Chapter Seventy: The First Trial

“The trial consists of three stages, each allowing participants to choose their own difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the better the score. However, I advise cultivators at the Foundation Realm not to enter the seventh, eighth, or ninth stone gates—those levels are meant only for Core Formation Realm cultivators. There are no measures to preserve your life during the trial, meaning that once you enter, you may die at any moment. So choose your difficulty carefully. These are the important details to keep in mind,” Xue Tian explained thoroughly.

Hearing that they might die, everyone swallowed nervously, but the thought of the rewards ahead quickly overcame their caution and fear.

Once the participants understood the trial’s process, the nine stone gates slowly opened, revealing nine spatial teleportation passages. Presumably, these led to the first stage of the trial.

Xue Tian’s voice rang out again: “The first stage is the hunt for Blood Demon Souls. Each participant must kill fifty Blood Demon Souls to pass the first test and will be automatically teleported back to the plaza. Blood Demon Souls are soulless entities formed by the Blood Demon Clan’s secret arts. They react to the presence of flesh and blood, attacking any living being nearby. Now, choose your desired difficulty.”

Xu Changye asked Chen Mu, “Which gate will you challenge?”

Naturally, Chen Mu chose one of the gates meant for Core Formation Realm cultivators—the seventh, eighth, or ninth. He was cautious this time and replied, “I’ll start with the eighth gate for the first round.”

Xu Changye pondered a moment before nodding. He chose the ninth gate, and Yan Chong followed him into the same gate, vanishing from sight.

The four Nightshade brothers considered their options and picked the seventh gate. The other Nightshade members and disciples of the War Demon Hall chose either the sixth or fifth gates.

Chen Mu didn’t rush in; he first sought out disciples of the Azure Cloud Mountain Sect, asking after his elder brother, Chen Feng. The answer he received infuriated him.

Seeing there was no way to avoid him, the Azure Cloud Mountain Sect disciples finally disclosed Chen Feng’s whereabouts. After the Grand Summer Heroes Assembly, the Jadefall Dao Sect sent people to Azure Cloud Mountain to demand someone—Chen Feng, of course.

Unable to resist the Jadefall Dao Sect, the Azure Cloud Mountain Sect could only submit and let Chen Feng be taken away.

After imprisoning Chen Feng, the Jadefall Dao Sect spread rumors, hoping to draw out anyone connected to Chen Mu—such as the missing Chen Haoran. They’d previously thought they might catch the Wood Daoist in Starwatch Valley, so hadn’t paid attention to Chen Haoran’s whereabouts. Only after his disappearance did they realize there was no trace of the Wood Daoist in Starwatch Valley.

Thus, they hoped to use Chen Feng to lure out Chen Haoran, seeking a breakthrough through him.

After learning of his brother’s fate, Chen Mu did not blame the Azure Cloud Mountain Sect disciples. They had resisted but were simply not strong enough, forced to hand over Chen Feng in humiliation.

Now, Chen Mu approached the eighth spatial teleportation gate. Gritting his teeth, he entered, and a wave of dizziness swept over him as he was transported to the trial site.

Most who chose this gate were mid-stage Core Formation Realm cultivators, sharing Chen Mu’s logic: the seventh gate suited early-stage, the eighth for mid-stage, and the ninth for late-stage Core Formation. Therefore, nearly all mid-stage Core Formation cultivators selected the eighth gate.

The first stage of the trial was set within an underground cavern. Over forty people had been teleported in, indicating there were at least that many mid-stage Core Formation cultivators present.

Everyone glanced around, sizing up their surroundings and each other. Those unfamiliar with Chen Mu merely cast him a contemptuous look, dismissing him as a fool for choosing this gate with such meager cultivation—a death wish, they thought.

But those who knew Chen Mu’s true strength stayed far away; every encounter with him brought nothing but trouble.

Once everyone had arrived, Xue Tian announced loudly, “All participants are present. The trial begins!”

Suddenly, Blood Demon Souls seeped slowly from the ground, appearing like congealed blood. Sensing the presence of living flesh, they immediately launched attacks on the surrounding cultivators.

The trial participants began their hunt, but things did not go as expected.

The blood-like bodies of the Blood Demon Souls, upon contact with the besieging cultivators, instantly drained much of their vital energy, reducing them to dried husks and killing them outright.

Forget hunting—their ranged attacks merely dispersed the Blood Demon Souls, who quickly reformed. Close combat meant being sucked dry. How could anyone fight like this?

Realizing the dilemma, the cultivators began to suspect Xue Tian had intentionally omitted this crucial information. Watching their fellow disciples perish, each sect’s members mourned and fled in all directions, desperate to avoid the Blood Demon Souls.

Chen Mu did not rush to attack at first; his caution proved wise. Clearly, Xue Tian had deliberately concealed something important, seemingly relishing the prospect of more deaths.

