155: The fifth Holy Son Order

Xu Sanyan was also curious about who would be next; there were five spots in total, and two were already taken.

Among those still in the mountain, there were Sect Master’s Disciple Qi Liang, Venerable He Yu’s son Tu Wanshan, and Flower Maiden’s Personal Disciple Dream Butterfly; these three were the most promising.

However, one saint child token had still not been found.

Soon after, Flower Maiden returned with Jiang Qinqin. Jiang Qinqin sat beside Xu Sanyan and whispered, “Senior Brother Xu, you have such great ability! The ancient ruins had the most people, and I didn’t expect Senior Brother Xu to be the first to break through. This truly makes your Junior Sister admire you.”

Jiang Qinqin’s words were not flattery, but genuine surprise. Out of ten teams, Luo Yu, Zhou Longsheng, and Palace Madam went to the ancient ruins, followed by Fang Xiang and You Jianfeng.

In total, half the teams went, but the final result was unexpected: the victor was Xu Sanyan, an unknown person.

Xu Sanyan smiled lightly, “Senior Sister’s ability is also not small. May I ask where Senior Sister obtained the saint child token?”

“Wutong Forest. It’s a pity that none of my sisters made it to the end, sigh…” Jiang Qinqin said, slowly shaking her head, with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“Senior Sister, please accept my condolences.”

The two chatted briefly, then closed their eyes to rest.

The many Elders and Disciples on both sides had various postures; some chatted, some Cultivated, and some couldn’t bear it and left.

For Cultivators, this waiting time was nothing; they were more eager to know who would return next.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long. As dawn broke, the next Saint appeared; it was Venerable He Yu’s son, Tu Wanshan.

Behind him followed a Bald Woman and a young man; out of the original twenty-some people, only the two of them remained. The others had died somewhere unknown.

Venerable He Yu above slightly exhaled in relief. This was his biological son, and his most promising son, destined to take over his position in the future, so he naturally didn't want anything to happen to him.

Flower Maiden cupped her hands and smiled, “Congratulations, Brother Dao.”

“Haha…” Venerable He Yu stroked his beard and smiled.

It was still the same process; even Venerable He Yu’s son had to go through Wenxin Hall, which showed the strictness of Cultivating the Saintly Book.

The crowd below discussed animatedly, not surprised by this result. After all, Tu Wanshan was ranked high and was Venerable He Yu’s son, so it was normal for him to stand out. What puzzled them, however, was why Qi Liang hadn’t returned yet?

Given Qi Liang’s strength and the large number of people gathered around him, he should have returned long ago. Everyone whispered their guesses, and Xu Sanyan was also a little curious.

When they set off, Qi Liang had said that the first saint child token belonged to him, so why had he not returned until now?

Xu Sanyan turned to Jiang Qinqin and asked, “Senior Sister Jiang, have you seen Senior Brother Qi?”

Jiang Qinqin nodded lightly, “I saw him from afar once, but we didn’t talk.”

“Did he get the saint child token?”

“Mm.” Jiang Qinqin seemed unwilling to say more, only nodding slightly.

Xu Sanyan looked at the rainbow light in the sky, meaning that the only remaining light was Qi Liang, but looking at the direction he was heading, it seemed… it wasn’t here?

What did he encounter?

Or was there something he hadn’t finished yet?

Inside Wanmo Mountain.

Qi Liang stretched out a finger and gently wiped the blood from his cheek. Sima Xin lay on the ground with empty eyes, a jade green long sword plunged into his chest, and blood gurgled from the wound. Corpses were scattered all around, and several figures with weapons were delivering finishing blows to each one.

Qi Liang casually beckoned, and the long sword flew into his hand. Sima Xin had not yet died, and with all his strength, he twisted his head to look at him, his chest heaving violently like a broken bellows, making “ho ho” sounds.

“Haha… From the first day you came to my side, I knew whose person you were. It’s tiring to pretend to be a fool in front of you for so long,”

Qi Liang walked slowly, wiping the blood from his hand on a tree, “Once I become the Saint, I’ll be on equal footing with Qi Yuanzhu, at least on the surface.”

He squatted down, patting Sima Xin’s face with the flat of his sword, a smile on his lips, but his eyes were filled with cold indifference.

“Ho… you… will… eventually…”

Sima Xin’s eyes widened, wanting to utter a final curse, but Qi Liang didn’t give him the chance. He slowly stood up, and the long sword in his hand swept across, sending a large head rolling far away.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, there were far more than just Sima Xin; scattered about were thirty-some bodies, all Qi Liang’s own subordinates.

Although nominally his people, most of them had actually been bribed by Qi Yuanzhu.

Qi Liang pulled a token from Sima Xin’s embrace, weighed it in his hand, and then tucked it into his pocket.

The token Jiang Qinqin had was given to her by Qi Liang. This token was found by Sima Xin at Hundred Beast Peak. There was also another token, which Qi Liang had already arranged for Fang Xiang to find.

With his eloquent tongue and weighing the pros and cons, he successfully persuaded Fang Xiang, and the two reached a cooperation. It wasn’t a superior-subordinate relationship like with Jiang Qinqin, but an equal one.

In the future, one of them would be the Saint of Tongxin Mountain, and the other the Saint of Blood Refinement Mountain. There would be no competition between them, but there could be a relationship of mutual benefit.

Thus, both Blood Refinement Mountain and Hehe Mountain now had Qi Liang’s people, and they were both Saints, a position second only to the Hall Master!

As for the last token, Qi Liang knew where it was: at the bottom of Jingxin Pool, which was his first stop!

He had seen it when he used his spiritual eye, but at that time, he still had many things to do, so he wasn’t in a hurry to retrieve it.

The events that transpired with Jiang Qinqin later were purely accidental; even without that incident, he would have found a way to stay.

Now that all matters were concluded, Sima Xin was no longer useful and it was time to clean up.

...

Xu Sanyan looked at Qi Liang approaching from afar, his gaze instinctively sweeping towards Flower Maiden, only to see a hint of solemnity in her brows and eyes.

Four spots had appeared; only one remained. Why hadn’t Dream Butterfly come out yet?

Flower Maiden glanced at Jiang Qinqin and sighed deeply in her heart. Among her three Disciples, she had the least hope for Jiang Qinqin; even Palace Madam was stronger than her, yet only she had emerged.

Alas… fate is unpredictable.

Suddenly, the fifth rainbow light lit up, and everyone’s spirits lifted. Was this Saint Child Competition finally going to come to a complete end?

Who would the last one be? Would it be Flower Maiden’s Personal Disciple Dream Butterfly?

Or Zhou Longsheng of Red Dragon Mountain, who was ranked fourth?

Or would Fang Xiang of the Blood Refinement Lineage emerge as one of the two Saints?

At this moment, Qi Liang walked from afar and sat on a chair, cupping his hands towards Xu Sanyan with a friendly expression, “Brother Xu, excellent work. Congratulations on taking first place.”

Xu Sanyan returned the bow, “Senior Brother Qi, you flatter me.”

Tu Wanshan, who was in the middle, interrupted their conversation, “Who do you think the last one will be?”

Xu Sanyan shook his head; he truly didn’t know, but he guessed it might be Fang Xiang because the demon seed was still there, proving that Fang Xiang was still alive.

This was the last saint child token, and everyone would fight for it frantically. Fang Xiang being alive was enough to prove many things.

Of course, it was also possible that others hadn’t had time to intercept him yet.