Chapter 28: The Trial Begins

At this moment, the voice in the air resonated once again, tinged with impatience: "Please stop wasting time. The trial is about to begin. Those who meet the requirements, enter immediately; the rest, please depart on your own."

Hearing this, the two did not linger. They quickly reached the vortex, stepped onto the petals, and with a flash of light, they vanished.

...

The scene shifted to a majestic hall within the Thousand Array Mountain. Every mural on its walls was covered in intricate runes that flickered like stars. Intertwining, they formed patterns of such extreme complexity and mesmerizing beauty that each stroke seemed to contain the profound truths of the universe.

In the center of the hall, a massive magical mirror hovered in mid-air, emitting a faint blue glow. Within the mirror, misty, vast waves swirled ceaselessly—this was the scene within the Array Realm.

Before the mirror, five elders of the Array Sect gathered. Their cultivation bases were unfathomable, and powerful surges of spiritual energy swirled around them, rippling visibly like waves. Amidst this dense spiritual energy, faint wisps of Daoist essence drifted.

A female elder spoke, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze: "We truly need Little Nine here to keep those troublemakers in check."

A burly, muscular elder laughed heartily and replied, "Indeed, it takes a villain to deal with villains, hahaha..."

The Ninth Elder, Nan Ming—the one referred to as Little Nine—gave the old man a resentful look, his forehead veins throbbing. "Fourth Brother, is that how you praise someone?"

He then sneered, "They dare to come here and act brazenly only because they rely on our historical ties with the Wen family, knowing we find it inconvenient to truly hold them accountable."

"Hmph, 'descendants of Mo Mountain,' they claim. Bah! Do you think I haven't seen a true descendant of Mo Mountain?"

The burly elder nodded slightly, his voice carrying a touch of weariness: "Indeed. With the decline of the Way of Literature in this era, some hypocrites hide behind its banner to swindle others. It is a disgrace to all literary cultivators."

The Sixth Elder, seeing the atmosphere was harmonious, chimed in: "Alas, it cannot be helped. After all, their leader, the Mountain Master, fell in the Eastern Wilds seven hundred years ago."

The atmosphere suddenly turned silent.

"Little Six, you really do know how to keep a conversation going..."

The Fifth Elder, who had rarely spoken, said quietly: "Let it be. For this trial, it is best if we can find some promising disciples..."

The Ninth Elder, Nan Ming, teased, "Senior Sister, that is not guaranteed. This time, not only must they achieve a violet spiritual seal, but there are also beast tides and the Mist Mirror Spirits awaiting them. With such difficulty, how many will actually pass?"

The Fifth Elder, Yao Yu, looked at him calmly. Her voice was soft, yet it made everyone present feel their hair stand on end: "If I cannot recruit suitable disciples to maintain the Myriad Spirit Star Pool this time, then all of you brothers will have to serve as my practice targets."

The Second Elder’s expression stiffened, and he said solemnly: "After this, I must return to Yuntao Pass..."

The Fourth Elder quickly followed: "I must return to Xuanxiao Pass as well; there are many matters there that require my attention..."

The Sixth Elder looked left and right, panicking, and hurriedly said: "Senior Sister, I still need to lecture at the Tianluo Enlightenment Platform. If I am injured, it would be quite inconvenient..."

As for Nan Ming, who was responsible for guarding the Dao Light Pavilion and rarely had to interact with others or use force: "..."

...

After Qing Lan and Yue Dong stepped into the Array Realm, they were not met with the dreamlike Boundless Lake or the Thousand Array Mountain, but a vast, boundless plain that plunged their vision into darkness.

The atmosphere of the world was entirely different; it was as if they had been pulled from a high, ethereal spiritual realm back to the earth. The surroundings were empty and desolate, the spiritual energy extremely thin. The plain was sparsely dotted with a few ancient buildings, their surfaces mottled and weathered, clearly having endured the baptism of time.

The only thing out of place was an old man squatting in a plot of land, tending to a vegetable garden.

Whispers of confusion rippled through the crowd. Qing Lan and Yue Dong exchanged glances, their eyes filled with doubt.

"Where... is this?" Qing Lan could not help but ask.

Yue Dong frowned slightly and whispered, "This should be the Array Realm."

They walked forward involuntarily. The closer they got to the old man, the more they felt a strange sense of tranquility, as if the wind across the entire plain had come to a standstill.

As they drew near, the scene before them left them stunned—the old man appeared to be watering a vegetable patch, but upon closer inspection, they realized these were not ordinary vegetables, but a garden of spirit herbs!

"This is... a spirit herb garden?" someone exclaimed, their tone full of disbelief.

Qing Lan was equally shocked. She looked at the spirit herbs, each emitting a faint glow; clearly, every single one was at least a second-grade spirit herb! This was no vegetable patch; it was a treasure trove for cultivating precious medicines.

Qing Lan pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps it is because the spiritual energy of the world has been absorbed by these herbs that the Array Realm has become so desolate."

Yue Dong nodded, agreeing with her assessment.

The crowd around them began to whisper. As they gazed at the herbs, a greedy light flashed in some people's eyes. Some even stepped closer, looking as if they wanted to say something.

"These herbs... they must be worth a fortune," a voice whispered, filled with desire.

"What did you say? Are you crazy? These are the Array Sect's herbs! If you take them, do you think you can escape?" another whispered in warning.

At this moment, the old man finally looked up. His gaze swept over the crowd like a blade. His tone was unhurried, yet it carried an oppressive weight: "If you want to touch these herbs, first ask yourselves if your lives are worth the price."

This sentence seemed to freeze the atmosphere for a moment. The cultivators around them changed expressions and lowered their heads one after another.

The old man appeared to have no spiritual energy fluctuations, yet no one dared to act recklessly. Everyone knew that, within the Array Sect at least, his identity was by no means ordinary.

The old man acted as if he did not see the swarming crowd and continued watering his plants. He tended to each herb with ease and familiarity, his movements light and practiced, as if this garden were a part of his life.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally finished. After wiping his hands, he looked at the group of young people.

"Not bad," he said calmly, his voice steady. "No one was blinded by greed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man flicked his hand, and a wind-like, misty spiritual energy instantly enveloped the entire area. Qing Lan and Yue Dong felt a subtle pressure sweep through their bodies, and immediately after, a cyan seal appeared on each of their foreheads. At the same time, a spirit tablet emitting a soft glow appeared in everyone's hands.

"These are your spiritual seals and life tablets," the old man's voice sounded again, cold yet filled with unquestionable authority. "Everyone has their own unique spiritual seal, which represents your energy level in the trial."