Chapter 157: The Dominance of Bright Jade Valley

"Sevenfold Brilliance Merge!"

With a light, sharp cry from Madame Wang, the seven pillars of light simultaneously converged toward the center, instantly fusing into one.

However, the radiance did not appear grand; rather, it became slender and compact. Shrinking down to about the size of a meter, it grew exceptionally dense, looking very much like solid jade. No one could doubt the immense power of that beam of light; even if an iron object were to smash against it, it would not suffer the slightest dent.

Around the radiance, flickering starlight resembling lightning coiled and wove together, occasionally clustering, then bursting apart. The revolving brilliance and formidable momentum were breathtaking.

Everyone immediately lost their composure, especially the cultivators of the Clear Jade Valley.

"The Sevenfold Brilliance Sword Art, which summons the power of the stars—perhaps it truly can open that secret realm?"

"It seems we underestimated Wang Ning's cultivation power. She is not far behind Ye Yibai, even if such techniques cannot be fully unleashed within the restrictive formations of Deyang City."

"Everyone, get ready. Once the secret realm opens, charge forward with all your might. Enter as many as you can."

Many cultivators gripped their flight-enhancing magical treasures and headed toward the falling river.

The cultivators of the Jade Iron Sect could not afford to fall behind either. They all gathered closely, standing around Madame Wang to protect her.

"Open."

Madame Wang's delicate eyebrows arched upward as a flush suddenly appeared on her fair face, clearly indicating that this attack had cost her dearly.

The radiance suddenly contracted, shooting downward at high speed and condensing into a dazzling ray that struck directly against the barrier.

Thud!

The barrier behaved like a sponge, bouncing the beam of light several meters away.

Yet immediately afterward, it surged inward, swallowing the contracted beam of light entirely.

Everyone gasped, falling completely silent as they stared in utter astonishment.

This was the most devastating strike, powered by the might of the stars and boasting immense destructive force, yet the barrier had entirely absorbed it, not leaving even a trace of an opening.

What on earth was this object?

Madame Wang's face turned pale as her body trembled, almost on the verge of collapsing. The emerald-green sword before her had also grown drastically dimmer, completely devoid of its former luster.

The Sevenfold Brilliance Sword Art was Madame Wang's signature sword technique. The emerald-green sword was a fourth-tier weapon known as Azure Star. When the two were combined, they could summon stellar energy and concentrate it into a strike of terrifying power.

Several cultivators hurriedly stepped forward to form a protective perimeter around Madame Wang, fearing that the people from the Clear Jade Valley might take advantage of the chaos to launch an attack.

Meanwhile, the expressions on the faces of the Clear Jade Valley members charging forward were exceedingly strange. Some were jubilant, while others felt regret. They rejoiced that the secret realm had not been opened, yet regretted the failure to open it as well.

"Fall back."

The surging wave of cultivators all returned to their starting points, and Madame Wang, under the escort of her sect members, retreated to the riverbank.

"Take these."

Li Mu waved his hand, sending over several medicinal pills—some were Spirit-Restoring Pills, while others were Heavenly Spirit Pills meant to mend abnormalities in one's Qi. He could tell that when Madame Wang executed the Sevenfold Brilliance Sword Art earlier, she had consumed not only true energy but had also suffered minor damage to her spiritual consciousness.

Madame Wang took the pills and said in pleasant surprise, "I almost forgot you were an alchemist. Ha!"

After swallowing the pills, Madame Wang felt a gentle wave of relief wash over her. She smiled at Li Mu, slowly seated herself, and gradually composed her breath.

Over on the side of the Clear Jade Valley, people were huddled together as if discussing something. Very quickly, a large number of Clear Jade Valley cultivators dispersed in all directions.

Judging by their posture, they clearly harbored intentions of surrounding the rogue cultivators.

This stemmed from the earlier discussion among the Clear Jade Valley members:

"I reckon that thing cannot absorb indefinitely. Perhaps if it takes in too much true energy and spiritual power, it might just explode."

"Senior Brother speaks wisely. We can test it out."

"How shall we test it? Throwing magical treasures and spiritual crystals inside? Where would we get so many? Besides, as for me, I won't do it."

