Chapter 1021: Quick Clearance

Yu Youlan followed Xinding closely, becoming increasingly interested in the young monk.

"This is the place," Xinding said.

Xinding stood before a stone gate dozens of feet high. Ancient Foundation Establishment Grass, incredibly precious, grew around it. This was precisely the secret reason for Xinding's visit to the ancient realm. He bent down and harvested ten stalks, intending to refine them into ten Foundation Establishment Pills upon his return. With these, even someone with the poorest aptitude could enter the Foundation Establishment stage.

The outer layer of the Chixiao Ancient Realm was a dense primeval forest, while the inner layer was a magnificent hall. The hall was carved from an entire asteroid, a monumental feat achievable only in ancient times; present-day cultivation realms lacked the means for such an endeavor.

"So this is the inner Ancient Stone Hall," Yu Youlan marveled. It was her first time in the Chixiao Ancient Realm, and she hadn't imagined the Ancient Stone Hall would be so vast. Even the palaces of their Sacred Land's ancestors weren't as grand and magnificent.

"But is such an enormous Ancient Stone Hall really just for testing Qi Refining cultivators?" A question arose in Yu Youlan's mind. Were Qi Refining cultivators truly worthy of such a secret realm?

Xinding also harbored this doubt and decided to ask Venerable Tofu. Everything he knew about entering the inner circle and utilizing the ancient realm's hidden powers had been told to him by Venerable Tofu.

"Venerable, do you know why this ancient realm was built in the first place?"

There were no secrets in the world unknown to Venerable Tofu. "Heh heh, the origin of this secret realm is hardly worth mentioning," he replied. "It was merely built by a few junior Tribulation Transcenders to pass an immortal's test."

Junior Tribulation Transcenders, an immortal's test!

Xinding was astonished. With just a few words, the Venerable always managed to reveal glimpses of his glorious past.

Lu Yang hadn't lied. As the esteemed second-in-command of the Immortal Lineage, his status was incredibly noble. By seniority, the two Tribulation Transcenders from the Celestial Dome Sacred Land were indeed juniors in his presence.

The dust-sealed stone gate opened, and the two entered the Ancient Stone Hall.

Each time the ancient realm was entered, only about ten percent of Qi Refining cultivators could reach the Ancient Stone Hall, usually entering on the third day. The pair's progress had far outstripped everyone else's.

Yu Youlan blinked, looking at Xinding. "This Ancient Stone Hall contains eight sub-halls, each with a trial. Only by passing all the trials can one enter the inner hall and obtain the inheritance!"

"It would be difficult for you to get through all the stages alone. Why don't we cooperate?"

Xinding calmly shook his head. "What Benefactor Yu said is incorrect."

"Incorrect?" Yu Youlan found it impossible. This was a rule summarized by generations of Qi Refining cultivators from their Sacred Land who had participated in the trials. How could it be wrong?

"The eight sub-halls of this Ancient Stone Hall are arranged according to the Pre-Heaven Bagua formation. One merely needs to pass through the sub-halls in the Kan, Li, and Gen directions, in sequence, to enter the inner hall."

"Is that true?" Yu Youlan instinctively disbelieved him, but Xinding spoke with such conviction, and recalling his previous actions, she thought what he said must be true.

Xinding didn't force Yu Youlan to believe him; he only needed to believe in himself.

Xinding no longer paid attention to Yu Youlan and resolutely walked towards the Kan sub-hall.

"Hey, young monk, wait for me! Let's go together." Yu Youlan decided to trust the young monk.

The two arrived at the Kan sub-hall, where artifacts, each enveloped in a bubble, floated in the air. Every single artifact was incredibly precious even to Golden Core stage cultivators, making them an immense temptation for Qi Refining cultivators.

Seeing Xinding walk directly towards a bubble, Yu Youlan quickly warned, "Don't touch it! Only by resisting the temptation and not touching any artifact can you safely pass this trial!"

Xinding seemed to ignore Yu Youlan's words. He popped a bubble and took a gourd-shaped artifact.

But nothing happened.

"What's going on?" Yu Youlan was bewildered. This was different from the accumulated experience of their Sacred Land.

Xinding put away the gourd and calmly explained, "This trial indeed tests one's resolve. Touching any bubble will trigger a punishment. However, among the numerous traps, one artifact is hidden without a trap: this gourd."

After passing through the Kan sub-hall, the two arrived at the Li sub-hall.

As soon as they stepped into the Li sub-hall, countless phantoms emerged from the walls on both sides. Shadows swirled, emitting mournful cries, and the chilling yin energy was terrifying.

"Be careful! This sub-hall will unleash countless phantoms, far stronger than those in the outer layer. Only pure Yang spells can restrain them!"

