Level 9904: Death or Survival.
A light curtain resembling a waterfall appeared inside the trial chamber, almost identical to the layout of the chamber from the 841st trial level back then.
Inside the chamber, a stone table and chair were placed, with an ordinary jade bowl resting on the table.
All the surrounding treasure shelves were empty.
Everything felt eerily familiar, even the scenes appearing within the water curtain were the same as what Lin Shuang had witnessed during the medicinal pill test at the 841st level. Several disciples dressed in Qing Shui Sect robes were sliced into pieces in an instant by over a dozen black threads hanging from the sky.
They didn’t even have time to scream; blood spurted, and their dantians were obliterated.
[!]
[What is this? It’s too fast!]
Too fast. No one could tell what level of cultivation technique this was, so quick that the observing disciples couldn’t even see it clearly.
In the water curtain scene, the only Qing Shui Sect disciple who survived the strange black threads had lost half his arm and immediately fled at high speed.
He couldn’t save his fellow disciples, nor could he protect those beside him!
He could only escape, abandoning the rest.
“Beyond Condensing Essence, reaching Spirit, entering Emptiness…”
“A cultivator’s life and death rest in the hands of a powerful being.”
“In a fleeting thought, how many can you save?”
“You’ve finally arrived.”
The elderly man’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears, “It seems you’ve already found the answer.”
This time, not only did his voice appear, but also a meditating ethereal figure materialized midair.
He opened his eyes, revealing both the scrutiny of an elder toward juniors and a complex mix of nostalgia and hope for the younger generation.
“If you’re ready, step out of this chamber.”
[!]
[Who is this… I’ve never encountered such a trial in the nine thousand levels.]
“Could this old man be the founding elder of the Qing Shui Sect!?”
“Does obtaining the Ferry Leaf lead to this?”
“What about the Bai Hua Sect explanation!”
As everyone lamented, finally, Pear Blossom Senior, who hadn’t left yet, appeared.
She wore a bitter smile but was quickly reminded by Zhao Keran to switch the projection to Elder Chen Wu Shui of the Qing Shui Sect.
Elder Chen Wu Shui indeed stood up, his face full of astonishment, “Father?”
[!]
[…!]
When Lin Shuang and the others passed the 841st level, they were still obscure, ordinary disciples.
Given the low level, even Chen Wu Shui, let alone the supervisor elder of the 3,000th level at that time, Little Red, hadn’t noticed Lin Shuang’s success.
Later, although Little Red learned that Lin Shuang had obtained the Ferry Leaf for the nine thousand levels, no one knew that the 841st level had actually drawn the attention of the founding elder’s spiritual consciousness.
Now, Chen Wu Shui finally saw his father’s spiritual projection descend.
“You know, my father hasn’t been seen around the sect for a long time; he’s mostly been in slumber.”
“What exactly did Lin Shuang do at the 841st level to wake my father from his dream?”
[…]
[…I know, I saw the projection.]
“Quickly explain!”
But before this disciple could elaborate, Lin Shuang and the others had already exited the chamber.
Meng Zi and Huangpu Yuan exchanged glances with her, then charged at her with swords drawn.
They applied ‘Fifth-Rank Spirit Gathering Tattoos’ to themselves.
As they moved, their spiritual energies rose.
Lin Shuang – Peak of Spirit Transformation;
Huangpu Yuan – Peak of Spirit Transformation;
Meng Zi – Seventh Layer of Spirit Transformation (recovered)
Lin Shuang, drenched in sweat, sent out several speed-boosting talismans from her sleeve.
Huangpu Yuan, as if recalling something, instinctively touched his lips.
In an instant, their bodies were covered with speed-enhancing talismans.
Their exit from the chamber accelerated dramatically.
In a flash, they arrived at the blood-red, black-thread entangled realm outside the chamber.
Hundreds of Qing Shui Sect disciples were in the wild mountains, some wielding swords, others using sound cultivation techniques, but they kept falling under the deadly black threads, their bones and flesh flying everywhere!
From standing to falling took only a breath.
They had absolutely no resistance!
Within just a few breaths, the hundred people in this realm repeatedly died several times.
[Survive or Not: Save more than half of the disciples to pass the trial.]
[You will have three chances; if all fail, you will be sent back three hundred levels.]
The black threads in the sky, like a giant net descending from heaven, covered all disciples on this land.
The highest cultivation level among the disciples on the scene was Spirit Transformation, yet they still couldn’t escape the black threads’ corruption.
It seemed that as long as they were lightly touched, their dantian and bones would shatter.
[How can we save them?]
[!]
[Nine thousand levels… This is clearly beyond the capability of Spirit Transformation disciples!]
All the ‘dead’ hundred disciples on the scene were at the Spirit Transformation stage.
[The elders really aren’t holding back at all.]
The observing disciples sighed.
The elders from the other eleven sects who hadn’t dispersed yet all looked toward Chen Wu Shui with complicated expressions.
“Senior Chen, can’t you ask your father to make the test easier?”
If they failed to pass, Lin Shuang and the others would be sent back three hundred levels.
Who knows how many more days it would take to reach level 9999 again.
Chen Wu Shui pressed her forehead, watching the ‘Qing Shui Sect disciples’ continuously falling in the projection, sighing.
