Chapter 1001: Chapter 524: Smooth Entry into South Mountain (2) "It’s them." "So... they’ve joined forces?" As soon as the words were out, everyone’s hearts leapt to their throats. Gu Sheng sighed but still nodded. "From their conversation, they seem to have formed an alliance. If there’s nothing to fear, in just two hours, we can ascend the fighting platform. As long as we come down alive from the platform and enter South Mountain, they won’t be able to do anything." Looking around, Gu Sheng said, "This truly is a perfect spot. They must have been searching for us all night last night and passed by here without finding us. It seems we’ve chosen the right place." Only then did everyone realize that danger had already brushed past them. "Brother Sheng, let’s wait here for another hour." "Hmm, everyone rest and recover your strength for an hour. We’ll show ourselves then." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶 Everyone nodded and followed his instructions obediently. An hour later, the noise outside gradually increased, and Gu Sheng finally led the Stone Village people out into the open. This time, they didn’t opt for the outskirts but stood directly in the center of the crowd. At this moment, everyone was gathered here. Without a banner, they didn’t stand out at all. Soon, there was commotion at the mountain’s base, a purple light flickered slightly, and a door opened. Those at the front rushed in, and Gu Sheng and his group moved forward with the crowd. Once half the people had entered, the fighting platform began to rise. The first to enter quickly got onto the platform, and the purple light immediately enveloped them. Beams of light rose one after another, some people safely left the platform, while others lost half their life onstage, unable to enter South Mountain. Seeing the miserable state of those people, many below the platform were affected. Some rushed in with the fastest speed but lost their courage to get onstage and began retreating step by step. Seeing them retreat, Gu Sheng led his people forward. At this time, he hadn’t seen the people from Heisha Sect or Purple Mist Peak. If they could enter South Mountain first, there was a greater chance to shake them off. Reaching below the platform, Gu Sheng turned to several people. "Does everyone have confidence?" Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in unison. "Brother Sheng, we have confidence!" Gu Sheng replied with a sound and led everyone onto the stage. As soon as they went onstage, the noise below became noticeably louder than before. "Which sect are they from? How come they don’t even have a banner?" "I don’t know, I’ve never seen the people onstage before. Aren’t they from some evil sect?" "It’s possible. Otherwise, how could I have never seen such a sect on Jianghu, where I’ve roamed for years?" Amidst the discussion, Gu Sheng and his people were tightly enshrouded in purple light. Everyone stood together, holding onto each other in a circle, releasing all their Divine Power at this moment to withstand the future’s strong light. Soon, the purple light’s attack power grew stronger and stronger. Gu Sheng and the others used all their Divine Power to resist, but they still received no small amount of attack. In a moment of panic, Gu Sheng summoned the small tripod, waved his finger, and the tripod covered everyone from above. With the small tripod’s protection, the external light was partially blocked, and the harm falling on them was reduced. Everyone held onto each other’s hands tightly, doing their utmost to resist. Unknown how much time passed, cold sweat began to fall from their foreheads, their bodies gradually lost strength, and even their held hands began to relax slightly. Sensing the state of everyone, Gu Sheng shouted loudly, "Don’t let go, hold on! Release your Qi of Dantian!" Knowing he was making a desperate bet, everyone clenched their molars and released all their Qi of Dantian. In an instant, a red light flashed within the purple light, exploding it entirely! At this moment, everyone only felt all the pressure disappear from their bodies, and the pain from the outside world suddenly diminished. In their confusion, Gu Sheng was the first to react—they could enter South Mountain now! "Everyone, follow me!" With that, Gu Sheng used Divine Power to pull everyone, directly stepping off the stage. As they descended, everyone’s eyes were still fixed on them. "What kind of evil sect is this? How can they possess such power to explode the purple light?!" "So many sects went up the stage, but it seems only they won the easiest. Something’s not right!" "If they manage to enter South Mountain, everyone must be cautious of them. Stay far away from them to avoid getting our Divine Power absorbed." "Right, right, it’s best to stay away from such evil practices. Otherwise, if they truly possess some Evil Skill and absorb our Divine Power, our years of cultivation will be wasted." Unbeknownst to them, Gu Sheng and his people had already been labeled as an evil sect, while they themselves remained unaware. Finally entering South Mountain, Gu Sheng led everyone to sprint all the way to shake off those sects. After running for a long distance, he directly chose the most difficult path, leading everyone to hide in a grove. Seeing everyone with pale faces and in a bad state, Gu Sheng took out a red potion bottle from Black Xia Sect, crushed a pill into powder, and distributed it bit by bit to everyone. "The potion is excellent; take it and your strength will recover quickly." Hearing this, everyone hastily swallowed the powder in hand. Soon, changes occurred within their bodies. Everyone meditated on the spot, using the pill’s power to recover their Divine Power. In just an hour, their strength had returned to its peak state. "Brother Sheng, this pill is amazing! It seems the Heisha Sect has some skills." "I didn’t expect them to have such a remarkable pill, but its aura is unclear and may not necessarily be from Heisha Sect." "Never mind where it came from, it’s ours now anyway." Shi Lou said that, and everyone couldn’t help but smile. Gu Sheng smiled and looked towards the mountain top. "It’s said that the Spiritual Pearl is only at the mountain top, nurtured by the essence of the sun and moon. The major sects are entering; we must hurry." Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly got up. As Gu Sheng mentioned, not many sects had entered South Mountain yet, and even fewer chose this thorny path. Along the way, they only encountered one unfamiliar sect, and both sides acted as if they hadn’t seen each other, just passing by. Reaching a crossroads again, Gu Sheng found himself in a bit of a dilemma. Both paths were easy to walk and had similar distances to the mountain. As he hesitated, Huang Shan pointed to the left. "Brother Sheng, let’s go this way." Glancing at him, Gu Sheng nodded. "Alright." He knew why Huang Shan chose this path and understood it was the right choice, so he didn’t say more. Finally entering South Mountain, everyone began climbing upwards. Before long, Gu Sheng faintly heard the roars of beasts. "There are beasts, not too far from us." Hearing this, Shi Lou and the others nervously swallowed. "Brother Sheng, the beasts won’t come over, will they?" "I also..." Before Gu Sheng could finish, a scream echoed from afar, mixed with youthful roars, instantly revealing the situation. "It seems the beasts won’t come over for now, but we must leave as quickly as possible." Everyone understood his meaning and immediately began to move. As evening approached, they finally found a platform to rest on. Just as they sat down, Gu Sheng sensed something amiss. "Everyone, get up quickly..." Before the words were out, a head poked out from the crevice behind them. Gu Sheng felt a chill down his back, turning to see and meeting eyes with the beast! "It’s the Four-Eyed Divine Beast, everyone get up quickly!" Gu Sheng’s loud shout made everyone quickly retreat. However, they were now on the mountain, having just climbed up and standing at the edge. After several steps back, they were right at the edge, and any wrong move might make them fall! "Brother Sheng, we have no retreat." Shi Lou’s words made Gu Sheng’s eyes change. "Since there’s no retreat, then let’s kill it." As soon as the words were out, the Four-Eyed Divine Beast seemed to sense the killing intent from them, letting out a roar and charging at them with all four hooves! The sound of the wind rose, filled with nothing but killing intent!