They had been lying there for some time.

For Wei Tianchong, this sort of dull watch was pure torture. He finally couldn’t stand it and said, “Hey, how long do we have to keep watch here?”

Tang Jie ignored him.

Wei Tianchong panicked a little. Pushing Tang Jie, he said, “Say something! The Seven Absolutions Sect people went over a while ago, so why is there still nothing?”

Tang Jie finally answered, “I also don’t understand why they haven’t done anything yet, but it’s not like you can control everything in this world. Everyone is fighting for victory, so neither you nor I know if Yun Wuji has some sort of trick that he’s used to delay the Seven Absolutions Sect. But no matter what methods they use, what should happen will happen… Be a little more patient.”

Helpless, Wei Tianchong could only keep lying in the bush.

Perhaps because he was bored, Wei Tianchong turned over and used his arms as a pillow. “Tang Jie.”

“What is it?”

“What do you think the young palace lord looks like?”

Tang Jie turned his head to Wei Tianchong. “What?”

Wei Tianchong grinned. “I was just thinking: what if, after we were all done fighting each other, we discovered that the young palace lord was some ugly freak. Wouldn’t that be very funny?”

Tang Jie laughed. “The young palace lord of the Wandering Palace, Shen Qingdan, is a renowned beauty. How could she be an ugly monster?”

“That’s exactly the problem!” Wei Tianchong said. “Everyone says that Shen Qingdan is a beauty, but who has ever seen her before? No one! Isn’t that complete nonsense? Everyone knows that she’s a great beauty, yet few people have ever seen her, so where did her reputation as a beauty come from? There’s something wrong here. There’s an eighty percent chance that someone was intentionally spreading these rumors.”

Tang Jie looked at Wei Tianchong in surprise. “Pretty good, Young Master. You even managed to consider things to that level! It seems like you’ve been pondering this problem the last few days whenever you’re free, huh?”

Wei Tianchong replied, “It’s not like I’m the only one thinking it. You have to realize that if I accidentally end up getting into the top then and somehow gain that young palace lord’s favor, wouldn’t I be in big trouble if she ended up being some ugly girl?”

Tang Jie sincerely said, “Young Master, as a person, you have to know your limits!”

“Tang Jie, are you looking down on me?”

Tang Jie threw his head back and laughed, “Of course not! How could I possibly?”

Wei Tianchong said nothing.

Tang Jie thought that he had angered him and awkwardly said, “Well… it’s not like you’re that bad…”

Wei Tianchong shook his head. “I truly don’t have a chance.”

“Hm?” Tang Jie froze.

Wei Tianchong continued, “If not for you, I wouldn’t have even had the chance to participate in this Immortal Fortune Conference. I’ve only been able to get this far, participate in the conference, and even get through the first round and enter this blessed land, all because of you. I’m already very satisfied to have gotten this far.”

He looked at Tang Jie with eyes brimming over with gratitude.

Seeing how serious Wei Tianchong was being, Tang Jie smiled and said, “I’m only trying to fulfill the Heart Demon Oath I made back then. Don’t forget that if the young master doesn’t shed mortality, I will never shed my status as a servant, and if the young master does not reach Celestial Heart, I will never leave the family registry.”

Wei Tianchong replied, “You should know that I stopped treating you as a servant long ago.”

Yes.

After becoming a True Inheritor, Wei Tianchong had actually stopped treating Tang Jie as his servant student. In his eyes, Tang Jie was his most reliable friend.

Tang Jie simply chuckled. “A person’s status… still has some meaning.”

A person’s status?

Wei Tianchong chewed over these words for a bit, and then he nodded. “I see. Very well. Tang Jie, for your sake, your young master will work hard to cultivate. I will reach Mortal Shedding early so that you can shed your servant status early.”

“I look forward to it.” Tang Jie lightly punched him on the shoulder, and the two of them smiled as brothers would.

At this moment, a shockwave erupted in the distant forest.

Shaken, Tang Jie shouted, “It’s here!”

The long-awaited battle had finally begun. In the distance, spiritual energy converged, clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled. One could tell from the shifts in spiritual energy alone that an intense battle was taking place.

Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong both began to gather energy for battle.

It wasn’t long before three figures appeared in the distance, running their way. It was none other than the three Beast Refining Gate students.

Wei Tianchong was delighted at the situation. “It really was them. Tang Jie, your ability to predict is simply divine.”

But Tang Jie simply frowned.

The clothes of the three Beast Refining Gate students were very neat, and it didn’t appear like they had been through battle. While the Seven Absolutions Sect would primarily focus on Godhead Palace, there was no reason for them to completely ignore the Beast Refining Gate. Had Yun Wuji been so formidable that he was singlehandedly holding back the Seven Absolutions Sect party?

Tang Jie didn’t know the exact details, but he did know that these three coming toward him were doomed.

As the three Beast Refining Gate students ran over, they simply didn’t think that they could be ambushed. When the three of them passed the ambush point, Tang Jie barked, “Strike!”

