Chapter Thirteen: The First Trial

It seemed this fellow hadn’t left any weapons behind, Liu Junhuai thought with frustration.

He picked up the few magical treasures: the Diagram of Heaven and Earth, the Three Treasures Jade Scepter, the Pangu Banner, and the Purple Gold Alms Bowl… After examining them, Liu Junhuai grew even more despondent. Probing them with his spiritual sense, he found that not a single one was currently usable for him. Even the Diagram of Heaven and Earth, which required the lowest cultivation—Foundation Establishment or above—was a lower Earth-tier treasure.

The last magical item, however, was quite promising. It was a large iron disk, its rim set with nine grooves. The surface was etched with intricate patterns, and at its center was a folded clock hand. On the back, eighteen iron flags were slotted into corresponding elongated grooves. After a drop of blood to claim ownership, Liu Junhuai learned in his mind that this was a formation disk. The eighteen flags could be arranged into six different formations, each indicated by the pointer, and the disk required nine spirit stones to activate.

The six formations were: the Heart-Dazing Array, the Seven Killings Array, the Four Symbols Array (positive and reversed), the Crimson Cloud Array, the Entrapment Array, and the Chaotic Gate Array.

The nine grooves along the disk’s edge were for spirit stones. After testing, only high-grade spirit stones could activate the disk, and even then, it lasted a mere three breaths. Unexpectedly, extreme cold crystals could also be used, providing half an incense stick’s worth of time.

Liu Junhuai gave the pile of materials a cursory glance. Among them he recognized Lingxiao Flower for refining Essence-Nurturing Pills, Purple Monkey Flower and Celestial Spirit Fruit for Foundation Establishment Pills; the rest he couldn’t identify.

He decided to first try to find a way out. Activating his Heavenly Eye, he saw only darkness. With a thought, his body returned to the pool.

Afraid of alerting that thing, he didn’t dare use his true essence, and the bone-chilling cold was agonizing. He cautiously surveyed his surroundings and, as expected, found himself among a jumble of rocks. He poked his head out—the Heavenly Eye’s range was still less than a meter. He vaguely recalled clutching the Shadow Blade when he was struck, so it should be nearby.

One meter, two meters, three meters…

But there was still no sign of the blade. Breathing grew difficult, so Liu Junhuai quickly summoned his true essence, warming himself considerably.

Suddenly, he noticed faint purple glows ahead, clustered near a large stone. He slowly swam over—it was the same spot he’d previously found dense spiritual energy, where several pieces of purple extreme cold crystal lay scattered among the rubble. The first time he was attacked, he’d dodged here; it seemed the latest attack had blasted the crystals loose. He wondered if he could seize the opportunity for himself.

But he dared not take them—the crystals were surely the creature’s treasured possessions. Better to find his blade first; if he disturbed the crystals, the monster would surely notice.

At last, he found the Shadow Blade wedged between some round stones.

Liu Junhuai prepared to leave, but after a few strokes he stopped, unable to suppress his longing—such a pile of extreme cold crystals was too tempting! Fortune favors the bold. Gritting his teeth, he decided to risk it.

He swam slowly to the boulder, listened carefully, and, hearing nothing amiss, took a deep breath. In one swift motion, he grabbed the largest crystal, shoved it into his storage, kicked off from the bottom, and shot to the side while simultaneously shifting his consciousness into the Hall of Myriad Phenomena.

As expected, a blast struck the spot he’d just vacated, sending shards of stone flying. Seemingly enraged by another theft, the creature’s furious roar sent tremors through the pool bed and stones crashing everywhere.

Meanwhile, Liu Junhuai sat in the Hall of Myriad Phenomena, clutching the huge crystal and drooling. This time, he was in no hurry to leave—better to cultivate for a while. Surely, the beast was enraged; best to wait until it calmed down.

Several days passed in a flash, and Liu Junhuai stealthily reappeared at the bottom of the pool.

He used his spiritual energy to resist the cold, quietly swimming toward the stone wall, nerves taut and ready at any moment to return to the Hall of Myriad Phenomena. Who could say whether the creature was lurking, waiting for him, its net already cast? Stealing its treasure right under its nose must have infuriated it.

He hadn’t touched the wall yet, but he was well away from the danger zone. Out of breath, Liu Junhuai had no choice but to activate his true essence and cautiously swim upward.

