Forced into Battle

A single breath's time was enough for Luo Zheng to run several dozen zhang. Floating ahead of him was a strip of multicolored light—the entrance leading to the Third Layer. Without a second thought, he plunged straight into it.

After passing through the strip of light, the scenery changed drastically.

The lush trees had vanished, replaced by a barren hillside and a Stone Forest made up of jagged, grotesque rocks. Deep holes several zhang wide dotted the hillsides, black poisonous smoke billowing from their entrances. There was not a trace of life anywhere, as if this were a land of absolute despair.

The trial disciples who had passed through the strip of light earlier had all disappeared. Even Mo Can was nowhere to be found. They had probably fled after reaching the Third Layer, afraid that the Aristocratic Clan Disciples would chase them through the light.

Luo Zheng climbed the hillside ahead, then entered the grotesque Stone Forest.

The crystal shards in his hand were still far from enough. From this point on, he had to seize every moment.

The phantom beasts in the Third Layer's illusion were considerably trickier. These Level Three phantom beasts possessed strength comparable to experts in the Marrow Refining Realm. Moreover, since phantom beasts were illusions modeled after demon beasts, those of the same level were generally stronger than humans.

Luo Zheng remained on high alert as he walked through the Stone Forest. He had taken less than two steps when a sudden hissing sound reached his ears.

Something was following him.

The instant he heard it, Luo Zheng whirled around, only to find nothing behind him besides the jagged rocks.

Luo Zheng frowned, suspicion showing on his face. Could he have been overthinking it?

After pondering for a while, he continued forward. But just as he passed through a stone arch formed by the strange rocks, a black shadow abruptly swept over from the other side.

Luo Zheng was extremely vigilant, and his reactions were exceptionally swift at that moment. At this critical juncture, he suddenly ducked, flattening himself against the ground to evade the black shadow, then rolled along the ground.

He saw a long tail behind the black shadow slam viciously into the spot where he had just been, gouging a deep groove into the earth.

Only after Luo Zheng rose from the ground did he see that a pitch-black Level Three phantom beast stood before him—the Earth Swallowing Python!

Its first strike having missed, the Earth Swallowing Python abruptly retreated. It weaved rapidly through the surrounding Stone Forest, searching for another opportunity.

Facing an Earth Swallowing Python, Luo Zheng did not dare lower his guard. He backed away several steps and pressed his back against a boulder, preventing it from attacking him from behind. Then his eyes continuously tracked the phantom beast's movements. As long as the Earth Swallowing Python lost patience and attacked him head-on, Luo Zheng was confident he could deliver a fatal blow.

What Luo Zheng had not expected was that the Earth Swallowing Python was extremely cunning. It darted rapidly around this stretch of Stone Forest, occasionally revealing its enormous head and flicking its tongue at Luo Zheng a few times before moving again.

Luo Zheng did not blindly pursue it.

The Earth Swallowing Python moved extremely fast. If Luo Zheng chased it, he would most likely waste his effort for nothing. But phantom beasts were ultimately illusions modeled after demon beasts, and their greatest weakness was that they lacked the patience of humans. Luo Zheng had patience to spare, and he could slowly wear down this beast.

One man and one snake confronted each other in the Stone Forest for roughly half an hour. At last, the Earth Swallowing Python lost patience and launched its attack at Luo Zheng.

The Earth Swallowing Python had actually circled around behind Luo Zheng. It raised its tail, intending to coil up both him and the boulder together.

Power surged through Luo Zheng's body, and Purple Light flickered all over him. Against this kind of phantom beast, he had only one chance. If he failed to kill it, it would probably turn tail and flee. Thus, Luo Zheng did not resist, allowing the phantom beast to coil around him.

The boulder behind him rapidly shattered beneath the Earth Swallowing Python's tremendous crushing force, while Luo Zheng was bound tight in its coils.

Luo Zheng knew the habits of snakes. After coiling around their prey, they would constrict their abdomens whenever the prey breathed in, using the motion to tighten their coils. With every breath, the coils grew tighter, until the prey could no longer breathe and died from suffocation. Only then would they begin devouring it.

Before that happened, Luo Zheng drew a deep breath.

He concentrated all his strength in his arms and legs, quietly waiting for a while before suddenly straining with every ounce of his power.

"Rip!"

The Earth Swallowing Python's barrel-thick body instantly snapped into several pieces, scattering in every direction. Only the eyes atop its head revealed a look of terror. In its memories, once prey was caught in its coils, there had never been any chance of escape. It had thought it could feast to its heart's content.

Yet the prey had suddenly erupted with power far beyond what it could withstand, tearing it apart in an instant.

After the Earth Swallowing Python's corpse split into five or six pieces, it writhed on the ground for a moment before transforming into specks of light.

"Ding-ding!"

An Amethyst Shard fell from the strange rocks onto the ground, ringing with a clear, pleasant sound. To Luo Zheng, the Third Layer was finally a suitable place to hunt. He needed only nine more Amethyst Shards to pass the Bloodcolor Trials.

Luo Zheng picked it up, wiped it off, and put it in his pocket. Then he chose a direction and strode away.

