The Great Desert of Jin Kingdom, the Mountain Spirit's Trial

The endless loess gullies, set against the backdrop of the setting sun, create a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

On a Spirit Boat, Ye Jingcheng looked at the scene before him and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

This is not the Yan Kingdom, nor the Zhao Kingdom, but the Cultivation World of the Jin Kingdom, which borders the State of the Zhao Kingdom.

The largest sect here is the Spirit Talisman Sect.

The large number of Spirit Talisman masters in the entire cultivation kingdom is related to the kingdom's lack of medicinal herbs.

It is said that ordinary Rogue Cultivators need to use rain-summoning talismans frequently if they want to cultivate spiritual fields.

For Ye Jingcheng, seeing such scenery outside the Yan Kingdom was quite a magnificent experience.

Beside him, the female cultivator also glanced at Ye Jingcheng.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, you've never left the Yan Kingdom before?"

Ye Jingcheng and his group took turns piloting the Spirit Boat, and they have been doing so for over a month now.

During this time, they also passed through a small part of the Zhao Kingdom's territory, and gradually became familiar with the people on the Spirit Boat.

Chen Niangzi is a local cultivator from Jin State and was one of the first to be called upon by the Jun family cultivators. In addition, among the two Purple Mansion family cultivators, one is Qiu Yongtai of the Qiu family in Jinmo of Jin State, and the other is Lin Fuqing of the Lin family in Xuancheng of Zhao State. However, it is said that this Lin family was founded by Lin Fuqing, who is the founding ancestor.

The cultivator surnamed Jun's given name is unknown, but his Daoist name is Unrepentant Master. Like Madam Chen, he is Rogue Cultivator from the Purple Mansion in the Jin Kingdom's Cultivation World. He is extremely low-key and has an excellent reputation.

As for Li Bigmouth and the remaining old man with the Bai Xiaosheng, they were all rogue Rogue Cultivators from the Purple Mansion of the Han Cultivation Kingdom.

The Spirit Boat is also piloted by two people in shifts to prevent problems. Currently, Ye Jingcheng and Madam Chen are piloting the Spirit Boat together.

The rest of the group remained in the Spirit Boat, biding their time and waiting for the secret realm to make its move.

"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Madam Chen, it really hasn't happened before!" Ye Jingcheng nodded, revealing a slightly embarrassed smile.

Just as the two were talking, Jun Buhui stepped out of the Spirit Boat.

His finger pointed to several mountain ranges at the horizon, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Arrive!"

"In that Desert, there is a natural entrance to a secret realm; the place of inheritance is located within that secret realm!"

As he spoke, Bai Xiaosheng, Qiu Yongtai, Li Bigmouth, and Lin Fuqing also stepped out from inside the Spirit Boat.

Their gazes followed the direction Jun Buhui had pointed.

It was indeed a Desert Gobi with very little vegetation, and what little there was was drought-resistant trees.

"Could there be any danger at the entrance to this secret realm?" Ye Jingcheng frowned.

Jun Buhui had not warned the others that they were inside a secret realm.

It's important to know that different types of secret realms exist.

Some are large, some are small, and some even require Array to stabilize them.

"Yes, what if someone is waiting for us inside this secret realm?" Madam Chen also became wary.

As we all know, there is always a buffer period before entering a secret realm.

If there are cultivators from the Purple Mansion lying in ambush inside, then everyone will be fish on a chopping board.

On this point, everyone was surprisingly in agreement, and they all looked at Jun Buhui.

"Please rest assured, everyone. I swear on my Dao Heart that no one will be lying in ambush inside. Moreover, there are indeed inheritances and treasures inside. If this is false, may I never make any progress and may my Heart Demons grow and I die!" Jun Buhui's oath was extremely solemn.

This relieved everyone.

But only Ye Jingcheng knew that Jun Buhui's vow was full of loopholes.

"Moreover, if this inheritance weren't so easily found in the outside world instead of within a secret realm, we wouldn't have a chance; the Spirit Talisman Sect would have seized it long ago!" Jun Buhui added, seeing everyone nod in agreement.

"Is this a third-tier secret realm? How wide is it?" Ye Jingcheng asked again.

He was actually asking for Ye Shengyi.

Unlike small worlds or Grotto-Heavens, secret realms have a maximum cultivation level limit. If a Golden Core cultivator enters a third-tier secret realm, they will encounter a heavenly tribulation.

This is similar to the emergence of Void Refinement Grand Cultivator in the Great World.

"It's a third-tier secret realm, but the entire realm isn't large; it's almost entirely used for inheritance!"

Jun Buhui couldn't help but glance at Ye Jingcheng again.

She seemed to have thought of something, but seeing that Ye Jingcheng remained calm, she lowered her guard again.

The Spirit Boat soon arrived at the foot of a large mountain. There was no Spiritual Qi here, and if he had come alone, he would not have noticed anything unusual about it.

"This secret realm will require some time; we can only enter at midnight!" Jun Buhui added.

