Chapter 167: Everyone Withdraws, Qin Xiao Holds On Alone

The five forces had yet to completely fail. All were still groping their way forward.

Fang Xiuxian had been the luckiest, but his group had the fewest people to test different routes. They had all left early, so now he was gambling on his luck alone.

Guess right, and the Pressure increased slightly. Guess wrong, and it sometimes doubled outright. That he’d made it this far was nothing short of absurd luck.

Next came the Mysterious Yin Sect with their small numbers. Now only two remained: Lu Feng and Su Lin.

“Holy Son, only the two of us are left. I’ll try the square to the left front. If I can endure it, you follow. If not, then you try the square straight ahead.”

Su Lin felt the weight pressing down. Though his Junior Brothers had tested the path before him, as their errors accumulated, they’d all been forced to withdraw.

“Junior Brother Su, try the square ahead. I think I’ve found a pattern. Each time our Pressure increases and we move forward one square, it doesn’t increase further. But moving in other directions always adds more, whether a little or a lot.”

Lu Feng had found a few patterns too.

Indeed, each time they stepped into a new square, the small Eight Trigrams diagram would rotate. Moving forward one step was often the safe center point. But stepping elsewhere would reset the starting point anew.

“If you say so, Holy Son, I’ll try the square ahead.”

Though Su Lin hadn’t thought of it himself, if the Holy Son said it was so, perhaps it truly worked.

Su Lin strode directly to the square ahead.

“It’s true, Holy Son! The Pressure didn’t increase at all.”

Sensing no change in the weight bearing down on him, Su Lin exclaimed in surprise.

“This Holy Son didn’t guess wrong after all. A pity we didn’t realize it sooner, or some of our Junior Brothers might have stayed.”

Lu Feng had been gambling too, never expecting it to actually work.

“What a pity. Though we know this method now, there’s still such a distance left. I fear we won’t reach the end.”

Though Su Lin felt hopeful, with only the two of them remaining, he doubted they could make it.

“No matter. We’ll go as far as we can. This is experience too. We can pass what we learn to those who come after us. In a hundred years, our Mysterious Yin Sect might succeed.”

Lu Feng knew their situation. With only two of them left, unless they had heaven-defying luck and each step added almost no Pressure, even with a method, they couldn’t persist to the end.

Though the Immortal Dao Merchant Association had a few more people, their trial and error had eliminated many disciples.

“Young Master, I can’t hold on anymore. This square is wrong. I’m withdrawing.”

Another disciple of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association buckled under the Pressure and chose to withdraw.

“Young Master, we’re down to three. I fear we won’t last much longer either.”

One of the disciples spoke.

“Damn it all. If I could just obtain a Saint Origin Spirit Fruit, I could definitely take charge of a branch merchant association. What a waste.”

Ling Wujun stared at the distant Saint Origin Fruit Tree, unwilling to give up. They had finally made it past the halfway point.

The Pure Yang Sect fared no better. Seven remained.

“Senior Brother, though our luck has been decent and we guessed correctly many times, even so, the Pressure now is terrifying. We can’t advance much further.” Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.

Cang Xing spoke with some regret.

Though seven of them remained, the accumulated Pressure had stacked too high. Each wrong guess now eliminated someone. With bad luck, six more steps would wipe them all out. And they were only halfway there.

“We simply have too few disciples. If I’d known, I would have joined forces with Tianyuan Sect. They have the numbers. Even splitting it half and half would be better than getting nothing.”

Gong Yuankui had underestimated the Pressure here. Though he could still endure, his Junior Brothers could not.

If everyone had united, a hundred people testing the path could surely have succeeded. Each harboring ulterior motives, how could they possibly cooperate?

As for Tianyuan Sect, though they had the most people, their overall strength was weaker. Even with more chances to test the path, they couldn’t withstand the accumulating Pressure. They were eliminated first.

Another quarter-hour passed.

“I refuse to accept this!”

Fang Xiuxian took one more step, and the Pressure made him cough up blood. He could only step back and withdraw.

A moment later, he was teleported out.

“Even Fang Xiuxian is eliminated? How are Holy Maiden and Qin Xiao’s group still completely fine?”

Chu Sheng was baffled. What method was Qin Xiao using?

Tianyuan Sect had been eliminated first as a whole, but when they saw Qin Xiao’s group all still proceeding without issue, they were thoroughly shocked. They’d expected Ling Ruoxue with her weakest cultivation to be eliminated. Instead, Fang Xiuxian went first.

