"You led me into initiation; I'll send you into the ground."

Chen Qiu led Fat Dragon along the mountain road all the way to the Mocking Heaven Sect's gate. Along the way, the other cultivators who had entered the secret realm warily watched one another. Ordinarily, "trial"-type secret realms did not hold much mortal danger.

You only needed to peacefully clear your trial.

But there was no stopping some people from having itchy hands.

They just had to stab you.

Beyond the sect gate lay a stretch of ruins and grand buildings, covered in moss, while waves of decay hung in the air. Behind the gate stood a Bronze Bell a full ten zhang tall.

Several lines of bold characters, brimming with sword intent that looked down upon all beneath heaven, were carved upon the Bronze Bell.

"First Trial: Severing Worldly Attachments."

"Pass this trial, and you may become a Servant Disciple of the Mocking Heaven Sect. Only then may the path of a sword cultivator be considered Initiation."

Not a speck of dust lay near the Bronze Bell, as though an invisible barrier prevented dust from falling. Clearly, once one stepped into that barrier, the first trial would officially begin.

At this point, the crowd had gathered before the Bronze Bell, exchanging glances as they hesitated. No one dared to step forward first.

The first person to eat crab often reaped a bountiful harvest.

But the first person to eat a poison dart frog probably did not reap much at all.

Chen Qiu was in no hurry. He and Fat Dragon quietly stood where they were, his gaze passing over the Bronze Bell to inspect the ruins beyond it. Yet he saw no footprints belonging to Zhao Yishi. It seemed Zhao Yishi had not entered this trial first, but had gone elsewhere to search for treasures.

Just then—

Quite a few cultivators came to the same realization. Ignoring the first trial entirely, they headed for the other ruined buildings to see whether they could scavenge any treasures. This was the ruin of an ancient sect; it could not possibly contain nothing of value.

They would be satisfied with something as simple as a hundred-thousand-year spiritual herb.

"Let's go!"

Aside from those cultivators who enjoyed exploring, many still felt that the rewards for clearing trials would be better. A middle-aged man, his expression solemn and carrying the air of wind howling, the Yi River cold, strode toward the Bronze Bell.

The instant he stepped into the barrier's range—

His entire body suddenly froze in place, as if someone had struck him over the head and knocked him senseless.

But after a single breath, he regained consciousness. His eyes were already bloodshot, and his body shook violently. Clearly, somewhere unseen by the others, he had experienced something unknown.

The man said nothing. With bloodshot eyes, he simply strode around the Bronze Bell and headed deep into the ruins.

"So that's how it is."

Fat Dragon nodded thoughtfully. "Looks like it creates an illusion and makes you kill your own family. Is it really that simple?"

"Mm."

Chen Qiu said softly, "It was probably real in the past. But after the sect declined, it somehow appeared within the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, so it should have turned into an illusion."

With someone having set an example—

Those behind him stopped dragging their feet.

One after another, they strode into the barrier. Each cleared it after a single breath, but every person reacted differently. Some had bloodshot eyes, some trembled all over, some wore savage expressions, some showed neither sorrow nor joy, and some were filled with grief.

A thousand people, a thousand faces—nothing more than that.

"We should go too."

Chen Qiu no longer hesitated. He immediately stepped into the Bronze Bell's barrier, only to feel his heart jolt and his mind buzz. Then he appeared in a white space, surrounded by clouds and mist, unable to see into the distance.

And standing before him was... Fat Dragon.

"..."

He was somewhat speechless. Could they really not find his relatives, wife, or children, so they had simply taken Fat Dragon—the person closest to him—and made him into his inner demon?

The Fat Dragon before him looked utterly innocent and pitiful. Just as usual, he asked somewhat cautiously, "Brother Qiu, where are we going later?"

Just then—

A panel wrapped in clouds and mist slowly appeared beside Fat Dragon.

"This is your beloved friend and family, your brother in arms."

"You once slew demons, cultivated, and fought side by side. He accompanied you through countless days and nights. You could entrust your backs to one another without hesitation."

"To enter the path of the sword cultivator, first sever this man."

"Can you bring yourself to do it?"

"..."

Chen Qiu sighed. The favorable impression he had held of this ancient Mocking Heaven Sect faded by another thread. No wonder it had declined; it was not without reason. Shaking his head, he ignored the innocent expression on Fat Dragon's face and casually flung out three Lightning-Channeling Arts.

Amid flashing lightning—

Fat Dragon had already become a charred human skeleton, and the air filled with the fragrance of sizzling fat.

The surrounding clouds and mist gradually dispersed, and everything returned to normal. But just as he turned to go back and tell Fat Dragon something, he suddenly saw Fat Dragon standing outside the Bronze Bell, covered in bloody wounds and staring in utter disbelief as his body heavily toppled backward.

"Fat Dragon!"

He could not help crying out as he rushed over in great strides. At that moment, that hollow, ethereal voice from beyond the heavens sounded in his ears again.

"Sever worldly attachments; enter the path of the sword cultivator."

"The inner demon you severed in this trial was not an illusion, but a manifestation. With your own hands, you killed your beloved friend and family. You are now qualified to become a sword cultivator."

Chen Qiu rushed to Fat Dragon's side in disbelief, so distraught that he lost his composure. Just as he was about to take out some healing pills he had looted from corpses before and feed them to Fat Dragon, he discovered that Fat Dragon had already breathed his last. Not a trace of life remained.

The surrounding crowd merely glanced in his direction before paying him no further heed, striding straight into the Bronze Bell's barrier.

At last, he understood why every person who had cleared the trial wore such grief upon their faces. They must have also learned that the people they killed were not illusions, but manifestations—their own relatives had truly been killed by their own hands.

What kind of bullshit sword cultivation was this?!

He stood there in a daze, his face filled with confusion. Holding Fat Dragon's corpse in his arms, he sat on the ground and raised his head to sweep his gaze over the surroundings. For a moment, he felt dazed. There was no grief on his face, only the bewilderment of not knowing what he was supposed to do next.

His memories seemed to return to several days ago.

Fat Dragon had called out to him, snatched his pig head meat, brought him into the bamboo grove, and given him medicinal liquid, allowing him to become a Qi Refining Realm cultivator and awaken his first trait. Fat Dragon could be said to have been the one who led him onto the path, and Chen Qiu had always felt grateful toward him.

In the first Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, Fat Dragon had helped him severely injure many demons and yielded cultivation progress to him. It could be said that, because of Fat Dragon, his cultivation progress in the early stages had risen so quickly.

But now—

"..."

After a long while, Chen Qiu, still seated on the ground, let out a soft sigh. Light gradually returned to his lifeless eyes. After remaining silent for a long time, he finally stood and used the Lightning-Channeling Art to blast a large pit into the ground, then buried Fat Dragon's corpse inside.

He filled the pit back in.

"You led me into initiation; I'll send you into the ground."

"That's not so bad either."