Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing exchanged a swift glance, simultaneously forcing their exhausted bodies to stand. Though one was at the eighth stage of Spirit Comprehension and the other at the first, at this moment, even someone at the Spirit Gathering stage could dispatch them with ease.

"Chirp, chirp..."

The strange hissing sound rang out again, and from a dozen feet behind the youth, a figure blazing with color burst forth—a spirit beast resembling a butterfly.

Its size dwarfed that of an ordinary butterfly. Its wings, several meters long, were mottled with a chaotic mix of seven colors: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, black, and white. Its abdomen was pearly white, crystalline and translucent; viewed from afar, it looked like a long, cylindrical piece of white jade, incomparably beautiful.

A Second-Grade Spirit Beast: the Seven-Colored Jade Butterfly.

"So that fellow was being chased by a spirit beast."

The tense expressions on Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing's faces relaxed slightly. Then, they watched the youth stagger, pitching forward onto the ground. A knot tightened in their hearts; that fellow was likely facing doom. If the Seven-Colored Jade Butterfly finished him off and tracked his scent into the valley...

Seeing the Jade Butterfly shriek and pounce on the youth, Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing’s faces grew grim.

"Hey!"

Just then, a furious shout erupted from the valley entrance. A long iron sword suddenly shot out from beneath the youth's armpit, piercing the Seven-Colored Jade Butterfly’s head with lightning speed and unerring precision.

The Jade Butterfly screamed and tumbled backward, its wings flapping weakly a few times before falling still. Because the terrain in the valley had slight undulations, Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing hadn't witnessed the moment the youth killed the beast, and seeing the result made their hearts hang suspended.

After a long moment, the youth used the sword as a crutch, staggering to his feet. It seemed that single strike had drained every last ounce of his strength. He glanced around nervously, then shifted his steps and walked toward the interior of the valley, his figure swaying unevenly.

He was about the same as them.

After their emotions rollercoastered several times, Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing reached this judgment and finally let out a true sigh of relief. They quickly settled cross-legged where they were, striving to recover their spiritual energy.

Soon, the youth reached the deeper part of the valley. He looked at the pile of dead spirit beasts, his expression grave. When he spotted the two figures beneath the cliff wall, his expression changed drastically. Only after clearly seeing their postures did the youth let out an almost imperceptible breath, suddenly calling out, "Gentlemen, how about we join forces? The deadline of noon tomorrow is approaching, and the spirit beasts will grow even more frenzied during this time. Three of us combined can hold out longer."

Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing ceased their cultivation. Without consulting each other, they merely exchanged a look; several days of proximity had forged a degree of unspoken understanding between them.

"Very well."

Bai Yuqing closed her eyes again. Nie Kong called out loudly, "Who are you?" Dozens of meters away, the youth was similarly streaked with blood, obscuring most of his face.

"Nie Qing'an!"

The youth called back, "And you are?"

"Nie Qing'an of the eighth stage of Spirit Comprehension?"

Nie Kong's heart skipped a beat, then he announced their identities, "I am Nie Kong, first stage of Spirit Comprehension, and she is Bai Yuqing, eighth stage of Spirit Comprehension."

Nie Kong? Bai Yuqing?

Hearing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Nie Qing'an’s eyes, but he said no more, simply nodding before walking over to sit cross-legged before the cliff wall, maintaining a distance of about fifteen to sixteen meters from Nie Kong and the other. This suited Nie Kong's intentions perfectly; while they could jointly resist the spirit beast attacks, complete trust was impossible.

The three exerted themselves to recover, and a brief tranquility descended upon the valley...

...

The Hall of Life and Death.

The carrier of the Illusory Realm still radiated a brilliant, rosy glow, yet most of the surrounding prayer cushions stood empty. In the vast hall, only a sparse handful of colorful cocoons could be seen, scattered sporadically. However, the seven-colored radiance swirling around those cocoons had become increasingly dazzling.

A purple shadow flashed at a side door, and Nie Qingsong abruptly appeared beside the Ninth Elder, his face as gloomy as stagnant water: "Ninth Uncle, what is the situation now?"

"Excellent."

The Ninth Elder smiled faintly. "It’s the final half-day, and we still have eleven. Apart from that little girl Bai Yuqing from the Bai family, all the rest are my Nie family children. Nie Qing'an, Nie Fengle, Nie Rushuang, Nie Kong... hehe, and there's a Nie Lingyan, seventh stage of Spirit Gathering, fourteen years old. This little fellow has amazing luck; even Nie Qingyan was forced out on the first day, yet he managed to last until this final stretch."

Nie Qingsong stroked his long beard, shaking his head, a faint smile creeping onto his otherwise strained face.

"Bang!"

Amidst an explosion, one cocoon burst open, revealing a delicate youth of about fourteen or fifteen, his features contorted comically as he lay unconscious on the ground.

"His good luck has run out!"

The Ninth Elder roared with laughter and personally hurried over to pull him up...

...

In the Illusory Realm valley, the patch of vines hanging over the stone cave entrance had been torn to shreds, allowing slivers of dazzling white light to leak through. Outside the cave, spirit beast corpses were piled mountain-high, their blood soaking the ground a deep crimson. The wounds on Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Nie Qing'an had increased countless times over.

From the moment the first spirit beast stumbled into the valley past midnight, the trio had been locked in fierce battle, only pausing during the morning to take turns recovering their spiritual power and stamina. At this moment, no beasts had appeared for perhaps half an hour, granting Nie Kong and the others a precious window to catch their breath.

"I didn't expect such a beautiful spot to be hidden at the back! Nie Kong, you two are truly lucky. Unlike me, since entering the Illusory Realm, I’ve lived like a bird, sleeping in the trees and having to keep half an eye open constantly, terrified a spirit beast might sneak up and devour me! You two had it easy; in the first few days when the beasts weren't so frantic, you two, a man and a woman, could sleep comfortably inside this cave, tsk tsk, it's demoralizing."

When the barrier at the cave entrance was destroyed by the beasts, Nie Qing'an had no time for awe. Now that he had regained some strength, he couldn't help but try to find humor in the misery. As he spoke of the latter part, Nie Qing'an winked suggestively at Nie Kong, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

In his view, there was definitely something going on between Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing; otherwise, why would they show no defensiveness toward each other?

Nie Kong couldn't be bothered to explain, simply laughing loudly without a hint of modesty: "What can I say? When luck strikes, you can’t stop it. Sometimes, you just can't compare people. Like me, I never compare my cultivation to yours. Otherwise, I would have been crushed by disappointment long ago."

"You rascal,"

Nie Qing'an shook his head with a wry smile, changing the subject with a sigh. "I’m so tired. I long to close my eyes and sleep. I wonder what kind of spirit beast will wander in next? Nie Kong, why don't we just leave early? Why bother struggling until the very last moment of the deadline."

"If you want to leave early, I can help you for free," Nie Kong readily replied.

"Uh."

Nie Qing'an choked on the words. Mentioning leaving early was just idle talk. In truth, everyone who entered the Illusory Realm knew that the longer one endured inside, the more violent the spiritual energy surge would be when the soul returned to the physical body outside, leading to greater cultivation benefits.

A Nie family elder once advanced two whole grades in cultivation at the exact moment of return. As for those who advanced one grade, there were always a few among the youths entering the Illusory Realm every five years. Nie Qing'an hoped to be among them and raise his cultivation to the ninth stage of Spirit Comprehension.

"Awooo!"

A spirit beast roared again from the valley entrance. Nie Kong and Nie Qing'an sprang to their feet, and Bai Yuqing, who had been sitting with closed eyes, suddenly snapped her own open...