Boom!
Bolts of lightning, each as thick as a man's arm, slammed into the ground.
Blinding arcs split the earth apart.
A figure was sent flying, blood spraying from his lips, before crashing dozens of feet away.
Coughing and battered, Xiao Wuya clawed his way upright. He didn't even glance at the terrifying thunderbird in the sky—his eyes went straight to the icy flying sword that had just hovered in the air a moment ago.
His expression twisted with rage and desperation.
"Who is it?!"
"Who dares ambush me? Show yourself!"
His roar echoed across the battlefield, but the only reply was silence.
His bloodshot eyes burned with madness. It had been that sword that shattered the teleportation gate, robbing him of his one chance of survival. Now, with the thunderbird circling above, death was certain. All he wanted was to drag down the hidden enemy with him.
But no matter how he extended his spiritual sense, he found nothing.
The second prodigy of Xuanqing Palace's outer sect, tricked and trapped, about to die without even knowing who his killer was.
The humiliation seared deeper than the fear of death.
Instead of fighting the thunderbird head-on, Xiao Wuya darted around frantically, searching for his hidden foe.
But he would never succeed.
Wang Jianqiang, the true culprit, had long since buried himself in the soil, concealing his aura with the perfected Wood Sword Formation. As long as Xiao Wuya's eyes saw nothing, he was as good as invisible.
Moments later, Xiao Wuya was struck down, his body reduced to charred remains beneath the thunderbird's wrath.
After ensuring no other intruders lingered, the massive bird spread its wings and vanished into the clouds.
…
A while later, Wang Jianqiang cautiously pushed away the dirt covering his face. Confirming the beast had left, he exhaled in relief.
Still cloaked by the Wood Sword Formation, he crept toward Xiao Wuya's remains.
What had once been a proud genius was now only a husk of blackened charcoal. The countless scorched wounds spoke of unbearable agony in his final moments.
From the corpse, Wang Jianqiang retrieved a storage pouch.
A flicker of spiritual light revealed a jade-green talisman—Xiao Wuya's prized treasure, capable of restraining even that thunderbird.
Now it belonged to him.
Beyond that, the pouch held six Foundation-Building Pills and piles of spirit stones. A fortune.
Pocketing his spoils, Wang Jianqiang didn't linger. He pressed on carefully toward the core of the trial grounds.
…
Inside a ruined building, light shimmered and condensed into a glowing vortex. A graceful figure stepped out, the glow fading quickly behind her.
"Where is this place?"
Lin Xian'er swept a wary gaze around before her guarded expression eased.
She wasn't worried about Xiao Wuya's absence. The Thousand-Mile Teleportation Talisman was random—being separated was normal. With his strength, slipping out before the gate collapsed would've been child's play.
Certain that he was safe, she focused on her surroundings. Her eyes soon caught a staircase leading upward. After a moment's thought, she ascended.
On the second floor, a surge of spiritual energy nearly overwhelmed her senses—it was thick enough to condense into mist.
Her gaze locked on a pool, several feet wide, its waters glowing with radiant light.
"A spirit pool formed from liquefied essence!"
Her eyes shone. If she could refine this, her cultivation would leap forward.
But as she stepped closer—
Whoosh!
A green snake, no longer than her palm, shot out of the pool.
Before she could react, searing pain spread from her shoulder.
With a cold snarl, she shook it off with a burst of spiritual power.
"Vermin!"
Her sword lashed out, striking sparks against its armor-like scales.
The enraged serpent struck again, but this time she responded with a jade talisman.
With a sharp hiss and a flash of white, the snake was cleaved neatly in two.
Relief washed over her—until her skin burned as if fire coursed through her veins. Her robes disintegrated silently into ash, leaving her bare skin flushed crimson beneath the heat.
Her consciousness blurred.
"Poison?! No… fire poison!"
Panicked, she tried to suppress it, but the venom was too strange, fanning the flames of both body and mind.
With no choice, she threw herself into the glowing pool.
Cold, rich spiritual liquid wrapped around her, calming the inferno for a moment.
"It works…"
Her lips curled in shaky relief.
But the poison gnawed at her still, strange and insidious, stoking her emotions while searing her flesh. It would take everything she had just to maintain this fragile balance.
…
Meanwhile, Wang Jianqiang, cloaked in his Wood Sword Formation, slipped through beast territory unharmed.
In a single day, he crossed a thousand li and reached the core of the trial grounds.
Before him stood a three-storied pavilion, ancient and weathered, every brick steeped in age.
Cautiously, he entered.
The doorway vanished behind him, replaced by a wall.
Jaw tight, he studied the surroundings until his eyes fell on a staircase.
"There's only one path…"
Step by careful step, he ascended.
On the second floor, he froze.
A spirit pool glowed before him, overflowing with liquefied essence.
But what caught his breath wasn't the pool—
It was the lone figure bathing within it, her flawless back glistening with crystalline water.
Lin Xian'er.