Chapter 21 Trial 3 Because you are the one I "fished" up...
Although a few disciples of the Immortal Academy suffered casualties during the trials, the fundamental purpose was to train new disciples. The resources in the secret realm were also one of the few opportunities for new disciples to obtain supplies.
In previous years, after being teleported to the secret realm, the disciples would first be in a completely safe place, giving them ample time to analyze their situation and decide on their next course of action. This year, however, they were teleported to the most dangerous central sand dune region upon entering the Xuan Shuo Secret Realm, which was truly unprecedented.
The seven fled the area where the Sand Poison Scorpions were active in a panic. From a distance, they watched as Shen Du was fighting a third-tier Sand Poison Scorpion with his sword. Beside him was an outer sect Foundation Establishment cultivator who was also killing monsters, but compared to the effortless Shen Du, he was slightly at a disadvantage.
"Fortunately, I found Shen Du..." Li Yuanwang popped two spirit pills into his mouth to replenish his rapidly depleting physical strength and spiritual power.
Xu Xing slowly calmed his rapid breathing, looked at the battle situation, and asked worriedly, "Should we go and help?"
Another thin young male disciple shook his head, "The poison on the Sand Poison Scorpion is too much for a Qi Refining stage disciple to resist; going there would only cause trouble."
Xu Xing recognized this person; he was also a disciple of Yaoguang Academy, named Lou Wenxing. There was also a female disciple named Xi Yun present, who was from Yaoguang Academy as well. Judging from their attire, the other three included one disciple of Tianshu Academy and two disciples of Yuheng Academy.
A slight tremor ran through the sand dunes, causing them to slowly flow and reveal countless whirlpools. Countless tiny sand scorpions emerged and surged towards the two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the center.
It turned out that the third-tier sand scorpion was no match for Shen Du, so it summoned many of its subordinates to buy time while it intended to burrow into the quicksand to escape.
Chen Du frowned slightly, held his sword horizontally in front of him, and brushed the blade with two fingers together. The next moment, the black longsword cleaved straight down the sand dune. The sword energy crisscrossed, and the spider web-like sword light continuously killed hundreds and thousands of sand scorpions!
"What a sharp sword aura!"
The one who spoke up in praise was a tall female disciple wearing the robes of the Tian Shu Academy.
The dunes regained their tranquility.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shen Du noticed that the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had fought alongside him against the Sand Poison Scorpion seemed to be losing strength and was swaying, so he raised his hand to help him up.
The disciple quickly straightened up and stepped aside, a distant smile on his face. "No need for Senior Brother Shen to trouble himself."
The two approached several disciples from the Immortal Dao Academy, and a disciple from the Jade Balance Academy stepped forward to greet them, "Senior Brother Luo, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Did you receive the mission?" The cultivator took a pill, and his pale complexion slowly returned to normal.
The seven disciples of the Immortal Academy had already subtly formed three groups according to their respective academies. They glanced at each other, about to speak, when in the next moment, seven beams of light fell into their hands, transforming into jade tokens.
Xu Xing touched the jade token in her hand, which was engraved with the words "Team Twenty-Seven, Xu Xing". Following the instructions given by the dean before entering the secret realm, she infused it with spiritual energy and indeed saw a map of the secret realm.
After receiving the jade token, Li Yuan spoke first, his expression as arrogant as ever, "I am Li Yuan, Qi Refining Level 2. As you probably know, my father is Li Hong. Shen Du is a cultivator I invited. With me here, this trial will not be a problem."
Seeing Li Yuan's expression that said, "It's your honor to be on my team," the Tian Shu Academy disciple mocked, "Anyone who didn't know better would think that Master Li had come to participate in this trial."
"So what if Senior Brother Shen is with you? Don't forget, Foundation Establishment cultivators can only protect your life, they can't interfere with the mission."
Li Yuan's face turned cold, and he said with a stern look, "A mere trial..."
The disciples of Tian Shu Academy ignored him, looked at the crowd, and softened their tone, "Fan Sutan, Qi Refining Level 3."
The other two disciples from Yuheng Academy exchanged glances and introduced themselves. They were Ye Hao and Dongfang Yi, both at the second level of Qi Refining, while Lou Wenxing, Xi Yun, and Xu Xing from Yaoguang Academy were only at the first level of Qi Refining.
