As everyone received and assimilated their inheritances, treasures, or cultivation methods, time flew by in the secret realm. One day, two days, five days. Like water, time flowed without anything able to stop it.
Eventually, two weeks went by inside the secret realm, reaching the one-month mark since the realm opened.
Inside the town, everyone was doing their thing, getting stronger, gathering treasures, and doing many other activities.
However, today was special since the Mayor and Mayoress of the Lost Town seemed to have something to announce.
Using lost technology, Han Xue appeared in the town's sky, wearing a magnificent robe, and announced the next. "Welcome, respected immortals. I, the Mayoress of the Lost Town, have an announcement to make. As tradition says, at the one-month mark after the first Immortals arrive, we will announce the competition for the rarest and strongest treasure!"
The cultivators began cheering and shouting. Han Xue smiled and said, "However, winning the best treasure is not that easy! There are various conditions to participate. First, you have to gather 300,000 Trial Points. Second, you must be above the fifth level of the Mental-Nourishing Realm. Third, you have to come to our main building and be respectful and ordered! Those that do not abide by the rules will be executed by the Divine Lightning! That's all."
"Ha?"
"300,000 Trial Points!? Insanity!"
"That is impossible!"
"What a scam!"
"How is it possible to have 300,000 Points saved before the announcement? A normal person would use them as they get them!"
Han Xue explained, "For those that do not have 300,000 Trial Points, there is a chance to participate as long as you gather the points required! Good luck."
Then, with a wave of Han Xue's sleeve, her image in the sky disappeared.
All the cultivators were silent for a second. Then, chaos ensued as every one of them began to run around. Those that didn't have that many points went to the Monoliths, and those that had them went toward the gathering place.
Divine lightning fell on stupid people that tried to "Take advantage" of the chaos. However, unlike the first days, this didn't startle other cultivators as they were at least ten cultivators dying daily toward the Divine lightning. It was a nice cleansing method, to be honest.
Three hours later, Han Xue gathered a group of cultivators that wanted to challenge it. They were those that luckily had 300,000 Trial Points gathered. One of them asked, somewhat impatient, "Oy! Mayoress, when are we going to enter that Trial?"
Han Xue looked at the man that spoke and smiled, "Do not be hasty. I wanted to make sure that no one was left behind."
Another shouted, "Just guide us in. Those that don't come can only blame themselves!"
Han Xue lost her smile and articulated, "Listen here, little immortal. You are in my house, so don't you dare order me around. Am I clear?"
Although she was a mortal, her tone gave an authoritative feeling that not even cultivators could ignore. However, that man thought that Han Xue couldn't do anything, so he sneered, "What can you do? As long as I don't do harm to you, you can't do anything, little mortal."
Han Xue pointed up with her index finger and then waved it down. For them, it was slow.
No matter how sudden, the movement of a mortal wouldn't startle any cultivator above the Body Modification Realm.
Still, no one stopped it. The man maintained his sneer until Han Xue's finder finally pointed toward the ground.
*RUMBLE!*
*BOOM!*
A lightning bolt, unable to be perceived, fell onto the man, carbonizing him in an instant. Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at Han Xue. She smiled and said, "You can't touch me, and I can kill any of you whenever I want. So don't anger me. Am I clear?"
A collective gulp sounded as they looked at that mortal woman who had their life literally in her hand. Han Xue nodded after seeing them all shut up, "Now that we are on the same page, let's go toward the Trial place."
She turned around and sighed, 'Surely, dear Yasenia and her companions are one of a kind. The other immortals continue being stupid.'
The four hundred cultivators that gathered followed after Han Xue silently, like good sheep following the shepherd. However, two cultivators between them stood out.
Their auras were strong and profound, and they had people following them. They were a incredibly handsome man and a beautiful and slender woman. The woman was blonde, and the man black-haired.
They approached Han Xue, and the man spoke with a smile, "Hello, madam Mayoress."
Han Xue gave him a side eye and couldn't help but be momentarily stunned. However, she recovered after blinking twice, her demeanor changing to completely neutral again.
It was normal she reacted that way since cultivators reached levels of perfection that would make any mortal drool. Han Xue asked, her tone even, "What do you want, immortal?"
The man was surprised that she recovered so fast, stunned even longer than Han Xue. Han Xue smiled and asked again, "Immortal? Is something wrong?"
The man woke from his momentary stupor and shook his head, waving his long black hair. He laughed aloud and commented, "I was impressed by the Mayoress' mental fortitude. My name is Long Baidi, and I come from an influential family in the sky continent."
Han Xue blinked, 'The same continent as dear Yasenia. Should I be a little more polite?'
Han Xue smiled more genuinely and answered back, "My name is Han Xue. Mrs. Han Xue would be fine."
"A pleasure to meet a strong-willed mortal like yourself, Mrs. Han Xue."
Han Xue's growing goodwill was squashed by a single sentence. 'He shouldn't be someone Yasenia knows.'
