“My axe!” Meng Jingzhou yelled in the illusion, desperate to dive down and retrieve his axe.
The river spirit lifted three axes, appearing upon the river’s surface.
“Young child, you…”
Splash—
Before the river spirit could finish speaking, Meng Jingzhou took a plunge, diving into the river with a large splash, the bubbles he exhaled larger than himself.
What’s happening?
The river spirit was confused, having never encountered such a situation before.
The bubbling slowly subsided until it disappeared; the river became terribly calm, with only the ripples from the river spirit’s aura vibrating underfoot.
“Why is it so quiet? He couldn’t have drowned, right?” the river spirit muttered, not too worried that Meng Jingzhou actually drowned since this was an illusion where drowning wasn’t possible.
Before the river spirit could understand what Meng Jingzhou was trying to do, another change occurred!
The ripples on the river’s surface became more frequent. The river spirit furrowed its brow; it controlled its power well, so it shouldn’t be its own aura causing this.
It then realized: “It’s that kid who jumped into the river!”
Golden wisps of aura mixed into the creek, and the mist above the river hinted at a celestial presence, as if some great terror was brewing beneath the riverbed!
The unknown terror was chilling to the bone!
Three fountains erupted on the river’s surface, growing higher, casting a pale golden mist that covered the river, blinding the river spirit temporarily to what was happening.
The wind scattered the pale golden mist.
Three figures appeared, all resembling Meng Jingzhou, but their aura was worlds apart from before.
The river spirit trembled, a reaction stemming from the depths of its soul!
The ordinary Meng Jingzhou, the cultivation powerhouse Meng Jingzhou, and… the immortal Meng Jingzhou!
This was the fundamental rule of the illusion: Anything falling into the river would undergo three transformations—mortal, spiritual, and immortal.
“Hand them over.” The three Meng Jingzhous spoke in unison, each taking their respective axes.
With the immortal Meng Jingzhou there, the river spirit had no power to resist.
The immortal Meng Jingzhou received the immortal weapon Sky-opening Axe, the cultivation powerhouse Meng Jingzhou took the spiritual weapon Mountain-opening Axe, and the ordinary Meng Jingzhou, acting tough, quickly grabbed the worn-out axe while the river spirit was still disoriented.
With the three axes in hand, the illusion shattered, and Meng Jingzhou passed the test.
Those who pass the second stage fall into temporary unconsciousness, a defense mechanism of the human body.
…
The members of the Questioning Dao Sect watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, who had passed the second trial, speechless.
What happened to being honest people?
Yunzhi didn’t speak. She had a premonition that by recruiting these two into the Questioning Dao Sect, there would never be peace again.
She hoped her premonition was wrong.
The real river spirit appeared, holding two golden and silver axes, storming towards Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou with a furious aura.
As a guardian spirit of the Questioning Dao Sect, it had never been so humiliated.
“Don’t hold me back! Today, I must teach these two rascals a lesson, break their limbs and then reattach them!”
The disciples of the Questioning Dao Sect quickly intercepted the enraged river spirit.
“Elder River Spirit, please calm down!”
“Your Excellency River Spirit, we can’t harm participants in the test. If word gets out, our sect’s reputation would be ruined!”
Eventually, it was Dai Bufan who stepped forward to stop the raging river spirit.
“Elder River Spirit, rest assured, the third test is personally designed by me, Dai Bufan. It will certainly give these two a lesson.”
Seeing the firm assurance from Dai Bufan, the river spirit finally let it go.
The third test, being the grand finale, had two proposals. Yunzhi’s was milder, and Dai Bufan’s was somewhat cruel. Both could test one’s Dao heart. After everyone voted, they decided to select Yunzhi’s proposal.
Yunzhi’s proposal was too lenient; even if one couldn’t pass, there was no punishment. To appease the river spirit’s anger, they had to choose Dai Bufan’s proposal.
Yunzhi had no objections to this.
It was good to let these two youngsters suffer a bit.
The second test eliminated many, lured by the temptation of the three axes; many followed their desires, deceiving the river spirit that the Sky-opening Axe and Mountain-opening Axe were theirs.
Those eliminated complained about the difficulty of the sect’s second test.
However, not everyone complained. For example, those who passed didn’t.
…
“The second test was quite simple,” Banbone said, “Just tell the truth.”
Those waiting for the third test nodded, echoing Banbone’s sentiment.
“What? Weren’t we supposed to jump into the river and snatch the axes from the river spirit?” Meng Jingzhou exclaimed, confused why others had done it differently.
Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou disdainfully, thinking he was foolish: “If the river spirit wasn’t an illusion but real, wouldn’t you have just provoked it?”
“You should have done like me and demanded the river spirit’s axes, throwing them all into the river. Then all three would count as ours.”
Meng Jingzhou had a sudden realization: “You’re smarter.”
The crowd silently watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou summing up their experiences, beginning to doubt their own methods of passing the test.
Banbone nodded slightly, remembering his father’s words that the ancient barbarian tribes nearly perished because of their arrogance and ignorance. As descendants, they must overcome this drawback and learn humbly from others.
Banbone felt he found his role models.
While everyone discussed the correct way to pass the test, Yunzhi and Dai Bufan from the Questioning Dao Sect appeared.
Dai Bufan had a smile on his face. With a flip of his hand, a palm-sized mountain materialized. The mountain grew rapidly upon exposure to the wind, reaching a height of a hundred feet in a few breaths.
People whispered in amazement at the sight that was rare even among cultivators.
The mountain was lush with dense trees, indistinguishable from a real mountain. On one side of the mountain was a long staircase leading all the way to the summit.
“This is called the Heart-Questioning Mountain, a wondrous object I had a senior refine. On the Heart-Questioning Mountain, mortals and immortals are equal. Your task is to climb the mountain. The higher you climb, the stronger your resolve proves to be.”
“To pass, you only need to reach the fiftieth step.”
Someone raised a concern: “Wouldn’t this give Banbone an advantage?”
Banbone, at fifteen, had the physique of a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old, standing a head taller than others. His stride would certainly give him an edge in mountain climbing.
Dai Bufan said with a smile: “No need to worry about that. The Heart-Questioning Mountain will level everyone’s physical fitness, mortal and cultivator alike. In this mountain, everyone will become mortal.”
“Is there a time limit?” Another question arose.
“No.”
Everyone was pleased. No time limit meant endless attempts were possible—why fret over passing the third test?
Does this imply the third test is just a formality?
“Can we use magical instruments?” Some had special magical instruments from their clan, usable without spirit energy, a great asset.
Dai Bufan had a hint of schadenfreude in his smile: “You can.”
If magical instruments were still effective, that is.
