He crossed through an invisible barrier and felt the pressure vanishing as he came close to the stairs.
He looked back and stretched, “That was easy.”
[It was easy because of your quintessential foundation. If someone else was in your position with your cultivation base, then he would be lucky if he could get out from the first biome.]
Yue Lan spoke as she reminded him of his exceptional cultivation foundation.
Shen Yuan smiled smugly, “So what you mean is, that I am a supreme genius.”
Yue Lan got silent as she couldn’t reply to Shen Yuan’s shameless acceptance.
He chuckled and shook his head. He looked ahead and ascended to the higher floor.
…
Outside of the Ancestral Pagoda, Xun Shuren stood watching the Pagoda.
Her eyes flashed with surprise as she saw the first level of the Pagoda lit up.
Just then, a voice echoed from afar, “Shuren~, how is Yuan’er doing now?” Huo Rong came towards the Ancestral Pagoda with Han Qingyu.
Han Qingyu had already changed clothes and was now wearing the robes of Inner Sect Disciples.
The robes were pure white with intricate designs engraved on the edges. The robes were loose so it wouldn’t be a hindrance when they fight others or in daily activities.
The white robes also enhanced her beauty as her flowing silver-white hair blended nicely with the robes and milky white skin. Her silver eyes had a hint of confidence which was lacking previously.
The pink Lotus flower symbol on her forehead makes her look like an immortal who descended to the mortal world.
Xun Shuren looked at Huo Rong first before shifting her gaze to Han Qingyu, “How did she become an Inner Sect disciple already?”
She asked Huo Rong as most disciples had to join the outer sect first if they didn’t have anything special about them.
Huo Rong looked at her with pride and replied, “I had to ask one of the peak masters to come and check her physique, but we found out that she has a Peak Earthly Physique. She has the potential to become a core disciple here.”
Xun Shuren raised an eyebrow as she looked at Han Qingyu again, this time observing her more closely. “Looks like you found a gem while traveling outside.”
She didn’t speak more about it as getting a core disciple was a big matter but not enough to shock everyone. She herself was a core disciple before.
“Shen Yuan has passed the first floor already. He has set a new record for clearing the first floor with this speed.” Xun Shuren said as she turned around and looked at the Pagoda.
Huo Rong’s face lit up with a smile as she giggled happily and hopped to Xun Shuren’s side, “Hehe~ my little brother will surely be able to pass the Pagoda’s trial. If he can’t do it then no one in this world can do it as well.”
Xun Shuren raised her eyebrow curiously, “You really have a lot of confidence in that young man. Is there something special about him that I can’t see?”
“Hehe~ if even you can see through him then what would be special about it?” Huo Rong replied smugly to her.
Xun Shuren didn’t get mad and nodded in agreement, “That’s true, if even I can see through him then it wouldn’t be enough to cross the Pagoda.” She paused and continued, “I just hope he can pass it, we need someone from this Pagoda to open that secret realm.”
Huo Rong’s expression also turned serious at the topic of that secret realm.
“We shouldn’t discuss that topic here.” Huo Rong said in a low voice.
Xun Shuren also realized her mistake and shut her mouth. While Han Qingyu looked at the two of them curiously, wondering about what they were discussing.
…
Shen Yuan soon reached the second floor of the Pagoda. The whole floor was filled with large walls one after another, creating a massive maze.
Shen Yuan looked up to understand what it was.
‘Follow your heart and complete the maze.’
Shen Yuan looked at it for a second before searching around to see if there were any clues.
After not finding anything, he left the entrance and entered the maze.
He walked for a while inside the maze when he got to an area where the path was divided into two paths.
One on the left and another on the right. Shen Yuan looked at them seriously for some time before heading towards the right path.
Yue Lan’s voice echoed in his mind,
[Why did you go on the right path?]
Shen Yuan smiled with confidence and replied, “Because I felt like it.”
[…]
Yue Lan was speechless at his reply.
Shen Yuan didn’t mind and continued walking through the maze, turning from one point to another.
…
After a while, he saw the light at the end of the tunnel, his face brightened up as he laughed, “Hahaha! I said my guy instincts were right!”
He increased his pace and walked through the place where the light was coming from, his laughter echoed through the maze as he entered through the light door.
[And here we are…]
Yue Lan’s voice echoed in his mind. And as soon as Shen Yuan’s eyes landed on his surroundings, his laughter ceased as his face turned black.
[Hahahahahaha you are back on the starting line hahahaha this is too funny haha you were so confident earlier…]
She continued laughing at Shen Yuan’s confidence from earlier. While Shen Yuan felt his lips twitch as he realized how much of a fool he looked right now.
He turned around in anger and headed back into the maze, this time, choosing the left path from the start.
Soon he made his way through the maze with more focus, memorizing the ways and solving the route.
After some time he saw the exit again, and he sped up to cross it. His eyes widened in excitement as he sprinted across the way.
But his excitement died down as he reached the entrance again.
He stomped his foot on the ground as he sprinted back inside.
…
After repeating this process several times, he finally stopped at the entrance again.
He took a deep breath “This isn’t going anywhere, I need to approach the end of the floor soon. And from the looks of it, I won’t be able to do so even if I spend an entire lifetime walking through this.”
He pondered seriously about his next move. He glanced around to see if he could find any hints when his gaze landed on the task, ‘Follow your heart and complete the maze.’
“Heart…heart… I see,” Shen Yuan muttered as realization dawned on him, “I can use my Dao Heart to find the way. Looks like there are illusions used here to make the trial difficult’
He soon closed his eyes and relaxed his posture since there was no place for him to test his Dao Heart in the outside world.
10 seconds…
20 seconds…
60 seconds…
five minutes…
After quite some time passed, he opened his eyes with clarity and confidence.
He exhaled a sigh and started moving forward with a slow pace. He soon reached the area where the two tunnels were located previously.
