"…trial."
The blue spirit looked across the space at both sides with its single visible eye. "This is how it will be decided then."
It raised its only hand and manuals appeared.
They materialized out of nowhere and drifted outward, moving with calm precision.
Each one found a claimant without being touched. One settled into Chen Wu's hands.
Another into Su Ling's. Others moved to the remaining disciples.
And the last one came to rest in my free hand.
"Read the first pages," the blue spirit said.
"Understand what you are looking for… before you look for it."
The manual looked plain and inside the script was clear.
"BINDING SOUL SEAL?" one of the disciples said, confusingly.
Several others lowered their eyes to their own manuals at once.
The first page described the Binding Soul Seal's structure.Then on the next pages, materials were listed which needed to create it.
A disciple frowned as he read further.
"This… isn't just." he said slowly. "It's a refinement process."
Refinement; It was the act of forcing different spiritual materials into a single stable form, no matter their state. Solid, liquid, or even gas, all of them could be used.
The process followed several clear stages, which I was already familiar with. They were no different from the healing methods that Geezer Han had forced me to learn. And here it was also introduced.
First came purification. Impurities were burned away or separated so that only the useful part of the material remained.
Second came forced fusion. Spiritual essence with external factors were used to melt, compress, and bind the purified materials together.
And during this fusion stage, inscription was performed. The functional unknown scripts were carved directly into the structure while the materials were still unstable, allowing the object to take on its intended effect.
Last came final compression. The entire construct was wrapped in the spiritual essence of the Cultivators and compressed until the structure locked permanently into place.
It required control, patience, and precision. A single mistake at any stage would cause the entire construction to collapse.
I closed the manual on the seventh page.
The blue spirit was watching me with its half-face carrying that expression again, the one that sat between recognition and satisfaction.
"What is a Binding Soul Seal," I asked.
The manual hadn't explained it.
"It captures anything." The blue spirit answered with a deep smile. "Beast or…..human."
He paused for exactly the right length of time.
"And whatever it is used on belongs entirely to whoever made it ... .Once bound… the soul cannot refuse."
All went silent.
One by one, every member of Chen Wu's group turned and looked at me. Considering this whole situation they already had a huge advantage over me. While I had only one chance but them….
Ignoring their gazes."Now what?"
The blue spirit moved forward and the red spirit followed, their lights forming a straight glowing line that stretched forward across the ground like a guide.
"Follow," the blue spirit said. "It will lead you to the place where everything you need can be found."
For a moment no one moved.
Then one of the disciples spoke, looking down at the manual in his hands.
"So… we have to find these materials first?"
Another disciple snorted.
"Hou Zi, don't make us look like fools in front of a demonic cultivator."
Hou Zi didn't respond. His gaze moved briefly to me, then back to the spirits.
"Red spirit," he said, "what are the rules then? I cannot trust this demonic Cultivator."
The red spirit tilted its half-face slightly.
"Heh. I thought no one would ask."
Its single eye drifted across the group, then stopped on me."…and someone might try to take advantage of that."
He was right, if no one had asked it, there was no need for this trial anymore.
"Whatever, find the materials required to construct the Binding Soul Seal. Whether you work together or alone is your choice."
It paused.
"You cannot fight each other. Nor harm one another and until a material is in your possession, it belongs to no one but you."
Its eye moved briefly toward Chen Wu.
"However…If somehow you die or a beast kills you first. Keke..Then the materials return to the field."
No one laughed.
The blue spirit added beside it, its voice light.
"You have until the light changes two times."
Right then Chen Wu spoke.
"Let's move." His voice was calm but the command in it was absolute. The disciples nodded and moved immediately.
Two disciples split left without speaking. Another leapt onto a rock and began scanning the field.
They had clearly done this before.
Within seconds the group had already spread out into formation and begun moving through the vegetation while following the line.
Soon their figures disappeared deeper into the field.
I remained where I was.
Then I looked down at Yue Lian, who was still unconscious.
The blue spirit noticed.
"Lock her somewhere safe," I said, turning to it. "You have human food here, I believe."
The spirit's expression shifted slightly, as if puzzled by the question. "Of course we do."
I nodded once.
Then I also began walking after the others, opening the manual again.
The line led me deeper into this place, which I couldn't help but feel amazed by. The path widened and the ceiling above stretched far higher than I had first realized.
When the glowing line finally ended, the ground opened before me.
A vast underground field spread outward in every direction. It was easily two thousand square meters or more.
For a moment it was hard to believe this existed beneath the earth. Everywhere I looked there were materials. Clusters of strange plants grew in patches of dark soil.
In the distance, different beasts moved through the vegetation.
Some burrowed through the soil. Some crawled slowly across the rocks. Others hovered in the air. The place did not feel wild, it felt like it was arranged with care.
I lowered my eyes to the manual.
"What exactly are we looking for…"
The page listed the required materials.
Heaviness Iron Ore.
Soul Suppression Crystal.
Flesh Binding Grass.
Coldsteel Essence.
Cave Bee's Sting.
I looked at the list and exhaled slowly. It was the first time I had seen any of these materials.
Fortunately, small drawings were placed beside each name.
The Heaviness Iron Ore was shown as a jagged piece of dark metal with faint weight-lines etched across its surface.
The Soul Suppression Crystal was pale white in the drawing, almost translucent.
My gaze lifted from the page and moved across the field. Rock formations rose from the ground in several places. Some of them were darker than the surrounding stone, the surface uneven and dense.
Possible.
I turned the page slightly and looked at the other drawings
Around me the vegetation moved slowly in the underground wind. Insects buzzed somewhere above the plants and the distant shapes of beasts moved between the trees.
Suddenly, a flash movement caught my eye.
One disciple from Chen Wu's group struck downward with a blade.
A beast screamed. The sound cut across the field and then abruptly stopped.
The disciple withdrew his blade from the creature's throat and stepped past the body
Then his gaze caught on me.
He slowed for the briefest moment before turning and walking in my direction, the blade still loose in his hand.
From the edge of my vision, another figure emerged from the vegetation to my left.
Then another.
The plants shifted again as more disciples stepped out between the trees, their positions spreading quietly through the field.
But by the time I finished counting, I was standing at the center of them.
One of them smiled faintly. "So this is the demonic cultivator."
"Haha, he doesn't look like much." A few quiet laughs followed.
Then the vegetation shifted and three more figures stepped forward through the loose circle. Chen Wu. Su Ling and Hou Zi.
They approached without hurry, stopping a short distance in front of me.
Chen Wu's gaze was cold.
"You should be grateful," he said. "The spirits forbade fighting. Otherwise this trial would have ended for you already."
Really.
Su Ling folded her arms. "Don't misunderstand," she said calmly. "This rule isn't saving you. It's only delaying your death."
Hou Zi stepped slightly ahead of them, looking straight at my face.
"Coward," he shouted. "Show your real face."
I glanced at him.
"Sigh,"and lowered my eyes to the manual in my hand, turning a page.
"Mm," I said. "Do you know where I could find this crystal?"