The true master who explained the rules seemed satisfied with the effect of the final reward. He couldn't help but glance at me from afar, marveling, "Indeed, beauty is a curse."
"The true Immortals of the major sects have already sent their transmissions and are ready.
Now, all disciples participating in the trial should relax their minds. You will be transported into the first layer of the trial's illusory realm.
In the illusion, you will have the time of one incense stick to prepare. Once the time is up, the Xuantian Secret Realm Trial will begin immediately. I wish all of you young disciples the best of luck in achieving your desired results..."
Upon hearing this, all the disciples participating in the trial closed their eyes and relaxed their minds.
The Immortal waved his hand and muttered incantations, then pressed his palm against the ground before him.
Instantly, a massive protective barrier enveloped all the disciples participating in the trial. In the blink of an eye, all the disciples vanished without a trace...
…
A sensation of weightlessness washed over me. I shook my head slightly and looked around…
This was a quiet forest, and all around me were disciples of the Water Moon Sect. However, everyone was now enclosed within a white protective barrier, unable to exit. It was clear that the designated preparation time had not yet ended.
I took a deep breath. One incense stick's worth of time... I must adjust my state to the best possible condition...
In the distance, the deafening screams of demons echoed through the air…
I gently stroked my swollen abdomen, where the foul-smelling yellow fluid continued to flow between my legs... The flowing ribbons and sheer skirt hid it, so I didn't worry about anyone noticing...
Suddenly, a divine consciousness transmission echoed in my ears.
"Holy Maiden, for your safety, please allow us, the Holy Maiden's Guard, to accompany you!" It was Wang Yu Xiao, looking at me with concern.
I shook my head slightly and sighed, then sent my thoughts out.
"There's no need. You may go your separate ways. This Holy Maiden must act alone... to challenge the Heavenly Genius Rankings!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuxiao furrowed his brows, but his heart eased slightly… That's good… The Holy Maiden is going to challenge the Heavenly Genius Rankings!
What he feared most was that the Holy Maiden had no intention of challenging the Heavenly Genius Rankings... The thought of watching his own Holy Maiden be taken by someone else was too agonizing and unbearable...
Suddenly, a token appeared in the hands of every trial disciple. I gently probed with my divine sense and saw a series of data appear on it.
First-rank sect, Yan Yang Sect: 0 points. First-rank sect, Jian Sect: 0 points. First-rank sect, Qiu Dao Sect: 0 points. Second-rank sect, Shui Yue Sect: 0 points...
A vast array of sect points appeared before my eyes, ranging from large First-Rank sects down to Third- and Fourth-Rank sects, all displayed clearly.
With a flick of my divine sense, another set of data appeared before my eyes. I narrowed my eyes... This was the place I had to break through!
Heavenly Genius Rankings: Water Moon Sect disciple Fang Ling
Monster Hunting Count: 0
Number of Puppets Defeated: 0 (Only counts killing puppets at the early Foundation Establishment stage or above)
True Immortal Tokens: 0
Overall Ranking: None
She shook her head slightly. This trial was somewhat unfavorable for her. Some prodigies had already spent a long time at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage; they were the true competitors in this trial…
I have only been cultivating for half a month, though I have already entered the early Foundation Establishment stage. However, in terms of experience and combat prowess, I lag far behind those prodigies...
I stored the token in the storage space of my hairpin, took a deep breath, and gently touched my slightly protruding abdomen...
Xiao Lan... I am officially beginning my cultivation journey...
"Holy Maiden... Be careful!" Wang Yuxiao transmitted his voice to me once more.
I nodded slightly.
Suddenly, the white protective barrier vanished!
As if receiving a signal, distant sounds of breaking through the air and the roars of demonic beasts echoed from afar! It was the swift-handed cultivator who had already begun hunting the demonic beasts!
I narrowed my eyes slightly, a flash of sharpness crossing my gaze, and immediately summoned the Snow Spirit with all my strength, charging into the deepest part of the forest at an incredible speed!
I flew to a stream, feeling something odd beneath me—the flow of the water was off!
Suddenly, a massive water snake, dozens of meters long, leaped out of the water and charged toward me. My expression hardened, and I immediately channeled my Ice Spirit energy into the Beauty Sword, using it for the first time. Unconsciously, I exerted all my strength!
The Beauty Sword emitted a series of crisp sword cries, as if trembling with excitement! I swung the sword toward the massive water snake! A massive silver-white sword qi slashed out!
Instantly, the surrounding environment fell silent. The icy-cold sword energy spread out at an incredible speed, freezing the water snake into ice in an instant, shattering it into pieces...
And... as the sword energy sliced through the massive water snake, it cut through it as easily as cutting tofu, continuing forward at an incredible speed... until it spread hundreds of meters ahead before slowly dissipating...
