Chapter Nineteenth: Brave Little Sea, Go Create Miracles!

  When leaving Taoyuan Village, there was only one person left in the village, Wang Lu, a real lonely family.

  After leaving the village head's backyard, looking at the empty village, Wang Lu fell into deep thought.

  Before long, he was tapped on the back, and a dark figure laughed.

  "What's on your mind, the deadline for the Taoyuan Village mission has already passed, and those who couldn't pass have long been kicked out - it's not possible for the Lingjian Sect to support them for a lifetime. Since the mission is over, there's no need for others to continue existing either - maintaining the formation also costs money."

  Facing Wang Lu's astonished gaze, Hei Ying explained lightly.

  "You're lucky, you barely made it before the deadline. If you were any later, I would have had to kick you out."

  Wang Lu asked somewhat curiously: "Are you a senior brother of the Ling Jian Sect?"

  The dark figure didn't respond, and instead said to himself: "You've passed the test for Peach Blossom Village. As your witness, I'll take you to the next trial. Follow me."

  He finished speaking and quickly walked out of the village, Wang Lu hurriedly followed up, as for the luggage and snacks in the house, they really couldn't be taken care of.

  The dark shadow was far ahead, its pace seemingly slow but actually swift. Before long, it had left the village and entered a continuous mountain range. This mountainous region was an unsolvable maze before the task in Taoyuan Village ended, no matter how one walked, they would always end up back at the starting point of Taoyuan Village. However, the dark shadow only walked for a short while before suddenly emerging into a bright and beautiful scene.

  Wang Lu followed closely behind, soon panting like a cow, although he had countless questions in his mind, but couldn't say a word.

  The dark figure seemed to be doing this on purpose, dragging Wang Lu for a long run while saying: "After Peach Blossom Village is over, rewards will be given according to the completion situation. You seem to have guessed it already so I won't say more. However, when choosing rewards later, remember to use your brain, the next levels are not that easy, Ling Jian Sect has not recruited qualified personnel for hundreds of years in the Immortal Ascension Conference..."

  He said this and suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and smiled: "Come on, I'm really looking forward to seeing you on the mountain."

  After finishing speaking, the black shadow disappeared with a swoosh, and behind it, a narrow slit appeared between the mountain walls.

  Wang Lu measured the gap before and fortunately, he was of average build. Before departure, he didn't have time to eat, so he could barely squeeze in.

  The narrow entrance gradually widens, and before long, it opens up to reveal a spacious cave. The cave is deeply hidden within the mountain, with a gap above that casts dappled sunlight onto the interior scene.

  Borrowing the sunlight, Wang Lu repeatedly measured the cave and shook his head with a smile.

  Compared to the design of Taoyuan Village, which although flawed, was sincere and full of good intentions, this cave is rather lacking in quality - a wooden chest sits squarely in the center of the cave, next to it stands an empty sign.

  This must be the reward for completing the Taoyuan Village quest. Wang Lu used his Flowing Water Tactics to conquer the nearly impossible hidden task, and in theory, the reward level should be against the sky. Although this wooden box looks shabby, the treasure inside should be unquestionable - unless the Lingjian Sect is completely shameless and tries to cheat with excuses like data overflow.

  Just then, the blank sign suddenly had words added: "Task Situation Statistics:"

  "Number of attackers: One hundred and twenty"

  "Total number of likes: 12,000"

  "Average favorability: 100%"

  "Key Takeaway: You can't complete the series."

  "Task completion rate: 100%"

  "Comprehensive Score:"

  The last digit, due to the limited space on the wooden board, too many characters squeezed together, already small and dense can't be seen clearly, but it's also an astronomical figure.

  The settlement of Taoyuan Village should be done autonomously according to the rules set by the designer, but the designer probably didn't expect an adventurer like Wang Lu who would disrupt the scene... Fortunately, there was no data overflow, which is a good thing.

  After the overall score was announced, the wooden sign sank into the ground with a whoosh, while the nearby wooden box churned for a while, occasionally swaying gently and making sounds that sparked imagination.

  After a stick of incense, the wooden box opened by itself, and the things inside poured out like a geyser, for a moment, the colors were dazzling, and people's eyes were blinded.

  ——

  Above the clouds, a certain black and white disciple who was caught staring at the changing cloud formations finally couldn't bear the loneliness and stretched out a long, lazy waist.

  "Alas, this Ascension Conference is probably going to be a waste of time."

  A younger-looking black-and-white disciple next to him asked curiously, "Senior brother, why do you say that? I think the ones ranked higher have made quite some progress."

