Great Desolate Sect

Thus, in the blink of an eye, Zhang Tie spent seven whole days busily working away. Having just emerged from underground, he first briskly cleaned the Storage Pouch filled with rubble until it was spotless, then found a relatively level patch of ground and sat down.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and began recalling the gains of the past few days. At the thought of them, excitement involuntarily appeared on his face.

Inside the Storage Pouch was a pile of mid-grade Spirit Stones like a small mountain. After carefully counting them, he found there were more than 3,700 mid-grade Spirit Stones. Converted into Low-grade Spirit Stones, that amounted to over 370,000.

When had Zhang Tie ever possessed such an enormous fortune? Never! This unprecedented sense of security made him feel incomparably steady and at ease.

Zhang Tie quickly found Jiang Yun, who was cultivating. He returned the Storage Pouch and told Jiang Yun that he was about to follow their previous plan and explore the place marked with a circular symbol on the map. Once he returned from exploring it, he would send Jiang Yun a message from the edge of the grand formation.

After saying that, he turned around without hesitation and strode toward the edge of the formation.

Entering had been fraught with countless hardships and dangers, yet leaving proved unexpectedly effortless. Zhang Tie simply walked out without encountering the slightest resistance.

He took the beast-hide map from his robes and studied it once more. Then, after identifying a direction, he used the Wind Riding Technique and sped away.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhang Tie finally arrived near the location marked on the map.

Before him stretched a vast, dense mountain forest. Towering peaks rose one after another, layer upon layer. Looking into the distance, they resembled endless surging waves, inspiring involuntary awe.

Zhang Tie took out the beast-hide map again and checked it several times. The location was indeed nearby. He had definitely not gone the wrong way.

After carefully putting away the map, Zhang Tie began paying close attention to his surroundings. At the same time, he occasionally sent his consciousness into the Storage Pouch to check on the changes in the four tokens.

After walking for about another quarter of an hour, Zhang Tie slowly emerged from a valley. At that instant, an enormous and utterly shocking statue suddenly came into view. It stood majestically atop a huge circular stone platform several hundred zhang in diameter, its grand and imposing presence breathtaking.

The statue was entirely a deep black. Its ferocious lion head seemed capable of devouring everything, while its powerful ape-like body brimmed with strength. Three snake tails swayed behind it with menacing force, and the single horn on its head was incomparably sharp. The mane around its neck resembled blazing flames, while its mouthful of interlocking fangs was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

It stood with its legs bent like a bow, sturdy and powerful. Both arms were raised high as it looked toward the heavens, as though roaring furiously at the sky. The giant maw on its abdomen seemed capable of swallowing heaven and earth, while the dense scales covering its body gleamed with a chilling light.

The first impression it gave was one of strength, savagery, and viciousness. A single glance was enough to fill one with fear, leaving no one daring to show it the slightest disrespect.

Surrounding the enormous statue stood nine white pillars, each about a zhang in diameter and over three zhang tall. Both the pillars and the stone platform below were covered in intricate formation patterns.

In front of the stone platform stood a black stone stele over three people tall, quietly rooted in place.

Zhang Tie's heart trembled slightly. He had never seen the strange appearance of this statue in any of the miscellanies he had read before. Such a grand and mysterious existence could not possibly be unknown.

Zhang Tie took a deep breath and continued forward with extreme caution, slowly approaching the mysterious stone stele. Only when he drew near did he discover in surprise that three large characters were clearly written on its left side: God Testing Stele.

Zhang Tie frowned deeply and pondered in confusion. What exactly did this God Testing Stele test? Could it be testing divine sense? No, that was impossible. Everyone who could enter this place was only at the Qi Refining stage. How could they possess divine sense?

Zhang Tie racked his brains and thought for a long time, but still failed to understand. However, he secretly decided that he would know its secrets if he went up and tested it himself.

Zhang Tie took a deep breath and slowly walked before the stone stele. He extended his right hand and gently placed it against the stele, then closed his eyes and focused fully on circulating his spiritual energy, slowly pouring it into the stone stele. Yet to his disappointment, the stele showed no reaction whatsoever.

