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In deep seclusion, with his Heart and Spirit completely immersed, Qi Yun poured all his energy into circulating the Innate Qi Heart Method. He guided the vast Innate True Qi in his body through cycle after cycle of Circulation, meticulously tempering and purifying every strand of True Qi, transforming it into a more refined and condensed True Essence.

In the blink of an eye, a month had quietly slipped by.

In the outside world, the spectral image of the giant Peach Garden tree that stretched across the Taixu Mirror Heaven had long fallen silent. No new phenomena had erupted, nor had any earth-shattering waves of power been released.

A storm that had swept across Heaven and Earth had finally calmed.

The lethal trap meticulously laid by the Holy Sect for the Three Sects seemed to have finally concluded, the victor decided.

One day, as Qi Yun cultivated with single-minded focus in his meditation chamber, his Heart and Spirit stirred.

A message from the Blood Demon Master transmitted from his Taixu Jade Order, a clear stream of information flowing into his mind.

"The Sect has reached a decision regarding the mission to sweep and annihilate the peripheral forces of the Three Sects. The order will be issued soon."

"However, to ensure both stability and efficiency, participation in this operation is restricted to Inner Mansion True Cultivators."

The Elder Master’s message was simple.

It was a reminder: if he wanted a part in this cleansing sweep, he would have to win the title of Champion Scholar again in the upcoming third examination.

To achieve the honor of being a three-time Champion Scholar.

Thus securing his promotion into the Inner Mansion!

Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be qualified to participate.

Committing the Elder Master’s message to heart, Qi Yun centered himself and began his Introspection, examining the fruits of his month-long bitter cultivation. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Within his vast, hazy Purple Mansion Dantian, the Innate True Qi that had once been overflowing seemed to have thinned slightly.

In the center of his Qi Sea, a strand of liquid True Essence—as thin as a hair, yet incredibly condensed and shimmering with a faint glow—slowly coiled and drifted.

This was the single strand of Innate True Essence he had painstakingly refined after a month of arduous labor!

Yet, compared to his boundless Purple Mansion Dantian, this single strand of True Essence was as insignificant as a drop in the ocean, so minuscule it was practically negligible.

The time and energy it would take to convert all the True Qi in his entire Dantian into True Essence was simply an astronomical amount.

’The path of cultivation, a new heaven with every step, a new chasm with every realm... The ancients were not lying.’

Qi Yun shook his head and chuckled lightly. His tone held a hint of wistfulness, but not a shred of discouragement.

He had long anticipated the difficulty of this step.

After all, without the miraculous aid of Devouring Essence, the entire process of Condensing Qi into Essence was split into two steps.

First, he had to convert the True Qi in his body into True Essence until his True Qi was completely exhausted.

Then, he had to replenish his True Qi, and once it was restored, he had to repeat the first step.

This process would take double, or even triple, the time.

This was why it had taken him a full month to condense a single, hair-thin strand of True Essence.

’It seems the rewards for participating in this cleansing sweep are indeed well worth the risk.’

...

Time flew by in an instant, and the day of the third examination arrived.

On this day, a pressure far more vast and majestic than that of the previous two examinations suddenly descended upon the Holy Sect’s Outer Mansion, enveloping every inch of space like an invisible giant hand.

The Taixu Jade Order on every Outer Mansion Disciple vibrated in unison, emitting a brilliant, pure light. Talismans flowed across its surface, revealing the details of the examination.

Unlike the creative challenges of the previous two examinations, which required either winning through Magical Combat or surviving in a Secret Realm, this time was different.

The content of this examination was far more simple and direct.

Go to Fuluo Province. Collect ten Blood Floating Luos to pass the examination.

"Fuluo Province?" Qi Yun stared at the words on the Jade Order, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He had heard of this place.

Fuluo Province was a Shiyi Realm that the Holy Sect had recently salvaged from the turbulent void.

Not long ago, he had even seen a notice in the Infinite Treasure Market recruiting Cultivators for a vanguard exploration of Fuluo Province. The offered reward was quite substantial.

But the requirements were also extremely high, which clearly indicated significant danger.

But how much time had passed since then?

How could this newly discovered Secret Realm, its conditions still unknown, be chosen as the venue for the third examination so quickly?

’The Sect is acting a bit too hastily...’

Though a flicker of doubt crossed his mind, Qi Yun simply filed it away.

It was not the place of a mere Outer Disciple like him to question the rules set by the Holy Sect.

The next moment, the teleportation power within the Taixu Jade Order activated. Streams of pure light enveloped all the participating Outer Mansion Disciples, and they vanished on the spot.

Light and shadow warped violently before his eyes, a myriad of images flowing and reassembling like shattered colored glass.

Now that he possessed Divine Sense, Qi Yun was no longer helplessly swept along by the power of the Cosmic Jade Space. He could faintly sense the drastic fluctuations of the Cosmic Wall Rules around him.

