Chapter 8 Ah Di you know me

  "This road... is really damn long."

  In the narrow and long valley, both the master and servant were a bit out of breath.

  Wang Lu wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Alas, I no longer feel the powerful assistance of Jin Qiao from just now... The luggage seems to have become several times heavier."

  "Where's this so-called help coming from, young master? You're confused..."

  "Yes, I'm exhausted, so you carry the luggage."

  "Uh..."

  As they spoke, Wang Lu suddenly became excited and pointed ahead, saying: "Look, the fog around us is getting thicker again. This is clearly a sign that we're entering a new map!"

  "What's entering a new map?"

  "You don't think the path to ascension is just a simple straight line, do you? There must be many checkpoints designed along the way to test various aspects of one's quality. If it were just a matter of innate talent or knowledge, a golden bridge or a written exam would suffice to gauge depth. But how does one test a person's temperament and affinity for ascension? A written test? An answer sheet? A personality test? The Lingjian Sect wants to thoroughly test newcomers, so they must design complex scenarios along the path to ascension. These scenarios might be ordinary scenes or independent planes like parallel universes, and the mist around us is likely a buffer zone for switching maps."

  "Master, I have completely lost track of what you are saying..."

  However, Wang Lu seemed to ignore whether Shu Tong had understood or not and continued to explain: "The Lingjian Sect is a well-known ancient sect that selects its disciples very strictly. Due to the scarcity of people, generally speaking, it's the seniors in the sect who go down the mountain to find their own disciples. The sect doesn't suit the mass production style of the Immortal Gathering Conference. That's why this time they opened up the mountain gate and attracted so many people. But an ancient sect is an ancient sect after all, even if it's a mass-produced ceremony, it won't be perfunctory or superficial. There will definitely be procedures that should be followed, and they will be more complicated than what ordinary people can imagine..."

  At this point, Shu Tong couldn't help but ask: "Young Master, how did you know about the Ling Jian Sect?"

  The young master actually arrived in Lingxi Town only a day earlier, and he had been staying indoors for the whole week. How did he get so much information? Was it really because of the literary star descending to earth, born with knowledge?

  "Of course, it was when I was doing the task chain... You think I went to town that day just to run tasks? I listened carefully to the task briefings for each task point. Now many players are eager for quick success and don't care about anything except the task objectives and rewards, unaware that the truly valuable information is in the task briefings! For example, when I completed the final link, the old man at the door would say, 'This is the first time the Lingjian Sect has held an ascension conference in a hundred years, we have no experience, but because of this, the effort invested will be extremely great, even this retired old man was rehired to guard the town...' The amount of information here is astonishing. But who can usually hear it? Those rich kids want to ask questions, but they don't even do tasks, why would people give you information just because you have money? In a town where 500 silver coins can't buy a single radish, money means nothing..."

  Shu Tong didn't understand the young master's emotions at all, but the tone of his voice fully revealed his disdain for others. This strong self-confidence had been experienced many times in Wangjiacun, and unexpectedly, on the road to ascension, his confidence remained unchanged!

  Young master is young master, no use arguing about it.

  According to Wang Lu, the mist on both sides of the valley is a buffer when switching maps. Behind the mist will be a brand new test, which determines whether one can enter the inner door of the Ling Jian Sect, Xianyun Peak.

  Although Shu Tong didn't really understand the difference between Xiangyang Peak and Yuyang Peak, Young Master seemed to attach great importance to it... That can't be wrong.

  ————

  The scope of the fog is much wider than expected.

  They thought it was just a temporary buffer, but when the two of them had been groping their way forward in the fog for an unknown amount of time and still hadn't found a way out, even Wang Lu began to hesitate.

  "Master, have we taken the wrong road?"

  "Nonsense, from head to toe it's all one road, you tell me where did we go wrong?"

  "Uh..."

  Shu Tong wiped the sweat from his forehead, speechless.

  Wang Lu carried his luggage on his back. Although he had been insisting on exercising, at this moment he was even more tired. So although his confidence did not decrease, he slowed down his pace and started to look around.

  The effective visual distance in the fog was less than three meters, and then it was completely invisible. Wang Lu only remembered that before entering the fog, he was on a valley path less than ten meters wide, and then went straight forward...

  "Wang Zhong, let's turn right."

  "What? That's a cliff over there."

  "Not necessarily."

  Shu Tong was taken aback and followed Wang Lu as he turned right, but he thought they would only take a few steps before hitting the mountain...

  "Huh? How... strange. I remember that before entering this fog, the valleys on both sides were very long, how come now..."

  "It's been a long time since I've been in the valley, and the transformation of the map was completed without me realizing it... I thought the fog was just a buffer, but it seems that this is also part of the map."

  Wang Lu said, bending down and pinching up the dust on the ground with his fingers.

  "Master, what's wrong with this soil?"

  "How was I supposed to know? I'm not a geologist." Wang Lu said, brushing off the dust on his hands. "I thought we could find some clues from the soil, but it seems that's not possible."

  "Master, won't there be any danger?"

  As soon as Wang Lu lost attention, Xiao Shu Tong felt that the surrounding fog was becoming more ferocious, as if it could swallow himself at any time. This path to ascend to immortality was not meant for Xiao Shu Tong of Wangjia Village after all.

  "There's no danger, but there's also no clue."

  "Ah?! Are we going to be trapped to death here?!"

  "Of course not, the lack of clues itself is the biggest clue. I've said it before, the path to ascension tests a person's overall quality, so luck or fate is also an important aspect. When I was doing task chains, I had a deep understanding that cultivators place great importance on predestined relationships."

  "Uh, I mean..."

  Wang Lu smiled: "In other words, this road actually doesn't have any wrong paths to speak of. Every direction symbolizes a person's fate... In other words, as long as you confirm a direction and walk it to a certain extent, a new map will appear."

