"My axe!" Meng Jingzhou shouted in the illusion, wanting to dive down and grab his axe. The River Spirit lifted three axes, appearing on the surface of the river.
"You young kid, you..."
Splash—
Before the River Spirit could finish, Meng Jingzhou dove in with a splash, bubbles rising larger than him.
What’s going on?
The River Spirit was confused; he had never seen anything like this before.
The bubbling gradually faded until it disappeared, leaving the river eerily calm, with only the River Spirit's aura sending ripples underfoot.
"Why is it so quiet? He’s not drowning, is he?" the River Spirit mumbled. He wasn’t really worried about Meng Jingzhou drowning; this was an illusion, and no one could drown here.
Before the River Spirit could figure out what Meng Jingzhou was up to, something strange happened again!
The ripples on the river became more frequent, and the River Spirit frowned slightly. He had controlled his power well; it shouldn’t be his aura causing this.
Then he realized: "It’s that kid who jumped into the river!"
He saw strands of golden energy mixing in the stream, and the mist on the river gave off a faint celestial vibe, as if something terrifying was brewing at the bottom!
The unknown terror made his heart race!
Three fountains erupted on the river, spraying higher and higher, sending a light golden mist that covered the entire surface, making it hard for the River Spirit to see what was happening.
A wind blew from nowhere, dispersing the light golden mist.
Three figures appeared, all looking like Meng Jingzhou, but their presence was completely different from before.
The River Spirit trembled; it was a reaction from deep within his soul!
An ordinary Meng Jingzhou, a powerful cultivator Meng Jingzhou, and… an immortal Meng Jingzhou!
This was the fundamental rule of the illusion: when a mortal object falls into the river, it undergoes changes into three forms: mortal, spirit, and immortal.
"Bring it on!" the three Meng Jingzhous said in unison, taking back their axes.
With the immortal Meng Jingzhou present, the River Spirit had no power to resist and let him take control.
The immortal Meng Jingzhou got the Celestial Axe, the powerful cultivator Meng Jingzhou got the Spirit Axe, and the ordinary Meng Jingzhou took the old axe while the River Spirit was still stunned.
With all three axes in hand, the illusion shattered, and Meng Jingzhou passed the level.
Those who passed the second level would temporarily fall into a coma; it was a self-protection mechanism of the body.
…
The people from the Asking Dao Sect watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou pass the second level, speechless for a long time.
Where were the honest people they expected?
Yun Zhi remained silent, feeling a premonition that bringing these two into the Asking Dao Sect would mean endless trouble.
She hoped her premonition was wrong.
The real River Spirit appeared, holding two axes made of gold and silver, charging angrily at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
As the guardian spirit of the Asking Dao Sect, he had never faced such humiliation.
"Don’t stop me! I’m going to teach these two little brats a lesson and break their arms and legs before taking them back!"
The disciples of the Asking Dao Sect quickly tried to hold back the furious River Spirit.
"We can’t let River Spirit senior do that!"
"Calm down, River Spirit senior."
"If something happens to the participants, our Asking Dao Sect's reputation will be ruined!"
In the end, it was Dai Bufan who stepped in to stop the raging River Spirit.
"Don’t worry, River Spirit senior. The third test is designed by me, Dai Bufan, and it will definitely teach these two a lesson."
Seeing Dai Bufan’s serious assurance, the River Spirit finally calmed down.
The third test was the grand finale and had two options: one proposed by Yun Zhi, which was milder, and one proposed by Dai Bufan, which was a bit cruel. After a vote, everyone unanimously decided to choose Yun Zhi’s plan.
However, Yun Zhi's plan was too mild; even if they failed, there would be no punishment. To calm the River Spirit’s anger, they had to choose Dai Bufan’s plan.
Yun Zhi had no objections to this.
It would be good for these two little guys to face some difficulties.
The second level had eliminated a large number of people. Faced with the temptation of the three axes, many followed their desires and tricked the River Spirit into thinking they had dropped the Celestial Axe and Spirit Axe.
Those who were eliminated left the illusion, complaining that the second level was too difficult.
But not everyone complained about the second level being too hard; for those who passed, there were no complaints.
…
"The second level was pretty easy," Man Gu said. "You just had to be honest."
While waiting for the third level, everyone nodded, agreeing with Man Gu.
"What? Wasn’t it supposed to be about jumping into the river and snatching the axes from the River Spirit?" Meng Jingzhou shouted, confused about why others did it differently.
Lu Yang rolled his eyes at Meng Jingzhou, thinking he was really foolish: "If the River Spirit wasn’t an illusion and was real, wouldn’t you be provoking him?"
"You should have done what I did, ask for the River Spirit’s axes, and throw them all into the river. Then all three axes would count as ours."
Meng Jingzhou suddenly understood: "You’re really smart."
Everyone silently watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou summarize their experiences, starting to doubt if their method of passing was wrong.
Man Gu nodded slightly, remembering his father saying that the ancient barbarian tribe nearly perished because they were arrogant and unlearned. As descendants, they must overcome this flaw and humbly learn from others.
Man Gu felt he had found a role model.
Just as everyone was discussing the correct way to pass the level, Yun Zhi and Dai Bufan, along with other disciples of the Asking Dao Sect, appeared.
Dai Bufan had a slight smile on his face. He flipped his palm, and a mountain the size of a palm appeared. The mountain grew rapidly in the wind, reaching a height of a hundred feet in just a few breaths.
Everyone gasped in amazement; this kind of skill was rare among cultivators.
The mountain was lush with trees, looking just like a real mountain, and one side had a long staircase leading straight to the top.
"This is called the Heart-Searching Mountain, a special item I asked the elders to refine. On Heart-Searching Mountain, mortals and immortals are equal. What you need to do is climb the Heart-Searching Mountain; the higher you climb, the more determined your heart is."
"Climbing to the fiftieth step means you pass."
Someone raised a question: "But wouldn’t that give Man Gu an advantage?"
At fifteen, Man Gu had the physique of someone in their mid-twenties, towering over others, which indeed gave him an advantage in climbing; one step for him was like two for others.
Dai Bufan smiled: "You don’t need to worry about that. The Heart-Searching Mountain will level everyone’s physical abilities. Whether you are a mortal or a cultivator, on my Heart-Searching Mountain, everyone will become a mortal."
"Is there a time limit?" someone else asked.
"No."
Everyone was delighted; no time limit meant they could keep trying. How could they fail the third level?
Was the third level just a formality?
"Can we use magical tools?" They had special magical tools granted by their clan that didn’t need spiritual energy to activate, which was a huge advantage.
Dai Bufan smiled with a hint of schadenfreude: "Yes."
If magical tools could still be used…
(End of Chapter)