Chapter 599 - 599: Withered Wood Forest

Everyone wanted to be faster than everyone else, and every sect wanted more of its disciples to pass than any other.

This involved not only racing ahead, but also obstructing and being obstructed—even killing and being killed.

After all, killing was supposedly forbidden.

But once inside the Withered Wood Forest, there was no supervision. Otherwise, where did the high annual casualty rate come from?

Once everyone had arrived, the people from the Celestial Sword Sect didn't waste any time and quickly got things underway.

The Elders from the fifteen sects each boarded a Flying Demon Beast and flew directly to the central area of the Withered Wood Forest.

The remaining Flying Demon Beasts were gathered together. Under the direction of the Inner Sect disciples from each sect, every Flying Demon Beast was loaded with disciples from all Fifteen Major Sects, scattering them as widely as possible along the various edges of the Withered Wood Forest.

After dropping off the disciples, the Flying Demon Beasts carried the Inner Sect disciples and circled in the air, monitoring them to prevent anyone from entering the Withered Wood Forest prematurely.

The beast Chu Qingyun was riding was controlled by two Inner Sect disciples from the Saint Extreme Sect.

However, people from the other sects were watching, so they couldn't be too blatant. The disciples loaded onto their beast were from all fifteen sects.

The Flying Demon Beast flew along the edge of the Withered Wood Forest, dropping one person off at regular intervals.

When they reached a slightly raised part of the forest's edge, it was Chu Qingyun's turn.

"Junior Brother Chu, be extremely careful. It's fine to start off slowly..."

Before he got off, one of the Saint Extreme Sect Inner Sect disciples whispered this to him.

Chu Qingyun nodded. "Thank you for the advice, Senior Brother."

When the Flying Demon Beast descended to just over ten meters, Chu Qingyun leaped down lightly, landing steadily at the edge of the Withered Wood Forest to await the signal to start.

The Withered Wood Forest, being a naturally formed forest, was certainly not a perfect circle.

So, some people were inevitably closer to the center while others were farther away. But this couldn't be helped; after all, absolute fairness simply doesn't exist.

Due to the Celestial Sword Sect's earlier delay, followed by the business of applying the tracking imprints and other matters...

It wasn't until dusk, as the sky began to darken, that a red Signal Flare suddenly shot up from the center of the Withered Wood Forest.

The fiery red Signal Flare was exceptionally eye-catching against the dimming sky.

The Signal Flare soared into the sky and, with a loud BANG, shattered into a rain of light.

This was the signal to start.

The instant it exploded, nearly everyone at the edge of the Withered Wood Forest flickered into motion and charged into the trees. In the blink of an eye, the forest's edge was empty.

The Withered Wood Forest was densely packed with trees, making it impossible to see what was happening inside from above.

So, after everyone had set off, the Flying Demon Beasts and the Inner Sect disciples did one last sweep of the perimeter before flying toward the center of the Withered Wood Forest.

As for anything that happened within the Land of Trial, they would not interfere.

After entering the forest, Chu Qingyun immediately headed toward the center, a direction he had already determined.

However, he didn't immediately use his full speed.

This wasn't because of what the Inner Sect disciple had said, but because Chu Qingyun felt there was no need to sprint at full tilt in the Withered Wood Forest—or at least, not in the initial stage.

The Withered Wood Forest was, after all, massive.

Even with his current strength, it would probably take him three or four days of sprinting at full speed to reach the center.

After all, the forest had no flat paths, making it difficult to unleash one's full speed.

A three or four-day full-speed journey might be endurable for ninth-level Martial Spirits if they gritted their teeth, but the toll on their strength would be immense.

Right now, the Withered Wood Forest contained not only the inherent dangers of the Land of Trial but also nearly two thousand disciples from the Fifteen Major Sects. The situation could be described as exceedingly complex.

Therefore, the safest approach was to keep his strength in peak condition at all times.

There were people who would sprint from the very beginning, pouring all their energy into travel.

However, those were usually the weaker ones. They knew they couldn't compete with others, so they adopted that extreme method, giving no one a chance to stop them, hoping to dash to the center of the Withered Wood Forest in one go.

With his current strength, Chu Qingyun naturally had no need to resort to such extremes.

The risk of sprinting like that was simply too great. The slightest mishap would have a huge impact.

As Chu Qingyun moved forward at a steady pace, he pondered how he should pass through this Land of Trial.

With his abilities, getting through would be ridiculously easy.

The simplest and safest way was to lie low during the day and travel only after dark, using his Shadow Martial Soul and Hidden Qi Technique for cover.

This would certainly affect his speed, but securing a spot in the top three hundred should still be no problem.

Alternatively, he could use the power of his Thousand-faced Martial Soul to disguise himself as an Outer Disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect. Presumably, not many people would go out of their way to provoke someone from the Celestial Sword Sect.

'That would make it easy to pass, but it seems a bit too lenient on those bastards from the Tianya Sect and the Purple Cloud Sect...' Chu Qingyun thought to himself.

Chu Qingyun knew he wasn't the type to repay malice with kindness or forgive others without reason.

Ever since Sui Chengzhou had tried to attack him, he had resolved to teach the Tianya Sect and the Purple Cloud Sect a harsh lesson!

Just then, Chu Qingyun's ears twitched. He sensed some movement from both sides—it seemed people were rushing toward him at full speed.

After reaching First-Layer Perfection in the Inner Chapter of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form, Chu Qingyun's body had improved tremendously, and his sight and hearing had also become much sharper.

Sensing the movement, he immediately focused his senses to investigate his surroundings.

Soon, his sharp senses picked up two auras.

It was the aura of the Saint Extreme Sect!

Before the trial, the Inner Sect disciples of each sect had demonstrated the distinct auras of the imprints used by the Fifteen Major Sects, and the participants were required to memorize them.

Thus, Chu Qingyun immediately recognized that the newcomers were two people from the Saint Extreme Sect.

'People from the Saint Extreme Sect are rushing over? Don't tell me they still haven't given up on those one thousand-plus Saint Extreme Points?'

Chu Qingyun was rendered momentarily speechless.

With his current strength, Chu Qingyun was not afraid of two ninth-level Martial Spirits, even if they were Outer Sect Seed Disciples.

But they were fellow disciples of the Saint Extreme Sect, after all, so Chu Qingyun didn't want to fight them.

After a moment's hesitation, Chu Qingyun immediately activated his Hidden Qi Technique, concealing his aura completely. With a few flickers, he vanished into the forest.

Possessing a body comparable to that of a Human King Realm expert, Chu Qingyun's speed had long since surpassed that of any ninth-level Martial Spirit.