Chapter 2377: Chapter 2367: Breakthrough!
Based on Jian Wuchen’s personality, this third level should be the easiest for him to pass, but Lu Wujue knows a bit about Jian Wuchen’s past, so he let out a slight sigh.
“Don’t worry. These young ones are stronger than we ever were in our youth. Who knows, they might still surprise us.”
Elder Tiancheng saw Lu Wujue wasn’t feeling well and tried to console him, giving his old companion a glance. Lu Wujue sighed again.
“Let’s hope so!”
Switching to Long Yan and Jian Wuchen’s situation, a long ti had passed, but no one had climbed up yet. On the side, the indifferent Jian Wuchen barely responded, leaving Long Yan bored to the point of exhaustion.
“By the way, Brother Wuchen, why did you enter the Holy Domain?”
Long Yan tried to strike up a conversation with Jian Wuchen, who had been silently ditating and pondering this trial. Hearing Long Yan’s words, Jian Wuchen had initially intended to ignore him but decided idle ditation wasn’t helping, so he replied casually, though still coldly.
“Because my master is strong. I need power for revenge.”
“Oh?”
Long Yan imdiately sat upright, sensing he might have stumbled upon so major news.
“What kind of revenge?”
One of the three young Sword Saints, Jian Wuchen, carrying a grudge—it was an explosive revelation indeed.
“It’s nothing.”
This was also the first ti Jian Wuchen and Long Yan had t today, and Long Yan didn’t expect Jian Wuchen to confide in him. He tactfully refrained from pursuing the topic, especially after noticing the trace of sorrow on Jian Wuchen’s otherwise stoic face.
Everyone carries sothing they’d rather not recall, and Long Yan had no hobby of prying into others’ private matters.
Bored out of his mind, Long Yan decided to focus on studying the content of this trial. They had undoubtedly entered the first level, but its specifics remained uncertain.
Long Yan had already ruled out the “Domain” option earlier. If Lu Wujue had cloaked himself in a domain, the strict boundaries of such domains would make it evident, especially one as vast as half of Tianshan itself. If such a domain existed, Long Yan would certainly want to witness it. Moreover, the participants of this trial were scattered with no uniform placent, so it was impossible for Lu Wujue to encompass everyone.
The idea that all Tianshan Sect mbers could activate their domains together was also unreliable. After all, no two people’s domains were identical. Furthermore, the contenders in this trial were either geniuses or suprely confident individuals. It was absurd to assu one could pass through a domain without detection.
But at this point, Long Yan’s thoughts hit a bottleneck. Lu Wujue, as a Land Immortal, likely possessed the ability to connect heaven and earth. Could this be so newly devised technique of his—sothing capable of evading awareness entirely? Such a notion was undoubtedly eerie.
If Lu Wujue truly had such a skill, then the Tianshan Sect wouldn’t rely be among the first-class forces. Although currently one of the top-tier first-class forces, it still couldn’t claim true supremacy.
“Wait!”
Long Yan suddenly exclaid, startling Jian Wuchen, who had been ditating nearby. Jian Wuchen glanced at him with puzzled eyes but did not speak. Long Yan, seemingly eager to confirm his hypothesis, stood up.
With a wave of his hand, the space trembled for a mont. Astonishingly, the space here could not be opened. Long Yan’s expression lit up with an epiphany. Just now, Jian Wuchen’s sword strike at the air had been a crucial hint. Despite its power, that strike hadn’t fractured the space, which had already raised Long Yan’s suspicions. Now, the issue beca clear.
Noticing Jian Wuchen’s questioning gaze, Long Yan calmly explained.
“We have actually trapped ourselves thinking this trial must be extraordinarily complicated, so we keep rejecting simpler possibilities. But what if this trial happens to be the simplest kind?”
Jian Wuchen’s expression shifted, as if sothing had clicked, though his mind seed clouded by mist. Intuitively, Jian Wuchen felt that if the mist could be dispelled, the truth would erge.