Zhang Tie withdrew his hand in disappointment, gritted his teeth, and pressed his forehead tightly against the stone stele, concentrating all his attention. Yet the stele still remained completely motionless.

Filled with confusion, Zhang Tie glanced at the enormous statue and pillars behind him, then looked back at the unresponsive stone stele before him. Finally, he made up his mind and decided to test it with various Spells.

His hands moved as he cast the Fireball Technique, Ice Cone Technique, Fire Rain Technique, and other Spells, attacking the stone stele. Yet it still showed no reaction.

An uncontrollable fury instantly rose in Zhang Tie's heart. He cursed inwardly, I traveled day and night for three or four days, only to run into this useless thing that won't react at all? If I'd known, I would have brought Jiang Yun along no matter what. That kid is skilled in formations—maybe he could figure something out. Do I really have to go back and bring him here? But going back and forth will waste even more time. Yet at the moment, that seemed to be the only option.

After careful consideration, Zhang Tie ultimately decided to make the trip back. But when he looked at the stone stele before him again, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He suddenly raised his right fist, gathered all his strength, and smashed it fiercely against the stele.

Boom! A deafening explosion erupted, and the entire valley seemed to tremble.

The stone stele suddenly emitted a dazzling white light, so intense that it was impossible to look at directly. It shot straight into the heavens. After the white pillar of light persisted for several breaths, it abruptly changed from pure white to red. A few breaths later, a striking red character, "Mystic," slowly appeared on the enormous stone stele.

Immediately afterward, a streak of red light shot into Zhang Tie's forehead and vanished without a trace.

Before Zhang Tie could recover from this series of sudden, startling changes, an ethereal voice of unknown origin rang out. "The Great Desolate Sect disciples' trial will begin in thirty days. Disciples who pass the test may enter the trial grounds." The voice seemed to possess endless magic, repeating three times before slowly fading away like receding waves between heaven and earth.

At that moment, Zhang Tie had also just digested the information that had entered his mind. So this stone platform was actually a Teleportation Array. It would transport disciples who passed the God Testing Stele's test to the Great Desolate Sect's trial grounds. Only disciples who successfully passed the trial could obtain the Great Desolate Sect's inheritance. Those who failed would be teleported out.

One's performance in the trial would directly determine the inheritance one ultimately received. The Great Desolate Sect had been a body-tempering sect in the Immortal Cultivation World tens of thousands of years ago. Naturally, its inheritance was closely related to body tempering and had to be incomparably precious.

After processing this shocking information, Zhang Tie's face flushed red with excitement. Although he did not know why the Great Desolate Sect's trial realm had suddenly appeared in the Immortal Cultivation World, nor whether that once-glorious sect still existed, the inheritance of a great sect from tens of thousands of years ago was like an enormous treasure laid before him. It was simply too tempting to resist.

At that moment, Zhang Tie suddenly felt a slight warmth on his forehead. He could not help reaching up to touch it, feeling as though something had appeared there. He quickly used a Spell to condense a clear curtain of water. Looking into it, he discovered in surprise that a distinct character, "Desolate," had appeared on his forehead, radiating a mysterious glow.

However, Zhang Tie did not panic. He calmly guessed that this was the unique mark of having passed the test.

By then, the dazzling pillar of light had vanished, and the surroundings had returned to calm. But Zhang Tie suddenly thought of something extremely troubling: just how much of a commotion had this caused?

First came the white and red pillars of light shooting into the sky, followed by the enormous voice that echoed through heaven and earth. In the worst case, disciples from every sect throughout the entire secret realm might already have witnessed this astonishing scene.

They would surely think it was some kind of treasure or heaven-shaking opportunity, and people would inevitably come here. At that thought, Zhang Tie's brow furrowed tightly, his face filled with deep concern.

But at that moment, another sudden change occurred. The statue abruptly began emitting a soft white glow, followed by the nine towering pillars. In an instant, an enormous white barrier appeared over the entire stone platform.