Rong Jin’s vines had now grown thicker than wagon wheels when they chose to expand. Every leaf-bud along them was larger than a human head. When the buds opened, rows of frighteningly sharp teeth appeared within. The sight was indescribably ferocious.
Even while it was acting spoiled, Rong Jin looked ready to devour someone at any moment.
To Xu Ziqing, however, Rong Jin was adorable. He reached out and stroked the leaf-bud that had leaned toward him.
Its teeth immediately withdrew a little, never scraping his hand as it obediently accepted the touch. Among the rows of teeth was another sharp spike, round at the base and tapered at the tip like an inverted cone. It extended and contracted as though forever seeking something to suck.
Xu Ziqing supposed that this was what the demonic vine ordinarily used to drink flesh and blood. Now that it had matured, its teeth could also chew.
It had become much more frightening than before.
Finding this fascinating, Xu Ziqing touched the inverted-cone spike as well.
The spike drew back, almost as if avoiding him, unwilling to harm so much as a sliver of his skin.
A message immediately rose from deep within Xu Ziqing’s dantian. Rong Jin had grown even more aggrieved at his teasing.
“Mo… Mother… Won’t, won’t hurt…”
Xu Ziqing gave a light cough and stopped teasing it. “Don’t be upset, Rong Jin. You’ve helped me today. When there’s flesh and blood to eat in the future, I’ll be sure you get your fill, all right?”
Rong Jin had a child’s temperament and was easy to console. It had always been close to Xu Ziqing, and his reassurance left it thoroughly satisfied.
It promptly withdrew its dozens of vines, leaving only a single slender one wrapped around Xu Ziqing. It rested the leaf-bud at the tip against his shoulder and occasionally rubbed it affectionately against his cheek.
Xu Ziqing allowed this, and, thinking the eighth trial probably lay ahead, continued walking.
But this time, no human puppets awaited him. Instead, an enormous jade stele stood before him.
The stele was snow-white and flawless. No words were written upon it. It bore only the imprint of a palm.
Xu Ziqing paused in surprise. Could this be the eighth trial?
After thinking briefly, he placed his palm against the imprint, aligned his fingers, and pressed gently.
A tremendous suction force instantly surged from the stele, drawing true essence out of his body.
The stele shone brightly and turned a dense green.
At the same time, Xu Ziqing himself was pulled bodily into it and vanished from the passage.
After a dizzying whirl, he landed on solid ground. He felt that the true essence in his dantian, which he had painstakingly restored to eighty percent, had been depleted by nearly half again.
A large amount of information had also been forced into his mind.
When he sorted through it, he was startled once more.
He had actually passed the test already?
The ruins permitted only Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators to undertake its trials, and the requirements were exceedingly strict.
Refining puppets was extremely difficult, while the great hall preserved the sect’s core cultivation arts and techniques. Only people of exceptional talent could qualify for the inheritance.
For a Golden Core cultivator, the assessment consisted of the first through seventh trials. Anyone who destroyed every puppet without sustaining a single injury passed.
Nascent Soul cultivators, on the other hand, had to complete all nine trials. They likewise had to destroy every puppet and emerge unharmed. Otherwise, even someone who managed to eliminate the puppets in the ninth trial could receive only a gift, not the true inheritance.
Xu Ziqing had used arts that commanded green beasts and the myriad woods. None of the puppets had managed to injure him. The jade stele following the seventh trial was therefore the transport point that allowed a qualified Golden Core cultivator to enter the inheritance hall.
And that was precisely where he now stood.
Having understood everything, Xu Ziqing raised his head to examine the hall.
What he saw made him gasp in astonishment.
The hall was a hundred zhang high and just as wide, an enormous, majestic structure.
But its sheer size was not what left him stunned. At the back stood an absolutely gigantic puppet beast, at least twenty zhang tall. Its body was pitch-black, radiating a ferocity like that of metal. Its four hooves seemed poised to trample the heavens!
The puppet beast’s aura was unfathomable. It was at least beyond Soul Transformation, perhaps even comparable to an Out-of-Body cultivator!
Beneath it stood countless human puppets in densely packed ranks. At least a dozen near the center possessed strength exceeding Nascent Soul, with hundreds more at Nascent Soul or higher. In the outermost ranks, Golden Core human puppets rode puppet beasts of the same realm. There might be thousands, even tens of thousands of them!
Such an enormous collection of puppets represented an extraordinary wealth of resources.
A sphere floated before the giant puppet beast.
It, too, was pitch-black and appeared exceedingly heavy. Yet it hovered steadily in place, without moving at all.
