Chapter 615 - 552: 9 Deaths and 1 Life, Not 1 in 100 Survives

Chapter 615: Chapter 552: 9 Deaths and 1 Life, Not 1 in 100 Survives

’As expected...’

Sensing the will fluctuations that remained completely unperturbed, a light flickered in Chu Mu’s eyes. His initial guess was becoming more and more certain.

Even if the chaotic Spiritual Qi interfered with his perception of that will, the sudden appearance of the Jade Scroll was an undeniably clear fact.

If it were a creature with Spiritual Wisdom, such an anomaly would have surely caused some kind of reaction.

Only an inanimate object, operating according to a logical program, would be so rigid.

As long as he didn’t trigger the rules of this logical program—or rather, allow the program to detect his presence—then he might as well not exist to it.

No matter how many anomalies occurred, he would still be considered non-existent.

Chu Mu gently caressed the Jade Talisman in his hand, his thoughts turning as he silently watched the brilliant night sky not far away.

This grand deception of his was extremely difficult to maintain. Even for a trial, he couldn’t possibly expose himself for the sake of an unrelated person.

What happened next would depend on this woman’s actions.

At this moment, amidst the lush, vibrant greenery, the Jade Scroll from Chu Mu had naturally fallen into the hands of the Female Cultivator.

She sent a wisp of Divine Sense into it, absorbing the information recorded on the Jade Scroll. In less than a moment, she lowered the scroll from her hand.

The woman couldn’t hide her surprise. Her bright eyes scanned the endless swarm of Sand-tailed Scorpions, as if searching for a hidden anomaly among them.

Then, her slender, snow-white hand emerged from her loose sleeve. Her long, jade-like fingers formed a hand seal, and streaks of crystalline emerald light materialized before her.

The woman took another step forward. Her dress billowed in the wind, its thin gauze fluttering. Amidst the brilliant spectacle in the sky, she flicked her sleeve, and the streaks of emerald light instantly transformed into a shower of green raindrops falling from above.

Each emerald raindrop was like a font of life. As they landed upon this vibrant land, they burst forth with vigorous vitality.

Vines spread, spirit trees grew wildly, and countless exotic flowers and grasses bloomed. In just a few breaths, this vibrant land rapidly expanded outward for several miles.

Under this burst of life, the dense vitality of the flora wantonly devoured all non-plant life within its range.

In an instant, a domain of life, a dead zone for all other creatures, was formed.

When Chu Mu looked again at this verdant land, the dense vitality of the flora made it impossible to see anything inside.

It seemed as though this vibrant land had become a world of its own, isolating all non-plant life outside.

As this domain of life erupted and spread, countless Sand-tailed Scorpions were annihilated. The many scorpions that had been on standby began to move one after another, following an unseen command.

The sky was dark. A streak of silver-white shot across the heavens, also obeying this unseen command. It crashed headfirst into the bursting greenery. With a ripple of emerald light, the silver-white streak that had flown across the night sky vanished as abruptly as the countless annihilated Sand-tailed Scorpions.

Among clear springs, flowing water, and exotic flora, the woman’s figure was as graceful as a willow leaf. Sprites of grass and wood flickered around her. Crystalline green specks fell with her every step, each one a burst of life, causing a hundred flowers to bloom in a dazzling contest of beauty.

Before her, beneath an ancient, towering tree whose branches blotted out the sky, coiled a magnificent Sand-tailed Scorpion over a hundred feet tall. Its body was entirely silver-white. In this lush green land, it looked as if it had been forcefully embedded there, marring the vibrant beauty of the scene.

"My Domain here might not be as profound as your Grand Array, Fellow Daoist, but it is more than enough to block outside observation. You can rest assured."

The woman raised her eyes, gazing at the Silver-White Sand-tailed Scorpion. Her stare seemed to pierce through its disguise, looking directly at the Chu Mu hidden within.

As her words fell, the Sand-tailed Scorpion’s Demon Body trembled. Then, a ten-foot-long fissure appeared on its flawless silver-white form. It opened like a door, revealing a pair of eyes as deep as the starry sky, which came into the woman’s view.

Their eyes met. The woman’s bright gaze shifted, a graceful and poised smile playing on her lips. "Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?"

"Xu Yuan."

Chu Mu spoke slowly. Beneath his calm expression, his body was tense and his Magical Power was roiling. He was on high alert.

"Fellow Daoist Xu..."

The woman’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. She sized up Chu Mu without reservation, then seemed to hesitate. "You look somewhat familiar, Fellow Daoist..."

"Years ago, in the East Lake Secret Realm, I had the occasion to meet you once, Fairy."

Chu Mu explained softly, subtly surveying his surroundings.

The woman, however, gave Chu Mu a strange look, her scrutiny becoming even more obvious.

