Trial Path

As they passed a flatbread stall, Fang Chen bought several dozen Spirit Wheat Flatbreads. They were easy to carry and kept hunger at bay, so buying extra meant he would have some when he needed them.

Afterward, Fang Chen bought a great many books at a bookshop. He knew he lacked basic knowledge about cultivation, so he picked up books on the subject, hoping to fill the gaps.

An hour later, Fang Chen and Li Yanshan returned to Dog Head Ridge. Elder Yun had parted ways with them halfway back. Fang Chen had given him the Black Iron Sword, and he had ridden off on Little Donkey with Xiao Liu to find someone who could repair it.

With a bundle on his back, Fang Chen said to Li Yanshan, "Uncle Li, I'm going back to read!"

"Go on. Remember to come down for dinner tonight!"

Li Yanshan waved him off.

"No need. I bought plenty of Spirit Wheat Flatbreads. If I get hungry, I'll just eat one!"

Fang Chen shook his head slightly and gave the large bundle on his back a pointed pat.

"All right!"

Li Yanshan nodded.

Just then, both Fang Chen and Li Yanshan felt their Identity Tokens tremble faintly.

They immediately took out their Identity Tokens and saw the Runes engraved on them glowing with a soft white light.

Fang Chen swept his Spiritual Sense over his Identity Token, and unfamiliar information surfaced in his mind.

The Glazed Sword Sect would open the Trial Path in three days.

"The Trial Path is opening this early this year?"

Surprise flashed across Li Yanshan's face.

Fang Chen asked him, "Uncle Li, what exactly is this Trial Path?"

Li Yanshan nodded and explained the Trial Path to Fang Chen in detail.

The Trial Path opened once a year, and all Outer Sect Disciples could enter for free. The three who performed best could become Inner Disciples.

The Trial Path lay within the Glazed Pagoda's first floor.

The Glazed Pagoda was the Glazed Sword Sect's most treasured possession, a Saint Weapon personally forged by its founder, the Glazed Saint. Its power was immense. Unfortunately, both the Glazed Sword and the Glazed Pagoda had been damaged in the great war ten thousand years ago. The pagoda had been shattered, and all the Glazed Sword Sect possessed now was its damaged first floor.

Though only one floor remained, the Glazed Pagoda still held the power of a Saint Weapon.

The complete Glazed Pagoda had been tremendously powerful, said to rank among the finest Saint Weapons. It was a pity it had been destroyed.

The damage to the Glazed Pagoda and the Glazed Sword had caused the sect's strength to decline steadily. Once a top power in the Southern Wastes, it had fallen to a second-rate power in the Southern Barrens.

The space inside the Glazed Pagoda's first floor was vast. Its central region was shrouded in a special force of law. Any cultivator above the Foundation Establishment realm who approached would suffer a backlash from that mysterious force.

A fungus called the Glazed Mushroom grew in that central region. It fetched a high price and was prized for both its medicinal and culinary value, making it one of the Glazed Sword Sect's main sources of income.

So, when the Glazed Mushroom harvest season came each year, the Glazed Sword Sect opened the pagoda and sent its Outer Sect Disciples into the central region to search for mushrooms under the banner of the Trial Path.

Trial Path results were judged by how many Glazed Mushrooms a disciple collected. Finding mushrooms was not a matter of strength alone.

Generally, disciples with a Wood Spiritual Root had a considerable advantage when gathering mushrooms.

The Trial Path's main purpose was not to select Inner Disciples. It was to collect Glazed Mushrooms.

Each year, the three disciples who found the most Glazed Mushrooms on the Trial Path could become Inner Disciples.

Besides Glazed Mushrooms, the Trial Path held many precious spirit medicines. Apart from certain protected varieties, disciples could gather any they found, and the sect would not take them away. It collected only Glazed Mushrooms.

For all its benefits, the Trial Path carried risks. Many powerful Demonic Beasts lived inside, and many Outer Sect Disciples met untimely deaths on every trial.

Even so, Outer Sect Disciples flocked to take part whenever the Trial Path opened. With enough luck, they could become Inner Disciples.

In previous years, the Trial Path had always opened on the first day of winter. This year, that day was still more than three months away.

"People can actually die in there?"

Fang Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. He had not expected the Trial Path to be so dangerous.

Li Yanshan nodded. "Yes. It's dangerous, but fortune lies amid danger. Elder Yun and I take part every year. If we're lucky, we might become Inner Disciples. Even if we don't, as long as we make it out alive, we're sure to earn a fortune!"

Elder Yun looked at Fang Chen and said, "If you think it's too dangerous, you don't have to take part!"

Fang Chen looked at Elder Yun and Li Yanshan. "You're both going. How could I miss such a perfect chance to make money?"

"Hahaha! That's the spirit. The Trial Path opens in three days. We need to prepare!"

Li Yanshan smiled at Fang Chen.

Fang Chen nodded slightly. "What should we do to prepare?"

He had never taken part in the Trial Path and had no idea what he needed.

Li Yanshan looked at him and frowned slightly. "For these three days, you'd better focus on reading. Otherwise, you could walk right past a spirit medicine on the Trial Path without recognizing it. What a waste that would be!"

"Mm."

Fang Chen nodded slightly. He knew how badly he lacked the basic knowledge a Cultivator needed and that he had to study hard to catch up.

He carried his bundle back to his quarters and set it on the floor, then took out the books and sorted them. He had bought more than two hundred that day, all covering knowledge any competent Cultivator needed to master.

"Who knew becoming a Cultivator meant reading so many books?"

Fang Chen could not help sighing as he looked at them.

He picked up a book called the Myriad Beast Compendium and began to read. It described the various Demonic Beasts of the Barbaric Realm.

Know yourself and your enemy, and you need not fear a hundred battles. Fang Chen intended to focus his cultivation on slaying Demonic Beasts. If he knew nothing about them, he would surely suffer when he fought them.

So he decided to tackle that gap in his knowledge first.

After half an hour of reading, his eyes felt dry and his head swam.

"Reading really is hard work!"

Fang Chen rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He slapped his forehead hard and muttered, "I'm such a fool. Why am I hiding in my room to read? When I use the Floating Immortal Sword to cut things, I can absorb Spiritual Power. With its help, my mind becomes much sharper. Reading like that would be far more effective!"

The next moment, he packed up all the books, slung them over his back, and left the courtyard for the hillside behind it.