Jiang Xuezhi fell into the yellow sand, the surrounding light shifting from bright to dark.
She struggled to open her eyes. When her body finally stopped falling and she could see her surroundings clearly, she found herself in an endless, scorched black battlefield.
The battlefield was a familiar place to Jiang Xuezhi, so she wasn’t panicked, but she remained extremely vigilant.
Squinting, she observed her surroundings. As far as her eyes could see, countless broken weapons were embedded in the ground.
From ordinary iron to immortal artifacts, all the weapons hummed and trembled, transforming into a torrent of steel under the dark red sky and rushing toward her.
Jiang Xuezhi swiftly retreated, but weapons were also attacking from behind. Surrounded by these weapons, she could feel the lingering battle intent from each weapon’s owner before their death.
The air was thick with the oppressive pressure of combined battle intent, attempting to force her to submit and lower her head. Jiang Xuezhi’s neck ached unbearably, forcing her to bow her head, but her eyes never lowered. She glared upward at the oncoming steel torrent.
That gaze held no fear, calm and composed. Alone and stripped of all her magical power, facing such a situation, she could remain so unyielding and unafraid. It was truly bizarre.
She showed no intention of defending herself, nor any sign of where she might dodge. At the moment she was about to be pierced by ten thousand weapons, her expression suddenly shifted, her pupils contracting. She actually charged toward the broken weapons.
Using her spiritual power would mean death; not using it would also mean death. In that case, she might as well use it.
There was no time to worry about the consequences.
A stagnant, bloody aura condensed around Jiang Xuezhi, the smell of rust spreading across the entire scorched ancient battlefield.
Bare-handed, she caught the blades, crushing all the broken weapons that sought to kill her into fragments. Her slender figure moved through the torrent like a fragile black butterfly, seemingly on the verge of death and collapse at any moment, yet she never fell.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been fighting, but she knew her spiritual power was nearly depleted.
This body was on the verge of collapsing and shattering.
Though she didn’t know how she had ended up here, it wasn’t her original body after all. Borrowing it and reducing it to nothing but scattered bones would be rather impolite.
Before the worst outcome could occur, Jiang Xuezhi released her grip, allowing herself to fall from the sky.
Her long eyes half-closed, she could no longer see anything, only a vast expanse of crimson.
Whether any weapons remained or if she had resolved them all, she was already doomed.
Her spiritual power severely overdrawn, her body decaying to the extreme, she crashed heavily onto the ground, sending clouds of dust flying into the air.
As the dust slowly settled, the ground was empty.
When Jiang Xuezhi opened her eyes again, the scene around her had changed once more.
The ancient battlefield had transformed into a pure white illusion. The reason she called it an illusion was because she saw people here, she shouldn’t have.
It was the members of the Xuantian Sect, including the female lead, Lin Wanwan.
They stood in formation, staring coldly at her, their words full of provocation and accusation.
What is this all about?
Xie Wang and Xiao Jin being here was one thing, but Lin Wanwan too? Too fake.
Were they gathering everyone who could theoretically strike a blow to the substitute, preparing to test her mentally again?
Jiang Xuezhi’s mind raced. Since she wasn’t dead, it meant there was a chance for a turnaround.
The opportunity within the Barren Abyss Hell and the torrent of broken weapons on the ancient battlefield both pointed to one source.
The divine artifact she was searching for…”Pojun.”
That illusion before her eyes must be some kind of trial.
Honestly, if this were the original substitute, it would indeed be a very strict test.
But for Jiang Xuezhi, it was practically a joke.
She walked straight through the people in the illusion, her detached and indifferent demeanor impossible to fake.
She felt no emotional stir, and with complete rationality, she analyzed the current situation.
Upon receiving this message, the illusion instantly dissipated.
The surroundings transformed once more, and this time, Jiang Xuezhi saw what she was looking for.
Buried in the yellow sand was a section of a rusty, dull, and unremarkable dark iron spear tip.
It looked even less impressive than ordinary iron, with only faint blood-red patterns visible on the shaft—nothing particularly striking.
It was close to her, just a few steps away, yet Jiang Xuezhi didn’t immediately approach it.
She scrutinized it, sensing that it was also watching her.
Before long, the seemingly normal ground between them suddenly cracked, the fissure rapidly widening. Jiang Xuezhi swiftly stepped back. Had she recklessly approached earlier, she would have already fallen into the chasm.
She continued to retreat, occasionally glancing back to check the fissure’s progress, and noticed that it stopped spreading after reaching a certain extent. Gradually slowing her pace, she calmly and steadily lowered her gaze to examine the chasm.
Despite running for so long and facing such unpredictable circumstances, she wasn’t even out of breath.
She even dared to lean over and peer into the chasm, wasn’t she afraid?
Was this truly the courage and experience of a Qi Refining cultivator?
As the dust settled, Jiang Xuezhi saw clearly what lay within the chasm.
A colossal statue rose, towering thousands of feet high, making her seem as small as an ant.
Formed from a collective consciousness of cold, ruthless warfare, the statue stood before her, its power likely surpassing even the Nascent Soul stage of the cultivation world.
Jiang Xuezhi craned her neck uncomfortably to look up, her mood souring.