The two of them jumped up. Wei Tianchong waved his left hand, and a cyclone flew out from his side. As it approached the trio, it turned into a humanoid soldier that blew a chilling wind at the targets: a Darkwind Warrior. At the same time, a bolt of lightning flew out from the axe in Wei Tianchong’s right hand, unleashing the Changfeng Thirteenth Style.

The trio reacted quickly, realizing that something was wrong the moment they felt a shift in the wind, and tried to move to the side. Unfortunately, they were just one step too slow. The Beast Refining Gate student at the front was struck by the Darkwind Warrior’s chilling wind and went stiff, after which Wei Tianchong’s attack struck him in the back.

With a cry, the student threw up blood and was sent flying, but he wasn’t cut in half as expected. If one looked at his back, one would see a glint of gold: Godhead Armor.

Regardless of where this Beast Refining Gate student had gotten it, this Godhead Armor had managed to block Wei Tianchong’s formidable strike, but the force of the Changfeng Thirteenth Style still penetrated through his body, inflicting serious wounds.

Just as he was trying to dodge to the side, a saber swept across his neck, slicing off his head. This time, it was Tang Jie.

As his blow struck true, Tang Jie couldn’t help but mentally sigh.

According to their original plan, so long as the ambush succeeded, they would have needed barely any strength at all to kill these three, but alas, the Godhead Armor had caused Wei Tianchong’s attack to fail—a small mishap.

But it wasn’t a fatal mishap, simply making things a little more troublesome.

The two remaining Beast Refining Gate students were aghast at the sight and tried to run, but they only made it a few steps before a chilling arc flew through the air and struck one of the students in the head. The student’s head came apart like a watermelon, splattering white and red matter everywhere.

The attacker’s form was revealed: the Grade 3 combat puppet. It stood in front of them, blocking the escape path of the remaining student.

The third student saw that he couldn’t escape and looked in despair at Tang Jie. “Let me go, and I can give you everything I have and withdraw from the competition.”

Tang Jie took the Mustard Seed Bags and weapons of the deceased students before shaking his head and replying, “My apologies. The possibility of peace does not exist between Basking Moon and Beast Refining.”

Someone else might have let them go, but this wasn’t possible between mortal foes.

The Beast Refining Gate student’s eyes showed a hint of despair.

“But if you can tell me what happened in there just now, I might consider letting you go,” Tang Jie added.

He was somewhat confused as to why the Seven Absolutions Sect had tarried for so long before finally making its move, and he also wanted to know why the Beast Refining Gate’s people were seemingly unharmed.

The student immediately hesitated.

He preferred not to die, but he was worried that Tang Jie was deceiving him. As he was considering his options, there was a roar in the distance.

It was a resounding roar that Tang Jie was extremely familiar with. He cried out, “It’s Lan Yu!”

This guy had finally come, and with great sound and fury. Making a warning bellow, he was charging straight toward the treasure light.

The surviving Beast Refining Gate student heard this roar and immediately ran in its direction.

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It was clear that, due to the grudge between the two sets, he had chosen to use Lan Yu’s arrival to try and escape rather than trust in Tang Jie. Everyone knew that Tang Jie had publicly ridiculed Lan Yu, so if Lan Yu came over, he would definitely cause trouble for Tang Jie, allowing him the chance to escape.

“Trying to run?” Wei Tianchong roared. He pointed at the student, and the eyes of the Grade 3 combat puppet crackled. A bolt of lightning came down and struck the student, causing his body to shudder.

Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong charged out, each firing a bolt of energy from his finger, punching two bloody holes through the student. But this student was quite tenacious, enduring the pain to apply a barrier and then pushing off the ground. There was a rush of wind, and then a large tiger manifested and lunged at the pair.

This was the student’s best move, the White Tiger Gale.

It was a pretty decent spell, and with enough casting time, it could create a tiger of three times the size, from which a cultivator would find it hard to fend off even a single swipe.

Of course, he had been in a rush and had no time to maximize its power, only to create a phantom to throw off his foe so that he had time to escape.

Now that Tang Jie thought about it, it was rather strange. None of the three Beast Refining Gate students had let out their refined beasts. Perhaps the first two hadn’t had time, but the third did, yet he was choosing not to, instead using a spell to fight.

As that tiger lunged, Tang Jie coldly laughed. Wei Tianchong simply pointed his finger, and the combat puppet rushed at the tiger, the impact instantly dispelling it. It then rammed into the student, breaking almost all his bones as it sent him flying.

Wei Tianchong snatched at the air as he shouted, “Stab!”

The puppet’s left arm transformed into a long spear that extended through the air. As it thrust into the student’s belly, there was a clang. He was also wearing a suit of Godhead Armor.

With death staved off once more, the student tumbled onto a tree and borrowed the impact to fly through the air again.

At the same time, a figure appeared in the distance: Lan Yu.

He had seen the battle taking place in the distance, and when he saw Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong, his eyes flashed with murder. “Tang Jie, I’ve finally found you!”