“My father might want to change it, but I’m afraid he’s powerless to do so.”
“The old man placed heart demons into the nine thousand trials, not something he created himself.”
Her words immediately stunned all the observing disciples.
“Long ago, the founders created the nine thousand trials with the intention of training and warning disciples, designing the test content accordingly.”
Chen Wu Shui smiled bitterly, “To warn disciples, naturally they would use places where they themselves nearly stumbled or painful experiences of elders they had seen, turning them into trials to inform later disciples not to follow the predecessors’ wrong paths.”
[!]
[Just like Elder Yue Zhi.]
Chen Wu Shui looked at Lin Shuang and the others in the scene, her expression heavy.
“This level is likely my father’s own past experience. Although he later worked hard to overcome it, the memory of this tragedy still cast a shadow over his Dao heart.”
“If he’s not careful, it will reappear during my father’s subsequent cultivation, becoming a heart demon that strikes back when breaking through.”
[That disciple who fled with a severed arm is the founding elder of the Chen family…]
[So he spent the second half of his life blaming himself for being powerless back then?]
[This isn’t a test for disciples, but a question that even an elder couldn’t find an answer to—If it were you, could you save them, would you run away helplessly like him, or break through the situation.]
“My father’s inability to ascend might also be due to this.”
The original intention of the nine thousand trials was to record the elders’ experiences, thoughts, and struggles on their cultivation paths.
To inspire disciples and prepare them.
The elders’ past failures, the guilt of being unable to save their peers, were all designed into the nine thousand trials, hoping that later disciples of the Qing Shui Sect would think ahead.
If one day such a disaster truly came, they wouldn’t be as unprepared as him, feeling helpless and self-blame for the rest of their lives!
To stimulate the disciples’ contemplation, Elder Chen even went so far as to fully reveal the one-armed figure who had fled back then to the disciples.
– That’s right, the elder fled to save himself back then, so what about you?
– Can you surpass me? Can you do better than me? I’m looking forward to it.
Elder Chen was upright and honest.
But the mastermind behind the Heaven Mechanism Association, the Heaven Mechanism Elder, chose to escape, forget, and even shift his ugliness onto others.
– Everything I did to Hui Niang was all done by King and Li.
– Not me.
These two, one good and one bad, were immediately evident!
Chen Wu Shui sighed, “I hope Lin Shuang and the others can pass.”
Her father couldn’t change the difficulty of this level.
Because once he did, it would no longer be true to his heart.
“My father might have been waiting for disciples to surpass him back then for hundreds or thousands of years.”
“Lin Shuang, can you do it?”
Among the nine thousand tiers, the countless black threads—no one could tell whether they were identical in strength to the demonic cultivator’s assault that Elder Chen had faced back then, or whether they had been “enhanced” in his crafting of the trial as the lingering nightmares that haunted him over the years… Their attacks were nearly incessant and utterly unpredictable.
Each time they covered and attacked, the direction and sequence were different!
They easily pierced through the cultivators’ body defenses, making ordinary disciples lose the courage to resist.
Lin Shuang took a look from outside and realized that she couldn’t get through by observation alone, “It seems we can only endure it.”
As she spoke, Huangpu Yuan beside her had already transformed into his original form.
His nine-tailed aura instantly surged!
He clenched a longsword between his teeth, his curly white tail fur fluttering vibrantly in the air!
He raised his head.
Ready!
“I’m ready too!”
Meng Zi took a deep breath.
“Alright, let’s go!” Lin Shuang dashed instantly, entering the area where the black threads were harvesting disciples’ lives!
In an instant, the black threads descended, heading toward her face!
Silently, they carved a bloody mark!
White fur floating on green water, Huangpu Yuan instantly had his white fur floating, carrying her and dragging Meng Zi… fleeing from the crisscrossing black threads!
[!]
[!]
[Damn! Is this the technique of a high-level evil cultivator!?]
[Damn it——!]
[Wish I could go in and help!]
The viewing comments flew by rapidly.
The observing disciples were anxious and upset as they saw the fox, the woman, and the man bleeding nonstop within moments.
Outside Zhen Chuan, curses rang out continuously.
The observing disciples hadn’t dispersed yet, and the other eleven sects’ competing disciples hadn’t left either.
“Damn it!”
“Why can’t I enter level 9990…”
“Elder, why don’t you give me a Ferry Leaf too!”
The disciples from the twelve sects immediately roared.
They had endured for so long.
At the mid and lower-level competitions, they could only watch from the sidelines when pursuing evil cultivators, unable to intervene.
During the Heaven Mechanism Association’s disguised auction pavilion siege and the Shan Hai Sect’s elder ambush, as disciples, they couldn’t participate either.
Later, when the Spirit Transformation disciples and high-level disciples went to the Demon Realm to search for the missing little demon and overthrow the incompetent Tiger King, they could only stand by helplessly once more.
And now, seeing Lin Shuang and the others getting injured all over, repeatedly dodging the black threads, they… could still only watch helplessly!
Just now, the elders had made it clear, ‘The battle against the evil cultivators is not yet over,’ and no one was foolish enough not to realize that the key to annihilating the Heaven Mechanism Association lay with the highest echelons of Zhen Chuan.
