Stepping into the valley, Ning Ye found the world before him already transformed, the winds and clouds shifting.
He saw that he was standing on an ancient battlefield, littered everywhere with severed limbs and heaps of bones.
Yellow sand filled the sky. The wind swept past, carrying a bleak, bloodcurdling chill.
Countless Immortal Seekers stood there, their eyes blank with confusion. Clearly, they still had no idea what they were about to face.
Only when Ning Ye, the last to enter, stepped into the valley did the clear chime of a cloud chime ring out. To everyone's horror, the corpses lying on the ground began to wobble to their feet.
They clutched broken steel blades and wore armor mottled with rust. A terrifying red glimmer shone in their hollow eyes as they lurched toward the crowd.
Before anyone could react, one skeleton raised its battle blade high and brought it down on the Immortal Seeker at the very front.
The Immortal Seeker turned deathly pale, certain he was about to die. But the blade passed through him, and he wasn't hurt at all.
He stared at the skeleton in shock. The Undead Soldier had passed through his body and continued its charge, unable to harm anyone.
"So it's an illusion." The Immortal Seeker was overjoyed.
He had only just let out a sigh of relief when several more skeletons charged at him. He simply stood his ground.
The next instant—
"Ah!"
A shrill, agonized scream and blood spraying in all directions filled everyone's hearts with terror.
Xifengzi's voice rang out above the valley. "We have laid a grand formation here, transforming it into an Undead Battlefield. Nine out of every ten Undead Soldiers are false; one is real. Fight with all your might! Kill the real Undead Soldiers—or be killed by them. Those who perform the best will earn the right to become inner sect disciples directly."
As Xifengzi's voice faded, a vast horde of Undead Soldiers charged in, surging with fierce momentum and tearing through the dusty haze. Even though most were illusions, they were enough to make the crowd tremble with fear—never mind the real ones among them.
Blood flashed, smoke billowed, people howled, and ghosts wailed.
The Trial Killing Field plunged into chaos in an instant.
Those who had come seeking immortality were all ordinary mortals, with no real strength. Even a single Undead Soldier was strong enough to leave them despairing. Faced with the onslaught, crashing in like a tide, they lost all will to fight. Their ranks crumbled at once, and they scattered like frightened birds and beasts, trampling one another in their panic. Some weren't killed by the undead at all, but died beneath the feet of the crowd.
In the midst of this brutal scene, Ning Ye was perhaps the calmest of them all.
He had been the last to enter the valley. As soon as he stepped inside, the entrance sealed shut, and a sheer cliff appeared behind him.
So he pressed himself against the cliff face, his eyes calmly searching all around.
Xifengzi hadn't mentioned it, but Ning Ye already knew.
On the surface, the Undead Battlefield was a test in which all the Immortal Seekers had to fight the Undead Soldiers. But in truth, the Black and White Divine Palace had made other arrangements.
Keeping close to the wall, he moved slowly along it, undisturbed by the chaos of the crowd. Using the people ahead of him as cover, he edged forward one step at a time.
A moment later, Ning Ye suddenly sensed something.
He stopped and looked back.
Faint writing had appeared on the cliff face behind him.
Just as he thought!
A spell!
All he had to do was reach out and press his hand against it. The spell recorded there would fly into his sea of consciousness, granting him temporary access to it. But Ning Ye didn't do that. He merely took a look, then continued on.
The Black and White Divine Palace had secretly hidden a great many spells throughout the Undead Battlefield.
The Immortal Seekers had no cultivation, so even if they found a spell, they couldn't cast it. But the Black and White Divine Palace had also laid a formation underground to supply magical power, allowing anyone who obtained a spell to cast it temporarily, even without cultivation.
Only that way could they stand against the Undead Soldiers.
The path to immortality demanded strong bones, good aptitude, a steady heart, and keen understanding. Not one could be lacking.
Finding a spell tested one's heart. The Immortal Seekers had to retain some ability to observe even amid fear and chaos. Each spell bore an omen; a little attention was all it took to sense one.
Understanding, meanwhile, demanded that they master the spell quickly.
And the spell's effectiveness tested their physical strength and aptitude.
