The secret trial left a mark, Luo Xi got the mark and he was angry again

"This secret realm trial is slightly different from the usual ones. It is used to select the secret realm masters who will become the future sect masters."

"So what form does it take?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

Everyone looked at each other, and the sect leader waved his hand. Before he could even say the word "disband", they all dispersed, leaving only the five sect leaders standing in a dishevel in the wind.

“…”

The next morning, all the disciples gathered at the venue. In front of them was a formation. Five sect masters stood in five different circles and input their spiritual power into the formation. A golden light rushed into the sky, and all the disciples lined up and entered one by one.

Linghu Luoxi twitched his nose, smelling a bloody scent. He opened his eyes. The scene around him was a battlefield littered with swords and blood flowing for miles. The city gates lay in ruins, and crows cried mournfully. Everyone felt a chill on their backs, and shuddered.

A white long sword floated in front of everyone. A dull old man's voice came from the sword, "This level is divided into two levels. One requires answering questions in ten seconds, and the other is an actual battle. This level must be completed by the Tongjian Sect. Please answer the questions, disciples of the Tongjian Sect. Shall we begin?"

"Start." Jiang Yeqing said coldly.

"Please listen to the question: 1. What is the true meaning of cultivation?"

Shangguan Yi raised his hand enthusiastically, "I know, I know. The purpose of cultivation is to trample the Way of Heaven underfoot!"

“…”

Jiang Yeqing and Nangong Wanqing answered in unison, "Caring about the world, saving the people, and achieving self-transcendence."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the answer was "correct." But each time the next question came up, it got increasingly off-base.

"2. Which Chinese poet was both a scholar and a warrior? He lived a life of profound emotion, with a significant difference between his early and late life. His cause of death is unknown."

"Li Bai?" Chi An asked tentatively.

Seeing that the answer was correct, Chi An and the others unconsciously looked behind them. Linghu Luoxi scratched his face guiltily and said defensively, "At that time, I really didn't know how to write it, so I just wrote in modern knowledge."

When asked, "What is a sword made of? When soaked in dilute hydrochloric acid or dilute sulfuric acid, it produces a small amount of bubbles and reacts slowly, and the solution changes from colorless to light green," the two of them seemed to be able to see through Linghu Luoxi, especially after Shangguan Yi answered correctly.

"The last question is, what should a cultivator do when he is practicing swordsmanship and becomes possessed by a demon?"

Jiang Yeqing said, "Catch him. If he doesn't harm innocent people, we will destroy his magic power. If he harms innocent people for his own selfish desires, he will be eliminated."

Linghu Luoxi slowly shook her head, "Different positions, opposing viewpoints, each holding their own opinion."

"Congratulations everyone for passing the first level. Now let's start the second level of actual combat."

Long swords were suspended in mid-air all around them, and with a command, a rain of swords began to fall. Si Yanqing and the others were arranged to stand at a distance and watch as the Sword Sect disciples drew their swords to fight.

Jiang Yeqing's sword energy flew out, severing the blade. The blade ripped through the corner of his clothes, and blood flowed. Shangguan Yi looked at Chi An and the others with tears in his eyes. Linghu Luoxi sighed softly, looked at each other, and drew his sword and stepped forward.

The three of them formed a triangle, a protective circle. Their arms trembled as the swords collided. Linghu Luoxi threw dozens of talismans, but the swords broke and regenerated, constantly attacking, draining everyone's energy.

Chi An looked at the wounds on his arm and said, "If this continues, he will die sooner or later. I must find a way to pass it."

Chi An resisted while observing his surroundings. When Linghu Luoxi's talisman exploded onto the white sword, all the swords trembled. Chi An said, "I've found a way. You clear the way for me."

Although they didn't understand, they obeyed obediently. Chi An rushed towards the white sword with his sword raised, and the two sides drew their swords to escort him. Chi An jumped up, stepped on the swords in the air and jumped towards the white sword, just when he was about to catch it.

"ah--"

Shangguan Yi was sent flying by a sword, and he instinctively grabbed the object beside him. Hundreds of long swords quickly fell, and a white long sword flashed with white light, leaving a white mark on Shangguan Yi's forehead.

“!!!”

Jiang Yeqing clenched his fists, while Xue Nianchao made fun of Shangguan Yi, who was ecstatic and showed off.

The scene shifted, and the scene of fierce fighting, a moment before, was suddenly engulfed by thick fog. When the fog cleared, a completely different world appeared before him. Ancient trees towered, vines draped, and spiritual herbs spread across the ground, their fragrance wafting in the air. The most striking thing was a massive alchemy furnace in front of him. Beside it sat an old man in white, with white hair and a youthful face, his sleeves reaching the ground, his eyes closed as he slept.

"My name is Yuan Xiu. This illusion trial is for the disciples of the Liyue Sect. Please find the designated herbs nearby and place them in a single furnace. The first one: Blood Ganoderma Lucidum. Time limit: 1/100th of a second."

Upon hearing this, the Liyue Sect disciples immediately began searching, while the other sect disciples sat on the ground. Yinyin looked around and found the Blood Ganoderma near a cliff. She climbed towards the cliff, but the sharp rocks cut her palm. Yinyin frowned and continued.

Qiu Mucan shouted from below, "Yinyin, come down first! Just let Senior Sister go."

Yinyin ignored the warning and placed her feet on the raised stone, holding onto it with one hand while reaching for the fruit with the other. Just as she was about to reach the fruit, Yinyin, with a shaky tiptoe, finally caught the blood ganoderma. Overjoyed, Yinyin's support suddenly cracked, sending her plummeting downwards.

