The Trial Begins

When the Qiongqi Clan elder saw Third Senior Sister in such a severely wounded state, his expression turned fierce. Furrowing his brow, he demanded loudly, "Demonic Sound Heavenly Maiden, do not make slanderous accusations! When did our Qiongqi Clan ever order you to do such a thing?!" Upon seeing the Demonic Sound Heavenly Maiden appear, the crowd had initially prepared to move in and capture her, but seeing this exchange, they tacitly held back. In any case, the Demonic Sound Heavenly Maiden was gravely injured and could not escape, providing an ideal opportunity to find out who was pulling her strings behind the scenes. Third Senior Sister sneered repeatedly. "Never done it? Cowards who dare to act but dare not admit it! "Earlier, your Qiongqi Clan sent someone to contact me, instructing me to secretly probe the foundations of each clan, focusing on investigating whether any ancient ancestors still remained. Seeing how generous your Qiongqi Clan was, I accepted the commission and risked my life to investigate the ancient tombs of various clans. "At first, I didn't understand what your Qiongqi Clan wanted to do, but now I finally see! Your Qiongqi Clan pledged allegiance to Ancient Dijiang long ago, and probing the foundations of each clan was precisely so you could control them! "Now that Ancient Dijiang has established his dominance, you slaughter the donkey after it has turned the millstone—you want to kill me to silence me!" The Qiongqi Clan elder furiously shouted back, "Utter nonsense! Everyone knows my Qiongqi Clan is so poor that we have to take out loans from the Meng Family! How could we possibly be generous?! "If our Qiongqi Clan had joined Ancient Dijiang, how could we still be this impoverished?!" Third Senior Sister was momentarily tongue-tied. That actually seemed to make sense. "Wait, I remember the first to step forward and submit to Ancient Dijiang was the Jiuying Clan, and the one who hired me had me investigate the Jiuying Clan first as well!" Third Senior Sister whipped around and pointed directly at the Jiuying Clan elder, her body trembling slightly—though whether from her injuries or from betrayal was unclear. "It was you, the Jiuying Clan, who hired me! To clear yourselves of suspicion, the very first tomb you had me investigate was your own Jiuying Clan's!" The Jiuying Clan elder nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He had been quietly enjoying the spectacle; how had he suddenly become the target of the show? "Nonsense!" Third Senior Sister sneered, "Whether it's nonsense or not, you know best in your heart! The grudge from today's assassination attempt will certainly be repaid in the future!" With that, she made a motion to leave. "Stop her quickly!" Seeing the Demonic Sound Heavenly Maiden attempt to flee, the elders of each clan immediately moved to surround and intercept her. Seeing things turn sour, Third Senior Sister spat out a mouthful of blood essence and exhausted her remaining strength to activate the beast pelt. Riding clouds and mist, the beast pelt skipped through space several times and vanished without a trace, leaving the demons cursing incessantly in fury—with the Jiuying Clan cursing the loudest. Another half an hour later, Third Senior Sister, disguised anew, returned to the Phoenix Clan's ranks, looking completely unlike someone who was severely injured. Even the Phoenix Clan elder couldn't help asking via voice transmission, "Was it truly the Jiuying Clan that hired you?" "Of course not. What happened just now was merely an act between the Qiongqi Clan elder and me to clear the Qiongqi Clan of suspicion. "Ancient Dijiang unified the Demon Domain by force, so the clans are bound to harbor discontent. Teaching the Jiuying Clan a lesson provides a perfect opportunity to sow discord among them." "Was the Jiuying Clan truly the first one you went to?" "Fake too. In matters like this, whatever I say is whatever people believe." Third Senior Sister indeed had no direct evidence to frame the Jiuying Clan. Yet why would one need evidence to frame someone? Suspicion alone was enough. Third Senior Sister said coldly, "Since the Jiuying Clan indulges its young master, they must bear the retaliation that follows." ... Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, who had already entered the Ancient Realm of Good Fortune, were completely unaware of Third Senior Sister's actions. They were listening attentively to the rules of the ancient realm. As soon as they entered the ancient realm, a voice of indistinguishable gender sounded from above: "Welcome to the secret realm. The secret realm is divided into three levels. Only by entering the second level will you obtain opportunities. The higher the evaluation on each level, the more bountiful the opportunities received." A three-tiered pagoda appeared before everyone. Each level represented a distinct space, serving as a miniature version of the Ancient Realm of Good Fortune. They were currently located at the entrance to the first level. "This level contains a large number of Nascent Soul stage demon beasts. For every demon beast slain, one soul essence will be acquired. Obtaining ten soul essences counts as passing the trial of the first level. "The time limit for the first level's trial is ten days. "In the deepest reaches of the first level lies a heavenly ladder leading to the second level. Those holding a certain number of soul essences may ascend to the second level. "Note that the second level's trial will only open once the first level's trial has concluded entirely. "The trial of the first level begins now." A massive hourglass appeared in the sky, visible from any location on the first level. Grains of sand rustled as they fell, marking the ten-day countdown. "Fairy, have you seen this secret realm before?" The Immortal Fairy shook her head. "No. I don't know whether I simply never saw it, or if it appeared after my death." After hearing the rules, most demon prodigies scattered in all directions, entering the first level to slay demon beasts. Slaying ten Nascent Soul stage demon beasts was no simple feat. Not everyone could leap across an entire major realm to fight above their grade like Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. Furthermore, the rules stated that the higher the evaluation on each level, the richer the rewards would be—so naturally, the more demon beasts one killed, the better. Meng Jingzhou stood in place, scratching his chin. The rules sounded rigorous, but thinking about them carefully, there was plenty of room for manipulation. Meng Jingzhou shot Lu Yang a look: *What do you say?* Lu Yang had a rough guess of what Meng Jingzhou was thinking and returned a look: *Let's hunt a few demon beasts first to warm up.* "Would you two like to team up to slay demon beasts?" Jiang Shishi asked. The situation on the first level was well-suited for an alliance. Two could gang up on a demon beast to boost efficiency, while one stood watch nearby to keep others from swooping in and stealing the spoils. As for the Phoenix Clan's followers, they formed their own teams to hunt beasts and would regroup at the heavenly ladder entrance at the end. Followers were not bodyguards. Battling demon beasts was a prime opportunity to temper oneself; there was no need for them to hover around protecting Jiang Shishi. "Let's see what kind of quality these demon beasts are first," Lu Yang said cautiously. He didn't want to run into a demon beast only to discover it was as exceptionally gifted as they were, capable of unleashing Soul Formation stage combat power while at the Nascent Soul stage. "All right." Before entering the ancient realm, Jiang Shishi had been instructed by her elders to consult the opinions of these two whenever anything arose inside. The first level was a dense forest environment, deep within which lurked predatory Nascent Soul stage demon beasts watching vigilantly. The three cautiously extended their divine senses. The sounds of fighting not far off startled a Tongbei Great Ape concealed within the trees. The ape had a tuft of white fur on its chest. Beating its chest as it swung through the branches, it let out a roar, swung both fists, and smashed down violently toward the three of them. Both Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were seasoned combatants and had noticed the ape long ago. "Arhat Fist!" "Slash!" The two attacked simultaneously. Meng Jingzhou met the ape's fists with his Arhat Fist; falling short in strength against Meng Jingzhou, the great ape was actually sent blasting into the sky. Pushing off the ground with both feet, Lu Yang leaped upward, drew his sword, and sheathed it in a flash. The great ape was decapitated, its massive head rolling right up to Jiang Shishi's feet. Jiang Shishi stared dumbfounded. This was a peak early Nascent Soul stage Tongbei Great Ape, a pure-blooded species, yet they had disposed of it so easily? "Done!" The two high-fived, thoroughly relaxed. "Looks like they're just ordinary Nascent Soul beasts. We can proceed with the plan."