After breakfast, Joohyun walked out of the hotel wearing a simple light-colored casual wear and carrying a bag with the compass and the Soul Summoning Bell.
"Irin."
Joohyun, who was about to turn a corner and walk towards the ticketing center of Qilian Mountain scenic spots, when she heard someone calling her. She turned around curiously and saw Lu Ning, who was getting out of a white car across the road.
"Lu Ning, you haven't gone yet either." The other Celestial Masters living in the same hotel had set off for Qilian Mountain before dawn. Only Joohyun was unconcerned. She slept and woke up as usual, and before going out leisurely, she had her breakfast.
"I got up late." Lu Ning smiled in embarrassment. In fact, he had already reached the rendezvous point. However, upon looking around and not finding Joohyun, he drove back to pick her up.
"Then let's get going, or we'll be late." Joohyun naturally didn't care whether she was too late. She just couldn't delay others' time.
"There is no hurry." Lu Ning smiled, and gently opened the car door for Joohyun.
The assembly point of the Profound Spirit Grand Competition was at the end of the Qilian Mountain Cableway, where all the participating Celestial Masters would wait until the magical barrier at the top of the mountain opens, before climbing from the meeting point to the peak of the mountain. Then, they could enter the magical barrier. In order for the competition to be held smoothly, the Qilian Mountain tourist spots stopped receiving foreign visitors three days prior.
It was about half an hour walk from the hotel where Joohyun was staying to the scenic spot, and just a few minutes by car. Soon the two of them arrived at the entrance of the scenic spot.
Joohyun got out of the car and made her way to the ticket booth. Seeing this, Lu Ning quickly shouted at her, "This way."
"I know, but I haven't bought a ticket yet," Joohyun explained.
Lu Ning was stunned, then thought that since it was Joohyun's first time to participate in the Profound Spirit Grand Competition, it was no surprise that she didn't know. Hence, he smiled and clarified, "Cable rides today are free, no charge."
"Free?" Joohyun was quite surprised.
"Yes, let's go up quickly." When the two got on the cable car, Lu Ning explained, "In order for the competition to proceed smoothly, the Metaphysics Headquarters communicated with the local authorities. Thus, the Qilian Mountains suspended the reception of tourists during the competition, and cable car rides also became free for the participants' use."
"What a huge feat!" Joohyun had seen with her own eyes how many tourists visited the Qilian Mountains every day during this period. Yet, they actually declared no reception.
"After all, there is only one session every decade, so naturally the Metaphysics Headquarters attaches great importance to it," Lu Ning said.
When Joohyun heard this, she suddenly felt guilty for no apparent reason. She knew that the Metaphysics Headquarters attached so much importance to it, so she arranged more snacks for them recently.
After a while, the cable car reached the end. Most of the talented young Celestial Masters in the country gathered in a beautiful valley. They stood together in twos and threes, as if they were discussing something.
Lu Ning took in the valley full of people and unconsciously frowned. He glanced at the top of the mountain before leading Joohyun towards a certain place.
"Brother Lu Ning," Yan Xin spotted Lu Ning at a glance.
Lu Ning nodded and brought Joohyun to a group of acquaintances. Joohyun looked around and found that there were three other acquaintances besides the Yan siblings. Liang Guang, Qin Guanhai, and Shao Qi, Qin Guanhai's senior martial brother.
"Fellow Daoist."
"Fellow Daoist."
"Fellow Daoist."
The three people took the initiative to greet Joohyun when they saw her.
"Hello guys, didn't Liang Yu come?" Joohyun surveyed the area and didn't find Liang Yu.
"His cultivation level isn't high enough, so my grandfather didn't let him attend," Liang Guang explained.
"Oh." Joohyun nodded knowingly. Speaking of Liang Yu's cultivation, without Liang Guang behind him, he would be crying mother and father if he were to see more than a hundred malevolent ghosts or touch a couple of them at the same time.
"Hasn't the magical barrier opened yet?" Lu Ning asked aloud.
"Not yet." Liang Guang shook his head.
"How odd." Lu Ning was puzzled.
