As Qin Ruqing and Song Xinwu discussed their plans to head to the location of the Golden Core demon beasts, Fang Zhiming had already collected the jade slips from two more family participants.

At this point, only ten people remained in the fragmented space.

These ten would compete over the next two days for the top seven spots to secure their place in the Ruins.

Fang Zhiming put away the jade slips and suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation.

His eyes flickered, and his lips parted slightly, but no sound was made.

He used a transmission method to communicate.

Fang Zhiming said, “Sixth Elder.”

A barely noticeable smirk appeared on his lips.

The clan had indeed sent a Golden Core elder to deal with Qin Ruqing, which showed they thought highly of her.

The voice from the shadows did not reveal itself but asked, “Where is she?”

Fang Zhiming, casually walking forward, replied, “The elder arrived too late. If you had come a day earlier, there would have been a chance to lure her out. Now, as we enter the final stage, even high-level demon beasts are avoiding appearances, making it difficult to draw her out.”

A few days ago, Qin Ruqing’s substitute service had been widely talked about, and it would have been easy to trick her into showing up back then with a false message.

Now, with the competition in its later stages, the remaining participants were all vying for the top seven spots.

Attempting to find her now without a convincing reason would only alert her and make her suspicious.

The voice from the shadows was silent for a moment and then sighed in frustration.

“This fragmented space is controlled by the Celestial Family. It’s difficult to enter. I had already learned the coordinates for three spatial rifts, but the fifth family suddenly became paranoid, and the surveillance tightened.

They even found and sealed two of the rifts early. I had to use the hardest-to-find rift, expending a lot of effort and almost getting discovered by the fifth family.”

Fang Zhiming remained silent.

It was indeed difficult to infiltrate the Celestial’ territory, and encountering unexpected problems was normal.

It was just bad luck for the Fang family.

A Golden Core elder was still capable, and soon calmed down, thinking for a moment and saying, “There are still two days left; it’s not too late. The range of the White Tower’s safety gas is shrinking, so there will be opportunities to encounter her. Also, when I arrived, I sensed the presence of a Golden Core Realm demon beast nearby. It should be the highest-level demon beast in this space. If we stay near the demon beast, we don’t need to worry about her not appearing.”

Fang Zhiming nodded in agreement.

If there was indeed a Golden Core Realm demon beast, it would certainly attract her.

Although Fang Zhiming disliked Qin Ruqing, he had to admit that she was both powerful and daring.

Hearing about a Golden Core Realm demon beast, she would definitely be eager to seek it out rather than retreating.

Staying near the demon beast was indeed likely to make Qin Ruqing appear.

If not, spreading the news about the Golden Core demon beast would be enough to lure her in.

When they reached the territory of the Golden Core demon beasts, they searched the area but did not find Qin Ruqing.

Elder Fang said, “Spread the news.”

It was clear he was thinking along the same lines as Fang Zhiming.

However, Fang Zhiming hesitated. “If we do that, other family participants might be drawn in as well. With so many people, it might be difficult to act.”

The elder replied, “It’s better if things are chaotic. When it gets messy, I can take the chance to secretly kill her and blame it on the Condensation Realm demon beasts.”

He added casually, “It will be an easy kill.”

Indeed, for a powerful Golden Core elder, killing a younger participant who hadn’t even reached the Golden Core stage was a simple task. So, the chaos didn’t matter much.

With the plan set, they just had to wait for the opportunity.

Ming Ying, being closest to the White Tower, was the first to hear the news.

At that moment, she had just sent off another participant and collected their jade slip.

Now, only nine people remained in the space.

“A Golden Core demon beast?” Ming Ying, usually seen in green clothing, hid delicately among the branches.

From a distance, it was hard to notice she was there.

This was Ming Ying’s strategy.

In the second round of the competition, she focused on “stability.”

The flashy actions and competitive spirit had been completed in the first round; now, she just needed to maintain her ranking.

As soon as she entered the space, she headed straight for the White Tower and killed many demon beasts in the central area.

If any unlucky participants crossed her path, she didn’t hesitate to take their jade slips.

As a result, Ming Ying had a good score.

