Chapter 105: "Thank you for the hospitality, next time we meet, I'll treat you to roast goose!"

Chapter 105: "Thank you for the hospitality, next time we meet, I'll treat you to roast goose!"

"However—"

The old man paused, spat out a chicken bone, and turned to Chen Qiu with a smile that seemed more like a smirk. "Young friend, you and I do have a connection, and you do have some talent and opportunity on the path of Law Cultivation."

"Perhaps you can truly pass this Law Cultivation heritage."

At this moment, a full hour had passed since Chen Qiu arrived on this beach.

Finally!

Chen Qiu saw an old man with white hair and a sage-like appearance, stepping on the sea surface and walking towards him with large strides. With each step, golden light flashed beneath his feet, as if he was traversing a vast distance in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the old man stood expressionless in front of Chen Qiu, and that familiar yet ethereal voice, filled with vicissitudes, sounded in his ears once again.

-

"You have successfully passed the first trial."

Strangely, although Chen Qiu could see the old man's mouth moving, and the lip movements matched the voice in his ear, the sound seemed to resonate directly in the depths of his mind, similar to the way the Celestial Mandate Scroll transmitted its message.

However, the voice lacked the oppressiveness that was present in the Celestial Mandate Scroll.

After that, the old man ignored Chen Qiu and walked to the side, sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, circulating his cultivation technique. Instantly, the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth was absorbed into his body like a whale sucking water, forming a whirlwind.

"Don't be anxious."

The old man sitting nearby, eating roast chicken, glanced at the dignified-looking elder absorbing spiritual energy not far away, and his mouth curled up to his ears, looking quite happy: "This old man probably hasn't felt the sensation of spiritual energy depletion in a long time."

"This body, crossing the Forbidden Sea, is indeed quite strenuous for him."

"Wait for him to recover his spiritual energy."

The elder representing the Law Cultivation heritage recovered his spiritual energy very quickly. In just a few breaths, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth seemed to heed his call, rushing into his body one after another.

In just the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the elder stood up, appearing to have fully recovered.

The fortune-telling elder sitting on the beach next to Chen Qiu was the first to stand up, and he walked over with a playful expression on his face. The elder also seemed rather impatient and replied with annoyance.

From the occasional smiles that appeared, it was clear that the two had known each other for a long time and had a good relationship.

However, Chen Qiu couldn't hear their voices and didn't know what they were talking about.

"Let's go."

Finally, after a conversation between the two, the white-haired elder walked up to Chen Qiu, waved his hand, and a golden light appeared beneath his feet, immediately carrying Chen Qiu back across the Forbidden Sea.

As they were leaving, Chen Qiu heard the voice of the fortune-telling elder behind him.

"Good luck, young friend. I have a feeling that the next time we meet, you will have become Great Xia's top Law Cultivator!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

The old man's laughter carried a hint of cheerfulness and a touch of melancholy from the previous encounter.

Chen Qiu turned back, waved at the old man, and shouted, "Thank you for the hospitality, next time we meet, I'll treat you to roast goose!"

"Good, it's a promise!"

Another hour passed.

Chen Qiu returned to his original position, standing on the sea surface. There was not a single island or any living creature in sight, only the gentle sea breeze carrying a hint of moisture and saltiness brushing past his cheeks.

The complexion of the elder beside him did not look good.

Chen Qiu was quite familiar with this kind of expression.

It was the look of someone with little spiritual energy left in their body. Even if this elder was the gatekeeper of this Law Cultivation heritage, it seemed impossible for him to absorb spiritual energy from the Forbidden Sea. This seemed more like a rule of the world, rather than something that a gatekeeper could control.

For example, Chen Qiu felt that the second trial could have been conducted on that beach.

But he was brought to this place specifically for the second trial.

Chen Qiu saw that the elder's face was slightly pale, but he remained expressionless and carried an ethereal aura. His lips moved slightly, and his voice resonated in Chen Qiu's mind.

-

"Second Trial, Law Cultivation."

"A qualified Law Cultivator should be able to handle countless enemies with ease."

"After a cup of tea, there will be ten thousand Law Cultivator puppets with infinite spiritual energy attacking you simultaneously. They will all use the most basic simplified Lightning Summoning Art, which will not harm you."

"This trial strictly prohibits the use of Shrink Earth Technique."

"Trial Condition: Within five hours, if the number of hits you receive is less than ten thousand, you will pass the trial."

-

"Dodge the attacks?"