After saying that, he took out the Array and set it up around him. After quickly setting up the Array, he watched as everyone walked into Array.

His gaze remained fixed outside.

They also stood guard outside.

After waiting for a while, Jun Buhui entered the Array.

Seeing this, Ye Jingcheng guessed that Jun Buhui had probably gone to investigate whether anyone was tracking them.

There seemed to be some suspicion that he had reported to the other Purple Mansions of the Taiyi Sect.

That's quite a thoughtful consideration.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Ye, have you prepared a few defensive Law Treasures?" Just then, Qiu Yongtai of the Qiu Family looked at Ye Jingcheng.

As fellow cultivators from established Lineage, they naturally shared a mutual respect and exchanged many words along the way.

Ye Jingcheng also learned a lot about the Cultivation World in the Jin Kingdom, but it was a pity that it wasn't him and his companion who were piloting the Spirit Boat.

"Two items. What about Fellow Daoist Qiu?" Ye Jingcheng asked in return.

These two items were a carefully considered decision by Ye Jingcheng. After all, the Ye Family had only recently been promoted to the Purple Mansion Lineage, so they couldn't have too many, but since everyone was prepared, they couldn't have too few either. Two items were just right.

"Including one defensive Talisman Treasure, that makes four. We prepared in advance; after all, it's always good to have more of these treasures!" Qiu Yongtai said.

Upon hearing this, Ye Jingcheng's eyes revealed envy, which prompted Qiu Yongtai to become modest.

After all, he definitely appears to be the richest person here.

The Qiu Family is an old Purple Mansion Lineage, while the Ye Family and Lin Families are newly established Purple Mansion Lineage. Not to mention the other four, one of them Rogue Cultivator.

Even a miraculous encounter cannot compare to the accumulation of hundreds or even thousands of years.

Unfortunately, Ye Jingcheng knew that Qiu Yongtai was overconfident.

Soon, the setting sun cast its last rays, and the golden world instantly transformed into a cold desert.

This place even has a bit of the feel of the Far Western Sand Sea.

But there are still some plants.

The moonlight soon appeared, bright and clear. There were unusually few clouds today, and the whole world remained as bright as ever, so there was no need to take out the Moonlight Stone.

Everyone waited patiently for midnight to arrive.

As the time came, Li Bigmouth was the first to get up, unable to wait any longer.

"Brother Jundao, hurry up! I haven't eaten for days and I've gotten so thin!"

"Li Bigmouth, don't be anxious. After this, you'll probably have enough resources to establish your own Lineage. Why would you worry about a lack of spiritual Spirit Material for your spiritual meals?" Jun Buhui replied with a smile.

He then led the group toward the hilltop beside them.

This made Madam Chen had been observing for half a day, look somewhat gloomy.

Jun Buhui is indeed very cautious.

Clearly, the place we just left was not the entrance to the secret realm.

This is an even smaller hill, and on the hill is a huge cave.

Just when everyone thought they were about to enter the cave, Jun Buhui looked down into the cave and finally landed on a strange rock.

A compass appeared in his hand, and the compass drew in the moonlight, illuminating the stone in Array formation.

"This secret realm is hidden within a natural Array. Only when the moonlight shines and a compass is used to guide the light for a quarter of an hour will the entrance to the secret realm appear!"

He explained as he demonstrated, but of course, what he did was far more complex than he made it out to be; the intricacies of the Array alone would deter anyone who didn't understand it.

Sure enough, a quarter of an hour later, hallucinations began to appear in the cave in front of them.

Under the incredulous gazes of everyone, the cave abode moved down several feet.

At this moment, Jun Buhui stepped in first.

Ye Jingcheng and the others followed closely behind, and the entire cave seemed to have truly changed, becoming incredibly mysterious.

After traveling a hundred feet, you will arrive at an underground hall.

A considerable amount of Spiritual Qi was already circulating in the hall.

Above the hall, there was a small vortex of Spiritual Qi.

Just then, Jun Buhui took out another array flag.

The concealment on the array flags completely disappeared, revealing a secret spiritual gate.

"Just go in. If you still have any doubts, you can arrange for the puppets to go in first!" Jun Buhui said.

This also lowers people's guard.

Qiu Yongtai indeed took out a second-tier puppet, which was the simplest and most straightforward beast puppet, resembling a spirit dog.

The first one leaped into the Spirit Gate.

Besides Qiu Yongtai, Madam Chen and Bai Xiaosheng also took out their beast puppets and went inside.

They are all first- or second-tier spirit puppets.

The price isn't high, but it's worth considering for exploring different areas.

Ye Jingcheng, however, was different. He took out several peak-level first-tier Five Poison Bees.

They flew towards the Spirit Gate.

Only Lin Fuqing and Li Bigmouth did not release anything.

"We believe in Fellow Daoist Jun!" Lin Fuqing said.

It clearly also carries an element of flattery.

