because his own Golden Core was a Heavenly Path Golden Core.

Logically speaking, the gap between a Heavenly Path Golden Core and Earth Path or Human Path Golden Cores was enormous.

Even if Lu Chen had broken through earlier than him, it would be difficult for Lu Chen to use that time to bridge the quality gap between their Golden Cores.

But Lu Chen had already proven through two matches that the quality of his Golden Core was, at the very minimum, that of a third-grade Heavenly Path.

Otherwise, Lu Chen during his match against Meow King couldn’t have exerted such tremendous pressure on him.

Yet the more this was true, the more excited Jiang Dongliu became.

After all, nothing could excite a Sword Cultivator like him more than defeating such an extraordinary Sword Cultivator.Thus, amidst the low-spirited students of Clear River Dao Academy,

Jiang Dongliu instead displayed an intense Battle Intent.

He was yearning, yearning for the upcoming battle.

In contrast, Lu Chen remained much calmer.

Because his focus was not on the venue, but beyond it…

(End of Chapter)