Yue Guan chuckled softly:
"This is your own good fortune. Who could have known that your martial spirit would have such an amazing ability to contain and replenish life force!"
"If I hadn't been by your side all these years, watching you grow up, I would have suspected that you were some kind of god reincarnated!"
Seeing Yue Guan's reaction, Lin Xia said with great interest:
"Of course! If I were truly a reincarnation of a god, once I regain my memories, I would definitely take you, Grandpa Yue Guan, to the realm of gods so you can enjoy some bliss!"
"Alright, alright, if you keep going, you'll blow the sky apart!"
Yue Guan waved his hand, interrupting Lin Xia.
"By the way, Xia, the final test is coming up soon, and it will take place in Death Valley. Are you ready?"
"That place...."
Yue Guan was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly thought of something and ultimately held back her words.
Lin Xia fell silent upon hearing this.
During these five years, Lin Xia was not idle. She devoted about half of her time to studying, showing a complete and wholehearted dedication.
Lin Xia read through every single word of the Spirit Hall's materials, including theories on spirit masters, spirit research, spirit beast ecology, continental geography, power structure, and even herbal toxicology, Spirit Hall historical archives, and countless combat experience notes.
Of course, I know what Death Valley is.
However, this knowledge is limited, as there are few records about Death Valley. As the final light card cultivated by the core disciples, the Spirit Hall deliberately concealed the information recorded in Death Valley.
The purpose was to see how these disciples would perform in a completely unfamiliar and dangerous environment!
"Grandpa Yue Guan, don't you know how strong I am?"
"Although I haven't obtained my third spirit ring yet, most Spirit Masters can't beat me!"
Seeing Lin Xia's confidence, Yue Guan wanted to remind her, but ultimately gave up.
He could only pat Lin Xia on the shoulder helplessly.
"Keep striving for the position of Holy Son!"
Lin Xia could easily tell the terror of Death Valley from Yue Guan's expression.
Even so, Lin Xia remained confident.
In the past five years, Lin Xia has not only been studying and cultivating.
The development of martial spirits has reached a completely new stage!
By combining spiritual power and soul power, using the jade pendant space as the core base station of the soul, and the Blue Silver Grass plants that he personally cultivated and scattered in specific locations as anchor points...
Lin Xia closed her eyes slightly, then opened them, her eyes seemingly reflecting countless tiny points of light.
A few days later, Wuhun City seemed to be shrouded in a solemn shadow.
In the square in front of the Papal Palace, Pope Bibidon sat high on her throne, her golden papal robes motionless in the breeze. Her deep gaze swept over the four young figures below who were about to embark on their final journey.
Moon Gate, Ghostly Spirit, and many other elders stood on both sides, an invisible pressure spreading out.
Lin Xia was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, her dark blue hair fluttering in the breeze. Her once somewhat immature face had become more defined and handsome after five years of refinement, and there was an imperceptible wariness beneath her calm eyes.
Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan stood beside him.
Five years have passed, and the boys and girls have shed much of their naivety, while their abilities have improved by leaps and bounds.
Although the initial conflict remains fresh in their memories, countless joint training sessions and missions, along with the guidance of Yue Guan and Bibi Dong, gradually transformed them from adversaries into partners who could fight side by side and even rely on each other.
Hu Liena glanced at Lin Xia with a complex expression, a mixture of approval and seriousness.
Xie Yue's expression was cold and stern, his sharp gaze sweeping across the area ahead.
Yan stood a little further away, still with his red hair, but the arrogance in his eyes had subsided considerably. When he looked at Lin Xia, although he was still a little awkward, he no longer had the intense hostility he once had. Instead, he showed a sense of dissatisfaction with her strength and... a little bit of unspeakable fear.
The atmosphere among the four wasn't exactly intimate, but it had become a tacit understanding among comrades that had developed through a period of adjustment.
"The final test, Death Valley."
Bibi Dong's voice was clear, cold, and penetrating, like a cold spring striking jade, instantly freezing the atmosphere in the room.
"The rules are clear: the first person to leave the canyon and obtain the 'Crimson Badge' placed on the altar at the core of the canyon will be the next Holy Son or Holy Daughter of my Spirit Hall."
Her gaze swept over the four people one by one, carrying a scrutinizing and intimidating air.
"This road is arduous, and you are responsible for your own lives. I hope you can bring back the badge alive and set off."
Without further ado, led by a Spirit Hall law enforcement officer, the four of them boarded a heavy carriage covered in runes and silently drove away from Spirit City, heading towards that place that terrified everyone.
After several days of travel, far from towns and people, the carriage finally stopped at the edge of a depressing mountain area.
Suddenly, a colossal chasm appeared before them, like a hideous wound torn open by a prehistoric beast on the earth—Death Valley!
The four exchanged glances, said nothing to encourage each other, nodded, and stepped directly into the canyon.
Upon entering the canyon, it seemed as if most of the light was instantly sucked away.
The air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur mixed with rust and rotting corpses, making it hard to breathe and causing a dull pain in the chest.
The rock walls on both sides were not ordinary rocks, but rather a strange, dark red color, like congealed blood. They stood tall, piercing the dim sky, with only a sliver of distorted light, as if flowing with foul blood, visible at the very top.
The terrain inside the canyon is extremely complex.
The jagged rocks, like the twisted fangs and claws of a demon, stand in a jagged pattern in the field of vision.
The ground beneath their feet was not solid, but soft, damp, sticky, dark red silt. Each step they took went down to their ankles, accompanied by a "plop" sound and a nauseating stench of decay.
In this silt, one can see white, broken bones and remains half-hidden everywhere, some still clinging to fragments of flesh that have not yet completely rotted. Countless dark fissures are scattered throughout, emanating a chilling aura that seems capable of freezing the soul.
The wind howled through the canyon, creating a series of high and low, shrill howls, like the wailing and roaring of countless vengeful spirits, or like the whispers of some invisible evil, frantically trying to penetrate the mind and disturb the tranquility.
Here, light is swallowed and distorted, the sense of space becomes blurred, and as far as the eye can see, there is only an endless interweaving of dark red, inky black and pale white, filled with a sense of chaos, despair and death.
Life force is severely suppressed here; ordinary plants cannot survive at all. Only some mosses and ferns, with their twisted, snake-like shapes and eerie dark green or purplish-black glow, cling to rocks and skeletons, greedily sucking up the breath of death.
The entire world seemed to be a huge biological decay field, and the energy permeating the air carried a deathly, filthy, and crazy element, constantly eroding the bodies and minds of the intruders.
(End of chapter)