Chapter 1045: Draw

When Qin Lian and Zhang Chengfeng were blasted out of the black iron pagoda, countless gazes in the surrounding world turned to astonishment. No one had expected such a result.

Qin Lian was ranked sixth on the Heavenly Sun List, and her Genesis Qi foundation far surpassed Zhang Chengfeng's. Under normal circumstances, Qin Lian should have been guaranteed a win in this round!

Yet, with both of them ejected from the pagoda, it was clearly a draw!

This outcome was undoubtedly most favorable to the Five Great Alliances. After all, turning a guaranteed loss into a draw was a significant gain by any measure.

A torrent of whispers erupted, and some observers grew more intrigued. They had initially believed the Heavenly Abyss Territory would secure a straightforward victory in this artifact contest, but the current turn of events suggested there would be some complications.

No one accused the Five Great Alliances of foul play, because the iron pagoda was erected by Grand Exalt Cang Yuan and possessed its own detection capabilities. The fact that the Five Great Alliances managed to smuggle in those strange runes indicated they had bypassed the Grand Exalt's detection.

Those who thought more deeply understood that this was a gamble between two Grand Exalts.

Grand Exalt Cang Yuan intended to use this iron pagoda to restrict the Five Great Alliances, but Grand Exalt Wan Zu was no pushover. Although he had entered Grand Exalt Cang Yuan's domain, he clearly had no intention of fully adhering to the rules set by the latter.

Amidst the pervasive whispers, the Heavenly Abyss Territory remained silent.

They clearly found this result difficult to accept.

"How despicable!" Mu Youlan gritted her teeth.

Zhou Yuan's expression was also grim, but he refrained from speaking such useless words, as they held no meaning.

Although fury surged in the eyes of Xi Jing, Sect Master Xuan Kun, and others, they said nothing, clearly understanding the situation.

Qin Lian returned, her beautiful face icy cold, radiating a chilling aura. She was the one feeling the most aggrieved at this moment; victory had been within her grasp, yet she had been forcibly pushed into a draw by her opponent. The suffocating frustration was almost impossible to quell.

Mu Youlan hurried to meet her, offering quiet words of comfort.

Qin Lian remained silent, but her tightly clenched fists betrayed her inner turmoil.

Zhou Yuan found it difficult to say anything to her at this moment and could only wait for her to calm her anger.

Xi Jing, Sect Master Xuan Kun, and the other five elders exchanged glances, then turned their attention to Bai Yu. "You will enter the second round," Xi Jing said.

In the Heavenly Abyss Territory, Bai Yu's strength was second only to Qin Lian's. His Genesis Qi foundation reached around 1.9 billion, similar to Zhang Chengfeng's. However, Zhang Chengfeng was the strongest among the Heavenly Sun stage experts on the opposing side. Now that Qin Lian and Zhang Chengfeng had effectively cancelled each other out, Bai Yu's participation also gave them a high chance of victory.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Xi Jing, whose expression was somewhat heavy. He wondered if the opponents still possessed those strange runes, which even Law Domain experts couldn't produce. It seemed only Grand Exalt Wan Zu could be behind them.

"That old dog!"

Zhou Yuan couldn't help but curse inwardly. For a Grand Exalt to resort to such unscrupulous methods, completely disregarding his status, truly showed a desire to utterly destroy the Heavenly Abyss Territory.

Everything the opponent did was to force Master Cang Yuan to appear.

Zhou Yuan's pupils suddenly constricted. From the information he now possessed, the deeper reason why Grand Exalt Wan Zu wanted to force Master Cang Yuan to appear was likely because of Yaoyao.

What was Yaoyao's true identity? Why did she cause such intense scheming among the powerful figures of Hunyuan Heaven?

Zhou Yuan's face was extremely somber. Regardless of Yaoyao's true identity, he would absolutely not allow her to fall into Grand Exalt Wan Zu's hands. At least with Cang Yuan, Zhou Yuan could trust him, and Cang Yuan and Yaoyao's relationship was like family, so Zhou Yuan had no need to fear Cang Yuan harming her.

But Grand Exalt Wan Zu was another matter entirely.

"Old dog, you dared to plot against Yaoyao! The day I become a Saint, I will surely lop off your dog's head!" Zhou Yuan swore fiercely, setting a small goal for himself.

However, before achieving that goal, the immediate problem had to be resolved. If the artifact truly fell into Grand Exalt Wan Zu's hands, he might threaten to destroy the Heavenly Abyss Grotto-heaven, which could potentially force Master Cang Yuan to appear.

As Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered, Bai Yu's figure shot out under the gaze of countless onlookers.

From the Five Great Alliances, another figure darted forth. It was Chen Le from the Dragon Gu Palace, whose Genesis Qi foundation was reportedly around 1.8 billion, making him second only to Zhang Chengfeng.

Neither wasted any words; they simply shot into the black iron pagoda.

It was still the same azure jade battle platform, but this time, the contenders were Bai Yu and Chen Le.

Bai Yu stared at Chen Le with a stern expression. Even though he was stronger than his opponent, Qin Lian's prior experience made him appear even more cautious than Chen Le.

Of course, he wasn't the only one; countless eyes outside were also fixated on Chen Le.

They all wanted to confirm one thing.

Chen Le, now the center of attention, wore a wide grin. Observing Bai Yu's cautious demeanor, he chuckled, "Bai Yu, you're a renowned figure on the list. Is it really necessary to be so wary of a minor character like me?"

His words were full of mockery.

Bai Yu sneered, "If it were a real fight, wouldn't it be easy to deal with a good-for-nothing like you?"

"Then come on," Chen Le said, still grinning.

Bai Yu, however, did not immediately make a move. Instead, his gaze meticulously swept over Chen Le.

Upon seeing this, Chen Le feigned realization. "Ah, so you're afraid of *that* thing..."

He shook his head. "You have no idea how much suffering it takes to hide that thing within one's flesh. I saw Zhang Chengfeng wail in agony for three days and three nights before this. I don't want to endure that torment."

Hearing this, Bai Yu's heart immediately lightened.

However, before a smile could fully bloom on his lips, Chen Le, across from him, sighed softly. "But what can I do if I don't want to? We are merely pawns, so..."

The smile on Chen Le's face suddenly turned twisted and morbid.

"Hahahaha! So you fool, you guessed correctly! I also have *that thing* in me!"

"All of us have *that thing*!"

With a sinister grin, he extended a finger and violently slashed across his chest. Flesh instantly tore open, and as blood welled up, the strange rune slowly crawled out from within, like a worm.

The rune emerged from his flesh, stained with blood, and rapidly condensed, eventually forming a glowing runic orb radiating terrifying power.

Outside, an uproar of immense proportions erupted.

All five combatants from the Five Great Alliances possessed this item within their bodies. Did this not mean that in this artifact contest, the Five Great Alliances were, at the very least, already in an unbeatable position?

On the Heavenly Abyss Territory's side, everyone's faces were ashen, and the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

Even the five elders, though silent, could be felt by anyone nearby as the void around them trembled.

However, even as Law Domain experts, they found it difficult to intervene in such a high-stakes gamble between Grand Exalts; they could only watch helplessly.

At that very instant, a terrifying power erupted once more within the black iron pagoda. Immediately, two figures were violently ejected, both grievously wounded with torn flesh and blood gushing forth.

It was Bai Yu and Chen Le.

This second round also ended in a draw!