She disliked bowing her head and resented being forced to lower her gaze or look up to anyone.
From the very beginning, this thing had tried to make her bow, and now it wanted her to look up.
Annoying.
It was truly irritating, but for now, there was no good way to change her position.
Slowly withdrawing her gaze, Jiang Xuezhi stretched her neck and suddenly turned to leave.
Her action left the colossal statue stunned.
What was going on?
Where was she going?
The Spear of Conquest was right before her, the statue had appeared, clearly the final trial.
If she could find a way to bypass the statue and touch the Spear of Conquest, she would most likely gain the divine artifact’s acknowledgment.
So why was she turning away?
The statue took a step, shaking the entire desolate wasteland and infernal realm. Outside the secret realm, Xie Wangwu and Xiao Jin, who were searching for Jiang Xuezhi, struggled to keep their footing. Yet Jiang Xuezhi walked as if on level ground, not once looking back.
Wait, was she really leaving?
The statue froze, bewildered and somewhat at a loss.
Outside the secret realm, Xie Wangwu, sensing something amiss with the divine artifact, avoided Xiao Jin and came alone to inspect the seal.
His incantations were swift and precise, unlike Jiang Xuezhi’s half-hearted attempts, and he was about to enter the seal.
At that moment, the statue snapped back to reality. Seeing Jiang Xuezhi about to disappear, it finally took action.
Before Xie Wangwu could enter, the statue returned to the rusty spear. The spear flew out of the yellow sand on its own, speeding toward Jiang Xuezhi, who was walking farther away.
If there had been more time, it certainly wouldn’t have made such a choice.
Was this a place Jiang Xuezhi could come and go as she pleased?
If she wanted to leave, she’d have to be able to! If she wanted to give up, it would have to agree first!
But as she had asked, would it prefer to remain buried beneath the yellow sand forever, never seeing the light of day?
Of course not.
It had already been buried in the yellow sand for over a thousand years due to its pickiness.
For more than a millennium, it had only seen exiled criminals and monstrous demons, all of them shameless and not a single one with potential. It was filled with hatred and resentment toward Xie Wuwang, the current sect leader of the Profound Heaven Sect.
Jiang Xuezhi was the only variable in over a thousand years. The moment she entered the Barren Abyss, it had noticed her. It observed her actions, assessed her character and intellect, judged her combat skills and temperament, and only after a comprehensive evaluation did it allow her to undergo the trial.
If it had a choice, it would certainly deliberate more carefully. The problem was, there was no choice.
Xie Wuwang was about to enter.
Once that old fool came in, he would inevitably reinforce the seals, ensuring that if he couldn’t use it, no one else could either.
Pojun accelerated toward Jiang Xuezhi. Though she didn’t turn around, as it approached, her hand reached back and accurately grasped the spear’s shaft.
The moment she held it, Pojun trembled violently and transformed abruptly.
The rust-covered scrap of metal began to glow, the rust cracking and peeling away to reveal the true form of the divine artifact.
Its lines were sharp and fierce, adorned with dark crimson patterns, with starlight flowing along the blade, a contradictory blend of technological aesthetics and bloody beauty.
Jiang Xuezhi glanced sideways at it. Even though she had never used such a cold weapon before, when she swung it, it felt as natural as if guided by an unseen hand.
In that instant, a divine light enveloped her, and the legacy of Pojun poured into her body. The artifact had initially intended to express that it was a reluctant choice and might not stay with her forever, but all such thoughts vanished without a trace the moment she truly took control.
It unreservedly offered its legacy. The pain in Jiang Xuezhi’s body disappeared completely, and the injuries from overusing her spiritual power were largely healed. With a little more time, she would fully recover.
The illusory realm created by the divine artifact collapsed. Jiang Xuezhi spun Pojun in her hand, effortlessly sweeping aside the obstructing yellow sand.
In the next moment, Xie Wuwang and Xiao Jin, who had been searching for her, followed the disturbance and arrived.
When they saw Jiang Xuezhi standing there unharmed, holding the divine artifact in her hand, they were utterly stunned.
Equally stunned was the divine artifact in Jiang Xuezhi’s hand.
Pojun’s spirit had no concrete form; it was a condensation and remnant of its former master’s battle consciousness.
Its temperature was cold, and its assessment of a new master was strict, but that was all in the past.
Now…
Now, the entire spear felt somewhat bewildered.
It had been thousands of years since it parted from its former master, and it had lain alone in the yellow sand for over a millennium. This long-lost resonance was intoxicating.
The divine artifact shimmered with flowing light, exuding joy from every inch.
How wonderful.
Jiang Xuezhi’s grip on the spear tightened slightly, and she couldn’t help but say, “Snap out of it, or I’ll throw you away.”
Pojun trembled all over and immediately calmed down.
The yellow sand had nearly buried Xie Wuwang and Xiao Jin up to their waists.
They struggled to free themselves, and even after regaining their senses, they still couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“What have you done?!” Xie Wuwang shouted sharply. “Return my sect’s treasure, you wretched creature!”
Return?
Jiang Xuezhi smiled faintly and said softly, “You want it? Then I’ll return it to you.”
If you can handle it, that is.