Chapter 36 (Part 3)

Ji Wuxing circled back and forth around the stone statue, not understanding the mystery behind it. “Song Yuanxi, how did you control it?”

“With an array.”

“And you still said you didn’t know arrays!”

“I really don’t. It’s just that my Xuantian Sect senior brother was warmhearted and gave me quite a few complete array disks, then taught me step by step. Even a good-for-nothing like me could take flight like that.” Song Yuanxi remembered He Man’s words when he had given him the array disks back then. The general idea was to keep them for fun in the future. If anyone bullied him, he could directly trap them inside and make the other party howl in frustration.

He Man had said, “Junior Brother Song, we don’t take the initiative to harm people. But what if someone else provokes you? If a person insists on being cheap, then there’s no need for you to be upright and aboveboard.”

Song Yuanxi thought that made a lot of sense and accepted them joyfully. Now, they happened to come in handy.

He even thought happily, “I’ve raised the level of targets for the array disks. If Senior Brother He knew, he would definitely be very happy.”

When Ji Wuxing learned that Song Yuanxi had many similar array disks, he immediately grinned. “In that case, let the hunt begin!”

“Not appropriate.”

Song Yuanxi held back the eager Ji Wuxing and had the other make a mistake on the very first step. He wanted to test the strength of the first stone statue.

Ji Wuxing did not understand. But when the third stone statue was trapped, and then he watched Song Yuanxi run toward the first stone statue and engage it in close-quarters combat, he suddenly understood.

After understanding, he was greatly shocked.

What kind of bizarre operation was this? Kill the stone statues? That did not seem necessary, did it?

As Song Yuanxi fought the stone statue, he explained, “I’m Body Cultivation. These stone statues are very good practice targets. I plan to cultivate my technique here.”

The first stone statue was about at the first level of Qi Refining. He could handle it easily. The second stone statue was a little stronger than the first, but had not reached the third level of Qi Refining. The third stone statue was a bit stronger than the second, nearly at the third level of Qi Refining.

Song Yuanxi roughly figured out the pattern. The cultivation level of each triggered stone statue had nothing to do with how near or far that stone statue was on the chessboard. Instead, their cultivation level slowly increased in sequence according to the order in which they were triggered.

“I wonder who came up with this method. It’s actually quite ingenious.” Song Yuanxi kicked the third stone statue to pieces and stopped to rest.

Ji Wuxing stared blankly. Three stone statues, and he had kicked all of them to pieces? What kind of invincible vajra leg did Song Yuanxi have?

Song Yuanxi, however, shook his head. “These stone statues only weigh five hundred jin. Back when I ran mountains while carrying weight, each of my legs carried a thousand jin. It’s nothing.”

“Are all you Body Cultivation people this impressive?” Ji Wuxing’s eyes showed envy.

Song Yuanxi said, “I’m not very clear on that. I don’t know much about Body Cultivation, and there are almost no Body Cultivation cultivators in Xuantian Sect. But my master is especially powerful. Back then, with one easy kick, he could directly smash a three-thousand-jin Soul-Suppressing Stele.”

Ji Wuxing was dumbstruck. His thoughts drifted away, and after he came back to himself, his confidence increased greatly. With such a companion at his side, how could he worry about not clearing the challenge?

“Brother Xi, just you wait. This little brother will go conquer this land for you right now!” Ji Wuxing rubbed his fists together, eager to try.

Song Yuanxi pulled him back and instructed, “Follow the proper method for the challenge. Don’t mess around. There are ten thousand stone statues, and I don’t have enough array disks.”

Ji Wuxing thought for a while, reined in his arrogant mindset, and treated it cautiously.

However, after walking past a thousand squares, his eyes practically grew to the top of his head. Seeing Song Yuanxi kick one statue after another, having a grand time of it, Ji Wuxing inexplicably felt delighted too.

“I have to put in some effort. Brother Xi’s footwork is lightning fast. It looks like he’s about to break through, so it would be best to send him a fortuitous opportunity.”

Ji Wuxing revealed a charming smile and ran all the way forward.

After Song Yuanxi finished off the final trapped stone statue, he turned back and nearly died of fright.

He saw four stone statues move out one after another, chasing behind Ji Wuxing. Ji Wuxing ran wildly the entire way, throwing talismans behind him as he ran. Those talismans had no effect on the stone statues and could only temporarily slow their pursuit.

