[Vol. 6] Chapter 228: The Eve of the Competition
[Mirror Valley].
The Ancient Spirit Realm is home to ten notorious danger zones. Some are filled with toxic miasma and treacherous swamps that can claim lives in an instant. Others are inhabited by violent, bizarre creatures or have a reputation akin to supernatural legends that make people fear them like the plague.
For ordinary people, entering one of these ten perilous zones is almost certain death. There's no way in and no way out. Except for one exception.
That exception is [Mirror Valley].
The dangers of [Mirror Valley] don’t directly take lives. Instead, they operate on what seems like a “probability trigger” system. Some who venture too far may disappear entirely, but their deaths remain unconfirmed, no bodies are ever found.
Because of this, [Mirror Valley] is also known as the “Valley of Vanishing” or the “Devouring Valley”.
And the location chosen for the final battle of the [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony] was none other than this [Mirror Valley].
After roughly two weeks of swift marching, the Eastern Kingdom’s massive force of over 50,000 soldiers crossed the border and arrived near [Mirror Valley].
The timing for the Immortal Island’s descent and the start of the finals was fixed and unchangeable. By the time the Eastern Kingdom army arrived, the main forces of the other three nations had already gathered. Together, the four nations assembled an army of over 200,000 troops and thousands of elite contestants, camping in the areas surrounding [Mirror Valley].
This gathering represented the most formidable strength the Ancient Spirit Realm could currently muster.
Now, they waited for the most crucial individuals to arrive.
“Miss White Rainbow, Sect Master Mo requests your presence at the command tent,” a messenger announced.
“Got it.”
Violet, who had just stepped down from her carriage and was surveying the terrain, nodded and casually called out to her companions. Then she asked casually,
“Do you know what this is about?”
The young messenger, glancing discreetly at the black-haired girl rumored to have been personally taught by the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden and hailed as a hidden immortal, answered respectfully,
“I don’t know, but Sect Master Mo instructed that your presence is urgently required.”
“Hmm… Alright. You can go back now. We’ll head over immediately.”
“Yes!”
The soldier departed quickly, just as Xiao Kong, Hen, and the others arrived by Violet’s side.
“What’s going on, Violet?”
“Probably the people from Spirit Veil Immortal Island have arrived. Let’s go… it seems they’re in quite a hurry.”
For this expedition, Eastern Kingdom Saint could not personally lead the army into foreign territory, as maintaining balance between alliances was of utmost importance. Instead, the commander of the Eastern Kingdom forces was Sect Master Mo Ziqing of the [Five Great Sects], accompanied by two other sect leaders and General Wen Zhengyang of the [Black Scaled Army], who was in charge of coordinating part of the military.
Such a lineup was already quite impressive.
As Violet and her companions passed through the multiple layers of guards and entered the spacious command tent, the interior was already crowded with people. Violet recognized Mo Ziqing and a few others, including several of the top eight contestants from the competition. However, most faces were unfamiliar.
From their hair colors and seating arrangements, it was clear that official representatives from all four nations were present. The others were likely prominent figures or military leaders from their respective nations. Altogether, nearly a hundred people were in attendance.
Violet’s sharp eyes quickly scanned the crowd, spotting several familiar faces. Among them were young men and women with fox ears, their faces partially hidden behind white veils, including Ming Lianyun, seated at the head of the table. She also noticed a gray-haired girl from the Western Kingdom she hadn’t seen in a while, accompanied by her guard.
Ling Feng was as composed as ever. Although she clearly noticed Violet, she didn’t call out to her. Instead, she stopped Bai’er, who was about to wave, and simply exchanged a subtle nod with Violet, her expression calm but warm.
Understanding Ling Feng’s intent, Violet pretended not to see them and made her way directly to the Eastern Kingdom representatives’ area.
The meeting hadn’t officially started yet. Most people were quietly chatting within their small groups. However, the arrival of Violet and her companions drew nearly everyone’s attention. Many powerful individuals immediately sharpened their gazes as they observed the newcomers.
“Is that her?”
“Black hair, white robes, petite figure. Yeah, that’s her. And look, the silver-haired girl next to her must be the long-missing Spirit Maiden of the Western Kingdom. The [Silver Cat] is here too. This person must be [White Rainbow].”
“Wow, never judge a book by its cover…”
“This small-chested little girl is supposed to be an Immortal? There must be a mistake. I feel like I could knock her over with just one finger.”