Whether it was finding ‘the elders’ secrets’ or gaining opportunities within, it would help in the effort to eliminate the Heaven Mechanism Association!
But these disciples could only watch and couldn’t participate.
They couldn’t contribute at all!
It was frustrating.
Disciples from all sects frowned, watching the projection, their faces no longer showing the previous smiles or amusement.
Even the demonic beings like She Gan and others wished to partake in the development of their expanding demon realm, so how could these human cultivators not desire the same?
Dao Fa Senior from the Qing Shui Sect looked up at the projection, gripping the iron rod in his hand tightly.
Zhu Jiao from the Bai Hua Sect flipped open the Four Seasons Flower Book, biting her lip, eager to act.
Senior Ning Yuan from Yunyang Sect, whose talisman had been snatched by Lin Shuang, clutched his talisman pouch tightly.
Their cultivation levels weren’t high enough, and they weren’t the most outstanding disciples in their sects.
They didn’t know when they would reach level 8,500, let alone level 9,000!
But as cultivators, they had been diligently cultivating their skills in their sects for many years without slacking. How could they just stand by and watch their fellow disciples struggle and get injured without being able to help, what kind of cultivators would that make them?!
Was all their hard work for nothing?
Was all their effort just to be spectators?!
Soon, the projection showed Lin Shuang’s first-person view.
On the back of the nine-tailed fox beneath her, many strands of snow-white fur were severed by the black threads…
Meng Zi’s robe was torn, and his entire right arm was almost gone!
“Again and again, all we can do is watch. Why is that? After all, I’m still Lin Shuang’s senior in Spirit Transformation cultivation!”
“Yes! Although I’m only at the seventh layer of Spirit Transformation now, and my current cultivation is even worse than Huangpu’s, I’ve been cultivating the Defensive Golden Bell Technique for over thirty years, and my golden body’s strength can rival that of a Void Entry cultivator! I really want to say, Lin Shuang, Huangpu Yuan, Meng Zi, you guys retreat! Let me take over!”
“The black thread attacks are extremely strong and everywhere, but our Ming Chong Sect disciples also have a three-person defensive formation! Ah, why didn’t anyone teach Lin Shuang earlier!”
“Bang bang bang!” The Wan Seng Sect also angrily hit their wooden fish, looking at Zhou Xuan Wu.
Zhou Xuan Wu immediately understood and translated on the spot, “Damn it, the monks of our sect wish we could stand side by side with Lin Shuang Senior Sister with our Copper Wall and Iron Fortress Formation!”
All the disciples: “…”Ah! Even the mute monks from the Wan Seng Sect got angry!
Everyone was watching the projection just now, but gradually, no one was commenting on the projection anymore.
Everyone was arguing at the entrance of Zhen Chuan!
“Elder, what is the relationship between the Heaven Mechanism Association and the Nine Thousand Trials?”
“If it’s that important, can’t I help Lin Shuang and the others pass the trial!?”
“Pause for a moment—we should teach them a three-person defensive formation first!”
“Senior Yu, pause time! Let Lin Shuang come out for a moment!”
The elders from all sects were surrounded by their disciples.
Chen Wu Shui never expected that when Lin Shuang and the others entered Zhen Chuan, disciples from other sects would become so excited.
Previously, during the twelve sect competitions, disciples from each sect still had competitive thoughts toward each other.
But now, things were different.
After experiencing the demon realm and the games, the unity among the disciples was also influenced by the demon clan disciples, becoming stronger than ever before!
You know, although the Nine Thousand Trials of Zhen Chuan are a test, the injuries sustained there are real, not fake!
Only after severe injury and blood loss will they be teleported out for treatment, avoiding death, that’s all.
But at this moment, the hideous wound on Lin Shuang’s cheek, the cut tail fur and bleeding front paw of Huangpu Yuan, and Meng Zi’s nearly shattered right arm… these were all real injuries!
If they lose an arm or have their dantian destroyed, they will be expelled from the Nine Thousand Trials. Even after treatment, no one knows whether it will affect their future dantian talent, bone quality, and comprehension.
The disciples of the twelve sects can spend one hundred thousand to teleport to the Demon Realm and assist the lost little demons!
Can’t the disciples of the twelve sects help their own human cultivators!
There’s no logic to that!
“Senior Elder!”
“Elder Mu—at least give them some pills before letting them in!”
Even the elders were being criticized by their own disciples!
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Zhao Keran, standing beside her parents, also looked unhappily toward the projection.
Then, she bid farewell to the Elimination Pavilion assassin couple beside her, whose masks were like a shield wall. “Mom, Dad, I’m going to find my senior sister. As for the things you’ve hidden from me, I’ll deal with you when I have time to return home.”
The Elimination Pavilion assassin couple looked up at the sky. “…”
But with a single gesture from Zhao Keran, all the disciples from the twelve sects outside Zhenchuan present fell silent!
“My senior sister asked for a peach branch from Senior Sister Li Hua when she went to the demon realm.”
Everyone’s expression changed.
The peach branch of the Hundred Flowers Sect, with Lin Shuang’s artifact, could rewind and stop time for the duration of an incense stick.
But she had already used it on the Tiger Prince previously.
Zhao Keran nodded. “That day, only half of it was used.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up—there was still half an incense stick worth of time-stopping power!