Unless something unexpected happened, her spot in the top seven seemed secure.

“The space actually has Golden Core Realm demon beasts!” Ming Ying was surprised and momentarily restless.

Golden Core Realm demon beasts could drastically affect the rankings.

If they were killed, it might cause a big spike in points and push her down.

However, Ming Ying quickly calmed herself and murmured:

“The news has spread. If I know about it, others will know too. Qin Ruqing is already bloodthirsty; Dan Qing is unpredictable, especially since sword cultivators aren’t known for their stability; and the monk isn’t a real monk, so he’s likely to go as well…”

The beautiful contestant furrowed her brows.

With a Golden Core demon beast and several unpredictable individuals, the situation would be chaotic.

“Going there doesn’t guarantee success and could even lead to failure.”

The beautiful contestant followed two principles:

1. Beauty is the greatest asset.
2. Stay away from trouble to maintain a safe position.

The green figure leaped among the branches, moving away from the direction of the Golden Core demon beast.

“My score is safe enough. I can always work harder to kill more demon beasts if necessary. There’s no need to get involved in this situation.”

In the east, Dan Qing was on the edge of the miasma, decapitating a demon beast with his sword.

He didn’t have specific standards like Qin Ruqing, who only targeted high-level demon beasts.

Dan Qing killed whatever came his way and kept moving, even dealing with any unlucky contestants who crossed his path.

Dan Qing knew about the Golden Core Realm demon beast and decided to act on it.

His sword spun with a flourish, and after using a cleaning spell to remove the blood, he sheathed it neatly.

“You’ll definitely be going to that, right? Perfect, I’ll challenge you!”

Dan Qing turned decisively and raced towards the direction of the demon beast.

---

At the same time, a golden light shot towards the same direction—it was the Buddha’s Child.

The Buddha’s Child was relaxed about rankings and focused on spreading teachings.

Where there were more people, he went there.

Upon hearing about the Golden Core Realm demon beast, he knew it was a divine sign and could not be ignored.

---

Xiao Fenhua also heard the news.

Her first reaction was to calculate and then her face grew anxious: “How many people are left?”

For the lower-ranked contestants, it was more about securing the seventh position than aiming for a higher rank.

Surviving to seventh place meant victory!

So, “Such a high-level battle has nothing to do with me. I’d get nothing from it and might even be used as cannon fodder.”

“Of course, my luck is good, but rather than hoping to find a chance in such a chaotic situation, it’s better to stay safely in the dense forest. I might find a seriously injured Golden Core Formation demon beast and finish it off. That way, my ranking will be secure.”

Xiao Fenhua’s mumbling was quite fanciful and typical of someone daydreaming.

Yet, she spoke with such seriousness, clearly believing that the chance of finding something in the dense forest was greater than in a chaotic battle.

This was the typical mentality of someone with exceptional luck!

Qin Ruqing and Qi Rong finally found the Golden Core demon beast’s lair that Song Xinwu had mentioned.

The demon beast was even visible to the naked eye, as it was “lying” outside.

Qin Ruqing was silent for a moment and then said, “Uh, is that demon beast a tree?”

There was only one massive, thick ancient tree among many old trees.

It looked average in size compared to the others, so it wasn’t noticeable from afar.

It wasn’t until they got closer that Qin Ruqing realized the tree was astonishingly thick.

She felt that even ten adults with their arms outstretched might not be able to encircle it.

Song Xinwu, who was with them, said, “The reason I dared to tell you about this is because this is a rare plant-type demon beast. Plant-type demon beasts are usually lazy and gentle. As long as you don’t provoke it too much, it won’t attack you.”

“No wonder,” Qin Ruqing said mysteriously, looking up.

The sky was covered by the tree canopy extending from the tree demon.

The canopy didn’t grow upwards but spread out sideways, like a flat lid on top of its head, with many vines hanging down.

Qin Ruqing thought the sheer volume of the canopy was impressive.

“‘No wonder’ what?” Song Xinwu didn’t understand.

“No wonder such a high-level demon beast can appear in this space. It must be because of its gentle nature that the officials allow its presence,” Qin Ruqing casually said.

