In the first round of the Spiritual Root test, a large number of people were eliminated, leaving fewer than a hundred participants for the second round.
Under the guidance of a Cloudfall Valley disciple, Qi Yuan, along with the others, stepped onto the path almost simultaneously.
A moment of disorientation hit him, and when Qi Yuan came to his senses, he found himself in a lush forest, standing on soft soil with a sharp long knife in his hand, though he couldn't recall when he had acquired it.
What a realistic illusory realm!
Though his knowledge of the Dao of Formations was limited, his keen eyes could tell that this illusion formation was not only extremely realistic but also connected to the heavens and earth, endlessly vibrant, clearly crafted by a master of formations.
Qi Yuan surveyed his surroundings, his expression growing serious.
He realized that upon entering this place, his mind had become much foggier, and his thoughts slower.
For an illusion formation to affect a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Golden Elixir stage, it proved that the formation was of a very high level, and he couldn't afford to be careless, lest he truly fall into a trap.
Mental state is not equivalent to Spiritual Root aptitude and is not closely related to one's cultivation level.
When he entered the Supreme Profound Sacred Land, the mental state test he underwent was merely being scanned by a top-tier spiritual treasure, the Heart-Questioning Mirror, and he passed in a daze. Immediately after, he was personally accepted by the sect leader as a final disciple, a matter that caused a sensation throughout the Supreme Profound Sacred Land...
After reminiscing for a moment, Qi Yuan began to walk forward.
Although the formation seemed to be trying to interfere with his memory, he had practiced the Luotian Soul Refining Art, a secret technique specifically for resisting soul attacks, so he hadn't completely lost his memory and vaguely knew he was participating in an assessment...
Outside the formation.
The water shimmered, and mist rose.
In mid-air, several water mirrors formed by magic power displayed the situations of the participants within the formation.
After confirming that the illusion formation was operating normally, Elder Yin Qingyuan, who was in charge of the Dao Entry Pavilion, smiled faintly and said loudly:
"The Illusory Cosmos Formation was set up a thousand years ago by a Void Refinement Realm formation master who visited the valley. It is integrated with the Sect Protection Formation and contains three checkpoints personally designed by the ancestral master. Passing through these means passing the test."
"Once the formation is activated, the formation spirit inside will transform into countless forms to test everyone. Anyone entering this formation will have their memories of this period erased, forgetting the trial, and will make choices based on their truest self."
"After being nurtured for thousands of years, the formation spirit has long developed intelligence, and the illusory realm is more refined than ever. Even Void Refinement cultivators would find it difficult to escape in a short time."
"My father has been in seclusion recently, trying to break through the peak of the Elemental Infant stage, and cannot spare the time. I am truly grateful to Elder Yin for managing the situation," Bai Xirou said, nodding first to Yin Qingyuan with a graceful bow, then turning her gaze to the images in the air with an expectant look, thinking to herself:
"For Falling Cloud Valley to rise, nurturing new disciples is of utmost importance. I hope we can find some promising talents this year."
...
Inside the formation.
Qi Yuan was walking through the forest when suddenly a noise came from afar.
"Help!"
"Heh heh, my beauty, in this desolate wilderness, you can scream all you want, but no one will come to save you..."
The beauty cried for help as she fled, soon reaching Qi Yuan.
"Young master, please save me!"
Seeing Qi Yuan, the beauty seemed to grasp at a lifeline and rushed toward him.
"Step aside quickly, if you dare to ruin my fun, I won't spare you," the bandit threatened Qi Yuan, brandishing a sharp weapon.
Qi Yuan came to a sudden realization, but outwardly remained calm. With a swift movement, he bypassed the beauty who was throwing herself at him and stepped forward to strike down the bandit with a single blow.
The head rolled, blood splattered, looking incredibly real.
"Thank you, young master, for saving me. I am eternally grateful," the beauty said, her face flushed, clothes disheveled, inadvertently revealing large swathes of fair skin, looking even more alluring in her pitiful state.
Qi Yuan, however, merely chuckled coldly, "Demon, stop pretending. I could tell at a glance that you're not human."