They couldn’t help but look at the projection and noticed that Lin Shuang and the others in the scene were already in tattered conditions, their speed decreasing, their breathing becoming more labored.
Although they had spirit-gathering talismans, clearly the 9,900 layers of spiritual energy weren’t infinite. After massive consumption, the spiritual energy gradually became thinner, and the subsequent spirit-gathering recovery effects declined significantly.
At most, it would be enough for the fox and the two humans to recover once more!
Lin Shuang could stop time for half an incense stick with the peach branch, but this was limited by the user’s cultivation base and whether the target resisted.
For example, when the previous tiger king cultivator was alive, she couldn’t stop his attack with the peach branch!
Because the cultivation gap was too large.
“This black thread might be far beyond their capabilities—it could be an attack method from over a dozen Void-stage evil cultivators.”
“This half peach branch probably can’t stop all the black threads at once…”
The disciples from the twelve sects began to murmur amongst themselves.
“Even if Lin Shixiong has this, I think she can only stop time for one or two breaths at most. It will be difficult to save over a hundred disciples while protecting herself and the others.”
One or two breaths.
This matched the elders’ question in this round of the test—”Within one breath, how many can you save?”
“This senior sister is so clever. Indeed, the duration of time-stopping was already told to us by Elder Chen.”
“The senior sister can at most stop time for one breath within it.”
Zhao Keran nodded.
The senior sister from the Hundred Flowers Sect, who had just spoken: “…”
Is that how it should be understood?
Bian Bocai twitched his lips, but since he was already quite familiar with Zhao Keran, he said, “Xiaomei, do you have any… solutions? Just say it directly.”
“Okay.”
Zhao Keran didn’t waste time.
While everyone was talking at once, she silently wrote out a ‘battle plan’—all learned from Lin Shuang.
At this moment, she had just finished the last stroke and immediately lifted the inked paper for everyone to see!
—One breath of stopped time is exactly enough for us to enter and assist the senior sister!
“!”
“!!”
The elders and disciples of the twelve sects were all stunned.
Can it really be done? Are you sure?
—Recruit one hundred assisting disciples. Recruitment scope:
Zhao Keran flipped out the second sheet of paper.
1. Ten people with the strongest defensive techniques above the Soul Refinement stage.
2. Ten people with the strongest recovery techniques above the Soul Refinement stage.
3. Twenty people with the strongest defensive formations above the Soul Refinement stage.
4. …Ten people with the fastest speed.
…
9. Collect five hundred defensive treasures!
10. Collect five hundred healing pills!
11. Collect ten defensive formation disks!
…
“Those who meet the requirements and are willing to help, step forward!”
“Hurry!”
“Before the senior sister stops time and gains that one breath!”
Zhao Keran shouted loudly, immediately organizing everyone.
The disciples of the twelve sects were stunned on the spot. “Can we really go in?”
But although puzzled, they quickly sprang into action.
“If we can really go in, count me in!”
“Me!”
Dao Fa Zhu Jiao and others stepped forward, but were soon replaced by other, more suitable defensive disciples!
The Alchemy and Artifact Sect also frantically brought out defensive treasures.
Some disciples even flew into the air and grabbed the elders’ stockpiled items…
Everyone quickly lined up in position, as Zhao Keran took out a stack of yellow talismans—teleportation talismans drawn by Lin Shuang.
“!”
“…!”
They all turned their heads in unison to look at the projection—those colorful, curly nine tails…
Just how many half-finished teleportation talismans had Lin Shuang drawn on it back then?!
“One talisman each! To prevent accidents, senior brothers and sisters with defensive formations and defensive cultivation will teleport first. Each of you takes ten treasures and divides the hundred pills equally!”
Zhao Keran commanded in an orderly manner.
The elders of the various races and the Elimination Pavilion assassins were stunned.
This female disciple… this Zhao family descendant, had the aura of commanding an entire army!
Before they realized it, she had made all twelve sects follow her orders.
Although, partly due to Lin Shuang’s influence, it was also greatly related to Zhao Keran’s own clear thinking and decisive character.
The Elimination Pavilion couple, who had been silently pretending to look at the sky, couldn’t help but turn their gaze toward her.
Their entire demeanor screamed ‘our daughter has grown up’—satisfaction and affection evident.
Everyone focused on the Zhenchuan 9,900-layer projection, finally, when Lin Shuang was about to give in and was about to take out the ‘Peach Blossom Branch,’ Zhao Keran solemnly spoke!
“Prepare—!”
The elders of the twelve sects: “!”
The elders of the Zhao family: “!”
“—Go!”
*
Lin Shuang felt as if everything in front of her turned red.
The sharp black threads in front of her, when she entered the desolate mountains, she finally realized—they weren’t actually threads, but water.
“Everything returns to water,” in the hands of the evil cultivators, had become this deadly thing.
Even the iron bones of a Soul Refinement cultivator would instantly melt upon contact with the pitch-black rain threads.
Like tofu, their defensive aura was shattered.
Because of the speed, to outsiders, it looked like threads, instantly slicing through flesh and bone.
Now blood-red water filled the sky.
Lin Shuang opened her eyes, as if seeing the nightmare she hadn’t had in a long time—the bloodstains at the crossroads and traffic lights, and the figure of her grandmother, the headmistress, whom she could never catch up with that day, and in later days as well.