Now he faced a headache: the Blood Demon Souls would simply reform after being dispersed. How could he complete the trial and escape?

Suddenly, he wondered whether the Blood Demon Souls were composed of vital energy and blood—and whether he could use the “Nine Tribulations of the Ancient Wilderness” to absorb them instead.

Acting on this thought, Chen Mu unleashed the “Fiendish Origin Sphere” he had recently learned in the Nine Nether Sacred Land. Two spheres of Yang energy imbued with fiendish power struck a Blood Demon Soul. Thanks to the Yang energy's ability to ward off evil, the Blood Demon Soul was quickly dispersed.

Chen Mu immediately stepped forward and activated the “Nine Tribulations of the Ancient Wilderness,” absorbing the rich vital energy. His cultivation visibly advanced.

What had been a mass of blood-colored soul now left behind only a smooth, crimson bead on the ground. Chen Mu picked it up, only to find it attempting to drain his vital energy. Alarmed, he crushed it immediately, after which the Blood Demon Soul no longer reformed.

Xue Tian, observing from behind the scenes, was surprised as he watched Chen Mu. He had thought this Foundation Realm youngster entering the eighth gate was courting death, and his original plan had been for a large portion of the participants to perish in the trial.

But Chen Mu had discovered the secret and weakness of the Blood Demon Soul—the blood core.

The blood core was the true essence of the Blood Demon Soul; its blood soul body was merely an intermediary used to absorb cultivators’ vital energy.

Many cultivators witnessed this and began to imitate Chen Mu, dispersing the Blood Demon Souls and searching for the blood core to destroy it.

But the process was not as smooth as Chen Mu’s. Fire and lightning attributes worked best, briefly suppressing the Blood Demon Soul’s body, but other attributes could not restrain the soul’s reformation, forcing repeated attacks to locate the blood core.

Chen Mu realized these soul entities resembled the Nether Ghosts he encountered in the Yellow Springs Secret Realm. Could the ghosts in the Yellow Springs Pool also be products of the Demon Clan? If so, perhaps the Yellow Springs Secret Realm was a relic left behind by the Demon Clan.

Chen Mu continued absorbing the Blood Demon Souls’ vital energy, strengthening his body cultivation. His hunt proceeded unexpectedly smoothly, and he quickly killed more than ten Blood Demon Souls.

As time passed, casualties mounted among the trial participants. Eventually, they learned to cooperate, joining forces against their foes. Though some were strangers or even enemies, survival forced them to put aside their differences to fight the Blood Demon Souls together.

After absorbing the vital energy of nearly forty Blood Demon Souls, Chen Mu’s body cultivation finally broke through to the mid-stage of the Forged Body Realm. Now, even without activating the “Flood Dragon Scale Feather Robe,” his defense could withstand attacks from mid-stage Core Formation cultivators without harm. If he activated that divine ability, he could even clash head-on with late-stage Core Formation cultivators.

Soon, Chen Mu completed his hunt of fifty Blood Demon Souls. As he passed the trial, Xue Tian announced loudly, “Congratulations! Someone from the eighth gate has passed the first stage of the trial!”

Everyone was astonished—someone had succeeded? Wasn’t this trial impossibly difficult? Some had suspected Xue Tian was setting a trap to wipe them out, but now, someone had truly completed the trial.

Chen Mu was teleported out and received his first reward: a demonic artifact called the Soul Suppression Tower. Once activated, it could subdue an enemy’s soul, preventing them from controlling their body, and refine their soul into pure spiritual energy, which could be absorbed to enhance one’s own soul and consciousness.

After examining the Soul Suppression Tower, Chen Mu refined it with sword energy and stored it in his ring.

Despite his reward, Chen Mu was still anxious about Xu Changye, Yan Chong, and the other Nine Nether Sacred Land members, though he could do nothing but worry.

Time passed, and at last, others emerged from the trial site, wild with joy upon receiving their rewards.

Previously, they had suspected Xue Tian of deceiving them, plotting to annihilate them all. But when they completed the trial and received their reward, all doubts vanished.

They did not know, however, that the array spirit Xue Tian did indeed wish to destroy them; only the rules required him to grant rewards upon completion of the task, so he could not prevent it.

The ninth gate was the hardest trial. After a long wait, someone finally emerged from its trial site—Xu Changye and Yan Chong.

They were among the strongest present, and combined with the Nightshade organization’s skills in concealment and assassination, passing the trial was feasible.

However, their expressions were grim, with severe loss of vital energy—their hair had even turned white.

Upon emerging, Xu Changye and Yan Chong each received a secret technique and a magical artifact, their hearts pounding with excitement.

Nearly half of the participants had died in the first stage. Each faction had its winners and losers, and all cursed Xue Tian for not explaining the enemies’ details clearly. Xue Tian merely excused himself, claiming he could not disclose too much about the trial’s specifics.