“Song Yuanxi! Brother Xi! I’m bringing you a fortuitous opportunity!” Ji Wuxing shouted at the person before him, swiftly luring a group of stone statues into the array.

Then he turned back with an expression that begged for praise.

Song Yuanxi: “…”

Stifled! Miserable!

“Brother Xi, hurry up and go in there! One against four, you can do it!”

Ji Wuxing clenched both fists, his expression excited. If conditions allowed, he wished he could go up himself.

After the four stone statues, Song Yuanxi then welcomed five stone statues, six stone statues… even ten stone statues. The most extreme time directly triggered a small-scale tremor on the chessboard, and eighteen stone statues were comparable to eighteen bronze men. Song Yuanxi nearly went bald from stress.

The chief culprit had already vanished without a trace, sprinting rapidly toward the front of the chessboard. The way he ran wild was like a husky whose leash had been released.

Song Yuanxi finally experienced what it felt like to be backstabbed. He nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Another three years later, Ji Wuyi once again went to the Guardian Hall.

“Have those two come out?” Ji Wuyi asked as usual.

The steward smiled bitterly and shook his head. “They have not. They have already been inside the Trial Tower for six years.”

Ji Wuyi gave a soft “Mm,” then asked, “Which floor have they reached now?”

The steward wiped the sweat from his forehead and said softly, “They are… on the first floor.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the jade token in the steward’s hand flashed with light. The two red dots that had originally belonged to Song Yuanxi and Ji Wuxing slowly crawled upward, finally landing at the position of the Trial Tower’s third floor.

Ji Wuyi looked at those two little red dots, his smile incomparably gentle. “Very good. Another three years, another floor.”

The steward’s heart pounded with fear as he listened. First Young Master’s smile was frightening!

Song Yuanxi and Ji Wuxing stayed on the third floor of the Trial Tower for three years. Once again, they successfully cleared the challenge, but they did not enter the fourth floor. Instead, they were directly ejected from the Trial Tower.

The scenery before their eyes blurred. Around them was noise and bustle, with people coming and going.

When the steward of the Guardian Hall heard a servant’s report, he immediately rushed over. “Seventh Young Master, Fellow Daoist Song, you’re finally out!”

As he spoke, he turned his head anxiously and shouted to the servant, “Quick, quickly go notify First Young Master!”

“No need. I’m here.” Ji Wuyi’s figure leisurely entered the Guardian Hall.

Seeing a familiar person, Song Yuanxi felt extraordinarily close to him and ran straight over. “Senior Brother Ji, I didn’t expect to see you as soon as I came out of the Trial Tower. This really is a pleasant thing.”

“Indeed. We have not seen each other for nine years. I have also missed Junior Brother Song.”

“Nine years? I stayed in the Trial Tower for nine years?” Song Yuanxi could not believe it.

After repeatedly confirming it with the Guardian Hall, he had no choice but to accept this reality.

Song Yuanxi was immediately wounded. Clutching his chest, he found it hard to accept. “I can live for a hundred years at most. Every single day is precious. How could I spend nine years inside the Trial Tower? It clearly felt like only a few months had passed…”

This matter was too unbelievable. Song Yuanxi even suspected that there was a time accelerator inside the Trial Tower.

“This tower is strange.” He glared at the Trial Tower, full of indignation.

Ji Wuyi said, “This Trial Tower is an ancient treasure. Inside it are countless folded spaces and differing rates of time flow. A single thought lasting a hundred years is also possible. Nine years is no more than the blink of an eye.”

Song Yuanxi was about to say something more when Ji Wuxing suddenly gave a cry of surprise not far away and shouted directly, “This isn’t right. Where did something go wrong?”

Ji Wuyi and Song Yuanxi walked over at the sound. Ji Wuxing pointed at a jade token and said, “Cousin, look. Song Yuanxi’s jade token is clearly intact, so why did it turn black? What’s going on? What is the Guardian Hall playing at?”

Ji Wuyi’s eyes filled with surprise. He looked at the junior brother beside him and examined him with a completely new gaze.

The steward, meanwhile, was wiping sweat fiercely, inwardly complaining like mad. On the surface, however, he still had to patiently explain to Ji Wuxing.

“Seventh Young Master, this matter is not the Guardian Hall’s fault. It is the Trial Tower’s independent will. It took the initiative to isolate Fellow Daoist Song. The jade token turning black means that this person can no longer enter the Trial Tower.”

“How is that possible! That kind of nonsense is just your Guardian Hall shirking responsibility.” Ji Wuxing did not believe it.