The Foundation Establishment stage outer sect cultivator was named Luo Ming, and he accompanied Dongfang Yi.
Dongfang Yi had a gentle appearance and a soft, pleasant voice. Looking at Xu Xing's golden eyes, she exclaimed in amazement, "So there really are humans with such eyes! I heard before that a very special junior sister came to Yaoguang Academy..."
Several pairs of eyes turned to Xu Xing, who silently lowered her eyes, disliking the scrutinizing gaze.
Fortunately, they knew that the disciples who could enter the Immortal Academy through the Bone Examination Stone must have an undeniable identity, so they only glanced at Xu Xing a few times and then paid no more attention to him.
It's just a five-elemental root at the first level of Qi Refining.
After the group revealed their identities and cultivation levels, the jade tablets reacted again, with all seven tablets simultaneously projecting spiritual light into the air.
"Mission requirements: Capture ten Moon Rabbits and collect ten pieces of Black Iron Ore within nine days. If the team has fewer than four members before leaving the secret realm, the mission will be considered a failure."
At the same time, they noticed that seven small green dots had appeared on the map on their jade pendants. Ye Hao exclaimed in surprise, "So this jade pendant can show the location of myself and my teammates. It seems that we must work together to complete the mission, since losing even one person could lead to mission failure."
Dongfang Yi also said, "That's right. After all, although the trial explicitly forbids killing fellow disciples, as long as you can break the jade token, you can make the other party leave the secret realm. Besides these demonic beasts, we also need to be careful if we encounter other disciples of the Immortal Academy."
During the trial, each team is in competition with the others. The top five teams receive extra rewards, and everyone wants to give it their all.
Fan Sutan looked at Shen Du, "Senior Brother Shen, when you fought that Sand Poison Scorpion, did you notice anything unusual? After all, according to past practice, we shouldn't have been teleported to such a dangerous place."
Shen Du said, "There is nothing unusual. It must be that our sudden appearance here startled them, which triggered the attack."
"Could it be that the rules have changed this year, even the teleportation location..." Unable to understand the Immortal Academy's intentions, the group decided to stop wasting time and quickly began to check the mission.
"The cunning moon rabbit prefers dry conditions and often appears at the junction of the sand dunes and the Dongsui Plain, while the black iron mine is located in the black iron mountain to the north."
Dongfang Yi tossed the map from his jade tablet into the air. "We're currently west of the sand dunes, furthest from Xuan Tie Mountain. Why don't we head to Dong Sui Plain to capture the Cunning Moon Rabbit first..."
Fan Sutan offered a different opinion: "Don't forget, there are often Iron-Eating Beasts around the Xuan Iron Mine. The Cunning Moon Rabbit is only at the mid-stage of the first rank, while the Iron-Eating Beast is at the late stage of the first rank. Relatively speaking, the mining task is more difficult."
Apart from Li Yuan, who seemed somewhat unconvinced, the other disciples of Yaoguang Academy listened to their discussion silently without interrupting.
Xu Xing herself was more interested in mining, but this was a team mission, and she couldn't risk it alone.
Li Yuan finally found a chance to speak, "Why don't we split into two groups? Shen Du and I will go mining, and you can go and catch the cunning moon rabbits."
He glanced at everyone from the Immortal Academy, then raised his chin at Xu Xing, his tone as if bestowing a favor, "That guy with five spiritual roots over there, plus you, the three of us are enough."
Fan Sutan frowned, "You want to die? This is a mission. Senior Brother Shen can't help you deal with the Iron-Eating Beast, you..."
"boom--"
Suddenly, Li Yuan waved his hand and threw out a spirit pearl. The spirit pearl exploded violently the moment it landed on a sand dune in the distance, blasting a huge crater into the dune.
"My father crafted the Thunderburst Bead. What is there to fear from a mere first-tier demonic beast? Even a second-tier one wouldn't be a problem!"
He waved three unused spirit orbs between his fingers in front of everyone, his eyes smug. "I was just teleported here and didn't have time to react. Hmph, even without the sinking, do you think I can't complete the mission?"
Seeing Li Yuan's wealth and power, the other disciples had mixed feelings. The new disciples had only recently embarked on the path of cultivation, and apart from Li Yuan, who had a father who was a master weapon refiner, it was difficult for the others to produce such a powerful magic weapon.