Once, she had desperately wanted to go back to the past, even for a few seconds.
But such divine techniques were impossible in reality.
And now, in this cultivation world… because she was too weak, even with the ability to rewind time, she couldn’t save these ‘Clear Water Sect disciples’ around her…
Redness flowed from her left eye, thick and sticky.
She reached up and touched it.
It seemed like a wound on her forehead had bled, flowing all the way into her eye.
Again, she was too late?
“Lin Shuang, are you crazy? What are you rushing for—”
Meng Zi’s almost broken hand grabbed her.
Lin Shuang blinked, her gaze falling on his wound.
Following it downward, she saw the colorful, fur-covered tail that looked like it had failed a haircut…
Lin Shuang blinked, looking up at the endless ‘black rain’ falling from above.
The enemy was in the sky.
Just dodging and defending wasn’t enough.
Only by rushing upward and defeating the person manipulating the water from behind could she save everyone.
Otherwise, the black water attack wouldn’t stop, and there would be no escape in this entire world.
More and more disciples fell before her eyes…
Blood splattered onto her face.
Lin Shuang took a deep breath.
She placed her hand on her chest.
Pill.
“Lin Shuang, calm down! Rushing up there will get you killed! Even if the three of us combine our strength, we won’t make it! Going upward, we’ll face about a thousand attacks from these threads!”
Meng Zi dodged while shouting loudly.
“The higher we climb, the more concentrated these rain threads will assault us! Facing a thousand strikes simultaneously, even a Void-stage cultivator wouldn’t survive! Unless one reaches the Ascension Realm… damn it, this 9,900-layer trial was never meant for mortals!”
[Two hundred disciples, ninety-eight dead.]
[If all three of you are killed, or more than one hundred disciples die, this challenge will immediately fail.]
“Don’t space out, Shuang Diao! You must have another good plan!”
Meng Zi shouted.
But Lin Shuang wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve, again and again.
She could hardly think.
The only thing she could do was rush upward!
Faster, faster, even faster!
[More than one hundred disciples dead! First challenge failed. You still have two chances!]
Lin Shuang’s body froze, suspended mid-air.
Soon, with the ‘disciples’ around her being refreshed, she could move again.
Without taking a pill, she rushed toward the sky where the rain threads fell!
Only upward! There was no other way!
Fail once, then go faster!
Fail twice, then go even faster!
The redness in her eyes almost drowned out the black threads.
She couldn’t tell whether the scene in front of her was the desolate mountain or the traffic lights at the crossroads.
Was it the headmistress or the fellow disciples… their figures almost merged into one, making it impossible for her to distinguish.
The moment the words announcing the start of the second trial appeared, a new spray of blood burst from her shoulder, staining her green robe red!
“Are you stupid? Hurry and take a pill! In the new trial, your injuries from before still remain!”
Meng Zi roared, reaching out to grab her rushing shoulder.
But Lin Shuang couldn’t hear him. Her eyes were already bloodshot.
She slapped his hand away and rushed upward again!
Taking a pill would make her too late!
Taking a pill would mean another hundred disciples dying quickly in the second round, and she could do nothing!
Finally, before the sky was completely filled with the torrential black rain and blood, a long, fluffy figure rushed upward toward her.
Meng Zi looked up, dodging the rain threads while finally relaxing slightly, “Yes, yes, Senior Brother Huangfu, go stop her! She’s going to get herself killed!”
Failing just meant going back three hundred layers—they still had chances.
But if she got seriously injured here, she couldn’t be healed immediately after leaving, and might even develop a heart demon—it wasn’t a joke.
But just as Meng Zi relaxed slightly, he noticed that this fluffy figure rushing upward wasn’t there to stop her at all. Instead, its four paws turned into water waves again, instantly merging with her rushing upward!
Another one of these crazy bastards!
Meng Zi widened his eyes, about to curse loudly, when the nine-tailed fox spoke.
“Lin Shuang, when I went back that day, my mother was already gone.”
“I know how painful it is to be one breath too late, to never be able to catch up.”
“Although I don’t know what you’re really afraid of inside…”
It opened its mouth, speaking human words.
What followed was a crystal-clear jade-like demon core.
As the demon core pulsed, the nine-tailed fox’s body suddenly shrank.
As if all its demon power had been poured into this demon core.
Then, with a final movement of its limbs, as it propelled Lin Shuang upward ten inches, it pushed the demon core into her forehead.
Lin Shuang’s aura instantly surged from the sixth Soul Refinement layer, rising layer by layer!
The nine-tailed fox shrank inch by inch.
Looking up at her.
“An ancient divine beast is inherently a supreme being, capable of aiding human cultivation without obstacles to breakthrough.”
She lowered her gaze, and in its eyes, she saw her own formidable self, igniting her dantian and instantly ascending through the stages—entry-level, beginner, intermediate… advanced…
“Today, I will lend you all my demon power.”
“This time, we will be in time.”
Lin Shuang looked into his pitch-black fox eyes, and for a moment, her vision blurred.
As if something hot flowed from her eyes, breaking in her chest.
Her rushing speed seemed to slow by a fraction.
But in an instant, he flung her upward.