"I have a pure Yang artifact here. Young monk, since you're from Western Paradise Temple, you should know some sutras for salvation. If you knew the Lion's Roar, that would be ideal, as it has a miraculous effect on souls. But the Lion's Roar is extremely difficult to learn, so you probably don't know it. How about this: I'll use the artifact, and you recite the sutras. We'll get through this together..."

Yu Youlan quickly analyzed the situation and assigned tasks to them both.

Xinding clasped his hands together and uttered an obscure phrase, like an ancient language. The countless phantoms actually retreated to both sides on their own, forming lines and clearing a path!

"This..."

Yu Youlan watched this scene in disbelief. How had Xinding done it?

"Benefactor Yu, let's go."

The two successfully reached the Gen sub-hall.

"Be careful! No one has ever made it to this sub-hall before!" Yu Youlan held her artifact cautiously, preparing for any sudden attacks.

Immediately, Yu Youlan's face turned pale. Coiled within the Gen sub-hall was a colossal puppet snake, clearly emitting the aura of a mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivator!

With their current strength, they would likely face certain death!

"Since it's a puppet, there must be a switch somewhere on the snake's body. If we circle around and are lucky, we should be able to find it."

The colossal puppet snake detected their presence, opened its gaping maw, and lunged at them!

"It's also a venomous snake!"

Yu Youlan saw the puppet snake's exposed fangs; it was indeed a venomous snake, but one of an ancient, exotic species whose potency was unknown!

Facing the lunging venomous snake, Xinding unhurriedly extended a finger and poked a specific scale on the snake's body. With a thud, the snake collapsed to the ground.

"How do you know everything... Alright, I know 'Buddha says it cannot be spoken,' so don't say anything." Yu Youlan interrupted Xinding excitedly and ran towards the colossal puppet snake.

This was a rare ancient puppet technique. If they could take it back for study, they might be able to decipher a fraction of the ancient puppetry arts.

"Benefactor Yu, you should stay far away from this snake. In about fifteen minutes, its venom sac will self-destruct. The venom sac has aphrodisiac effects, and I imagine you wouldn't want to be poisoned by it."

"What?" Yu Youlan was so startled she quickly scrambled far away.

"Let's go."

Xinding led Yu Youlan to the inner hall. The inner hall was built magnificently, yet it also revealed the bold and unrestrained style of ancient times, possessing extremely high artistic value.

"This is the inner hall?" Yu Youlan was extremely excited. She had expected to endure several arduous battles, face the schemes of fellow travelers, and survive countless life-or-death struggles before reaching the inner hall.

She hadn't expected to arrive so easily at an inner hall no one had ever reached before.

Yu Youlan secretly glanced at Xinding, realizing it was all thanks to the young monk.

Having interacted with him along the way, she increasingly wanted to know what secrets Xinding was hiding.

Upon entering the inner hall, its rules automatically appeared in both their minds.

Inside the inner hall, eight enigmatic masses wrapped in chaotic qi were displayed. Each mass of chaotic qi contained an inheritance of a cultivation lineage.

"So, that means we can each choose one mass of chaotic qi, but we don't know what inheritance is inside?" Yu Youlan was troubled. The Sacred Land's inheritance was within reach, yet they could only rely on luck.

Xinding pointed to one of the chaotic qi masses and said, "Benefactor Yu, this wooden box is the inheritance your Celestial Dome Sacred Land desires."

"Really?"

Knowing Xinding's character, Yu Youlan chose that mass of chaotic qi without hesitation. Inside the chaotic qi was a wooden box, and within the wooden box was indeed the Celestial Dome Sacred Land's inheritance!

"Young monk, you're really great!"

Yu Youlan, in her excitement, immediately hugged Xinding then let go, her actions so swift that Xinding couldn't react in time.

Xinding looked at Yu Youlan with a bewildered expression.

Yu Youlan's face flushed. She turned her back, not wanting Xinding to see her expression.

She recalled the vow she had made: whoever helped her find the Sacred Land's inheritance would become her husband!

Since Xinding had helped her find the inheritance, according to her promise, she was to become his wife!

But this "wooden block" seemed to have no interest in her. Was her charm insufficient?

"Oh, right, young monk, do you know what's inside the other masses of chaotic qi?"

"Yes, I know. This one contains the Green Bamboo Sacred Land's inheritance, and this one contains the Dragon-Han Sacred Land's inheritance..."

Xinding introduced the contents of each chaotic qi mass one by one, repeating whatever Venerable Tofu told him, until the very last one.

"This mass of chaotic qi is a coffin, and inside the coffin is the Celestial Dome Sacred Master."

"Huh?"

After speaking, Xinding froze, then quickly sought help from Venerable Tofu.

"Venerable, this contains the Celestial Dome Sacred Master?"

"Venerable, this contains the Celestial Dome Sacred Master?"

"Yes, it does."

As he spoke, the mass of chaotic qi containing the Celestial Dome Sacred Master trembled, and the aura of Tribulation Transcension spilled forth, affecting the entire Ancient Stone Hall!