Xu Xing gazed at the deep pit, then at the exploding thunderbolt on Li Yuan's fingertip, unable to hide his envy.
Refining weapons...
Just as everyone agreed to split up, Luo Ming, who had been silent all along, spoke up, "Although Junior Brother Li possesses a magic weapon, it might be inappropriate for him to go to Xuan Tie Mountain with Senior Brother Shen Du."
"After all, Senior Brother Chen Du's luck has always been..." He chuckled, his words carrying a hidden meaning, "Isn't Junior Brother Li afraid of failing the trial?"
"What if this teleportation to the center of the dunes wasn't a deliberate arrangement by the Immortal Academy?"
Li Yuan frowned. Of course he knew that Shen Du was unlucky, but he was also the strongest among Foundation Establishment cultivators, and a sword cultivator at that.
Li Yuan naturally wanted to find the best, but Luo Ming was also right...
After thinking for a moment, Li Yuan said to Shen Du, "Then you stay away from me and only intervene when I'm in danger, isn't that fine?"
Luo Ming's lips curled slightly, then he turned to Shen Du apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Brother Shen, I didn't mean to offend you. I was just worried that the new disciples would fail their first trial, so I..."
Shen Du raised his eyes, his dark eyes fixed on Luo Ming for a long time, until Luo Ming's gaze flickered and his expression became unnatural. Only then did he look away and silently walk into the distance.
Shen Du was willing to be patient, but Xu Xing couldn't stand it anymore. "Since you're worried, why are you looking for Senior Brother Shen? Just look for someone else."
"Of course I, Li Yuan, only want the strongest!" Li Yuan raised his head and said disdainfully, "Besides, there aren't many cultivators who can be moved by this little bit of spirit stones. Aren't I helping him too?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Xing gave up the idea of arguing with him, while Luo Ming, who was watching the show from the side, looked rather displeased.
In the end, the group agreed to split into two groups to complete the mission.
With his magical artifacts at his side, Li Yuan led Xu Xing and Ye Hao from Yuheng Academy to Xuan Tie Mountain; Fan Sutan, who had the highest cultivation level, led Dongfang Yi, Lou Wenxing and Xi Yun to Dong Suiyuan to capture the Cunning Moon Rabbit.
On the afternoon of the eighth day, regardless of whether the mission is completed or not, everyone must gather at the central point. The jade token allows the seven members of the team to know whether their teammates are alive, and to be informed in time if there are any changes.
Fan Sutan stared coldly at Li Yuan, "I know you have a lot of treasures for self-defense, but this is a team mission, you'd better not let anything happen to the two of them."
"I don't need you to remind me, mind your own business!"
Li Yuan snorted coldly and tossed two Thunderburst Beads at them, "You'd better stay alive until the end of the trial. If the mission fails because of you, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Seeing Li Yuan take a step and leave, Ye Hao immediately followed behind him.
As expected, Shen Du followed at a distance and did not approach.
Seeing the lone figure walking on the final, sinking river, Xu Xing's steps faltered.
Chen Du slowly approached, but stopped two zhang away from Xu Xing. His voice was very soft, but Xu Xing heard it clearly: "You should go with them."
Xu Xing opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, he saw a ripple appear in Shen Du's usually calm eyes. Shen Du frowned, suddenly leaped up and grabbed Xu Xing, while simultaneously slashing his sword at the spot where Xu Xing had just stood.
It turned out that the third-tier sand scorpion that had sneaked away harbored a grudge and quietly returned, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Xu Xing.
Shen Du slowly tightened his grip on Xu Xing's arm, his chest churning with rage. His eyes were icy cold, and his sword, imbued with surging killing intent, poured down. After several sword strikes, Sand Poison Scorpion collapsed lifeless on the sand.
The speed was so fast that Xu Xing didn't even see Chen Du's move clearly.
"My God! It didn't leave!"
Seeing that Xu Xing hadn't caught up yet, Ye Hao, who had turned back with Li Yuan, was shocked to find himself caught in a sneak attack by the Sand Poison Scorpion.
Li Yuan looked at the corpse of the sand scorpion on the ground, then at Shen Du with a gloomy expression, and finally understood why Shen Du, whose cultivation was the best below the Golden Core stage, was so estranged from the disciples in the sect.
He originally thought that spirit stones could ward off bad luck, but now it seems that no matter how rich he is or how many magical artifacts he has, he can't overcome the strong ominous fate of Shen Du!
