The bleak desert, endless yellow sands. At any time, it seemed utterly desolate. Cangzhi Mountain stood as a solitary peak rising from the desert, a mountain in the desert being akin to an island in the sea. Even with over a thousand people gathered on the sands, it did not change the desert’s profound desolation and solitude. Now, more than a thousand people were assembled before Cangzhi Mountain.

These were the newcomers of the Tenth Branch. This day marked the commencement of the Tenth Branch Competition, and all these individuals had been summoned before Cangzhi Mountain. Originally, the Tenth Branch comprised over two thousand members, but the nine months of arduous training had naturally resulted in some attrition. Even though the Five Immortals Alliance held absolute dominance near the surface, demons and monsters were not easily dispatched. Thus, during those nine months, every branch lost two or three dozen members. Now, each branch had only about one hundred sixty or seventy people, no longer capable of fielding the original full roster of two hundred.

Lu Yuan mingled within the crowd, wearing a bamboo hat pulled low over his brow, making him entirely unremarkable—indeed, quite a few cultivators wore such hats, so he blended in perfectly.

The Branch Master of the Tenth Branch had arrived long ago. This competition was tied to their honor and potential promotions; naturally, they took it seriously.

Lu Yuan stood amidst the throng, the diverse sounds of discussion swirling around him, all centered on the imminent Tenth Branch Competition.

This endless, bleak land—in truth, they were mere ants compared to the boundless desert beneath their feet. And when cultivators, known for their longevity, finally perished, this endless, desolate desert would continue its existence for a thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years... Well, he’d strayed too far into thought.

His mind was certainly prone to wandering.

Lu Yuan smiled inwardly and took a swig from his wine gourd.

When the person presiding over the Tenth Branch Competition finally stepped forward, Lu Yuan couldn't help but be slightly startled. This middle-aged man, dressed in green robes with a short beard, wasn't he the one from the Eleventh Branch? Cao Qiu, known as "Lone Lamp Night Rain," ascended to a high vantage point. He swept his gaze casually across the assembly, and in that swift glance, he spotted the green-robed youth whose insight into swordsmanship rivals his own. “It seems most everyone has arrived. I shall explain the rules for this Tenth Branch Competition.”

“Each of you will receive a token engraved with the words 'Five Immortals,'”

“Then,” Cao Qiu continued, “the mountain behind you, Cangzhi Mountain, has been hollowed out through its center, its belly divided into ten separate zones. You will be randomly assigned to these ten zones. The ten zones are not interconnected, but you may apply to pass through into other areas.” Cao Qiu elaborated: “Your objective is to seize the other Five Immortals Tokens. However, you must not kill your opponents when engaging them, nor maim them unless absolutely necessary. The mountain interior is monitored by many Water Mirror Spells; if you severely injure an opponent without absolute necessity, your competition qualification will be revoked immediately.”

“This competition will last for a total of fifteen days.”

“During these fifteen days, if your Five Immortals Token is taken, it is not the end; you can continue to reclaim tokens until the very last day.”

“These are the rules for the Tenth Branch Competition.”

Immediately, murmurs erupted. Initially, many had planned to team up, using superior numbers to overwhelm the few. But now it seemed the members of the ten branches would be scattered, rendering the concept of grouping useless. People like Zhao Han immediately panicked; he had spent a great deal of time flattering the higher-ups.

Lu Yuan and Meng Bai exchanged smiles. They had agreed to cooperate before the start, but if cooperation proved feasible, fine; if not, it didn't matter. Lu Yuan was confident in himself, and unfortunately, Meng Bai was the sort who was equally confident in his own abilities.

After being scattered, the members of the ten branches entered the hollowed-out Cangzhi Mountain through different, assigned entrances.

The Branch Masters of the Ten Branches also began placing bets. During every Branch Competition, most of these ten masters participated in gambling, often wagering heavily. The reason was that Gongyang Sheng, the Master of the Third Branch, and Gongyang Sanguang, the Master of the Fourth Branch, were both gamblers. Influenced by these two, most of the other Branch Masters also joined the betting pools.

Gongyang Sheng, Master of the Third Branch, enjoyed gambling and often won, perhaps due to innate good luck.

Gongyang Sanguang, Master of the Fourth Branch, was even more amusing: he loved to bet and lost virtually every time he gambled, having barely won once. Despite this, he continued to gamble and lose, earning him the nickname Gongyang Sanguang—his name meaning 'Three Losses,' where the three losses referred to the loss of one's person, wealth, and fortune—which overshadowed his real name. Gongyang Sanguang had once been promoted to Deputy Hall Master, but his excessive gambling caused him to frequently neglect his duties, leading to his demotion back to Branch Master. However, Gongyang Sanguang cared little for the demotion; as long as he could gamble, nothing else mattered.

The phrase "gambling like his life depended on it" was perfectly suited for Gongyang Sanguang.

