120. The Mad Dragon's Lair Forest

Xie Wuji was by nature an impatient man. Looking left and right, he found that the people around him were like a flock of wooden geese, standing motionless and observing one another, each hoping to reap the rewards without putting in the effort.

"Second Senior Brother, you’re usually full of tricks. Why don’t you think of a way to get these people on the shore moving? If things go on like this, the competition will lose all its meaning," Xie Wuji said.

Ji Liancheng rolled his eyes at him. "What? 'Full of tricks'? That’s called being resourceful!"

"Fine, resourceful or full of tricks—it doesn't matter. I refuse to believe you don't have a good idea," Xie Wuji retorted.

Ji Liancheng looked around warily and lowered his voice: "Actually, there is a way, but right now the representatives of the Ten Great Sects are all waiting to watch a show. If this continues, the rankings will remain unchanged. Do you see the bald guy in the distance?"

Xie Wuji looked over and saw that within the ranks of the Jixian Sect, there was indeed a bald man holding a folding fan. He wore a smile that looked insufferably smug. Xie Wuji didn't care for the man’s appearance; it was too polished, bordering on arrogant and frivolous.

"That man is the 'Scholar' of the Jixian Sect’s 'Scholar and Warrior' duo. His strategic mind is not inferior to mine. Just as our Danxia Sect has the duo of Senior Brother Baili and Senior Brother Dongmen, they have their own, and the 'Scholar' is the one behind this strategy. For the Jixian Sect, as long as no one climbs the tower, the rankings won't change."

"That may be a clever plan, but it's too underhanded. Doesn't this defeat the original purpose of the other sects' rankings? Everyone came here to help their sect reach new heights, and he’s purely obstructing everyone's path!" Xie Wuji exclaimed.

Ji Liancheng replied, "So... if we want to sabotage them, it’s not impossible, but it must be done flawlessly, without leaving a trace..."

"Senior Brother, you mean..."

"This place is called the Dragon Cave Forest because there is a dragon’s den within. That den happens to be home to quite a few demonic beasts. If we were to lure those beasts over, wouldn't that... Hey, where did he go?" Ji Liancheng looked up, only to find that Xie Wuji had already vanished.

Ji Liancheng shouted in panic, "I haven't finished! That dragon cave is filled with fierce and brutal Armored Earth Dragons!"

Xie Wuji had already ascended a nearby tree. He moistened his finger in his mouth and held it up to the air. Feeling the breeze, he noted, "Perfect. The wind is blowing from north to south, starting from the Heavenly Tower. It should carry things right into the southern forest. I just hope my medicine is enough."

He pulled out the ring given to him by Ximen and probed its contents, discovering ten massive vats of powder with a note pressed on top.

"Brother Xie, this is a new drug I developed based on my 'Spring Breeze Eighteen Degrees,' called 'Spring Breeze Nineteen Degrees'... The biggest flaw of the former was that it required the coordination of both pills and powder. This one is different; it’s just a powder. Any person or beast that smells it will immediately enter a state of heat. Regardless of gender, they will rush toward the largest, thickest rod-like object they can find!"

Xie Wuji gasped and cursed under his breath. He thought to himself that Ximen was truly a genius at alchemy, having developed such bizarre concoctions in such a short time.

Standing in the canopy, Xie Wuji surveyed the entire scene. To the north of the forest lay the Heavenly Tower, separated only by a large lake. Its grandeur was clear; the tower stood as tall as the Burj Khalifa but with a smaller footprint, resembling a giant, golden cudgel standing between heaven and earth. Its surface was covered in intricate patterns and inscriptions, its pure white exterior radiating a sanctity that commanded reverence. Legend had it that the tower was built by the founder of the Jixian Sect and held an ancient, unparalleled secret, yet for thousands of years, no one had been able to decipher it. Eventually, the rumors faded, and the secret became nothing more than idle gossip that few believed. Still, the Heavenly Tower remained a landmark of the Li Kingdom, much like the Great Wall in China or the Eiffel Tower in France.

To the south of the canopy stretched an endless forest. Xie Wuji had been traveling for two days and two nights; given his pace, the forest was at least three hundred kilometers wide—a terrifying expanse.

Xie Wuji wasn't entirely sure how effective his "Spring Breeze Nineteen Degrees" would be, but he had no choice. He couldn't allow the Jixian Sect to stall everyone and prevent the rankings from shifting. After all, this was his master Dongmen Yong’s dream—to see the Danxia Sect grow stronger.

As a gust of wind swept through, Xie Wuji gritted his teeth and brought out all the powder Ximen had given him.

"Go!" Xie Wuji tossed the powder into the air. It drifted like a blizzard, carried by the wind toward the distance.

"Go! Hurry up and go!" Xie Wuji continued to scatter the powder with the gravity of someone performing a solemn ritual. All ten jars were emptied, the powder permeating every corner of the forest. Within moments, almost the entire Dragon Cave Forest was blanketed.

From the massive Silver-backed Apes down to the smallest insects, every creature felt an involuntary tremor as they inhaled the powder. Their eyes turned a deep crimson. Almost simultaneously, they all looked up, locking their gaze onto the Heavenly Tower—the towering, rod-like structure in the distance—and stared, transfixed.

Suddenly, the beasts began to roar. Some sounds were deep and powerful, others shrill and piercing. The entire Dragon Cave Forest erupted in chaos.

By the lake, several disciples frowned. "What is going on? What is that noise?"

"Who knows? It's none of our business. Let's just wait."

The roars echoed incessantly over the forest, causing Ji Liancheng’s expression to darken. "I have a bad feeling about this. That brat Xie Wuji always manages to spring such sudden surprises..."

"And surprises that leave one utterly speechless," added Yang Hongliu.

Suddenly, a rat dashed out of the forest, shrieking at a nearby disciple. The squeaking made the others laugh. A Jixian Sect disciple jeered, "Look, a rat is baring its teeth at us. It’s courting death!"

He drew his sword, intending to slay the creature, when he suddenly noticed pairs of glowing red eyes emerging from the depths of the forest. A massive horde of beasts and demonic creatures charged out, their eyes bloodshot and their fur bristling. They were ferocious and clearly driven by madness.

The disciples stood stunned, their jaws dropping as the beasts swarmed toward the lake. It wasn't just the beasts; even the death-row prisoners hiding in the forest emerged, charging wildly, drooling and acting as if they had lost their minds.

The ground began to tremble, and the surface of the lake rippled as if from a massive earthquake. The color drained from everyone’s faces.

A female disciple from the Red Dust Valley stammered, "Um... members of the Jixian Sect, shouldn't we... do something?"

The "Scholar" from the Jixian Sect swallowed hard. He saw a tiger charging toward him, and most jarring of all, the massive, dark protrusion beneath the tiger's belly was a shocking sight to behold!

"Quick! Run to the Heavenly Tower for shelter! These beasts have gone mad!" the lead disciples of the Jixian Sect shrieked. But there was no time to fly their weapons; in a panic, they all dove into the lake. A chaotic swimming race had begun.