Bring It Here

"My axe!" Meng Jingzhou shouted in the illusion, trying to dive down and retrieve it.

The River Spirit rose from the surface, holding up three axes.

"Young child, you—"

Splash—

Before the River Spirit could finish, Meng Jingzhou plunged headfirst into the river with a loud splash, blowing bubbles even bigger than the spirit's.

What was going on?

The River Spirit was baffled. This was the first time he'd encountered such a situation.

The gurgling bubbles gradually diminished until they vanished. The river's surface grew eerily calm, broken only by the aura radiating from the River Spirit, which sent ripples spreading beneath his feet.

"No movement. He didn't drown, did he?" the River Spirit muttered. He wasn't too worried about Meng Jingzhou actually drowning—this was an illusion; no one could die here.

Before the River Spirit could figure out what Meng Jingzhou was trying to do, another change occurred!

The ripples on the river grew more frequent. The River Spirit frowned slightly. He had his power under tight control; this shouldn't be caused by his own aura.

Then it hit him: "It's that kid who jumped in!"

Threads of golden aura began to seep into the stream. The mist rising from the river carried a faint immortal essence, as if some great terror was brewing at the riverbed!

An unknown, immense dread made the heart tremble!

Three fountains erupted from the river, shooting higher and higher, spraying pale golden mist that blanketed the entire surface, blinding the River Spirit to what was happening.

A wind blew from somewhere, scattering the pale golden mist.

Three figures appeared, all bearing Meng Jingzhou's likeness, but their presence had undergone a transformation so profound it could only be described as earth-shattering.

The River Spirit trembled—a primal instinct from the depths of his soul!

Ordinary Meng Jingzhou, Cultivation Great Power Meng Jingzhou, and... Immortal Meng Jingzhou!

This was the fundamental rule of the illusion's origin: when an object fell into the river, it manifested in three tiers—mortal, spiritual, and immortal.

"Hand it over, you." The three Meng Jingzhous spoke in unison, each taking his own axe.

With Immortal Meng Jingzhou present, the River Spirit was utterly powerless, at his mercy.

Immortal Meng Jingzhou claimed the immortal artifact, the Heaven-Opening Axe. Cultivation Great Power Meng Jingzhou took the spiritual artifact, the Mountain-Opening Axe. Mortal Meng Jingzhou, riding on borrowed authority, snatched the rusty axe before the River Spirit could react.

With all three axes secured, the illusion shattered. Meng Jingzhou had passed.

Those who cleared the second trial would fall into a temporary coma—the body's self-protection mechanism.

The members of the Ask Dao Sect stared at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, who had passed the second trial, and remained silent for a long time.

Weren't they supposed to be honest folk?

Yun Zhi said nothing. She had a premonition: recruiting these two into the Ask Dao Sect would bring endless chaos.

She hoped her premonition was wrong.

The true River Spirit appeared, holding a gold axe and a silver axe, charging furiously at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

As the guardian spirit of the Ask Dao Sect, he had never suffered such a disgrace.

"Don't anyone stop me! Today, I'm going to teach these two little brats a lesson—break their hands and feet, then reattach them!"

Seeing the enraged River Spirit, the sect disciples quickly moved to block him.

"Lord River Spirit, you can't strike!"

"Lord River Spirit, calm your anger."

"If something happens to the examinees, word will spread and ruin the Ask Dao Sect's reputation!"

In the end, it was Dai Bufan who stepped forward to stop the rampaging River Spirit.

"Lord River Spirit, rest assured. The third trial was personally designed by me, Dai Bufan. It will definitely teach these two a lesson."

Seeing Dai Bufan's earnest assurance, the River Spirit finally relented.

The third trial, as the grand finale, had two options. One was proposed by Yun Zhi—relatively gentle. The other was proposed by Dai Bufan—somewhat harsh. Both could test one's Dao heart. After a vote, everyone unanimously chose Yun Zhi's plan.

But Yun Zhi's plan was too gentle. Even failing carried no penalty. To quell the River Spirit's fury, they had to go with Dai Bufan's plan.

Yun Zhi had no objection to this.

Let these two little ones suffer a bit. It wouldn't hurt.

The second trial eliminated a large number of people. Faced with the temptation of three axes, many followed their inner desires and lied to the River Spirit, claiming they had dropped the Heaven-Opening Axe or the Mountain-Opening Axe.

Those eliminated, ejected from the illusion, complained bitterly about how hard the second trial was.

But not everyone complained. Those who passed, for instance, did not.

"The second trial was pretty simple," Man Gu said. "Just tell the truth."

The crowd waiting for the third trial nodded in agreement, echoing Man Gu's words.

"What? We're not supposed to jump into the river and snatch the axe from the River Spirit?" Meng Jingzhou shouted. Why was everyone else doing it differently than him?

Lu Yang shot Meng Jingzhou a disdainful glance, thinking him truly foolish. "If the River Spirit wasn't an illusion but actually real, wouldn't you be provoking it?"

"You should have done what I did—take the River Spirit's axes and throw them all into the river. That way, all three axes count as ours that fell in."

Meng Jingzhou suddenly understood. "You're the clever one."

The crowd silently watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou summing up their experience, beginning to wonder if their own method of clearing the stage was wrong.

Man Gu nodded lightly. He remembered his father saying that the Ancient Barbarian Tribe had nearly perished because of their arrogance and ignorance. As descendants, they must overcome this flaw and humbly learn from others.

Man Gu felt he had found his role models.

Just as everyone was discussing what the correct way to clear the stage was, Yun Zhi, Dai Bufan, and the other Ask Dao Sect disciples appeared.

A faint smile hung at the corner of Dai Bufan's mouth. He flipped his palm, and a mountain the size of a palm appeared. The mountain grew with the wind, and in just a few breaths, it expanded to a height of a hundred zhang.

The crowd gasped in low admiration. Such a feat was rare even among cultivators.

The mountain was covered in dense, lush trees, indistinguishable from a real mountain. On one side, a long climbing staircase stretched all the way to the summit.

"This object is called Heart-Questioning Mountain. It is a special artifact I commissioned from an elder to refine. On Heart-Questioning Mountain, mortal and immortal are equal. What you must do is climb Heart-Questioning Mountain. The higher you climb, the stronger your will is proven to be."

"Reaching the fiftieth step will allow you to pass."

Someone raised a doubt. "But doesn't that give Man Gu an advantage?"

Fifteen-year-old Man Gu had the physique of a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old, a full head taller than the others. Climbing would indeed be an advantage—one of his strides equaled two of theirs.

Dai Bufan smiled. "No need to worry about that. Heart-Questioning Mountain will level everyone's physical abilities to the same standard. Whether mortal or cultivator, within my Heart-Questioning Mountain, you will all become mortals."

"Is there a time limit?" someone else asked.

"No."

The crowd rejoiced. No time limit meant they could keep trying indefinitely. Why worry about failing the third stage?

Could it be that this third stage was just a formality?

"Can we use magical artifacts?" They had specially crafted artifacts bestowed by their clans, which required no spiritual energy to activate—a major advantage.

Dai Bufan's smile turned somewhat gleeful. "You may."

If the artifacts could still be used, that was.