Chapter 610: The Cruel 3rd Trial

As Zhaang Ye was looking on in surprise, the Fire Spirit suddenly spoke up, “Master, there’s nothing to be surprised about.”

Zhaang Ye was slightly taken aback. “Oh?”

The Fire Spirit explained, “Fortune and luck are two words for the same thing: destiny. To ordinary people, destiny is a vague concept. But to the Cultivators of Ancient Times, destiny is an extremely important part of Cultivation.

“Those with great destiny find their Cultivation path to be smooth sailing. They turn misfortune into good fortune and might even encounter all sorts of great opportunities, setting them on the legendary path to eternal life. On the other hand, those without destiny will face hardship at every turn. No matter how hard such a person struggles, they are nothing but an ant, destined only to be a stepping stone for others…”

Realization dawned on Zhaang Ye. He quickly collected himself and quietly awaited the purple-bearded man’s arrangements. Although he knew the Sword Monarch intended to seize a body, the man’s combat prowess was so overwhelmingly powerful that Zhaang Ye had no room to resist.

All Zhaang Ye could do now was calm his mind and prepare to adapt to whatever came his way by remaining unchanged.

The Flower King and Shui Daimai were no ordinary people either. They knew the purple-bearded man must have his reasons for this arrangement, so they quickly calmed down as well.

The purple-bearded man reached into the void with his right hand. Three red Inner Cores appeared in his palm, levitating and spinning rapidly.

SWOOSH!

The purple-bearded man reached out again with his left hand, and three more red Inner Cores appeared in his palm.

Between both hands, there were a total of six Inner Cores. All six looked identical, and they even emitted the exact same aura. Even with Zhaang Ye’s sharp eyes, he couldn’t spot any difference.

The purple-bearded man studied the red Inner Cores in his hands and said slowly, “You should all see clearly now. I have a total of six Inner Cores in my palms. I took these six Inner Cores from an ancient six-headed Giant Dragon. They look identical, and even their auras are the same. However, their effects are worlds apart.”

At this point, a strange smile appeared on the purple-bearded man’s face. He stared at the three Inner Cores in his left hand and said flatly, “The three Giant Dragon Cores in my left palm are treasures rarely seen by Cultivators. If you consume one of these, your bodies will become much stronger, your Meridians and Dantian will expand, and your Cultivation will yield twice the results with half the effort.”

Hearing the purple-bearded man’s description, Zhaang Ye, the Flower King, and Shui Daimai all showed a flicker of emotion, their gazes fixed intently on the three Inner Cores in his left hand.

The physical body is the foundation of Cultivation. A stronger body meant greater potential for Cultivation. And if one’s Meridians and Dantian expanded, their Cultivation speed would increase dramatically—a single day of cultivation would be equivalent to two days for anyone else.

Even Zhaang Ye felt his heart stir at the thought of such a rare treasure.

A cruel smile touched the purple-bearded man’s lips as he continued, “The Giant Dragon Cores in my left palm are rare treasures. But the three Inner Cores in my right palm are the exact opposite. These three contain an ancient poison from the Wilderness. Even a True Dao Ninth-Layer Expert would suffer a massive loss of strength if they came into contact with it. If your luck is bad and you consume one of these three, you will die instantly!”

The purple-bearded man said cruelly, “The third trial will test your luck using these six Giant Dragon Cores! In a moment, I will mix them up. You will then each choose one and consume it.”

“If your luck is good and you pick a non-poisonous Inner Core, you will live and receive a tremendous benefit. If your luck is bad and you pick a poisoned one, you will die on the spot!”

HISS!

The faces of Zhaang Ye, the Flower King, and Shui Daimai changed in unison. This third trial seemed simple, but its cruelty far surpassed the second one!

In the second trial, they could still rely on their strength and Comprehension to survive. But this third trial had nothing to do with strength or Comprehension. It was all down to luck!

Good luck, you live.

Bad luck, you die!

The purple-bearded man gave a cold smile. “Now, I will mix these six Inner Cores together. After they are mixed, not even I will be able to tell them apart.”

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH—

The purple-bearded man’s hands moved like lightning, instantly mixing the three non-poisonous Inner Cores with the three poisoned ones.

The Flower King and Shui Daimai both stared intently at the six Inner Cores, trying to identify the non-poisonous ones. Zhaang Ye, however, was closely connected to the Fire Spirit, attempting to use its Spiritual Sense to see the purple-bearded man’s every move.

The purple-bearded man’s technique was incomparably profound, and his speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, the six Giant Dragon Cores had changed positions thousands of times in the air. Even with a Spiritual Sense as sharp as Zhaang Ye’s, he couldn’t lock onto the man’s movements. All he could see was the six Inner Cores moving rapidly, a blur of red before his eyes.

Suddenly, the purple-bearded man seemed to sense something. He let out a soft “Hm?” and a terrifying aura flashed across his body as his eyes glinted, scanning his surroundings. After a moment, he shook his head slightly and swiped his hand through the air.

SHWAAA!

With the purple-bearded man’s swipe, the six bright red Giant Dragon Cores suddenly formed a line in the air, stopping directly in front of the three young experts.

