Chapter 581: Unusual Rewards

Luo Hong was speechless.

Lu Yang's answer profoundly shocked Luo Hong, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words. Since her birth, she had been the spirit of this secret realm. For 300,000 years, she had witnessed countless demon race prodigies; even the current demon clan leaders had once come here to challenge the trials in their youth. Yet, no prodigy from any race had ever impacted her as much as today. The second trial indeed tested the ability to lie, but she never imagined someone could fabricate a lie so convincing that even *she* was deceived. Or was what he said truly a lie? With her current knowledge, she couldn't discern whether Lu Yang was speaking the truth or fabricating a falsehood.

In the spiritual space, Immortal Fairy was rolling on the ground with laughter, clutching her stomach and gasping for air, tears streaming down her face. "No, no, my stomach hurts from laughing, hahahaha..." She wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes, trying hard to suppress her laughter, but upon seeing Luo Hong's reaction, she burst out laughing again.

Lu Yang looked at Immortal Fairy helplessly, wondering if it was really necessary. And Senior Luo Hong, you couldn't figure this out? Wasn't this exactly what this trial was testing? Lu Yang always abided by the rules, ensuring he never overstepped their boundaries. He could perform perfectly well within the rules, so why would he need to cheat? The rules for this trial were very simple, and the loophole left by Senior Luo Hong was equally obvious. For instance, there was no rule stating that the provided seeds *must* bloom, nor that they *must* bloom on the fifteenth day. The only uncertainty was that Lu Yang couldn't guarantee whether this layer tested honesty or deception. After all, Senior Luo Hong herself had stated the rules for the second layer; if she didn't adhere to them, who could do anything about it? Therefore, Lu Yang prepared for both possibilities, having an empty flowerpot ready for inspection. If the trial tested honesty, he would say nothing had grown. If it tested deception, he would present the elaborate story he had just told.

Luo Hong took two deep breaths, clenched and unclenched her fists, and almost gritted her teeth as she announced the result. "You... pass!" It had to be admitted that in the second layer, Lu Yang's score was the highest ever recorded. Ao Yue and the other demon clan prodigies stared at Lu Yang in shock. What race was this person from? In the first layer, he had accurately predicted that Qin Feng would guard the Sky Ladder entrance and had set an ambush in advance. In the second layer, he had passed the trial in such an outlandish manner. Where did Jiang Shishi find these two extraordinary talents? Furthermore, based on Ao Yue's understanding of Jiang Shishi, she should have made the same choice as him in this trial. Yet, the outcome was completely unexpected: he was eliminated, and Jiang Shishi passed.

With the second trial concluded, Luo Hong forced herself to stop thinking about Lu Yang and instead fulfill her duties. She snapped her fingers, and a multitude of treasures rained down, piling up into small mountains. Luo Hong pointed at Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, Jiang Shishi, and Su Lian'er: "The four of you proceed to the third layer; the rest are eliminated. Considering you have passed the first layer, each of you may select one treasure as a reward. This treasure can only be used by yourself; it cannot be transferred or described to others." This rule was to prevent powerful demon cultivators from seizing the treasures. After all, the treasures here would make even mighty demon cultivators envious.

"By the demon immortals! These are cultivation insights left by our ancient ancestor, covering both the Core Shattering to Nascent Soul and Nascent Soul stages!" exclaimed the Jade Rabbit clan prodigy, her two rabbit ears twitching in surprise. Luo Hong had already translated these cultivation insights. "Our ancient ancestor's cultivation insights are here too!" cried the Qiongqi clan prodigy in astonishment. The cultivation insights bore the characters "Jinshi," which was the name of an ancient Qiongqi. Not just these two races, but even the cultivation insights of ancient ancestors from races eliminated in the first layer, such as the Nine Infant clan and the Taotie clan, were piled here like miscellaneous books, impossible to find without careful searching. Not all of these ancient ancestors were Half-Immortals; many were at the Tribulation Transcending stage. However, ancient Tribulation Transcending cultivators differed from contemporary ones. Ancient Tribulation Transcending cultivators could attend immortal lectures and observe Half-Immortals' discussions, making their knowledge and experience completely incomparable to current demon clan Tribulation Transcending cultivators! Even among Tribulation Transcending cultivators, there was a distinction in status between ancient Tribulation Transcending Demon Emperors and modern ones in the hearts of the demon race. Ao Yue also found the cultivation insights left by the Dragon clan's ancient ancestor, his heart pounding in astonishment. The Dragon clan's ancient ancestor was renowned as the strongest being below the Immortals, absolutely powerful.

"What is this, an Immortal's notes, 'Records of Golden Crow and Jade Rabbit Mating'?" The Jade Rabbit clan prodigy almost dropped the book in shock upon seeing its title.

Lu Yang was speechless. He recalled that this was a research project by the Ninefold Immortal to study Yin-Yang transformations. The Ancient Realm of Creation was incredibly comprehensive; they even collected this. Besides various photocopies of ancient texts, there were also ancient rare treasures, for example, longevity grass that could extend life by five hundred years, spiritual fruits that eliminated hidden injuries after consumption, and various detoxifying herbs. In previous years, some demon clan prodigies had come to challenge the ancient realm specifically to find long-extinct ancient herbs, because their relatives or loved ones had been afflicted by ancient poisons, their lives hanging by a thread, and no current methods could cure them. This particular session saw no such incidents.

"These things..." Immortal Fairy frowned slightly, swaying back and forth on a tree branch.

"What's wrong with these things?"

"These don't seem like things ordinary demon races could collect. Many of the cultivation insights belong to Half-Immortals, and ordinary Half-Immortals don't have enough prestige to demand cultivation insights from other Half-Immortals. And this 'Records of Golden Crow and Jade Rabbit Mating'—this is the Ninefold Immortal's research. Only the four of us received copies; not even Half-Immortals got them."

"Who constructed this ancient realm?" Immortal Fairy wondered.

Lu Yang's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. Immortal Fairy's words implied that this ancient realm was not created by a Tribulation Transcending demon, nor even a Half-Immortal, but by one of the Four Ancient Immortals?!

"Never mind. Isn't there still a third layer? Try your best to pass the trials; you might find clues there."

"What if I still can't find any clues?"

Immortal Fairy flashed a brilliant smile, her eight teeth perfectly aligned, and gave a thumbs-up: "Then I'll find a secluded spot and properly interrogate this little girl Luo Hong!"

Lu Yang prayed he would find clues on the third layer.

The demon clan prodigies selected their desired treasures. Ao Yue did not choose the cultivation insights left by the ancient ancestor but instead took a spiritual fruit that could eliminate hidden injuries. Ao Yue and the others were teleported out of the ancient realm. Outside the ancient realm, the atmosphere was tense. All the demon clans glared fiercely at the Nine Infant clan. The Ancient Realm of Creation, which one could only enter once in a lifetime! They received no rewards, simply listened to Qin Feng's nonsense, and caused the elimination of the Demon Alliance's prodigies. Qin Feng cowered behind his elders, trembling, fearing he would be skinned alive if he showed his face. Seeing Ao Yue and the others teleport out, the Phoenix clan elder counted heads and breathed a sigh of relief—Jiang Shishi was still inside. Jiang Shishi's ability was comparable to Ao Yue's, so they had assumed if Ao Yue was eliminated, Jiang Shishi would be too.

The third senior sister said calmly, "See? I told you that teaming up with us wouldn't be a disadvantage."