Chapter 233 – Three Tests
While Huangfu Chongming’s group were chasing after Chen Xi, some of the cultivators that were searching for the auspicious path outside the Eight Path Formation, yet they took another route.
The Eighth Path Formation’s path of life, scenic, and beginning were auspicious paths, the paths of harm, terror, and fortune were paths that caused harm, and the paths of death and avoidance were paths that caused death. But after the owner of this treasure vault inverted Yin and Yang, the paths of death and avoidance had instead become the auspicious paths.
Amongst these two auspicious paths, the path of death was a great auspicious path, and it was the path that Chen Xi and Huangfu Chongming had entered.
The path of avoidance was a minor auspicious path, and it was instead found by the other cultivators.
Amongst these cultivators that entered the path of avoidance, it was a group of two males and a female cultivator that were the first to enter. These people were respectively the Skysplit Sword Sect’s An Qianyu, the Brightray Sect’s Wang Daoxu, and the Mistwater Pavilion’s Zhen Liuqing.
These three people were influential and well renowned figures amongst the Golden Core Realm cultivators of the younger generation. In terms of strength, status, and identity, they were formidable figures that weren’t the slightest bit inferior to Huangfu Chongming’s group, and even surpassed them.
The Darchu Dynasty’s territories were boundlessly vast, and besides the southern territory that was in extreme decline, outstanding figures were born in succession in the central plains, eastern sea, and northern barbaric lands, and they rose abruptly like mushrooms born after the rain, causing them to seem extremely prosperous and flourishing.
An Qianyu, Wang Daoxu, and Zhen Liuqing were genius figures that had risen abruptly in the recent years.
For example, An Qianyu was merely 19 years old, yet had already attained the advanced-stage of the Golden Core Realm. He’d headed over to Jadebandit Mountain, alone with his sword, and he annihilated the infamous Nine Moonhawk Bandits, thus becoming well known throughout the world.
Every single one of the Nine Moonhawk Bandits possessed cultivations at the Golden Core Realm, after all. They’d swept through the world for many years and possessed extremely abundant combat experience. Yet all of them had died within their own lair at the hands of An Qianyu alone. How could such splendid combat achievements not have drawn the attention of others?
Wang Daoxu was instead a supreme genius fostered by the Brightray Sect of the central plains, and he was born innately with a Windsoul Body. At the age of 17, he’d relied on his almost perfect Wind Dao Territory to become eminent and famous in the world, causing him to be the most outstanding genius Core Disciple of the Brightray Sect, and he wasn’t inferior to An Qianyu either.
Zhen Liuqing also couldn’t be underestimated. She was from the most mysterious great power in the eastern sea, the Mistwater Pavilion, and she was a person that kept an extremely low profile. The reason this woman was known widely by other cultivators was instead because of a single sentence spoken by the current Emperor Chu. “Amongst the young talents in the world, if one were to speak about extraordinary women, then there are three that aren’t inferior to men. The first is the Whitecrane Sect’s Qing Xiuyi, the second if my daughter Huangfu Qingying, and the third is the Mistwater Pavilion’s Zhen Liuqing.”
The meaning of these words was exceedingly obvious. Amongst the female cultivators in the younger generation of the Darchu Dynasty, Qing Xiuyi, Huangfu Qingying, and Zhen Liuqing were the most outstanding.
What sort of figure was Emperor Chu?
He was the supreme ruler of the Darchu Dynasty who possessed monstrous authority and controlled the world, and every single word he spoke carried weight. How could a person that was praised by him be an ordinary person? It was precisely because of these words that Zhen Liuqing, who’d always been mysterious and kept a low profile, became well known to all the cultivators in the cultivation world.
At this moment, these three outstanding figures of the younger generation were gathered together and were the first to enter the path of avoidance, so they obtained numerous treasures in the treasure vault like medicinal pills, materials, precious treasures… But the path of avoidance was a minor auspicious path and couldn’t compare to the path of death that Chen Xi had entered, so the treasures they obtained were naturally inferior to the precious treasures Chen Xi obtained. But even then, their gains were already sufficient to cause one’s eyes to go red with envy when compared to Huangfu Chongming’s group.
