Chapter 253 Not Shameful

“Are you using my father to pressure this prince?”

Yun Yanshui, disguised as Dong Jian, narrowed his eyes, glaring coldly at the Wu Kingdom rogue cultivator before him.

“I wouldn’t dare!”

Feeling the chill of Yun Yanshui’s gaze, the rogue cultivator immediately lowered his head in fear.

Dong Jian, as the Third Prince of the Wu Kingdom, was known for his extraordinary talent and destined to inherit the throne. While the cultivator was loyal to the emperor, he dared not offend the heir to the throne in private.

“If you don’t dare, then take your men and await my orders,” Yun Yanshui commanded icily.

“Y-Yes, Your Highness!”

The rogue cultivator, left with no choice, nodded reluctantly.

As long as he ensured the Third Prince’s safety, he could disregard everything else without upsetting the emperor’s plans.

“Does anyone else have anything to say?”

Having secured the rogue cultivator’s obedience, Yun Yanshui turned his attention to Xia Changfei, Zhang Tianli, Yun Yueru, Li Hanhai, and the other spiritual descendants of the Wu Kingdom.

Hearing his question, they exchanged hesitant glances. After a moment of deliberation, they all replied in unison, “We are willing to follow the Third Prince’s orders.”

“In that case, let’s move.”

Yun Yanshui rose to his feet and led the group, including the Wu Kingdom’s rogue cultivators and spiritual descendants, deeper into Tianqing Mountain.

His plan was clear: locate the old monster, use this group to deplete its strength as much as possible, and seize the chance to deliver a fatal blow.

Tianqing Mountain, Southern Region

Yun Yanshuang, accompanied by her two nieces, ventured deeper into the forest. When a beast attacked, the three of them joined forces and quickly dispatched it.

Unbeknownst to them, Li Qing and the other three imperial cultivators were watching over them from the shadows. Whenever lurking demons or malevolent spirits approached, the four guardians would silently intervene and eliminate them.

“Miss Yanshuang!”

As Yun Yanshuang and her nieces dealt with the corpse of a embryo-breathing realm beast, Ye Xiaolin appeared with two disciples from the Ye family.

They were soon joined by three Lu family spiritual descendants—Lu Shanglin and his younger siblings—and three Lin family spiritual descendants led by Lin Yifeng.

“Where are the others?”

After finishing with the beast’s corpse, Yun Yanshuang asked curiously about the absent spiritual descendants from the Lou, Wu, Zhao, Xu, and Wen families.

She couldn’t help but worry that they had fallen victim to the Wu Kingdom’s ancestor.

“We don’t know. We haven’t been able to contact them. Perhaps they were killed by the many demons and spirits lurking in the mountain… or they might have been ambushed by spiritual descendants from other nations,” Ye Xiaolin responded grimly.

Tianqing Mountain was teeming with dangerous creatures and malevolent entities. Ye Xiaolin’s group had barely escaped a demon whose strength rivaled a Qi Refinement cultivator.

That demon’s techniques were both sinister and peculiar, leaving Ye Xiaolin’s group in a dire situation. Without his personal expertise, they would likely have perished, becoming the demon’s meal.

“Miss Yanshuang, Brother Xiaolin, Brother Shanglin—help me!”

As the group speculated about the absent spiritual descendants, a weak and terrified voice echoed from the forest depths.

They turned toward the sound and saw Lou Zihang, a spiritual descendant from the Lou family, staggering toward them.

Lou Zihang was in a pitiful state. His robes were shredded, and one of his arms had been gnawed beyond recognition, leaving exposed bone wrapped in mangled flesh—a gruesome sight.

“What happened to you?”

Ye Xiaolin approached and examined Lou Zihang’s injuries, his brows furrowing deeply.

Upon closer inspection, Ye Xiaolin noticed that the teeth marks on Lou Zihang’s mangled arm were disturbingly human-like.

“There’s… a powerful monster in the mountain,” Lou Zihang stammered as he collapsed to the ground. “It’s… a failed Foundation Establishment cultivator… and it feeds on spiritual descendants. We fell victim to it!”

His revelation sent chills through the group.

