Fu Changling was the last candidate to enter the Lingshan Forbidden Area. After he entered, Yun Yu stepped forward and formally saluted Xie Yuqing and Qin Yan, reporting, "Senior Brother, Senior Sister Xie, all candidates have entered."
Qin Yan responded, turned around and said to Xie Yuqing, "I'm going to the back mountain."
Dangerous areas require special guards to prevent candidates from accidentally entering.
Xie Yuqing looked into the distance: "I'll watch from here."
Qin Yan said nothing more, flying his sword straight towards the back mountain. Yun Yu looked at Qin Yan's figure and said with some concern, "Sister, the forbidden area in the back mountain is full of high-level beasts, and you are alone..."
"No problem."
Xie Yuqing spoke calmly, raised her hand and drew a circle. The iron talisman hanging in the air flipped with her movement, and the barrier of the Lingshan Forbidden Land closed again.
When Fu Changling heard the shaking of Lingshan, he turned around and saw the barrier being formed little by little.
The barrier of the forbidden area of Lingshan in Hongmeng Tiangong was set up by Ye Lan himself. After thousands of years, it is still one of the most solid barriers in Yunze.
After observing the Lingshan Forbidden Land's barrier for a while, Fu Changling continued walking forward.
The previous candidates had already run ahead and rushed into the depths of the dense forest.
There are spiritual plants everywhere in the Lingshan Mountain. It is naturally impossible to calculate the final score based on the number of spiritual plants. According to this rule, he can squat at the door and dig up all the spiritual mountains.
Therefore, the final score calculation is actually based on the grade of the spiritual plant. The higher the grade, the more points you get. High-grade spiritual plants are often guarded by spiritual beasts, so while simply digging up spiritual plants is an extremely comprehensive test, it requires not only the ability to identify and correctly harvest the plants, but also the ability to fight these spiritual beasts. Furthermore, while candidates are not allowed to fight over the plants, they are not prohibited from cheating, or even picking the plants from the corpses after a fight. This series of hidden challenges is arguably the most demanding of all the exams in terms of overall ability.
Fu Changling did not rush to look for the spiritual plant. He first squatted down, touched the soil on the ground, looked at the spiritual plant under his feet, then grabbed a handful of dead leaves, crushed them with his fingers and scattered them to see in which direction the wind would blow the dead leaves.
"What is he doing?"
Yun Yu was a little surprised. Xie Yuqing watched quietly and explained, "He is judging."
"judge?"
"The spiritual energy produced by the spiritual veins has different properties, and the spiritual plants that grow there will also be different. The growth of spiritual plants has its own rules to follow. He is judging what spiritual plants and spiritual beasts are in these spiritual mountains, as well as the direction of their growth."
What kind of spiritual plant you have will determine what kind of spiritual beast you have.
Fu Changling looked in the direction where the dead leaves were drifting and murmured, "Red soil, frost flowers, southeast wind."
He looked around and roughly guessed what spiritual plants would be here. After screening the most valuable ones, he chose the northwest direction and walked in.
This was a sacred mountain nurtured by ice-attributed spiritual roots. Normally, the north direction would be home to the most ice-attributed spiritual plants. However, this area was covered in red soil, a type of soil unique to fire-attributed spiritual roots. Therefore, Fu Changling speculated that beneath this sacred mountain lay two spiritual roots: ice deep within, fire on the surface, but ice was primary, with fire serving as a secondary element.
The ice spirit root is due north, and the fire spirit root is due west. In the end, Fu Changling chose the northwest direction and walked all the way in.
After entering the dense forest, he walked very cautiously, but he was quick in identifying spiritual plants and was very skilled in picking them. In a short while, he had filled a bag.
After he walked deeper, he noticed that the supervision of Hongmeng Heavenly Palace on him had weakened, and he also felt the breath of a wild beast coming from the front.
Fu Changling knew that he was close to the most valuable spiritual plant in the examination area, the Lihuo Qiankun Grass.
This grass is guarded by the Ice Crystal Beast, a third-grade demon beast with strength comparable to that of a Golden Elixir. Qin Yan probably didn't expect that any disciple would be able to get here. When Fu Changling walked into the Ice Crystal Beast's territory, he immediately found that all the spying on him had disappeared.
This is a great opportunity.
Fu Changling pondered in his heart.