The miraculous power that forcibly tore through space for long-distance teleportation was immense and vast, far exceeding his imagination.

An unknown amount of time passed.

The violently fluctuating space suddenly stabilized.

A blast of hot, humid air, thick with the smell of rotting vegetation and a peculiar, acrid stench, instantly flooded his nostrils.

The instant he landed, Qi Yun instinctively unleashed his Divine Sense.

Everything within a hundred-meter radius was instantly reflected in his Sea of Consciousness like a three-dimensional painting, every detail captured.

From what Qi Yun already knew, Fuluo Province was, on the surface, remarkably similar to the tropical rainforests of his past life.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sun. Thick vines coiled and hung like pythons, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of rotting leaves, soft and moist underfoot.

The air was so humid you could practically wring water from it, making it oppressively stuffy.

The faint gurgle of running water could be heard in the distance, a clear sign of numerous rivers.

Such an extremely humid, stuffy environment with suffocatingly dense vegetation was the perfect breeding ground for all manner of poisonous insects and exotic beasts.

By the same token, such a unique environment was bound to produce special Spirit Plants and Immortal Herbs rarely found in the outside world.

’I need to finish this quickly. I don’t have much time to waste.’

During his practice of Condensing Qi into Essence, Qi Yun felt the crushing weight of time in cultivation for the first time.

Every second was crucial to the foundation of his path and could not be wasted.

With a flick of his hand, he formed a Spell. Eighty-one White Bone Skeletons cackled as they filed out, Glowing Green Ghost Fire blazing in their eye sockets.

The Corpse Poisoning Yin Fire they exuded made the surrounding humid, sticky air turn dry and scorched.

He flipped his hand over, producing the Great Marvelous True Luo Meditation Mat. With a mere Heart Thought, more than forty of the skulls flew beneath the mat, lifting it steadily.

With a single leap, he landed gracefully on the Meditation Mat, sitting cross-legged.

The White Bone Skeletons strained in unison, lifting him several meters off the ground and beginning to fly rapidly toward the depths of the rainforest!

This was a method he had devised after a sudden flash of inspiration.

With their numbers greatly increased, the White Bone Skeletons’ collective strength was formidable—more than enough to carry him in flight.

As long as he flew no higher than ten meters, he wouldn’t trigger the appearance of the Earth Magnetic Yuan Gang.

While not as fast as using Gathering Form and Scattering Qi to transform into Pure Qi, this method had the advantage of not consuming any of his own True Qi, making it incredibly efficient.

This allowed him to dedicate his entire Heart and Spirit to other matters.

Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded.

A horde of White Bone Skeletons, burning with ghastly green flames, carried a sinister-looking, cross-legged young man through the low canopy of the dense rainforest. They moved silently and swiftly, like a Ghost King patrolling his domain.

Seated atop this strange transport, Qi Yun kept his eyes half-closed, fully extending his Divine Sense. He repeatedly scanned the areas below and ahead, searching with all his might for any trace of the so-called Blood Floating Luo.

「At the same time.」

The other Outer Mansion Disciples teleported into Fuluo Province also began their own frantic searches.

Everyone understood that this newly salvaged Shiyi Realm was fraught with danger and no place to linger.

The sooner they found ten Blood Floating Luos, the sooner they could leave this hellhole.

「Beside a muddy, rushing stream.」

An Outer Mansion Disciple, Zhu Ping, scowled. He impatiently ripped off his long robes, already soaked through with sweat and humidity, and tossed them carelessly aside.

The perpetual rain and pervasive humidity of Fuluo Province had left him feeling unbearably sticky and miserable from the moment he arrived.

"Dammit, why’d they pick a shithole like this for the exam..." he muttered, his voice full of complaint.

But just as he looked up to get his bearings, his gaze was suddenly caught by several large, black boulders jutting out of the stream not far away.

There, in a crevice between the rocks, grew a dazzlingly beautiful flower with bizarrely blood-red petals.

Its characteristics were identical to the Blood Floating Luo described in the examination details!

"Haha! The heavens are smiling upon me!" Zhu Ping was ecstatic, his earlier complaints instantly forgotten.

To think I’d find it without even trying!

He couldn’t wait, rushing toward the stream. SPLASH! He plunged waist-deep into the cold, murky water, sending up a huge spray.

His eyes were fixed on the blood-red flower, now just within reach.

He failed to notice, however, that beneath the ripples he had created, several thick, serpentine shadows, like massive cables, were silently gliding toward him. A cold, murderous intent filled the water.

Reaching the Immortal Herb, Zhu Ping snatched the Blood Floating Luo from the rock. He held it in his hand, an irrepressible grin spreading across his face.

’Looks like my luck has finally turned!’

DRIP—

A cold, foul-smelling, viscous drop of liquid suddenly fell from above, landing precisely on his cheek.

The smile on Zhu Ping’s face froze.

He slowly raised his head. A cavernous, blood-red maw snapped shut!

...