45: Chapter 45 Some people are crazy about it, some people lose their lives because of it.

The great hall shook, and the cyan-grey stone slabs on the ground suddenly lit up.

Streams of spiritual light surged out from the gaps between the stone slabs.

Those spiritual lights grew brighter and denser, eventually illuminating the entire great hall.

Everyone was startled by this sudden anomaly; they retreated one after another, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

Lu Jinghan's gaze sharpened. He reached out to press his hand on the hilt of his Jinghan Sword, shielding Zhou Tianchen, Qin Muchuan, and Su Fuguang behind him.

"Senior Brother, what is this?" Before Qin Muchuan could finish his sentence, the situation changed abruptly.

Those roaming spiritual lights suddenly split apart, transforming into dozens of tiny beams of light that shot precisely at everyone present.

The speed of the beams was astonishing; there was simply no time to dodge.

Lu Jinghan only felt a flash of white light before his eyes, and his body lost its weight, as if falling into an endless Void Realm.

The sensation of weightlessness lasted only for a moment.

When his feet touched the ground again, the scene before him had completely changed.

There was no great hall, no night-luminescent pearls, and no stone tablet inscribed with the trial rules.

All that remained was a desolate plain.

Not a blade of grass grew on the plain; the ground was made of dry, dark red soil, as if it had been soaked in blood and dried countless times.

The sky was grey, with no sun and no clouds, only a suffocating sense of oppression.

Lu Jinghan frowned deeply. He spread his Divine Sense, only to discover that he could not perceive any aura from Zhou Tianchen, Qin Muchuan, or Su Fuguang.

"We've been separated."

He whispered to himself, his heart sinking slightly.

Those beams of light from just now were likely part of the trial, pulling everyone into separate trial spaces.

Lu Jinghan took a deep breath and scanned his surroundings.

Since he was already inside, he could only move forward and find a way to pass the trial.

He stepped toward the depths of the plain, Jinghan Sword in hand, his spiritual power circulating slowly within his body, ready to deal with any sudden situation at any time.

After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a black dot suddenly appeared on the horizon ahead.

The black dot was growing larger, moving at an extremely fast speed.

Lu Jinghan stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed intently on the rapidly approaching black dot.

When the dot drew closer, he finally saw the appearance of the person approaching.

It was an old man in black robes, with a withered face and a hunched figure, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

But his eyes were astonishingly bright, staring fixedly at Lu Jinghan.

The old man held a pitch-black cane in his hand, with a dark red gemstone embedded at the top, inside which blood-red light faintly swirled.

He stopped three zhang away from Lu Jinghan, his gaze sweeping over him, and his mouth slowly spread into a chilling, hair-raising smile.

"Another one has arrived."

The old man's voice was hoarse and grating, like metal scraping against stone.

"Golden Core? No, it's Early Nascent Soul Stage. Not bad at all."

He paused, tapped his cane lightly on the ground, and the dark red gemstone suddenly lit up.

"Little child, I have guarded this first layer of the trial for so many years that I can no longer remember."

"The number of Geniuses who have died at my hands is at least eight hundred, if not a thousand."

"You juniors always think you are chosen by fate, always thinking you can make it through."

The old man laughed with a sinister, cackling sound, the light in his eyes growing increasingly intense.

"And the result? Aren't you still just another soul lost beneath my cane?"

Lu Jinghan looked at the old man expressionlessly, neither speaking nor retreating even half a step.

Seeing him unmoved, the old man frowned slightly.

"You're quite composed."

"However, being composed alone is useless."

He raised his cane and pointed it from afar at Lu Jinghan.

"Let me see what you are capable of!"

Before the words had even faded, the old man's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.

Lu Jinghan's pupils constricted, and he shot away like lightning, barely dodging a black beam of light that slashed out from the Void Realm.

The black light landed on the ground, splitting the dark red soil into a crack a zhang long, with black mist rising from its edges.

"Not bad reactions."

The old man's voice came from all directions, making it impossible to tell where he was.

"Try again!"

Lu Jinghan closed his eyes, no longer relying on his vision.

He unleashed his Divine Sense to its full extent, reflecting everything around him in his mind.

— —

Purple Bamboo Forest, in the deepest part.

In that simple bamboo house, Immortal Zizhu scanned the Secret Realm with his Divine Sense, ultimately resting his gaze on that massive black tower that pierced the clouds.

"Nine Heavens Tower!"

Immortal Zizhu spoke in a low voice, his hoarse tone filled with a touch of reminiscence and emotion.

"I didn't expect this tower to return."

He sat on the stone bench in front of the bamboo house, clutching that purple bamboo leaf he had toyed with for untold years, his gaze distant and deep, as if looking at something far away.

"Nine Heavens Tower, one of the supreme treasures of the Xuanhuang World, infinitely profound and unfathomably mysterious."

"It belongs to no faction and is controlled by no one; it only manifests itself in various places throughout the Xuanhuang World by sheer chance."

Immortal Zizhu muttered to himself, his tone complex.

"Some go mad for it, some die because of it, and some use it to ascend to the heavens in a single step."

"It has already come to my Dao arena three times."

He looked up slightly toward that grey sky, as if looking at something only he could see.

He shook his head, his tone carrying a faint trace of pity.

"The path of Cultivation is paved with bones. Those who die along the way are the majority."

Immortal Zizhu remained silent for a long time, his gaze fixed on the massive black tower.

"I wonder what will happen this time."

He whispered to himself, a flash of anticipation appearing in his murky eyes.

"Those four Disciples of that Fellow Daoist in white have all gone in, right?"

"And those few promising lads, I wonder which floor they can reach?"

Immortal Zizhu withdrew his gaze, his lingering soul slowly quieting down within the bamboo house, with only that aged voice still echoing in the Void Realm.

"Nine Heavens Tower, Yunding Heavenly Palace."

"If someone can ascend to the ninth floor, perhaps they might be able to draw out that legendary Secret Realm."

Outside the Purple Bamboo Forest, on the plain.

Inside the spirit boat of the Zhouwu Dynasty, Jiang Changge was reclining on a soft couch, holding a spirit fruit and nibbling on it intermittently.

Lin Yanzhou sat cross-legged beside him, eyes closed as he Cultivated, his small face full of seriousness.

He had been Cultivating the Minimalist Cultivation Method for several months; although he had yet to enter the Qi Refinement Stage, his body was clearly much stronger than before.

His blood and Qi were full, his Meridians were clear, and there were faint signs of spiritual power fluctuations in his Dantian.

He was only one step away from truly entering the Qi Refining stage.

Jiang Changge finished the last bite of the spirit fruit, casually tossed the core into the jade plate beside him, and fixed his gaze on Lin Yanzhou.

"The path of Cultivation lies in persistence, not in quick success."

He spoke, his voice plain yet carrying a touch of gentleness.

"You have only been Cultivating for a few months; to have achieved such progress today is already not easy. There is no need to rush for success; just let nature take its course."

Lin Yanzhou opened his eyes and nodded respectfully: "This Disciple understands."