Lin Fuqing, after all, had only recently established his Lineage and placed great faith in Rogue Cultivators, unaware that this was the most foolish thing he could do.

Of course, unless Lin Fuqing was also with them.

Thinking about this, Ye Jingcheng couldn't help but feel a sense of danger and knew he needed to be more careful.

There's no guarantee that Six Wolves won't pull off a game; although the probability is small, he must be fully prepared.

Soon the Five Poison Bees and the spirit puppets that had gone to scout ahead all returned.

And the scene inside was indeed just as Jun Buhui had described—a secret realm of inheritance.

Therefore, everyone subconsciously let Jun Buhui lag behind, fearing that Jun Buhui might make further arrangements after entering.

What made Ye Jingcheng most hesitant was that, from beginning to end, not a single person mentioned the treasure-sharing plan or the plan to avoid killing each other.

Ye Jingcheng could only say that human nature is greedy.

Of the seven people here, there might be eight or nine with different intentions.

Ye Jingcheng was the third to walk, with Qiu Yongtai ahead of him.

The seven quickly entered the secret realm. The secret realm was indeed not large, smaller than the Turtle Ancestor's Grotto-Heaven, only slightly larger than his Grotto-Heaven.

In the distance, there is a massive Gobi Desert mountain.

A considerable sense of oppression also emanated from it.

Ye Jingcheng estimated that this must be the Mountain Spirit in the distance.

He just wasn't sure if the Mountain Spirit still had potential, or if the stone heart was enough for the Stone Spirit to devour.

His Divine Sense remained on the outer edge of the mountain, enveloped by an Array.

This Array is extremely powerful; Ye Jingcheng guessed it was the Array that Jun Buhui mentioned, which required six people to work together.

"These are the battle formation flags and Jade Slips. Familiarize yourselves with them; they're extremely simple!" Jun Buhui took out five sets of battle formation flags.

But at this moment, deciding who to give it to is a difficult decision.

After all, there are six sets of battle flags.

"How about the cultivators who don't control the array flags get their share of the treasures at the end, and then receive their share based on their contributions at other times?" Jun Buhui also offered his terms.

"As for who will be available, we'll decide by drawing lots!"

"No, the weakest one should be in charge of controlling the flags!" Li Bigmouth refused outright.

And they started arguing with Jun Buhui. At this moment, none of them wanted to be the one without a flag.

"Then I'll be the substitute, and I'll choose the treasure last!" Ye Jingcheng said.

Upon hearing this, the others were surprised, but none of them said anything more.

As if worried that Ye Jingcheng would regret saying another word.

At this moment, Ye Jingcheng's Divine Sense landed on the location of the spiritual gate he had entered.

A faint aura of light enveloped the area.

There seems to be a fairly strong array base.

"Alright, the Mountain Spirit incarnation has appeared in the distance. Everyone has seen the pavilions on the mountain, right? Those with spiritual light inside haven't been taken yet, while those without spiritual light have all been taken. Last time, I obtained a high-grade third-tier Swordsmanship. The only pity is that I'm not strong enough to use it!" Jun Buhui said, pointing to the mountain.

The six of them indeed activated their battle formation together, transforming into six beams of spiritual light that violently bombarded the Array.

At this moment, the Huang Sha giant, the incarnation of the Mountain Spirit, charged out.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, please stop us! If this Array isn't broken, it means we don't even qualify to participate in the assessment!" Jun Buhui spoke again.

Ye Jingcheng nodded, took out a low-grade third-tier Swordsmanship, and shot it towards the Huang Sha giant.

The situation on the field remained deadlocked for more than a quarter of an hour. The Array was quickly broken, and the six people rushed towards the mountain peak.

At this moment, the group seemed to have their eyes on a particular pavilion on the mountain peak.

They then took out their defensive Law Treasure and put them on.

Jun Buhui was wearing two layers.

The others did the same, and after they finished, they rushed off to their respective destinations.

"There's also gravity; consider this a test!" Qiu Yongtai reminded Ye Jingcheng from a distance.

This kind of gravity is somewhat similar to the Devotion Path Ladder of the Taiyi Sect, but it is extremely challenging for cultivators.

However, Ye Jingcheng remained motionless at this moment.

He continued to unleash his flying swords and engage the Mountain Spirit avatar.

This scene also stirred a hint of anger in Jun Buhui's eyes.

But he hid it very well, and even spoke up:

"Fellow Daoist Ye is very righteous. This Mountain Spirit can only manifest one avatar at a time. With Fellow Daoist Ye holding it off, we can retrieve the treasure first. However, the gravity on the mountain will become increasingly strong, so please remember to keep your defensive Law Treasures with you at all times!"

Jun Buhui's words, when spoken by others, did not elicit much of a reaction; they simply felt that Ye Jingcheng had been tricked and had become a sacrificial delaying operative.

Thus, Qiu Yongtai, relying on his Law Treasure and cultivation, had almost reached the edge of the pavilion, while Ye Jingcheng remained motionless.