Chương 68: The 1st Trial
As he finally entered the inheritance, Yaan couldn't help but gasp. He had imagined what might lie within the inheritance many times over the past few months, but this…was simply far too grand!
After stepping through the entry gate, everyone was separated. Yaan wasn't anxious, as he already knew that this would be the case, but the thousands of pawns recruited by the Ghu Clan were clearly shocked. They were all looking around hastily, scared that they had been separated from their comrades, but also stunned by the vast majesty of this cavern.
The cavern was so enormous that it was impossible to see the ends, either above or to the sides. It was also very dark, but anyone willing to risk their life in this inheritance at least had the ability to see through this low light.
Yaan was entranced by the feeling of ancient emptiness which pervaded the atmosphere throughout this cavern, but he quickly snapped out of his daze and raised his guard. He knew what was about to take place, so he quickly began to scour the crowd as he searched for Nadda.
However, he had even less time than expected.
WHOOSH!
A gust of air suddenly erupted throughout the region, startling everyone and scaring those who did not know what was going on. A brilliant red light shone down upon the entire cavern from up above the crowd. The light was so splendid, so dazzling, that it became impossible to look away.
Yaan had been made aware that this would happen and he originally intended to ignore this event which occurred with every inheritance opening, but he also became dazed, unable to move his eyes away from the sight before him.
Unknowingly, Yaan's eyes widened and he stared up with a dumbfounded expression.
'Nadda said the trial spirit is quite large and imposing, but what an understatement that was!'
Yaan felt speechless right now. When he imagined a 'large trial spirit', he imagined an old cultivator standing at ten feet tall…not a hellish red-skinned devil that towered above them all by countless miles!
"Challengers…"
An eery voice reverberated throughout the cavern. It was clearly spoken by the devilish spirit, but it seemed to echo from every direction. As the spirit spoke, every single person present had the distinct feeling that it was staring directly into their soul!
Its piercing red eyes made Yaan shudder, but he narrowed his gaze and stared up intently. After that experience with the mysterious woman and the Third Celestial Demon General, this sort of pressure against his soul was something that Yaan was able to tolerate, and even somewhat understand.
Yaan didn't doubt that this spirit possessed the power to destroy his soul with a single glance. He no longer had access to that woman's soul force; he only possessed a mortal soul, he couldn't hope to contend against this creature!
The spirit completely ignored the shivering fear of the masses below, continuing on with its 'welcome speech'.
"10,000 participants have entered the 1st trial. To progress to the 2nd trial, your numbers must be reduced by one thousand. Until then, all will be trapped within the initial cavern…"
Just as it appeared without warning, the spirit rapidly faded away, until it vanished entirely and could no longer be seen.
A suppressive atmosphere filled with shock and fear encompassed the entire cavern. The majority of the entrants had no idea that they would be faced with such a brutal trial right from the beginning.
However, there was another feeling which lingered in the air, a certain solemness after they all came face to face with such a shocking entity. Even those who had been here before still felt like ants beneath the majesty of that devilish spirit.
"It's just as teacher said, this is such a ruthless inheritance! Huu…right, I reached the Qi Temple Realm, I have nothing to be afraid of!"
Yaan was startled for a moment as a familiar voice entered his ears. He slowly turned to his side with a very strange expression.
The girl looked back at him with a cautious expression. She was evidently feeling unnerved that someone would look directly at her, right after they had been told that they needed to slaughter one another.
Whilst Yaan's appearance was hidden from view by the mysterious hat, his small stature was still very apparent. The girl felt shocked that a child would enter such a violent place!
However, her expression quickly became serious. A single glance at this 'child' made her realise that there was no child in this world with such a fierce, bloody presence! This was no child, but an expert, a peerless expert who had retained their youth after ascending early on in life! She herself had the fixed appearance of a 15 or 16 year old girl, but based on the shape and size of this expert's body, she estimated that they had the physical age of an 11 or 12 year old!
However, the girl was completely oblivious to the fact that Yaan was feeling far more stunned than her right now. The absurdity of this unlikely encounter even made him forget about his plan to find Ghu Nadda for a moment.
"Zue Yin!" He muttered without thinking.
He couldn't help it, it was too unexpected that he would actually run into Zue Yin, his first opponent in the nine factions competition! This girl left a bit of an impression on him, both due to her unbridled arrogance and her heaven shaking cultivation talent.
Zue Yin, the young prodigy of the Zue Clan, actually possessed the legendary 'extreme talent'! Even in the Ghu Province as a whole, people with this sort of incredible talent were exceedingly rare.
