With a cold snort, Luo Sheng leaped down from the treetop.

Ignoring the spirit beasts lunging madly at him, Luo Sheng's gaze cut through the hundred meters of void, fixing directly on Nie Kong. His form darted toward him like a phantom, light and ethereal, incredibly swift—a testament to his mastery as a ninth-grade Spirit Fusion Realm Wind Spirit Master!

The others, witnessing the massive swarm of spirit beasts and Nie Kong standing proudly amidst them, couldn't help but show a flicker of astonishment.

"Nie Kong, the one who used the 'Emerald Veined Jade Butterfly' just now was that fellow Hong Guang, right?"

"You certainly have some tricks up your sleeve, managing to keep so many spirit beasts surrounding you without attacking. No wonder that Hong Guang fell into your hands! But it's a shame your good luck ends here. Did you really think relying on these beasts would let you last until the Grand Competition of the Six Halls concluded?"

"You have quite the demeanor, actually having the leisure to be so cozy with such a beautiful junior sister here. I have to admit, I admire that."

"..."

Soon, those inner city disciples snapped back to reality, and as they spoke, they moved to meet the red-eyed, charging spirit beasts, their expressions shifting with purpose.

"They really are coming for you."

Hearing one of them speak, Miao Ge’s pretty face flushed deeper, but she quickly suppressed her shyness, looking toward the advancing Luo Sheng and the others with worry.

Nie Kong smiled, "Don't worry, Miao Ge. How is your recovery coming along?"

"Almost there!"

Miao Ge hurried to reply. In a moment like this, the sooner she recovered, the better; she certainly didn't want to become a burden. She had considered learning from Hong Guang and releasing a spiritual flame to try and gather the disciples of the Medicine Heart Hall, but the thought of her body pressed close against Nie Kong made her abandon the idea. If they came, they would surely be besieged by the spirit beasts, ultimately unable to help and instead adding pressure to the inner city disciples.

"Very good!"

Nie Kong nodded with a smile.

At that moment, Luo Sheng collided with the foremost beast, an "Shadow Streamer Beast."

"Hah!"

A cyan longsword shimmered into existence, dotted with specks of red light. Luo Sheng gripped the sword, and in a mere flash, he was behind the Shadow Streamer Beast.

"Thud!"

The spirit beast surged forward another ten meters, then collapsed to the ground without even a whimper. A spray of blood erupted as its body split perfectly in two, having been cleaved from head to tail by the cyan longsword. Luo Sheng didn't pause, continuing toward the next beast.

Witnessing this, Nie Kong and Miao Ge were slightly startled.

When they were outside the Lingxiao Altar, they had learned from Ru Jie that Luo Sheng possessed ninth-grade Spirit Fusion Realm cultivation, ranking him first among the inner city disciples in this Illusionary Space. They hadn't expected him to be this devastatingly strong, dispatching the Shadow Streamer Beast in an instant.

"I underestimated you. It seems the little feast I prepared for you was slightly insufficient. Since that is the case, I shall send you some more!"

Nie Kong sneered inwardly. He suddenly plunged his right hand into his robes, grasping the "Blood Scale Tung Tree." He rapidly circulated the "Spring and Autumn Life-Giving Art."

His four Spiritual God Apertures vibrated intensely, and wisps of wood spiritual energy elements separated from the surrounding void. Simultaneously, vast expanses of emerald-green aura rose from the nearby mountains and forests, converging frantically into Nie Kong's body. In moments, a radius of tens of meters around Nie Kong was enveloped in vibrant green life.

"You... *..."

Miao Ge stared wide-eyed in shock. She knew Nie Kong was activating a spiritual art, but she hadn't expected his speed in absorbing spiritual energy elements to be so rapid.

It wasn't just Miao Ge; even the inner city disciples fiercely battling the beasts paused briefly. Only Luo Sheng’s cold gaze remained utterly unwavering.

Nie Kong had anticipated this. Such a scene would never occur during external cultivation. However, the vitality within the Illusionary Space was countless times denser than the outside world, especially being situated in a forest teeming with flora. It was so concentrated it nearly materialized, which is why the scene of Nie Kong absorbing vitality with the "Spring and Autumn Life-Giving Art" was so shocking. But Nie Kong didn't fear exposing his secret; the wood spiritual energy elements and the vitality were both green, so Miao Ge and the others couldn't distinguish between them. Only Nie Kong, the originator, knew which was which.

The boundless vitality gathered, but instead of merging with his spiritual power, it was guided by Nie Kong entirely into the "Blood Scale *..."

