Chapter 84

Xie Ruolan passed through the transmission array and arrived at the fourth level of the sect. She then started flying upward.

When she entered the second level, she suddenly heard the cultivators guarding the area respectfully calling her "Senior Sister Xie." Xie Ruolan then noticed that one of them was someone she had met before, named Jin Fuxing.

A very common name, and he looked like a farmer, but his cultivation was not weak. He had already reached the Great Perfection stage of the Qi Condensation realm at the age of twenty-something.

"Is it really you, Fuxing? I have something to ask you. How did the recent Red Leaf Mountain spirit stone mine competition turn out?" Xie Ruolan asked.

"Junior is quite clear about this. This time, we won big. A junior disciple named Lin Haoming actually managed to snatch an exquisite spirit stone in the mine, thus taking the lead!"

"What? He had such good luck?" Xie Ruolan was also surprised. She had just been worried that the kid might die in there, but who knew he would end up taking the lead.

Seeing Xie Ruolan's surprised expression, Jin Fuxing smiled and continued, "Indeed, but he seems to have offended Wu Hongfei. After Wu Hongfei returned, he declared that he would kill him before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage!"

"You mean he made a mortal enemy of Wu Hongfei in the mine and still managed to take the lead?" Xie Ruolan asked again, not quite believing it.

"Yes, that's what the rumors say!" Jin Fuxing replied.

"By the way, how is Wang Chen?" Xie Ruolan asked again.

"Shopkeeper Wang has also returned and placed in the top three. It's said that after he recovers, he plans to directly advance to the Foundation Establishment stage!" Jin Fuxing said respectfully.

Xie Ruolan was truly surprised again. She knew Wang Chen's strength well. It was normal for him to get a Foundation Establishment pill by following Wu Hongfei, but to place in the top three was beyond his capabilities. Thinking about this, she continued, "How about Wu Hongfei?"

"Wu Hongfei placed sixth and got two Foundation Establishment pills. However, it's said that he returned in a terrible state, with both arms completely ruined. If not for his good luck, he might have died in there." Jin Fuxing spoke frankly.

Hearing this, Xie Ruolan felt that this matter was probably not simple and that she might have underestimated Lin Haoming.

"Thank you. Here, this is for you!" Xie Ruolan casually tossed a spirit stone as a reward.

Catching the spirit stone, Jin Fuxing was overjoyed. Seeing Xie Ruolan about to leave, he added, "Thank you, Senior. If you're looking for someone, you might want to go to the Life and Death Platform. Today happens to be the day for the Linglun Mountain cave dwelling competition. Most of the inner disciples will be there!"

"Oh! It seems I've come at the right time!" Xie Ruolan smiled meaningfully, then stomped her jade foot and flew directly toward Linglun Mountain.

The inner disciples' competition was held at the Life and Death Platform at the foot of Linglun Mountain.

As a disciple of the Demon Sect, the sect itself encouraged competition among disciples. If the disciples of the Demon Sect had no competitive spirit, they wouldn't be considered true Demon Sect disciples. The sect only set some rules to prevent excessive competition or overly ruthless means that could affect the sect's development, thus keeping the competition under control.

The Life and Death Platform was called so because all participants had to sign a life and death contract. Once signed, if someone was killed during the competition, the sect would not hold them responsible for killing a fellow disciple. Therefore, in the inner sect, besides competing for cave dwellings or other interests, it was also a place for resolving conflicts.

When Wu Hongfei returned, he declared that he would kill Lin Haoming before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, intending to resolve the matter through a duel on the Life and Death Platform.

The former Lin Haoming had no good feelings about the Life and Death Platform. In the past, he had been forced to hand over treasures obtained from the patriarch under the threat of life and death duels, eventually ending up as a butcher in the Floating Pagoda Cave.

Of course, that was the former Lin Haoming. The current Lin Haoming had no aversion to the Life and Death Platform.

When Lin Haoming arrived at the Life and Death Platform, several Foundation Establishment stage enforcers were already seated there.

The Life and Death Platform was not a single platform but a set of five, one high and four low. The central platform was the highest, and the other four were slightly lower. Each platform was a hundred feet long and wide.

The inner disciples were said to number three thousand, but no one had actually counted. Now, Lin Haoming saw nearly two thousand people gathered here.

This meant that two-thirds of the inner disciples had come to watch the competition, showing how much the cave dwelling competition was valued by the inner disciples. However, Lin Haoming did not see anyone he knew, so he stood alone near one of the platforms, watching the grand event unfold.

It was not an exaggeration to call it a grand event. Not only did most of the inner disciples attend, but five Foundation Establishment stage seniors were also overseeing the competition.

The cave dwelling competition started with the worst ones.

There were over thirty Yellow-marked cave dwellings up for grabs, and the number of people registering to compete for these was very high. On average, each cave dwelling had at least five or six people competing for it.

Of course, there were also three or four cave dwellings with only one person registering, and they were directly awarded to those individuals. If there were no ulterior motives, Lin Haoming wouldn't believe it, as Ling Shengjie had warned him about this before.

When Lin Haoming arrived today, he specifically looked for Ling Shengjie but couldn't find him, which made him feel a bit strange. Disciples of his status usually set up betting pools for such competitions and wouldn't miss them.

After some thought, he guessed that Ling Shengjie must have been delayed by something or had some other matter that prevented him from coming.

The competition for the Yellow-marked cave dwellings was also intense.

All cultivators participating in the competition, regardless of their cultivation level or gender, had to sign a life and death contract before the competition began.

Once the competition started, even the inner disciples went all out to compete for better cave dwellings.

In just a few rounds, Lin Haoming saw someone being directly killed on the Life and Death Platform.

Although this situation caused many spectators to exclaim in shock, it was only for a moment. When the next pair of cultivators went up to compete, the previous incident was quickly forgotten.

The competition was so exciting that time seemed to pass quickly. By the time most of the unclaimed cave dwellings had new owners, half a day had already passed, and nearly ten cultivators had died on the Life and Death Platform.

Overall, Lin Haoming found that the inner disciples who went up to compete were not as wealthy as he had imagined. Most of the magical tools they used were mid-grade, and those with high-grade magical tools had a significant advantage. The use of talismans was also very cautious.

Seeing this common situation, Lin Haoming suddenly realized that even inner disciples typically had only about a thousand spirit stones in wealth.

He had become accustomed to spending lavishly and, after the spirit stone mine expedition, had been so immersed in piles of spirit stones that he had overlooked some basic facts.