“Keep bragging. Go on. At this level, you’re still judging people by appearances? Don’t you know that once someone reaches the top four realms, they achieve eternal youth and essentially live as long as the heavens and earth? If you ask me, she’s more likely to knock you over with just one finger.”
Ignoring the buzzing chatter from representatives of various nations, Violet led her group straight to Mo Ziqing and other high-level officials of the Eastern Kingdom. She nodded politely in greeting.
“Sorry for being a little late.”
“Not at all, Miss Vi… uh, I mean, Miss Violet, you’ve all arrived at just the right time. The meeting is about to begin.”
Under Violet’s sharp, almost murderous glare. Mo Ziqing tactfully stopped saying the name “Miss Vi” in public. He coughed awkwardly and chuckled lightly before signaling with his eyes toward the fox-eared big shots at the table.
Although the finals of the [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony] were being held in [Mirror Valley], the specific rules and format had not been revealed in advance. While this left some puzzled, the unpredictability of Immortal Island’s ways was nothing unusual.
Now, it seemed the Spirit Veil Immortal Island representatives were about to formally announce the rules to the participants.
The fox-eared individuals seated here were likely the envoys representing Immortal Island in each nation. However, their numbers were fewer than expected, suggesting that all available personnel from Immortal Island had been deployed to [Mirror Valley]. This emphasized the importance of the event.
After waiting a bit longer, when no one else entered or exited the tent, a young fox-eared girl seated at the head of the table, apparently the lead representative of Immortal Island and the only one not wearing a white veil, stood up. She bowed slightly to the representatives of the four nations.
As everyone hastily returned the gesture, her clear and pleasant voice rang out in the tent.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the 32nd [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony] Grand Finals will officially commence tomorrow. We have confirmed the participant rosters submitted by the four nations, totaling 1,220 individuals. Among them, 864 are registered for the martial arts competition, and all have arrived at [Mirror Valley].”
“The finals consist of a single competition divided into multiple phases. After participants complete the various objectives set by Immortal Island, we will comprehensively evaluate the results to determine the winners.”
“As for the literary competition finals, due to the smaller number of participants, Immortal Island will conduct separate assessments at a different location after the martial finals are concluded.”
Hearing this, the crowd collectively nodded in understanding.
It had always been the tradition for the [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony] Grand Finals to prioritize the martial arts competition before the literary ones. Due to the larger number of martial participants, more spots to ascend to Immortal Island were allocated for the martial arts competition compared to the literary ones.
For specialized subjects like the [Geographical Spiritual Veins] that Violet had once registered for, there were often only one or two individuals in the entire Ancient Spirit Realm who could ultimately succeed.
Although it wasn’t outright favoritism toward martial arts competition over literary ones, it was natural to prioritize the larger group. Immortal Island’s arrangement was unsurprising in this regard.
However, the fox-eared envoy shifted the tone of her announcement.
“In addition, there may be dangers during the martial arts competition. Literary contestants who lack combat abilities are advised to remain within the camp and avoid wandering outside until further notice from Immortal Island.”
Dangers? What kind of dangers would affect those not even competing?
Some of the stronger individuals, unaware of the true nature of this event, were momentarily stunned. Before they could voice their questions, the fox-eared girl continued.
“Now, let me explain the specific rules for the Grand Finals, which will take place in [Mirror Valley].”
Hearing that the main topic was finally being addressed, the crowd’s focus sharpened. They perked up their ears, letting go of any earlier distractions.
The girl raised her hand with a light wave, and to the collective gasp of the audience, a fully three-dimensional map materialized before her, seemingly constructed from light and shadow. Even Violet, seated to the side, furrowed her brow slightly.
Was this… the 'map function' from “Illusory World”?
Observing it carefully and without revealing her thoughts, Violet quickly confirmed it.
While most of those from the Ancient Spirit Realm wouldn’t recognize such a novel display, Violet, as a veteran player, had used in-game maps daily. She was intimately familiar with every detail of their design. Even though she could no longer access that interface, this was undoubtedly a map.
The way the map was projected, like a holographic display, also bore a striking resemblance to the "interface panels" Violet could still summon. The main difference was that her panels were visible only to her, while this projection was visible to everyone.
Unexpected, yet unsurprising…
Ever since Hen, the Spirit Maiden of Western Kingdom, had produced those game-like items and revealed potential ties to Spirit Veil Immortal Island, Violet had suspected there was a deeper connection between these elements.
She subtly turned her head, glancing at the silver-haired girl sitting beside her, whose expression remained blank and unreadable.
Somehow… she felt that Hen had been acting a little strange lately. Was it just her imagination?