"Huh?" When she heard the childish figure mutter her name, Zue Yin's eyes widened for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, seemingly forgetting their environment in her bewilderment.
Unfortunately, she was quickly reminded of where she was.
Whoosh!
Yaan's eyes shone. He saw an arrow speeding through the air towards Zue Yin's head, and because he was facing her right now, he acted on reflex, using his Agile Sword Arts to step forwards and grab it.
Ti!
A faint sound echoed as Yaan caught the arrow. Zue Yin's eyes widened and she quickly turned around. She immediately understood for whatever reason, this person had saved her life!
The sound of Yaan catching the arrow was faint, but it was as if this sound triggered the entire bloodbath that was assured to take place within the 1st trial.
Bang!
Not far from Yaan, an old woman ruthlessly slammed a flaming talisman into the chest of one the Ghu Clan pawns. The victim became unrecognisable in an instant as his body was blown apart by the force of the explosion.
CHI!
Yaan saw a sword pierce through the throat of a different young girl not far behind him, leaving her pale, dead face, eternally plastered with a helpless, unwilling expression.
"Hey, you- wait!" Zue Yin cried out when she saw the mysterious child slipping past multiple people, vanishing into the crowd before she could say anything else. A couple of seconds later, she saw the flash of his sword, followed by three people dropping dead to the floor.
Zue Yin stood there dumbly, staring into the direction that Yaan had escaped. For a long time, her mind turned blank, because she truly didn't expect this…
'That technique, that sword, it's him!'
Zue Yin quickly snapped out of her daze when an Innate Qi Realm man charged at her from the side. Gritting her teeth, she removed the complicated thoughts about Yaan from her mind, placing her full attention on her assailant. Encountering Yaan in this place was unexpected, but she couldn't allow herself to get distracted in such a dangerous situation.
CHI!
She overpowered her opponent with ease, stabbing her sword into his stomach multiple times, before finally slitting his throat with expert precision. As the bloodied corpse dropped to the ground, joining many other unfortunate fellows just like him, she stared dazedly for a moment, realising that…she had just killed another human being.
Yaan continued to move further away from Zue Yin. He was silent, drifting past every battle like a spectre of death. Whenever someone tried to attack him, they would instead find themselves laying dead in the dirt.
In this place with such weak Spiritual Energy, the Qi refining cultivators felt drained, tired and weak. Their spells were less effective and their movements slowed.
Yaan, on the other hand, wasn't the least bit affected by this.
'I did something unnecessary, there was no reason to save her…' Yaan sighed to himself. Even though he had reacted on reflex, he couldn't lie to himself - this reflex only kicked in because he was yet to truly let go of the past.
He realised that no matter how hard he tried to let go of the past, no matter how distant he felt that he had become, he still felt some lingering emotion regarding the people he had met in the Greenwood Mountain Range.
He tried to forget…he tried to let go of his feelings towards the people in his past, both positive and negative. He tried to leave behind those he had cared for, he tried to move on from those he hated. When he moved to North Ghu City, all he wanted was to start anew…unfortunately, such a thing was more difficult than it sounded.
However, these emotions were just feelings. Yaan was no longer the same naive child he had once been, he was not shackled down by his feelings, these emotions weren't strong enough to impact his rationality. Yaan had no intention of doing something pointless like hanging around to protect Zue Yin.
Swoosh…ch chi chi!
As a group of four attacked him, Yaan's gaze flashed darkness. He stabbed two of his assailants through the heart and slit the third's throat. As his blade seemed to transform into a stream of water as it killed those three like livestock, the fourth was bewildered as the ground below him rippled outwards in a wave. This wave slammed into him and pushed him back, right into the midst of a battle between two Qi Temple Realm old men.
As soon as Yaan's fourth assailant turned to stare at where that 'wave' had been a moment ago, he was stunned to see that the ground was actually undamaged, as if it was all just an illusion…
BANG!
One of the Qi Temple Realm old men snorted coldly, waving his hand and exploding the body of the unwanted intruder. A mist of blood spread outwards, covering a group of Innate Qi Realm cultivators, who shivered and quickly retreated from this dangerous location.
"Hah…" Yaan exhaled slightly.
Even though he knew that it was coming, when the 1st trial actually arrived, it was simply insanity!
This was the first time in Yaan's life that he was witnessing this sort of senseless carnage on such a huge scale, where people were battling, killing, and dying all around him. Even back when the beast tide enveloped Heavenly Path Mountain, he only saw the aftermath of the sect-wide massacre.
