Le Tu was on the ground, sitting down.
His gaze was fervent and completely focused.
More than 25 days had already passed.
Most candidates had already been erased.
Most importantly, during this period, he had already covered the whole aperture.
Once a person stepped or got near any of his 'earth veins', he would know.
"Why are you so tense?" Qiao Yun spoke with a soft chuckle.
He pressed his palm on his head and added.
"We already got rid of Uru Hong Jing, one of the toughest contestants.
Even Qin Jiji, who looked all that tough, was forced to flee in a few exchanges against you."
Le Tu shook his head.
"You don't understand. The fact that she ran is what makes her scary; if she had tried to brute-force her way through, we would have easily crushed her and Uru Hong Jing's alliance.
Instead of fighting a pointless battle, she ran away as soon as the situation turned unfavorable, that takes courage too."
Qiao Yun frowned.
"Even then, can't you beat her in the same way you did before?"
Le Tu shook his head yet again, and he sighed.
"The fact that she ran before shows that while she is prideful, she's also humble enough to understand her own weaknesses.
My Earth Veins also have not been able to locate her until yesterday.
Which suggests that she remained in the same spot for that long. What do you think this implies?" He spoke solemnly.
Qiao Yun frowned.
"She has been practicing anti-Wisdom Path Killer Moves all along?"
Le Tu nodded.
"Most probably."
He closed his eyes as he added.
"As things stand today, I do not believe we stand a chance at beating her in a fight."
"Which is why we won't fight her at all." He opened his eyes.
"Huh?"
"To win completely, one requires 6 flags, yet that is not the only way to win. As long as we possess at least 5 flags, no matter how well she plays her hand.
We simply cannot lose.
At worst, there may be a draw, but I doubt it. Now that things have reached such a stage, the Land Spirit will not accept such an outcome.
So most probably, she's going to lengthen the trial's period, or perhaps alter the rules, regardless this is our best bet."
Qiao Yun nodded.
"I see, so the plan will be that while she's busy, we will go to fight somebody else and steal their flag?"
Le Tu nodded.
But then.
His expression changed, and he stood up.
"It's coming! She has begun to fight."
"Against whom?"
"Jian Quan Hou."
Jian Quan Hou stood with his arms crossed, his golden armor shining brightly.
His red hair flew with the wind.
There was a hint of nervousness, and anxiety, yet also of pure excitement.
"Is it finally here at last? My final challenge." He chuckled.
During the past few days, he had met several adversaries whom he had contested for the flags.
Even some other top contestants.
But the one he feared the most was unseen by him.
"With her strength and abilities, I have little doubt that she has already gathered plenty of flags. As long as I get my hands on them, I will automatically win."
He smirked.
There was one final trump card that he had yet to use, one which, if successful, could enable him to win in one fell swoop.
"Hahaha...She will never see it coming..." He readied himself for battle, letting out a huge roar.
His aura spiked through the roof as he let out the scream, his red hair spiked.
Whilst electricity flowed through his body, his muscles throbbed.
Qin Jiji also flew towards his direction.
Her gaze was solemn.
Gone was her previous arrogance; now there was only deep wariness and vigilance.
Beyond that, there was a sense of hurriedness in her mind.
"Most of the flags must have been gathered by now. I need to defeat him soon, or else I may be eliminated before I have the chance of a rematch." She thought solemnly.
Thinking of this, her aura spiked too.
In her hands.
A golden, bright sphere was condensing.
As she flew, the sphere grew in size.
From the size of her thumb to the size of her head.
And it kept growing and growing.
Upon reaching the size of a massive boulder of dozens of meters in width, it was finally shot.
Jian Quan Hou, however, remained firm.
From thin matter itself, a golden spear manifested.
He held on to it steadily, he let out a long chant, and his aura intensified further, condensing into the tip of his weapon.
The two forces collided, yet while his was inferior, its piercing power was just strong enough to pass through the boiling sphere.
His body pierced through; the shining aura spread everywhere.
Qin Jiji, however, snorted coldly before his body could pass fully.
She detonated it!
But to her surprise.
Just as she did so, the image of a 'road' manifested ahead of the man.
[Golden Road]
Golden Road is an Immortal whose effect is to create a straight path for the user to move through. It was both a Defensive Gu as it could 'block' any outsider force, as well as a Movement Path Gu as it could enable one to move faster inside
Qin Jiji narrowed her eyes.
[Decay Wave]
Madly, she spent her Immortal Reserves to conjure a toxic wave; countless yellow petals flew at the same time.
Colliding with the Golden Road Killer Move.
The man was getting nearer; her eyelids twitched.
The season changed.
[Unending Frostbite]
As the man drew closer, her aura surged even more intensely, trying to overwhelm the man. A massive hurricane was unleashed, from which countless icicles were shot.
Under the barrage of so many moves, the road began to crack, but it still held on.
The two forces finally collided in full; the man was just a dozen meters away.
Suddenly.
The speed of the man multiplied threefold during a flickering instant; he rushed towards her.
Qin Jiji gritted her teeth, her body moved out of the way, and she was barely able to dodge the spear that would have impaled her otherwise.
But as she did so, she realized that the man was only gripping his spear with one hand, the other?
Was conjuring a Killer Move.
Qin Jiji snorted coldly.
[Heat Wave]
The intense wave collided against the man, burning his flesh.