If he could kill the Ice Crystal Beast before nightfall, he would have one night to rush to the back mountain of Lingshan to pick the Moonlight Grass, and come back before dawn and rush to the door. With the Lihuo Qiankun Grass, he should have no problem getting shortlisted.
Fu Changling made his decision without further delay. After using his spiritual sense to confirm that no one was around, he walked directly into the Ice Crystal Beast's cave. Seeing Fu Changling approach so carelessly, the Ice Crystal Beast roared and came at him. The Qinggu Fan slipped from Fu Changling's sleeve into his palm, and with a wave of his hand, a gust of wind swept through, slamming the Ice Crystal Beast against the wall. The Ice Crystal Beast whined softly. Fu Changling walked inside, unleashing the pressure of the Tribulation Crossing Stage without restraint. With every step forward, the Ice Crystal Beast retreated a little, curling its tiger-like body into a ball and pressing desperately against the wall, almost punching a hole behind it. Its large claws rested on its head, whimpering softly.
Fu Changling walked up to it, took a look at the Ice Crystal Beast, lowered his head to pick the Fire-Separating Universe Grass, and saw that the Ice Crystal Beast was still trembling. He said helplessly, "Okay, I won't kill you, but you better be smart." Fu Changling half-knelt down, tilted his head and smiled, "Don't let anyone find out that I'm gone, understand?"
The Ice Crystal Beast showed one eye from under its big claws, and when it saw Fu Changling's smile, it immediately began to nod frantically.
Fu Changling patted its head, picked up the Lihuo Qiankun Grass, stood up, put the Lihuo Qiankun Grass into the spirit bag, and walked quickly out of the cave.
After coming out of the cave, he looked at the direction and confirmed the location of the back mountain, then immediately rushed towards the back mountain.
Fu Changling cast an invisibility spell, ignoring everything along the way, silently moving through the dense forest, thus avoiding being discovered by high-level beasts. As he rushed towards the Moonlight Grass, Qin Yan also walked towards the Moonlight Grass.
He walked slowly, as if he was looking for something along the way.
He would open the branches, carefully turn over the things under the branches to check, and carefully sense the spiritual fluctuations in this place.
He wants to find a place.
In his memory, there should be moon grass in this place.
He slowly looked over and suddenly felt the moonlight bathing his whole body. He raised his head and saw that there were dense forests all around, but in front of him was a circular open space. The open space was surrounded by forests, and the moonlight fell on the open space without any obstruction. There were large patches of knee-high moon grass growing on the ground. When the wind blew, the moon grass with dancing light particles in the moonlight swayed gently.
Some images suddenly flashed through his mind. In his previous life, he was injured and fell into a patch of moonlight grass.
He probed with his spiritual sense and detected a slight fluctuation of spiritual energy within the Moonlight Grass. He placed his hand on his sword and walked forward cautiously.
The barrier spread silently around him. Qin Yan's attention was all on the fluctuating spiritual power. Fu Changling ran all the way towards the Moonlight Grass and suddenly noticed something unusual around him.
He looked up and couldn't help but frowned: "Boundary?"
Just as he finished speaking, a burst of spiritual energy surged from not far away. The spiritual energy of more than a dozen Nascent Souls mixed with Qin Yan's spiritual energy came over. Fu Changling was suddenly shocked. Looking up, he saw fire and sword light intertwined not far away, making a sound that shook the earth.
However, these sounds had long been blocked by the barrier. Fu Changling looked up at the barrier and after confirming that he was temporarily powerless against it, he immediately rushed towards the battlefield.
He came very quickly, and when he got close, he saw more than a dozen people harassing Qin Yan. Qin Yan was trapped in the middle, but in just a moment, he was already injured.
These people stood in a circle around Qin Yan. They were all wearing black robes and their faces could not be seen clearly. From their positions, Fu Changling immediately recognized that these people had trapped Qin Yan in the middle of the formation.
Fu Changling held his breath, deliberately hiding himself, and observing these people. They were all in the Nascent Soul stage, and they should have been cooperating for a long time. With their strength, even the cultivators in the Spirit Transformation stage would not dare to act rashly.
If he rushed out to help Qin Yan at this moment, he would be delivering food.
"Who are you?"
Qin Yan spoke in a cold voice. Fu Changling was lurking in the dark. He cut open his palm with a fan and began to quickly draw a formation under his feet.