Chen Qiu's eyes flashed with shock. Ten thousand Law Cultivator puppets with infinite spiritual energy were attacking him simultaneously. Forget about keeping the number of hits below ten thousand within five hours; in just one round, he would be hit thousands of times.

If his movement technique was slightly weaker, he would be eliminated in the blink of an eye.

Chen Qiu scanned his surroundings and noticed that the ethereal-looking elder was nowhere to be seen. He had probably gone to find a place to recover his spiritual energy.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the ten thousand Law Cultivator puppets appeared.

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes, pondering a strategy. His only movement technique, the Shrink Earth Technique, was directly prohibited from use, and it didn't seem like this restriction was originally part of the trial. It was more like the elder had specifically banned its use.

If he could use this movement technique, he might have had a chance to pass the trial.

However, without this technique, and with no way to recover spiritual energy in this place, he didn't have any other movement techniques from the Celestial Path Secret Realm in his storage ring. Although he could exit and re-enter, he was worried that the next time he entered, the elder might ban his Shrink Earth Technique in the first trial.

That would make things even more difficult.

Soon—

Chen Qiu suddenly laughed. He thought of a plan, although he wasn't sure if it would work. He took out a medium-grade Celestial Path Rewind Technique from his storage ring and crushed it without hesitation.

Without any hesitation, he chose the entry that he had previously discarded when breaking through the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment.

-

"Entry Name": Slippery Hands.

"Entry Level": Green.

"Entry Effect": Each time you are attacked, you will automatically teleport to a random location within a ten-zhang radius.

With this entry, it can barely be considered a movement technique.

Soon, in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the once calm sea began to churn, and from the depths of the seabed, ten thousand puppets emerged, hovering in mid-air and surrounding him in the center.

Before he could speak,

Over a thousand alchemy puppets took the initiative, their index fingers pointing fiercely towards him, and in an instant, thousands of miniature lightning snakes shot towards him. This was the first time he felt the sensation his previous opponents had experienced.

".

Chen Qiu stood in his original position, squinting his eyes and staring directly at the thousands of lightning snakes shooting towards him. He suppressed the subconscious urge to dodge and prepared to endure the onslaught.

At the same time—

As the lightning snakes were about to hit him, he noticed that among the remaining puppets that hadn't attacked yet, another thousand alchemy puppets raised their hands to strike. These puppets wouldn't attack simultaneously but in a staggered manner.

Just as the first lightning snake hit him,

His vision blurred, and when he regained his sight, he had already appeared ten zhang to the left. Chen Qiu glanced at the second trial's task panel, feeling reassured, and looked at the puppets not far away with a faint smile.

"Is that all?"

"Times Hit: 1/10,000."

Just as he had thought.

It was impossible for these alchemy puppets to attack simultaneously. Even if they did, factors like distance and the contours of his body would cause slight variations in the time it took for each lightning snake to reach him.

As long as his "Slippery Hands" entry's judgment speed was fast enough,

He could withstand the first lightning snake attack and instantly disappear from his original position amid the seemingly endless lightning storm. His current answer was similar to what he had expected. If nothing unexpected happened,

Passing through the second trial would be effortless.

The alchemy puppets immediately flew to his side, and for some reason, they became even more aggressive, attacking at a rate more than twice as fast as before.

However—

Each time the lightning snakes were about to engulf Chen Qiu, he managed to teleport away first.

Thus,

On the vast sea, a peculiar scene unfolded. Ten thousand alchemy puppets continuously unleashed countless lightning snakes, encircling Chen Qiu as he constantly changed positions on the sea surface. With each breath, Chen Qiu could teleport several times, and he couldn't even see the surrounding scenery clearly.

Before he could regain his vision after teleporting, he teleported again.

The alchemy puppets became increasingly frenzied, attacking at a rate five times faster than before.

Since he couldn't see the surroundings clearly, he decided not to bother looking and instead rested, closing his eyes for a while.

Like this—

After an unknown amount of time,

Chen Qiu felt that his body no longer had the sensation of teleporting. He opened his eyes groggily and looked around, noticing that the alchemy puppets had fallen onto the nearby beach at some point. Huh? Beach?

Chen Qiu was taken aback and quickly regained his senses. He scanned his surroundings and soon spotted an old man behind him, expressionless, holding a fishing rod and a black fortune-telling flag beside him.

Had he returned again?

".

Before Chen Qiu could speak, the fortune-telling elder spoke first, his expression unchanged: "Awake? You seemed to have slept soundly. Sit here and wait for a while. That old man is probably still on his way here."

"If I'm not mistaken, that old man's mood isn't good right now."