And now, another fellow disciple has almost died!
"Chen Du... Senior Brother, I think we should forget about accompanying you through the trial this time." Li Yuan's tone was unusually gentle, though it was mostly out of sympathy.
"Of course, you can keep the spirit stones; you don't need to return them. I don't need them. But you shouldn't join me in the trial. Let's part ways here!"
Li Yuan casually ripped off the traction wire, turned around and left, walking faster and faster.
"Um... Junior Sister Xu, let's go. The mission is important, we can't linger here." Ye Hao called out to Xu Xing in a low voice as he moved away.
However, this young and well-behaved junior sister seemed to be stunned, staring blankly at Chen Du.
Seeing that Li Yuan had walked away, Ye Hao hesitated for a moment, but gave up and quickly ran to catch up with Li Yuan.
In the distance, one could faintly hear Li Yuan's complaints, "That idiot, following Chen Du will only get him killed sooner or later..."
He'll get me killed sooner or later...
He killed them...
die……
Shen Du seemed to see that scene again: a terrifying monster opened its blood-red maw, while his master smiled and stood in front of him...
"You killed Feng Zhun, how dare you come back?!"
Why did you go to the forbidden area?
"Why don't you stay in the sect? How many people do you want to kill before you're satisfied?!"
"No one who gets close to you will have a good ending! Stay away from Ah Xu!"
...
He thought that many years had passed, and that he was just currently plagued by bad luck, at most lacking money and experiencing a general sense of misfortune. He believed that these things would only affect him, and he naively thought that he would not harm anyone else.
But……
"Senior Brother? Senior Brother Shen? Shen Du?! Are you alright?"
Shen Du's unfocused gaze slowly settled on Xu Xing, whose face was full of anxiety.
The venom of a third-tier sand scorpion was enough to kill this junior sister who was only at the first level of Qi Refining on the spot.
She's so young.
She has only just begun her cultivation.
She should have a long time to go.
She said, "Thank you, senior brother, for saving me."
She said, "Since I met my senior, everything that has happened to me has been lucky!"
She was wrong.
He was wrong.
Releasing his grip on Xu Xing's shoulder, Chen Du retreated step by step.
"sorry."
I'm sorry, I almost killed you.
"Senior brother!"
However, his sleeve was once again tugged at by his stubborn junior sister.
"Senior brother, you saved me again!"
Shen Du didn't turn around, but he could still clearly "see" Xu Xing's appearance. Those golden eyes were always so clear, even though he was the one who had repeatedly brought disaster to her...
He let out a short, self-deprecating laugh. "You knew all along that getting too close to me always leads to bad things. Stop being so stubborn, Xu Xing."
"Thank you."
Chen Du slowly but firmly pulled his sleeve away.
However, Xu Xing walked around to stand in front of him and looked at him seriously with those golden eyes for the first time.
"Senior brother, are you saying that you saved me at Mount Huiling but harmed me?"
"Saving me from the jaws of the Azure Flame Beast, or did it harm me?"
"Saving me in front of the Sand Poison Scorpion also harmed me?!"
Shen Du said softly, "Without me, you would never have encountered these things."
If he hadn't reinforced the barrier of Huiling Mountain, perhaps even if the Seven-Leaf Lingzhi had been taken away by a passing demon, it might not have harmed the people of Xiaohe Village.
If he hadn't been on duty at the Beast Taming Arena, the Azure Flame Beast might not have suddenly gone berserk.
If he hadn't come to the Xuan Shuo Trial, they might not have ended up in such a dangerous place in the center of the sand dunes...
"OK!"
Xu Xing was furious. Seeing that Shen Du was unmoved, she simply sat down on the ground. "Then you can leave. I'll just stay here by myself!"
"Didn't you say that getting close to you would bring misfortune? Well, I'd like to see whether I can survive until I safely leave the secret realm without you, or whether I'll be eaten by a monster first!"
Shen Du was silent for a moment, then knelt on one knee, leaning down to look Xu Xing in the eye. "The first year's trial is very important to you. If you can complete the mission..."
"As long as it doesn't affect my teammates, I don't care about the outcome of my own individual mission."
Xu Xing turned his face away, refusing to look at Chen Du.
