CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: DISTRIBUTION (SEEKING SUBSCRIPTION)_1

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Division

One step!

Two steps!

Three steps!

Shen Mo took a deep breath, stepping onto the gigantic iron cable that stretched over the sea of fire, walking slowly yet resolutely.

The first few steps were without any abnormalities.

But when Shen Mo reached the fifth step, a dazzling light suddenly flared in his eyes, obscuring his vision.

When he reopened his eyes, he found himself on Earth, not the cultivation world he had grown accustomed to.

Next, images of his father, mother, sister, classmates from Earth, friends, and many other people who had been buried deep in his memories started appearing before him.

How can it be?... Wait, it’s an illusion.

Slightly stunned, he soon realized that everything before him was fake.

So, he quickened his pace, continuing to cross the flaming torrent formed by the Earth Core Flame.

However, the closer Shen Mo got to the opposite shore, the more restless he grew.

Dad, Mom...

Although he knew it was all a façade, an odd force prevented him from calming down.

He had come a long way, leaving his parents and friends all behind.

But a voice in his heart made him want to look back at his parents’ faces.

Forget the past; it’s as dead as yesterday.

At this moment of Shen Mo’s struggle, a cool sensation suddenly swept over him, clearing his mind.

It was the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture.

This soul cultivation method, though he hadn’t fully mastered it, had aided him at a crucial moment, enabling him to break through the illusion.

Shen Mo slowly opened his eyes and looked back. There was no one behind him.

Below was the constantly churning molten lava.

He was standing on the iron cable, more than halfway across, with only five steps left to the end.

After breaking through the illusion, Shen Mo faced no more impediments. He quickly took the remaining steps and reached the stone stairs on the other side.

With Shen Mo safely making it through, this stage of the trial had come to an end.

Out of the seventy-plus people who had entered the tomb, apart from those who had given up midway, most had been eliminated in these two rounds.

Only Shen Mo, Lu Ming, Li Chen, and Xiao Ling’er—the cream of the crop among the new disciples of the Three Great Immortal Sects—had successfully made it through.

They’ve already gone up!

Without lingering to celebrate on the other side, Shen Mo ascended the stone steps and headed for the true heart of the tomb.

The end of the staircase led to a subsidiary courtyard.

This courtyard was rather small and quaintly elegant.

By the time Shen Mo arrived, Lu Ming and the others had already made it and had thoroughly searched the place.

On seeing the late-arriving Shen Mo, Li Chen arched an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

"I thought only the three of us would pass the trial. I didn’t expect another kid to make it."

Xiao Ling’er, too, gazed at Shen Mo with her beautiful eyes, looking somewhat taken aback, although she didn’t say anything.

She had not paid attention to Shen Mo earlier and had never imagined he could pass the trial.

Only Lu Ming wore a faint smile. "I knew you’d make it."

"We’ve found everything." Lu Ming gestured towards the nearby stone table. "The Spirit Talisman Venerable left behind just five jade boxes. The four of us should discuss how to divide them."

Shen Mo followed Lu Ming’s gaze and noticed for the first time the five square jade boxes placed atop the stone table.

The material of these jade boxes seemed rather special. Shen Mo tried to use his sense to examine the contents, but he couldn’t see anything.

"Don’t waste your energy," Lu Ming continued. "These are Sky Locking Boxes, capable of preventing all senses from peering in. No one knows what treasures lie inside. To keep things fair, everyone can randomly select one box. Four jade boxes, divided among the four of us, one per person."

"As for the additional jade box..." Lu Ming pondered for a moment before suggesting, "I have two ideas. We can either let those interested buy it with Spirit Stone, with the remaining three people sharing the stones, or... or we can duel right here in this subsidiary courtyard; the one who wins gets to keep the box."

Although the four of them belonged to different sects, they had all gained treasures during their many days of exploration and were unwilling to see their efforts wasted at the last moment.

Even if they had their own intentions, they preferred to discuss matters rather than resort to excessive deceit or scheming.

Furthermore, they were all prodigies among the new disciples of the Three Great Immortal Sects. Their future activities would certainly not be limited to their respective sects.

They would have many opportunities to interact with each other within Red Flame Country.

Thus, despite not being very close, they did not wish to create a rift amongst themselves within this Mountain River Realm.

"Let’s choose the second one." Li Chen frowned slightly, then quickly said, "I want another jade box, but I don’t have any Spirit Stones on hand."

"Miss Xiao, what are your thoughts?" Lu Ming nodded and looked towards Xiao Ling’er.

"I, too, agree that the most capable should keep it," Xiao Ling’er said, evidently confident in her own abilities.

"Since everyone agrees to resolve this with strength, the winner takes it. However, we’ll stop once a victor is clear," Lu Ming declared.

Lu Ming nodded, selected a jade box for himself, and then presented the remaining three for Shen Mo and the others to choose from.

Seems like it’s hard to tell which one is the best.

Although they couldn’t use their senses to peek into the jade boxes and see the treasures, Shen Mo, with his Special Destiny, Bright Vision, could still discern some clues.

When two streams of purple mist rose from his eyes, the radiance of the jade boxes slowly surfaced.

Among the five jade boxes, the treasures in four of them seemed to be of the same grade. The radiance of these boxes was very similar, all containing valuable treasures.

Only the radiance from one of the jade boxes was almost non-existent. The treasure inside appeared to be more than one grade inferior to the other four.

He avoided the worst box and made a blind pick.

After Shen Mo had made his choice, Xiao Ling’er and Li Chen also made theirs.

Then, Lu Ming placed the last remaining jade box on the stone table.

They marked out an area within the subsidiary courtyard to serve as the dueling ground.

"This line is the boundary. Whoever is blasted out of this area loses." Lu Ming then turned to Shen Mo. "Junior Brother Shen, are you participating?"

"I’ll pass." Shen Mo shook his head after hearing Lu Ming’s arrangement.

He had previously fought Xun Tian. Despite inflicting serious injury on Xun Tian in the end, Shen Mo knew that his victory was due to a fortunate chance, and he might not be able to replicate it in a rematch.

And as it happened, the jade box left over after everyone picked was that worst one.

If they fought tooth and nail to win the final box, the winner would most likely be disappointed by the prize. Therefore, he sensibly opted out of this pointless conflict.

"Then, let the three of us battle it out." Seeing that Shen Mo wasn’t participating, Lu Ming didn’t try to persuade him further.

He leaped into the arena and took his stance.

RUMBLE!

Lu Ming immediately took out his trump card, the Heavenly Thunder Flag. Thunder arcs and purple electricity circulated within his palm.

Li Chen also prepared himself, taking out a blood-colored broadsword magic artifact.

"Xuanyin Slash!"

He struck first, his blade energy like a blade from the netherworld, slashing directly at Lu Ming.

Lu Ming immediately activated his Five Thunder Magic, blasting a thunder of purple heaven and forcing the attack back.

At the same time, Xiao Ling’er, gripping the hilt of the Bright Moon Sword at her waist, drew her sword in an instant.

The longsword was as cold as the moonlight from heaven.

The three of them clashed, a chaotic battle ensuing.

For a time, the subsidiary courtyard, due to their exchange of blows, was filled with a long-absent, thunderous wind.

[You are observing the battlefield where three powerful individuals of the same ranking are revealing all their powerful cards. You can’t help but feel exhilarated by this.]

[After observing the battle, you have greatly broadened your horizons; your combat experience has improved.]

During the observation, a series of messages started to appear on Shen Mo’s Destiny Panel.

Shen Mo began paying even closer attention to the battlefield after realizing the benefits brought about by observing the fight.