Huli Jing
Entering the cave, Xue Bai was met with a very small interior. And other than a few meters of gravel and stone, the only other thing in the cave was a huge pond that sat at the back wall of the cave.
From an outsider's perspective, they would assume that this was the end of the cave. But Xue Bai knew differently.
Taking off his shirt, revealing a leaned-out physique, Xue Bai took a deep breath before jumping in.
Though Xue Bai wasn't sure if the pond was the first trial or not, it still served as a great method of filtration.
In order to enter the next trial, you would have to swim through the lake while holding your breath longer than any Muscle Nourishing realm cultivator could.
A human could hold their breath for at most 30 minutes, but that was the limit. Most people could barely hold their breath for a minute.
And the other side of the trial area was at least an hour's swim away. Moreover, that was at the swimming speed of an Organ Tempering realm cultivator.
Meaning that there were only two ways to pass through, either have the Lung Vein that enhanced your lung capacity pathed out or be in the Qi Sea realm and use the spirit meridians that you gain in that realm and use Spiritual Qi to replace the lack of air.
However, with the secret realm's limit being the Muscle Nourishing realm, it made sure that only people who knew the Immortal World's cultivation system could enter.
No one who cultivated the castrated version of the Vein Transformation realm would ever reach the second trial room.
Thankfully, Xue Bai wasn't one of those poor chaps.
Diving into the pool, Xue Bai immediately felt the cold water piercing his skin. However, after conjuring a layer of Spiritual Qi to protect himself, he felt the effects subside.
Even though Xue Bai couldn't hold his breath for very long—he had never trained in that skill—he had the Lung Vein pathed out. So by using his Spiritual Qi as a replacement for air, Xue Bai could theoretically hold his breath for as long as he had Spiritual Qi in his dantian.
However, Xue Bai was still in the Vein Transformation realm, and he didn't have much Spiritual Qi.
So without a sense of direction and a limited amount of time, Xue Bai started his search.
The search thankfully didn't take long, as he found the second trial room on his third try.
And it was great timing, too, as while his Spiritual Qi shield blocked most of the cold, it didn't block all of it. And after almost an hour of being underwater, he was starting to lose feeling in his limbs.
Jumping out of the pond, Xue Bai first went to try himself with some towels he had brought along with him in his spatial ring. He had come prepared.
After doing so, he put his shirt back on and looked around at his surroundings.
But looking at what was around him, he raised an eyebrow.
In front of Xue Bai was a ruined palace. The palace was about the size of the Imperial Palace in the Great Xuan Empire. However, Xue Bai knew that they were of different worlds. The one in the Imperial Capital was only fit for an Emperor like Duan Zhen, a man in the Spirit Awakening realm.
But the one in front of Xue Bai now was fit for even immortals. Every single brick, piece of gravel, and even the dirt that lined the once noble pathways were made from a material that glistened.
Obviously, this palace was made from some extremely high-grade materials. Some were so recognizable that even though Xue Bai could only see them rusted and falling apart, he could still recognize some of the metals from legends.
"Star-Gazing Nebula Ore, Divine Essence Gold, even Phoenix Blood Diamond Holy sh*t, forget the bloodline. If I take all of these, I could become the richest man in the Baishen Plane." Xue Bai's greed was revealed, and he couldn't help but think to himself.
Going to a collapsed wall, Xue Bai was about to pick up an ore before he realized something. The nine-tailed foxes were known for their illusion art, and he didn't remember this from when he explored it during the game.
His encounter with the first trial was seeing an enemy he had during that time weakened and on the verge of death, not a ruined palace.
"I almost fell for the oldest trick in the book." Xue Bai mused while unsheathing his Deep Glacier Sword.
Instead of greedily picking up the Star-Gazing Nebula Ore in front of him, Xue Bai swung his sword, infused with the space element, toward it.
Normally, if his middle Yellow-grade sword clashed with the middle Earth-grade Star-Gazing Nebula Ore, his sword would shatter on impact. However, his Deep Glacier Sword went right through the rock, revealing the illusion and showing reality. The Star-Gazing Nebula Ore was a normal rock.
After seeing through the illusion and breaking it, reality around him started to crumble away, and Xue Bai's real surroundings were shown.
Rather than at the base of a grand Imperial Palace, Xue Bai was currently still in a cave. However, unlike the previous cave, which was empty except for the pond, this one was overgrown with greenery. The walls were covered in vines, and mushrooms covered every rock.
However, that wasn't Xue Bai's concern. What was of concern to him was a silver door and pedestal.
Walking up to the pedestal, Xue Bai read the text on it, "Enter the silver door to start the second trial."