  The older black and white sneered: "Not bad, huh? You've wasted so much time before the second-to-last Jīnguài, and in the end, you'll be lucky if you can even beat the last one, Hǎi Yún Fān. As for the others, don't even think about it."

  The young black and white were even more surprised: "I remember that the spiritual creatures in Chi Ji Shan, Bing Feng Gu, Qing Yun Peak, and You Ming Dao are at most level 6 or 7, which is not easy for ordinary people to deal with, but it shouldn't be difficult for them, after all, they have received rewards from Peach Village, and there are indeed several talented individuals among them."

  The older black and white tapped his junior brother's shoulder: "Junior brother, you're still too young. Our sect's road to ascension has been untraversable for hundreds of years. This record that astonishes the world and makes other sects laugh is not something that can be achieved with just those few first-rate six or seven-grade spiritual beasts in the mountains. To be honest, junior brother, you have a good temperament and qualifications, even better than mine, but if you were to walk this road, you wouldn't make it to the end either."

  The younger brother was clearly somewhat dissatisfied, but didn't say anything.

  "Ha ha, if you don't believe me, just keep reading on. Hey, that guy called Hai Yunfan seems to be not far from the last level."

  ——

  The sea cloud sail walking on the path of the underworld is indeed not far from the end.

  It has been more than two weeks since leaving Taoyuan Village, and this icy wind valley road is finally about to be traversed. However, for those who have traveled a hundred miles, ninety percent of the journey is done, but Ha Yunfan not only didn't relax, but instead took out double caution.

  Because he was very clear about what was waiting for him in the back. The road to ascension of the Lingjian Sect, which no one had been able to pass through for hundreds of years, could it be that he could walk all the way to the end with ease? He wasn't a natural-born freak like Wang Lu, and Hai Yunfan had a very clear grasp of his own abilities.

  Three-star qualifications, two-star temperament, one-star wit... and super-star judgment ability, this is the only specialty that Ha Yunfan thinks is worth relying on.

  Earlier in Taoyuan Village, I left early, also because of the word "balance". Leaving too early will indeed lose task completion degree, but the first to leave may have extra rewards.

  After careful consideration, Hai Yunfan made a judgment, and at the beginning of Bing Fenggu, he realized that he had bet on the right treasure.

  The reward is simple, during the trial of Ascension Road, physical strength is unlimited, and a seventh-grade artifact - a small grass man who lowers his head - can greatly weaken the enemy, limited to three uses.

  The road to Bingfeng Valley is indeed difficult, not only does it possess the natural rejection of Xianjin Bridge towards those who are insufficiently qualified, but also illusions are everywhere, just like Yunbo Tu, good at confusing people's minds. The trial taker may encounter all kinds of situations, some need to tactfully avoid, while others require bravery to face head-on.

  This is a comprehensive test for the trialists, no matter how talented you are, any one of the qualities that are not up to par may be cut off halfway, and among them, the most important quality... happens to be the ability to weigh and judge.

  When advancing, he couldn't advance; when retreating, he couldn't retreat. His skills could only be displayed at 40-50%, which wouldn't work on the Road to Ascension. However, Hai Yunfan was particularly skilled at weighing and judging situations, plus a bit of luck... The dozen or so treacherous passes in Ice Wind Valley, known as the Heavenly Moat, were passed by him in one go, without even using the Decapitating Doll.

  Of course, this was also intentional... In the previous few encounters with danger, there was even one time when a passing goblin almost drove him to despair, but the small grass doll was always pressed under the box.

  Because they want to pass the last level of the test, they must keep their precious resources. Others are not clear, but Hai Yunfan knows that whether it is Ice Wind Valley or Chi Ji Mountain... In the end, a powerful spirit will be arranged as a guardian, how strong is that spirit?

  It has reached the point where no one can figure it out for hundreds of years.

  It's okay, the Lingjian Sect has arranged a Taoyuan Village on this ascension path, and through task rewards, it can somewhat enhance the strength of the trial-taker. For example, this Downhead Small Grass Man, if three weakenings are stacked... perhaps there will be hope to pass.

  Thinking so, Hai Yunfan walked into the last gorge of Ice Wind Valley. The valley path was winding and tortuous, Hai Yunfan endured his temper, keeping his nerves tense all the way until he turned a corner and finally saw the guardian spirit at the pass.

  Looking at the scene in front of her, Hai Yunfan furrowed her brow and fell into deep thought.