Instantly, a dazzling red light bloomed across Nie Kong's chest, shining through his clothing. Though Nie Kong couldn't smell or see it, he could feel that under the infusion of vitality, the colorless, odorless medicinal fragrance of the "Blood Scale Tung Tree" was spreading outward in every direction at a furious pace!

The most marvelous aspect was that the use of the "Blood Scale *..." here differed from the outside. Outside, the fragrance spread gradually to the limits of its range. Here, however, the fragrance reached virtually every corner it could touch almost instantaneously.

This was the magic of the Illusionary Space!

"Aooo!"

"Roar!"

"..."

Stimulated by the fragrance of the Blood Scale Tung Tree, the already frenzied spirit beasts became even more savage, as if they had consumed a stimulant. They let out a cacophony of savage roars, their attacks growing fiercer and more brutal. The earth-shattering roars from the distance echoed in response.

The pressure on the inner city disciples multiplied, their expressions turning grim. Even Luo Sheng's gaze toward Nie Kong grew increasingly shadowed.

"Swish! Swish! Swish! *!"... Amidst the sounds of tearing air, four streaks of green flame shot high into the sky...

Lingxiao Altar.

"..."

"What is going on? All the spirit beasts in the Illusionary Space are moving toward that location! What exactly did that fellow do *..."

"There are also some green dots specifically heading there. Could those be inner city disciples!"

"The fellow also has a green dot near him; I wonder who that is, managing to avoid the surrounding spirit beasts just like him!"

"..."

A sudden clamor erupted, shaking the clouds. The astonishment in everyone's chest defied description; such a bizarre occurrence had never happened before in the Grand Competition of the Six Halls.

Initially, after watching that fellow wander around with a horde of spirit beasts before suddenly breaking away and seeing all the beasts disperse, everyone breathed a quiet sigh of relief. However, due to the strange scene he had created earlier, their attention on him had not waned; rather, it continued to intensify.

As expected, after the fellow rescued someone by the river and was chased for a while, the dispersed spirit beasts gathered again. What followed was similar to the previous incident: the beast siege ultimately forced his opponent to use the "Emerald Veined Jade *" to escape the Illusionary Space.

But the instant that person vanished into a black dot, several more green dots appeared around that group of red dots and moved to attack the two green dots at the center. This scene excited the spectators, who were eager to see whether the few green dots would triumph or if the red dots would force them out again.

However, the subsequent anomaly that suddenly manifested across the vast mountains and rivers nearly made the eyes of the crowd around the Lingxiao Altar bulge out: at the same moment, all the red dots inside the Illusionary Space began converging toward that spot, moving nearly twice as fast as before.

"What on earth is happening inside *..."

This was now the question on everyone's mind.

"Too amazing! Too amazing!..."

In the small room north of the Lingxiao Altar, the little loli Gu Yi exclaimed excitedly, clapping her small hands until they were bright red. "The big liar actually managed to attract all the spirit beasts in the Illusionary Space! So magical, so magical! I absolutely must learn this trick!..."

Bai Yuqing remained silent, but her eyes were tightly fixed on the two green dots enveloped by the mass of red dots, her brow slightly furrowed.

"What nonsense!"

The old man on the cushion roared with a stern face. "The City Lord hasn't managed affairs for so long. How has that old scoundrel been running the inner city these past few years? Allowing these inner city disciples to be so arrogant! Daring to disrupt the Grand Competition of the Six Halls, used by Ling Yu City to select inner city disciples, over some petty personal grudges! If no outer city disciples die because of this, fine. Otherwise, this old man will certainly not let that old scoundrel Hua off!"

With a snap, the old man slammed his palm onto the floor. The hard flooring around his cushion turned to dust at a visible speed.

Seeing this, the little loli stuck out her small red tongue and made a face. "Great-Grandpa, don't be angry! The big liar is so powerful, attracting all the spirit beasts. Those people definitely won't be able to do anything to him." She paused, then turned to Bai Yuqing, asking suspiciously, "Right, Sister Yuqing, do you think what Xiao Yao said was true? Did the big liar really find a 'Blood Scale Tung Tree' inside the Illusionary Space?..." [The characters inside the brackets are for updating information and should be ignored in the final text.]

Bai Yuqing withdrew her gaze. "If it were before, it might have been possible. But now, it's impossible. The Blood Scale Tung Tree can only attract spirit beasts within a radius of ten li. Now, spirit beasts within a hundred li across the entire Illusionary Space are being drawn in. It absolutely cannot be the Blood Scale Tung Tree. Perhaps it’s some kind of spiritual medicine he refined..."

The little loli stared blankly at Bai Yuqing, saying foolishly, "Oh my, Sister Yuqing, why are you suddenly saying so much..."

"Mm..."

