At this moment, there were over fifty young disciples from the four major sects and some third-rate small sects.
These young disciples were mostly of the third or fourth rank bloodline, able to open eight spiritual apertures, making them a rare group.
The majority were martial artists over thirty years old, with at least nine spiritual apertures opened, displaying formidable strength.
As for Lu Ren, he was perhaps the only one daring to enter the Tuo She Cave with seven spiritual apertures opened.
And just then!
Boom!
A loud noise reverberated as the massive stone door of the cave slowly opened, emitting a dazzling light that made it impossible to see what was inside.
A deep, hoarse voice echoed from deep within the Tuo She Cave.
"Those who possess the Tuo She Blood Jade and are martial artists of the Qi-opening Realm with a fourth rank bloodline or below, may enter the cave and undergo assessment. If you pass the assessment, you shall receive the inheritance of my master!"
Without waiting for the voice to finish, many martial artists rushed into the stone door.
"Master, I'm going in too!"
Lu Ren called out to Yun Qingyao, then dashed into the door.
Buzz!
As Lu Ren entered the cave, he felt the world spin, causing dizziness.
In the next moment, Lu Ren found himself in another space.
It seemed to be a Bagua Altar with eight directions corresponding to eight gates.
On these gates were inscribed eight characters: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui.
Lu Ren looked at this scene in confusion and asked, "What does this mean?"
"Haha, I, Zhao Kun, am really lucky to be transported to the same Bagua Altar as you!" A middle-aged figure suddenly appeared in front of Lu Ren and burst into laughter upon seeing him.
Once they entered the Tuo She Cave, they would be randomly transported to one of the Bagua Altars.
This time, with two to three hundred people entering the cave, coming across Lu Ren directly was indeed a stroke of great luck.
"Oh? Is your luck referring to being able to kill me?" Lu Ren asked.
"Of course!" Zhao Kun chuckled and said, "By killing you, I will eliminate a competitor, won't I? Besides, you dare provoke Tang Hao, it's ridiculous!"
"Are you sure you can kill me?" Lu Ren asked with a frown.
"Haha, Lu Ren, I have practiced for over thirty years, broken through the limits, opened eight spiritual apertures, and can unleash the strength of eight thousand jin. I have also perfected a low-grade Yellow-ranked sword technique. I can kill you with ease!" Zhao Kun said confidently as he took out a golden wire large hoop knife from his storage bag and pointed it at Lu Ren. "Lu Ren, speak your last words!"
With a calm expression, Lu Ren asked, "What do these eight gates mean?"
"Well, since you're about to die, I'll tell you!"
Zhao Kun retracted the large hoop knife, seemingly not in a hurry to kill Lu Ren. Pointing at the eight gates, he explained, "Each of these eight gates leads to a different assessment. Passing the assessment will transport you to another altar, and failing will send you out of the cave. If you pass all eight assessments, you can proceed to the final assessment. Upon completion, you will receive the inheritance of the Tuo She Ancient Emperor...."
However, before he could finish his sentence,
Swish!
Lu Ren suddenly leaped forward, his long sword moving like a spirit snake, piercing towards Zhao Kun so swiftly that he couldn't dodge it.
Spurt!
Lu Ren's Fire Spirit Sword directly pierced through Zhao Kun's heart, causing a gush of blood.
Gasping, Zhao Kun stared at Lu Ren in fear, "You... you have no sense of honor in combat!"
"You were about to kill me, what sense of honor do I owe you?" Lu Ren sneered and with a swift thrust of his sword.
Spurt!
Zhao Kun spewed out another mouthful of blood before collapsing heavily to the ground, already beyond the reach of death.
After killing Zhao Kun, Lu Ren searched his body and found a jet-black ring on his finger. When he touched it, a faint spiritual aura emanated from it.
"Is this a storage ring?" Lu Ren exclaimed.
Realizing the potential of the ring, Lu Ren took it off and wore it on his finger. While his unnamed pagoda could also store items, it was his secret and not something he could easily reveal. With this storage ring, he could store his Fire Spirit Sword and other belongings at any time.
