Chapter 478 - 477: Brimming with Emotions

Chapter 478: Chapter 477: Brimming with Emotions

In a small pavilion at the edge of the Maze Array, just outside the exit for the mysterious prize.

Chen Yi said, swishing an ingredient in the hot pot, "This flavor is pretty good. We should come to the restaurant next time."

"It really is good," Yang Mu said. "Boss Zhong, is this a new variety?"

Zhong Yiyang replied, "Don’t even think about it. This was specially made for Sister Liu. There were only a few portions; the ingredients are too rare for mass production.

You guys just got lucky this time."

Chen Yi and the others weren’t disappointed. After all, they’d already had a taste.

Just then, the door to the mysterious reward opened, and a man and a woman walked out.

Zhong Yiyang was surprised. "It’s them again! These two are really something else."

Chen Yi added, "They really are. I heard there are only seven mysterious rewards in total, and they’ve already gotten two of them."

But Su Qi and Jiang Zuo didn’t think of themselves as particularly incredible. The entire path had been so effortless.

A Demon Cultivator had even popped up midway through as a warm-up act. This reward felt like they’d just picked it up off the ground.

"Next, I’m entering the Flying Sword competition. I’m sure I can win that one too," Su Qi declared.

Since Su Qi wanted to compete, Jiang Zuo naturally wouldn’t object. But as for Flying Swords, that was something he truly knew nothing about, so Su Qi would have to rely on herself.

’As for winning the championship... it’s best to just let fate decide.’

After all, Su Qi was only Tier Three, while the strongest competitors were at Tier Four Peak.

In fact, this was essentially a Tier Four competition. When it came to Sword Flight, Tier Four Cultivators were the main contenders.

Tier Three Cultivators who could use Sword Flight were extremely rare.

"After the Sword Flight competition, we’ll take a break, get something to eat, and then continue in the afternoon," Su Qi said with a smile.

"Okay, but does the Sword Flight competition take a long time?" Jiang Zuo asked.

He had just seen an ad for the competition, and the course seemed rather long.

Su Qi started walking ahead. "You have to fly from the inner sea to the outer sea and then back. It takes a while."

Jiang Zuo was taken aback. "That far? Forget the time—wouldn’t the spiritual energy consumption be unbearable?"

Su Qi smiled confidently. "Just you wait. I promise you’ll be surprised."

Since Su Qi was so confident, Jiang Zuo could only wait and see.

Soon, they arrived at the venue for the Sword Flight competition.

Most of the Cultivators here were Tier Four, though very few were at the peak. They were generally below rank 4.4.

’In that case,’ Jiang Zuo thought, ’as long as Su Qi doesn’t exhaust her spiritual energy during the flight, she should have a shot at winning.’

"I’m heading to the competition. Wait for me here, don’t wander off. And make sure you keep your shoes and gloves on," Su Qi instructed.

’This place is full of Cultivators,’ she thought. ’I can’t just leave him without adequate protection.’

Combined with the mysterious reward they had just received, Jiang Zuo was now practically a walking armory.

Items for escape, for offense, plus Defense—he truly had a bit of everything.

Su Qi then went and found an open spot in the contestants’ area to await the start.

"Fellow Daoists, please leave an Aura Rune so we can identify your departure batch." The host was a male Cultivator.

This Aura Rune was used to differentiate between the groups of competitors.

Because the Flying Sword race was quite long, they couldn’t wait for one batch to return before starting the next. As long as everyone’s aura was recorded, the next batch could begin.

This way, upon their return, it would be easy to determine who was truly the fastest.

After leaving her Aura Rune, Su Qi waited for the race to begin.

Each batch only had twenty people.

So they filled up quickly.

Soon, the host announced, "Now, for the fourth batch of the Flying Sword competition... await the countdown."

The countdown began: "Three... two... one..." BANG.

With a loud boom, everyone mounted their Flying Swords and shot off with a WHOOSH.

Although Su Qi’s tier was low, her overall capabilities weren’t necessarily inferior to anyone else’s.

Especially her Flying Ability.

There was a lot she was capable of.

Even if she had never formally studied certain things, she had picked up a great deal and gained many insights during her recent excursions.

Things like Cultivation Techniques, she could grasp with a single glance and master almost instantly.

It was enough to leave Jingyue utterly flabbergasted, nearly making her question her own existence.

Growing up alongside Su Qi had put Jingyue under immense pressure.

She was truly and deeply tormented by it.

Even with her recent string of fortuitous encounters, Jingyue still couldn’t escape this torment.

No matter how fast her Cultivation rose, no matter how much she progressed due to those encounters, Su Qi was always right on her heels.