Of course, Yaan was no stranger to blood, danger and death. Although he felt shocked, he maintained a calm thought process and continued to slip through the various battles, searching carefully for Ghu Nadda.
Yaan tried his best to stay low key, but whenever a Qi Temple Realm cultivator targeted him, he flashed out a pulse of his aura, displaying his status as a fellow Rank 3 lifeform.
Generally speaking, the Qi Temple Realm cultivators wouldn't target another Rank 3 person, unless they had some prior grudge between them. Most people didn't want to take any unnecessary risks in the 1st trial.
In fact, many Qi Temple Realm cultivators who possessed flying treasures chose to fly up above the crowd, completely avoiding the ongoing melee. Not everyone had access to a flying treasure though, and flying proficiency could only be achieved with practice. Aside from that, the low Spiritual Energy density in the cavern made it difficult for flying treasures to be sustained for an extended period of time, so there were very few cultivators who were able to avoid the melee entirely.
Even so, the majority of those to die here would be sacrifices at the Innate Qi Realm.
The bloodbath continued, whilst Yaan went on with his search for Ghu Nadda.
He didn't find Nadda, but it wasn't long before he was able to feel a powerful aura, the aura of a 6th Layer Qi Temple Realm cultivator!
Yaan knew for a fact that only one 6th Layer Qi Temple Realm cultivator entered the inheritance this time around - it could only be Ghu Lin.
CHI!
Yaan's gaze became sharper as he found his target. Ghu Lin was openly releasing his aura in order to attract the Ghu Clansmen, as well as the Ghu Clan guests. This was the tactic they had all been told earlier.
Yaan's movements became relaxed, so relaxed that others had the illusion that his body had turned into water as he slipped forwards. His figure became blurred, causing people to lose track of him as he slipped in and out of the crowd.
Suddenly, this relaxed form of movement vanished as his sword stabbed through a man's chest.
CHI!
This person did nothing to antagonise him, but Yaan had already decided before entering…he would be as ruthless as he needed to be in this inheritance. Anyone entering this place should have resolved themselves for death anyway, so he would not show mercy, nor would he mourn their deaths!
The bearded man was stunned, but before he even had time to look down, his body exploded in a sea of blood and organs, creating a shockwave that slammed into everyone in the immediate area, thrusting them away and granting Yaan a clear passageway.
Step…
Yaan drifted past like a gust of wind. He quickly used his Agile Sword Arts to pass by the remaining stunned cultivator's unnoticed. His movements were too fluid and fast, so nobody saw Yaan kill that person…
Nobody but Ghu Lin.
When Yaan finally reached the Ghu Clan crowd, many of the clansmen raised their weapons and stared at him with deep killing intent. Yaan paled slightly and halted his footsteps. Even for him, having so many vicious gazes directed towards him triggered a feeling of alarm.
"Hold back, this person is a Ghu Clan Guest." Ghu Lin's words reverberated through the air and immediately, everyone stood down.
In the 1st trial, there wouldn't be any cases of Ghu Clan members turning on their own, or on their guests. Such acts were banned by the clan's higher ups in the first place, and in the 1st trial, it would be impossible to do such a thing without being noticed.
Yaan exhaled as he felt some relief, then briefly glanced back at the gap between the Ghu Clan crowd and the other cultivators who were still battling to the death. He turned back towards Ghu Lin and clasped his hands as he walked forwards, giving a slight nod. Ghu Lin nodded back, not minding that he was staying quiet, since he was already well aware of Yaan's identity.
Actually, Ghu Lin knew no less about Yaan than Ghu Nadda did…perhaps he knew even more.
Ghu Lin watched Yaan as he joined the Ghu Clan crowd, his gaze lingering on him for an unusually long period of time. However, the young Ghu Clansman was impossible to see through, and as he watched Yaan, he continued to wear that same calm and composed expression.
"Yaan…!"
Yaan heard a familiar voice and turned around with a smile. However, as soon as he caught sight of Nadda flying towards him whilst standing upon a bone-sword, a bright red light flashed from the centre of the cavern. The red light expanded at an impossible speed, encompassing every living person within the 1st trial.
Yaan blinked, then rubbed his eyes. He hurriedly looked around and raised his guard after realising that he was already in the 2nd stage of the trial!
The 1st trial lasted for a total of three minutes…it only took three minutes for 1,000 pitiful cultivators to lose their lives…
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