"Uh? Are we back again?" Lu Yang opened his eyes and found himself in the mysterious white space once more. Around him were many familiar faces—Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, Chi Xulong, and Shen Jinyi, among others.
Only ten people from the Yanjiang Sect managed to pass the first two challenges, and Lu Yang recognized half of them—he hadn’t had the chance to trick the other half into giving their personal information when he was pretending to be an examiner.
The memories of the first two challenges slowly returned to him: the Praying Mantis Fist in the first challenge and pushing a potato cart in the second...
"It seems the Immortal Sect's tests aren't that hard," Lu Yang thought. He felt that as long as you had some brains, anyone could do it.
"I think so too," Meng Jingzhou agreed. "In the first challenge, you just had to get bitten by the spider, and in the second, you just had to punch that fat guy."
Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou in surprise. "Huh? Why are our methods for passing different?"
Meng Jingzhou waved his hand confidently. "Isn't it obvious? My method is the standard answer, and you just stumbled through it."
Lu Yang scoffed at Meng Jingzhou's confidence. "Ridiculous. In the first challenge, I understood that the Praying Mantis Fist reflects my martial arts skills. What does your first challenge reflect? Good luck? Can Immortal Sect members see that? Clearly, mine is the standard answer!"
"I suggest you face reality."
Man Gu, watching the two argue intensely, quietly recalled his own method of passing the challenges.
In the first challenge, he learned persistence from the spider and strategy from the mantis. In the second challenge, he learned to think from another's perspective and to be thorough in his actions.
"Thinking about it, my method is a bit ordinary. It seems Lu and Meng's methods are the correct ones. I just wonder whose is the most correct," Man Gu murmured to himself, feeling he had learned something new.
After arguing for a long time, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou still hadn't reached a conclusion. It was Man Gu, as an observer, who had the clearest mind and ended their debate.
"Is it possible that both of your methods are correct? The demonic path emphasizes recklessness, so there might not be a single correct answer. Anything that gets you through is a valid answer."
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou looked at Man Gu in surprise, finding his reasoning very sound.
"I didn't expect the tests from the demonic sect to be so open-ended," Lu Yang said in admiration, and Meng Jingzhou nodded.
"By the way, we've only passed two challenges. Why are we back here? What about the third challenge?" The three of them finally remembered the main issue.
The figure of the deputy leader appeared again in the sky, holding a palm-sized round ball with a seam in the middle.
He took a step in the air, and the mysterious white space instantly changed. Buildings surged forth like a tide, centered around him—city walls, palaces, courtyards, tall mountains, rivers running through the city, hurried pedestrians, bustling vendors, and cultivators moving mountains and seas... it looked like a grand city of immortals!
The deputy leader then divided everyone by their sects, and the ten members of the Yanjiang Sect found themselves in a small building with a view of the outside scenery.
A cold, emotionless voice echoed in their ears. "Congratulations, everyone, for passing the first two challenges. We will now proceed to the third challenge."
"This is a simulated city. Soon, I will release your true nature, which will make you believe this is the real world and allow you to do the bad things you truly want to do."
"The more destruction you cause, the higher we will rate you. The time limit is one day and one night."
After saying this, the deputy leader raised the round ball in his hand, which opened up to reveal a black pupil.
It wasn't a round ball at all; it was a giant eye!
The giant eye opened, and a strange purple light covered the entire city.
...
The deputy leader's consciousness returned to the headquarters, still holding the giant eye.
"This truly is the eye of the immortal, crafted by an immortal. Human hearts are complex, and it can release one's true nature, drawing out the darkest sides of people. Only a divine treasure can achieve this."
He handed the eye back to the leader, feeling a bit reluctant. Opportunities to use an immortal treasure are rare.
Theoretically, he didn't have the authority to use the eye, but the leader temporarily granted him permission for this third challenge.
The leader said, "This third challenge is crucial. It concerns whether righteous path cultivators might infiltrate the demonic path as spies."
"The eye can reveal a person's true nature. Righteous cultivators have good hearts and won't cause excessive destruction. Under the eye's purple light, those righteous cultivators won't even be able to go against their own hearts to kill or burn!"
"Moreover, if righteous cultivators see injustice, they will step in to stop it. This way, we can filter out those righteous cultivators who have mixed in!"
To become a member of the Immortal Sect, the primary condition is that one cannot be a righteous spy.
The deputy leader smiled. "Also, this eye can automatically assess the level of destruction based on one's cultivation. With the eye here, we just need to wait for the results."
...
Suddenly—
A pedestrian's heart was pierced by a sword, causing others to scream and flee. A rogue from the demonic path stood behind, laughing heartily, hacking at others while heads rolled and bodies fell.
"How exhilarating!" The rogue had never killed so freely before, feeling joyful as he unleashed his true nature. "Today, I will use your corpses to establish my foundation in the Immortal Sect!"
He wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity to kill!
"Stop!" A large spear suddenly appeared, deflecting the rogue's sword.
The rogue recognized the newcomer and was momentarily stunned. "Who is this? Oh, it's Fang Hao. You usually act so cold; I thought you were a wicked demon, but it turns out you're from the righteous path."
Fang Hao tried to calm himself, reminding himself that this was a critical moment. He couldn't reveal his identity as a righteous cultivator, or all his previous efforts would be wasted. Unfortunately, under the purple light of the eye, any disguise was useless.
He couldn't stand the rogue's reckless killing and wanted to do everything he could to stop it!
This impulse from deep within him couldn't be suppressed by any means!
Fang Hao clashed with the rogue, their weapons clashing, and for a moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
...
"Indeed, a righteous cultivator has infiltrated!" the deputy leader fumed. If it weren't for the third challenge, Fang Hao would have entered the Immortal Sect!
The leader's gaze was cold. "You know what to do without me saying."
The deputy leader nodded. "I'll have the Huangyue Sect leader kill him!"
"Kill what? Hurry and inform the Huangyue Sect leader that our location has been exposed. They need to escape quickly!"
"Huh?" The deputy leader was taken aback.
The leader explained, exasperated, "What do you mean 'huh'? The fact that Fang Hao could infiltrate the test means the righteous path already knows where the Huangyue Sect is. Shouldn't we let them pack up and run?"
"What about Fang Hao?"
"We can't kill him. The righteous path must have a soul lamp for Fang Hao. If he dies, they'll know the undercover situation has been exposed, and they'll rush to the Huangyue Sect. There won't be time for Huangyue Sect to escape!"
"Oh."
(End of Chapter)