It felt as if the moment she slackened, Su Qi would immediately surpass her.

’It’s agony.’

But as the Saintess and the elder sister, how could she allow herself to be overtaken?

And so, Jingyue pushed herself relentlessly.

Right now, for instance, she was enduring immense pain and braving great perils in her trial, all for the sake of surviving this godforsaken ordeal and advancing to the next stage.

Yes, this pocket dimension gave her more time, allowing her to advance faster.

She was already at rank 3.4. If she fought through this last trial, she would very likely reach 3.5.

Such speed was simply terrifying.

Advancing from 3.1 to 3.5 in a single month—how could it not be?

But she had her fortuitous encounters, and she was working herself to the bone.

Some people, however, were just different.

Jingyue’s intuition told her that if she emerged from this trial at rank 3.4, her junior sister would probably be at 3.2. If she came out at 3.5, her junior sister would very likely be at 3.3.

’Heavens knows what’s going on. My junior sister is just that outrageously talented. What can I do about it?’

Gazing at the countless dark silhouettes before her, Jingyue sighed in resignation. "This stupid trial has no mercy. It just keeps sending these suicidal attackers."

Jingyue stood there, surrounded by an endless supply of Spiritual Qi. The battle was to the death.

This place was cruel, nothing like child’s play. Her title of Saintess meant nothing here; it only served to get her pummeled.

"This is the last wave. Once I’m through, I’m eager to see what new function this mark on me will have."

With that, Jingyue charged at the dark silhouettes. Her goal was simple: annihilate everything.

***

After watching Su Qi fly off, Jiang Zuo didn’t leave. There was a live broadcast of the race, and he planned to watch it until the end.

He was slightly displeased, however, that there was very little screen time for Su Qi.

Still, it was a competition. As long as there was no foul play, Jiang Zuo wouldn’t interfere for no reason.

But Jiang Zuo, who had been focused on waiting for Su Qi’s return, suddenly turned to look toward the Seven Emotions Coast.

’How to put it... the situation here has gotten much worse.’

"I thought it would hold on for a whole day. I didn’t expect it to fail so soon," Jiang Zuo murmured to himself.

He had long since sensed there was a problem here. Under normal conditions, it should have taken a full day to meet the enemy’s requirements.

But it hadn’t even been half a day, and a full day’s quota had already been met.

This meant the Array here was about to activate ahead of schedule.

Jiang Zuo had planned not to intervene as long as it didn’t disrupt his and Su Qi’s fun. Unfortunately, it was now directly affecting their recreation.

’Good thing Su Qi already flew off,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, this would be a problem.’

Jiang Zuo stroked the Love Stone. He figured the rapid progress was probably his fault.

The ’Sky Full of Stars’ slash had been too effective, drawing in far too many people.

As a result, the amount of emotion being contributed had become exceptionally large.

That’s right—the Array on the Seven Emotions Coast was almost entirely focused on collecting emotions.

Any and all emotions.

Commonly known as the seven emotions and six desires.

If Jiang Zuo wasn’t mistaken, these people were after the Stone of Seven Emotions and Six Desires.

Whether the Stone of Seven Emotions and Six Desires was actually here, Jiang Zuo couldn’t say for sure. But those Ghost Cultivators certainly seemed to think it was.

And they were using all these emotions to lure it out.

’If that’s really the case, I have to hand it to these Ghost Cultivators,’ Jiang Zuo thought.

’To actually come up with a method like this...’

Whether at the Holy Land or here, the actions of the Ghost Cultivators always surprised him.

Though their plan at the Holy Land was doomed to fail, if he hadn’t been involved, the Holy Land would have suffered terribly—unless Silver Armor and the others had appeared sooner.

Here, however, the Ghost Cultivators were completely running the show.

’I just wonder if these Ghost Cultivators ever considered that the Stone of Seven Emotions and Six Desires is an incredibly dangerous artifact.’

’And besides, who’s to say that what’s being drawn out by all these emotions is actually the Stone of Seven Emotions and Six Desires?’

Jiang Zuo moved from his spot. He needed to find a wider, more open space, and he also had to evade the search parties.

Why?

Because he had the Love Stone.

Theoretically, he was the primary transmitter of all the emotions.

If the Stone of Seven Emotions and Six Desires was truly being lured out, it would most likely be drawn to him.

Therefore, the Ghost Cultivators must have already started searching for him.

But who could possibly find him?

***

Ahem, fellow Daoists and Fairies, if you have a moment, please give a "heart" for Su Qi and Jiang Zuo.

Let’s try to break 200,000 someday (he says with a nervous smile).

I hear that people who give hearts have a much easier time finding a boyfriend or girlfriend.