Chapter 476: Chapter 461: The Death Battle Begins!
The "Sworn Assembly" before the death duel was held in the group of palaces at the center of the Immortal City, inviting all high-level cultivators within the city to participate.
This was likely the largest scene Zhouyang had ever seen, with hundreds of Purple Mansion Stage cultivators and dozens of Golden Core Stage cultivators gathered together. Even the usually rare Nascent Soul Stage cultivators made an appearance, totaling eight.
Unfortunately, Zhouyang hadn’t been in the Land of the Far West for long, and most of that time was spent in seclusion cultivating. This meant that among the numerous cultivators attending, there were only a handful he could recognize.
However, as one of the participants in the death duel of Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, appearing as an Honored Guest Elder of the Cyan Origin Sword Sect, he was positioned relatively near the front, close to the eight Nascent Soul cultivators seated at the top.
Coincidentally, among these eight Nascent Soul Stage cultivators was the renowned Guo Jinhong, "Master Hong Guang," the Supreme Elder of the Haoyang Sect, whom Zhouyang had seen at the Qin Family’s celebration of their Patriarch’s nine-hundredth birthday in Wanhua Mountain.
Of course, Zhouyang knew Guo Jinhong, but as a dignified Nascent Soul Stage cultivator and sect patriarch, it was certain Guo Jinhong did not know him.
"As the grand elder, I have nothing much to say. The rules of the death duel have a long history. As high-level cultivators, you should understand the rationale behind this. Those chosen should not have any complaints!"
"All I want to say is that a death duel is merely one way to quickly end a war, but ending the war is not our goal for starting it; achieving victory is our purpose!"
"When you kill the enemy in a death duel, it’s not just about saving your own life, but also contributing to the entire Anti-Light Alliance and your respective sects and families."
"These contributions and merits will be seen by us, the higher-ups of the alliance, and you will definitely not be treated unfairly in the future!"
The cultivator presiding over the "Sworn Assembly" was not Guo Jinhong "Master Hong Guang," but the Supreme Elder of the Celestial Spirit Sect, "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng, a Nascent Soul Seventh Layer cultivator adept in Thunder Element Divine Techniques.
With his formidable mastery of Thunder Element Divine Techniques, Lei Wanpeng could even engage in Magical Combat with "Half-Step True Immortals" of the Nascent Soul Ninth Layer, ranking as the second strongest powerhouse within the Anti-Light Alliance.
This "Master Celestial Thunder" was built large, his body hefty like an ox, and one could say his appearance was unimpressive or even somewhat ugly.
But when he stood there speaking, his voice was like a thunderous bell resonating loudly, commanding deep respect and preventing anyone from daring to gaze directly at his face.
All cultivators in the Land of the Far West knew that "Master Celestial Thunder" despised anyone staring at his face.
Once, a female Nascent Soul cultivator from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace ridiculed him for his ugly appearance, resulting in her being quietly captured alive by him, and then subjected to the most venomous Absorption Skill for ten consecutive days and nights, until she was absorbed to death. Even her corpse was fed to demon beasts afterward.
This incident caused massive uproar at the time, prompting several late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace to team up and attack the mountain gate of the Celestial Spirit Sect, intent on annihilating it.
Luckily, the Celestial Spirit Sect’s Mountain Protection Array held strong until reinforcements arrived from within the Anti-Light Alliance, preventing their sect from being destroyed.
Despite the retreat of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace’s cultivators, they released a proclamation that if "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng did not provide a satisfactory explanation, those late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators would infiltrate the territory of the Anti-Light Alliance and hunt the alliance’s early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, seeking revenge and justice.
Under pressure, "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng, then just at the Nascent Soul Fifth Layer cultivation, actively proposed to engage in Magical Combat with the Nascent Soul Ninth Layer "Half-Step True Immortal" of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace, using surviving half an hour in front of the opponent as a wager.
If "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng died within half an hour under the Palace Master "Master Chihua" of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace, the Anti-Light Alliance would consider it retribution for the tragically killed Nascent Soul stage female cultivator and not pursue the matter further.
If "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng survived over half an hour, the Great Brightness Immortal Palace would not pursue the issue any longer.
Facing off against a Nascent Soul Ninth Layer cultivation with Nascent Soul Fifth Layer cultivation, and with "Master Chihua" wielding the Tier Seven Inheritance Immortal Artifact of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace, the palace’s cultivators surely had no reason to refuse this wager for Magical Combat.
Yet the outcome stunned all Nascent Soul Stage cultivators on both sides.
Against the attacks from "Master Chihua," who was utilizing even the Tier Seven Inheritance Immortal Artifact "Scepter of Light," "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng astonishingly relied on his powerful Thunder Escape Technique to survive the half-hour!
Although "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng suffered severe injuries in that battle and was nearly killed, his achievement of surviving half an hour under the Nascent Soul Ninth Layer "Half-Step True Immortal" shocked the entire Land of the Far West, gathering widespread acclaim from countless cultivators.
