Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
As the treasure light appeared in the south, several pillars of light also shot up from the north and the west.
A count revealed that the south had one, the west had three, and the north had two. Including the Basking Moon Sect's two, there were eight in total. The ninth was the Taiyi Profound Clarity Cup, meaning that there was still one treasure missing.
But this wasn't important. So long as they could defeat the other teams, the last one would end up in the hands of the victor.
Upon seeing the three sides each releasing their treasure lights, Peng Yaolong laughed and said, "Let's show our own!"
He took out a bronze mirror from his Mustard Seed Bag. This was the Water Diffraction Mirror, which could be used to defend against large-scale spell arts, but it only worked on purely spiritual energy attacks. It meant little for Peng Yaolong, but it was still better than the other art relic.
On the other end, Zhu Fengdao took out a vase of white jade. This jade vase was the Sundew Vase. If it were used to water a spirit field, the plants would grow better. If one watered it every day, a two-year spirit plant would have the medicinal power of a three-year plant. But there was too little dew to cover much of an area. And while the vase was nice, it had no use in battle, so it was no wonder that Peng Yaolong had chosen the Diffraction Mirror.
The radiance unleashed by thel eight treasures indicated that the war had begun.
Of course, everyone could choose to defend their positions, not attack each other, and leave with what they had.
But this was basically impossible.
The first reason was that this competition was a game where the strongest won, where the victor was king. The stronger side would never be able to accept a situation that wasn't to their advantage. The alliance of the Basking Moon Sect and Thousand Passions Sect had twenty people, clearly stronger than the sixteen people of the Horizon Ocean Pavilion/Seven Absolutions Sect alliance, but they only had four treasures. They had no reason to let the other side be. Secondly, a treasure protector was different from a discoverer. For example, Yun Wuji hadn't been the one to find the Taiyi Profound Clarity Cup. Rather, a Godhead Palace student had found it and handed it to him. If Yun Wuji had succeeded in guarding the treasure, he would have given the discoverer a reward. The same was true for the Basking Moon Sect's Water Diffraction Mirror and Sundew Vase. The former had been found by Qing Yuan and given to Peng Yaolong, while the latter had been found by Zhu Fengdao, and he had not given it to anyone yet. If everyone just held their positions and didn't attack, Zhu Fengdao could keep the treasure and become one of the top ten. For elites like Peng Yaolong, this was unacceptable, and it was liable to end up in internal strife.
Battle against others was the best choice to avoid this internal strife.
Thus, whether it was for the sect or the individual, everyone would choose to go on the attack.
Zhu Fengdao took out the white jade vase and looked at Ye Tianshang. Ye Tianshang thought it over and finally accepted it. His original plan had been to abandon this item and seize a more suitable one, but since Tang Jie was set on the Stop Gate Banner, Ye Tianshang decided to leave that chance for him.
With the ownership of the Sundew Vase decided, Peng Yaolong shouted, "Since nine of the ten treasures have appeared, what are we waiting for? Go!"
"Let's go!" all the students bellowed, taking to the sky. Only Wei Tianchong and Qi Shaoming were left on the ground.
These were the only Spirit Platform students left in the Basking Moon Sect group. One had been recommended because of his nine-cycle Jade Gate, while the other had been allowed in as an exception because he was Changfeng's True Inheritor. Tang Jie should have been with them, but now that Tang Jie had shed his mortality, the two of them had to rely on themselves.
"Hey, hey, don't forget us!" Wei Tianchong jumped frantically once he saw his senior brothers take flight.
Tang Jie laughed and pointed at Wei Tianchong's feet, and a vortex bore Wei Tianchong aloft. On the other end, Ye Tianshang threw out his Sandstream Sword, which took Qi Shaoming into the air.
At the same time, the treasure lights of the other three sects moved, beginning to approach each other.
The difference in strength caused the students to fly in different directions.
The Thousand Passions Sect moved from the north to the east, clearly planning to group up with the Basking Moon Sect so that they could fight together.
Horizon Ocean Pavilion to the west pursued the Thousand Passions Sect. For them, a joint battle wasn't beneficial. As the Thousand Passions Sect and Horizon Ocean Pavilion had around the same number of people, and Horizon Ocean Pavilion had Lan Yu while the Thousand Passions Sect had lost Li Zhiping, Horizon Ocean Pavilion had the slight advantage. Besides that, the two sects were opposed to each other. Thus, Horizon Ocean Pavilion sought a one-on-one battle with the Thousand Passions Sect.
The Basking Moon Sect moved straight toward the Seven Absolutions Sect.
As the strongest side, Peng Yaolong and company preferred to attack the Seven Absolutions Sect while the Thousand Passions Sect fought with Horizon Ocean Pavilion, rather than joining together in battle. The greatest benefit of this was that once Horizon Ocean Pavilion defeated the Thousand Passions Sect, the Basking Moon Sect, which would have defeated the Seven Absolutions Sect, wouldn't have to attack the Thousand Passions Sect, nor would it have to split the spoils.
No matter what the result was, it was still better than joining together.