“Even if you’re slightly slower, it’s okay.”
There’s still him, and Meng Zi…
Back then, she sent him up to the nine thousand layers. This time, it would be him sending her!
The demon core entered her forehead instantly, merging with her dantian.
Lin Shuang felt as if she had returned to the 6,000th layer when she was in Yueshi, experiencing the overwhelming sensation of Shuitan rushing into the void!
No, she was even stronger than him now!
“Damn it, you’re all crazy!”
Meng Zi frantically dodged the black threads, constantly slashing through the storm in the sky to protect over thirty disciples!
Because Lin Shuang and Huangfu Yuan were rushing upward.
The rain falling on him and the hundred disciples began to decrease.
Meng Zi cursed, wiping his eyes, stinging from the rain or something else, and shouted as he followed.
“Can’t you at least warn me first!?”
“Xiao Ai, query Lin Shuang’s fears!”
Lin Shuang, whose heart was already in chaos due to Huangfu Yuan: “…!”
Her face immediately turned red, and she angrily screamed, “No! Don’t ask!”
“Ding, querying Lin Shuang’s fears—this question requires Level 4 ‘life-and-death’ authority.”
Lin Shuang: “…Shut up!”
But once Xiao Ai was activated, unless the owner gave a mental command, it would only answer according to the preset route.
She had never thought of designing Xiao Ai to be voice-controlled—after all, cultivators were all skilled. Mimicking someone’s voice was too easy.
How hard could it be to mimic her tone?
So she mercilessly made Xiao Ai obey only her mental commands.
But she never thought there would come a day like this!
She wanted to stop it, but the situation was too urgent. She couldn’t spare even a bit of her mental energy to operate Xiao Ai. She had to focus entirely on the black rain enemy, unable to shut down this little thing that was causing her social embarrassment!
“Xiao Ai talisman is answering. The questioner is Level 4 ‘life-and-death’ companion Meng Zi and Level 4 ‘life-and-death’ companion Huangfu Yuan. They meet the answering criteria.”
They really leveled up!
Meng Zi grinned in the black rain.
The nine-tailed fox, whose fur had dulled and body had shrunk to a puppy size after losing its demon core, now landed on Meng Zi’s arm and even humanely arched its eyebrows.
“Bang!” Lin Shuang couldn’t help but curse.
Her movements to slash through the rain threads became even more frenzied!
“Xiao Ai talisman is answering. Lin Shuang’s fear is—losing loved ones.”
“Damn it!” Lin Shuang blushed furiously, closing her eyes in social embarrassment.
“Fearing to lose someone before having the chance to love them fully.”
“Fearing to lose someone before telling them how important they are, before having the chance to be good to them…”
Meng Zi froze.
The miniature nine-tailed fox, who had exhausted its last bit of demon power to return to her and was now tired and closing its eyes, weakly opened a slit and its gaze momentarily dimmed.
But soon, deep within its glass-clear pupils, a line of heavenly light shone through.
Fear of loss.
Even more fearful of losing someone without having done anything at all.
“Shuang Diao…”
Meng Zi closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
Holding the exhausted nine-tailed fox, he surged upward in an instant.
Contrary to his previous attempt to persuade her, he now struck the flying sword repeatedly toward the area behind her.
“Go to hell!!! Lin Shuang!”
Lin Shuang: “…”
“No matter whether you were fast enough before or not, this time, even if you’re slow, I, Meng Zi, will see you through!”
Lin Shuang felt a sting in her nose, something she hadn’t experienced even while reading novels.
But soon, she found it amusing.
“Cursing me? If you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak at all.”
She had already nearly reached the endpoint in the falling rain; the clouds at the horizon seemed within reach.
With Huangpu Yuan’s demon core, nearly reaching the Void stage, merging with her dantian,
and Meng Zi’s spiritual energy at the eighth level of Soul Cultivation blending with her sword aura,
yet her body continued to suffer due to her proximity to the ‘black rain.’ She could feel she wouldn’t last much longer.
Her dantian was continuously replenished by the demon core, so it wouldn’t deplete,
but her physical body still had its limits.
Once her blood ran dry, she would be forcibly transported out.
Lin Shuang gritted her teeth to keep her increasingly hazy consciousness alert.
From the tiny bag she had carefully guarded at her chest, she pulled out the remaining half of the peach branch.
“It’s okay if you’re not in time.”
“It’s okay to be a little slow.”
“With my demon core…”
“Lin Shuang, no matter if you were in time before or not… today, I will see you through…”
Lin Shuang smiled and brought down the peach branch.
The spring of the four seasons.
Time froze.
Even for a mere breath!
At least this time, Grandma Dean, she was really just a little short.
She couldn’t do it alone, but she had Huangpu Yuan and Meng Zi.
One day, she definitely could do it!
Time momentarily froze, allowing the swirling clouds across the nine thousand and nine hundred layers to become still for a single breath.
The wind in the air became quiet, unmoving from their original positions.
The raindrops in the sky also enjoyed a brief moment of peace.
[Two hundred disciples, ninety-eight have died.]
Lin Shuang was covered in blood, but this time, she no longer feared or panicked.
Clarity and determination returned to her eyes.
Trying her best would be enough.
She rushed forward, but soon the clouds and mist began to drift again.
