71: Chapter 71: Each Plays Their Secret Card

"Buzz!"

A loud explosion echoed in the sky as a golden light made a brilliant appearance.

In an instant, the nine complete tokens that were originally in everyone's possession trembled violently and flew out of their hands uncontrollably!

Li Tianxing frowned slightly but did not forcibly stop it.

He sensed that this was the power of the Ancient Battlefield's rules in operation.

Ling Jianxin also withdrew his hand, his Sword Intent receding as he observed calmly.

The others did the same.

They were all Disciples of great Sects, so they possessed this much common sense.

The nine dark-red tokens, like nine blood-colored stars, circled and underwent Ascension to a hundred feet above the Lake of Oblivion, arranged in the positions of the Nine Palaces.

Dark-red threads of light shot out between them, connecting to form a profound Formation.

The next moment.

"Boom!!!"

Nine blood-colored pillars of light soared into the sky from the tokens, converging at an altitude of a thousand feet to transform into a towering, thousand-foot-tall Immortal-Demon Heavenly Gate!

The left door leaf was carved with immortals and gods preaching the Dao, surrounded by auspicious clouds.

The right was carved with a chaotic dance of demons and a surging sea of blood.

The scenes of the Immortal and Demon Daos coexisted with eerie harmony, emitting an Elder Gu and vast pressure.

The Heavenly Gate slowly opened a crack, and endless rosy light poured down, illuminating the entire Ancient Battlefield.

A vast and Elder Gu voice emanated from the Heavenly Gate.

"The nine tokens are gathered; the Heavenly Gate has opened."

"In the time it takes for one incense stick to burn, those holding tokens may enter."

As the voice fell.

The nine tokens fell from the sky, turning into nine streaks of light and flying toward different directions around the Lake of Oblivion.

The phantom of a tall incense stick was lit beside the Heavenly Gate, with curls of green smoke rising.

The countdown began.

"Snatch them!"

Someone shouted first, and hundreds of figures pounced toward the nine streaks of light like locusts!

But the top few individuals had different strategies.

Li Tianxing's gaze locked onto a streak of light in the southeast; it was falling toward a rocky beach where there were relatively fewer competitors.

"Go."

He transformed into a blood-red light and swept away; his speed was so fast that Cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage couldn't even see his shadow.

Ling Jianxin chose a streak of light on the western shore of the lake, flying on his sword with Sword Qi clearing the way; no one dared to block him.

Both were at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection and tacitly avoided each other.

At this moment, snatching a token was the priority; there was no need for a premature death match.

Other top Prodigies also chose their targets:

Jian Wuchen rushed toward the dense forest in the northeast.

White Bone Scholar pounced toward the hills to the south.

Liu Ruyan chased toward a valley in the southwest with a charming laugh; she saw that the terrain there was complex and easy to hide in.

Tyrant Blade was the most direct, roaring as he chased after the most conspicuous streak of light to the north.

With a sweep of his great saber, all those in his way were sent flying.

As the second Saintess of the Supreme Dao Palace, Su Qinghan had not made much of a move since entering the ruins; now, she chose another streak of light to the southeast.

It was clear she was deliberately avoiding Ling Jianxin's direction.

As for Xiao Ran and Li Changsheng...

Neither of them moved immediately.

Xiao Ran quietly retreated to the edge of the battlefield, his Guixu Demonic Light restrained and his aura suppressed to the extreme as he calmly scanned the scene.

Through the Soul link, Li Changsheng's voice came:

"Xiao Ran, I see three streaks of light landing points: under a withered tree three hundred feet to the northwest, on an island in the center of the lake to the southeast, and in a rock pile to the east."

"Which one do we want?"

"No rush."

"Those who rush up now are just targets. We'll move when the incense is half-burnt and they're exhausted from fighting."

Xiao Ran shook his head and replied via voice transmission.

He and Li Changsheng were both Golden Core Stage Cultivators; in this battlefield where Nascent Souls could fall at any moment, it was better to be cautious.

One careless move and they would just become speed bumps for others.

"Understood. This feeling of laying low and developing is really great."

Li Changsheng chuckled.

Xiao Ran had already taught him a Secret Method yesterday, giving them hope of snatching a token even at the last moment.

"Remember, you must strike at the right moment."

"Alright!"

After disconnecting the call, Xiao Ran continued to observe.

The scene had become completely frenzied.

He had to wait—wait until the incense stick was almost finished, wait until everyone was exhausted... then strike to seize the fruits of their victory.

...

Time passed minute by minute.

A third of the incense had already burned.

By now, several tokens already had temporary owners.

The first was naturally Li Tianxing; he suppressed the competitors around the rocky beach with absolute strength and easily obtained a token.

After succeeding, he retreated without hesitation to a relatively open area directly beneath the Heavenly Gate.

Blood-fiend Devilish Qi swirled around him as he scanned the surroundings with a cold gaze.

His intention was clear: he already had one token; now he only needed to hold his ground and last through the time of one incense stick.

Actively trying to snatch a second one would not only greatly increase the risk but also make him a target for everyone—a wise man would not do such a thing.

Almost at the same time, Ling Jianxin made the same choice.

He transformed into a sword light, precisely intercepting the trajectory of a streak of light falling toward the rocky beach on the lake shore.

His Sword Domain expanded, and sharp Sword Qi forced back three contenders, easily pulling the token into his palm.

Then he retreated on his sword, landing on the other side over a hundred feet away from Li Tianxing.

The Taiqing Sword hung by his side, its Sword Intent awe-inspiring, as he also assumed a defensive posture.

These two strongest individuals coincidentally chose the most stable strategy.

First, ensure they had a token, then wait at their leisure.

Li Tianxing and Ling Jianxin looked at each other from a distance, their eyes calm.

They both understood that the true battle between them was not here, but within the trial.

This move by the two of them also instantly extinguished the thoughts of some restless Cultivators.

Snatch a token from these two monsters?

That wasn't the way to seek death.

Thus, the vast majority of the pressure shifted to the struggle for the other seven tokens!

The battle for the other tokens had already reached an extreme level of cruelty.

Almost all Cultivators had revealed their true trump cards.

During the process of fighting for the fragments, most people knew the time hadn't come yet, so they didn't risk their lives.

But now it was different.

The fallen immortal tokens were complete, and the trial's Heavenly Gate had opened.

If they didn't use them now, they wouldn't have another chance.

Therefore, every Cultivator's life-saving means and Forbidden Secret Techniques were all being used now!

Any Prodigy who could Cultivate to the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage—who wouldn't have a trump card?

Now it just depended on whose trump card was more powerful.