Chapter 23 Unexpected Changes (Part 1)
There is only one Azure Moon Spirit Tree in the secret realm, and the Azure Moon Spirit Fruit is also a necessary item for the assessment. This place will naturally be a battleground for everyone.
It is estimated that countless disciples are already hiding in the surrounding bushes and woods at this moment.
The movement in the bushes gradually became clearer, and several figures slowly rose from the dense grass. Fu Yunshu's gaze sharpened, his hand already on the hilt of his sword, while Qiu Nan warily stepped in front of Yin Lisheng. The other side had clearly also noticed their presence; the two sides stood at a distance, facing each other.
After a rustling sound, three people emerged from the bushes. Leading them was a tall woman with a cold glint in her eyes. A black dress accentuated her lithe figure, and a long sword slung across her back, the jade pendant on its hilt swaying gently with her movements. Behind her were two men: one burly with a menacing face, wielding a large knife whose blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight; the other thin with a sinister gaze, toying with several hidden weapons.
"Don't be nervous, we're here to pick Azure Moon Spirit Fruits too." The leading girl cast a detached glance, indicating she meant no harm. The two people behind her were also wary, but showed no hostility.
Fu Yunshu narrowed his eyes slightly and sized up the other party. Although these people were dressed plainly, they had an imposing aura and did not seem like ordinary people. However, he had no impression of these people in the previous rounds, so it seemed that they were intentionally hiding their aura.
After a moment's thought, he released his grip on the sword hilt and said calmly, "Since we're all here to pick the Azure Moon Spirit Fruit, let's rely on our own abilities."
The other party was clearly surprised by Fu Yunshu's decisiveness. After a moment of hesitation, they nodded and said, "Okay, we don't want to waste any more time."
The two sides tacitly separated and headed towards the island in the middle of the lake. Yin Lisheng followed behind Fu Yunshu and asked in a low voice, "Are they really not malicious?"
Fu Yunshu shook his head slightly: "Who knows? But besides those three, there are probably quite a few other people on their way. No one dares to make any rash moves, so we just need to be careful."
Qiu Nan also leaned over and whispered, "I don't think they're here to cause trouble. I guess they're just like us, trying to complete their mission."
Yin Lisheng nodded, saying nothing more, but gripped his sword tightly and cautiously observed his surroundings.
"But to be honest, did that person really look no older than twenty?" Qiu Nan asked seriously.
Yin Lisheng: "..." Why is it that this person's focus is always so strange?
Fu Yunshu: "..."
“Since he passed the bone age test, he must be under twenty years old,” Fu Yunshu replied helplessly.
Qiu Nan understood, and his interruption eased the atmosphere considerably.
The island in the middle of the lake is not large. The Azure Moon Spirit Tree stands in the center of the island, with a canopy like an umbrella and lush branches and leaves. The crystal-clear Azure Moon Spirit Fruits hang from the branches like small lanterns, and the rough bark has a faint moon-white luster.
As soon as Fu Yunshu and his group stepped onto the island in the middle of the lake, they heard a commotion of footsteps behind them. Turning around, they saw Pan Tianlei and his gang of henchmen arriving at the lakeside.
"Oh, it's you guys. What a coincidence." Pan Tianlei greeted them with a forced smile, but his eyes held a hint of coldness.
Everyone was looking for the Jade Moon Fruit, and Fu Yunshu guessed that he would definitely run into Pan Tianlei and the others here, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.
The group of people looked at Pan Tianlei and his companions warily.
Seeing this, Pan Tianlei's face darkened, and he snorted coldly: "Hmph, the assessment is the priority. I won't bother with you now, but you'll see later."
He waved his hand, signaling his underlings to follow. The group marched towards the Azure Moon Spirit Tree, keeping a distance from Fu Yunshu and his companions.
Watching the group of people walking further and further away, Qiu Nan couldn't help but wonder, "Strange, why did this person suddenly change their ways? Could it be a trap?"
"I don't know. Since the other party doesn't seem hostile for the time being, we should just leave each other alone," Fu Yunshu said.
Yin Lisheng and his two companions arrived at the Azure Moon Spirit Tree and looked up at the fruit on the tree. There were quite a few Azure Moon Spirit Fruits, but with so many disciples participating in the assessment, it was impossible to give each person one. It seemed that quite a few people would be eliminated.
"Including Shuangwan's, we only need to pick four. Let them have the rest," Qiu Nan said in a low voice to Yin Lisheng and Fu Yunshu.
Fu Yunshu nodded: "Yes, taking more is pointless."
Yin Lisheng didn't speak, but silently looked at the fruit on the tree, which was considered his tacit agreement.
Fu Yunshu leaped lightly, reached out and plucked four Azure Moon Spirit Fruits, handing one to Yin Lisheng and one to Qiu Nan.
The two took the fruit. Yin Lisheng carefully put it away, while Qiu Nan curiously examined the Azure Moon Spirit Fruit.
"Aside from being more spiritually abundant, there doesn't seem to be anything special about it."
"Since it's an assessment set up to select new disciples, it naturally won't be too difficult, since many people don't have any cultivation," Fu Yunshu replied.
“That’s true,” Qiu Nan said, carefully putting away the Azure Moon Spirit Fruit. “This is not a place to stay for long. Let’s leave as soon as possible.”
Just as the group was about to leave, a commotion suddenly broke out on Pan Tianlei's side.
