The Spirit of the Sacred Domain gave a rather detailed answer, and Han Xuanji naturally wouldn't let go of this rare opportunity to extract information.
He pondered for a moment, then asked several more questions in succession.
The Spirit of the Sacred Domain was initially quite patient, answering each question one by one. However, when he heard Han Xuanji asking more and more detailed questions, as if he wanted to uncover every secret of the Immortal Palace, he realized that the spirit was not as capable as Han Xuanji.
"Senior, what are the weaknesses of the guardian spirits in these ten heavens?"
"Senior, are there any hidden fortuitous opportunity left behind by the Holy Lord within these Ten Heavens?"
As Han Xuanji's questions became increasingly outrageous, the Spirit of the Sacred Domain finally fell silent for a long time before uttering a curt remark:
"Young friend, are you here for a trial, or to raid my home?"
Before he could finish speaking, a pale golden light appeared out of nowhere and enveloped Han Xuanji completely.
He only had time to mutter to himself, "Your service is terrible, senior," before his vision suddenly blurred.
Han Xuanji's figure disappeared from the Divine Tree Trial Space. When his feet touched solid ground again, what he heard was no longer the deathly silence of the void, but a series of deafening rumbles of thunder.
He looked up and saw a completely new world unfolding before him.
The mountains, like swords, pierce the clouds, and countless streaks of purple-blue lightning descend from the sky, cascading like waterfalls between the rugged peaks, casting the entire world in a state of alternating light and shadow.
The air was filled with a dense, almost tangible, lightning-attribute Spiritual Qi. With each breath, he could feel a subtle electric current coursing through his lungs. His skin felt slightly hot in the turbulent lightning Spiritual Qi, and his hair involuntarily came loose.
"Boom!"
Han Xuanji looked up at the sky, his pupils contracting slightly.
Deep within the clouds, a colossal purple-blue thunder dragon was churning and swimming. Its length was unknown, but it was at least several thousand feet long. When the dragon raised its head, its two purple dragon eyes coldly looked down. The aura emanating from its body was vast and unfathomable, clearly surpassing the realm of Eternal True Lord and reaching the level of Eternal True God.
Lei Long had clearly noticed Han Xuanji's arrival as well.
It rolled around in the clouds once, the dragon's eyes lingered on it for a moment, then flicked its tail and disappeared into the depths of the clouds without looking back, leaving only a few low dragon roars echoing among the mountains.
The gesture wasn't exactly friendly, but at least it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking; it was more like a warning.
" The First Heaven, the Thunder World."
Han Xuanji muttered to himself, already having made up his mind.
Among the ten top-tier Dao Principles forged by the Ten Directions Holy Lord, the Great Dao of Thunder was included. The rules of this level are clearly closely related to the Holy Lord's understanding of the Thunder Principle back then, and the thunder dragon at the level of Eternal True God above should be the Guardian of this level.
However, for Guardian with the cultivation level of True Master to directly confront a guardian at the True God level is an impossible task under the suppression of the rules of this Saint Realm.
The Celestial Palace Trial isn't about sending people to their deaths. Defeating the guardian spirit is the most direct way, but there are other ways to pass it as well.
"Let's wait for Zhou Yuan to arrive... We still don't have enough information about the Spirit of the Sacred Domain."
After silently criticizing the Spirit of the Sacred Domain once again, Han Xuanji suppressed his desire to explore.
He didn't want to waste too much time figuring out the rules of this world.
After all, Zhou Yuan definitely possessed a lot of information, but it wasn't that he didn't want to tell him; rather, it was that Zhou Yuan himself didn't know it yet.
Because Zhou Yuan's ancestor placed this information somewhere in the First Heaven, it needs to be obtained through bloodline methods.
"Hopefully he can get here soon..."
Han Xuanji hadn't expected that Zhou Yuan wouldn't even be able to reach the First Heaven.
They are, after all, descendants of the Holy Lord, children of destiny; it's impossible that they can't even do something this simple.