Upon further exploration of the ring, he found a substantial amount of items inside:
- Fifty thousand copper coins
- Ten human-level low-grade martial arts techniques
- Three human-level medium-grade martial arts techniques
- One human-level high-grade martial arts technique
Additionally, there was an ancient-looking book with faintly visible words on the cover. Lu Ren took it out and was amazed to see the words "Exploding Spirit Secret Technique" on the cover. This rare secret technique was also a human-level low-grade skill.
The secret technique is different from the category of martial arts techniques; it is extremely rare, and each type of secret technique can unleash powerful effects. Once activated, it can enhance one's combat strength. Some geniuses, relying on powerful secret techniques, can truly challenge opponents of higher levels! However, cultivating secret techniques is extremely difficult and requires a great deal of time and effort.
Fortunately, this is a human-level low-grade secret technique, the most basic of secret techniques, and with Lu Ren's talent, as long as he diligently cultivates it, he can master it.
Lu Ren took out the "Exploding Spirit Secret Technique" and started studying it page by page. The more he read, the more amazed he became. He exclaimed, "This 'Exploding Spirit Secret Technique' can gather the spiritual energy in the spirit sea and unleash a power twice that of oneself. The more spirit seas are activated, the greater the power!"
This secret technique was perfect for his cultivation.
Continuing his exploration, Lu Ren came across several dozen sparkling white stones in a corner, emitting a faint luster. His face couldn't help but show astonishment. "Could these be low-grade spirit stones?"
It is said that these low-grade spirit stones contain a highly concentrated spiritual energy, and once absorbed and refined, the cultivation speed can be ten times faster than normal absorption of natural spiritual energy, saving an ordinary martial artist a month of hard work for just one piece!
However, since Lu Ren has not advanced to the Spirit Creek Realm yet, he doesn't have a use for the low-grade spirit stones at the moment.
"This person may not have reached the Spirit Creek Realm yet, but he certainly has plenty of resources on him!" Lu Ren smiled and stored all those resources into the Nameless Treasure Tower.
"If I have enough spiritual rice, I can cultivate this Exploding Spirit Secret Technique. By then, even if I were to face Tang Hao, I would have enough confidence to defeat him!" Lu Ren pondered silently.
Then, his gaze fell on the thirteen pieces of low-grade spirit stones. By ingesting spiritual rice, he was replenishing the spiritual energy in his spirit sea with the spiritual energy contained within the rice. Would the spiritual energy within the low-grade spirit stones have the same effect?
With this thought in mind, Lu Ren used his fire spirit sword to cut off a small corner, roughly the size of a thumb, from one of the low-grade spirit stones and directly swallowed it.
Lu Ren instantly felt a surging spiritual energy rushing through his body, sweeping across his entire being. The seven spiritual apertures within his body greedily absorbed the energy, quickly reaching saturation.
Lu Ren was overjoyed. The low-grade spirit stones were indeed capable of replenishing the spiritual energy in his body. In fact, he wouldn't even need to eat spiritual rice in the future. Just absorbing a small piece of the spirit stone, the size of a fingernail, would be enough to sustain him for several days.
For ordinary people, not eating would lead to starvation. Similarly, for martial artists, without spiritual energy in their bodies, they would perish.
"How long can these spirit stones keep me fed!" Lu Ren muttered to himself.
If a martial artist in the Spirit Creek Realm were to find out that Lu Ren was using low-grade spirit stones to sustain himself, they would be furious and might even spit blood in disbelief.
Using low-grade spirit stones in such a manner was a tremendous waste.
It's worth noting that low-grade spirit stones are quite expensive, costing at least twenty thousand copper coins per piece. Most disciples in the Spirit Creek Realm can only obtain them through contributions to the sect, using them to improve their cultivation speed. The thought of using them as food would be unimaginable to them!
Lu Ren didn't think too much about it. Resources could always be earned again, and he focused on improving his strength. Only by enhancing his abilities could he have the confidence to pass the test of the ancient emperor Tuoshe.