  This giant, ten zhang tall, covered in ice and frost, looks somewhat like a southern barbarian elephant. What kind of spirit is this? I'm quite knowledgeable myself, having read the "Cang Creek Spirit Chronicle" that's been passed down through the cultivation world many times, and I've memorized all the first- and second-level spirits introduced in it. But for some reason, I just can't recall seeing a spirit of this kind before.

  ——

  "To be honest, I've always suspected that our sect's ancestors made a mistake."

  Above the clouds, an older black and white one carefully spread gossip.

  "What Wulóng?"

  "I suspect that when they designed the Ascension Road, they accidentally wrote a wrong character in the rules for the last level. The guardian spirit was originally supposed to be second-level ninth-grade, but it was written as third-level ninth-grade. A difference of one stroke!"

  When he heard the term "Third-Grade Ninth-Rank", his junior brother also couldn't help but exclaim: "A Third-Grade Spirit Beast? Even if it's only Ninth-Rank, isn't that still close to a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

  The result was that Shixiong corrected him very seriously: "That's the foundation-building period of ordinary sects. If it were our Lingjian Sect, the cultivation of the first or second grade in the Qi-refining period would be enough to deal with a low-grade third-class spirit beast."

  "Even that requires a cultivation base of at least one or two grades of Qi Refining," the younger brother said somewhat helplessly. "How can you expect a group of people who haven't even started cultivating to deal with it? Even if they have a family heirloom treasure, it's probably still difficult."

  "Who knows, that's why nobody has been able to get through for hundreds of years. The difference between the third and first levels is huge, the difficulty might increase tenfold. And the third level nine grades are just the minimum, even if you encounter seven or eight grade goods it's not surprising. This time Haiyun Fan was lucky and encountered a ninth grade... that's why I said, except for Haiyun Fan who has a bit of hope, others shouldn't think about it."

  Just then, another commotion arose in the clouds, and Elder Brother Yu Guang's eyes gleamed with a sudden burst of excitement.

  "Oh oh, it's started!"

  "Ah, what a decisive reaction! He directly used the Descending Head Doll technique right from the start, and he's used it three times in a row!"

  Elder brother nodded: "Very correct choice, although it's only a 7th-grade artifact, in theory it's only effective against second-level and below refined monsters, but if it's only third-level ninth-grade, using it three times in a row may indeed make it drop a level."

  "Even if it's downgraded, it's still at the level of a second-grade first-class product. Usually, even hundreds of elite soldiers can't do anything about it..."

  The senior brother said: "Don't worry, this person named Hai Yunfan must have an ace up his sleeve."

  Junior brother continued to worry: "Even if you hide the treasure, it's useless. For those who haven't cultivated, the higher the grade of the object, the harder it is to exert its effect. Take those who stole the treasure, for example. The 6th or 7th grade treasure can't even compare to a 9th grade artifact... it's laughable."

  "Uh-huh, it's a total loss of face for us cultivators... But this Hai Yunfan is not on the same level as those useless people, let's look down on them."

  ——

  Hai Yunfan is indeed not on the same level as Xie Qianlong and others.

  Xie Qianlong and others have at least a family background, but he really doesn't.

  Yun Tai's imperial status is prestigious, but it's just a mortal prestige. The Yun Tai royal family has good relations with many immortal sects, but not to the point where they can exchange mortal resources for immortal artifacts... Oh, artifacts might be exchanged freely, but immortal treasures are really difficult to obtain.

  Of course, the Millennium Empire can always find some, but what about those who have not cultivated even if they hold a magic treasure? Except for individual top-grade magic treasures that are comparable to fairy artifacts in legend, other ordinary people are still not as practical as magic tools, and magic tools cannot be brought into the mountain.

  Hai Yunfan was not a narrow-minded person like Wang Lu, and he couldn't find any shortcuts to immortality. He moved forward on his path, relying neither on tricks nor cheating, but only on constant effort.

  Will constant effort create miracles?

  Hai Yun Fan sincerely hopes so.

  If there wasn't a miracle, he would be completely finished.

  Hai Yunfan wasn't a cultivator, so he couldn't accurately measure the level of the demon, but after using the three small straw men, the giant beast in front of him had degenerated from ten zhang tall to seven zhang tall. Calculating based on this, his own outcome would probably be evolving from being minced meat into shredded meat...

  On the road to ascension, life and death are not discussed. Being an enemy of this kind of person, having a hundred lives would not be enough to lose. However...

  However, Hai Yunfan still drew out his family heirloom sword and bravely pointed it at his opponent.

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