What she really meant was that the tree demon had such an impressive canopy because it rarely got angry and maintained a calm demeanor.

Song Xinwu agreed, saying, “Even though its nature is good, it’s still a real Golden Core demon. You should think carefully before taking action, Miss Qin.”

Qin Ruqing smiled and said, “Oh yes, I’ll definitely think it over.”

But before finishing her sentence, she acted swiftly, sending a burst of fire towards a certain direction on the tree.

Song Xinwu was caught off guard by her sudden move, his eyes nearly popping out in shock.

He was terrified that he might have disturbed the Golden Core demon.

Without hesitation, he summoned his flying device, activated two speed talismans on himself, and fled.

After running a distance, he realized something was off.

Looking up, he saw that the canopy remained calm and unchanged.

Was Miss Qin just testing it and didn’t intend to alert the demon beast? Qi Rong called out, “Brother Song, why are you running?”

Song Xinwu turned around and saw that the spot where Qin Ruqing had attacked was now revealing a figure.

It was Fang Zhiming.

It turned out that Miss Qin was not attacking the demon beast but was targeting someone hidden in the canopy!

Song Xinwu, feeling a bit embarrassed, noticed his face turning red.

It seemed like he had run too fast.

Feeling awkward, he shuffled back to Qin Ruqing’s side.

Qin Ruqing, keeping an eye on Fang Zhiming in the treetops, smiled at Song Xinwu and said, “Brother Song, you ran really fast just now!”

Song Xinwu’s cheeks reddened even more.

Fang Zhiming was displeased with Qin Ruqing’s distraction during their fight and swung a fierce sword attack, only to have it blocked by a golden, smoky flame.

Qin Ruqing, holding the flame in her palm, looked at Fang Zhiming with undisguised contempt and said, “A petty and despicable person.”

Fang Zhiming’s face darkened, and he attacked Qin Ruqing with all his might.

Each strike was a deadly move, but Qin Ruqing used her fire as a blade, handling it with apparent ease.

Song Xinwu hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

The two started fighting fiercely after just a few words.

Even if they were competing for the jade slips, it didn’t seem to warrant such danger.

Did the two families have a grudge?

Although the Song family controlled public opinion and information, Song Xinwu was different.

He was simple and peaceful, with little interest in gossip.

In the gossip-loving Song family, he was almost an anomaly.

Therefore, he was still unaware of the grudge between the Qin and Fang families.

After watching carefully for a while, Song Xinwu noticed the difference in strength between the two.

He couldn’t gauge the depth of Qin Ruqing’s abilities, but he could see she was calm and relaxed.

She only defended and counterattacked when Fang Zhiming showed signs of retreat.

This only made Fang Zhiming angrier, and he fought harder.

It seemed like Qin Ruqing was toying with Fang Zhiming, like a cat playing with a mouse!

Fang Zhiming realized this too.

Though he hated Qin Ruqing, he knew he was outmatched and didn’t want to be humiliated further.

Just as he was about to stop, he heard a voice in his head:

“Perfect, use this chance to distract her! As long as we can stay out of the Song family’s sight!”

Fang Zhiming’s eyes flashed, and his previously weakened attacks became fierce again.

He even shouted angrily, “You’re going too far!”

He even declared, “Today, we must fight to the death!”

Song Xinwu was shocked and confused.

What had started as a playful fight was turning into a deadly battle.

But Qin Ruqing seemed to be provoked.

Her attacks became more aggressive, pushing Fang Zhiming back and making him retreat further and further.

Fang Zhiming, looking increasingly desperate and injured, had a wild look in his eyes.

The elder had already hinted that if he could just move a little more to the side, the elder would make his move.

Just then, a new voice suddenly interrupted.

“Hmm, are the two of you sparring? This area is still within the canopy range of the Condensation Realm demon beast. Such intense fighting could easily alert the demon. It’s better to keep your distance!” The bright and radiant Buddhist monk appeared with a special effect halo.

He clasped his hands together and said, “Amitabha,” offering his kind advice.

Fang Zhiming was almost about to spit blood.

I know to keep my distance, but what business does this damn monk have interfering?