Immortal Reincarnation Tribulation

Chapter 340 Advancing to the Top 5

Du Fan was speaking animatedly and passionately when he was interrupted by a cold voice.

"Enough! You just want me to admit defeat, right? Fine, I admit defeat!" Shang Yutang's chest heaved violently, her eyes flashing with cold light as she stared intently at Du Fan, looking as if she wanted to tear him apart alive.

Upon seeing this, Du Fan was startled, and then suddenly felt a headache coming on.

He knew he had probably gone too far today. This woman possessed a magical beast that was related to an ancient celestial beast, so her status and position could not be small. However, he had no choice; if he wanted to win, this was the only way.

Thinking of this, Du Fan took a deep breath, straightened his expression, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Shang Yutang, and said, "Fellow Daoist Shang, I imagine your status on Falling Leaf Island is not low. If you want to enter the Falling Sand Illusion, it shouldn't be too difficult for you. However, for me, there is only one path to take: advancing to the top five in the competition."

I admit that I made some mistakes today, and even acted somewhat despicably. However, it was a last resort. Fellow Daoist Shang is incredibly strong, no less so than me, and with the help of a powerful magical beast, I knew I had no chance of winning. That's why I resorted to this desperate measure.

Actually, I never intended to covet that three-colored deer from beginning to end. I hope Fellow Daoist Shang will understand and not take this matter to heart.

"Du Fan, I'll remember you!" Shang Yutang glared fiercely at Du Fan.

Although the woman's eyes were still unfriendly, at least most of the overwhelming hatred from before had dissipated. She gritted her teeth, stomped her foot hard, suddenly turned her head, and shouted to the outside of the arena, "Uncle Zhao, I admit defeat. Please announce the result."

The match was indeed spectacular, but Uncle Zhao was completely baffled. Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhao paused for a moment, then glared at Du Fan before reluctantly announcing, "Du Fan wins on arena number two!"

"Du Fan, is this enough? Hurry up and release the mistress!" Shang Yutang glared at Du Fan fiercely.

"Thank you for your kindness, Fellow Daoist Shang. I will remove the magic array now." Du Fan chuckled and his figure flickered, instantly appearing next to the Demon-Subduing Array.

He quickly formed hand seals and cast several spells into the demon-subduing formation. After the formation hummed, the layers of light covering it vanished into thin air, revealing the listless three-colored deer inside.

At this moment, the tricolor deer was lying there motionless with its four legs curled up. The tricolor flames under its feet had long since disappeared, and its once bright eyes were now dull and lifeless. It looked listless, as if it had lost its spirit.

"What did you do to it?" Upon seeing this, Shang Yutang's heart tightened, her face turned pale, and she abruptly turned to look at Du Fan.

"During the operation of the demon-slaying array, this tricolor deer had some of its magic power absorbed, which is why it became somewhat weak."

"But Fellow Daoist Shang need not worry. The magical power of a beast is similar to the mana of a cultivator. Even if some is lost, it can be recovered. In at most half a month, this three-colored deer will be lively and energetic again." Du Fan quickly explained.

"Hurry up and take away your broken magic array!" Shang Yutang breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this, then glared at Du Fan and spoke coldly.

Du Fan touched his nose, and without saying a word, he immediately waved his sleeve and used his object manipulation technique to dismantle the magic array in front of him and quickly put it back into his storage bag.

After doing all this, he consciously stepped back several feet and gave the three-colored deer lying on the ground to Shang Yutang.

Shang Yutang quickly stepped forward, bent down, and stretched out her delicate hands to tenderly stroke the three-colored deer. When the fawn let out a mournful cry, the mist in her eyes deepened.

Seeing this, Du Fan felt a little apologetic, but naturally he wouldn't say anything. This woman must be in a terrible mood right now, and he had no interest in provoking her at this time.

Fortunately, the barrier on the arena was quickly opened by Uncle Zhao. Without saying a word, Du Fan jumped off the arena and fled back to the VIP seats on Crescent Island.

The second arena where Du Fan and Shang Yutang fought was the last group to finish their battle in this round of the competition. Therefore, after the two stepped down from the stage, Lin Musen immediately announced the results of the competition.

At this point, the top five people in the Hainan Rendezvous have been determined. Among them are one cultivator from Fallen Leaf Island, one cultivator from Bright Island, two cultivators from Blazing Flame Island, and the last one is naturally Du Fan from Crescent Moon Island.

Of the top five in the competition, the four cultivators from the three main islands were naturally unremarkable, but Du Fan's ranking attracted a lot of controversy. Many Golden Core protectors from other islands did not agree with his ranking and expressed their protests.