Several Clear Jade Valley cultivators immediately cast their gazes toward the people nearby. "Those hundreds of cultivators over there are quite suitable. If they won't go willingly, we'll force them to do it. Make them go."

"A brilliant plan. Let's do just that."

The cultivators of minor sects and the rogue cultivators watched as the Clear Jade Valley members closed in. Naturally unaware of the exact situation, their hearts fluttered with panic, and their scalps tingled numbly.

Many cultivators hastily summoned their flight treasures, preparing to flee.

"No one is leaving."

A Clear Jade Valley cultivator clad in purple garments stepped out abruptly. With a flash, he appeared directly above the rogue cultivators. This person was none other than Zhao Li, the leader of the Clear Jade Valley's expedition to the secret realm.

He appeared to be over forty years of age, with a gloomy complexion and an aura of formidable power radiating throughout his entire body.

Zhao Li waved both hands, unleashing an overwhelming, massive pressure. It rolled across the sky like dark clouds, hovering above everyone's heads like a giant net that could drop at any second.

If one used their spiritual consciousness to perceive it, they would discover countless blades forged from true energy within that giant net. They gleamed with a chilling, eerie light, hanging merely a foot above everyone's heads and continuously descending, inch by inch, as if they were about to impale everyone's skulls.

This kind of pressure had nothing to do with physical strength; it was not a burden of raw force, but a crushing weight of pure spiritual consciousness. Many cultivators with weak spiritual awareness could no longer bear it, their spiritual seas trembling violently while their bodies quivered uncontrollably, some barely able to stand.

Seeing that the rogue cultivators had stopped trying to escape, Zhao Li finally reined in his pressure appropriately. Nodding, he said, "Fellow cultivators, you all came here together to witness this secret realm. It wouldn't do to leave all the heavy lifting to us alone, would it?"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Iron Sect cultivators nearly furrowed their brows in anger and cursed inwardly: *You call that making an effort? It was clearly us doing the heavy lifting!*

"You made an effort? Even Wang Ning was defeated; what kind of effort could you possibly muster?" Zhao Li offered a faint smile, instantly provoking indignation among the Jade Iron Sect members, though they were restrained and stopped by several elder cultivators.

Ignoring the Jade Iron Sect entirely, Zhao Li continued, "If we want to open the secret realm, everyone must contribute. Now, hand over all your spiritual crystals—we will let you off regarding your magical treasures. Those without spiritual crystals can simply step onto the barrier themselves; you won't die, and there are people below who can rescue you."

"What?!"

"What right do you have to demand our spiritual crystals?"

"Without spiritual crystals, you want us to feed our own true energy to the barrier for it to absorb? Aren't you just sending us to our deaths?"

In an instant, all the rogue cultivators were enraged, breaking out into an uproar.

"What's with all the nonsense?"

Zhao Li barked angrily, "Besides this, what else are you good for? A secret realm like this—aside from our major sects, who else has the capability to open it? You all came here to pick up scraps. The Jade Iron Sect might tolerate it, but our Clear Jade Valley does not. If you won't contribute, we'll take things into our own hands."

The Clear Jade Valley had strength in numbers, and their cultivation levels were mostly superior to those of the rogue cultivators. At that moment, with everyone surrounding them, the rogue cultivators trembled; living under another's roof, they had no choice but to bow their heads.

With heavy grievances in their hearts, they opened their storage pouches and handed over their spiritual crystals.

Watching this scene, Li Mu pondered continuously. It was fine for rogue cultivators and minor sect members to come here hoping to scavenge leftovers, but since they lacked the capability to open the secret realm, they could only seize opportunities and reap benefits when the major sects opened it. Yet doing so was inevitable; in the world of immortal cultivation, resources were paramount, and no cultivator would willingly miss such a chance.

However, the way the Clear Jade Valley handled matters was undeniably a bit too domineering.

The rogue cultivators and minor sect members possessed very few spiritual crystals. Even if those crystals could serve some purpose, they certainly could not compare to the reserves of the Clear Jade Valley. The valley's actions were likely an act of venting their frustration, using it to intimidate the rogue cultivators, while delivering a heavier underlying warning and threat to the Jade Iron Sect.