Chapter Ten: The Hall of Life and Death

  The night was deep, and the Four Seas Building in the center of Jizhou City was brightly lit, with customers packed to bursting, surprisingly even more lively than during the day.

  In a lavishly decorated private room, the table was filled with all sorts of expensive delicacies. Five young men were clinking glasses and drinking heartily. Four of them were eighteen or nineteen years old, while the man sitting in the lead position was slightly older, none other than Nie Feng Xing.

  "Awesome! Tonight is really freaking awesome!"

  The young man on the left tore open his collar, revealing a thick and coarse black chest hair, with red eyes staring at Nie Fengxing and shouting: "Third brother, if it weren't for me saying so, isn't it just a small matter? Why bother coming to the Four Seas Building?"

  "Hmph, the sound of wine gurgling, the sturdy young man continued, "To be honest, I've been looking at that kid with disdain for a long time. Recently, every day I hear someone whispering in my ear, it's really annoying! Bah, what kind of thing is this? Isn't it just a bit of dog shit luck to rise from Linggathering First Rank to Linggathering Ninth Rank? What's so great about that? Cultivating for ten whole years and only having this much power, and yet they're called 'genius among geniuses'? Aren't you afraid of losing face? In our Nie family, only the four siblings including Third Brother can be considered 'genius among geniuses'. Tell me, Third Brother, how do you want him to die?"

  The other three boys also drank with red faces, intoxication filled the air. As soon as they heard their companion's words, they immediately burst into loud agreement, spitting and shouting in unison.

  "Alright, alright, they're all good brothers of mine."

  The situation with Feng Xing is slightly better, but the thick smell of alcohol still spews from his mouth. "In two days, we'll be entering the Mortal Realm. Feng Bo, Feng Tao, Feng Xin, and Feng Ting, you four are already at the highest level of Tongling, fifth rank, and the lowest among you have reached first rank. Once inside, you must capture him as quickly as possible and find a secluded spot to let his blood out. We have seven days, don't we? Let's make him die slowly by bleeding him every day."

  Another shot of liquor down his throat, the robust young man's intoxication deepened, and his words began to slur. He muttered discontentedly: "Third Brother, just...just letting him off with a blood fine is too...too cheap for him!"

  Nie Feng chuckled and said: "Feng Bo, what's your brilliant idea?" Upon hearing the black-haired youth say this, he also felt that the method of bleeding was a bit too mild.

  A youth with acne all over his face put down his wine cup and chuckled: "Third Brother, what kind of idea can this rough guy have? My uncle is in charge of punishment in the family, I learned a lot of new tricks from him. This time when we go in, I'll give it to him one by one, guaranteed to make that little brat beg for mercy."

  Nie Fengxing exclaimed with great joy: "Great, I almost forgot about this. Feng Ting, you can do whatever it takes, the more painful the better, if possible, make sure to torture him for seven days and then blow his brains out when the deadline is near, let this eyesore completely disappear." Thinking of the humiliation he suffered recently, Nie Fengxing's face twisted slightly, his eyes filled with sinister resentment.

  Nie Fengting patted his chest and guaranteed: "Third Brother, just leave it to us."

  "Good."

  Nie Feng nodded, and then sighed with some regret, "Unfortunately, I'm already over 20 years old, can't take action personally." His tone was filled with regret, but thinking of that delicate and shy beauty, his heart began to burn again, and he felt himself getting hard.

  Nie Fengbo cleared his throat and laughed, saying, "Third...brother, after we come out, I...we'll tell you all about what happened, isn't that almost the same as if you had done it yourself?"

  "Haha, well said! Especially that scene where the little brat begged for mercy with tears in his eyes, you must remember it clearly. Now, let's have a drink for our 'genius among geniuses' who is about to fall. After finishing the drink, Third Brother will take you to Piao Xiang Yuan to celebrate."

  Fragrant Pavilion?

  Four youths' blurry drunken eyes shot out green light...