“What a pity! If we were able to enter the path of death earlier on, then the amount we’d obtain would probably be more than 10 times what we’ve obtained now. Now it has instead benefited Huangfu Chongming’s group.” Wan Daoxu sighed. He wore a high hat and embroidered robes. His appearance was handsome and extraordinary, and every move he made revealed an elegant and culture bearing that caused him to seem extraordinary.
“It’s fine. Huangfu Chongming’s group totals over 10 people, so even though they obtained many treasures, when distributed, it’s almost the same as what the three of us have obtained.” An Qianyu smiled. He wore black clothes and had an appearance like was beautiful like a woman, and his body seemed frail, yet every single move of his carried a cold and grim aura of a blade that caused others to be unable to underestimate him.
“Senior Brother An is correct. Actually, the most important treasure is probably at the core hall of Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault, and it’s at the end of these 1,080 doors. According to the information I obtained, that place is the real place the owner of Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault stored the most valuable treasures.” Zhen Liuqing that had remained silent since the beginning spoke out suddenly, and her voice was melodious like the cry of an Oriole in a quiet gorge, pleasant and moving.
She was extremely beautiful and delicate, with a pair of clear eyes and white features, and she possessed a graceful figure. Her jet black hair was coiled into an elegant high bun, and it caused her appearance to seem even more gorgeous.
“It’s indeed so. I’ve heard as well that the core hall of the Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault contained nine Dao Insight Origin Pills, 12 Dao Grade martial techniques, and a mysterious and formidable valuable treasure of the heavens and the earth.” Wang Daoxu sighed with emotion. “A single Dao Insight Origin Pill is already sufficient to make countless people covet it, yet this Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault contains an entire nine pills, and it’s truly an extraordinary extravagance. Moreover, If my guess is correct, then two 12 Dao Grade martial techniques are related to the utilization of Grand Daos, and it’s absolutely not something an ordinary Dao Grade martial technique could compare to. If a sect is capable of obtaining a single one of them, it would be sufficient to be the utmost valuable treasure of the Sect.”
An Qianyu and Zhen Liuqing nodded with deep agreement when they heard this, and they were extremely shocked by the great extravagance of the owner of Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault.
No matter if it was the Dao Insight Origin Pill or the Dao Grade martial techniques, all of them were precious and priceless treasures that could be chanced upon by luck and not sought after. If it were to appear in the outside world, it would surely cause a rain of blood in the cultivation world.
“Right, what’s the mysterious and formidable valuable treasure of the heavens and the earth?” An Qianyu asked.
“That’s hard to tell. The owner of this Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault was a peerless Heavenly Immortal, and he was probably a great figure amongst Heavenly Immortals as well. This valuable treasure of the heavens and the earth left behind by him is surely extraordinary. As for what it actually is, that isn’t something that we can only guess.” Wang Daoxu shook his head.
“No matter what, if we want to obtain the Dao Insight Origin Pills, the Dao Grade martial techniques, and the mysterious valuable treasure, all of us have to face the three tests left behind by the owner of the treasure vault. I have a fairly good understanding of these three tests.” Zhen Liuqing spoke slowly.
An Qianyu and Wang Daoxu’s eyes lit up as they asked successively.
Zhen Liuqing didn’t hide it and spoke of all the information she’d obtained. “The first test, Slaying One’s Self. After we enter the core area of the treasure vault, every single cultivator will be sent into an illusory realm. Within the illusory realm, a person that is similar to one’s self will appear, and only by defeat one’s self would one be able to pass through the first test and obtain a Dao Grade martial technique. Be sure to keep in mind that this person that’s similar to one’s self possesses a strength that’s equal to each of us. If one fails in the first test, then one will be sent out of the treasure vault. Moreover, there are only 12 Dao Grade martial techniques, so only the first 12 people that pass the first test are able to obtain it. So once we arrive at the central area, we must make the best use of our time to pass the test.”
An Qianyu and Wang Daoxu nodded and expressed their understanding. Slaying One’s Self, was to defeat one’s self. Not only was this test related to strength, it was also related to a contest of mentality, wisdom, and Dao Heart, and it couldn’t be underestimated.
