Chapter 4923: The Second Token

Daoist Zhang and the crowd patiently bade their time. Amidst casual chatters, they would occasionally look at the map above them, seemingly waiting for certain changes to occur. 

The long-awaited change finally occurred.

Some parts of the map fused together, and they eventually formed a spirit formation gate. Shortly after the appearance of the spirit formation gate, multiple figures quickly flew out from within.

They were all juniors, and there were 73 of them in total. They were fairly talented, considering how most of them were at peak Utmost Exalted level. Even the weakest amongst them was at rank seven Utmost Exalted level, and he was extremely young on top of that.

Those who managed to reach this level as juniors could be described as ‘prodigies’ in the Nine Souls Galaxy.

However, all of these prodigies carried wounds on their bodies. One of them even had his legs severed, and he needed to be carried out of the spirit formation gate. 

“Haa, we’re finally out of the hellhole. I nearly died in there!”

“Elders, didn’t you tell us that there won’t be any danger in the spirit formation gate?”

All of the juniors had grudging looks on their faces, which was understandable since what they were told contrasted with what they had experienced in the spirit formation gate. Some of them even lost their lives!

“How could an ancient remnant like this possibly be completely devoid of danger? You should have some self-awareness as cultivators,” Daoist Zhang said with a darkened face.

He appeared to be displeased by the juniors’ complaints.

“Elder, we don’t mean to criticize you. It’s just that we have witnessed the tragic death of our comrades in the spirit formation gate, so we’re feeling a little overwhelmed. If we had known that this ancient remnant was this dangerous, we would have made more thorough preparations.”

The juniors who had just escaped with their lives from the spirit formation gate quickly explained themselves. It looked like they were extremely afraid of Daoist Zhang.

Daoist Zhang merely harrumphed in response to the juniors’ explanation, not bothering to answer them. It looked like the displeasure he felt toward them didn’t fade with their explanation.

“Young friends, you might have suffered greatly in the spirit formation gate, but Daoist Zhang has been doing a lot out here too. If not for him, you might have all lost your lives in the spirit formation gate!”

An elder from the Nine Souls Sacred Clan stood forward and spoke up.

This elder was weaker than Daoist Zhang and the Gray Lion of the Cang Prefecture, but his words held considerable authority as a member of the Nine Souls Sacred Clan.

“Our apologies, elder. We got ahead of ourselves. Please forgive us,” the juniors quickly apologized to Daoist Zhang.

“In any case, you have managed to clear the trial in the spirit formation gate. Did you manage to obtain the item inside?” Daoist Zhang asked.

“We weren’t able to find the item you spoke of,” the juniors replied.

Judging from their confused expressions, it looked like they were speaking the truth.

“You couldn’t have left the spirit formation gate without acquiring that item. The fact that the spirit formation gate has opened shows that someone has managed to obtain that item. It must be in one of your hands,” Daoist Zhang said,

“I see. If that’s the case, it must have been Brother Qianyi.”

“As expected of Senior Qianyi!”

A name immediately popped up in the juniors’ minds, and some of the women even revealed infatuated looks on their faces. The elders also gave light nods, agreeing with the juniors’ deduction. 

Of the juniors who had entered the ancient remnant, the one who was most likely to obtain that item was none other than Lu Qianyi.

Even those from the Nine Souls Sacred Clan had to agree with that. 

Lu Qianyi was definitely no ordinary cultivator. Together with Wang Yuxian, he was lauded as one of the top prodigies of the Nine Souls Galaxy despite not coming from the Nine Souls Sacred Clan. His prowess wasn’t just limited to his martial cultivation; he was equally outstanding as a world spiritist too.

Weng!

The spirit formation gate suddenly trembled, and yet another figure rushed out from within. It was a white-robed man with a dashing appearance.

Unlike the other juniors, he appeared to be unharmed. This minor detail was more than enough to showcase the huge gap that existed between him and the other juniors. 

He was none other than Lu Qianyi.

“Brother Qianyi, you’re finally out! Show us what that item looks like!”

Some of the juniors immediately rushed over to Lu Qianyi’s side.

“Are you talking about the token that grants a person entry into the secret realm?” Lu Qianyu asked. 

“Of course! What else could we possibly be talking about?” one of the juniors replied.

“It looks like I’m going to have to let you down. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find the second token that grants entry into the secret realm,” Lu Qianyi said with an ashamed look. 

“Brother Qianyi, you should stop joking with us. How could you possibly have failed to retrieve the token?” a junior chirped in.

They thought that Lu Qianyi was pulling their legs.

“I’m not joking around. I didn’t even see the token,” Lu Qianyi replied.

His solemn attitude brought a frown to the faces of the crowd. 

The opening of the spirit formation gate meant that someone had already claimed the token, and the one who was most likely to have taken the token was none other than Lu Qianyi. 

Yet, Lu Qianyi said that he had failed to obtain the token. If so, who else could be in possession of the token then?

“Cough cough…”

The elder from the Nine Souls Sacred Clan coughed lightly to gather the crowd’s attention.

“Young friends, just like how our clan’s Princess Xiaoxiao has acquired the first token, the second token naturally belongs to the person who has acquired it. There’s no need to be so secretive about it. The fact that you’re able to obtain the token despite the difficulties proves your talent. That’s something to be proud of! So, I’d like to ask the person who has obtained the token to step out and admit to it.”

The elder from the Nine Souls Sacred Clan thought that his words would be able to encourage the junior who had obtained the token to step out, but none of the juniors were admitting to it. 

The other elders were confused by the turn of events, which led to them turning their gazes toward Daoist Zhang. They hoped that Daoist Zhang could solve this mystery for them. 

After all, he was the one who boasted the greatest knowledge about the formation.

Daoist Zhang eyed the juniors with narrowed eyes, seemingly trying to figure out who was lying. However, after a quick check, he began stroking his beard. 

From this subconscious movement, it could be seen that he couldn’t figure out who had obtained the second token too.

Weng!

The spirit formation gate trembled once again, and yet another figure stepped out from it.