After several dozen yards, he sensed looming danger and, heart pounding, swam for his life.

The water behind him churned violently, muffled roars echoing through the depths. As he neared the surface, small whirlpools formed around him, growing larger as the monster closed in.

A massive vortex formed. Liu Junhuai burst from the water, and before he could land, a serpent-headed creature leapt after him, waves surging.

Rolling and scrambling to the cave entrance, he heard a thud as the creature’s head smashed into the ground behind him, gouging a deep pit.

He crawled into the cave, collapsed on the floor, and watched as the monstrous serpent—dozens of yards long—thrashed and roared at the water’s surface, the noise deafening.

He had escaped after all. Beating his chest, Liu Junhuai struggled to calm his racing heart.

Inside the Hall of Myriad Phenomena, fourth floor.

At the Trial Chamber’s door, Liu Junhuai placed several mid-grade spirit stones into the slot; the stones vanished, sucked away by a mysterious force.

A low-grade spirit stone granted two hours of use, a mid-grade stone twenty hours, a high-grade one two hundred hours.

The jade door opened. Inside, a dozen formation tablets hung on the walls, each inscribed with a different trial method. By infusing them with spiritual sense, one could enter various training realms. Of these, five were unsealed: Beast Mountain, Endless Sea, Crimson Flame Valley, Island of Ice and Snow, and the Tower of Spiritual Sense.

The remaining seven or eight tablets were densely sealed, unreachable by spiritual sense.

Liu Junhuai chose to enter Beast Mountain. In an instant of dizziness, he found himself in lush, verdant wilderness.

Spiritual energy filled the hills; towering trees spread their canopies over dewy grass, and occasional animal cries echoed through the air. The mysterious blend of stillness and movement heightened Liu Junhuai’s vigilance, and he advanced, tense and exhilarated.

During his days at the bottom of the pool, he had mastered the first two moves of his only technique, the Phantom Blade Art—a skill that emphasized striking at the opportune moment after holding one’s breath and focusing the mind. There were six moves: Sever in One Stroke, Blades to the Flank, Three Steps to the Soul, Fourfold Sundering, Fivefold Ruin, Six Paths of Reincarnation.

The techniques were simple and direct, but their complexity lay in the footwork. When mastered, they became eerily unpredictable—a profound, mysterious killing art of the Profound tier, capable of slaying without a trace.

Clutching the Shadow Blade, Liu Junhuai advanced cautiously, though not too nervously; each trial realm adjusted its difficulty according to the cultivator’s strength, and the first beasts encountered were always low-level. Having grasped the basics of his technique, what he needed now was practice.

Moving with care, Liu Junhuai first encountered a one-foot-long, first-tier Earth-Eating Blood Ant. Normally passive, it only attacked when threatened, its sole weapon a toxic mist that caused the victim’s blood to stagnate and led to unconsciousness.

Liu Junhuai crept silently close, executed Sever in One Stroke, and a wisp of blood mist rose as the ant perished. “A bit too easy,” he thought with smug delight. As he turned, several more blood ants charged him. Leaping nimbly, he dispatched them with a few swift strikes, severing heads from bodies.

Before his feet even touched the ground, a chill swept behind him as a three-foot-long Mutant Ant King lunged, followed by a swarm of blood ant soldiers. Liu Junhuai shivered, spun in midair, and deflected the king’s attack, but as he landed, he was surrounded.

Shielded by true essence, Liu Junhuai whirled the Shadow Blade in a frenzy, repeatedly using Sever in One Stroke until blood ant corpses littered the ground.

The Mutant Ant King was unusually cunning, hiding among its soldiers and launching surprise attacks, forcing Liu Junhuai to stay on guard.

After the initial chaos, as Liu Junhuai’s combat experience grew, he seized an opening and drove Blades to the Flank through the Ant King. Rather than retreating, he pressed further into the swarm, weaving and slashing furiously, unaware of the passing time.

Just as his true essence was nearly depleted, a flash of white light signaled the exhaustion of his mid-grade spirit stone, and he was returned to the trial chamber.

Liu Junhuai collapsed in exhaustion. The days of brutal combat had been perilous, but the first two forms of the Phantom Blade Art had reached minor mastery, and he was elated.

After this battle, he realized that the Phantom Blade Art was a stealth technique—ill-suited for use against large groups. The lack of other techniques left him helpless. Clearly, finding a suitable cultivating method was now his top priority.