This was precisely why Peng Yaolong's group was ignoring the "pursuit" of the Thousand Passions Sect and chasing only after the Seven Absolutions Sect.
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The only thing surprising was the Seven Absolutions Sect's reaction.
They should have immediately joined together with Horizon Ocean Pavilion. After all, splitting up and fighting separately was extremely disadvantageous to the Seven Absolutions Sect, as they had to face the strongest faction, the Basking Moon Sect.
But the Seven Absolutions Sect didn't do this, instead moving to the southwest, with a slight turn to the north. This direction was neither toward Horizon Ocean Pavilion nor toward Basking Moon and Thousand Passions. It was more like they planned to move around on their own.
"Huh? Weird. What are those guys of the Seven Absolutions Sect doing?" As he flew, Peng Yaolong was deeply confused as to the direction the treasure light was moving.
"Perhaps they know that they're no match and plan to run around and buy time," a student said.
Qi Shaoming shook his head. "Then it would be better to just join up with Horizon Ocean Pavilion. The four sects are unequal in strength. The Thousand Passions Sect is closer in strength to Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and our Basking Moon Sect is stronger than most. If they worked together, at least Horizon Ocean Pavilion would be able to share some of the burden."
Tang Jie replied, "Don't forget that the treasure light can only confirm the direction the treasure is moving, not the people. If I were Mu Yi, I would use the treasure light to make a feint. One Seven Absolutions Sect student would run off with the treasure while the rest of the Seven Absolutions Sect students would secretly meet up with Horizon Ocean Pavilion, after which they could take down the Thousand Passions Sect, leaving us the disadvantaged side."
Everyone was alarmed by this suggestion.
If this really happened, the Basking Moon Sect would be in trouble. The Thousand Passions Sect was no match for the two sects. If the two sects were allowed to eliminate the Thousand Passions Sect, the Basking Moon Sect would go from having the advantage to the disadvantage.
Fortunately, Tang Jie added, "But this plan is founded on us not going to help the Thousand Passions Sect. Otherwise, it's just a joke. Senior Brother Peng, I recall you saying that you fought with them a few times. At that time, did you ever avoid working together with the Thousand Passions Sect?"
"Not at all," Peng Yaolong immediately replied.
As it hadn't been the final battle, everyone hadn't been as cautious, so they hadn't avoided working together with the Thousand Passions Sect. It was only when the treasure lights went up all around, heralding the final battle, that such a situation had appeared.
"Then this possibility isn't large," Tang Jie immediately replied.
Everyone sighed in relief. Wei Tianchong said, "Then why do you think they're doing this?"
He pointed at the large boulder in front of him, upon which the Seven Absolutions Sect had placed two treasures. One was the Taiyi Profound Clarity Cup, and the other was the Wind Dragon Firepart Fan. Alas, there was no Stop Gate Banner, so was it in the hands of Horizon Ocean Pavilion or the Thousand Passions Sect?
Peng Yaolong's eyes flashed. "Then I won't be polite. Go!"
As he shouted, the Basking Moon Sect students charged. It was their thirteen to the Seven Absolutions Sect's nine, and the Seven Absolutions Sect was the weakest in terms of combat power. It seemed like the victory was decided.
All of the Seven Absolutions Sect students except Mu Yi moved in unison, eight swords taking to the sky. Each sword became two, two became four, and four became eight, constantly growing in number. Countless tiny swords collided in the air, creating a net of swords.
This was the Seven Absolutions Sect's famous Many Mountain Sword Formation. Each of the small swords that made up this formation was real. They had countless variations, and they would increase in power with the number of people.
While there were only eight people, there were thousands of swords flying around in the air, their sharp sword radiance engulfing the entirety of the mountain.
This was the Seven Absolutions Sect's most defining attribute. In a one-on-one situation, the Seven Absolutions Sect didn't have an advantage against the other sects, but in battles with more people, the Seven Absolutions Sect was often able to display strength greater than usual, making it so that one plus one ended up being greater than two.
Peng Yaolong simply laughed when he saw this sword formation, and he shouted, "Let me!"
Standing in front of the mountain, he began to form various hand signs.
Tang Jie was alarmed when he saw these hand signs, almost crying out.
Heavenly King Mara's Incantation!
His vision gradually widened, and he took in everything on the periphery of the battlefield, but he didn't see anything wrong.
The clashes in the sky continued. While the Seven Absolutions Sect's Many Mountain Sword Formation was powerful, it was gradually giving way under the relentless attacks of Peng Yaolong and Ye Tianshang.
The sword light began to weaken under the explosions, and all that could be seen in the sky was Peng Yaolong's phantom battering away. Once the sword formation broke, the Seven Absolutions Sect students would be powerless to fight back and would be utterly routed. Peng Yaolong could already see the light of victory, and his laughter resounded across the sky.
But the more this was the case, the greater the unease in Tang Jie's mind grew.
On the summit, Mu Yi was still proudly standing, his boyish and honest face cold and emotionless. He simply observed the battle while exuding an inexplicable self-confidence.
This self-confidence made Tang Jie uneasy, but he couldn't find out where the problem was, which left him vexed.