Hearing Nangong Wan's response, Gu Yifeng nodded thoughtfully, then looked at the old man on the stage, waiting for them to speak.
About three incense sticks later, the mountaintop was almost completely surrounded by various forces, and then it quieted down. The leader of the Taihang Ancient Saint lineage, an old man with white hair and beard, slowly stepped forward, tapping the ground lightly with his cane, and a bright yellow light spread out.
A barrier was formed instantly.
"Gentlemen, today marks the end of the hundred-year period. I have been ordered by the Holy Ancestor of Taihang to reopen the secret realm. If any of you are destined, you may enter the lineage and become disciples of the Holy Ancestor. The secret realm will be open for one month, after which it will be closed. Please feel free to do as you wish."
After the old man finished speaking slowly, his cane instantly transformed into a beam of earthy yellow light and disappeared into the void. The next moment, a crack appeared in the center of the square.
A spatial force extended continuously, then pried open the crack, transforming it into a neat portal. Behind the portal was a slowly rotating vortex of starlight, which looked extremely mysterious.
Seeing that the portal was stable, the old man pointed at it, and the bright yellow barrier dispersed. Then, countless figures emerged from the crowd and disappeared into the portal.
Gu Yifeng and Nangong Wan exchanged a glance, then simultaneously darted out, hand in hand, and disappeared into the portal.
With a flash of light, the two arrived in a completely new world, similar to the trial space on Azure Dragon Island. Here, it was as bright as day, with a blazing sun hanging high in the sky, making it difficult for them to open their eyes.
Gu Yifeng activated his Hidden Eye, and streams of spiritual energy gathered before him, forming a protective shield. Only then did he look up at the blazing sun, and within a moment he felt a stinging sensation, and tears immediately welled up in his eyes.
"Holy crap! This is real!"
Gu Yifeng grimaced and cursed under his breath. He hadn't expected that this secret realm would lead directly to the heavens and attract the sun and stars.
Nangong Wan was both amused and exasperated. She hadn't expected him to have this habit of observing the sun. Now that his eyes had been affected, it would probably take him a long time to recover.
"Are you done yet? I don't have time to waste here with you."
Nangong Wan patted Gu Yifeng on the back and said with a smile.
"What are you laughing at! Do you even know what's going on in this secret realm?"
Gu Yifeng cursed and rolled his eyes. Only after his tears dried did he feel much better.
"Yes, my father told me everything. This Taihang Secret Realm was established by the ancient sage of Taihang. Its original purpose was to select disciples to remain within the Taihang lineage and pass it down as the successors of the ancient sage."
"It's a pity that the ancient sages perished, and this lineage declined as a result. Many Daoists chose to leave Taihang, and this secret realm was abandoned. My father said that if you can't climb the more than nine thousand stone steps, you must pass thirteen trials in the secret realm to enter the sect."
Nangong Wan spoke thoughtfully, counting on her fingers as she introduced the items to Gu Yifeng.
"Thirteen levels, huh? That's interesting. So, are these the only thirteen levels created for this secret realm? What happens after you clear them?"
Gu Yifeng continued to ask.
"Within this secret realm, everything actually belongs to the ancient sage lineage, but only after becoming a disciple can one know the distribution within the secret realm. It is said that the ancient sage lineage includes talismanic arts, alchemy, body cultivation, swordsmanship, saber arts... and contains many treasures."
As Nangong Wan spoke, she roughly determined the direction. There were also a few other cultivators scattered around, all heading towards the center.
She immediately pulled Gu Yifeng toward the center.
About an hour later, the two of them arrived at the center of this secret realm, where a dragon gate stood tall, and a long queue of people had already formed.
This is what Nangong Wen meant by fierce competition.
The first three tests are very simple: measuring a person's three dimensions. On the continent of Qun Guang, a cultivator's three dimensions are very simple, consisting of age, physical constitution, and comprehension.
In the first stage, anyone over the age of thirty will be eliminated and teleported out of this secret realm.
Gu Yifeng and Nangong Wan passed smoothly, both being only twenty-three years old, which was quite suitable.
The second challenge, "Innate Bone," saw Gu Yifeng follow the crowd to a crystal pillar that was a full ten feet tall. All he had to do was place his hand on it and channel his spiritual energy to change the pillar's color.
The seven colors are blue, green, yellow, orange, red, indigo, and violet, with blue being the lowest and violet the highest.
Soon it was Gu Yifeng's turn to be tested. He arrived in front of the crystal pillar, where a puppet stood beside him, prompting him to place his hand on the pillar and input his spiritual power to test his aptitude.
Having experienced the baptism of the sacred spring on Qinglong Island last time, Gu Yifeng had already anticipated this. He immediately placed his hand on the stone pillar and channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into it.
Soon, colors appeared on the stone pillar. The blue at the bottom lit up, then slowly rose to green and yellow. The ascent was very slow, without any sign of urgency.
About three breaths later, it reached the purple color. I thought it was over, but soon the crystal pillar began to tremble. The seven colors mixed together and finally stopped when it turned into an incomparably deep dark purple.
"Perfect aptitude!"
The puppet's stiff voice rang out, and then it looked at Nangong Wan behind it.
Gu Yifeng wasn't surprised by what he heard, but the dark purple color was rather unsettling, as if it concealed some special information.
Nangong Wan looked at Gu Yifeng with amazement, and then began her own test. The color of the stone pillar quickly rushed out and then stopped at indigo.
"Qualifications: Excellent."
The puppet's voice rang out at the right moment, interrupting her thoughts. Its tone was much more indifferent, which made the girl quite dissatisfied.
However, the puppet remained unfazed and immediately moved on to the next character.
"Let's move on to the next project."
Gu Yifeng smiled and spoke, then went to the third test. There were puppets on the side, but this third test had a total of nine puppets, all unfolded at the same time. There were nine futons in front of him, and two people had just woken up, so he gave them empty seats.
"The third test is to test your comprehension. You will comprehend the magic on this futon and develop a technique to strike the stone pillar in front of you. You have one hour to complete the test. There are seven beams of light, with blue being the lowest and purple the highest. Orange and above are required to pass the test."
The puppet's notification sounded, and then an incense stick was lit, which lasted exactly one hour.
Gu Yifeng immediately sat down cross-legged and entered a space of consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a vast and boundless white world.
Developing spells can be difficult or easy for cultivators at the Concentration Realm, but the puppet didn't specify the evaluation criteria, so the more powerful the spell, the higher the level.
Gu Yifeng pondered the various techniques he had mastered: physical cultivation, swordsmanship, and talisman techniques. Each of these three had its own unique aspects.
After a moment of contemplation, he decided to develop talismanic magic.
Although the myriad talismans are vast, they are never quite easy to use. One must thoroughly understand and absorb them in order to make them one's own talismanic way.
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