470: Eliminated players

As the time for the Ascension Assembly drew closer, the number of players flooding in continued to increase.

The Great Desert was completely transformed into a blood-red hue, with fragments of player remains scattered everywhere and flowing blood turning into streams.

Whether it was the native civilizations of the Great Desert or the various Vicious Beasts that had previously shown off their power, all of them gave such a terrifying scene a wide berth, fearing they would be caught up in the players' conflicts.

When these players, who had gone mad with killing, reached the end of the Great Desert, they discovered they had to find a trick to enter the actual Trial Grounds.

Most of the players were dumbfounded.

At that moment, a player on the Forum named 'The Last Great Jiang Person' suddenly began selling the method to enter the Trial Grounds.

His asking price was set perfectly—not too low, but definitely not too high, roughly equivalent to the price of a rank 6 pill. Most players who could fight their way to the end of the Great Desert could afford it.

In an instant, countless players purchased the method. Even though other players later began selling it as well, the time difference still allowed The Last Great Jiang Person to make a fortune.

After these players entered, most were eliminated on the path into the city and were thrown out directly, left staring in bewilderment, not knowing what had happened.

As the number of players being thrown out increased, these eliminated ones stopped keeping their secrets and began to exchange information.

Through this exchange, they actually managed to figure out the situation:

As long as one did something unconventional—for instance, suddenly leaving the path while walking and running in a certain direction—they would be eliminated.

These players suddenly realized the truth. No wonder there was an obstacle-free path in an extremely open area after entering the city; so it turns out it was a test of whether they could follow the rules?

The players looked at each other, knowing they had wasted their opportunity but being powerless to change it, feeling quite indignant and aggrieved for a time.

“I think this Ascension Assembly is completely unworthy of its name. Who selects Disciples like this?”

“Exactly! It should be based on either talent or strength; I'd accept either. What kind of assessment is this?”

“I won't stand for this! I want to complain!”

“Idiot, where are you going to complain?”

“This...”

Regardless of how the players complained, the preliminary assessment of the Ascension Assembly did indeed filter out many people.

These players either continued to wait at the edge of the Great Desert to try and re-enter the assessment, or they headed directly to Yanwang Prefecture to find other ways to join a Sect.

Among them, some players simply gave up on the idea of joining the Eastern Region's native Sects and instead went to join the Sects established by players within the Eastern Region.

One day.

On the western coast of the East Sea, Spiritual Qi gathered in Dragon Seeking City, forming a vortex that then turned into a torrent falling from the sky, resulting in a continuous downpour of heavy rain.

Many Mortal players quickly sought shelter under eaves to avoid the rain. The Qi Refining players originally paid it no mind, but their expressions soon changed, and they too sought places to hide from the rain.

This was because it was no ordinary rain, but a phenomenon triggered by a certain Cultivator. It was a highly corrosive liquid; while not enough to be fatal, it would affect their Breathing and cultivation.

The players taking shelter gathered together, looking toward the City Lord's Mansion and discussing among themselves:

“This phenomenon was caused by Xinghai Immortal Master, right?”

“He specializes in Miasma techniques, so this Toxic Rain should be related to him.”

“But did he succeed in his Breakthrough? Did he really become a Nascent Soul True Lord?”

“No, if it were a Nascent Soul phenomenon, it shouldn't be this small; it would be even larger. Within this Dragon Seeking City, it would be impossible for him to hide it from others...”

After the battle of the Qingling Sect ended, many players distanced themselves from the public and sought secluded Immortal Caves for closed-door cultivation.

However, the Pavilion Master of the Red Rain Pavilion, Wen Xinghai, was different. Not only did he not seek a secluded location, but he deliberately stayed in the bustling Dragon Seeking City.

According to him, as the City Lord of Dragon Seeking City, if even he didn't dare to stay in the city for closed-door cultivation, what future would Dragon Seeking City have?

Regardless of his specific thoughts, Wen Xinghai did indeed cultivate in the City Lord's Mansion and emerged from seclusion today, bringing about waves of phenomena.

The players were all speculating: did he succeed in Forming Nascent Soul, or did he fail?

In response, the top-tier players with higher awareness suggested that everyone was overthinking it.

A Golden Core True Person wanting to Breakthrough to a Nascent Soul True Lord must first master five Divine Abilities and then find the correct Forming Nascent Soul method before they can attempt the Breakthrough.

The process of 'cultivating five Divine Abilities' is itself considered a Forming Nascent Soul method in a broad sense; cultivating even one incorrectly would result in death and the dissipation of one's Dao.

And even if one is lucky enough to succeed without dying from conflicting Divine Abilities, if they cannot find the subsequent Forming Nascent Soul method, or if those five Divine Abilities simply cannot be used to attempt Forming Nascent Soul, then their path to the Dao is severed, and they can only restart.

Therefore, before the Qingling Sect incident, many Golden Core Players didn't dare to cultivate too many Divine Abilities, waiting instead to find the right path to the Dao.

Consequently, when the Qingling Sect battle ended, Cultivators like Wen Xinghai were not fully prepared for Forming Nascent Soul, as they hadn't even mastered their Divine Abilities yet.

The goal of their closed-door cultivation was not to directly attempt Forming Nascent Soul, but to cultivate a new Innate Divine Power.

Wen Xinghai dared to cultivate in Dragon Seeking City because the danger of cultivating a Divine Ability was not that great; even if interrupted, he could forcibly break out of seclusion.

Fortunately, perhaps because everyone truly felt a sense of belonging to a player city like Dragon Seeking City, or perhaps because everyone knew that attacking now would not be worth the cost, Wen Xinghai's seclusion went smoothly.

Ultimately, he successfully cultivated his second Innate Divine Power, taking another step toward having all five.

However, he himself was not particularly joyful; instead, he had a solemn expression after emerging from seclusion.

“I was already prepared for this second Divine Ability, as it was part of the Dao Lineage I obtained years ago in the Southern Mountains, so cultivating it wasn't difficult.

“But for the remaining three, there truly is no path forward to rely on...”

Wen Xinghai sighed, left the City Lord's Mansion, and with a series of leaps, landed at the Red Rain Pavilion station.

As Dragon Seeking City became increasingly prosperous and the mundane aura grew thicker, the Red Rain Pavilion's Main Peak naturally did not remain here, but sought out another good location.

However, for the convenience of recruiting Disciples and handling various trifles, a Branch Sect was still maintained within Dragon Seeking City.

When Wen Xinghai arrived at the Branch Sect, he saw many players gathered in a queue, waiting for the entrance examination.

Most were players returning from the Great Desert who, knowing that joining an Eastern Region Sect was hopeless, had no choice but to settle for the Red Rain Pavilion as a backup.

Wen Xinghai was not angry that his Sect was being treated as a backup; instead, he was delighted that more and more players were joining the Sect.

He knew very well that for his next three Divine Abilities, what to cultivate and how to cultivate them would depend on these players to test the path for him.

Therefore, not only did he not make things difficult for these players, but he also deliberately lowered the threshold, which immediately drew the gratitude of many players.

After handling the recruitment affairs at the Branch Sect, Wen Xinghai leaped out once more, landing at the entrance of a hidden Grand Array. He sent a message, waited for the Grand Array to open, and leisurely entered.

In a land where Spiritual Qi converged, numerous Spirit Peaks were tiered and interwoven with Spirit Springs, with many pavilions hanging in mid-air—it was none other than the location of the Red Rain Pavilion's Main Sect.