With that, he punched the beauty to the ground and quickly untied his belt... binding her tightly.
"Young master, what... what are you doing?" The beauty was terrified, struggling repeatedly.
"Not to mention whether a delicate lady could possibly appear alone in such a desolate place. You're wearing such cumbersome long skirts, yet you run faster than that eight-foot brute. It doesn't look like you're a weak woman who can't even truss a chicken."
"Most importantly, you've been running on this muddy ground for so long, yet your embroidered shoes don't have a speck of mud on them. Who are you trying to fool here?"
Hearing Qi Yuan's calm analysis, the "beauty" finally stopped struggling and turned into a wisp of green smoke, disappearing.
A quick look at will leave you more fulfilled.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan showed no surprise, instead revealing a hint of interest.
Interesting.
He had initially thought this checkpoint was merely a simple test of beauty, but it turned out there was more to it.
He chose to capture her alive not out of lust, but to see if there were any other special plots.
Of course, it seemed there were no additional surprises, but he should have passed this checkpoint...
As his thoughts raced, Qi Yuan casually wiped the blood off his blade and continued walking forward.
...
Meanwhile.
The expressions of the Falling Cloud Valley cultivators on site were not pleasant, as the scenes displayed in the Mystic Mirrors were truly unsightly.
The illusion formation automatically generated scenarios based on the tester's gender: male testers encountered bandits chasing beauties, while female testers faced wicked women chasing handsome men.
Apart from about half of the testers who resisted the temptation of beauty after playing the hero, a significant number chose to take the beauty for themselves after defeating the bandit...
Some were timid and quickly fled...
Even worse, some acted as accomplices, eagerly lining up behind the bandit...
The most outrageous was a pervert who unhesitatingly killed the beauty, leaving only the bandit...
Fortunately, those deemed to have failed were often teleported out before they could remove their pants, being immediately disqualified, otherwise, Falling Cloud Valley, this Immortal Sect, would have turned into a party scene.
"Outrageous, what kind of monsters and demons are these? I never thought the world's morals would decline to such an extent, truly disappointing."
"Sigh, the newcomer I had high hopes for had decent aptitude, but who knew he'd be so disgraceful!"
"The first illusory realm checkpoint is simple enough; as long as you don't succumb to lust, you can easily pass. Even running away can be explained as being naturally cautious, barely passing, yet it turned out like this. These young people today..."
"Hey? Look over there, someone has perfectly passed the first checkpoint of the illusion formation!"
At this moment, a soft exclamation came from the Falling Cloud Valley crowd, drawing everyone's attention.
Following the person's finger, they saw the image of Qi Yuan during the first checkpoint.
Watching the scene in the water mirror, Yin Qingyuan squinted slightly, then calmly said:
"Not bad, he discovered the hidden information in this checkpoint, which indeed counts as a perfect pass."
"This Qi Da was not swayed by female charms, showed courage and wisdom in the face of adversity, and had keen insight. Although his Spiritual Root aptitude is lacking, his mental state is commendable."
Bai Xirou also nodded, slowly saying:
"The Path of Immortal Cultivation is fraught with dangers, full of traps and schemes. A single misstep can lead to death and the end of one's path, with no hope of redemption. This requires cultivators not only to avoid being seduced by beauty but also to remain vigilant at all times."
"The first checkpoint of the illusion formation was originally designed to test these aspects. One must notice the flaws of the 'beauty' to pass, but due to the extremely low pass rate, the rules were later relaxed to passing as long as no evil was committed."
With a light sigh, she continued:
"Since the passing of our ancestral master, our Falling Cloud Valley has gradually declined, with fewer and fewer talented disciples joining. The last time someone perfectly passed this checkpoint was nine years ago."
"Who was it?"
Aside from those who knew the inside story, many disciples who had joined Falling Cloud Valley in recent years showed curious expressions.
Although they had also undergone the illusion formation test, they had never heard of the perfect pass secret.
Before Bai Xirou could answer, Yin Qingyuan raised an eyebrow and replied blandly:
"That person was none other than your senior sister, Bai Xirou."
"And at that time, she was only ten years old."