[Seventh Trial Completed]

[Completion: Perfect]

[Reward: Inheritance Core Permission (1%)]

[Inject your spiritual power into the Inheritance Compass to commence the next trial.]

As a silent ripple echoed in Zhao Yue's ear, the cold and beautiful girl from the Great Dream Sect returned to Celestial Ladder Mountain.

She closed her eyes to rest for a moment, seemingly taking advantage of the time to recover her spiritual power, then glanced at the leaderboard, but her expression was visibly troubled.

It wasn't just because of the rankings, but because of something pressing and urgent.

According to the words of the elder, who seemed to carry the will of Liu Cheyi, if she couldn't reach the mountain's peak within seven days, she would be destroyed along with the secret realm.

But the problem was, just rushing through to the seventh stage of the second trial had already taken two and a half days.

Zhao Yue knew she was among the fastest, but judging by the heights, many were probably stuck at the fourth or fifth stages without any progress.

Not to mention the third trial.

Forget about those trial takers, even she herself was under considerable pressure.

Would she really… have enough time to complete this lengthy trial?

When would the True Man's support arrive?

Perhaps because of holding a Supreme Level compass and some access to core permissions, as the restrictions on her recovery were slightly breached, Zhao Yue had a persistent and ominous sense in her intuition, as if something was chasing her, trying to devour everything.

By calculating the time within the secret realm, she had already been disconnected from the outside world for over a week.

It could be said that since she joined the Great Dream Sect in her childhood, she had never been out of sight of her elders for so long.

"..."

But just as this thought arose, Zhao Yue took a deep breath, her gaze turning ethereal once more, revealing a kaleidoscopic depth and dreaminess, with not a hint of unease.

—She was an undisputed prodigy.

Putting aside any identity or age-related advantages, she could battle or even slay a Five-star Spirit Master, or face multiple Tier Five wild spirit beasts, already making her stand out among the various forces of Blue Star.

If she joined the military, she would at least hold a position equivalent to a school-level rank.

There was no need to rely on her elders; she might as well rely on herself.

"I must speed up."

According to the rules, each stage completion allowed for a rest period of up to two hours.

Many people hung by relying on this rest period, but Zhao Yue was prepared and didn't plan to linger for too long.

Her consumption in the previous stage, along with the spirit beasts, was not much, as dealing with a severely injured old ghost using the Blood Refining Technique wasn't difficult.

She rested for a bit, then immediately injected her spiritual power into the compass.

The next moment.

The surrounding scenery blurred and twisted rapidly like an oil painting soaked in water but instantly reassembled, transforming into a new scene.

She blinked.

The blue sky was vast, with white clouds leisurely floating.

The fragrance of green grass, without any warning, entered her nostrils, as if she had arrived in a beautifully serene environment.

At this moment, Zhao Yue was standing on the edge of a cliff on a mountain that soared thousands of feet high.

From this vantage point, one could see the mountains undulating, rivers winding through lush forests, birds circling in the sky, creating a thrilling sense of overlooking the vast landscape.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, what have you considered?"

"Your array mastery has been praised endlessly even by my master, so it should be a simple task for you."

"The two demons have the original form of roc birds, making them incredibly fast. If Fellow Daoist Liu could set up a trapping array to help capture them, there's a great chance this mission will succeed."

A gentle male voice came from behind Zhao Yue.

She turned around and saw several young men and women dressed in white outfits standing behind her, all in their early twenties, with exquisite little swords embroidered in fine threads on the cuffs of their white robes.

It was the handsome long-haired young man at the forefront who was speaking to her.

"..."

Zhao Yue remained silent, saying nothing.

The young man revealed a slightly apologetic smile, "Sorry."

"Perhaps this request might make Friend Liu think my reputation is somewhat hypocritical."

"But this is a necessity. It is because the almost extinct 'Golden Brilliance Fruit' concerns my junior sister 'Bao Qing's Dao path."

"To be honest, her Dao Foundation has some flaws. If they cannot be remedied, the golden attribute will be lacking, and there will be no hope for Pill Shattering into Infant in this lifetime."

"I have sought through various channels for ten years. Today, after hearing the ruins had opened, I finally found a glimmer of hope, but I didn't expect to be a step too late. The medicinal field in the ruins was plundered by those two from the Demon Race first."

Saying that, the young man's expression turned serious, "I, Mo Yao, swear on my Sword Heart here."