"Indeed. Under normal circumstances, the barrier should have opened long ago," Shao Qi nodded in agreement.
"The magical barrier has existed through hundreds of years, so there will always be times when it is unstable. Let's wait a little longer," Liang Guang said.
There was nothing else they could do but wait. In fear that Joohyun did not understand, Lu Ning specially turned to her and explained, "In the past, the Profound Spirit Grand Competition opened at dawn, but this year, I don't know what's going on. It's already at this hour, but the barrier has still to open. Let's wait and see."
"Hmm!" Joohyun nodded guiltily, and while everyone was not paying attention, she secretly wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She took out her phone and sent a message to her grandpa.
(Old man, did you forget to open the magical barrier?)
Elder Wu replied in seconds: (Isn't this your job?)
Mine?? Joohyun gaped, almost thinking she read wrong: (When did this happen? Why don't I know?)
Elder Wu: (Last time, ah. Didn't I tell you when I taught you how to use an incantation to open the barrier?)
Joohyun carefully recalled what the old man said that day.
"Girl, have you learned how to use the magical barrier?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll leave it to you from now on."
Just that one sentence? He didn't dare to get into more details?
If it weren't for the people her, Joohyun would have called the old man and scolded him: (Didn't you mean the next Profound Spirit Grand Competition?)
Elder Wu: (Look at your comprehension. Do you still call yourself a college student? Forget it, don't dawdle. It's already several hours late. Why don't you go and open the magical barrier.)
Joohyun couldn't hold back and almost hurled the phone in her hand. Perhaps her facial expression was so ferocious that Lu Ning asked despite himself, "What's the matter, Irin? Are you uncomfortable?"
"No, nothing?" Joohyun smiled awkwardly.
"That's great." Lu Ning continued, "We were talking about grouping just now. Irin, do you want to join us?"
"Grouping?" Joohyun was a bit puzzled.
"If people who are familiar with each other team up together, breaking through will be much faster and the possibility of finding the magic artifact will be greater." Lu Ning introduced, "Daoist Liang, Guanhai, and Senior Brother Shao are in a group. I'm in a group with Yan Wei and Yan Xin. Do you want to join us?"
When Yan Xin heard Lu Ning's invitation to Joohyun, she was a little unhappy.
Joohyun looked around, and then her eyes fell on the youngest, Qin Guanhai. He seemed to have a special ability if she remembered correctly.
"Can I join your group?" Joohyun smiled and asked Qin Guanhai.
"Do you want to team up with us?" Qin Guanhai was stunned.
"Yeah. I remember that your sensing power seems to be particularly strong, so maybe you can sense the location of the magic artifact."
Since even her grandpa didn't know where that spiritual artifact was stored, instead of searching for a needle in a haystack, why not follow Qin Guanhai? Maybe, he would detect it out of the blue, just like he did with the Green Spirit Hairpin.
When Qin Guanhai heard Joohyun's blunt words, he was at a loss for words, so he looked askance at his Senior Brother.
Shao Qi was equally stunned with her proposal. He obviously did not expect someone to take advantage of someone so openly, but Joohyun had saved their lives before, so Shao Qi could not say anything. He could only laugh dryly and said, "Daoist Chen, you have a high cultivation, so it's naturally favorable if you team up with us."
"There are two magic artifacts for this competition. I wonder which one Daoist Chen likes better?" Liang Guang suddenly asked.
"Isn't there only one?" Joohyun remembered that she had only released one magic artifact out ah.
"The Metaphysics Headquarters released a mission, saying that in addition to the magic artifact as a reward for breaking through the magical barrier, there is another special magic artifact hidden inside. If anyone can find it, he'll receive a 50 million bonus," Lu Ning explained.
Joohyun remembered. Master Mao had said before that he would issue a task for the Celestial Masters participating in the competition to find the spiritual artifact together, so this was probably it.
"I want that special magic artifact," Joohyun said without even a second thought.
Everyone showed the same expression. Sure enough, Daoist Friend Chen's love for money was deeply impressive.