Bai Yuqing hummed quietly, her eyes returning to the Illusionary Space. The old man lightly stroked his beard, gazing at the chaotic middle section of the Illusionary Space, his eyes filled with contemplation, though no one knew what he was thinking...

"...Two hundred and eighty... Three hundred... Three hundred and fifty... Four hundred..."

The mountains and fields were almost entirely covered with spirit beasts. Watching the figures still charging madly, Miao Ge's heart had grown somewhat numb after the initial shock. She was still subconsciously counting the numbers; to her now, those ferocious second and third-grade spirit beasts were just data points.

"Whoosh!"

Nie Kong opened his eyes and let out a gentle breath. The surrounding gathered wood spiritual energy elements and dense vitality instantly dissipated, merging back into the void.

Glancing around, Nie Kong smiled with satisfaction. Most of the Blood Scale Tung Tree's fragrance had now been forced out, leaving only a small portion to attract the beasts. After that action, Nie Kong was certain that the fragrance of the Blood Scale Tung Tree had spread to almost the entire Illusionary Space.

So far, nearly five hundred spirit beasts had gathered, and this was far from the final count. The inner city disciples had also reached "over twenty people." At this moment, several more released green flames, signaling for aid from other inner city disciples across the Illusionary Space.

At this moment, Luo Sheng’s figure flickered ethereally, cyan light crisscrossing in his palm as he slowly forced back the spirit beasts in front of him, closing in on Nie Kong. However, the sheer number of beasts made his progress quite slow, and his expression was as dark as still water. As for the other inner city disciples, they were all cursing angrily:

"Nie Kong, you bastard! Attracting this many spirit beasts! When we get out, I will be your sworn enemy!"

"Exactly! Even if you pass this Grand Competition of the Six Halls and become an inner city disciple, I will make it impossible for you to establish yourself in the inner city!"

"Damn your ancestors! How shameless, using spirit beasts to harm people!"

"..."

Taking in their curses, Nie Kong couldn't help but laugh heartily. "Luo Sheng, and all you senior inner city brothers, how is this grand feast?"

This taunt only fueled the inner city disciples' rage, and their curses grew even louder. Nie Kong paid them no more heed and turned back with a smile. "How do you feel?"

"Nie Kong, how exactly did you do that?"

Miao Ge came back to her senses, a trace of wonder appearing in her beautiful eyes as she looked at Nie Kong.

This fellow always brought her endless surprises: first, the continuous testing of medicine in the Alchemist Hall; then, winning first place in the monthly assessment three times in a row; and now his magical cultivation speed, progressing from Spirit Conduit to fifth-grade Spirit Fusion in just a few months.

Now, entering this Illusionary Space, he had somehow managed to avoid all spirit beast attacks while simultaneously luring distant beasts over. Looking at the ferocious surge of beasts around them, the final number would surely exceed one thousand, perhaps even more.

With so many spirit beasts acting as his escort, let alone one Luo Sheng, even ten Luo Shengs plus all the inner city disciples in the Illusionary Space couldn't touch him. No wonder he had appeared so self-assured earlier, even seeming to look forward to Luo Sheng and the others arriving!

Nie Kong didn't explain, only smiling and asking, "Has your body recovered?"

"Ah, it recovered long ago."

"Excellent!" Nie Kong chuckled heartily. "Miao Ge, just watching the show here is dull. Why don't we go move around a bit too."

"Us... how do we move around like this?"

Miao Ge understood what he meant and couldn't help but blush slightly. She needed to stick close to Nie Kong to avoid being attacked by the beasts; she couldn't possibly ride on his back constantly while he moved her around!

"This..."

Nie Kong frowned slightly, then suddenly gritted his teeth and reached into his robes, grasping a "Blood Zen Pill."

In his mind, the little fellow’s green essence rushed out of the Yaochi Acupoint, enveloping the spiritual medicine. In just a moment, it extracted the full medicinal power of the Blood Zen Pill. Then, Nie Kong flashed his hand and slapped Miao Ge’s back, silently sending the ball of medicinal power from his palm into her body.

However, the medicinal effect of this "Blood Zen Pill" took effect extremely slowly. Miao Ge would need some more time before she could move independently. Until then, Nie Kong still needed to move with her.

"Let's go!"

Nie Kong gave a soft command, bent down, placed Miao Ge onto his back, and concealed himself beside a massive spirit beast, stealthily moving toward the inner city disciples...

Note: Third update delivered...

Finally, I had intended to update four chapters today, totaling twelve thousand characters. I have only updated ten thousand so far. Although I won't fight for the ranking anymore, being surpassed on the Monthly Ticket List in this manner is somewhat frustrating, and I don't have the mood to write more. The missing two thousand characters will be made up tomorrow or the day after.