"Qin Yan," a black-robed monk with red stripes standing in the east spoke, his voice filled with regret. His voice had clearly been deliberately altered, and it was impossible to tell whether he was male or female, young or old. It was as if many voices were mixed together. "You are the first disciple of Hongmeng Tiangong. Why did you get involved in this mess?"
"You are from the Hell of Karma."
Qin Yan definitely spoke out, and Fu Changling listened to them while moving quietly, surrounding those people and secretly setting up a formation.
"You also know about Karma Prison?"
The monk sighed: "I thought Yunze had forgotten about us."
"How did you come to Yunze?"
Qin Yan clenched his sword: "The seal of the prison has not been opened yet, why are you here?"
"You know a lot, who told you?"
The monk lowered his voice and said, "Is it that young Taoist named Fu Changling?"
When Fu Changling heard this, he couldn't help but raise his head.
He did not stop his hands and his eyes fell on the speaker.
He always wanted to know why Yeyu targeted him, what was the relationship between Yeyu's seal and himself, and why Yeyu set up such a big plan for him to break the seal.
Qin Yan seemed to want to ask this question as well, so he asked, "Why are you staring at him?"
"Qin Yan," the other person sighed, "You are good at everything except being too smart."
"What's different about his bloodline?"
The other party fell silent, and Qin Yan continued: "How many people are there in Hongmeng Heavenly Palace?"
"Qin Yan," the other party spoke again, but his voice was completely cold, "How much do you know?"
"I know more than you think."
Qin Yan scanned the surroundings, then paused briefly in the direction of Fu Changling before withdrawing his gaze and continuing, "For example, I know that three months ago, you sent Senior Sister Xie and I out on separate missions to fulfill our sect's mission. You asked me to kill Taoist Lingxu of the Qingkong Sect. It wasn't because the Taoist was possessed and causing trouble, making him difficult to eliminate. You simply wanted to get me out of the way."
"Send them away?" The other party laughed. "Who are you that needs to be sent away?"
"That's a question for you guys."
Qin Yan stared into the other person's eyes: "You know what you are doing here."
While Qin Yan was talking to them, Fu Changling finished drawing the last small formation. He raised his head and glanced at these people.
This formation wasn't strong enough to truly contend with so many Nascent Soul cultivators. If a fight broke out, it would only be a struggle. The best approach now was to avoid a fight.
Fu Changling thought about it, quickly took out clothes from the spirit bag, changed into the Fu family's family clothes, casually took out a mask and put it on, took out the Spirit Gathering Tower and put it in his sleeve, held a Qinggu fan in his hand, prepared all the treasures in the Zhenlong Ring, and then jumped onto the tree branch.
His movements were immediately noticed, and the red-striped monk shouted, "Who!"
As he spoke, everyone looked up and around, nervously observing their surroundings.
Qin Yan stood in the middle, his expression unchanged, holding the sword firmly in his hand, ready to draw his sword at any time.
"come out."
A monk shouted, "What nameless wretch, hiding like this? Come out if you dare!"
"The jasper is made into a tall tree," the monk asked, and a clear and gorgeous voice rang out in the dense forest. The sound seemed to come from all directions. After he finished speaking, all the trees began to grow wildly, and everyone present began to look around and became alert.
"Ten thousand green ribbons hang down." The voice was lazy with a hint of laughter. The branches of the surrounding trees extended like willow branches and drooped down.
"I wonder who cut out these delicate leaves," the voice lowered, and everyone became alert. Then only a soft sigh was heard, "The spring breeze in February is like a thousand knives."
The moment the sound fell, the wind swept the green leaves away like a knife, and the pressure of the Tribulation Stage came overwhelmingly! Everyone couldn't help but raise their hands to block the strong wind. As they covered their eyes with their sleeves, they heard shrill screams from the audience.
But after a while, the wind calmed down, the green leaves slowly fell, and the people around slowly put down their sleeves and looked up together, and saw a young man lying on a branch not far away.
He wore a golden crown and the Fu family's unique black brocade shirt with wide sleeves and a golden chrysanthemum pattern. The white lining matched the skin tone of his exposed neck. Looking up from his neck, he saw an elegantly contoured jaw, cherry-colored lips, and a high nose bridge. A silver mask covered the upper half of his face, leaving only a pair of thickly eyelashed, peach-shaped eyes. Even the lines alone were breathtaking.
