Witnessing these spectacular sights unfold one after another, everyone couldn't help but marvel at the exquisiteness of the Taoist's formations. They were so intricate, blending illusion with reality, making it difficult to discern what was true and what was false!
"Wow! Is this Wuji Gate? I've been in the无人区 (Wú Rén Qū - No Man's Land) for nearly two years, and this is my first time setting foot in its territory."
"Two years? What's that? I've been here for over five years. This is also the closest I've ever been to Wuji Gate."
…Murmurs rippled through the crowd, mostly from first-time visitors discussing Wuji Gate.
"Esteemed sect leaders, young friends, please!"
After Su Muqing, along with other important figures from various sects, entered the Wuji Hall, the vermilion palace doors slowly closed.
At this moment, most of the prominent figures of the Thousand Poisons Cult were inside the Wuji Hall, attending to their gravely injured saintess. Upon seeing Su Muqing and her companions enter, each of them glared at them as if they were murderers of their parents.
Su Muqing couldn't help but rub her forehead. "Good heavens! We have enemies waiting for us here! How could I forget about this?"
Lu Yuzhi was momentarily stunned upon seeing Gongsun Zan, the divine physician, who was administering acupuncture to the demonic woman. "How is the Ghost Hand Divine Doctor also here? Didn't he return to the Immortal Doctor Valley to investigate his past abduction?"
His surprise grew when he saw the man and woman standing beside Gongsun Zan. "How did they appear here?"
The Third Brother and the others also noticed the young man and woman. They instinctively tried to cover their faces, only relaxing after their masks were in place. Seeing that their young master also appeared not to recognize them, they mimicked his demeanor and pretended not to know them!
Huo Qixiao stepped forward, carefully examining Su Muqing and her companions. His gaze lingered on Lu Yuzhi, their eyes meeting for a long time.
"Why does this person's gaze feel so familiar?"
Finally, Huo Qixiao broke the eye contact. "Elder Tianji, did these individuals injure the saintess of the Thousand Poisons Cult?"
To everyone's astonishment, including Su Muqing and her group, the mysterious Elder Tianji simply smiled mysteriously. Then, what he said next shocked everyone present.
He pointed to Su Muqing and stated, "As that young friend mentioned earlier, the Poison Lady made the first move. Since that is the case, this is their personal feud. It has nothing to do with this old man. I invited them here to participate in the No Man's Land Lord Election Competition."
As soon as his words fell, the hall erupted as if it had exploded. Whispers and discussions spread like wildfire.
"What?"
"What does Elder Tianji mean by this?"
"They are not from our No Man's Land, so why should they participate in the Lord's competition?"
After the discussions subsided, Elder Tianji raised his hand. "Please, everyone, listen quietly! I know many of you are displeased with the addition of a new competitor. What I am about to say next is this: Our Wuji Gate will withdraw from the Lord Election Competition! We will cede our opportunity to them. They... what sect are you from?"
Su Cuiping leaned towards the Third Brother, becoming increasingly confused by the turn of events. "Do we have a sect?"
The Third Brother looked at Su Muqing, utterly bewildered. Everyone else also turned their expectant gazes towards her.
Su Muqing was equally stumped. They didn't have a sect! She then looked towards Lu Yuzhi.
"Righteousness Gate!" Lu Yuzhi whispered into her ear. A refreshing, pleasant scent filled her nostrils, followed by a warm breath that blew into her ear, causing her face beneath the mask to blush slightly.
Su Muqing declared, "We are from Righteousness Gate!"
Elder Tianji was very pleased with this name. With a smile, he announced, "I now declare that the competition qualification of our Wuji Gate is officially transferred to Righteousness Gate!"
The Right Protector of the Thousand Poisons Cult stepped forward. "I object! Tianji, they severely injured our saintess and killed our sect's sacred artifact. Our sect is irreconcilable with them! We will absolutely not agree to their participation in the election!"
"Exactly! As the acting lord, how can you so casually allow outsiders to participate in the Lord election?"
"They want to participate? Then they should first pay the price for our Black Mountain King's life!"
Su Muqing looked at the ferocious-faced woman with the dark mouth and no longer wished to reason with them. She had more important matters to attend to. "As I've said, your saintess was injured by the giant python. And she was the one who attacked first. Some people, thinking they are capable, always try to bully others. Is the result they received not their own fault? There's a saying, 'The one who provokes first is the one who suffers!' Haven't you heard it?"
The people from the Thousand Poisons Cult, hearing Su Muqing's bold words, became increasingly agitated. Eventually, they resorted to direct action.
Several sect leaders, taking advantage of the ongoing dispute, suddenly leaped from behind. Having never engaged in combat with them, they naturally assumed that the experts within that group were all the men.
Thus, several leaders of the Thousand Poisons Cult unleashed numerous small venomous snakes and highly toxic hidden weapons towards Su Muqing and the other girls.
Their movements were incredibly swift, intending to catch them off guard. If the men failed to intervene in time, one of the three women was bound to be injured.
Unexpectedly, Su Muqing merely flicked her sleeve. Those small venomous snakes didn't even get close before they were all vaporized into bloody mist, leaving not a speck of flesh behind!
Elder Tianji observed that in just a moment, the Phoenix Girl's power seemed to have advanced significantly. Truly worthy of being the chosen one!
Su Cuiping spat heavily at the people of the Thousand Poisons Cult! "Bah! Unreasonable and attacking sneakily, utterly shameless!"
The Thousand Poisons Cult members felt insulted. "Everyone, attack together and kill them!"
Elder Tianji, seeing the bloodthirsty members of the Thousand Poisons Cult, showed evident displeasure. "Hey, hey, hey! Do not engage in a killing spree within my Wuji Hall! Otherwise, I shall throw your saintess out!"
Su Muqing found them irritating. She gathered two balls of fierce wind in her palm and flung them towards the people of the Thousand Poisons Cult, scattering them in disarray. "We do not need your permission to do what we want! If you wish to stop us with your deaths, then today I shall see the dissolution of your Thousand Poisons Cult."
Poison Lady saw that Elder Tianji was clearly intending to protect Su Muqing's group, and her own sect members were no match for them. She worried that if this continued, the sect might truly be annihilated. No matter how much she resented it, she had to swallow her pride.
Therefore, before Su Muqing could act again, she endured the intense pain and said, her voice hoarse, "Thousand... Poisons... Cult... all... disciples... heed my order... we... retreat!"
The Thousand Poisons Cult members, admitting defeat, retreated. The others wished to ask further questions, but Elder Tianji refused them. Thus, soon only Lu Yuzhi and his companions remained in the hall.