Her sword was still five or six miles away from the end of the black thread.
Would she get a third chance?
However, the peach branch that could reverse time was already gone.
Huangpu Yuan had given her all his demon core, and Meng Zi had no strength left to fight.
Lin Shuang closed her eyes, nearly exhausted.
Was she still not capable…?
“Senior sister, you can do it!”
“One hundred senior brothers and sisters, we are here to help you!”
Lin Shuang’s eyes flew open instantly.
Following Zhao Keran’s shout, one blurred figure after another fell out from Huangpu Yuan’s miniature nine-tailed braids…
“Damn, this teleportation is going to crush me!”
“This channel is too narrow… pull me out, please!”
“Hey hey hey, pull me out first, I specialize in defense!”
Lin Shuang was stunned, and Meng Zi was dumbfounded.
Huangpu Yuan opened his eyelids.
Damn, these people had made his tail hairs fall out!
“Junior sister Lin, our sect is here to assist you!”
“The Vajra Formation of Ten Thousand Monks is here! This is the translation from Yunyang Sect.”
“Begin, the sixth-order ten-person defensive formation of Mingzhong!”
“Charge! Hurry!”
“Qingmu Sect, healing incoming—”
Lin Shuang instantly felt gentle spiritual energy from Qingmu’s healing land upon her.
Then, one defensive formation after another overlapped on her body.
She looked down and vaguely saw that each of the hundred ‘disciples’ on the ground was protected by one or two defensive treasures and a defensive formation.
“Junior sister Lin, go ahead boldly! They won’t die within sixty breaths!” a disciple from Mingzhong Sect shouted upward.
“As long as we are here, go ahead! The black threads can’t hurt you with a hundred defenses, and I’m still pulling out stock!” a disciple from the Artifact Sect said.
The fire-adept disciples from Yunyang Sect held defensive umbrellas and burned the black raindrops with blazing fire talismans.
“This time, you’ll make it!”
“If you’re slow alone, it’s okay, there are still other disciples from the twelve sects!”
“That’s right!”
Lin Shuang turned around and saw one figure after another rising into the sky.
She saw the miniature nine-tailed fox, who had extended its five claws and glared at her with an unhappy expression after its tail hairs had been blown up, leaving only a few strands.
She couldn’t help but laugh.
In an instant, she surged upward, joining everyone, and swung her sword.
[Lin Shuang, Huangpu Yuan, and Meng Zi have passed the 9904th layer of the trial.]
[The perpetrators of the black rain have been eliminated, and a hundred disciples have been saved.]
Three beast heads appeared on Lin Shuang’s blood-stained robe… but soon jammed.
The beast heads’ light, like seven rainbows, spread from her collar to the collars of every senior brother and sister from the Qing Shui Sect, Bai Hua Sect, and others around her.
The color wasn’t deep, somewhat pale.
But as they moved, their flowing robes displayed a brilliant radiance like shining stars.
Everyone became a layer master!
[Layer 9904 has been passed for the first time by disciples, taking 59 breaths.]
[On the summit of Zhen Chuan’s nine thousand layers, your names will be inscribed: Lin Shuang, Huangpu Yuan, Meng Zi, Dao Zhong, Ming Wen, Wu Ku, Mu Lan…]
[Life or death, the answer was so simple—though I may not be able to do it, along this path, I was never alone!]
[Awooo!]
[We did it!]
[Finally! Charge, to the nine thousandth layer!]
After Lin Shuang and the others were teleported out, she was instantly embraced by a figure.
Zhao Keran cried out, “Senior sister!”
Occasionally, she could rely on them a little.
It was okay not to be so tense.
It was okay not to push herself so hard.
After trying her best, if she still couldn’t make it, she should let herself go.
“Senior sister, you don’t have to work so hard.”
“I will work hard, I will support you.”
“Let me be your support.”
Lin Shuang buried her forehead in her junior sister’s shoulder and took a deep breath.
“Okay.”
Her voice was thick with emotion.
“Alright, after the nine thousandth layer is settled, senior sister will travel the four realms, and I’ll leave the sect matters to you.”
Zhao Keran: “…”
She plopped down onto her legs in surprise.
Ah!
Why wasn’t she even a little happy?
She wanted to travel the four realms with her too.
Zhao Keran immediately made a pouting face but still tried to endure.
Sigh.
Fine.
Her senior sister had worked so hard for so long; now it was up to her and the other senior brothers and sisters, juniors and seniors.
Everyone could take turns resting.
“So from now on, I’ll be the Qing Shui Sect leader for ten years, and you can rest. Then, you can be the leader for ten years while I rest.”
Lin Shuang: “…”
Little junior sister, you really understand rotating rest days!
But who wants to be the sect leader anyway!
She was about to argue when a towering presence surged from within Qing Shui Sect.
“Father!”
Chen Wu Shui called out.
“Senior Patriarch!” the elders like Shui Qian Tan stood up instantly.
Lin Shuang was stunned, looking at the elderly man before her with white beard and white hair, a ruddy complexion, and a missing arm, slowly rising from Chen Wu Shui’s blue-and-white porcelain bottle as if in an elevator.
The disciples: “…”
“Don’t misunderstand, I just appear wherever there is water. This pond has the most spiritual energy.” The Chen family patriarch hastily explained.