“I don’t have the time to deal with you!” Tang Jie fired off an Energy Needle, bringing that other student back down to earth.

Lan Yu’s murderous intent became even more obvious. “Savage brute, trying to kill someone in front of me?”

He didn’t feel anything for the Beast Refining Gate, nor did he have any interest in upholding justice, but he didn’t mind showing off in front of Tang Jie, waving around the flag of righteousness while ruining his foe’s plans.

As he flew over, he pointed a finger, sending a bolt of wind at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie raised his saber to block, and with a clang, Lan Yu’s bolt of wind hammered into the Heartbreak Saber like a nail.

Tang Jie laughed. “I’ve received a mission from the Seven Absolutions Sect to not let anyone approach. Senior Brother Lan, please go back!”

The outside spectators once again couldn’t help but curse at Tang Jie for his shamelessness.

It was no wonder he had allowed Lan Yu to go through. He was once again trying to shift the blame and sow dissent.

But Lan Yu clearly wasn’t that easily fooled. In truth, he cared far more about Tang Jie than the treasure, and he charged right at him.

Tang Jie fired off an Energy Needle while shouting, “I’ll hold off this annoying guy. You go and finish him off!”

“Alright!” Wei Tianchong shouted. He pointed a finger at the student, and a chilling wind howled through the air, countless savage little ghosts emerging. These were Wei Tianchong’s Evilhook Shadow Soldiers.

They lunged at the student, instantly rendering him immobile.

The Grade 3 combat puppet strode over.

The true ferocity of this puppet lay in its strength, which was even greater than that of Tang Jie’s original body. A smash from this puppet was akin to that of a giant stone hammer weighing several dozen tons, and not just any cultivator could take this sort of blow.

Lan Yu’s eyes coldly glinted. “Impudent!”

A vigorous energy surged out of his body. It was none other than Lan Yu’s realm pressure.

Lan Yu was truly capable, cultivating realm pressure at such a young age.

Alas, this wasn’t his first time using it. He had already used it once on the stage, allowing Tang Jie to mentally prepare himself for the realm pressure, and he wouldn’t be so easily affected by it. Just as Lan Yu was about to unleash his pressure, Tang Jie grunted and spat out, “Fog!”

As he spoke this word, white fog surged up around him.

This was the “Fog” word of the Four-Nine True Word Mantra, creating illusory fog to obscure vision. Though its power was mediocre, it could be cast very quickly.

But the Fog word was not what he was actually using to resist the realm pressure, only to conceal the real secret. Tang Jie felt more and more like he was being watched, so he had to be careful.

As the white fog surged up, his body flashed with a bloody light.

The Blood Refining Spirit spell!

This was the divine spell he had learned from Wang Poguan. It stimulated blood energy, leading to an enormous boost in strength and even resistance to Soulscour. In truth, it could be considered Tang Jie’s most powerful spell art. It was just that the limitations of his constitution had prevented him from using its real power, and with this avatar’s weaker constitution, he could use even less of its power.

But there was no better method of resisting Lan Yu’s realm pressure.

As the bloody light erupted, Tang Jie charged Lan Yu, swinging the Heartbreak Saber at him.

Lan Yu hadn’t expected his realm pressure to be completely useless against Tang Jie. Alarmed, he grunted, then raised a finger and pointed it at Tang Jie.

His fingertip exploded with light, as if energy was gathering at its tip.

Karmic Cycle Finger!

This was one of Lan Yu’s strongest spell arts.

Entirely because he hated Tang Jie, Lan Yu was using a lethal move, ensuring that Tang Jie didn’t have the slightest chance.

Just as he was about to thrust the finger, Tang Jie’s eyes flashed.

He sheathed his saber and backed away.

His right hand reached into his Mustard Seed Bag, grabbing something inside and clenching his hand into a fist.

His left hand passed over his right as if they were exchanging something, but no one could see what it was because of the white fog.

Lan Yu’s Karmic Cycle Finger had gathered into a brilliant light, and he thrust it at Tang Jie, surging with killing intent.

Even Wei Tianchong could feel the terrifying power in this finger, and he paled and yelled, “No!”

But Tang Jie was fearless, raising his left hand, a black smoke leaking out from his palm.

This black smoke was very strange, wriggling around as if it had actual substance, even faintly screaming. If one looked closely, one would see the savage and distorted appearance of a beast face within the smoke.

A Mindseizer!

This was one of the most infamous creatures in the world, created by Tang Jie from the Soul Refining Pearl: the Mindseizer.

This creature was so infamous that Tang Jie did not dare to use it lightly. Even though he had made one, he kept it in reserve until now, when facing Lan Yu.

He understood how powerful Lan Yu was, and in a real fight, he had no chance of victory. Even if he were in Mortal Shedding with his original body, he still would find it hard to win.

But at least he had a trump card in the Mindseizer.

The billowing white fog wasn’t obscuring the Blood Refining Spirit spell, but the Mindseizer.

In this clash, both parties had actually used their most powerful moves.