In the distance... a massive demon bear that was sleeping was frozen solid in its sleep... frozen to death, and where the sword energy passed, dozens of demon beasts were frozen to death before they could react...
I stared blankly at the frost spreading out before me, unable to see where it ended...
I never imagined that channeling the Ice Spirit Qi to its fullest extent could unleash such terrifying power...
I shook my head slightly. This wasn't the time to stand around. Next time I killed a demon beast, I couldn't waste my spiritual energy like this. There were still five hours left. Although I had spiritual aura and the terrifying Heavenly Extreme Ice in my dantian, giving me nearly limitless spiritual energy, if I continued like this, I would eventually be discovered by those petty individuals and hindered in my demon beast hunt...
No...!!! I shouldn't have such weak thoughts! Why can't I give it my all? Why should I fear those petty criminals? I am the Heavenly Ice Spirit Root! I am the Holy Maiden of the Water Moon Sect! The first place on the Heavenly Genius Rankings is mine by right! What's wrong with being bold and ambitious?!
If anyone dares to block my path...
My beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness as I summoned the Snow Spirit and charged deeper into the forest.
Earlier, I had used my divine perception to observe the situation. While there were many demon beasts in the outer perimeter, they were highly dispersed. Searching for them one by one would be a waste of time. I must head to the inner perimeter, where the demon beasts are gathered in large numbers!
Several streaks of light appeared in the distance... It seems there are others with the same plan as me!
"Hmph! Let's see who can be faster and more ruthless."
After a relentless pursuit, all the demon beasts I encountered along the way were swiftly slain by my icy sword qi. In the distance, I could see a pillar of light shooting into the sky. My eyes narrowed—if I wasn't mistaken, that was the precious herb the true master had placed here. Such herbs could attract large numbers of demonic creatures...
I couldn't help but summon all my strength to activate the Snow Spirit, and the sound of breaking the air echoed rapidly...
Upon reaching the pillar of light, I released my divine sense to observe below. There were hundreds of demon beasts gathered around the pillar, and at its center, a herb emitting a purple aura was gently swaying...
Regardless of what that herb is... these demonic beasts...
I closed my eyes tightly, and a massive surge of terrifying ice spirit energy erupted from my dantian, rushing toward the Jia Ren Sword…
Not enough! Not enough!…
I clenched my teeth tightly, feeling the emptiness from the vast amount of spiritual energy being drawn out, but it was quickly replenished by the spiritual essence, and an endless stream of ice-cold spiritual energy poured into the Beauty Sword.
The blade of the Beauty Sword emitted a deep blue glow! Staring intently, it seemed as though a chill was rising from my very soul!
The numerous demon beasts below seemed to sense something, roaring loudly and pacing back and forth, restless and anxious.
I opened my eyes, and a chill mist began to swirl around me. The Beauty Sword trembled slightly, as if it could no longer contain itself! The infusion of spiritual energy had reached its critical point. If I continued, I would lose control with my current cultivation level.
No! Not enough!
"Moonlight Technique!"
Instantly, my figure became transparent, and illusory shadows flickered around me, making it impossible for the naked eye to discern my location. A pure stream of ice-elemental energy surged into the Beauty Sword once more!
Now!
"Go!" With a sweet, commanding shout, I swung the Beauty Sword downward toward the gathering of demon beasts below!
In an instant, a massive icy sword qi, dozens of meters long, sliced through the air. The terrifying coldness hadn't even made contact yet, and already vast areas of trees had been frozen into ice blocks.
Numerous demon beasts seemed to fear the sword energy greatly, scattering in all directions to flee. However, the speed of the sword energy far exceeded their escape speed! One after another, before they could even flee, they were frozen into ice blocks by the residual might of the sword energy alone.
In an instant, the area below transformed into a world of ice and cold. The Heavenly Extreme Ice... the ultimate in ice and cold, terrifying beyond imagination!!
Hundreds of demon beasts were frozen into statues, not a single one escaping...
Not far away, a pair of eyes watching secretly from the shadows suddenly widened. Without looking back, he fled swiftly in the opposite direction.
I took a shallow breath, silently reciting the incantation. The ice-elemental energy in my dantian quickly filled up. I took out the token and looked at it closely.
Celestial Genius Rankings: Water Moon Sect disciple Fang Ling
Monster Hunt Count: 578
Number of Puppets Defeated: 0 (Only counts puppets at the Foundation Establishment stage or above)
True Immortal Tokens: 0
Overall Ranking: First Place
My eyes widened in astonishment, and a smile spread across my face. I never expected there to be so many demon beasts below, and my ranking had suddenly shot up to first place. I continued to look down.