The purple-bearded man said slowly, “Alright, you may now make your choice. Pick one of these six Inner Cores and swallow it. I will give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to make your selection.”

Zhaang Ye stared at the Giant Dragon Cores and thought, ‘Fire Spirit, your Spiritual Sense is far stronger than mine. Did you see the purple-bearded man’s movements clearly?’

The Fire Spirit sighed softly. ‘I only saw ninety-nine percent of it.’

A flicker of joy appeared in Zhaang Ye’s heart. ‘Can you identify the non-poisonous Giant Dragon Cores?’

The Fire Spirit replied, sounding frustrated, ‘I’m only ninety percent certain. That old bastard seemed to sense me spying on him just now. He used up his Innate True Qi to block my Spiritual Sense.’

Zhaang Ye thought slowly, ‘Out of six Inner Cores, three mean life and three mean death. That’s only a fifty-fifty chance. Having a ninety percent chance of survival is already quite good. Under these circumstances, if I still pick a poisoned Inner Core, then it can only be fate.’

The Fire Spirit giggled, replying confidently, ‘Don’t worry. From what I’ve observed, your destiny has always been pretty good. You definitely won’t die here. Oh, by the way, when I was using my Spiritual Sense at full power just now, I discovered some other interesting things inside this Sword Monarch Hall. I’ll tell you about them later.’

While Zhaang Ye was conversing with the Fire Spirit, the Flower King and Shui Daimai were cautiously examining the six Inner Cores. Their eyes glinted, wishing they could see right through them.

Zhaang Ye gave them a brief glance, then took a step forward and, following the Fire Spirit’s guidance, took one of the Inner Cores.

The Flower King and Shui Daimai both watched Zhaang Ye, waiting for him to swallow the Inner Core.

Zhaang Ye smiled faintly, and without so much as a blink, he popped the Inner Core into his mouth and swallowed it.

The Flower King and Shui Daimai’s eyes widened, and they stared intently at Zhaang Ye, waiting for his reaction.

BUZZ!

A vast aura suddenly erupted from Zhaang Ye’s body. Along with this aura, a faint golden light emanated from him, making him look as if he were made of gold.

A long while later, Zhaang Ye spat out several mouthfuls of black blood. The blood had a putrid stench, as if it were filled with endless impurities. After spitting out the blood, Zhaang Ye slowly opened his eyes, looked at the Flower King and Shui Daimai, and laughed loudly. “My apologies, the Inner Core I chose just happened to be a non-poisonous one. You two, it’s your turn to choose.”

The expressions on the Flower King’s and Shui Daimai’s faces turned even uglier. Now, among the five remaining Inner Cores, only two were non-poisonous. Their chance of dying had risen to sixty percent. In other words, they only had a forty percent chance of surviving the third trial.

They both took a simultaneous breath and used the last bit of their time to continue their selection.

Having chosen a non-poisonous Inner Core and escaped disaster, Zhaang Ye felt a sense of relief. While the Flower King and Shui Daimai were choosing their Inner Cores, Zhaang Ye performed Introspection to check his body.

After consuming the Giant Dragon Core, a strange power had emerged within Zhaang Ye’s muscles. This strange power was the aura of the Ancient Giant Dragon. Tempered by this aura, the impurities in Zhaang Ye’s body were expelled, making his physique even stronger.

In addition to his body growing stronger, Zhaang Ye’s Dantian and Meridians had also expanded. Zhaang Ye estimated that with just half a year of quiet Cultivation, he had a good chance of breaking through to the True Dao Fifth Layer Middle Stage.

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH!

Just then, the Flower King and Shui Daimai finally made up their minds. They each chose a Giant Dragon Core, closed their eyes, and swallowed them!

Zhaang Ye watched them intently.

After a long moment, a vast aura erupted from both of them. Then, they each spat out a mouthful of black blood, filling the entire hall with a putrid stench.

Zhaang Ye looked at the blood on the floor and mused, ‘The blood they spat out is actually the impurities from their bodies. This means the Inner Cores they chose were also non-poisonous. Their luck is just too good.’

It wasn’t strange that Zhaang Ye had chosen a non-poisonous Inner Core; after all, he had the help of the Fire Spirit’s Spiritual Sense. But for the Flower King and Shui Daimai to have also successfully chosen non-poisonous ones was far beyond Zhaang Ye’s expectations.

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

The Flower King let out a long laugh as he came to his senses. At the same time, Shui Daimai heaved a long sigh of relief, a smile of having survived a brush with death on her face.

“Hm?”

The purple-bearded man stared at the three of them, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He had never expected that all three young experts would pass the third trial.

The purple-bearded man pondered for a moment, thinking, ‘Of the three, I only need one. The other two can be refined into Sword Servants. Since all three passed the third trial, I’ll have to ask *it* to help out.’

Having made up his mind, the purple-bearded man said slowly, “Unexpectedly, all three of you have passed the third trial. However, I only need one successor, so the trials must continue.”

As he spoke, the purple-bearded man gently grasped at the air. With that motion, a loud RUMBLE echoed through the hall, and a dark, deep passageway slowly appeared.