It was a green and misty evening, and numerous mountains jutted up from the greenish-black earth.
There were broken stones scattered all around the foot of one particular mountain, within which could be seen the ash-covered skeletons of dead spirit beasts.
They had been low-grade spirit beasts in life, but after years of erosion, their spiritual power had long since been drained away. Therefore, they were no longer useful for equipment forging, and were nothing that would catch the interest of anyone who saw them.
BUZZZ!
All of a sudden, bright light started to shoot out of a smooth stone wall, emanating strong spatial fluctuations.
The stone wall immediately turned into a shiny mirror, within which numerous flickering figures could be seen.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The figures suddenly flashed out of the stone wall to land moments later at the foot of the mountain.
Participants from the Spiritual Treasure sect stood still, staring at the green dome-like sky above their heads and yelling excitedly.
“The Green Illusion dimension!”
“This is the Green Illusion dimension!”
“We’re finally here!”
Nie Tian stood among them, gazing around curiously to examine the Green Illusion dimension. When no one was paying any attention, he drew upon the Qi Refining Incantation to sense the spiritual Qi of the Heaven and Earth.
Just for a moment, he realized the spiritual Qi here was even weaker than in Black Cloud City, not to mention the rich spiritual Qi in Cloudsoaring Mountain.
“No wonder…” He murmured to himself, finally understanding why the Cloudsoaring sect, Spiritual Treasure sect, Greyvale sect, and Mystic Mist sect hadn’t left people behind to practice cultivation in the Green Illusion dimension after conquering it.
The reason was because the place wasn’t suited for Qi warriors to practice long term cultivation.
Every Qi warrior wanted to cultivate in a place with rich spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. A blessed land with rich and pure energy could enhance a Qi warrior’s cultivation speed to a large extent.
Therefore, due to the faint spiritual energy here, powerful Qi warriors would never select the Green Illusion dimension as a place to cultivate.
What’s more, the high-grade spirit beasts and ferocious tribes that used to live here had already been wiped out by the four sects. All precious spiritual materials had also been mined, leaving behind a location of little value or use.
Hearing the newcomers clamoring on and on, An Ying couldn’t help but shout. “Everyone, be quiet!”
The enthusiastic crowd of young men and women gradually calmed down.
Next, she picked a direction and began to move. “Come with me!”
Zheng Rui and Pan Tao from the Spiritual Treasure sect gave similar orders. “Hurry up, and follow her!”
Before departing, all the teenagers from the clans that clung to the Spiritual Treasure sect had been urged by their clan elders that once they were in the Green Illusion dimension, they must listen to the disciples from the Spiritual Treasure sect.
It was due to this reason that every one of them behaved rather obediently under the domineering demands of An Ying and her two sect brothers.
Stroking the command medallion An Shiyi had given him, Nie Tian looked back at the smooth stone wall for a moment, then followed the group and marched forward silently.
Earlier, when he jumped into the vortex in the lake, he distinctly sensed the unique fluctuations of spiritual power emanating from the command medallion in his hand.
That confirmed to him that only those who carried the command medallion would be able to pass through the lake vortex to enter the Green Illusion dimension.
That command medallion was literally the key to get inside.
In six months, he would have to use the same method to go through the mirror-like Secret Dimension Gate behind him and return to the marshland.
As he followed An Ying and the group further and further away from the Secret Dimension Gate, he couldn’t resist turning his head back and checking a few more times.
Before long, he saw Jiang Lingzhu, Nie Xian, and the others flashing out of the mirror-like stone wall.
After stepping into the Green Illusion dimension, Jiang Lingzhu looked around, and soon caught sight of Nie Tian, a few hundred meters away, walking further away with An Ying.
Nie Tian put on a bright smile, and nodded his head. Then, he turned around and caught up with the Spiritual Treasure sect group.
Jiang Lingzhu stood at the foot of the mountain, watching Nie Tian disappearing off in the distance. She felt a bit confused, and couldn’t help but wonder what Nie Tian was thinking. “He actually started to run faster after seeing me. Could it be that he… doesn’t wish to go with us?”
A hour later…
After leaving the mountain peak where the Secret Dimension Gate was located, An Ying led Nie Tian and the others to a silent and desolate wild land.
Dead tree branches and dried up beast bones were scattered about everywhere, with the ruins of stone houses visible here and there.
Everyone could tell that the stone houses had been shabby and ill-designed even before they were destroyed.
Upon a careful glance, Nie Tian couldn’t find anything of note in the cold, greenish-black land other than scattered bones and wrecked stone houses.
