Fang Chen froze for a moment. He had not expected the boatman to have no idea how long he had lived.
He looked at the Skeleton Boatman and said, "Senior, didn't you say you've existed ever since this Secret Realm was created? Do you know how long ago that was?"
"I don't!"
The Skeleton Boatman shook his head at once.
Fang Chen frowned. "How could you not know?"
"I'm not truly alive," the Skeleton Boatman said. "Strictly speaking, I'm only a Spirit of the formation. As long as this Secret Realm exists, I won't die. But every so often, the Secret Realm is destroyed and then revives. When it's destroyed, I fall asleep. When it revives, I wake. Each time I sleep, though, I lose many memories. By now, I don't even know how many times I've slept. So many of my memories have vanished. But some have survived!"
"I know that each time the Secret Realm revives, it grows weaker. I'm certain it's nowhere near as vast as it was when it was first created!"
Fang Chen was stunned. He had never imagined that the Secret Realm could destroy itself.
Now he finally understood why the Skeleton Boatman could not remember how long he had lived.
The Skeleton Boatman looked at Fang Chen. "The Secret Realm last revived a thousand years ago. You cultivators are the first to enter since then. You're outstanding. You passed the first trial in less than half an hour!"
Fang Chen was surprised. "What I just passed was only the first trial?"
The Skeleton Boatman nodded slightly. "Yes!"
"Then how many trials are there altogether?" Fang Chen asked.
"Nine," the Skeleton Boatman said. "As the creator designed it, if you complete all nine trials, you'll be qualified to attempt a breakthrough to the Great