"Ah—Senior Sister!"

Qiu Mucan was standing below and was about to catch her when a green shadow passed by and Yinyin fell steadily into Chi An's arms. The two landed easily and Qiu Mucan breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're okay."

Yin Yin smiled and held the Ganoderma lucidum in front of her face, "I picked it, I can also fight alongside Senior Sister."

Chi An smiled faintly and nodded. Yin Yin smoothly dropped the blood ganoderma into the alchemy furnace. Yuan Xiu didn't give them any time to rest. "The second one is Lingyou grass."

The three of them searched non-stop. Qiu Mucan parted some grass and found a large patch of Lingyou grass. A closer look revealed that the leaves of these Lingyou grass were fertile, numerous, and had no serrations on the edges.

Yinyin poked her head out and asked, "Brother, have you found it?" She saw a large area on the ground and said, "Wow, there are so many!"

Qiu Mucan grabbed Yin Yin's hand and shook his head to explain, "This is not it. Although it looks very similar to Lingyou Grass, its nature is completely different."

Chi An squatted down to take a closer look, and Yin Yin also came to help. Time passed by, and Chi An felt a pain on the back of his hand. He was actually scratched. Chi An glanced over and saw a little blood on the leaves of a Lingyou grass.

Time was running out, and Chi An didn't care about anything else. He grabbed the grass and threw it in. At the last second, the grass was thrown into the furnace.

"The last one: Fairy Moon Flower."

Lin Junze was stunned. Linghu Luoxi turned back in confusion, "What's wrong? Senior Brother."

Lin Junze trembled as he took out a flattened fairy moon flower from where he sat, "I... I didn't mean to..."

“…”

Seeing the sand in the hourglass gradually falling out, Yinyin began to feel overwhelmed. As the time was almost up, Yuan Xiu felt a chill on his neck. Linghu Luoxi put a sword on Yuan Xiu's neck and said, "Hand over the Immortal Moon Grass." Seeing no movement, he winked at Xuan Yu and the others.

Xuan Yu suddenly realized what was going on and then pushed Yuan Xiu to the ground and beat him. Yuan Xiu had been calm and composed at first, but now he was protecting his face and begging for mercy, "I was wrong, I was wrong, give it to me."

Hearing this, Xuan Yu and the others finally let him go. Yuan Xiu took out a complete piece of Immortal Moon Grass from his sleeve and threw it into the alchemy furnace. "Young people nowadays are really irritable."

As the last herb was thrown into the alchemy furnace, the furnace emitted a light green light, and the green mark naturally fell on Chi An's forehead.

Everyone felt their heads tremble. When they regained consciousness, they found themselves inside the library. An ordinary disciple stood next to the bookshelf. "This trial is for Qiushui Sect disciples. Please draw one hundred different talismans within half an hour."

Shangguan Yi was shocked. "Half an hour?! One hundred photos?! Different?!"

As the disciple lit the candle and incense, the talisman drawing officially began. However, because Meng Fu had previously fought with the leader of the Tongjian Sect for someone, only two of the five people were drawing talismans.

"Hahaha! I have a way. Each of you can draw 50 pictures." Linghu Luoxi joked.

The next second, Linghu Luoxi was at a loss for words and could only cry out in pain, "I hate you! Why did your sect's trial require me to draw with you..."

Linghu Luoxi lightly dipped his brush in cinnabar and drew the talisman. The brush moved like a dragon and snake, and the talisman became a thunderclap. The eighteenth "Explosive Flame Talisman" was completed in one go, and it was far more powerful than the previous crooked and scribbled talismans.

"Tsk, this young lady is truly a genius!" Linghu Luoxi shook her aching wrist, but the cinnabar-dipped pen continued to work as she pounced on the nineteenth yellow talisman. As the pen tip rustled across the talisman paper, her vision began to blur. As she finished the twentieth talisman, Linghu Luoxi suddenly heard a buzzing sound in her solar plexus, as if someone had hammered a red-hot nail into her skull.

"hiss……"

"Junior sister, what's wrong with you?"

Linghu Luoxi held onto the table with one hand, scratching five white marks on the sandalwood with his nails. He fumbled out a bottle of pills from the mustard bag, drank it in one gulp, and continued to draw talismans mechanically.

"Junior sister, let me help you." Yun Suiqi also walked to the long table and sat next to Linghu Luoxi to help.

More than half the time had passed, and the four men had been holding their brushes for a long time. The incense and candle had burned down to a tiny sliver, and Linghu Luoxi sped up her talisman-drawing movements. As the disciple uttered the words "time's up," Linghu Luoxi's brush tip flicked, successfully completing the last one. Having finished the work of two men, Linghu Luoxi rolled her eyes and slumped against Yun Suiqi's shoulder.

"Thank you for your hard work, Junior Sister."

The disciple waved his hand, and the one hundred talismans fell neatly into his hand. "Congratulations on passing the level."

The stack of talismans emitted a dazzling red light, and then, the red mark fell on Linghu Luoxi's forehead. Song Zhiye was stunned for a moment, then reacted and glared at Linghu Luoxi fiercely, "Why did you steal our sect's mark?!"

"Then why do I have to draw 40 pictures by myself? You only have to draw 20 each?" Linghu Luoxi roared angrily.

Song Zhiye was speechless. Chu Yinheng said confidently, "So what if that's the case? This belongs to our sect after all. No matter what, it should belong to our sect disciples."