The three continued talking as they made their way through the dimly lit passage. Soon they reached the end of the passage, where a very ordinary door stood. In front of the door, a petite-looking little girl sat there, looking quite bored.
The girl had two pigtails, and despite her youthful and adorable face, she had an air of premature maturity. Seeing Qi Ling other two arrive, she showed no surprise, but instead said indifferently, "So slow! Why did you take so long?"
Qi Ling asked in surprise, "Huh? Who are you? Did you know we were coming?"
"You don't need to know who I am. This is just a temporary job I took on," the little girl said. "I don't know who's coming, but I know someone will come, otherwise, I've been waiting for nothing."
"Alright, enough talk. Since you're here, you're here for the treasure, right? Taking this treasure won't be that easy; you'll have to be really capable." The little girl said, turning and walking towards the gate. "Come with me."
Then, without any warning, the door opened to both sides, and Qi Ling and the others saw the scene inside. To their surprise, there was no terrifying scene inside. Instead, it was like a tea room, with a long table and several futons.
"Guests are welcome, please have a seat." The little girl said, taking the lead and sitting down to one side. Qi Ling and the other two exchanged glances, and with a "since we're here, let's make the best of it" attitude, they sat down opposite the little girl.
"Little sister, could you tell me what the ninth level is?" After sitting down, Xiao Ye tried to get closer to the little girl. "Please, please, just tell us!"
The little girl said calmly, "Don't rush me. Even if you don't ask, I'll tell you. Come on, everyone, before we begin the assessment, please have a cup of tea."
Qi Ling looked at the teacup in front of her, the hot tea emitting a fragrant aroma, and couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that if we drink a cup of this tea, we'll fall into a deep sleep and never wake up until the competition is over?"
"Hehe, who knows? Maybe it really will be like that!" the little girl laughed. "Alright, everyone, hurry up and drink. If you don't, you'll have to go back the way you came."
Clearly, this cup of tea is also part of the ninth challenge; without drinking it, one cannot begin the assessment and thus cannot pass this challenge.
Qi Ling thought for a moment, then slowly picked up the cup in front of her, but Xiao Ye stopped her, saying, " Qi Ling, wait a minute, let me drink first. That way, if anything happens, you can save us."
Qi Ling naturally knew that this method was more reliable, so she let Xiao Ye drink the tea. Moreover, Qi Ling couldn't discern anything special about the tea; it was just an ordinary cup of tea.
Seeing Xiao Ye drink the tea, the little girl couldn't help but laugh and said, "Alright, now that you've drunk the tea, the ninth test is about to begin! Be careful, once this test starts, there's no going back!"
Then, the little girl sat still, without making any movement, but Xiao Ye's expression suddenly changed, and she said, "What, what's going on? Why am I suddenly getting smaller and smaller?"
Upon hearing Xiao Ye's words, Qi Ling couldn't help but say, " Xiao Ye, what are you talking about? Your body hasn't changed at all!"
"But I clearly feel myself getting smaller and smaller!" Xiao Ye said in a panic. "I... I know my body isn't changing, but... but I just feel like I'm getting smaller and smaller."
Xiao Ye's words left Qi Ling and Xiao Ming completely bewildered. They had no idea what she meant, nor did they understand what had happened to Xiao Ye.
At that moment, the little girl suddenly laughed and said, "Hahaha, you guys are so silly! What's shrinking isn't her body, but her self-perception, or her sense of existence."
"This thing, although it doesn't have a physical form and is even very difficult to understand, is actually a very important thing!"
"Once a person loses their self-awareness, their consciousness disappears from this world, and the person ceases to exist. That's a terrifying thing!"
Qi Ling was taken aback; this was the first time he had ever seen such an assessment. He anxiously asked, "When will this assessment be considered over? Or rather, how can it be stopped?"
"It can't be stopped! I already told you all, once this test starts, it can't be stopped," the little girl said. "How do you know if you've passed? Of course, it's when you can endure this feeling of losing yourself."
"So, in other words, to stop this test, someone has to pass it successfully! Otherwise, you can only watch her lose herself! Hurry up, she doesn't have much time left!"
The little girl's meaning couldn't be clearer: she wanted Qi Ling and Xiao Ming to participate in this test as well; either they would pass the test together, or they would lose themselves together.
Without any hesitation, Qi Ling and Xiao Ming simultaneously drank the tea in front of them. Since Xiao Ye was already in deep trouble, how could they sit idly by?
After drinking the tea, Qi Ling immediately understood what Xiao Ye meant. In Qi Ling's mind, the whole world was constantly expanding, expanding, becoming a world that seemed like a giant!
But this feeling shouldn't exist, because nothing around Qi Ling has changed; only Qi Ling's own consciousness has changed, and the feeling it evokes is just that.
This resulted in two contradictory existences in Qi Ling's consciousness and cognition. He knew in his heart that he had not changed, but in his perception, he was constantly changing, which was quite contradictory.
Qi Ling knew that when these two feelings aligned, that was when she reached her final conclusion, she would either pass the test or lose consciousness and cease to exist.
"How is it, everyone? How does my ' Heaven and Earth Are Vast Tea ' taste?" the little girl asked with a smile. "Dear guests, please savor its flavor."