Celestial Genius Rankings: 1st Place: Fang Ling of the Water Moon Sect: 578
Second Place: Lin Xiao of the Sword Sect: 216
Third Place: Yan Yang Sect's Yan Li: 209
…
Seeing that the second-place rank was far ahead of me, I felt slightly relieved. However, there were still two hours left before the trial ended, and I had to ensure my rank and kill as many demon beasts as possible!
I collected the purple herbs from the light pillars on the ground and flew off toward the distance…
In another part of the trial, a bald giant radiating intense heat crushed a giant panther into pieces with a single punch. He caught his breath, took out the token, and his pupils contracted sharply.
"This... wasn't I just competing for first place with that sword-obsessed fool from the Sword Sect, Lin Xiao? How did someone suddenly appear in first place?
Fang Ling... That name sounds familiar... She's the Holy Maiden! The Holy Maiden of the Water Moon Sect!
So that's it... "
The man with the fiery aura smiled savagely, exerting a little more force, instantly tearing apart his upper garments, revealing his incredibly muscular abdomen and arms.
"It must be that this little beauty obtained some divine favor, allowing her to achieve such a high score by chance. But in my opinion, she's nothing special. She'll be caught up by me, Yan Li, in no time. However, this has made me excited. If I were to marry that weak, delicate woman, I wouldn't want her! Hahahaha!"
"I'm going to get serious now!"
Instantly, Yan Li transformed into a streak of fire and charged toward the distance!
Near what appeared to be a volcano within the trial grounds, a cold-eyed man in white robes stood with his eyes closed, focusing intently.
Suddenly, a flash of sword light appeared, and the two demon beasts in front of him fell to the ground.
He picked up the token, glanced at it indifferently, then flew away without expression.
Setting aside the Heavenly Genius Rankings, the competition for sect rankings was also intense at this moment, with the Sword Sect—the most skilled in combat—leading the pack with 31,000 points.
In second place was the Yan Yang Sect, trailing slightly with 29,000 points. Both of these sects were first-rank great sects of the Xuantian Continent, so achieving such results was not surprising.
Third place was the Seeking Dao Sect… while the Water Moon Sect lagged far behind the other First-Rank Great Sects, currently ranked seventh with only 9,000 points!
With only half an hour remaining, I searched everywhere but could find no place where demon beasts were gathered in large numbers like before…
I took a deep breath and glanced at my token…
Heavenly Genius Rankings: First place: Shuiyue Sect's Fang Ling: 798
Second Place: Yan Yang Sect, Yan Li: 721
Third place: Jian Sect, Lin Xiao: 709
…
I felt a bit nervous. Yan Li was catching up quickly; in just one and a half hours, he had already killed over four hundred demon beasts. Though his pace slowed gradually afterward, with only half an hour remaining, no one could guarantee that he wouldn't find a place where demon beasts gathered in large numbers and secure victory in one fell swoop!
My experience in locating and hunting demon beasts is still too limited. At this moment, I have no idea where to go next, and my mind is growing anxious…
Suddenly, a jade pendant in the storage space of my hairpin began to glow. I paused in surprise. This was the jade pendant given to me by Wang Yuxiao of the Holy Maiden's Protection Squad...
I quickly took it out and probed with my spiritual sense…
"Holy Maiden, the coordinates are marked on the jade pendant. There are a large number of monsters gathering here!!"
From her words, it was clear that Wang Yuxiao was extremely anxious and didn't want to say another word.
I immediately lit up with joy and urged Xue Ling to fly toward the marked location with all my strength!
...
Half an hour passed.
I took a deep breath and smiled, quietly thanking Wang Yuxiao. Wang Yuxiao was immediately overwhelmed with gratitude and bowed in return.
Seeing this, I shook my head and took out the token to look at it.
Heavenly Genius Rankings: First Place: Fang Ling of the Water Moon Sect: 981
Second Place: Sword Sect's Lin Xiao: 863
Third Place: Yan Yang Sect's Yan Li: 862
…
I exhaled heavily in relief. Wang Yuxiao's message had come at a crucial moment. Without him, I would still be wandering aimlessly in the inner circle and would never have secured the first place...
During this secret realm hunt, I obtained a number of precious medicinal herbs, which I immediately divided in half and gave to Wang Yuxiao. Wang Yuxiao's face lit up with excitement, and he hurriedly expressed his gratitude. He had been stuck at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage for a long time, and these medicinal herbs were crucial for him.
"The first trial has ended! All trial disciples, listen up. You have one incense stick's worth of time to recover your spiritual energy. After that, the second trial will begin, with participants selecting difficulty levels based on their sect rankings, from highest to lowest."