Translator: CinderTL
Xu Sanyan returned to his dormitory with his books, lay down on his bamboo bed, and began to study intently.
Soul Refinement—the practice of strengthening one's divine soul, making it more robust. When mastered, it even allows one to devour the souls of others to enhance one's own. However, this requires reaching the Soul Refining Realm.
Meanwhile, outside Great Solitary Mountain, a middle-aged man stood solemnly, his gaze fixed on the mountain. Behind him stood over a dozen cultivators, all with grim expressions.
This man was the Yue Clan envoy sent to hunt down Qin Manyang. Not only had she escaped, but the three subordinates who accompanied him had also vanished—a complete loss.
Great Solitary Mountain appeared as tranquil as ever, but Xu Sanyan and the Yue Clan trio had disappeared without a trace.
A thin rope lay silently in the distance—the very magic artifact the Yue Clan trio had used to pull Xu Sanyan.
The man spotted the artifact and concluded that the three must have been dragged into the mountain.
A young cultivator holding a compass frowned deeply. "Second Uncle, my cousin's aura vanished right here. I fear they've entered..."
They were well aware of Great Solitary Mountain's reputation. Years ago, an elder of the Lu Clan, a prominent family from the Central Region, had ventured inside. A Soul Refining Realm cultivator of comparable cultivation to the Yue Clan Patriarch, and perhaps even stronger, he had never returned.
Since then, Great Solitary Mountain's infamy had spread far and wide, deterring all from approaching. Ordinarily, the trio wouldn't have been so reckless, but something must have gone terribly wrong.
"Fetch some death row inmates and throw them in to scout the situation," the middle-aged man ordered.
"Understood, Second Uncle."
The next day, the copper gong sounded again, granting everyone another brief moment of clarity.
"How have I shrunk again?" a child of five or six exclaimed in panic, referring to himself as "this old one." Xu Sanyan found the sight amusing, but no one else was in the mood for laughter.
"There's no way out..." someone lamented, their voice heavy with resignation. "I've given up struggling."
"To think I, an elder of the esteemed Lu Clan with a Soul Refining Realm cultivation level, would end up like this... How tragic."
Xu Sanyan's eyes widened as he glanced sideways at the youthful-looking man. Could this person truly be a Soul Refining Realm cultivator?
After Foundation Establishment came the Dao Seeking Realm, followed by the Soul Refining Realm. Such a cultivation level was sufficient to found one's own sect. Even the Sect Leader of the Vast Origin Sect was only at the Soul Refining Realm.
And yet... even with such power, he couldn't escape?
Clang...
The second strike of the copper gong plunged everyone back into a daze. They mechanically lined up and shuffled forward, Xu Sanyan joining the middle of the queue.
The same gatekeeper stood at the entrance, conducting the assessment. Xu Sanyan passed smoothly, and fragments of his divine soul flooded into his body once more. Several images flashed through his mind:
In the first, he was an old man seated cross-legged in a spacious hall, meditating in stillness. Two figures knelt before him, their faces deathly pale and lifeless. Only faint breathing confirmed they were still alive.
The old man placed his hands on the crown of each kneeling figure's head, performing some unknown ritual.
Moments later, both individuals ceased breathing, their bodies collapsing limply to the ground, their faces deathly pale and drained of blood.
A flush of satisfaction spread across the old man's face. He let out a long, contented groan and opened his eyes.
The scene shattered, ending abruptly.
In the second vision, Xu Sanyan found himself transformed into a woman once more, his gaze falling upon a cozy, feminine boudoir. "She" knelt on the bed, being...
Holy shit?!
Xu Sanyan clenched his fists tightly. Thank God it was just a vision, devoid of physical sensation. Otherwise, he would have lost his mind.
The scene pulsed with the woman's wild cries of pleasure, punctuated by the heavy breathing of a man behind her. Her sweat-dampened face pressed against the bedsheets, beads of perspiration dripping onto the fabric.
"Huan-ge... that deadbeat husband of mine... you... ah... you took care of him, right...?"
"Don't worry... absolutely no problem. After this trip... hmm... he's guaranteed not to return. From now on, it'll just be you and me, enjoying the wealth he built. Trust me, I'll treat you well. You're the only woman I love..."
Xu Sanyan's forehead furrowed in exasperation. Damn it, another pair of adulterers!
Their brief conversation made it clear: not only were they having an affair, but they were also plotting to murder the woman's husband—truly the modern-day Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing.
Xu Sanyan took a deep breath, suppressing the inexplicable agitation rising within him.
The scene shattered again, immediately replaced by another.
This time, he found himself transformed into a youth, frantically fleeing through a pitch-black forest. His face was etched with terror, as if something were pursuing him.
The perspective flickered with the youth's movements, vaguely revealing dark shadows darting through the dense foliage behind him, their forms indistinct.
"ROAR!"
A deafening roar erupted from behind. A colossal black shape leaped into the air and lunged forward.
"My fate is sealed!" the youth screamed in despair, turning to face his doom.
Xu Sanyan seized the opportunity to identify the creature: a spider the size of an elephant! Its eight razor-sharp legs gleamed with an eerie light, and its eye sockets teemed with countless clustered pupils, shifting and scattering—a true nightmare for anyone with trypophobia.
Saliva dripped from its massive fangs as the monstrous form hurtled toward the youth.
Xu Sanyan frowned, not out of fear, but disgust.
Suddenly, a golden light erupted from the dense forest, accompanied by the clear, crisp chime of a bell. In an instant, the spider was ensnared, its struggles proving futile.
Xu Sanyan's pupils constricted sharply. A bell...
That bell sounds so familiar! It's exactly like Qin Manyang's!
The vision shattered. Xu Sanyan's mind raced with thoughts. He never expected to see Qin Manyang's bell in these fragmented memories.
He couldn't yet determine who the bell belonged to. Was it Qin Manyang's? Or someone else's?
As the three visions faded, Xu Sanyan opened his eyes.
"Sit down," the old man instructed.
Xu Sanyan obediently took his seat, noticing that his height had increased slightly, though he still hadn't regained his original stature.
He silently watched the others endure their beatings, his mind churning.
Suddenly, he spotted two men approaching the school from outside. Their expressions were vacant, and they mechanically pushed open the bamboo gate, shuffling to the back of the line.
Newcomers?
Someone else arrived so soon?
Xu Sanyan's keen eyes noticed something peculiar. The clothes they wore... they looked like prison uniforms.
He had begun to understand the rules of Great Solitary Mountain: whatever clothing one wore upon entering would be perfectly replicated in the dreamscape, down to the smallest detail.
In other words, the two men were already wearing prison uniforms when they entered. Considering Yue Clan City's proximity and the Yue Clan's recent loss of three members, it was highly probable that these two were Yue Clan prisoners, sent to investigate—or, more accurately, sent to their deaths.
(End of the Chapter)
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