Compared to his ornate attire, his movements were remarkably relaxed. One hand supported his head, the other casually gripping a small golden fan, which he pointed at the ground. His eyes were lightly closed, as if he were asleep. As he moved, his dark hair cascaded down the branches, seemingly falling on people's hearts, stirring them like water, rippling outward in circles.
Everyone was shocked by him until they heard the sound of someone falling to the ground nearby. Everyone then looked to the side and saw that it was the monk who had initially said "nameless rat". He was now lying on the ground. There was not a piece of intact flesh and blood on his body. His bloody skeleton stood on the ground, which was chilling to the sight.
"It turns out to be Senior Fu."
The monk standing in the east raised his hand vigilantly and saluted.
Not to mention Fu Changling's iconic black clothes and golden fan of the Fu family, even if Fu Changling changed his clothes, the only people in this world who can kill people with a poem are the Fu family who have the power of words.
The leading monk looked at Fu Changling, not daring to make a rash move. He asked respectfully, "Excuse me, Senior Fu, what brings you here?"
Fu Changling didn't say anything. The pressure from the Tribulation Crossing Stage suddenly released, and all the power of his soul was forced onto the cultivator who had spoken. The cultivator was sweating profusely under the pressure. The difference in their spiritual awareness was too great, and he finally couldn't bear it anymore. He knelt on one knee, and then felt the pressure on him dissipate instantly. He gasped for breath. Fu Changling slowly opened his eyes and said bluntly: "Take your things and get out."
"leader……"
The monk nearby instantly erupted in anger and attempted to strike, but was stopped by the monk kneeling on the ground. The monk stared at Fu Changling, who simply stared at him. A pair of eyes that had seen blood, swords, and the end of a lifetime met the monk's scrutiny. Both men stared at each other, their gazes unwavering.
Fu Changling's heart was beating fast, but he knew that he must not retreat at all.
The pain in his golden core made his whole body want to twitch, but he was used to enduring the pain and his face remained calm.
After a long time, the cultivator could no longer see through Fu Changling's cultivation level. He did not dare to take any risks here, so he finally said, "Let's go."
"leader……"
Before the other cultivators could say anything, the other cultivator raised his hand to stop them. He retracted his hand, and a vortex formed in the center of the moonlit lawn. The vortex quickly shrank and finally turned into a sphere that fell into the palm of the other cultivator's hand.
The other party said nothing and left with his men. After they left, Fu Changling finally couldn't hold it in any longer, vomiting blood and tumbling down from the tree. He hit the ground, clutching his abdomen, and lay there gasping for air in pain. He had just forced himself to use the Spirit Gathering Tower to increase his cultivation, damaging his Golden Core once again.
Qin Yan grabbed a handful of Moonlight Grass and quickly walked over to him. Just as he was about to use his spiritual power to send it in, Fu Changling snatched it away. He then put his arm around his shoulders and used his strength to stand up. He said in a trembling voice, "Leave now."
Qin Yan did not delay. He carried Fu Changling and the two of them quickly rushed towards the distance.
Fu Changling was sweating profusely. He chewed the Moonlight Grass raw in big mouthfuls, and at the same time used his spiritual power to send the effect of the Moonlight Grass to the golden elixir.
He did all this without slowing down. The two of them rushed to a cave. Qin Yan set up a restriction, placed Fu Changling on the ground, and half-knelt with his sword in hand. "What can I do?"
Fu Changling gritted his teeth and said, "Apply medicine to yourself."
Qin Yan was stunned for a moment, then saw Fu Changling leaning against the wall, gritting his teeth, closing his eyes and gasping for breath.
The effect of forcing the Moonlight Grass down like this was completely different from the effect of processing it and then passing it through with spiritual power. The stimulation brought by the Moonlight Grass moistened the golden elixir, and the golden elixir that had just been damaged was soaked by the herb, as if salt was sprinkled on the wound, and the pain made Fu Changling curl up.
As the drug penetrated deeper, Fu Changling felt more pain.
Qin Yan quickly applied medicine to himself and squatted on one knee beside Fu Changling, feeling a little at a loss for a moment.
He didn't want to have anything to do with this person, but no matter what, this person was injured because of him, and he couldn't ignore it at this moment for both emotional and logical reasons.