The Undead Battlefield tested all four qualities required of a cultivator. It seemed simple on the surface, yet held deep meaning. The only real problem was that it was far too bloody and cruel.
Slaughter erupted across the Undead Battlefield.
The Undead Soldiers charged about like a stampeding herd of bulls, sweeping through the crowd and driving them back. Their rough, blunt, rusted blades sent fresh blood flying. Cold steel froze the courage in men's hearts, and the blunted edges sapped their will, leaving terror and defeat in their wake.
If there hadn't been so few real Undead Soldiers, and if they hadn't moved so sluggishly, they could have slaughtered all one hundred thousand people in half a day.
Yet only an ordeal this extreme could reveal true warriors.
Ning Ye saw a burly, rugged man who had somehow found a battle blade. He hadn't found a spell, but with nothing but that battered weapon in hand, he was already locked in combat with a real Undead Soldier.
Then he saw a woman in blue who had been lucky enough to find a spell right away. She seemed to have good aptitude; in very little time, she had grasped how to use it. A steady stream of water flowed from her fingertips, binding an Undead Soldier. The current tightened and tightened until she finally strangled it to death.
Ning Ye continued searching for his target.
The formation on the Undead Battlefield could support the use of only one spell, so Ning Ye had to choose carefully.
Fortunately, the Kunlun Mirror had given him a lead. It couldn't pinpoint the location, but it had brought him close.
Just then, a flash of sharp light caught Ning Ye's eye not far away. The writing shimmering there made his heart leap.
Killing Heart Blade!
The very Killing Heart Blade he had been searching for!
Ning Ye hurried toward it.
At that moment, not far from that section of cliff, a Green-Faced Man also spotted the faint writing.
Perhaps someone's earlier use of a spell had tipped him off. The Green-Faced Man realized what was happening and let out a tiger-like roar as he lunged toward the Killing Heart Blade.
This was bad. He was closer.
Ning Ye knew he couldn't beat him to it. In desperation, he grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it at the Green-Faced Man.
Caught off guard, the Green-Faced Man was struck in the head. His vision swam, and his steps faltered. Ning Ye rushed in, slammed his shoulder into him, and sent him flying. Then he lunged at the cliff face, pressed his hand against it, and stilled his mind. The next instant, a golden glint flew into his sea of consciousness.
Success!
Ning Ye was overjoyed.
He had obtained the Killing Heart Blade Art.
The Green-Faced Man saw what had happened and flew into a rage. "Bastard!"
He swung a punch at Ning Ye.
Ning Ye didn't fight back. Instead, he suddenly widened his eyes, murderous intent flashing in them. The Green-Faced Man looked into his eyes and felt as if he were facing a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He cried out in terror and collapsed limply to the ground.
Ning Ye ignored him and stood where he was, calmly absorbing the Killing Heart Blade Art.
The spell was his, but he still had to study and master it.
The spells hidden by the Black and White Divine Palace were all as simple as they came. Even so, they still demanded enough insight from the seekers. Without it, having a spell wouldn't help them use it.
Ning Ye already had keen understanding, and his three years of cultivation experience had not been for nothing. With only a brief circulation of the blade art, he had grasped its meaning.
The Killing Heart Blade Art's essence lay in killing.
With killing intent in your heart, the blade's power arose of its own accord!
The next instant, Ning Ye charged out of the crowd. Three Undead Soldiers were coming straight at him, but he paid them no mind and walked right through them.
All three were illusions.
Behind him, another Undead Soldier raised its blade. Ning Ye stopped abruptly. At the same moment, the Undead Soldier's blade fell, striking an unlucky Immortal Seeker on the head. The blade sank into the man's skull as he cried out in agony.
Ning Ye kicked the Undead Soldier, knocking it back, but its blade remained stuck in the man's head.
Ning Ye smacked the hilt upward from below and easily freed the blade. Blood gushed from the Immortal Seeker's head, but Ning Ye didn't even look at him. He flourished the blade, circulated the magical power within him, and drew on the power of the formation.
Killing Heart Blade!
Thwack!
His blade cleaved into the Undead Soldier, cutting it in two. Its bones scattered across the ground.
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