He had no intention of entering the Fourth Layer. Judging from the strength of the phantom beasts in the Bloodcolor Trials, those in the Fourth Layer should be comparable to humans at the Half-Step to the Innate Realm. Since they were phantom beasts, their innate talents would likely make them even stronger than humans.

Although killing just three Level Four phantom beasts was enough to pass the Bloodcolor Trials, Xie Lang's strength after exhausting his stamina had already given Luo Zheng a headache. The thought of dealing with phantom beasts at the Half-Step to the Innate Realm was even more daunting, so he dismissed the idea.

In fact, Luo Zheng's judgment was extremely accurate.

In the Bloodcolor Trials, the vast majority of people would remain in the Third Layer. Few would set foot in the Fourth or Fifth Layer. The phantom beasts there were simply too powerful—not places where trial disciples could stay.

Luo Zheng wandered through the Third Layer for three hours.

During those three hours, he gained quite a lot.

First, he encountered a Heavenly Demon Crow. It kept ambushing Luo Zheng from the air, but he could do nothing to it. Whenever he tried to attack, it would pull away from him.

In the end, with the Heavenly Demon Crow harassing him relentlessly, Luo Zheng chose to fall down and play dead. Unexpectedly, he had guessed right. Heavenly Demon Crows loved eating corpses. The instant it approached him, he killed it with a single punch.

After that, a gigantic Ancient Mammoth came looking for trouble. Facing this enormous, terrifying savage beast, Luo Zheng relied on his agile body to kill it.

Three-Headed Black Wolf...

Flame Dragon Beast...

Vajra Gorilla...

Overall, the phantom beasts in the Third Layer were considerably stronger than those in the Second Layer. But to Luo Zheng, they were merely a little more troublesome. With a bit of thought, they were not difficult to deal with.

In those three hours, he obtained a total of eight Amethyst Shards.

At that moment, a Blood Boar with a green face and protruding fangs was charging toward Luo Zheng.

The Blood Boar was covered in poisonous spines, and its thick hide and meaty flesh made it extremely difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, its intelligence was terribly low. Aside from charging at Luo Zheng with brute force, it had no other means of attack.

Luo Zheng kept dodging, waiting until the Blood Boar had nearly exhausted its strength before dealing with it.

But just after one evasive maneuver, Luo Zheng suddenly sensed an extremely dangerous presence! Relying almost entirely on instinct, he rolled to the side.

A bright-blue line suddenly appeared where Luo Zheng had been standing. The Blood Boar reacted very slowly. Charging blindly ahead, it slammed into the bright-blue line and was instantly sliced in half. Before it could even cry out, it disintegrated into countless specks of light, and an Amethyst Shard fell to the ground with a clear ding.

Luo Zheng's face turned livid as he studied the bright-blue line that was gradually fading away. It was unbelievably sharp. If he had been even slightly slower, he would probably have been sliced in half as well.

"This Amethyst Shard is yours."

Not far away, a young man toyed with a dagger. Bright-blue lines continuously appeared at its tip.

"Who are you?" Luo Zheng asked warily. The attack just now had clearly been aimed straight at him.

The young man replied carelessly, "My surname is Fang. My name is Fang Yushu."

Luo Zheng's eyes flickered, and he immediately understood most of the situation. Fang Yushu was another Aristocratic Clan Disciple with the surname Fang, and he had attacked without a word. He was most likely from the same Lineage as the three people Luo Zheng had encountered in the Second Layer.

Fang Yushu pulled a handful of Amethyst Shards from his robes. They streamed from his hand onto the ground like shattered jade raining down, ringing with a crisp tinkling sound.

Only ten were needed to ensure that a trial disciple passed the assessment, yet there were dozens of Amethyst Shards scattered across the ground!

Luo Zheng had worked himself ragged for so long and had gathered only nine Amethyst Shards. This fellow had actually obtained so many.

"Fight me, and all these Amethyst Shards are yours," Fang Yushu said coldly.

Luo Zheng shook his head. "I'm not interested."

What a joke. He was only one Amethyst Shard away from completing his advancement. Why would he fight this fellow? The reason Fang Yushu had gathered so many Amethyst Shards in such a short time was probably the dagger in his hand.

Judging from Luo Zheng's assessment, that dagger was very likely a treasure at the Spirit Artifact level.

Luo Zheng was confident in his own strength, but he was not reckless.

Fang Yushu smiled faintly. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice. I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if those three stupid pigs were eliminated, but if you eliminate members of our Fang family, you can't possibly get away without paying a price."

Luo Zheng remained unmoved. He lowered his head and hurried away, but at that moment, a bright-blue thread bizarrely appeared in front of him.

The thread rapidly multiplied, forming a small square. The square continued to expand until it ultimately became a massive net. It covered a radius of over a hundred meters, enclosing both Luo Zheng and Fang Yushu.

"The Bloodcolor Trials are too boring. Dealing with these mindless phantom beasts is practically an insult to my intelligence! Only a proper fight might finally let me enjoy myself!" Fang Yushu said in a strange, mocking tone.

Luo Zheng narrowed his eyes and looked at Fang Yushu in the distance. It seemed that if he refused to fight today, this matter would probably not end peacefully.