Chapter 79: Second Trial: The Faceless Painting

Suddenly, Ye Shiyuan leaned toward Xu Feng and whispered something in his ear.

Xu Feng’s eyes lit up instantly and he understood at once.

The two who had originally been attacking head-on together suddenly split apart.

In truth, this was very dangerous.

If they attacked together, one could immediately assist the other in the event of danger.

But once separated, even if one wished to rescue the other, there might not be enough time.

If Bai He set aside the fact that these two were Ye Shiyuan and Xu Feng and simply regarded the scene as a martial arts spectacle, he would have thought it truly impressive to watch.

But at this moment, he had no mood to appreciate it.

Ye Shiyuan faced the ice wolf head-on.

Several of its beam attacks were severed by the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword.

Against the sword’s defensive capabilities, the ice wolf’s attacks seemed somewhat lacking.

However, the ice wolf showed no sign of fatigue.

On the contrary, it seemed to grow more ferocious with each failed strike.

As for Ye Shiyuan, his spiritual energy was being rapidly depleted.

How long he could continue to resist was anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, Xu Feng who had long been gathering strength at the side finally unleashed his fatal strike.

With a powerful downward thrust from midair, his sword pierced heavily into the ice wolf’s back.

The ice wolf immediately let out a pained howl.

Xu Feng did not loosen his grip.

While channeling the force of his palm as well, he crushed any remaining resistance from the beast before it could even rise.

The ice wolf immediately fell heavily to the ground.

At that very moment, the surrounding environment seemed to grow warmer.

Bai He immediately stood up and ran over.

"Are you two alright?"

"Master, we’re fine."

After the ice wolf died, its body quickly dissipated and leaving behind a blue inner core.

If one did not look closely, the inner core resembled a blue gemstone.

It’s looks so beautiful that it hardly seemed real.

But when he remembered that this was the inner core of an ice wolf, Bai He could not help feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Master, you should keep this."

"What use would it be for me to keep it?"

Bai He was puzzled, yet he still accepted it into his hand.

The blue color was extremely beautiful.

He found that he rather liked it.

"Host, you truly don’t recognize good things. This is an ice wolf’s inner core. Even if you don’t use it for cultivation, simply carrying it on you will completely ward off the cold. I’ve already withdrawn your protection function. Try it and see whether you still feel cold."

Bai He carefully sensed his surroundings.

It was indeed as Mo Zhu had said.

So this was Ye Shiyuan’s intention in giving it to him.

Since it was meant for Bai He, Xu Feng naturally had no objections.

The two of them were actually quite attentive toward Bai He.

This first trial had been passed rather easily.

After all, it was only the first level and not a small number of people had cleared it before.

But what came next would not necessarily be so simple.

After walking up the staircase made of ice and continuing upward, Bai He suddenly realized that the ice wolf’s inner core in his hand had vanished.

He stared curiously at his palm. "It’s gone."

"Master, it’s very likely that everything in this place is merely an illusion. Or rather, everything here exists only as part of the formation’s built-in trials."

In other words, none of it truly existed.

They had passed the first challenge and obtained the ice wolf’s inner core within that level.

It could be used within the environment of the first level, but once they left its boundaries, anything gained there would disappear.

That was precisely why the ice wolf’s inner core in Bai He’s hand had vanished just like that.

"I actually thought it looked quite nice."

Bai He sighed.

Setting everything else aside, that blue gemstone-like object had truly been rather beautiful.

"Master, if you truly like it, we can search for one for you after we leave. For now, please focus on passing the trials with us."

Bai He looked at Ye Shiyuan somewhat awkwardly. "Shiyuan, I was only saying it casually. Don’t take it seriously."

"Mm."

Ye Shiyuan responded with a simple sound of acknowledgment, but he had genuinely committed it to memory.

The second level appeared, at first glance, to be much simpler than the first.

It was neither cold nor hot.

The space was not particularly large, yet on one wall there was a painting.

Everywhere else was shrouded in darkness, but the painting on the wall was the only illuminated spot.

The painting appeared unfinished.

It depicted a figure, yet the figure had no face drawn upon it.

Xu Feng stood in front of it and looking completely bewildered.

Could it be that they were supposed to paint a face onto the woman in the mural?

But what kind of face would be appropriate?

At that very moment, Ye Shiyuan heard movement coming from the surrounding darkness.

Two black shadows suddenly rushed out from the side.

He swiftly drew his sword and slashed at them.

The two shadowy figures vanished inexplicably.

Was it an illusion or were they truly there?

Bai He had already withdrawn the Xuantian Barrier.

Mo Zhu had said that he needed to let them grow.

If the barrier blocked these shadow attacks, there would be no opportunity for growth.

"Senior Brother, what is it?"

"Be careful. There seems to be potential danger lurking in the darkness."

Though not particularly strong, caution was never a mistake.

"Master, where is your Xuantian Barrier? Remember to protect yourself."

Bai He put on a troubled expression. "Xiao Feng, ever since I came here, my Xuantian Barrier seems to have lost its effect. When those two shadows rushed over just now, it didn’t block them either."