Now only ten people persevered: Qin Xiao’s seven, Pure Yang Sect’s Gong Yuankui and Cang Xing, and Mysterious Yin Sect’s Lu Feng.

“This Qin Xiao truly is extraordinary. With Junior Sister following him, she might actually have a chance to obtain the Saint Origin Spirit Fruit.”

Su Lin had been eliminated a step earlier, having guessed the wrong square and causing the Pressure to double instantly.

Those still persevering all slowed their pace. Each square required a long pause to recover physical strength and spiritual power.

“Senior Brother, I can’t go on. Let me test one last square for you.”

Cang Xing was barely holding on. The Pressure was so great that even if it stopped increasing, he could not last much longer. He might as well test one last square for his eldest senior brother.

Cang Xing stepped forward, only to cough blood and withdraw. He’d guessed wrong.

Not long after Cang Xing withdrew, Lu Feng also coughed blood and was forced out.

Gong Yuankui could still endure, but not for much longer. After three continuous steps, he too gave up.

Now, surprisingly, Qin Xiao’s seven had yet to lose a single person.

“Only ten squares left. The Pressure keeps growing stronger. Even choosing correctly will increase it now. So if you can’t hold on, don’t force it. Don’t injure yourselves.”

Qin Xiao could feel it too. The Pressure didn’t stay flat even when guessing correctly-it just increased less. But after so many steps, small additions accumulated into something formidable.

“Only ten steps left. What a shame. At this rate of increase, I can’t hold on. I’m withdrawing first.”

Ling Ruoxue was nearing her limit. Even with her Dharma Treasure’s support, her cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage. Reaching this point was already impressive.

Ling Ruoxue withdrew.

“Hm? You’ve all come out already?”

After exiting, Ling Ruoxue discovered that only her group remained inside the entire Formation. If her cultivation weren’t so low, she’d want to try reaching the end. Visit novelping dot com for the full chapter.

“Xue’er, could it be this Qin Xiao found the method to break through?”

Seeing Ling Ruoxue emerge, Ling Wujun hurried over to ask.

“Um, probably? I don’t really know. He didn’t say anything. I just followed wherever he walked.”

Ling Ruoxue guessed Qin Xiao must have found a method, but he never explained it. Each time he simply thought it through himself, then moved. She couldn’t find the pattern-each step seemed to follow no traceable rule.

“Seems this fellow is quite capable after all.”

Ling Wujun nodded.

He knew Qin Xiao got along well with his elder brother, so he had little liking for him. Now, though, Qin Xiao seemed capable. Perhaps he could win him over to his own side.

Everyone watched Qin Xiao and the five people still with him, wondering whether he could complete the final ten steps.

After calculating briefly, Qin Xiao strode forward. The Pressure immediately increased by a third.

His five disciples followed, stepping into the forward square.

“Master, I can’t do it. Just now it only increased by twenty percent, but this time it jumped straight to thirty percent. I can’t hold on anymore. I’m leaving first.”

The speaker was Luo Yunshuang. She’d done her best, but her physique couldn’t endure further.

“Go ahead then.”

Though Qin Xiao was unbothered, his disciples hadn’t practiced Body Refinement. They relied entirely on cultivation to endure. Reaching this point was already quite good.

After another calculation, Qin Xiao stepped forward again. The Pressure increased by another thirty percent from its previous level.

The four who followed him flushed red as their blood surged upward. If they forced themselves to keep going, they would cough up blood.

“Master, I can’t hold on either.”

“Me too.”

Luo Yunbing and Cang Chen both said they could no longer hold on.

“You two withdraw as well. Don’t ask me. If you can’t hold on, withdraw. Don’t force it.”

Qin Xiao spoke to them.

“First Disciple, Second Disciple-though your cultivation is higher, there are still eight steps left. At this rate of increase, you won’t last two more steps either. Withdraw as well. There’s no point in persisting.”

Seeing Luo Yunbing and Cang Chen withdraw, Qin Xiao turned to Yun Man and Lin Shimeng.

“Master is right. Then I’ll withdraw too.”

Yun Man didn’t insist. She knew herself-after two more steps, she’d have to withdraw anyway.

“Then I’ll withdraw as well.”

With Yun Man withdrawing, Lin Shimeng naturally followed. She’d actually just been competing with Yun Man. If Yun Man didn’t withdraw, neither would she.

Yun Man and Lin Shimeng both exited. Within the entire Formation, only Qin Xiao remained.