Han Xuanji found a relatively secluded cave in the cliff, sat down cross-legged, and took out another Profound Origin Fruit.
The fruit pulp melts in your mouth, transforming into pure medicinal power that flows into your limbs and bones.
Driven by the medicinal power, the cultivation level of the Eternal True Lord at the eighth level steadily increased, bringing him one step closer to the ninth level.
As he refined the medicinal power, he also sorted through the information revealed by the Spirit of the Sacred Domain in his mind.
While the Great Dao of Thunder was not his primary cultivation Dao Principles, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him due to his understanding of other Great Daos.
This wait lasted a full month.
Inside the Tower of the Divine Tree, a moon-white figure slowly emerged from the void.
Chi Yuan looked tired, but his eyes couldn't hide his joy—the joy of surviving a disaster.
Breaking Illusion was indeed a perilous task. He spent nearly five thousand years in the illusion before finally seeing through the truth of the illusion at the last moment.
Five thousand years is a weighty history and the sedimentation of time for mortals, but for cultivators of the Eternal Continent, it is but a fleeting moment.
For this trial, this speed is actually quite fast.
He straightened his robes, brushed away non-existent dust, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the void, and spoke in a deferential tone:
"Senior, I was fortunate enough to pass the third level. I wonder if I will be the first to pass all three levels in this trial?"
Chi Yuan was full of confidence, feeling that no one could be faster than him.
In the void, the Spirit of the Sacred Domain fell silent once more.
Chi Yuan frowned, sensing something was amiss.
Then that ethereal voice sounded again, its tone unreadable:
"Young friend Chi Yuan, you're the second person to clear the level."
"..."
Chi Yuan's smile froze. This time, he didn't care about anything else, and his true feelings blurted out:
"Senior, why do you have to do this? I know that my character still needs to be tempered. If you are willing to teach me, I will humbly accept your guidance."
But haven't you gone a bit too far with your repeated suppression?
I, Chi Yuan, was born with invincible talent and am destined to become a King of the Dao Saint. You don't need to beat around the bush like this."
Hearing such shameless words, even the Spirit of the Sacred Domain, who had seen countless storms, was dumbfounded.
When did he deliberately suppress the other party? What's wrong with young people these days?
This was the first time the Spirit of the Sacred Domain had shown signs of "anger." In reality, this inanimate being did not experience many emotional fluctuations, but it was not that it was devoid of any feelings either.
It seems like I haven't felt the emotion of "anger" for tens of thousands of years.
In an instant.
The void fell silent again, this time for even longer than before, so long that Chi Yuan almost thought the Spirit of the Sacred Domain had departed. This made him somewhat flustered, and he realized he had said the wrong thing, and was about to apologize.
The voice of the Spirit of the Sacred Domain rang out again, sounding irritated:
"As a Spirit of the Sacred Domain, I do not lie, and I have no time to deliberately suppress you. You are the second one."
It paused, then added,
"Second place twice, first place is still the same person."
To kill someone, you must first destroy their spirit.
To the arrogant Chi Yuan, these words were more terrifying than any vicious Curse.
Chi Yuan's lips moved several times, but he ultimately said nothing more.
He wanted to know who that person was.
But the Spirit of the Sacred Domain certainly wouldn't reveal it, and besides, he figured he'd see it soon, so he didn't ask.
Despite the setback, Chi Yuan didn't give up easily. He quickly adjusted his mindset and respectfully admitted his mistake.
"Thank you for informing me, senior. It was I who was rude."
As he spoke, his back remained ramrod straight, but his fingers, hidden in his sleeves, had unconsciously dug into his palms.
Both times, it was the same person.
Who exactly is it?
Chi Yuan stopped deceiving himself. That person was most likely not one of the trusted confidants he had brought in; he was well aware of their abilities.
Of course, if I really had to choose one person...
Liu Wanxu?
Perhaps.
If it were Liu Wanxu, Chi Yuan felt he could accept it.
Or rather, this is the name he finds most acceptable.