Her tone became more formal and said. "What could Mister Long Baidi want from this mortal?"
He internally frowned at her instant change of attitude, but he didn't give it too much importance. He asked, "You see, we are searching for a cultivator, and with your connections, I'm sure we will be able to find her sooner or later."
Han Xue's interest was piqued, "If you say something like that, you should have prepared something in exchange, right?"
Long Baidi nodded and took out a yellow and red heart-shaped fruit. "This is a [Ten Year Longevity Fruit]. Each mortal can eat up to ten fruits, prolonging their life by one hundred years! Moreover, it is the easiest variant to grow. It takes ten years to grow, ten years to bloom flowers, and ten years to give fruits. I'm sure Mrs. Han Xue would like something like this."
Han Xue lifted an eyebrow, interested. She first opened the mausoleum door with the circular key, and the door lowered. She spoke to the cultivators following behind, "Follow me. There are stairs in the front, so walk in order. Everyone will enter simultaneously, so it won't matter if you reach there first or last."
Han Xue walked toward the place at a slow rhythm and looked toward the fruit. "So, who do you want me to search for? I'm telling you, if you don't have a characteristic trait, it would be impossible for me to find someone."
Long Baidi took out a picture and handed it to Han Xue. Han Xue picked it up, and after looking at the person, she paused for a good second. Then, she continued walking. Long Baidi laughed again, "As expected of you, not even her can make you flinch. This woman has been quite troublesome for my family and me outside, so I want to search for her and eliminate her inside this world. That way, their side wouldn't be able to react to her death. It would be a big favor if you help us search for her. This fruit is yours as long as you tell us anything you know about her. Of course, the more you say, the better the rewards."
Han Xue kept looking at the picture and asked, "Although she really is characteristic, can I get her name? It should make us find her faster."
"Yasenia Dravory. A dragon-raced female with divine beauty and strength. Truly, someone blessed by the Heavens since birth."
Han Xue maintained her expression and heart in check. She knew some cultivators could even pick up the heart rate to detect emotions. She said with a face filled with interest, "She really is beautiful, the most beautiful woman I've seen. To be honest, as long as she has walked through the gates of our town, I'm sure to find her. I will look into the matter after you enter the Trial."
Long Baidi cupped his fists and nodded, "Thank you, Mrs. Han Xue. Also, I would recommend not getting into direct contact with her. Even if a high-level painter created this image, it can't truly catch the level of charm she has. Tempting mortals to do her bidding should be as easy as flipping her hair."
Han Xue chuckled and said, placing one hand on her mouth, "You sure exaggerate."
However, internally she sneered at the "painter." 'This really is a shitty painting. I could write a better illustration with my eyes closed. It doesn't catch her charm, charisma, or natural seductiveness. Fuck, I really want to rip it apart; it is basically an insult!'
Han Xue returned it to him and casually said, "It is very well painted; I wonder who is the one who did it?"
'I really want to make lightning rain on them.'
The woman that had been silent behind Long Baidi interjected with a gentle and soothing tone. "It was me, Mrs. Han Xue."
Han Xue looked at the beautiful and saintly woman and asked with a smile, "Who may you be?"
'Should I kill her? Painting Yasenia like that is basically an insult as if... Oh? Did she paint her like that because she wanted to make her look worse than herself? She is more than she looks.'
Han Xue's eyes cunningly flashed as she listened, "My name is Tang Xian. I'm from the Tang family, allied with Baidi's family on the outside. A pleasure to meet you."
Han Xue said with a smile, "You were able to capture the beauty of Yasenia really well. If she were more beautiful, it would have really been surreal."
Tang Xian answered with a small laugh, "Thank you, I've done my best to paint her."
Han Xue was amused, 'She has changed my compliment toward Yasenia for a compliment toward her painting skills? Shameless! It is a shame that we've reached, or I would have loved to taunt her more.'
After they reached the crypt-like hall, every cultivator spread in the room. It had a capacity for thousands of people, so it didn't look crowded even with four hundred people.
Han Xue looked at the gathered cultivators and said, "To enter the Trial, you all must position yourselves in one of the circles drawn on the ground. Do not fight with each other since there are more than 1,000 teleportation circles across the room."
"Also, do not begin thinking that choosing different circles will make a trial easier or harder. So don't take too long to choose."
The four hundred cultivators listened and positioned themselves on the circles drawn on the floor.
However, when Han Xue was about to tell them the method of entry.
Two teleportation circles that weren't marked on the floor appeared and shone brightly, creating a one-meter-wide light pillar. From them, two women appeared.
Everyone was confused. Han Xue's expression became complicated, and she was somewhat anxious. 'I hope meeting with these people doesn't trouble her. Most importantly, has she won? Or has the other person won?'
The four hundred cultivators looked confused at those two, but most people's eyes suddenly widened when they recognized one of those two.
Their current state was the polar opposite. One of them was confused, while the other was looking calmly at the surroundings.