  ……

  Have to say, Mu Hong Yan is indeed a man of his word.

  Although he felt that his master was being taken advantage of by his apprentice on the way, after seeing Huamei, Muhongyan immediately made a decision and decided to move in from the day after tomorrow, ensuring that during Nie Kong's absence, his sister-in-law would not be disturbed.

  Originally, apart from asking Mu Hongyan to help take care of his sister, Nie Kong also wanted to find out from her why the Lingbao Pavilion was so determined to capture him. Unfortunately, no matter how he probed and asked indirectly, Mu Hongyan didn't reveal even a hint, which inevitably raised suspicions, and Nie Kong had to give up.

  The Phantom Realm is about to open, and the Nie family has become lively. Almost every street corner can hear topics such as "Whose child was selected". Time slipped away quietly in this messy discussion, and soon, the first ray of sunlight on October 15th fell on Jieyang City.

  At the foot of the mountain behind.

  The ancient temple was built against the mountain, towering and majestic. This is the Nie family's "Life and Death Hall", where the Life and Death Boundary lies within the hall. After discovering the boundary, the Nie family built this temple to completely conceal it. In ordinary times, the two large and wide temple doors were almost never opened, only every five years, eight years, twelve years on October 15th, members of the Nie family could catch a glimpse of the situation inside from afar.

  The Nie family's life and death illusory realm has three layers. The first layer opens once every five years, with the maximum cultivation limit being Hua Ling. The second layer opens once every eight years, with the maximum cultivation limit being Xū Líng. The third layer opens once every twelve years, with the maximum cultivation limit being Dòng Líng.

  The sun was high in the sky, and at a hundred meters before the Death Palace, dozens of men in their thirties and forties stood in a row. In front of them were tens of thousands of Nie family members. The opening of the Illusory Realm was always a grand occasion for the Nie family, and almost all the clan members in Jixiang City would rush over to watch. Those who had been sent out on missions would also return to take a look if possible, even though they could hardly see anything.

  With tens of thousands of people, there is no end or edge to the crowd. What's more, with tens of thousands of people gathering together at the same time, the momentum is exceptionally grand. Fortunately, the space in front of the Hall of Life and Death is spacious enough, and the tribespeople have already experienced many such scenes, so the noise returns to noise, and no one argues due to crowding and pushing.

  "They're coming, the little guys are here!"

  Suddenly, four young men appeared on the green stone road to the right of the Hall of Life and Death, followed by another four, including a girl. As this group of young men and women walked out in a line, the crowd of tens of thousands was like a pot of boiling water, suddenly bubbling up with a loud noise.

  "There seem to be more people this year than five years ago?"

  "Haha, you're really ignorant, don't even know this? In the past, only our Nie family members entered the Mortal Life Realm. This year, with the agreement of the Patriarch and the Council of Elders, many vassal families have also selected their outstanding family members to come over. I heard about this a few days ago."

  "Haha, see? See? That's my daughter, isn't she pretty?"

  "Hmph, got what you wanted, my son is also inside. His position in the lineup is even ahead of your daughter's, humph, with your daughter's level of cultivation, she'll just be killed as soon as she goes in."

  "Hmph, your son is also useless, can't even hold on until the deadline, will he kill himself when it's almost due? Go ahead and dream on!"

  "Our family's recently famous genius is called Nie... Nie... Ah, it's Nie Kong. Quick, look, he's also here, right there."

  “……”

  In the midst of the clan people's loud and intense discussion, hundreds of young men and women stopped in front of the temple gate, waiting quietly, as if there was not a sound from even a crow or sparrow.

  Nie Kong stood in the center of the crowd.

  Looking at the young men around him, their faces flushed with excitement and tension, their chests heaving violently, Nie Kong couldn't help but curl his lips in disdain. During training sessions, they were always like this, and now that they were about to enter the Illusory Realm, they still looked like this - wasn't it just a matter of dying once inside? What was there to be so excited about, with their faces red and their necks thick?

  ……