“The second test, Dao Comprehension Fortune. This test is about comprehension, and those nine Dao Insight Origin Pills represent nine Grand Daos of the heavens and the earth. So long as the Dao Insights one possesses has surpassed nine, then one will possess the opportunity to obtain one of the Dao Insight Origin Pills. Moreover, the more Dao Insights above nine that a person possesses, the swifter one would pass through the test, and the quality of the Dao Insight Origin Pill obtained would be greater.”
Zhen Liuqing continued. “To tell you honestly, I possess 13 Dao Insights. Nine Minor Daos and four Grand Daos. I presume Brother An and Brother Wang won’t be much different. According to my observation, amongst the cultivators that have entered Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault this time, only Huangfu Chongming, Liu Fengchi, Man Hong, Lin Moxuan, Xiao Linger, and a few others are equal to us. If it’s counted in this way, we have an extremely good chance of obtaining a Dao Insight Origin Pill.”
Only when one’s Dao Insights have surpassed nine types would one possess the chance to obtain a Dao Insight Origin Pill?
An Qianyu and Wang Daoxu were stunned, and then they gazed at each other with surprise as they’d completely never thought of this. But they weren’t afraid, as it was just like Zhen Liuqing had said. Both of them had similarly comprehended 13 Dao Insights, but the difference was in the Grand Dao and Minor Dao total amongst these 13 Dao Insights.
Just like Zhen Liuqing had said, amongst her 13 Dao Insights, only four were Grand Daos and the other nine were Minor Dao; An Qianyu and Wang Daoxu were almost the same.
“What’s the third test?” An Qianyu questioned.
Zhen Liuqing went quiet for a short moment before she said, “Actually, the third test is very simple. There’s a Divine Beast Suanni guarding the final mysterious valuable treasure. Even though this divine beast Suanni is only a strand of its soul, it possesses the strength of an Earthly Immortal Realm expert. If we want to obtain that mysterious treasure, we must face its menace.”
“Divine Beast Suanni!” The pupils of An Qianyu and Wang Daoxu constricted abruptly as they cried out in alarm. In the primordial era, the Suanni was an extremely terrifying existence that possessed the strength to hold up the heavens, might to trample on the lands, and it was vicious, ruthless, barbaric, and overbearing. It innately mastered various profundities of the Heaven Dao and even its fur, bones, and skin possessed extremely profound Dao markings, and an adult Suanni was even capable of slapping a Heavenly Immortal to death with a single strike of its extremely monstrous strength!
The depths of this Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault actually had a Suanni guarding its treasures. Even though it was only a strand of a Suanni’s soul, it possessed a terrifying strength at the Earthly Immortal Realm. Who amongst them wouldn’t be terrified of such a formidable existence?
All of them were at the Golden Core Realm, after all. When compared with an Earthly Immortal Realm expert, they were still lower by the Rebirth Realm and Nether Transformation Realm. A difference of a single realm was already capable of causing one to despair, let alone two realms? It would absolutely be a distance like a chasm, a difference like the difference between the heavens and the earth!
Zhen Liuqing understood the feelings of these two people very well when she saw their expressions change, and she smiled as she consoled them. “We aren’t putting our life on the line against that Suanni. It’s sufficient so long as we avoid it and seize the treasure, so there’s no need to be afraid.”
“Exactly. There are so many cultivators that have entered the treasure vault this time, and there’re surely existences that will act recklessly. We’ll allow them to give away their lives before us while we act according to the circumstances, and it might not be impossible to obtain the treasure.” An Qianyu took a deep breath as he recovered his calm.
“Let’s speak about it after we pass through the first two tests.” Wang Daoxu shook his head instead. He didn’t hold any hope of obtaining the final treasure, and so long as he obtained a Dao Grade martial technique and a Dao Insight Origin Pill, he would be satisfied.
An Qianyu opened his mouth and was just about to say something when loud rumbling sounded out at this moment, and it abruptly resounded throughout the entire Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault.
Then, the heavens shook as the earth swayed, and an unexpected event erupted!