Chen Wu Shui: “…”
Before she could say anything, a loud rumble came from the nine thousand layers of Zhen Chuan.
They looked up and saw the mirage of the nine thousandth layer shaking, as if the earth and mountains were cracking.
“!”
“What’s going on? Has Zhen Chuan shattered!?”
The Chen family patriarch sighed, “This old man is about to ascend.”
Chen Wu Shui: “? What? Father, weren’t you about to die? That’s why you hurriedly sent everyone to the nine thousand nine hundredth layer!”
“…”
The Chen family patriarch’s mouth twitched.
Who wants to die? This unfilial daughter!
He turned sideways, smiling toward Lin Shuang and the hundred disciples about to reach the resting layer in the teleportation array.
“You all today have resolved an issue that has plagued this old man for centuries.”
The Chen family patriarch’s gaze, complex and far-reaching, looked into the void.
“Back then, I always felt guilty because as the senior brother, I couldn’t save my junior brothers and sisters and could only escape on my own.”
“But at that time, if I had stayed to save them, I wouldn’t have been able to either, as the power gap was too great. Not only couldn’t I save them, but I would also have died.”
“So, should I stay or escape? Should I save them or not?”
“This old man has been thinking about it… even at the peak of Soul Cultivation, you will encounter Void-stage experts.”
“Even if you work hard the next day and reach the peak of Void stage, you might encounter a Tribulation-stage expert.”
“And beyond Tribulation, there are Ascension experts, and beyond Ascension, countless immortals.”
“There’s no end; you’ll always have enemies that make you struggle, so do you have to run away?”
The Chen family patriarch’s aged eyes showed reminiscence and pain.
“This old man dares to say I’ve never done anything to feel guilty about.”
“But after this incident, after repeated contemplation, although my Dao heart wasn’t damaged, I still lacked a bit of courage to fight against higher-level cultivators.”
“Over time, this became a shadow in my cultivation.”
“Today, I ran away from my juniors out of fear of death; tomorrow, will I perish out of fear of heavenly lightning?”
Since then, he had remained stuck at the Ascension stage, never receiving the thunder for ascension.
But at this moment, as he spoke, auspicious clouds gathered beneath his feet, and a shadow appeared above his head.
Dark clouds covered the sky, with lightning like snakes inside.
His pained expression gradually turned into a smile.
“But today, this old man finally understands.”
He looked at Lin Shuang, Huangpu Yuan, Meng Zi, Dao Zhong, and others who had exhausted themselves to support her.
“It turns out the answer is like this. Human strength is ultimately limited.”
“But if you are unafraid, there is hope. Perhaps it’s the companions by your side, perhaps it’s a twist of fate, or perhaps it’s your own breakthrough…”
The Chen family patriarch smiled as his white hair turned golden.
The heavenly tribulation flashed continuously.
And the nine thousand layers of Zhen Chuan also seemed to be struck by lightning, shaking unstably.
Disciples were cleared out one by one.
Even the teleportation array stopped.
Chen Wu Shui frowned, and Lin Shuang looked at the quaking ground of this layer, wanting to speak but hesitating.
The Chen family elder nodded.
“This old man’s heavenly tribulation is coming; I must face the Ascension test within a day at most.”
Meng Zi suddenly understood, “So that’s it. You’re about to become an immortal. Every elder had to leave a drop of heart blood at the top of Zhen Chuan. Your drop just now transformed, exuding immortal qi, which ruined the nine thousand trials!”
The Chen family patriarch twitched his mouth and quickly looked at them.
“F*ck!”
He shouted loudly.
“This has nothing to do with this old man!”
“You bastards, who told you that a small realm of the nine thousand trials could accommodate a hundred Soul Cultivation peak experts unleashing their techniques together!”
“F*ck! You want to blame this old man for this!”
Meng Zi: “!”
Lin Shuang: “…”
Zhao Keran: “…”
Wait, this wasn’t her fault, right?
Chen Wu Shui’s eyes flickered, “Was the Zhen Chuan realm broken by them? Then… layer 9904 is very close to layer 9999?”
The Chen family patriarch nodded, looking at Lin Shuang.
“Girl, take your little dog and go sniff around. Zhen Chuan has opened; find that old man’s heart blood. Before this old man ascends, I will definitely deal with him and give everyone, both cultivators and demon cultivators, an explanation.”
Huangpu Yuan had been lying on his four paws, being placed by Meng Zi on a small golden-threaded couch.
At this moment, his eyebrows twitched, and he stood up instantly.
Who is the little dog?
Who is the dog!
Lin Shuang immediately reached over and pressed her hand on the soft fur at the back of his neck.
“Yeah, he’s not a little dog.”
“But he is indeed ours.”
In an instant, the nine-tailed fox’s black eyes flickered.
His nose twitched slightly.
…
Less than half a day later.
Large demon beasts from the canine, fox, and wolf clans continuously arrived via teleportation, sniffing frantically around Zhen Chuan.
“Found it.” Huangpu Yuan said in a low voice, straightening up.
Lin Shuang immediately hugged him into her arms and stroked his head.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“Big treasure, I’ll take you to find your mother.”
In an instant, Huangpu Yuan placed his head on her arm and buried himself in it.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage