Qin Siyang's question left the Rock Core Being baffled again. "Haven't you already been hunted by the Sandworm and triggered the [Succession Trial]? Why do you seem to know nothing about it?"
Qin Siyang did not answer the Rock Core Being's question, instead pressing urgently, "Then... if I didn't pull out a Sandworm Scale and only took one, would that still trigger the [Succession Trial]?"
Perhaps because the Sandworm's secrets had nothing to do with him, the Rock Core Being made no attempt to hide anything. "No. Only the person who pulls out a Sandworm Scale can trigger the [Succession Trial]. Unless-"
"That person has already passed the Sandworm's [Succession Trial], and you are the first person other than them to touch the scale they pulled out."
The Rock Core Being's words struck Qin Siyang like a bolt from the blue, leaving him speechless.
He froze completely.
"Passed the [Succession Trial]... the first person other than them to touch it..."
Qin Siyang's thoughts descended into chaos, and he could no longer maintain his composure. It felt as though a hand were savagely kneading his brain.
Scene after scene from the past flashed uncontrollably before his eyes.
Whenever he lingered even a little too long Outside the Safe Zone, the Sandworm would pinpoint his location and launch a frenzied pursuit.
Now, exposing himself Outside the Safe Zone for any length of time would bring the Sandworm hunting after him.
At first, he had thought that using that scale to lure and kill too many Sandworm Servants had utterly enraged the enormous God, making them mortal enemies.
Later, while hunting other Gods in the wilderness with Hu Chan, he had unexpectedly encountered the Sandworm itself. As a Counterfeit, he had been tainted with the scale's aura, and the Sandworm had deemed him