  "Young master, how can you be so certain?"

  "Do you still remember what those two blue and white ones said? 'Every grass and tree has its fate', isn't that just saying that no matter how you walk, it's all okay? More importantly, if I were to design it, it would probably be done like this... Previously in Lingxi Town, I felt that the designer of the Lingjian Sect's Ascension Conference was quite professional and shouldn't disappoint anyone."

  As he spoke, Wang Lu suddenly raised his head, and his gaze seemed to pierce through the thick fog, seeing the mountain peak standing upright in the clouds.

  Ling Jian Sect, wait for me!

  ——

  At the same time, far away above the valley clouds and mist, the peak of Lianyun had become a chaotic mass.

  "What the hell, why is the Head of Punishment here?"

  "Hurry up and inform Master Shi and Master Zhou Ming to pack up their stalls!"

  "Over there, Black and White! Go find Elder Palm to stall for time!"

  "Hah!? Brother, you're a true disciple, this matter should be handled by you!"

  "Less coming, the elder of the law enforcement is even stricter on the true transmission disciples! If I go, I will definitely be locked up in isolation until the yuan infant period!"

  "Congratulations, Master will soon transform into an old monster in his prime!"

  "Congratulations to your grandfather! I, Laozi, was one step away from achieving the Void Elixir, and this seal won't be broken for a hundred or two hundred years! Stop wasting words, hurry up and stop the Head of Punishment!"

  "Who wants to stop me?"

  "Ahhhhh!"

  ——

  "......Liu Xian Shixiong, Zhou Ming Shidi, what are you doing?"

  "Whoa! Who is it?! Who dares to impersonate Fang He's junior brother?! What a big nerve, daring to impersonate the Head of Punishment! I'll go report this to the Master and have you punished! If you're capable, stay here and don't run!"

  "......Liu Xian, brother, have you had enough? And Zhou Ming, younger brother, don't think about using the Splitting Light Shadow Sword to escape. I've already set up the Starlight Shadow Curtain before you came, there's no way to escape."

  "...... Brother Fang He, the Star Sword Manual was passed down to you by our master, it's not meant for you to use against your fellow disciples!"

  "As the Head of Punishment, are you saying that our laws don't apply to fellow disciples but should be applied to the townspeople of Lingxi Town? You... are all esteemed Elders of the Tianshen Hall, responsible for supervising today's important Ascension Assembly, yet you so blatantly neglect your duties and openly violate the sect's rules against gambling. According to our sect's rules, none of you will be able to leave the mountain for a hundred years."

  "My god, won't be! Which version of the door rule is this?"

  At the moment when the various sects' elders were arguing incessantly, a sword light suddenly emerged from the cloud layer and transformed into a black-and-white disciple who landed on the top platform.

  The disciple's face was solemn, as if he couldn't see the mahjong table that had been knocked to the ground and the sect elder who was arguing with a red face. He said in a cold voice: "Report to the elder, someone has already come out of Yunbo Map."

  "What? So fast!?"

  The master of the Xuanxiao Peak, who was previously arguing with the elder Zhang and had a red face and ears, was shocked, dropped his opponent, walked a few steps to the edge of the cliff, looked at the changing clouds below, and his expression became even more astonished.

  "It's actually those two..."

  Tong Mingfeng's master, Zhou Ming, quietly tore off the white strip on his face and also came over: "What's wrong with these two? Do you know them? Their performance is not bad, they've already walked out of Yunbotu in just two hours... wait, just two hours?"

  At this time, even the usually stern and unyielding Fang He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Two hours? Isn't that just walking out of the maze without any confusion at all? The people in Yunbo Tu will not only have their five senses blocked by the big array, but also their inner flaws will be magnified several times. Unless they have absolute confidence in themselves, they will inevitably get lost for a long time. Two hours, that's almost a straight line with no twists and turns, what an extreme temperament!"

  Liu Xian was stunned for a moment: "When was the last time I saw such a fast speed?"

  Zhou Ming shook his head: "Anyway, I haven't seen it."

  "Never seen? Your memory is getting worse, Brother Zhou Ming. We've all met the last person who could walk out of Yunbo Map within two hours..."

  "Have you all seen it? In my impression, the one who performed best in this pass should be Zhangmen Shixiong, and he also spent more than four hours. Compared to him..." Zhou Ming frowned and suddenly paused, "Fang He Shixiong, could it be that you are saying..."

  "Could it be anyone else?"

  Several people's minds flashed with a figure at the same time, and they all let out a sigh.

  After a while, Liu Xian said: "Indeed worthy of being the master's brother who has been favored by talent, with a natural talent that is only about three to four products, but this temperament is probably at the level of one product."

  Fang He shook his head: "It's too early to say that, Yunbo Tu is just a preliminary test, the result is not only affected by personality but also by chance, let's see where their next level is... Hmm, Shixiong, when did Qianyun Peak design this level?"

  At this time, the cloud and fog changed again. In addition to mapping the main and secondary characters' small cloud people, dozens of buildings rose up, forming a small village with a certain scale.

  Fang He became more and more puzzled: "Behind Yunbo Map... it should be connected to one of Chijishan, Icewind Valley, Qingyun Gorge, and Youming Road according to the performance of the trialists. If you can walk all the way to the end, you will have the qualification to enter Xianfeng. But I don't remember this level, did Master brother change the upgrade conference link?"

  Liu Xian also felt puzzled: "Younger brother, you know me, how could I possibly change the rules of our sect at will?"

  He glanced at the mahjong table that had been overturned on the side, but didn't say anything. Although his brother was somewhat lacking in propriety, he wasn't someone who liked to take charge, which is to say...

  "Eldest Sister of Five Masters, what are you going to make a fuss about?"

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