“A failed Foundation Establishment cultivator?! One that feeds on spiritual descendants?!”

The mention of such a creature left everyone in stunned silence, their minds racing with fear.

“We fell victim to it…”

Lou Zihang collapsed weakly to the ground, memories of his fellow Lou family spiritual descendants being devoured flashing vividly in his mind. He couldn’t shake the image of his own arm being gnawed upon, the pain and horror still fresh.

The revelation shocked everyone present.

“A failed Foundation Establishment cultivator?! One that feeds on spiritual descendants?!”

“How could such a terrifying creature exist in Tianqing Mountain?”

“If that’s the case, how did you manage to escape?”

“Truthfully, it was thanks to one of my family’s ancestors who had been secretly protecting me. Without his intervention, I wouldn’t have made it out alive… but, unfortunately, my ancestor…”

Lou Zihang trailed off, his voice trembling. He recalled the scene of his family’s elder appearing to rescue him, only to be overpowered and devoured by the monstrous creature.

The harrowing memory caused Lou Zihang’s face to turn deathly pale, his body trembling uncontrollably. The nightmarish images of the massacre replayed endlessly in his mind, a torment he couldn’t escape.

“What about the others?” Lu Shanglin asked in a grim tone.

“They’re all dead!” Lou Zihang replied with a shiver. “The spiritual descendants from other families, along with their guardians, were all killed and devoured by that monster!”

Hearing this, Ye Xiaolin couldn’t help but mutter, “This competition can’t continue.”

The thought of facing a failed Foundation Establishment cultivator that preyed on spiritual descendants left no room for doubt. If they encountered the creature, death was inevitable—there was no chance of survival.

“Brother Xiaolin, are you really going to give up like this?” Lu Shanglin asked, furrowing his brow.

“What other choice do we have? Even a failed Foundation Establishment cultivator is far beyond our ability to handle!” Ye Xiaolin responded sharply.

“If we keep risking our lives for that so-called flag, we’ll all end up dead!”

“The rewards offered by the Wu Kingdom are tempting, yes, but I won’t risk the lives of my family’s spiritual descendants for them.”

“I, Ye Xiaolin, am withdrawing from this competition!”

Ignoring Lu Shanglin’s protests, Ye Xiaolin decided to withdraw, unwilling to face the monster Lou Zihang had described.

He pulled out a token, infused it with spiritual energy, and attempted to contact the Wu Kingdom rogue cultivators to activate the teleportation array and leave the mountain.

Lu Shanglin, Lu Shangsheng, and Lin Yifeng, after hearing Ye Xiaolin’s reasoning, began to share his sentiment.

While the rewards were attractive, they were meaningless if one didn’t live to claim them. Facing such a terrifying creature would be nothing short of suicide.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t the teleportation array activating?”

After repeatedly using his token to no avail, Ye Xiaolin frowned deeply.

“Let me try!” Lu Shanglin said, infusing his token with spiritual energy.

However, the result was the same—there was no response.

“Stop trying. It’s useless,” Yun Yanshuang said calmly, as though she had anticipated this outcome.

“What do you mean, Miss Yanshuang?” Ye Xiaolin asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.

“Don’t you realize this entire competition was a deliberate trap set by the Wu Kingdom?” she replied, her tone steady.

Her words caused everyone to fall silent, each person lost in thought.

“Damn it!” Ye Xiaolin cursed. “The Wu Kingdom must have known about the monster in Tianqing Mountain all along. They sent us here to become its food!”

Reflecting on everything they had experienced, Ye Xiaolin began to piece together the truth.

“So I’m guessing we’re completely trapped in Tianqing Mountain now,” Yun Yanshuang continued.

“Either we kill that monster and survive, or we wait to be eaten by it. What’s your choice?”

Her calm question forced everyone to face the grim reality.

“How can we possibly fight such a creature? Don’t forget—it’s a failed Foundation Establishment cultivator!”

“We’ll have to join forces with the other nations’ spiritual descendants,” Yun Yanshuang suggested.

“I suspect they’re facing the same situation as us. Once everyone realizes the true nature of this competition, the only option will be to work together and fight for survival.”