An intense sense of loneliness and wildness rose from his heart. Looking at the rubble and bones, he realized that this piece of land had once been home to several intelligent tribes.
Even as he pondered the subject, An Ying swept a pile of dry bones off of a millstone-sized black rock with her feet, and then sat down.
Then she signaled that the trial takers should gather around; clearly she had had something to brief them about.
Nie Tian ignored her arrogant manner. Curious about what she had to say, he followed everyone else as they approached her.
After all of the fourteen trial takers had gathered by her side, she cleared her throat and said in a charming voice, “The ferocious tribes and high grade spirit beasts in the Green Illusion dimension were wiped out long ago. The area we are standing in now was one of their living districts. I heard that the four sects suffered great casualties to completely eradicate them.
“Fortunately, it’s all over now, and the Green Illusion dimension has become the Spiritual Treasure sect’s private property.
“There are no tribes left in the Green Illusion dimension, and the only living things here should be the low grade spirit beasts.
“Before I came, the sect elders told me that there are still many first grade spirit beasts left in the Green Illusion Dimension now. However, there are four second grade spirit beasts!
“Those four spirit beasts have the strength and abilities of Qi warriors at the Lesser Heaven stage, and they are our main targets in this trial.
“The four sects have each prepared a reward for the winners. Our Spiritual Treasure sect has put forward a Heaven Comprehending Pill. The Heaven Comprehending Pill can allow warriors of the Qi Refining stage to experience and comprehend the state of mind at the Lesser Heaven, Heaven, and Greater Heaven stages, which will enable us to enter the Lesser Heaven stage much more effortlessly.
“Not only that, the enlightenment from the Heaven Comprehending Pill will also be significantly helpful for us when we enter the Heaven stage and the Greater Heaven stage.
“A Heaven Comprehending Pill is extremely valuable to us. Even in the entire Spiritual Treasure sect, they are extremely rare. As the host of this trial, our sect has indeed spared no cost.”
Trial takers from the affiliated clans all began to seethe with excitement, eyes filled with fiery light. Only Zheng Rui and Pan Tao were already aware of the information, and remained composed.
“A Heaven Comprehending Pill! I can’t believe the reward is a Heaven Comprehending Pill!”
“It appears the four sects have indeed attached great importance to this trial. A Heaven Comprehending Pill is undoubtedly the most precious treasure for us Qi Refining stage cultivators!”
“This is terrific!”
Nie Tian was also shocked at heart.
He had heard of a Heaven Comprehending Pill before, and knew that it could allow Qi Refining stage warriors to temporarily experience and comprehend the state of mind at the Lesser Heaven, Heaven, and Greater Heaven stages.
For a cultivator to enter the Lesser Heaven stage from the ninth level of Qi Refining stage, one couldn’t merely rely on the accumulation of spiritual power; a matching state of mind was required.
It was the same with entering the Heaven stage from the Lesser Heaven stage, or entering the Greater Heaven stage from the Heaven stage. The right state of mind was needed, and simply relying on the pureness and depth of spiritual power wasn’t enough.
A single Heaven Comprehending Pill would benefit Qi Refining level cultivators all the way through the following three Heavenly stages. It was needless to say how rare and valuable it was.
Seeing the whole crowd getting excited, An Ying nodded and continued, “The most valuable reward is undoubtedly the Heaven Comprehending Pill provided by our sect. Other than that, the Cloudsoaring sect, Grayvale sect, and Mystic Mist sect have also put forward three Medium level spiritual tools. Compared to the Heaven Comprehending Pill, those three spiritual tools are inferior, but if they match your cultivation attributes perfectly, they may also be of great value to you.
“The heads of the four remaining second grade spirit beasts’ heads can be used to get those four treasures. Beheading a second grade spirit beast and taking its head out of the Green Illusion dimension enables one to exchange it for a treasure.
“The strongest of the four is a Frost Python. Only its head could be used to exchange for the Heaven Comprehending Pill!”
An Ying tilted her chin, her little face full of arrogance. “As the host of this trial, the Spiritual Treasure sect has the most participants, and thus the task our sect has given us is to get the python’s head.
“However, what I want is not only that python’s head, but all of the second grade spirit beast’s heads!
“I’d like us to slaughter all of the four second grade spirit beasts in this trial. If we can’t, we’ll go and snatch them from others. We must obtain all of the heads!
“Of course, the Heaven Comprehending Pill will be mine. Don’t even think about trying to lay hands on it!
“But I’ll distribute the three spiritual tools to those of you with good performances.
“Remember! Only when we’ve obtained the heads of all the second grade spirit beasts will you be qualified to get the three spiritual tools!”