"Hmm..."

Chen Qiu's face turned slightly embarrassed. He sat next to the fortune-telling elder and cautiously asked, "Is it tiring to cross the Forbidden Sea twice in one day?"

"Yes, otherwise, he wouldn't have avoided me for thirty years."

"What about crossing it twice in one day? Would that be even more tiring?"

"What do you think?"

"Will he make things difficult for me?"

"Hard to say."

".

Chen Qiu fell silent, feeling somewhat dispirited as he sat on the beach, gazing into the distance. The five hours for the second trial had passed, and it had been over fourteen hours since he entered the heritage realm.

Before he entered the heritage realm, it was almost midnight.

It was almost time for him to receive the daily Celestial Path Cultivation Pill.

Now, after more than fourteen hours, the Celestial Path Cultivation Pills had been distributed twice, and they were quietly waiting for him in the little world.

"Um..."

Chen Qiu couldn't help but speak up, "There are ten thousand alchemy puppets, and that old man even disabled my movement technique, 'Shrink Earth Technique.' Without a movement technique, I can't think of any way to pass this trial."

".

The fortune-telling elder glared at Chen Qiu and said irritably, "I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but since you've already passed the trial, it won't hurt to let you know.

"First of all, I can tell you that the gatekeeper cannot deliberately target the challengers. So, disabling your 'Shrink Earth Technique' was partly to make things easier for himself and partly to indirectly remind you of something."

"Remind me that I don't need a movement technique for this trial?"

"Exactly. If you had stayed in the original position, you would've found that by taking three steps to the left and then four steps back, you would've been attacked the least number of times."

"Then, you just need to stand in that position and wait patiently for five hours. You'll be hit at most nine thousand times, and you'll pass the trial."

"Didn't you notice that when you left your original position, the alchemy puppets became more aggressive? That was a reminder for you to return to your designated spot quickly. That's also why that old man brought you back from afar to start the second trial.

"The only way to pass the second trial is to quickly discern the wave attack patterns of the Law Cultivator puppet and locate the safe spots within a short time."

The fortune-telling elder took a swig from his leather bag and mumbled, "But now, there's a second method."

"You're a bit like me when I was young."

Recalling the past, a nostalgic smile appeared on the elder's face as he reminisced, "After obtaining the Formation Cultivator heritage, my master was delighted. But when I figured out how to pass the trial, he was so furious that he chased me with a whip for three streets."

"The fifth trial of the Formation Cultivator heritage back then was to throw you into an extremely intricate grand formation."

"There were 999 dead ends and only one life gate."

"You had to step into the life gate within the shortest time to pass the trial. No matter how terrifying the grand formation was, there was always a life gate. The Great Dao's fifty, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches' four and nine, and the human's one—this is how it works."

"Normally, if a Formation Cultivator wants to break the formation within the formation, they must first find a dead end and then deduce the entire formation step by step. With 999 dead ends, can you imagine how long it would take to deduce them all?"

"I was only given three hours back then."

"Guess how I passed the trial?"

Before Chen Qiu could respond, the fortune-telling elder chuckled with satisfaction, "I calculated with my fingers and directly pinpointed the location of the life gate. I passed the trial within an incense stick's worth of time, which made my master half-dead with anger."

"I told him that I was more suited for Divination Cultivation, but he didn't believe me. He insisted that Divination Cultivation was a minor path with no future."

"Impressive!"

Chen Qiu's expression turned serious as he set up the barbecue rack again and started preparing the roast goose. After getting the wine ready, he asked, "So, do I just wait now?"

"What else can you do?"

Finally, after half an hour...

Chen Qiu, sitting on the beach, witnessed the ethereal and bone-chilling elder with a pale face, standing on a golden light, swiftly crossing the Forbidden Sea towards the beach. Upon landing, without a word and with barely a moment's hesitation, he sat down cross-legged and began recovering his Life Energy by circulating his cultivation technique.

A massive amount of heavenly Life Energy transformed into a whirlwind and surged into the elder's body.

"I dare not attempt that again."

The fortune-telling elder cautiously whispered into Chen Qiu's ear, "If I ask this old brother of mine to cross the Forbidden Sea again, I'm afraid I might never see him again."

After an incense stick's worth of time...

The familiar voice echoed in his ear once more.

"You have successfully passed the second trial."

Just like the previous time, the elder waved his sleeve, effortlessly collecting the puppet that had fallen on the beach, and then a golden light appeared beneath Chen Qiu's feet, swiftly carrying him deep into the Forbidden Sea.

"Senior!"