But the man gritted his teeth, and a golden aurora surged through, protecting his body partially from the attacks.
In the meantime, the Killer Move was completed.
"Why would he sacrifice so much just to complete a single Killer Move?" She wondered to herself.
But at the next moment.
Jin Quan Hou laughed heartily.
"This is victory!"
Her eyes widened.
From her aperture, she felt a strange sensation.
A celeste pulse came out from the man's hand, and from her aperture, the two flags she had so painstakingly gained were lost.
[Experienced Thief]
Her expression became ghastly upon that sight.
Whereas Jin Quan Hou's expression was also quite the sight.
"What the actual hell? Where are the rest of the flags?" He wondered aloud.
The trick he had planted, the seemingly suicidal strategy he had made.
Was all for this single purpose, of stealing her flags.
Once he did, with the 3 flags already within his possession and the other 3+ that Qin Jiji already had, he would have been the instant winner.
But now.
That grand plan of his had turned into a big joke.
His expression turned awkward.
He stared at Qin Jiji briefly before escaping.
…
While this passed, Le Tu and Qiao Yun rapidly hurried towards the last flag location.
Inside a deep cave.
There was a man.
Xing Cheng Hu.
During the very first day, he found his first flag.
And immediately, once he did.
He decided to hide his tracks and conceal himself.
After securing the perimeter and ensuring his secrecy, he finally established a Formation.
His plan was simple.
Wait for the prey to come, and steal their flags.
But while the idea was simple.
There was a tiny, little mistake.
While he had found a couple of Immortals and even defeated them during this period.
None of them carried a flag with them.
Initially, he decided to be patient.
During the first ten days, he remained stoic and tranquil, then he grew restless.
But he remained firm in his decision.
By the time he had realized that his strategy had failed, it was already too late; he had already dug himself too deeply to change his spot.
After all, to build a Formation he needed a place to settle; furthermore, he also needed time, at least 5 days, to create a thorough enough formation to win against his foes.
At this stage, to try to build a new Formation would be a waste of time, and he knew it.
Which was why.
At this point, he had already resigned; his chances of victory were basically null, so he may as well enjoy the time he has left.
The man was in his cave, laughing heartedly reading a 'educative' novel, while having wine in the other hand.
"Oh…Oh…This is getting interesting." He muttered, his eyes turned red, and he put the book closer to his face, as if that would change anything.
Suddenly.
He was jolted awake as he saw a strange cloud-gas piercing through his cave from everywhere.
His eyes opened wide.
"Somebody trespassed on my Formation? But how!" He muttered to himself in disbelief.
Observing how the cave was being filled with a strange gas, his first thought was to retreat.
Unfortunately, the exit was being blocked; his only way was to dig through.
He gritted his teeth, his aura surged as he pierced through the deep stone.
After piercing through fifteen meters of deep stone, he reached towards the surface.
However, just as he saw the first rays of sunlight.
He was bounced back by an invisible barrier.
"What?" His pupils dilated in shock, as he observed how the very barrier he had put in the spot was the one blocking his advancement.
He turned his head, observing the approaching gas. He tried to defend himself, but it was pointless.
The gas entered his brain, and he fell unconscious.
Five minutes later.
Le Tu and Qiao Yun entered the cave, retrieving the flag successfully.
Observing all of this.
Was Shung Mia Yin.
Who was nodding to herself.
"Good, now all of the useless participants are gone." Upon thinking this, a wide, blooming smile appeared on her face.
The very goal she had set herself up to, of finding a worthy master, seemed within sight.
By this point, no matter who won or lost, she would be utterly convinced.
Thinking of this, she could not help but giggle childishly.
Her body trembled in excitement.
Suddenly, she feels a strange sensation.
A hot burning sensation of intense flames getting near her.
But she was not bothered by this, instead with the same grin she had before, she said.
"Oh? Little grumpy Flame, have you decided to come out already…Well, it's not too late yet to enjoy the excitement; the remaining participants are rather strong." She talked.
If an ordinary person had seen her, they would think she's crazy.
After all, she was talking to a literal wildfire.
Or so it seemed.
The orange-yellow flames hummed, transmitting a message.
"Do not use that name on me. I am not just a simple flame, I am Jing Sheng Yang."
But Shung Mia Yin merely chuckled.
"Even now, you are still acting so pretentious." She shook her head.
"You were but the pet project of Heavenly Lotus Sect. Who tried to see if they could animate a flame."
The flame roared; its intensity deepened.
"And so, what? I was born from a Venerable's Flame, the very flames they fear the most.
The powers I had at my peak were those of a Rank 8 Gu Master."
Shung Mia Yin narrowed her eyes.
"Do not act so proud of the power you were just born with; besides, you are nowhere near as powerful as you were in your prime.
Not since the day you decided to escape from them."
The flame stared at the woman; the intensity of the flames remained.
"As if you were any better, you, despite having my help for all those years, you still failed.
Not only that, but you also forgot the promise we made…"
The flame spoke resentfully.
But Shung Mia Yin merely replied.
"I have no reason to abide by that old promise. Besides, while you helped me to ascend to Immortality, I, too, helped you a lot.
Would you still be alive without me?"
Then, she shrugged.
"Besides, the promise has not been completely unfulfilled, for a being like you, who will outlive humans a hundred times over.
With your lifespan, you will outlive my successors; by then, you are free to take what you believe to be 'yours.'"