As if on cue, as soon as the newcomers entered Cangzhi Mountain, Gongyang Sanguang shouted: “Open the bets! Open the bets! Who is betting on which branch for first, second, and third place this time?” Gongyang Sheng, Master of the Third Branch, immediately joined in, and others followed suit.

At that moment, Xuanyuan Zhong, Master of the Ninth Branch, placed a wager: “I bet three hundred spirit stones that the Tenth Branch’s ranking will be below that of our Ninth Branch...” The betting structure set up by Gongyang Sanguang accepted any wager concerning the outcome of the Tenth Branch Competition, so Xuanyuan Zhong’s challenge was accepted.

What provocation! Song Jianjiu knew this was aimed directly at him. Relations between the Ninth and Tenth Branches had always been strained. But this time, rumor had it the Ninth Branch recruited exceptionally high-quality newcomers, including several elders at the Body Tempering stage, so Xuanyuan Zhong was clearly here to slap his face.

Song Jianjiu, always proud, immediately countered: “You bet three hundred spirit stones too! I bet our Tenth Branch will rank above the Ninth Branch...” Although the probability of winning this specific wager was low, Song Jianjiu was that kind of person.

“I’ll add one as well,” Cao Qiu said. “I’ll bet five hundred spirit stones that the Tenth Branch will make it into the top three...” Deputy Hall Master Cao Qiu usually avoided gambling entirely, so his sudden participation caused a stir. Moreover, betting on the Tenth Branch to place in the top three seemed utterly impossible; even Song Jianjiu, the Tenth Branch Master, lacked such confidence.

Gongyang Sanguang paid no mind to any of this—winning or losing, profit or debt—as long as there was a gamble to be had.

Cangzhi Mountain, Zone Ten—this was where Lu Yuan was located.

Lu Yuan was currently inside a tunnel within the belly of Cangzhi Mountain. The tunnel was not entirely dark; every so often, Star-Burning Stones were placed, casting a faint, dim light inside. Of course, even complete darkness wouldn't have mattered. The world inhabited by subterranean demons lay beneath the ground, and as an opponent of these creatures, one naturally had to adapt to lightless conditions. Many training exercises for the Five Great Immortal Sects focused on these dark environments, and the central command post of the Five Immortals Alliance, dealing with these demons, would certainly create such dark scenarios frequently. Having even this faint light was quite a luxury.

Star-Burning Stones were stones that required only a tiny infusion of spiritual power to ignite and burn for a period, illuminating the surroundings—a crucial resource when existing in darkness.

Back when Lu Yuan was at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Condensation, Star-Burning Stones were somewhat precious. But now, with his vastly increased wealth, they were insignificant. He had brought quite a few before the competition, but since the area already possessed a slight glow, he didn't need to use them yet.

In the faint, dim light, Lu Yuan surveyed his surroundings. He was currently in a narrow passage within the mountain wall, with stone faces flanking him on both sides.

After walking a short distance down the path, a figure suddenly appeared ahead. It was an unfamiliar young man, unremarkable in appearance, though his complexion seemed somewhat sallow. This man was named Du Hui. Du Hui looked at Lu Yuan and said, “Oh, I didn't expect to run into someone so quickly. It’s you. You aren’t that fellow ranked one hundred and eightieth in our Tenth Branch newcomer assessment, are you? Well, consider it a gift sent by heaven—a Five Immortals Token delivered right to me. I shall accept it then.” Du Hui had ranked eighty in the newcomer assessment, possessing considerable strength. Seeing Lu Yuan, ranked one hundred and eightieth, he naturally assumed victory was assured.

Du Hui had never aimed for first, second, or third place; he was very practical and not prone to fantasy, nor did he look for easy wins. His goal was simply to acquire as many Five Immortals Tokens as possible, which he could then trade for a decent amount of spirit stones—that’s how pragmatic he was.

This personality stemmed from a life riddled with misfortune, or perhaps his very name, 'Hui' (meaning gloomy or obscure), dictated it. His luck had always been unfriendly, never presenting him with any good fortune, so he lacked imagination. Yet, unexpectedly, so soon into the Tenth Branch Competition, heaven had delivered a great gift.

A person ranked one hundred and eighty? Wasn’t this practically handing him a Five Immortals Token?

Du Hui felt tears welling up. All his life, he’d been plagued by bad luck, encountering misfortune constantly, with few good things ever happening. Had his fortune finally turned? Even if it was just this one small stroke of luck, one small good thing, it was still infinitely better than the nothing he’d experienced before.

This person ranked one hundred and eighty is my lucky star, Du Hui thought to himself. Of course, he didn't know Lu Yuan’s real name or even his alias; who would pay attention to someone ranked 180th? They were all focused on figures like Zhao Qiankun.

(Yesterday, I had distant relatives visiting that required hosting, so I only managed one update. Today will be four updates—one now, and three more tonight. My state is excellent these past two days; I will strive to post more over the next two days. Ah, and the end of the month voting competition is approaching, so I humbly request monthly recommendation tickets.)