Fu Yunshu turned his head and saw Pan Tianlei directing his underlings to climb the Azure Moon Spirit Tree and pick a large pile of Azure Moon Spirit Fruits.
"This guy is insatiable," Qiu Nan said, frowning.
Fu Yunshu didn't say much, only calmly saying, "Let's go, ignore them."
However, just as they were about to leave the island in the middle of the lake, a violent tremor suddenly struck the ground. Fu Yunshu's expression changed, and he immediately grabbed Yin Lisheng and Qiu Nan, quickly retreating.
"What happened?" Qiu Nan exclaimed.
Before they could react, a huge crack suddenly appeared in the ground, and Pan Tianlei's henchmen fell into it before they could even react. Pan Tianlei stood at the edge of the crack, his face pale, clearly also frightened by the sudden turn of events.
"Retreat quickly!" Fu Yunshu shouted, pulling Yin Lisheng and Qiu Nan back rapidly.
However, the crack spread extremely quickly, expanding to the ground beneath their feet in the blink of an eye. Yin Lisheng suddenly felt his footing give way, losing his balance and falling into the crack.
Fu Yunshu cried out in alarm and reached out to grab Yin Lisheng, but it was too late. He and Qiu Nan were also swallowed by the crack, and everything went black as they fell down.
After an unknown amount of time, Fu Yunshu slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a dimly lit underground space. He was surrounded by damp rock walls, and a faint glimmer of light could be seen above him, but he was already far from where he had fallen.
“Yin Lisheng? Qiu Nan?” Fu Yunshu sat up and called out softly.
"I'm here." Yin Lisheng's voice came from not far away, sounding weak.
Fu Yunshu looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yin Lisheng leaning against a rock, his face somewhat pale, but he seemed to be alright. Qiu Nan was lying next to him, seemingly still unconscious.
"Are you alright?" Fu Yunshu walked over and asked with concern.
Yin Lisheng shook his head: "I'm fine, I just bumped into something when I fell and I feel a little dizzy."
Fu Yunshu nodded, reached out to check Qiu Nan's pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he was only temporarily unconscious.
"Where is this?" Yin Lisheng looked around and asked in a low voice.
Fu Yunshu stood up and carefully surveyed his surroundings. This seemed to be below the island in the middle of the lake; he hadn't expected there to be such a place.
The rock walls were covered with moss, and the air was filled with a damp, musty smell. A faint light emanated from the depths of the cave, as if something was glowing.
“We must have fallen into an underground cave beneath the island in the middle of the lake,” Fu Yunshu said in a deep voice.
It was strange; although he had never been to the assessment realm before, he had never heard of such a cave in previous years.
Yin Lisheng nodded: "What about Pan Tianlei and the others?"
Fu Yunshu shook his head: "I don't know. They might have fallen down too. Now that things have come to this, we need to figure out a way to get out first."
Just then, Qiu Nan suddenly groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
"Where...where am I?" Qiu Nan rubbed his temples and asked, looking completely bewildered.
"We've fallen into an underground cave," Fu Yunshu explained briefly.
After hearing this, Qiu Nan's expression turned somewhat grim: "This is troublesome. Is this also part of the assessment? How are we supposed to get out now?"
Fu Yunshu pointed to the light deep inside the cave: "There seems to be light over there. Let's go check it out first; maybe we can find an exit."
The three stood up and cautiously walked deeper into the cave. The cave was not spacious, and strange runes could be seen occasionally on the rock walls, seemingly carved by humans.
“These runes… seem to be some kind of formation,” Qiu Nan said in a low voice.
Fu Yunshu nodded. He was quite knowledgeable about formations, having studied them in a previous life. The runes looked familiar, but Fu Yunshu couldn't recall what kind of formation they were for the moment.
Yin Lisheng didn't speak, but silently followed behind Fu Yunshu, his eyes occasionally sweeping over the runes on the rock wall.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the three of them finally arrived at a stone gate.
"How do I open this door?" Qiu Nan stepped forward to examine it carefully.
Fu Yunshu took a few steps back to get a clearer view.
The thick stone is engraved with strange patterns composed of various runes, which also seem to be an array.
“The Trapping Formation,” Fu Yunshu murmured.
"What kind of formation is this?" Qiu Nan scratched his head in confusion.
“It’s a very ancient sealing formation. Ordinary sealing formations use inscribed runes to draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to suppress the sealed object,” Fu Yunshu said, stroking the runes on the stone gate. “The difference between the Trapping Evil Formation and this formation is that it is generally used to seal powerful evil objects. In addition to inscribing runes, there are usually people or spiritual objects to suppress the evil energy.”
"So, you mean something very ferocious is sealed inside?" Yin Lisheng asked.
"Is that so?" Fu Yunshu withdrew his hand, he had some vague guesses about this place.
"What do we do then?" Qiu Nan sat cross-legged on the ground in frustration. "We can't open this door, and we can't open it either. We don't know what's going on outside, and we haven't even seen a trace of the exit."
Fu Yunshu remained silent. Just as he was about to suggest returning the way they came, a loud bang came from behind him.
Dust billowed and spread through the narrow passageway. Fu Yunshu quickly pulled Yin Lisheng into her arms and covered his mouth and nose.
After a commotion, Qiu Nan waved his sleeves and coughed repeatedly. Once the dust had settled, the three of them were surprised to find that the door had opened by itself!
A note from the author:
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Three chapters today, the last one will be available for purchase [kissing emoji], and there will be red envelopes and a lucky draw.
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