The steward carefully glanced across at Ji Wuyi. Seeing his expression remain normal, he continued, “This is not the first time such a thing has happened. The last person whose jade token was blackened by the Trial Tower was First Young Master…”

Song Yuanxi and Ji Wuxing were both stunned. They looked at Ji Wuyi as if looking at an alien.

Ji Wuyi, however, was curious why this had happened to Song Yuanxi. “Junior Brother Song, what did you do inside the Trial Tower?” To make the Trial Tower reject you like this.

Song Yuanxi did not feel that he had done anything outrageous. If one had to talk about something unconscionable, “Does kicking several thousand stone statues to pieces count?”

“Mm?”

Ji Wuxing directly answered first. “It was on the first floor of the Trial Tower. When I walked the chessboard and triggered the mechanism, after the stone statues revived, Song Yuanxi fought them and kicked them to pieces. We took down a total of seven thousand six hundred stone statues!”

Ji Wuxing’s face was full of pride, while Song Yuanxi wanted nothing more than to burrow into the ground.

What was there to be proud of about more than seven thousand stone statues? Wasn’t that openly and nakedly telling everyone that they could make a mistake in two out of three steps, and that their intelligence was trash?

Ji Wuyi understood. “So that was it.”

Song Yuanxi was likewise curious why the other had been blacklisted. “Senior Brother Ji, what did you do inside the Trial Tower?”

Ji Wuyi smiled with an airy, calm expression and slowly said, “Nothing much. I merely made a tiny alteration to the mechanism on the first floor and slightly increased the difficulty by just a little.”

“A little?”

“I added one more five elements.”

Song Yuanxi and Ji Wuxing both fell silent. Their hearts were extremely complicated. The two of them had never imagined that the five elements that had tormented them to death and back, that yellow sand filling the sky, that violent tsunami… had all come from the hand of the person before them.

Song Yuanxi said, “Senior Brother Ji… you are greatly talented!”

Yet the little person inside his heart was howling wildly, “Pervert! You deserved to be blacklisted. If not you, then who?”

Ji Wuyi seemed to see through what Song Yuanxi was thinking. He returned a smile, his gaze gentle. “Junior Brother Song, your Trial Tower cultivation ends here. Since it is due to your own reasons, you cannot blame anyone else. Set off for the sect tomorrow.”

“Senior Brother Ji?”

“If you do not want to go back, I can send you to the Ji family’s training grounds so you can experience the enthusiasm of my Ji family disciples,” Ji Wuyi suggested.

Song Yuanxi immediately shook his head and refused. “I choose to return to the sect!”

He looked across at the newly made companion, reluctant to part. “Xingxing, I’m leaving tomorrow. I really can’t bear to leave you.”

Ji Wuxing also felt upset, but he still comforted him. “Brother Xi, I can’t bear to part with you either. But at least everyone gained something. Both our cultivation levels improved. Nine years in the Trial Tower was not a wasted trip. Tonight, let’s celebrate properly!”

“Nine years to advance one cultivation level. Indeed, it should be celebrated.” Ji Wuyi smiled faintly and turned to leave.

Song Yuanxi watched his departing back and could not help frowning. “Was Senior Brother Ji making fun of us?”

Ji Wuxing shook his head, his tone certain. “How is that possible! Cultivation is so difficult for us Five Spiritual Roots cultivators. Advancing one level is not easy. Cousin was definitely praising us.”

Song Yuanxi asked, “Is that so?”

Ji Wuxing said, “Yes!”

The next day, Song Yuanxi left the Ji family under Ji Wuxing’s reluctant farewell gaze.

Ji Wuyi personally escorted him to the city gate. Only after watching him board the teleportation array heading toward the sect did he smile and say goodbye. “Junior Brother Song, see you back at the sect later.”

Song Yuanxi nodded along and waved goodbye.

Setting out from the northern lands to Xuantian Sect, if one took teleportation arrays the whole way, one had to transfer eighteen times. Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators definitely could not endure it, but Song Yuanxi, who had been tempered by the violent tsunami inside the Trial Tower, could handle it as usual.

He simply had not expected something to go wrong midway. During the thirteenth transfer, the teleportation array experienced a slight fluctuation, and all the cultivators inside the entire teleportation array entered a spatial current.

Song Yuanxi closed his eyes and opened them again. Before him was nothing but desolation. He did not know where he had been teleported…

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