Chen Qiu turned and called out to the fortune-telling elder who was still fishing on the beach, "I'm leaving first. If you have the chance, come find me for a chat. I might be heading to the capital to participate in the Heaven's Pride Ranking!"

"You're welcome to come and watch!"

The fortune-telling elder on the beach waved his hand impatiently, "Go on, get out of here. I hope that when we meet next, you'll have truly become Great Xia's first Law Cultivator. Oh, and you forgot to take your barbecue rack."

"I'll leave it to you, Senior. Treat yourself to some grilled chicken from time to time."

Another half hour passed.

The elder finally returned with Chen Qiu to the familiar starting point of the Forbidden Sea, his face looking even more pale than before. He didn't announce the content of the third trial immediately.

Instead, he stood in place, taking several deep breaths, his face regaining a slight blush before turning to Chen Qiu with a grim expression.

"Young friend."

"Can you focus on passing the trial here and not run around recklessly?"

"Yeah," Chen Qiu replied, his face slightly embarrassed, his eyes darting around as he nodded. This was the first time the elder had spoken to him, and he seemed less intimidating. It wasn't that Chen Qiu wanted to run around aimlessly.

Shrinking Earth and Slippery Hands were his only two movement techniques, both of which were random.

He had no control over where he would land, and he didn't even know where he would end up.

But despite the complete randomness, it was a bit too coincidental that he had landed on the Formation Cultivator's beach twice.

After saying this—

The elder didn't say anything further, his mouth opening and closing slightly, and his voice directly resonated in Chen Qiu's mind.

"The third trial: Confront the Enemy."

"A qualified Law Cultivator should be invincible under the heavens."

"After a cup of tea, one hundred thousand Law Cultivator puppets with infinite Life Energy will simultaneously launch an offensive against you. They will all use the Lightning Summoning Art, and this trial carries life-threatening danger. You can shout to exit at any time."

"Among these one hundred thousand puppets, there are one thousand traitor puppets."

"This trial strictly prohibits the use of Shrinking Earth and the entry 'Slippery Hands'."

"Trial Condition: Within an hour, defeat those one thousand traitor puppets."

Almost as soon as the voice finished resonating in his mind, the elder beside him vanished without a trace.

". . ."

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes, his expression serious as he looked at the third trial's panel. The first and second trials had specific techniques for passing, such as infiltrating the island at the bottom of the sea or finding safe spots.

It seemed that there were always techniques for seemingly impossible conditions.

Although he didn't know what infiltrating the sea or finding safe spots tested a Law Cultivator's abilities, there must be a reason for such a trial.

But this third trial—

Among one hundred thousand Law Cultivator puppets, he had to defeat one thousand traitor puppets. These puppets were using the full version of the Lightning Summoning Art, not a simplified one, and their attacks were real and painful.

Under these circumstances, he also had to quickly identify the one thousand traitor puppets, which seemed almost impossible.

As he pondered, a cup of tea's time had passed, but the one hundred thousand puppets hadn't emerged from the sea.

Just as Chen Qiu was looking around in confusion, a voice reached his ears.

"Wait a moment, the puppet fell and broke on the beach, I'll fix it."

". . ."

After about three incense sticks' worth of time, the seawater finally began to boil again, just like the previous time. Ten thousand patched-up Law Cultivator puppets, each with a terrifying aura, flew in the air, surrounding Chen Qiu in the center. They looked down at him like heavenly soldiers gazing upon an ant.

This posture alone was enough to strike fear into countless hearts.

Immediately after, these Law Cultivator puppets, without the slightest hesitation, all pinched their talismans and aimed at Chen Qiu with cold expressions, preparing to strike. It was foreseeable that in the next breath, tens of thousands of lightning snakes would engulf Chen Qiu!

However—

Chen Qiu was faster than them! Almost as soon as these Law Cultivator puppets emerged from the sea, the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment within Chen Qiu's body began to spin rapidly. All the spirit energy in his body surged through his meridians at a rate several times faster than usual.

Just as these Law Cultivator puppets were suspended in midair, Chen Qiu, with a flushed face, gripped his longsword and roared ferociously.

"Break!!!"

The next breath!

Before those Law Cultivator puppets could even make a move.

"Lightning Summoning Art"!

"Nine Toxins Dark Soul Technique"!

"Double Spellcasting"!

"Tenfold Spellcasting"!

"Focused Power"!

"Spirit Energy Aura"!

The terrifying cultivation at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment was unleashed without restraint. The Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment within his body began to spin rapidly, allowing the spirit energy to flow out quickly, even though he couldn't absorb the spirit energy from heaven and earth.