In their view, Du Fan's strength is mediocre, and his current achievements are due to his constant use of despicable means, exploiting loopholes in the competition rules, and even suspected of bribing his competitors.

Du Fan's actions not only harmed the cultivators on these islands, but also the host island, Fallen Leaf Island. It's likely that the higher-ups on Fallen Leaf Island will take some measures to disqualify Du Fan from the rankings.

To everyone's surprise, Lin Musen, for reasons unknown, remained silent about the matter and simply accepted Du Fan's top-five ranking in the competition.

As a result, the Golden Core protectors on the other islands were indignant but helpless. After all, the host had swallowed his anger, so what could they say?

"Next, we will distribute the competition rewards." Lin Musen's face was somewhat gloomy.

The next moment, dozens of Qi Refining stage cultivators from Fallen Leaf Island emerged from the special platform, each carrying several storage bags. Presumably, the contents of these bags were the rewards for this year's competition.

A cultivator from Fallen Leaf Island, dressed in a Taoist robe, arrived at Crescent Moon Island. He first bowed deeply to the four Golden Core protectors, then respectfully handed ten storage bags to Liu Zhongtian before bowing again and turning to leave.

"Du Fan, Zhou Dahai, here are your rewards." Liu Zhongtian smiled slightly and tossed two storage bags to Du Fan and Zhou Dahai respectively.

"Thank you very much, Protector Liu!" The two were naturally overjoyed and expressed their gratitude.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the prizes had been distributed. At this moment, Lin Musen spoke again, saying, "Fellow Daoists who led the teams from each island this time, please come up on stage for a chat."

Before long, streaks of light rose from various places in the inner field and flew straight towards the special platform.

"Brother Liu, be careful." Chen Da frowned, somewhat worried.

"It's nothing." Liu Zhongtian smiled slightly, then his figure flickered and appeared in mid-air in the next moment. After another flash, he stood on the special platform.

Once all the Golden Core protectors had arrived, Lin Musen immediately raised his hands and cast several spells around the platform. Layers of restrictions were immediately activated, isolating the view and sound inside and outside the platform.

What these nearly one hundred Golden Core cultivators were saying inside the platform was unknown to those outside. A full half hour passed before the barrier finally dissipated, revealing the figures inside once more.

The guardians leading the various islands looked somewhat solemn. After a moment, they bowed to the Golden Core cultivators of the three main islands, including Lin Musen, and then flew back to their respective islands in a burst of light.

"Brother Liu, what were you talking about in there? It couldn't be related to Du Fan's grades, could it?" After Liu Zhongtian returned, Chen Da's eyes flashed, and he was the first to transmit his voice.

"No, don't worry. The higher-ups on the three main islands acknowledge Du Fan's achievements. Moreover, the allocation of resources and benefits among the various islands was determined based on the results of the Hainan Rendez-Vous competition," Liu Zhongtian said with a forced smile.

"Brother Liu, if that's the case, why do you still look so worried?" Zi Yan asked with a hint of doubt.

"The great battle between the Earthly Fiend Islands and Ji Province is probably about to break out."

Geographically speaking, our Crescent Island is closest to the Kyushu mainland. If a great war breaks out, which island among the seventy-two islands of the Earthly Fiends Archipelago do you think will suffer the most?

The fact that the people from the three main islands didn't dwell on Du Fan's achievements is probably related to this matter. Liu Zhongtian gave a wry smile and simultaneously transmitted a message to the other three protectors.

Upon hearing this, the other three guardians all changed their expressions and fell silent.

"Alright, this matter is not something we can control. After we return to the island, we will relay the whole story to Island Master Lin, and she will make her own decision."

Furthermore, this competition is not truly over. The higher-ups of the three main islands have decided that the arena battles will cease here. As for the specific rankings of the top five, they will be determined based on their level of enlightenment within the Falling Sand Illusion.

Liu Zhongtian transmitted a message to the three protectors again, then turned to Du Fan and said with a smile, "Du Fan, your performance this time was really good, far exceeding our expectations. After we return to Crescent Island, you will certainly be rewarded."

"Thank you, Protector Liu." Du Fan clasped his hands in thanks.

"The upcoming competition will not require magical duels, but will be ranked according to your insights gained in the Falling Sand Illusion."

"Of course, you don't need to worry about rankings anymore. Just focus on comprehending it. This jade slip contains information about the Falling Sand Illusion. Take a look at it first." After saying this, Liu Zhongtian casually tossed a white jade slip to Du Fan.

"Yes."

The atmosphere was tense, and Du Fan could sense it. He naturally had many questions in his mind, but he didn't ask any questions. He immediately sent a wisp of his divine sense into the jade slip and began to read its contents.