Mind-Question Trial

The three of them all changed expression at those words. Repaying a favor was one thing, but if they really listened to Li Zishen and killed someone on Yonglu Mountain, they could forget about getting by in the Cultivation Realm from now on.

What was wrong with the Li Family? After all that training, they had raised a useless fool with nothing in his head? Was that reasonable? Was he bent on becoming enemies with Yonglu Mountain?

Once the Wind-Treasure Gourd was covered, the whirling winds in the air quickly ceased. As though it had a spirit of its own, the folding fan drifted over to Wen Xu. With a light sway, it landed in Wen Xu's right hand.

After that, its aura turned peaceful, no longer resembling the rabid dog that had exploded in temper and bitten whoever it caught just moments ago.

"Have the three of you not made up your minds yet?" Wen Xu gently moved the folding fan, looking as though I'm actually very mild-tempered.

The three of them: ...

Li Zishen was so furious that he began swearing on the spot. Unfortunately, his vocabulary was impoverished; not only did he fail to insult anyone, he was instead cursed bloody by the fully recovered Bian Chunchou. In the end, he became so enraged that he fainted outright.

"With that kind of temperament, he still wants to cultivate immortality? I think if he set up a stall at the village entrance, the old men there would disdain him for not even knowing how to write properly." Bian Chunchou clapped his hands in disgust. "What do we do now?"

Chen Zui had already knocked everyone out one by one and lined the four of them up neatly. "Of course, we go steal their magical artifacts!"

"But what if they..."

"If we can beat them once, we can beat them a second time!"

Chen Zui said it flatly, yet his words revealed boundless confidence. Besides, an open and upright battle was far more likable than sneaking around in the dark, buzzing about like flies and plotting petty tricks.

On the Shadow Wall, although Pill Peak and Artifact Refining Peak were fighting over Wen Xu, Chen Zui was also an exceptionally sought-after prospect. Pure-hearted and immensely talented, he was the ideal disciple many people dreamed of taking in.

In truth, aside from those two, several other examinees had performed remarkably as well. It was clear that Yonglu Mountain would surely take in a batch of disciples with exceptionally fine aptitude this time.

The furrow between Sect Master Gu Wufang's brows even relaxed. "How are the preparations on the Heart-Questioning Realm side?"

"They have long been completed. Once the Mountain Examination ends, the examinees who pass will automatically enter the Heart-Questioning Realm."

The Heart-Questioning Realm, as its name implied, questioned one's Dao Heart, one's own heart, and one's heart for cultivating immortality and ascending. If one's heart was not steadfast and wavered from side to side, then no matter how great one's talent, one could never cultivate into anything worthwhile.

And if one's disposition leaned toward crooked paths and one's desires ran too deep, things might be fine in the early stages. But once Heavenly Thunder descended in the later stages, cases of perishing halfway through the journey were simply too numerous to count. Naturally, Yonglu Mountain wanted disciples with better temperaments and good talent as well.

Of course, every sect was like this, doing its utmost to select the disciples best suited to the sect from among those it could choose. There was nothing to criticize about that.

Back in the Mountain Examination, thanks to "Bodhisattva Li" delivering treasures from a thousand miles away, Wen Xu's team's combat strength soared in a straight line. Of the three, one fought at close range, one attacked from afar, and one served as a diplomatic envoy. In any case, if they could win, they fought; if they could not, they sat down for friendly negotiations. By the time the Mountain Examination neared its end, not only did each of them possess a magical artifact, they had even made a small fortune by helping others find magical artifacts.

Of course, Chen Zui had initially disagreed. But helplessly... their pockets were empty. His mother had said that when one was away from home, sometimes one could bend the rules a little for Spirit Stones. After thinking it over, he decided to lower his head slightly to Spirit Stones.

Thus, the three poor devils happily formed a united front.

The Yonglu Mountain bigshots watching from the sidelines: ...You brats really had some wild methods.

Actually, Bian Chunchou had been the one to propose this at first. It was not because poverty had driven him mad and made him come to the Mountain Examination to earn Spirit Stones from examinees regardless of the occasion. It was because once Chen Zui started fighting someone, he simply could not be stopped.

Once he started fighting, he could not be stopped. Once he could not be stopped, he snatched magical artifacts. The key was that Wen Xu-Xu always managed to stumble into magical artifacts by sheer coincidence. Thus, they accumulated more and more magical artifacts, and their combat strength grew stronger and stronger. If this went on, they might well provoke public outrage.

Bian Chunchou thought that would not do, but he also felt it was too much of a loss to give away magical artifacts for free. So... they could trade goods for goods. Spirit Stones, talismans, pills—anything was fine. As long as the price was right, they could trade for anything. First come, first served; once it was too late, there would not be enough.

Wen Xu, who had previously only studied hard: ...I understand.

"Is this the finish line? It looks a little like the road we take down the mountain to Langyuan City." As Bian Chunchou spoke, he searched for Yonglu Mountain disciples, hoping to hand over the magical artifacts early and then... ahem, split the gains from this venture evenly.

Yet after searching for ages, not only could he not find Yonglu Mountain's Elder Zhao, he could not even find any Yonglu Mountain... Oh, no, wait. Why was someone lying over there? Judging by his clothes, he should be an Outer Sect disciple of Yonglu Mountain.

The three walked over to take a look. Good heavens, his injuries were far too severe. Bian Chunchou, a college student, had never seen such a bloody scene before, and his stomach immediately churned. Still, he forced it down.

Just then, the crippled yet resolute Outer Sect disciple spoke:

"Run... run! It's a vengeful ghost! Down the mountain, there's a... Red-Clad... Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost running rampant!" With that, he fainted outright.

What was that? A vengeful ghost?

Chen Zui gripped his blade, his gaze grave. "You two, quickly take him to Yonglu Mountain and seek help."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Chen Zui revealed an eager expression. "I'll go meet this Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost!"

Mind-Question Trial

A Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost, as its name implied, was a mortal who had died dressed in red and transformed into a vengeful ghost. Those who died clad in red had either suffered injustice or harbored resentment. Generally speaking, the moment a Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost came into being, it possessed combat strength comparable to a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

As for why this applied to mortals and not cultivators, it was because once cultivators died, body and Dao both vanished, and they entered reincarnation directly. Of course, there were special circumstances, such as Liberation by Violence or rebirth through Soul Seizure, but these were wicked acts expressly forbidden in the Cultivation Realm. Once discovered, the offender would be executed on the spot, and even their soul would not be spared.

"Are you crazy? That's a Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost!" It was comparable to a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. The three of them together would be no more than food delivered to a ghost's doorstep.

Yet Chen Zui said, "On my way to the Yonglu Mountain Range, I encountered a Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost. Though I was not the one who killed it, every person a Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost kills raises its cultivation by one level. If it kills a hundred people, its cultivation will become comparable to the Nascent Soul Realm. I have to stop it from killing people. Otherwise, none of you will be able to escape!"