Qin Yan frowned and saw Fu Changling rolling on the ground twitching in pain. Qin Yan hurried to support him, fearing that he would hit the rocks. Fu Changling gritted his teeth, and the moment Qin Yan touched him, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly.
"sorry."
He panted and spoke with difficulty: "A moment, just a moment."
"Let me hug you."
Qin Yan was stunned for a moment. Fu Changling hugged him. Feeling this person in his arms, he suddenly felt less pain.
He closed his eyes and hugged Qin Yan tightly, but was afraid that he would hurt him if he held him too tightly. His whole body was trembling, and his teeth were knocking against each other, making a slight sound.
"Say something." He gasped and said with difficulty, "Say something."
Qin Yan hesitated. He was not good at speaking. After a long while, he could only say, "It seems that they took away the Xuanji Secret Realm."
"yes."
Fu Changling closed his eyes, mobilized his spiritual power, and distracted himself to explain to Qin Yan: "The place in the center of the Yuehua Grass just now is the Xuanji Secret Realm. We always thought that the Xuanji Secret Realm was opened in the Jinguang Temple. It seems that it is not. This is where the Xuanji Secret Realm is opened."
"They opened the Xuanji Secret Realm inside Hongmeng Heavenly Palace," Fu Changling swallowed, "and used the Shangguan family's summoning array to summon us in."
"Why?"
Qin Yan frowned.
Fu Changling couldn't answer. He leaned on Qin Yan's shoulder, smelled Qin Yan's scent, and hugged Qin Yan. For some reason, in the extreme pain, he actually had some other thoughts.
He suddenly wanted to tilt his head and kiss the person's cheek lightly, then move his lips down along the person's earlobe.
This thought startled him suddenly. He was so panicked that he could only turn his face away and asked, "Do you know who I am?"
Qin Yan was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Your mask is the one you bought in the Xuanji Secret Realm."
Fu Changling couldn't help but laugh: "How come you can recognize me wherever I go?"
Qin Yan didn't say anything.
Fu Changling felt the medicinal effects of the Yuehua Grass in his body gradually soften, and began to nourish his golden elixir, which made him feel much more comfortable. His body relaxed. Qin Yan noticed his change, but did not move, only saying, "Are you feeling better?"
This question sounded urgent to Fu Changling. He paused for a moment before slowly straightening up and muttering, "Excuse me."
Qin Yan stood up and said, "Take a moment to calm down. I'll be leaving first."
"Qin Yan," Fu Changling felt a little strange when he heard that he was about to leave. "You... don't you have anything to ask me?"
"You..." Fu Changling hesitated for a moment, "Aren't you curious about how I disguised myself as a cultivator in the Tribulation Crossing Stage?"
"It's none of my business."
Qin Yan's answer was calm, and Fu Changling couldn't help but laugh: "You don't suspect that I am possessing someone else's body?"
"It's none of my business."
Qin Yan repeated it again.
Fu Changling looked at the sky. He calculated the time when the barrier of the Lingshan Forbidden Land would open again. Knowing that he didn't have much time to waste with Qin Yan, he pulled out two pieces of talisman paper from his chest, quickly wrote two talismans, stood up, walked to Qin Yan, and handed them to Qin Yan, saying, "If you need anything in the future, use these two talismans. No barrier below the Tribulation Crossing Stage can trap them. Use them to call my name, and I will come right away."
"No need." Qin Yan refused decisively, "It's my own business..."
Before Qin Yan could finish his words, Fu Changling stuffed the talisman into his hand. He ignored Qin Yan's words, turned back to his original seat, sat down and said, "I know you hate me, but since this concerns Yunze, I hope you will act rationally. Normally I don't care about you, but if it's related to the Xuanji Secret Realm, if you are in danger, I have no choice but to help you."
As he spoke, Fu Changling raised his hands and meditated, saying coldly, "Hongmeng Heavenly Palace has an insider. It's hard to say who it is. To be able to quietly open the Xuanji Secret Realm in Hongmeng Heavenly Palace, it must be someone small. Regarding the matter of Karma Prison, I'm the only one you can trust now."
"You can be pretentious at ordinary times, but when facing major events, Fellow Daoist Qin, you should be more rational."
Qin Yan: “…”
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