Following the directions, Xue Bai walked towards the silver door. The door was as tall as the cave's roof, easily reaching over five meters high. And was made of very strong and resilient material, but through years of disregard, it had begun to deteriorate from its once prestigious appearance.
When Xue Bai reached the door that was as tall as a house, he pushed it open with all his might and revealed what was inside.
A pure white room that resembled a psych ward from Earth was shown to Xue Bai. The only difference was inside. Instead of padding, the floor was completely flat and made from the same cold metal as the walls.
Feigning a curious look, Xue Bai walked around the room in awe, waiting for something that didn't take long.
Then, as the space in front of him wobbled, a handsome middle-aged man in pure white robes manifested. He floated in the air and overlooked Xue Bai as if trying to look through him.
"You don't have to fake that look. I know you know where you are." The man spoke deeply.
Jumping back in fright, Xue Bai pulled out his sword, looking to defend himself.
"Who are you?" Xue Bai asked as he put on a serious look as if he were ready to fight with his life on the line.
"Child, I, Huli Jing, am not going to be fooled by your act. If I couldn't see through this ploy with all my years of experience, I might as well kill myself with a block of tofu." The man named Huli Jing snorted angrily.
He had cultivated for tens of thousands of years. If he could see through the act of a child, then what did he cultivate for?
Hearing that, Xue Bai was a little disappointed. 'These ancient relics are too sharp!'
Putting away his scared look, Xue Bai looked at the apparition levitating in front of him with calm eyes.
"Xue Bai greets Senior Huli Jing." Xue Bai greeted with a bow.
"You even know my name, too, huh? I had watched you single out this place ever since you entered my secret realm. But I didn't think you'd also know my name." Huli Jing mused before he lost his smile and asked with cold eyes, "So are you going to tell me how you know all of this, or will you die where you stand?"
Xue Bai just smiled at the threat, not taking it seriously, and said, "Senior, I can guarantee that if you kill me, there will be no one who will ever be able to find this secret realm."
"Are you threatening me, child?" Huli Jing said deeply.
"No, how could I threaten you, an immortal? Though you have died and are in a remnant soul state, I know that you could easily destroy the Baishen Plane should you choose to fight." Xue Bai shook his head.
"I'm only informing you of the situation outside. Cultivators are getting worse with every generation, and the chances of someone knowing the Immortal World's cultivation system are already close to zero. But also, coincidentally, finding this secret realm? Impossible." Xue Bai explained to the man
And after hearing the reason, Huli Jing agreed. But he still wasn't convinced.
"But what does that have to do with you knowing how to find where I am?" Huli Jing's cold smile softened a little, but he still continued his bad cop act.
"I don't plan on answering that, Senior Huli. A man must always keep secrets. I only came here to tell you that I can help you take revenge." Xue Bai said
"HA! A mortal child like you wants to kill my enemies! Do you know how strong the people who killed me were?" Huli Jing laughed. He didn't take Xue Bai's claim seriously.
Shaking his head, Xue Bai didn't know their exact strengths. But Huli Jing, before dying, was an immortal cultivator with a middle Heaven-grade bloodline, so his enemies should at least have been in the God Great Realm.
"While I can't now, I have the capital to do so in the future." Xue Bai said while extending his arm out to Huli Jing.
Knowing what Xue Bai was implying, Huli Jing grabbed the extended arm and poured his spiritual sense into Xue Ba's body.
"A low Heaven-grade Martial Vein?" Huli Jing was pleasantly surprised at Xue Bai's talent.
"Not bad for a mortal plane like this. However, this still isn't enough to avenge me. A middle Heaven-grade Martial Vein is needed at the minimum, while I was hoping for a high Heaven-grade!" Huli Jing said as he let go of Xue Bai's hand.
"But if Senior gives me his Bloodline Inheritance, I could also have a middle Heaven-grade bloodline." Xue Bai persuaded.
"No, I wanted my bloodline to be the supplementary aid to their potential. Not the one to take the lead. I don't wish for my successor to follow in my footsteps." Huli Jing denied it.
Huli Jing, while having a middle Heaven-grade bloodline, only had a peak Earth-grade Marital Vien.
This meant that while he had the bloodline powers of a demonic beast in the God Great Realm, he couldn't ever reach that realm. This made him an extremely high-value target to greedy God Great Realm cultivators. Huli Jing could never reach the God Great Realm with his potential but had a bloodline that would make one in that realm jealous.
It was a terrible situation, and Huli Jing didn't want his successor to follow in his footsteps.
Seeing such a look on Huli Jing's face, Xue Bai knew this old relic would be a hard nut to crack, so he pulled out his trump card.
"Then, Senior, do you know what a bloodline core is?" Xue Bai asked, gaining Huli Jing's attention.
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