Chapter 369: Individual Combat

At that moment, Lu Sangjiu felt truly hesitant.

After all, she didn’t know if she could actually find the Heavenly Luo Pill. Other than the Heavenly Luo Pill, this Seventh Grade Demon Pill was probably the best thing she could get.

The elixir’s effect was to aid her cultivation. By consuming and slowly refining it, she could probably cut the time needed to reach the Late-stage Nascent Soul in half. It was enough to tempt her.

’Should I take what’s right in front of me, or continue chasing something ethereal and possibly end up with nothing?’

This hesitation made Lu Sangjiu understand once again the insidious nature of this trial.

A choice.

For many people, it was indeed a difficult thing to make.

They say a single thought can make you a Buddha or a demon. A choice can be so critical, sometimes deciding life or death... Who wouldn’t hesitate?

Even someone like Lu Sangjiu, who had seen countless treasures, was hesitant, let alone others.

However, she only hesitated for a moment before quickly making her decision.

She didn’t take the seventh-grade elixir. Resolutely, she pushed the drawer shut.

After a moment’s thought, she carved four marks on the outside of the drawer. ’If Luo Linlang doesn’t find a better option later, maybe she can help me get this one out?’

Having done that, Lu Sangjiu continued opening the drawers one by one.

By the time she reached the latter half of the drawers, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was almost up, yet she still hadn’t found the Heavenly Luo Pill.

She was moving a bit slowly. Before she could reach the very end, a voice echoed in the room. "Time is almost up. You will be teleported away shortly."

"Ten, nine, eight..."

The voice began to count down directly. Clearly, when it reached one, Lu Sangjiu would be gone from this place.

She quickened her pace, opening two more drawers. When the voice counted down to four, Lu Sangjiu’s gaze fell upon two drawers beside her.

In that instant, the mystical feeling she had experienced before appeared again. However... both of these drawers were giving her that same feeling!

She only had time to open one more. With no time to hesitate, Lu Sangjiu followed her heart and chose one.

She didn’t even have time to look after opening it. Just as she clasped the contents in her palm, she vanished from the room.

The next moment, Lu Sangjiu appeared in another place. But as she looked around, she didn’t see Duan Xingyun or the others.

She frowned slightly and called out a couple of times, but there was still no response.

Just then, the voice sounded again. "Congratulations on reaching the third level of the inheritance trial."

"This level is a personal battle. Any companions will be separated. If you all successfully pass the third trial, you will meet again on the fourth level."

Hearing this, Lu Sangjiu’s heart sank. Her bad feeling from before had come true.

’It’s a good thing I left the Six-sided Exquisite Dice with Luo Linlang in the end. I hope it can help her.’

’But... I wonder how Master and the others are doing. Especially Shen Yuzhao. He can’t use his Abnormal Fire, which makes him the weakest in our group right now. I really hope nothing happens to him.’

As her mind raced, the voice began to explain the rules of this level.

This level had none of the fancy gimmicks. It was a pure test of individual combat strength.

This level contained a total of seven stages, each with a guardian. Every guardian had a different fighting style and specialty.

She would need to fight her way through them one by one. Only by defeating all seven could she advance to the fourth level.

The strength of each guardian was not revealed. Lu Sangjiu would have to enter and experience it for herself.

After the voice finished speaking, a door appeared before Lu Sangjiu. Pushing it open would presumably start the trial.

Lu Sangjiu, of course, did not push the door open immediately. Instead, she looked down at the object she had just grabbed.

A small porcelain medicine bottle lay in her palm... It was indeed an elixir, but she didn’t know if it was the one she wanted.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Sangjiu opened the medicine bottle and tipped it. A round elixir lay quietly in her palm...

Lu Sangjiu sensed the tyrannical energy contained within it. Her eyes flew open, revealing ecstatic joy.

The Heavenly Luo Pill! It really is the Heavenly Luo Pill!

She declared her Second Senior Sister’s Word Spirit Technique to be the absolute best! Bar none!

Overjoyed, she stared at the Heavenly Luo Pill again and again. After confirming that it was, without a doubt, a Ninth Grade Elixir, she gleefully tucked it into her storage ring.

’This is great. Now I have a pretty solid guarantee. At a critical moment, I can eat this and become the strongest fighter. I can breeze through this inheritance trial.’

’As long as Master and the others can pass this trial safely and meet up with me, everything will be fine.’

With that thought, Lu Sangjiu collected herself and her gaze fell upon the large door before her... ’Alright then, let’s begin!’

「In the small world.」

Having been unconscious for an unknown amount of time, Xie Ningyuan slowly awoke.

He was somewhat surprised that he wasn’t dead yet.

That day, he had tried to force his way out of this place, resulting in grave injuries and an even more severe backlash.

At the time, he had clearly felt his life force slipping away... before he lost consciousness completely.

He had thought he would die, but he never expected to open his eyes again.

With a bitter laugh, Xie Ningyuan struggled to sit up cross-legged.

However, just as he began to circulate the Spiritual Power in his body to heal, he suddenly discovered something and froze.

Inside his Dantian, there was now a small... Bodhi.

He couldn’t be mistaken. It was the one he had given to Lu Sangjiu.

What was once an ordinary object was now nestled within his Dantian, emitting a soft light that seemed to add a trace of divinity.

’How did it get here?’

He had many questions, but a brief inspection told him that his backlash was being suppressed by this Bodhi Pearl.

But the cultivation he had lost had not returned. He was still only at the Divinity Transformation Stage.

’At least the backlash is taken care of for now.’

Xie Ningyuan didn’t have time to overthink it. He hurriedly circulated his Spiritual Power to repair his internal injuries.

However, while he was unconscious—perhaps due to his own Spiritual Power circulating, or perhaps because of the Bodhi Pearl—his injuries had mostly healed.

Now that he was consciously healing himself, it only took half a day for him to be more or less recovered.

He had been constantly worried about his master’s injuries, so his first thought was to leave this small world immediately.

Then, he discovered that the Bodhi Pearl had likely created a small opening when it entered, causing the once-impenetrable Barrier to become somewhat unstable!

This was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for a breakthrough. Xie Ningyuan immediately gathered his focus and unleashed a full-power strike at that spot!

BOOM!

The rebounding force made Xie Ningyuan spit out another mouthful of blood, but this time, the Barrier finally shattered!

A look of pure elation appeared on Xie Ningyuan’s face. He took a step forward, and without a second thought for anything else, immediately tore open the void and headed for the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect!