I saw another group had arrived, and it didn't stop there.
More and more were coming, one after another.
Some were in groups, while others came alone.
"It looks like everyone figured out the way," Feng Xinyi said, glancing at the distant mountain.
"They must've used the peaceful approach to enter the next level."
She was right.
Many groups had the ability to solve the riddle, but all they needed was to wait for sunrise.
By the time the news about how to pass spread, it was already too late to stop it.
Now the only way to manage the crowd was to let cultivators enter one by one — otherwise, it would've turned into chaos.
"Anyway," I said, "we still have the lead. But no one knows if the others have better array masters."
"I have an idea," Feng Xinyi replied. "To slow them down. Even though the arrays regenerate after ten seconds, if someone catches up to us, it could lead to a fight.
So we should create new arrays on the way — that way, we improve our understanding of our paths and also make the others take more time."
It was a good idea — simple but effective.
Creating arrays that regenerate can be hard, but it was the best option we had.
It would test our skills and buy us time.
Regenerating arrays can be made by adding a Qi Gathering Symbol into the base.
The higher the level of the symbol, the faster it gathers Qi and restores itself.
We started working on three extra arrays, similar to the ones we had just solved.
Each one was complex, but since they were only level one, it wasn't impossible.
At first, the process was slow.
But as we continued, our speed increased instead of dropping.
The reason was simple — we weren't just destroying arrays anymore, we were also creating them.
This created balance.
To put it simply:
"A creation has to exist before it meets destruction. Something that isn't created cannot be destroyed."
And it's the same for the path of beginning and end:
"Something must begin before it can end. What hasn't begun cannot end."
Through this, I realized something new about my path — the path of creation and destruction.
That understanding helped me take a step forward.
My path had evolved to level two.
We continued at the same pace, faster and more confident than before.
---
Meanwhile, at the start of level two, another team had just arrived.
They looked at the mountain towering ahead, its peak hidden among the clouds.
This was Feng Lian's team.
They had finally understood the meaning of the riddle and the way to enter the next level, but it was already too late.
They had missed the sunrise.
Even when they tried to replicate the warmth of the sun with Qi, it didn't work.
All they could do was wait for the next sunrise.
Feng Lian had assumed that other teams would take at least one or two more days to figure it out.
But that didn't happen.
Instead, millions of cultivators flooded the area.
And the one behind this chaos was Long Wei's group.
It all started when Long Wei's group came to us, asking us to let them leave the area.
We refused without hesitation.
Their strength was nowhere near ours, but they resorted to tricks.
Knowing they couldn't win in a direct fight, one of their members, Li Qingzu, revealed the answer to everyone.
Because of her, countless cultivators managed to pass.
Now, this place was swarming with people.
If it were only one or two groups, we could've dealt with them or used our backgrounds to suppress them.
But against millions, it was impossible.
Li Qingzu had become a savior in the eyes of these cultivators.
Feng Lian smirked as he watched the endless line of people entering the mountain.
He never saw anyone as his equal or competitor for the inheritance — not even Bai Xiao.
To him, Bai Xiao was just someone with emotional experience who got lucky with the first task.
That lead wouldn't last.
But Li Qingzu…
Feng Lian finally saw her as someone on equal footing.
A true rival.