Chapter 163 - 84: Nether Abyss Dharma Eye: Open!!

Chapter 163: Chapter 84: Nether Abyss Dharma Eye: Open!!

Among the people waiting to see Jiang Xuan make a fool of himself was Qin Feng.

Within the Chen Daoist School, Xie Hanyan was known for her aloof and arrogant nature, while Fang Xiao came from the Lower Classes and had a somewhat weaker foundation. With those two out of the picture, Qin Feng saw himself as the school’s leader, and many of the Chen Daoist School disciples had indeed gathered by his side.

As a result, when they first set out on the Path of Trial, he commanded a massive following and his prestige was unmatched.

However, deep down, Qin Feng harbored the same idea as Jiang Xuan: to hide his true strength and bide his time, all to ultimately compete for first place in the three-school joint trial.

Therefore, despite his large number of followers, he had intervened in fights even less than Jiang Xuan along the way.

The result of such scheming was that Qin Feng, who had started with a massive retinue whose prestige was second only to Chen Qianjun’s, now, midway through the Road of Purgatory trial, had even fewer surviving followers than Jiang Xuan.

Furthermore, with Jiang Xuan as a point of comparison, the gazes of his surviving followers were now laced with oddness, disappointment, and even unconcealed resentment.

These strange looks were becoming unbearable for the perpetually proud and conceited Qin Feng.

Therefore, he was desperate to see Jiang Xuan stumble and fall into a hopeless predicament.

However, the Road of Purgatory trial offered no one the leisure to stand by and watch, nor the time for secret rivalries.

Although monsters at the Spirit Core Late Stage blocked the path ahead, the rules of the Road of Purgatory trial remained unchanged: all participating disciples had to keep up with the Guiding Daoist at all times. Anyone who fell behind would be immediately considered to have failed.

And the mysterious Guiding Daoist, as if no one else existed, had already strode forward, walking straight through the encirclement of a dozen ferocious Fierce Beasts and receding into the distance.

"Go!"

After a moment of silence, it was Chen Qianjun of the Yin Daoist School who broke the stalemate. He took the lead, charging forward to break through the blockade—and he did not go alone.

"I’ll hold it back! All of you, go now!"

With a furious roar, Chen Qianjun began burning his own essential Blood Qi, using its dense power to manifest a suit of armor around himself.

Then, his greatsword and battle spear gleaming coldly, he charged head-on toward the Red Flame Fierce Tiger—one of the eleven monsters—with unstoppable, ferocious courage.

He was clearly trying to hold back the Red Flame Fierce Tiger all by himself, to create an opportunity for the others from the Yin Daoist School to get through.

"Brother Chen!"

"We’ll go together."

Chen Qianjun’s heroic act instantly ignited the fighting spirit and courage of the Yin Daoist School disciples.

A dozen or so disciples followed close behind, charging forward with him.

As they charged as one, their Blood Qi seemed to link together. Their collective power, and especially that of Chen Qianjun at their head, suddenly intensified severalfold.

What made Jiang Xuan narrow his eyes, however, was the strange sensation he felt coming from Chen Qianjun.

’This feeling...’

"How foolish..."

Before Jiang Xuan could figure anything out, Qin Feng, who had seen Chen Qianjun’s actions, sneered and shook his head. "Charging in like that... you certainly have courage. But the Shenxiao Sect doesn’t need reckless brutes who have nothing but courage."

"A momentary burst of valor won’t make you the winner."

Tang Yinzheng of the Rooster Daoist School nodded at his words. "Senior Brother Qin is absolutely right. We are Cultivators, not grizzled generals on a battlefield. We seek long life and immortality, not a momentary fit of passion. Young Master Chen’s actions are indeed a bit rash."

But while some agreed with Qin Feng, others sneered. "Long life and immortality? More like shamelessly clinging to life, I’d say. If you’re selfish, you’re selfish. Just admit it. Why dress it up with a bunch of grand principles? It’s utterly hypocritical. Disgusting."

The speaker was Xie Hanyan. As soon as she finished, she also chose a Demon Beast and charged straight for it.

Her merciless words made Qin Feng’s expression darken.

But at this point, he was in no position to argue.

Seeing the Guiding Daoist’s figure about to disappear, he could only suppress his anger, join forces with Tang Yinzheng’s team, pick a direction, and charge through together.

At the same time, a number of quick-witted, opportunistic disciples also fell in line behind Qin Feng.

Even many of those who had been near Jiang Xuan defected to Qin Feng’s camp.

Clearly, Jiang Xuan’s previous ’lack of effort’—his failure to crush a single Demon Beast head-on—had not gone unnoticed.

Now, these self-proclaimed ’smart people’ were beginning to doubt whether Jiang Xuan could pass this stage, and chose to side with the stronger-looking Qin Feng instead.

But they were quickly driven away, and Qin Feng’s team also separated from Tang Yinzheng’s.

—There was a hidden rule for breaking through this stage: if too many people gathered together, the Cultivators would have to face not one Demon Beast, but two or even three, instantly multiplying the danger severalfold.

Over with the Yin Daoist School, no fewer than three Demon Beasts were now locked in battle with Chen Qianjun, making their situation incredibly perilous.

Seeing this, Qin Feng certainly wasn’t going to take on any more people.

At the same time, the scene before him only served to convince him that he had been right all along.

’I’m not being selfish, just sizing up the situation and knowing when to advance and retreat!’

...

Jiang Xuan paid little attention to Qin Feng’s situation. Seeing the Guiding Daoist getting further away, he led his own team and charged forward as well.

HUMMM—!

The path Jiang Xuan chose was guarded by a Molten Rock Giant Demon whose body was as massive as a small hill.

As soon as he drew near, the hill-sized Giant Demon rose thunderously to its feet.

BOOM!

The mere act of it rising to its feet caused the surrounding lava to churn and the flames to roar. A scorching heat and terrifying pressure washed over them, making it difficult to even breathe.