Now, "Master Celestial Thunder" Lei Wanpeng’s cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul Seventh Layer, and his strength was evidently much greater than before.
Given that he was three to four hundred years younger than the current alliance leader "Master Tianjian" of the Anti-Light Alliance, the position of the next alliance leader was practically within his grasp, rendering his fame and influence in the current Anti-Light Alliance second to none.
Recalling this illustrious history of "Master Celestial Thunder," Zhouyang kept his gaze fixed, eyes on his nose, nose to his heart, full of reverence, as he listened through the entire speech, not daring to display any disrespect.
Whether he truly listened to the words was something only Zhouyang himself knew.
Master Celestial Thunder finished his address, and then Master Hong Guang, Guo Jinhong, took the floor to speak, only then could Zhouyang and the other bowed cultivators lift their heads and listen like normal audience members.
It continued like this until the eight Nascent Soul Stage cultivators finished their speeches, bringing the "Oath Assembly" to a close.
Half a day later, Zhouyang and all the participating cultivators followed Master Celestial Thunder, Lei Wanpeng, and the other high-ranking members to the battle arena where the deathmatch was held.
According to the rules, the battle arena would be arranged by Array Masters sent by both sides, and the entire arena would be covered with two Tier Five Arrays. Cultivators entering the arena could only leave by completely killing another person.
The number of death matches totaled fifteen. There would be five matches at the Golden Core Stage, and ten at the Purple Mansion Stage, each adopting a best of five, three wins system.
This means that to win a match, one side must kill three participants from the opposing side.
Zhouyang has agreed to the conditions of the Cyan Origin Sword Sect to win three consecutive matches for a complete deathmatch victory, meaning he has to defeat three opponents consecutively without leaving.
Each deathmatch, whether at the Golden Core Stage level or the Purple Mansion Stage level, stakes a large amount of cultivation resources.
Master Celestial Thunder, Lei Wanpeng, mentioned winning the war at the "Oath Assembly," by killing the opponents during the deathmatch and acquiring their lost resources.
Zhouyang represents Cyan Origin Sword Sect in the battle. If he wins three consecutive matches for a deathmatch victory, 60% of the resources he wins can be taken by the Cyan Origin Sword Sect!
This is the greatest reason why Han Xiao and Zhao Hao are willing to use the Jade Liquid Golden Pill to entice him to strike.
"Now both sides are starting to exchange and confirm the list of opponents for the deathmatch. If your luck isn’t too bad and you don’t end up in the very first match, we’ll still have time to analyze your opponents’ preferred methods."
On a vast field, Zhouyang, Zhao Hao, Han Xiao, and other high-tier cultivators landed to rest and wait, while Master Celestial Thunder, Lei Wanpeng, was exchanging the list of participants for the deathmatch and confirming the opponents for each round with the host from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace.
Zhao Hao holds the most detailed information on high-tier cultivators from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace collected by Anti-Light Alliance informants. If Zhouyang doesn’t fight in the first one or two matches, he can seize the initiative and analyze the opponent’s information to devise a strategy.
However, in his heart, Zhouyang is not optimistic about Zhao Hao’s plans.
Any cultivator who becomes a high-tier cultivator is bound to have more than a few hidden cards up their sleeve.
If he completely trusts Zhao Hao’s analysis, he may be misled and harmed if his opponent suddenly uses an unknown trump card during battle.
So although he said nothing, he decided in his heart to rely entirely on his own intuition and experience.
The efficiency of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators naturally is very high. Master Celestial Thunder, Lei Wanpeng, soon returned to the camp with the finalized list of participants and distributed it on the spot to dozens of faction leaders.
After getting the list from Han Xiao, Zhao Hao visibly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Zhouyang, saying, "Luck isn’t too bad, you’re in the fourth match. Here are the names of the five opponents for your match; let’s now analyze their cultivation techniques and Divine Techniques they excel in."
With that, he immediately took out several intelligence jade scrolls and started searching the names of Zhouyang’s five opponents for their past battle records and personal histories.
Zhouyang watched these materials with Zhao Hao while also dividing his attention to observe the battlefield situation.
After confirming the list, the ten cultivators from both sides participating in the first match have flown to the battlefield enveloped by two Tier Five Arrays.
This battlefield is sixty miles long and wide, with an array protective shield extending three thousand feet high, which is not crowded even for Golden Core Stage cultivators fighting within it.
"Now release your body defenses, hand over your storage spiritual artifacts for inspection. No one may carry treasures beyond those allowed for the deathmatch into the arena."
After the ten cultivators arrived at the array, the Golden Core Stage cultivator referees from both sides began inspecting the storage spiritual artifacts and bodies of the cultivators to ensure they had no forbidden treasures.
After completing the inspection and confirming no violations, the referees exchanged a cold, murderous look.
"The first deathmatch now begins, first up are Gao Jianli of the Supreme Mysterious Sword Sect and Nie Feng of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace!"
The two referees looked at the list and simultaneously announced this message.
As their words fell, a white-haired elder with a sword on his back and a long-faced middle-aged cultivator in a silver robe flew towards the battlefield protected by the array shield.