With Joohyun's response, Liang Guang's expression was much more natural. He was a 26 this year, and this was his last time to participate in the Profound Spirit Grand Competition. So, he was determined to win the magic artifact from the competition. Compared to the second artifact that needed to be handed over to the Metaphysics Network, Liang Guang naturally wanted the first artifact more. As for the money, he was not short of it at all.
Shao Qi's main purpose this time was to accompany Qin Guanhai for training. His aim wasn't the magic artifact, so as for Joohyun's joining, except for feeling that she was a bit cheeky, he wasn't resistant to it either. Rather, with Joohyun's company, their safety factor was much higher. It was just that...
"I don't know when the magical barrier will open either." Shao Qi looked at the top of the mountain.
With his reminder, Joohyun stomped her feet in annoyance. She almost forgot about opening the magical barrier again! After wallowing in guilt for a while, she didn't dare to delay a minute longer. She found an excuse, slipped away, and then ran to the cave somewhere near.
Fortunately, the hand seal to open the magical barrier could be within ten meters from the barrier, and the cave was also within the barrier. Otherwise, Joohyun would have to climb to the mountain summit.
Shortly after Joohyun entered the cave, a golden light suddenly lit up from the top of the mountain, followed by a majestic spirit qi pouring down from the summit. The Celestial Masters in the valley raised their heads one after another.
"The magical barrier is open."
"It's finally open."
"Let's go."
The Celestial Masters who had been waiting impatiently for a long time pulled out their mountaineering equipment prepared in advance and climbed up one by one towards the summit. The picture looked quite spectacular from afar.
Seeing hundreds of mountaineers for the first time, all of which were vigorous and physically fit, Joohyun couldn't help clicking her tongue in admiration. She exclaimed, "They are so powerful."
"In order to participate in the Profound Spirit Grand Competition, everyone has trained in mountain climbing," Lu Ning explained.
Who made the competition venue at the top of the mountain? How could they reach the top without climbing the mountain?
Joohyun nodded in response. Afterward, she took out her phone and silently took several pictures and sent them to the old man, with the caption: (We have led the trend all along.)
Elder Wu replied with a carefully worded sentence: (Never ever let others discover it.)
How could Joohyun dare to be discovered? If people in the Metaphysics world were to know the truth, they would most likely skin her alive.
The Metaphysics Celestial Masters were worthy of their special training. One by one, they climbed to the summit and stepped into the barrier-covered competition site.
If foreign mountaineering enthusiasts were to see this scene, they would probably be scared out of their wits. How could these people easily scale the mountain they struggled so hard to climb? These locals truly concealed themselves deeply.
The mountain summit was a spacious open flat land. The ground was covered with green grass and flowers, and there was also a blue lake in the middle. It made people fancy being in a dream.
"Which way do we go?" Liang Guang looked around blankly and turned to ask Qin Guanhai.
"I don't know." At present, Qin Guanhai did not detect anything special.
"Then let's pick a random direction to check for now." Shao Qi said, "Anyway, no matter which direction we enter, we have to break through the seven levels first."
After five millenniums of record, they have long understood the levels in the Profound Spirit Grand Competition. They were classified into seven levels according to the difficulty of spells, formations, and exorcism. Only those who had broken through the seven levels in succession could finally see the magic artifact. If they failed to pass one level within a period, they would be ejected from the magical barrier and lose their qualifications for the competition.
"Brother Lu Ning, let's go this way." Yan Xin tugged at Lu Ning's sleeve.
Lu Ning turned his head to the direction she indicated. Knowing that they would part ways sooner or later, he turned toward Joohyun and said, "Then we'll go in first, and I wish you guys good luck in finding the magic artifact."
"Thank you, and good luck to you guys." Joohyun waved her hand and watched the three leave.
"Let's go this way then." Liang Guang pointed to the right and asked Joohyun's opinion.
"I'll listen to you guys," Joohyun replied indifferently.
The seven levels appeared randomly, and whoever could find and unravel it the fastest could find the magic artifact the fastest. However, the positions of the levels were irregular, so everyone could only wander aimlessly within the magical barrier.