Chu Mu’s brow furrowed slightly, and his gaze toward her grew more suspicious.

"Your name isn’t really Xu Yuan, is it, Fellow Daoist?"

Only then did the woman speak again, her tone even stranger.

Chu Mu narrowed his eyes, looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

’Other than that one meeting in the East Lake Secret Realm, we shouldn’t have any other connection, right?’

"I am Qin Zhaoxue, from Great Heng."

At this, the woman abruptly changed the subject, looking at Chu Mu with a smile.

"Miss Qin, you are a Cultivator from Great Heng. How did you come to know my name?"

"Before I reached Core Formation, I traveled through Great Chu for a time. It shouldn’t be too difficult to have heard of Fellow Daoist Chu’s name, should it?"

Qin Zhaoxue raised a hand to brush back a strand of hair from her forehead, still wearing that same smiling expression.

Chu Mu gave Qin Zhaoxue a deep look. He was almost certain that her words were a lie.

If she had truly been familiar with his name, she should have recognized him from the start, not as an afterthought or with hesitation.

In the end, however, he didn’t press the matter.

In this time and place, there was no point in getting hung up on such things.

He abruptly changed the subject, getting straight to the point. "Miss Qin, you seem quite familiar with this Ruins Cave Mansion?"

Hearing Chu Mu’s question, Qin Zhaoxue’s brow furrowed slightly. Without much hesitation, she began to explain, "As far as I know, this Ruins Cave Mansion has been hidden beyond the heavens since ancient times for some reason. It only reappeared in the world in recent centuries."

"It appears once every sixty years. To this day, it has only manifested a handful of times."

"Although many Cultivators from my Great Heng have had the opportunity to enter this Ruins Cave Mansion, there are not many records left behind."

"But according to those records, the Ruins Cave Mansion should be a Trial Land passed down from ancient times."

"Legend has it that these kinds of Trial Lands were often forged with immense power by ancient Great Divine Power Cultivators, or even great beings from the Upper Realm. Their mysteries are now difficult to fathom."

"And the trial stages within are even more unpredictable and volatile..."

"However, according to the records, a Trial Land is, by its very nature, for trials. In ancient times, some Major Sects and great powers used them to cultivate elite disciples. Therefore, when entering a Trial Land, besides passing the trial itself, there are basically no other shortcuts..."

"And as for this Desert Sea Heaven and Earth trial stage, from what I know of the ruins, this is the first time it has ever appeared."

"...This endless swarm of Sand-tailed Scorpions should be part of the trial. Based on past precedents, to clear this stage, one would likely have to find the source of the Sand-tailed Scorpions and destroy it..."

"Otherwise..."

At this, Qin Zhaoxue said no more, instead looking out past her vibrant domain at the boundless Beast Tide.

A trial... was a one-in-ten chance of survival.

If one could not clear the trial and survive, the outcome was undoubtedly clear.

Chu Mu was silent for a moment before asking, "Based on what you know, Miss Qin, what is the success rate for the trials in this Ruins Cave Mansion?"

"The success rate... that’s hard to say."

Qin Zhaoxue’s brow furrowed, a hint of hesitation in her expression.

Chu Mu was puzzled. "Hard to say?"

"Correct."

Qin Zhaoxue nodded. "The trials in this Ruins Cave Mansion are clearly tailored to the individual."

Then, Qin Zhaoxue changed the subject again. "Fellow Daoist, before you entered this Ruins Cave Mansion, you must have spent some time in a square filled with dense fog, correct?"

"And after breaking through the barrier in that square, there was an extremely deep and long corridor, wasn’t there?"

Chu Mu nodded.

Qin Zhaoxue asked again, "Entering that corridor, Fellow Daoist Chu, you must have crossed a distance of ninety-nine zhang before entering this Trial Heaven and Earth, right?"

A glimmer of understanding appeared in Chu Mu’s eyes. "Miss Qin, you mean the difficulty of the trial stage is also tailored to the individual?"

"Correct."

Qin Zhaoxue affirmed, "According to the information gathered by my clan, that square is not just an Illusion Array, but a Grand Array designed to test a creature’s Cultivation, potential, and all other aspects."

"And that corridor is the most direct manifestation of the test results."

"Ordinary Cultivators are typically teleported to the trial stage after crossing a distance between ninety and ninety-nine zhang."

"The trials they face are generally not very difficult; they should be the lowest difficulty trials in this Ruins Cave Mansion. For this type of trial, according to our clan’s statistics, the success rate is quite high, basically around fifty percent."

"But if one is teleported only after exceeding ninety-nine zhang in that corridor..."

Qin Zhaoxue paused here, then looked at Chu Mu and said slowly,

"A one-in-ten chance of survival. Less than one in a hundred will make it out alive!"

...