"In this life, I have never seized the opportunities of my kin through trickery or force."

"And in the future, I will never do such things."

Just as those words fell, a young male voice suddenly rang in Zhao Yue's mind.

[The person before you is none other than Mo Yao, head disciple of the Forty-Seventh Generation of the prestigious Celestial Sword Sect, known as 'Gentleman's Sword,' famous within hundreds of thousands of miles around.]

[This man is by no means a false gentleman but a righteous cultivator worthy of respect.]

[It has been thirty-two years since I, Liu Cheyi, counter-killed the Blood Refining Old Ghost and formally entered the Cultivation Realm.]

[In recent years, I've been trying to overcome the drawbacks of the Blood Refining Technique practiced on me, residing in the market of Penglai Island as an Array Master, repairing Array Plates for others, deducing and breaking Arrays for compensation. I've gained some reputation in the vicinity.]

[Mo Yao has visited my business several times, and gradually we've become somewhat acquainted.]

[But unexpectedly... we would meet by chance today in this realm of ruins.]

[His request isn't to break the array in the ruins, but to ambush those who entered the ruins first, setting traps.]

[It's not right to say 'those'.]

[As far as I know, it's actually two from the Demon Race.]

[I can be almost certain that the demon brothers he mentioned are those two I once encountered within the ruins.]

[Qingyun Feng, Qing Yueyang.]

[Two roc birds transformed, possessing the ancient variant 'Cyan-Winged Roc' bloodline.]

"Friend Liu, could it be that you are sympathizing with those of the Demon Race? As cultivators like us, slaying demons and vanquishing devils is our duty."

Seeing Zhao Yue remain silent, a sword cultivator from the Celestial Sword Sect behind Mo Yao shook his head and said, "Demons, even if they take human form, still cannot hide their savage nature, blind to the heavenly decree, easily falling into the devil's path."

"Who knows how many human lives they have already taken."

Liu Cheyi's voice sounded again in his mind: [But I know, that statement is wrong.]

[When I met them earlier, I could sense that the two brothers bore not a trace of human blood, proving they'd never indiscriminately committed murder; they are orthodox Demon Race cultivators who absorb the essence of the heavens and earth.]

[But I cannot clear their names.]

[Firstly... people who can clearly perceive blood and resentment are usually from the Devil's path.]

[Having been under the tutelage of the Blood Refining Old Ghost, even though I killed him by my own hands, in the eyes of these outsiders, I, who have received his true teachings, am undoubtedly nothing more than a master-slaying devil, a madman.]

Liu Guanyi was still speaking in his heart, but Mo Yao already frowned slightly, turning his head: "Xia Bai, do not be impolite."

You could see the named cultivator closed his mouth, but there was no sign of reflection in his eyes, and the remaining cultivators seemed to have heard something quite natural, showing no change in expression.

Even Mo Yao himself appeared to have no disagreement with that statement of his, merely scolding because Xia Bai was impolite by wanting to point fingers and instruct 'Liu Cheyi,' losing courtesy.

Liu Cheyi's somewhat helpless voice also timely resonated.

[And the scene before me is the most important reason why I choose not to persuade them.]

[Even if I can prove the two demons have never committed wrongdoing, what then? In the eyes of these sect cultivators, the Demon Race is inherently evil, and killing them randomly is inconsequential.]

[This concept is prevalent among the majority of righteous cultivators worldwide.]

[Many of them indeed possess compassion and a sense of great righteousness, capable of sacrificing their lives to save ordinary people, which is truly admirable, yet they also regard the Demon Race as insignificant weeds or even enemies, much like these sword cultivators here.]

[I, who entered the Cultivation Realm not by normal means and thus can view the Demon Race with equality, am instead seen as an oddity.]

[And in the current situation, even if I refuse, Mo Yao can still gather others to help, as there are other Array Masters in the Secret Realm besides me, like the well-known 'Array Demon' Qian He, whose proficiency in Array Dao is probably not far from mine, though he is relatively more eccentric.]

[...]

[I have had some ties with these two demon brothers before.]

[If I stand by and watch them be killed, I cannot do it.]

[However, Mo Yao's strength is truly overwhelming, being the contemporary head true disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect, a Golden Core Peak Cultivator, having the battle records of facing Nascent Soul old monsters without losing, and he's not alone. Winning head-on is too unrealistic, it seems I can only pretend to agree, then deliberately create some opening, and find a way to let the two of them escape.]

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