A full-power strike without holding back.

This was the plan he had thought of. Using all means, he would destroy all ten thousand puppets, ensuring that the hundred traitor puppets hidden among them would also be destroyed!

The fastest way to kill the traitors hiding among the hostages was to go all-in!

With "Double Spellcasting" and "Tenfold Spellcasting," over four thousand enhanced versions of the Great Perfection Realm's Lightning Summoning Art, strengthened by "Focused Power" and "Spirit Energy Aura," transformed into thousands of lightning dragons in the sky. They roared ferociously, charging towards the ten thousand Law Cultivator puppets in the sky!

The scene was as if they were breaking free from a prison and seeing the light of day again.

Compared to this "Lightning Summoning Art," the tens of thousands of "Lightning Summoning Art" spells cast by the Law Cultivator puppets at that moment seemed like children playing house, completely incomparable in terms of size.

One was a small electric eel, and the other was a lightning dragon.

A crushing difference in power!

However, these thousands of lightning dragons were not the end; it was just a simple beginning move. Amidst the roars of the lightning dragons, tens of thousands of green demon fires appeared around Chen Qiu, like countless stars reflecting in the seawater. Carrying the poison and eerie aura of the sky, Chen Qiu infused all the malevolent spirits he had collected during this period into these demon fires, except for the Golden Core Initial Stage malevolent spirit!

Instantly—

These demon fires seemed to gain sentience, and their aura became even more formidable. The entire sea surface echoed with the painful wails of the malevolent spirits in the underworld, mixed with the roars of the lightning dragons, one bright and the other dark.

This was Chen Qiu's strongest attack method at the moment, without using his self-destruct entry, Golden Core Vengeful Spirit, or the Flame Seven Kill Array Disc, which could slay Golden Core Fifth Stage cultivators.

With just this one strike, all the spirit energy in his body had been exhausted. If this attack failed, he would have to activate his Golden Core Vengeful Spirit trump card.

But—

He felt like he had underestimated himself. He had always considered himself an insignificant ant in the cultivation world, but now it seemed that he wasn't that weak after all.

The thousands of lightning dragons and the demon fires in the sky instantly enveloped the Law Cultivator puppets.

Immediately after.

The ten thousand Law Cultivator puppets exploded in the air, filling the sky with orange-red smoke.

It was a spectacular sight.

After a few breaths, the spirit energy ripples on the sea surface gradually subsided. Chen Qiu took out dozens of spirit stones from his storage ring and began to restore his spirit energy, while the sea surface around him was filled with countless remnants of the Law Cultivator puppets.

Many of the remnants were still burning, emitting black smoke.

"Hoo"

Chen Qiu exhaled deeply. It seemed that he had passed the trial, and everything was normal this time. He didn't end up in the Formation Continent, so there shouldn't be any issues. He must have passed the trial in the usual way.

Just then—

The ethereal and bone-chilling elder appeared beside him again. His complexion didn't look as pale as before, indicating that his spirit energy had mostly recovered. He floated in the air, gazing at the countless puppet remnants on the sea surface without any emotion, remaining silent for a long time.

Chen Qiu couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, and he tentatively asked, "Senior?"

After a long while,

the elder finally spoke without emotion, "The rule is to destroy one hundred traitor puppets, isn't it? Did the other puppets offend you?"

"Er... this disciple had some difficulty distinguishing the traitor puppets, and due to my weak cultivation, I couldn't withstand the simultaneous attack of ten thousand Law Cultivator puppets. So, I had to take the initiative."

Chen Qiu thought he saw the elder's eyelids twitch, but it might have been his imagination.

". . ."

The elder remained silent for a long time before speaking again without expression, "Your strength doesn't seem as weak as you claim."

"Is it that difficult to distinguish them? Only the traitor puppets' Lightning Summoning Art can harm you. The others are just illusions. You just need to carefully sense the attacks to identify the traitor puppets."

"Is it that difficult?"

"You should have given the puppets a chance to attack you, right?"

"You should have gone to the Body Cultivator heritage, not the Law Cultivator heritage."

"Er..."

Chen Qiu felt a bit embarrassed and said with a wry smile, "This disciple is not skilled in Body Cultivation."

The elder glanced at Chen Qiu, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. With a flick of his sleeve, he collected all the puppet remnants into his storage ring.

It was good; there was no need for further cultivation, nor could he cultivate further.

Then—

The familiar voice echoed in Chen Qiu's mind once again.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end