Chapter 528: Thousands Of Deaths
Lin Wu watched on as the disciples figured out the formation and finally managed to get out of the trail.
~shua~
The area around them faded away, and they had returned to the real world. There they were sitting cross legged in a hall and the ‘Monk’ey beast was sitting at the head.
“Huh… are we back?” one of the disciples said.
The others also opened their eyes and looked around before taking breaths of relief.
~Phew~
“We finally did… that was frustrating.” The Nascent soul realm senior brother said.
While the disciples were coming to terms with their habituation, the ‘Monk’ey beast looked at them and nodded.
“Congratulation for completing the first trial.” The ‘Monk’ey beast announced.
“We really did compete it?”
“WE DID IT!”
All of them shouted in excitement. Only they knew just how difficult the entire process was and how many times they had lost hope. They didn’t know if they would be trapped there forever or not.
They just hoped that they would be able to return back to their bodies.
“Indeed. You all successfully completed the first trial. Now you just have nine more to go.” The ‘Monk’ey beast said, pouring cold water over their excitement.
“N-nine… Nine? NINE!? THERE ARE NINE MORE TRIALS!?” A female disciple said in shock.
To this, the ‘Monk’ey beast lightly nodded his head. He had intentionally not told them that the total number of trials were about ten. This was to keep them from giving up at the start.
The ‘Monk’ey beast knew that the trials were not simple and would test the willpower of the trial taker.
“W-we… should we even take them?” Someone questioned.
This was the thing that everyone was doubled about. While they had not suffered any physical harm during the entire ordeal, the mental harm they faced from the despair, disappointment and helplessness was already quite a bit.
The Nascent soul realm leading disciples named Senior Jun though, steeled his heart and decided to ask something else.
“How long were we in the trial?” Senior Jun questioned.
“It has been two days.” The ‘Monk’ey beast answered.
~thud~
Hearing this, the disciples almost stumbled.
“T-two days? Just two days?” They questioned.
“Indeed. It is two days since you entered the first trial.” The ‘Monk’ey beast stated.
“Isn’t that… a bit too short?”
“Yeah, it felt like over three weeks had gone by there.”
“That is understandable. Since the Trials only take your mind, time is relative there. The current flow of time there is ten times faster than that of the real world. Of course, this might change depending on the trial.” The ‘Monk’ey beast explained.
“Ten times faster… I don’t think any sect has a formation array that can accelerate time as much as that. Even if this is just our minds… this is far too fast.” Cao Du spoke.
“The Sky Bright Daoist is not someone who can be compared the minuscule sects of this world.” The ‘Monk’ey beast said, a hint of superiority in his eyes.
It was very apparent and was enough to make the disciples gulp. But this also made them think of the counterpoint.
‘If the trials are at this level, then the rewards should be great too. Not to mention, this is just the Sky Bright Daoist’s trials. There are still the other trials at the tomb which are above these.’ The little girl Xiaoge thought.
‘Just what is the background of this place? How can they have this level of formations and power?’ Cao Du wondered.
‘No matter what, I have to reach the trials at the main tomb. But for that, I need to complete all the trials here.’ Disciple Jun thought.
Everyone had similar thoughts and felt a bit better than before. With newfound determination and motivation, they decided to attempt the next trial as well. Of course, they first took a break to eat and rest.
Even if their bodies were fine, they needed to let their minds rest as well. A person’s strongest weapon was not their body or cultivation base. Rather, it was their mind. If their mind was tired and weak, their body and cultivation base would not work well either.
The ‘Monk’ey beast agreed as well and allowed them to rest as much as they wanted. This also allowed them to think more about the latter trials. They figured that if just the first trial was this difficult, they were grossly unprepared for the rest.
Thus, they made a rather radical decision. They took six months of break and got to know each other’s skills and proficiencies. They tried to consolidate their own skills as well and knew that it would take their all for them to succeed in the trials.
Those that didn’t know much about formations learned about them, those that did not know about alchemy learned that. While they could not gain sudden mastery in these skills, knowing just a little bit might help them in the trials and thus they didn’t want to take any chances.
Lin Wu watched the entire thing at a fast speed and was rather surprised.
“At least they are cautious. Though taking a six month break might have been a bit too much.” Lin Wu muttered to himself.
Soon it was the time for the next trial and all of the disciples entered it.
~shua~
This time, the location of the trial was completely different. They were all in a dense forest where the cries of beasts and insects could be heard. It looked similar to the Millennium forest, but it was far more darker.
The trees were taller and created a thick canopy that blotted out the sunlight. At the bottom of the forest, there was darkness that made it harder to see. But this also made it easier for certain beasts to hide and hunt, thus elevating the danger even more.
In just a minute, the disciples felt chills going down their bodies and knew that they were in a tough situation.
But they knew what they had to do here, ‘Survive’.