“Brother Wuchen, let ask you—how much power did you use in that sword strike earlier?”
Faced with Long Yan’s question, Jian Wuchen answered candidly, with no intent to conceal the truth.
“About 30%.”
Long Yan nodded slightly—30% was already significant. For a sword cultivator like Jian Wuchen, the implications of a strike at 30% power went without saying. Yet, that strike had rely caused the space to tremble, without shattering it. The truth of this trial, therefore, lay under their feet—not an Illusionary Realm nor a Domain, but an entirely separate space belonging to Lu Wujue.
“What?”
Jian Wuchen was visibly shocked upon hearing Long Yan’s deduction. Lu Wujue was undoubtedly powerful, but to open up such a vast space seed implausible.
In response, Long Yan smiled faintly and offered an alternative possibility.
“What if the space is intertwined with an Illusion Array?”
After speaking, Long Yan pointed toward the summit of the mountain. Following his gesture, the mountaintop appeared shrouded in mist, obscuring any clear view of the path ahead.
“The reason we can’t see the road ahead might simply be because we’re situated in a space with an Illusion Array embedded within the Void.”
Long Yan explained earnestly. This level wasn’t particularly difficult—it was just that people’s habitual thinking prevented them from considering that the trial could combine space and Illusion Arrays together.
Jian Wuchen pondered the notion carefully. He wasn’t dull-minded, rely straightforward. After a brief deliberation, he grasped the aning behind Long Yan’s words. The Illusion Array was subtle, and during their climb up the mountain, no one could continuously monitor the flow of True Qi around them. Each stone step they’d stepped onto might have already transported them into a new space.
Long Yan chuckled helplessly. Lu Wujue truly was sly, likely intending to trap participants in an endless loop. Without Long Yan’s initial suggestion of combined formations, it would have been nearly impossible to break the deadlock in a short ti.
“So, how do we get out?”
Jian Wuchen raised an eyebrow. While the principle was straightforward, the escape thod was tricky. At this mont, Jian Wuchen’s main reliance was Long Yan.
“Forcefully break it. As we climb, stay attuned to the presence of Illusion Arrays. Skip over the illusions directly.”
After brief consideration, Long Yan proposed the most practical solution. Jian Wuchen did not respond, but the long sword in his hand emitted a fierce Sword Light. Long Yan didn’t even glimpse the mont Jian Wuchen struck—the space had already cracked wide open.
Sure enough, Long Yan leaned forward for a better look. The broken space revealed none of the Void’s traces, only the original trail of Tianshan. The two walked out boldly, stepping onto the stone steps once more, now feeling a much greater sense of reality.
As they continued climbing, they soon encountered a stone step displaying distinctly rhythmic True Qi patterns—a precursor to an Illusion Array on this trail of tens of thousands of steps. Amid countless stairs, such an odd one would be hardly noticeable, especially during repeated fruitless searches.
“Should we destroy this Illusion Array?”
Jian Wuchen pursed his lips while asking. Destroying it would deprive later climbers of the chance to figure out the trial’s chanisms, forcing them into direct confrontation with the truth.
“No need. They can rely on their own efforts to make it through.”
Long Yan shook his head gently. It wasn’t necessary. The existence of boundaries in this space ant they’d eventually reach the final level by foot and understand at the mont of stepping off the stone stairs what had truly occurred.
Hearing this, Jian Wuchen slung his long sword back across his shoulders. From this point forward, their task beca far simpler: using Long Yan’s White Tiger’s Secret Technique to pinpoint illusions and circumvent them. Along the way, they bypassed four or five Illusion Arrays, reaching the mid-mountain section and concluding the first level.
Just as the two stepped onto the mid-mountain plateau, a reverberating voice echoed like the toll of a massive bell.
“First-level rank: First place—Jian Wuchen; Second place—Long Yan!”
The announcent spread across Tianshan, causing the nurous cultivators still pondering fruitlessly and continuing their climb to instinctively raise their heads.
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