Having unexpectedly arrived in this world and discovered she possessed life skills, she simply wanted to live like in her previous life: eat well, drink well, sleep well, and have fun, making the most of these life skills linked to cultivation.
Even if you can't unlock the forging skill this time, there will be another time.
Xu Xing knew that her talent wasn't great and her cultivation progress would be slow, but that didn't matter. So what if she couldn't become a powerful cultivator? She still had life skills, and as long as she lived, she could slowly level up.
Most importantly, if it weren't for Shen Du, she would have died long ago.
Before entering the secret realm, Xu Xing was still trying to "persuade" Shen Du to cooperate with her. With his martial prowess, wouldn't she be able to focus on studying life skills?
But this very person who saved her time and time again believed that he was the cause of all these things!
Xu Xing crossed his arms, his face puffed up with anger. He had never seen anyone so willing to take responsibility for themselves!
Anyway, she just refused to leave, let's see what Shen Du can do to her. Twenty-five-year-old Xu Xing wouldn't be so willful, but twelve-year-old Xu Xing could be.
After a long silence, Shen Du finally said in a low voice, "Why bother? We've only met a few times, why..."
"Then why did you save me?"
"How many of the hundreds of people in Xiahe Village do you even know? Why do you need to save them?"
Shen Du fell silent again.
After a long stalemate, he finally sighed softly and said helplessly, "Get up first, and we'll talk after we finish the trial."
Xu Xing was secretly delighted, but she tried her best to keep a straight face and not show it. If she had known that Shen Du was a cold-faced but warm-hearted person, she wouldn't have been afraid of him ignoring her.
However, since the atmosphere has already reached this point, why not strike while the iron is hot?
"Senior brother, promise me one thing and I'll get up."
Chen Du paused for a moment, then said with difficulty, "The secret realm has its own rules and restrictions, and I cannot interfere with your mission."
“I know! I’ll complete the mission myself, I mean after I leave the secret realm.”
Xu Xing's eyes lit up with a smile again. "I wonder how many spirit stones Li Yuan gave Senior Brother to invite him to the Xuan Shuo Trial?"
"One thousand low-grade spirit stones," Shen Du answered truthfully.
It's a thousand yuan!
It's only a thousand yuan?
Xu Xing smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Senior brother, I heard Senior Brother Zuoqiu mention before that you're preparing to form your core. I wonder how many spirit stones you'll need?"
Although he didn't know why she asked these questions, Shen Du patiently answered them one by one, "Renting a third-tier spiritual vein for a year will cost fifty mid-grade spirit stones."
With a quick dart of movement, Xu Xing scrambled to his feet, extended a hand, and said with a smile, "Senior brother, why don't we cooperate?"
Looking at the still very immature hands in front of him, Shen Du hesitated and asked, "Cooperation?"
"That's right! I'll provide you with spirit stones, Senior Brother. Just focus on your cultivation and protect me!" Xu Xing waved his hand, his eyes full of sincerity. "After leaving the trial, Senior Brother should go into seclusion to form your core. I'll wait for you to come out!"
The thought of having a powerful henchman after Shen Du forms his core filled Xu Xing with excitement.
Shen Du first earnestly explained that he might not be able to successfully form his core, and then asked in confusion, "How do you have so many spirit stones?"
“Since you’ve asked so earnestly, Senior Brother…” Xu Xing drawled, “Actually, I know how to refine pills. If you want to become a pill refiner in the future, pill refiners are very wealthy! So, Senior Brother, you won’t lose out by cooperating with me!”
Thinking of the incredibly ugly bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills she had given Chen Du, her smile became somewhat guilty: "Although I can only refine first-tier spirit pills now, I will work hard! I will definitely be able to provide you with high-tier pills in the future!"
It's absurd for a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining to claim they can refine pills, but Chen Du didn't doubt her words. He simply lowered his eyes and said, "Zuo Qiuxu and Xiang Yuquan have been very friendly to you, and they are both exceptionally talented. They are sure to have a bright future. Why did you come to me?"
"because……"
With a mischievous smirk in his golden eyes, Xu Xing raised his hand and made a casting motion, laughing, "Because you're the one I 'fished' up!"
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Author's note: Xu Xu: I knew it! The water ghost (crossed out) that I caught while fishing is mine!
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Thank you BaiBaiBai and BingXingYu for the nutrient solution! [heart emoji]
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