The Little Mystic Realm's Rewards
When Sang Ying dragged her weary steps out of the training ground, she felt pain all over her body.
From the outside, it looked like she had only been inside for a short time, but only Sang Ying herself knew that she had spent a full fifty years in the training grounds!
It wasn't until she had passed all the challenges that Sang Ying truly realized just how difficult it was when people said it was "not easy."
Aside from the first level, which she cleared the fastest, none of the remaining six levels were easy.
Sang Ying injured her right arm several times inside, forcing her to learn to wield a sword with her left hand. Even worse, during the final challenge, facing a horde of Demon Beast, both of Sang Ying's hands were bitten off.
Fortunately, in that pure white space, no matter how severe the injury, it would slowly heal over time. After Sang Ying hid and regrown her arms, she managed to kill the remaining black Demon Beast and successfully pass the seventh level.
Stepping out of the trial grounds, Sang Ying's tattered robes, stained with blood and dust, were instantly transformed.
The scabs on her face that hadn't fully healed, and the weariness and dejection she had shown, all returned to their previous energetic state.
However, the exhaustion in her eyes remained, after all, it was fifty years of fighting day and night.
But this training ground has indeed given Sang Ying a great deal of reward. She can now wield a sword with both hands, and both hands are equally dexterous.
Sang Ying had even used her Divine Sense to control the sword twice. However, it was too energy-consuming, so she dared not use it more often.
After leaving the training grounds, Sang Ying found a quiet place to sit down. The scars and fatigue on her body were gone, but the injured areas still seemed to ache faintly.
She sighed softly, and when she looked up again, she met Gu Wangchuan's equally complicated expression.
"You passed too?" Sang Ying's tone was certain.
He nodded, then sat down on the ground without saying a word. Both of them sighed simultaneously.
After that sigh, another figure appeared before them. It was Jiang Zhuoxue, her face completely numb.
He forced himself not to sit down, but silently walked to Sang Ying's side and stood against the wall.
The three sighs echoed once more from the narrow passageway.
This training ground is no place for humans!
After resting briefly, the three set off to leave the small secret realm.
Although they didn't know exactly how long they had been inside, they could guess that at least two hours had probably passed.
The passageway wasn't long. They had spent a lot of time getting there due to various worries, but on the way back, the three of them walked much faster.
When another blinding white light struck, they had already left the small secret realm and appeared in the open space in front of the cave entrance.
However, before Sang Ying and the others could even stand still, as soon as they left the secret realm, Sang Ying noticed countless eyes on them. She instinctively shielded Jiang Zhuoxue behind her and was about to look up at the people blocking her way when three golden beams of light shot straight out of the small secret realm and landed on them.
Sang Ying was startled by the sudden change. She closed her eyes and didn't notice Jiang Zhuoxue's momentary stunned reaction when she suddenly protected her.
The three people enveloped in the golden pillar of light all looked completely bewildered. Jiang Zhuoxue carefully grasped a piece of Sang Ying's clothing, so gently that Sang Ying didn't notice.
Fortunately, the beam of light didn't last long, disappearing in just a few brief moments. In its place, the three of them instantly regained their vitality.
The golden beam of light replenished their fatigue and exhaustion from being trapped for decades!
But the surprises didn't end there. After the pillar of light disappeared, a deep voice echoed once more from within the small secret realm, solemnly announcing, "These three have successfully passed the trial grounds and are now free to enter and exit the secret realm at will. Ten days later, they may enter Pagoda Mountain within the secret realm once!"
The voice came quickly and disappeared just as fast. Fortunately, Sang Ying and the other two heard it clearly, without missing a single word.
After hearing that ethereal voice, Gu Wangchuan scratched his head, a puzzled look on his face. "What's this Pagoda Mountain...?"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by a swarm of people.
A group of unidentified male and female cultivators surrounded the three of them, leaving them no opening whatsoever.
The group that had squeezed to the front immediately said, "Fellow Daoists, you are truly skilled and have great comprehension! May I ask where you come from and where you are headed? Have you considered staying in Moonless City for a while longer? Our Yin Mountain Sect would be happy to provide you with lodging!"
"Yes, yes, our Yin Mountain Sect is very hospitable and loves to welcome visiting cultivators. Please don't be shy, gentlemen! Why don't you come with us and move into the sect today!"
As they talked, they tried to usher Sang Ying and the other two out, seemingly having even prepared a flying Law Artifact for them.
Sang Ying dared not agree, and even the usually outgoing Sang Ying Gu Wangchuan nervously hid behind her. However, he was too close, so Jiang Zhuoxue couldn't help but push him away.
Fortunately, Gu Wangchuan didn't pay attention to this. His entire mind was occupied by the group of seemingly crazy cultivators in front of him, who were trying their best to invite them to their sect.
"What are you all doing? We three are just ordinary cultivators who came to Moonless City for some training." Seeing that these people still had some sense of propriety and did not show any hostility towards her group, Sang Ying's attitude was relatively mild.
But her words gave another group of people something to criticize.
Blocked on the outside and unable to squeeze in, Wuyue Qing immediately echoed Sang Ying's words, speaking sarcastically, "Yes, what is Fellow Daoist Liu doing? These three fellow Daoists are merely guests in Moonless City. If you keep blocking them like this, they must be frightened."
Although he sensed the provocation in Wuyue Qing's words, Liu Duanyue also knew that his fellow disciples had indeed acted impulsively. To avoid leaving a bad impression on Sang Ying and the other two, he had no choice but to call them all back.
"Fellow Daoists, I am Liu Duanyue, the young sect master of the Yin Mountain Sect. Today, the three of you have successfully passed all the checkpoints in the Severed Vitality Mystic Realm, which is a great event in the entire Moonless City."
"These three young talents have limitless potential. Our Yin Mountain Sect hopes to make friends with you and also to discuss a deal. Would you three have the time to visit our Yin Mountain Sect?"
He spoke very frankly, practically revealing his entire purpose.
Although Sang Ying and the other two were unaware of the competition between the two families, they could still sense the Yin Mountain Sect's intention to recruit them.
The three of them, who had been on edge, instantly relaxed considerably. Jiang Zhuoxue, in particular, had been worried that the other party had noticed something amiss.
Lowering their guard doesn't mean they're ready to agree. With two factions vying for power within Moonless City, these three outsiders will eventually have to leave anyway; why get involved in this mess?
Having thought all this through, Sang Ying was about to refuse.
But her words were immediately cut off by Wuyue Qing, who said, "Why do you three fellow Daoists respond so quickly? My Moonless Clan also wishes to invite you to be our guests. And you can rest assured, the reward my clan will offer you will be far greater than that of the Yin Mountain Sect!"
The usually gentle third young lady of the Moonless Household revealed her sharp side for the first time in public. At this moment, the Yin Mountain Sect and the Moonless Household also completely exposed their fighting intentions to outsiders.
Seeing the sudden surge in the momentum of both sides, Sang Ying and Gu Wangchuan exchanged a helpless glance. They now knew that they were bound to be drawn into this trouble and would find it difficult to extricate themselves.