Chapter 278 Horror Story
As the first light of dawn appeared, Li Hanzhou's cold and stern voice spread throughout the entire Outer Sect. "All newly entered disciples, immediately go to the back mountain to cultivate body techniques."
Shen Qingwu's fingers suddenly clenched the bedding tightly.
—Sure enough, it was exactly the same as the prophecy in the Profound Book of Mysteries.
He forcefully suppressed the surging chill in his heart. He quickly changed into his cultivation robes and hid a few Qi Restoration Pills in his sleeve. The youth in the mirror still appeared gentle as jade; only the glint of sinister in his eyes revealed his true emotions.
On the back mountain, ancient trees reached for the sky, and mottled light and shadows wove a dangerous web on the ground.
"Today's training is the 'Seven Star Step.'" Li Hanzhou stood with his hands behind his back atop a giant boulder, his black robe billowing in the mountain wind. "Form pairs and chase each other. The one who falls behind will train for an extra three hours."
Shen Qingwu's pupils suddenly contracted.
During the grouping, he deliberately chose the weakest junior disciple from his class.
But after the training truly began, he discovered Li Hanzhou's ruthlessness. This elder was personally moving through the forest, occasionally making sudden moves to force lagging disciples into more dangerous areas.
"Junior Brother Shen, you look very pale," a junior disciple from his class said, looking back with concern.
"It's nothing." Shen Qingwu forced a pale smile, but a taste of blood rose in his throat. He dared not relax in the slightest, exerting all his strength to perform the profound footwork.
Suddenly, a black shadow flashed past from the treetops.
The hair all over Shen Qingwu's body stood on end, and he almost instinctively lunged forward—
"Boom!"
The ground where he had originally been standing was blown into a deep pit by a burst of energy.
He looked up and met Li Hanzhou's deep, dark eyes. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt the surging killing intent within them. It made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cavern.
In the afternoon, the training intensified.
"Now, begin the 'Illusory Light Array' drill." With a wave of his sleeve, Li Hanzhou filled the forest with a dense fog. "Those who can walk out of the array before sunset will be rewarded with a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills."
The soles of Shen Qingwu's boots were already worn through, leaving bloody prints with every step on the fallen leaves. He dared not stop, and even more so, he dared not be alone, sticking tightly to the middle of the group like a shadow.
The most terrifying part was the "accidents" within the illusion array—
Poisonous vines suddenly wrapped around his ankle; huge boulders rolled down the slope without warning; even seemingly sturdy branches would suddenly snap when he used them for leverage.
"Senior Brother Shen!" a classmate exclaimed, pulling him back and preventing him from falling into a suddenly appeared ravine. "Why have you been so distracted lately?"
"Th-thank you..." Shen Qingwu panted like a broken bellows but had to force a smile. "Perhaps my previous injuries haven't fully healed yet."
He swallowed the surging blood qi in his throat, and his peripheral vision caught Li Hanzhou's figure looming indistinctly in the fog.
That Black Iron Heavy Sword, which never left his side, now reflected a bone-chilling glint.
When the setting sun dyed the clouds a blood-red color, Shen Qingwu practically crawled back to the disciples' quarters.
"Junior Brother Shen!" several of his classmate brothers gathered around him. "Your leg—"
They saw that his right trouser leg was soaked in blood, and the exposed wound was deep enough to see the bone.
"It's nothing..." Shen Qingwu's vision swam with black spots. The curse that almost left his tongue was turned aside at the last moment. "I was careless... I fell off a cliff..."
"Then you should rest well for now, Junior Brother Shen. No need for you to go to the dining hall; we'll bring food back for you later."
"Thank you all."
He forced a grateful smile, but his expression twisted the moment everyone turned their backs.
His fingernails dug deep into his thigh, barely resisting the urge to smash a medicine bowl at these "insincere" fellow disciples who had offered to bring him food.
Then, the instant the door closed, Shen Qingwu collapsed to the floor like a pile of mud.
...
But soon, he got up. After repeatedly confirming the door was locked, he tremblingly retrieved the Profound Book of Mysteries from a secret compartment in his bed frame.
The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the window paper, casting blood-colored specks of light upon the book's strange patterns.
"Huala—"
The pages of the book turned by themselves. Shen Qingwu's eyes darted across three lines at a time, quickly finding the information about himself.
The silver text on the page slithered like a venomous snake:
[Mao Shi · Bluestone Path]
[Shen Qingwu is late for morning class due to a flare-up of his leg injury.]
[On his way to morning class alone, he turns a corner and encounters Li Hanzhou, the Great Elder of the Outer Sect of the Immortal Spirit Holy Land.]
How could this happen? To run into him even here? Looking at the familiar-sounding scenario, Shen Qingwu was suddenly filled with a sense of dread.
Then—
[Seeing no one around, Li Hanzhou is unable to hold back. Seizing the opportunity when Shen Qingwu is off guard, he draws his sword.]
[The blade slashes diagonally from the left shoulder to the right waist.]
[As the upper body slides off, intestines spill all over the ground.]
[The lower body still takes three steps forward from momentum before collapsing.]
[Li Hanzhou steps on the rolling head.]
"Ugh!" Shen Qingwu slammed the book shut, the sound of dry heaving escaping him.
He found himself unconsciously touching his neck, as if to confirm his head was still attached.
Can't you hold back just once! He couldn't help but curse loudly in his mind.
That night, Shen Qingwu didn't sleep a wink.
The next day, his eyes were sunken, with two heavy, dark circles under them.
He forced himself to stay alert, dragging his exhausted body to morning class on time, terrified that being even a step late would lead to the tragic end prophesied in the Profound Book of Mysteries.
All day, he was like a startled bird. Whenever he heard footsteps, he would instinctively tense up, fearing it was Li Hanzhou suddenly appearing.
It wasn't until evening, after confirming everyone had gone to the dining hall, that he dragged his heavy steps back to his room. He locked the door and windows tightly and opened the strange book once more.
He had finally survived another day... Wait, isn't this the Immortal Spirit Holy Land? Why does it feel like I'm in some kind of horror story...
The pages rustled as they turned, the silver text flowing past like water.
Shen Qingwu fought down his heart palpitations, quickly filtering through the useless information. This time, he finally did not see his own "death notice."
Good... If this continues for another couple of days, I'll probably be played to death.
Just as he let out a long sigh of relief, a line of text suddenly caught his eye—
[The Sect Master of the Black Iron Gate breaks through to the Longevity Realm.]
[As the Black Iron Gate was one of the Immortal Spirit Holy Land's first vassals, the Holy Land has decided to send an envoy to offer congratulations.]
[The sect will dispatch one Outer Sect disciple and one Immortal Spirit Guard, carrying a humble gift. They will be accompanied by two disciples from the Black Iron Gate who came to deliver the news.]
Shen Qingwu's eyes suddenly lit up, all traces of fatigue instantly swept away.
"An opportunity!" He stared fixedly at the page, terrified he might have misread it.
The Black Iron Gate was one of the first minor sects to pledge allegiance to the Immortal Spirit Holy Land. With its sect master breaking through to the Longevity Realm this time, the Holy Land naturally had to show some courtesy to such a perceptive subordinate.
And according to convention, for such a trivial matter, an Outer Sect disciple was often sent along, ostensibly for training experience.
"As long as I can leave the Outer Sect for a few days and avoid Li Hanzhou..." Shen Qingwu's fingertips trembled slightly, his heart filled with wild ecstasy. "Anything is better than living in constant fear like this!"
He closed the book and took a deep breath, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Tomorrow, no matter what, I must find a way to secure this assignment!"
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