An Understated Dominance

Panic was instantly replaced by despair—and a twisted fervor! No way down, only up. Opportunity and survival both lay above! "Go up! Climb!" "Get out of here! I have to leave!" "Treasures! There are treasures on the mountain!" The crowd erupted into complete chaos, blindly surging toward any mountain path or cliff face that seemed to lead upward. But how could Buzhou Mountain be a forgiving place? Even relatively gentle areas concealed deadly dangers. "Ahhh—!" Screams soon rang out. Some stepped on loose rocks and plunged into bottomless ravines. Others stumbled into seemingly calm mist zones, instantly torn apart by hidden venomous insects or sha spirits. Still others, fighting over a path that looked passable, turned their blades on those beside them! Chaos, slaughter, death—all erupted instantly across this mid-mountain platform and surrounding areas forcibly packed with "trial participants"! "Form up! Defend!" Margaret com...

While the expedition teams of various powers struggled through different regions of Buzhou Mountain, fighting for opportunities and their lives, the massive and abrupt empty city at the mountain's base and the sprawling temporary camps surrounding it still held tens of thousands of people. There were some civilians who hadn't fully evacuated, personnel and supply lines left behind by various factions, independent cultivators and martial artists who had come upon hearing the news but hesitated to act, and core figures like Margaret and Dustin who commanded from the rear or watched developments unfold. No one had anticipated that Buzhou Mountain, this divine peak silent for three thousand years, had never limited its trials to those who actively chose to climb. At noon, a sudden change occurred. Without warning, countless intersecting golden patterns—intricate and profound to the extreme—blazed across the massive base of Buzhou Mountain. These patterns were like living veins, spr...