Finally, after wandering around for an hour, the group encountered the first level – exorcism.
Joohyun looked at the team of bald malevolent ghosts in front of her who suddenly appeared, and the corners of her lips twitched. Sure enough, no matter how she looked, they hurt her eyes.
"Here they come, a total of sixteen malevolent ghosts." Liang Guang drew his peach wooden sword and looked solemnly at a group of malevolent ghosts in front of him, exuding an eerie aura.
"Guanhai, go to the back." Shao Qi pulled Qin Guanhai back.
Qin Guanhai knew that his cultivation was low, so he obediently hid behind the three. Joohyun took a few steps forward and stood where Qian Guanhai had just stood.
Joohyun took just one step forward, but the malevolent ghosts, who were approaching aggressively step by step, suddenly stopped in their tracks and stood still. Sixteen pairs of bloodshot eyes stared at them, and their gaze was especially bone-chilling.
"I am responsible for the five on the left. Shao Qi, you are responsible for those on the right. As for the remaining six malevolent ghosts, I'll leave them to Daoist Friend Chen," Liang Guang said, dividing the work.
"No problem." Joohyun answered and took out a Spirit-Repelling Talisman.
"Graaah!"
Joohyun raised her head.
"Graaah!?"
Joohyun took another step forward.
"Grah-grah-grah!!!"
A burst of black smoke drifted past, and sixteen malevolent ghosts fled neatly in unison.
Liang Guang, who was ready to face the enemy, was somewhat astounded: "What happened?"
"I don't know either," Shao Qi said. He, too, was at a loss.
I know, but I can't tell you! Joohyun decided to hide her merits and fame.
"The magical barrier didn't eject us. Does this mean we passed the first level?" Liang Guang doubted.
As long as they failed to pass one of the seven levels, they would be ejected by the boundary and thus disqualified from the competition. The magical barrier, however, did none of that, so Liang Guang guessed so.
Although puzzled, the group could only continue to move forward. Soon, they again encountered the second level, a wave composed of fifty malevolent ghosts. When Liang Guang and Shao Qi were thinking about how to break through this second level, the fifty ghosts suddenly transformed into a larger puff of black smoke and drifted away in a haste.
What the hell was going on here?
Joohyun: "..."
"They're so strange," Qin Guanhai couldn't help but comment.
"Strange indeed. Why did they escape as soon as they saw us?" Shao Qi was also very puzzled. If they were to really fight fifty malevolent ghosts, the three of them could not necessarily match them.
"Also Senior Brother, how come all these malevolent ghosts are bald?" Qin Guanhai was a young teenager, and his concern was quite different from his senior brother's. "What's more, they're wearing the same clothes. Could it be that they were all monks when they were alive?"
"..." Shao Qi, who just discovered it, too.
"..." The frowning Liang Guang.
And the guilty Joohyun.
"On top of that, the clothes they wear look familiar, especially like the novice costumes in a martial arts online game I've been playing recently." Qin Guanhai said, "It turns out that ancient clothes originally looked like this."
I'm not sure if ancient clothes look like this, but the designer must be playing the same game as you.
"It's been five hundred years. We can't find out what happened before. I think we'd better stop worrying about it and find the magic artifact instead," Joohyun said with a guilty conscience.
"Right, let's look for the magic artifact first." Liang Guang nodded in agreement.
Qin Guanhai also stopped dwelling on it. Thus, the group continued to break through the barrier.
Joohyun walked in the back, patting her chest to get over the scare: Gosh, I almost blew up my cover!
The author has something to say:
At the end of the major competition, Joohyun ran to question the malevolent ghosts.
Irene: Why did you flee during the competition? You almost blew up my cover, you know?
Malevolent Ghosts: Grah-grah-grah!
Irene: What are you roaring about? I don't understand.
The malevolent ghosts paused for a second, raised their hands, and pointed neatly at their bald head, and then continued: Grah-grah-grah! ~~~
Irene: ...(She suddenly wanted to apologize, damn it!)