Unless Xu Ziqing was mistaken, it probably contained the inheritance.
Dozens of lights circled the sphere. Each was only the size of a fist, but each radiated astonishing spiritual energy.
Xu Ziqing stared for a while, overwhelmed by the relics the Thousand Puppets and Myriad Marionettes Sect had left behind.
Yet although he had reached the deepest part of the ruins, he still did not know how to get out.
At that moment, he sensed the atmosphere in the hall change.
Xu Ziqing immediately grew alert and turned to look toward one side.
In an open space near the front of the hall, the air began to twist. A figure slowly appeared, becoming solid from nothing, its blurred outline growing clear.
Once Xu Ziqing saw who it was, he relaxed, and joy welled up in his heart.
The person appearing from nowhere was none other than his senior brother.
His senior brother must have passed all nine trials, and evidently had not suffered a single injury either.
Xu Ziqing knew that Yun Lie must have fought his way through the trials at close range, relying on his own prowess rather than anything that might be called a shortcut. Xu Ziqing, by contrast, had needed Rong Jin’s assistance.
Yun Lie saw his junior brother, and his expression softened slightly. “Ziqing.”
Xu Ziqing approached him with a smile. “Senior Brother, you’ve passed the trials. Did you learn anything?”
Yun Lie nodded and explained what he knew.
After the seventh trial, he had entered the eighth and faced ten puppet cultivators with early Nascent Soul strength.
But puppets of his own realm were no match for him. After using them to practice his sword techniques for a while, he shredded them one after another.
In the ninth trial, ten puppets with late Nascent Soul strength surrounded him. Once again they could do nothing to Yun Lie. In fact, they piqued his interest enough that he fought them longer, finding the chance to hone his swordsmanship quite satisfying.
Once he cleared all nine trials, an ancient, vast voice informed him that he had passed and could enter the inheritance treasure hall.
At the same time, Yun Lie learned that one other person had succeeded. All remaining challengers had already been expelled from the ruins.
He did not know who that person was. He knew his junior brother’s strength well, however, and did not believe Xu Ziqing could withstand several Nascent Soul cultivators attacking together. Yun Lie therefore assumed the other successful challenger must be a Nascent Soul cultivator. Since only one person could receive the inheritance, he expected to have to fight this other survivor for it.
Yun Lie was cold by nature, but he was never less vigilant than anyone else. As soon as he sensed the space around him begin to change, he prepared for combat.
Even he had not expected to find Xu Ziqing waiting when he arrived in the treasure hall.
After listening, Xu Ziqing explained how Golden Core cultivators passed the trial. He felt exceedingly fortunate.
Although he was at the peak of late Golden Core, he would still need to be cautious if he fought seasoned Nascent Soul cultivators in a battle to the death. Certainly, with Rong Jin at his command, he could theoretically face several Nascent Soul opponents without fear. But anyone who survived long enough to reach Nascent Soul in the Qianyuan Great World was bound to have hidden methods. Ordinary contests were one thing; a desperate fight for survival was another.
Even he might suffer a loss.
Naturally, it was better to avoid needless trouble.
As it happened, he and his senior brother were the two who had passed. There was nothing to fight over.
That was truly fortunate.
Xu Ziqing smiled. “In that case, Senior Brother, please collect these puppets.”
Yun Lie’s eyes swept the collection and paused briefly upon the enormous puppet beast. “Almost Mahayana.”
Xu Ziqing sucked in a breath. “Senior Brother, do you mean this puppet beast is comparable to a Mahayana cultivator?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “Just one step short.”
Xu Ziqing looked at the puppet beast again, filled with awe.
If the Thousand Puppets and Myriad Marionettes Sect could create a puppet this powerful, how magnificent must it have been in its prime!
If his senior brother possessed such a thing, Xu Ziqing would have much less reason to worry about his safety when he traveled outside the sect in the future.
Without further discussion, Yun Lie swept out his sleeve and gathered the puppet beasts into a superior-grade storage bracelet.
He left behind only five late Nascent Soul human puppets, ten late Golden Core human puppets, ten puppet beasts of the same realm, and the colossal puppet.
Evidently, he intended Xu Ziqing to take them.
Understanding his senior brother’s kindness, Xu Ziqing collected the Nascent Soul and Golden Core puppets. But he did not take the enormous beast.
Yun Lie said, “With this creature, you could travel wherever you wished without concern.”
His thoughts had been precisely the same as Xu Ziqing’s.
Xu Ziqing shook his head. “Once we return to our mountain domain, I’ll be in seclusion for a long time. Senior Brother, you won’t only have to defend the Heaven Pillar alone. If you need to leave the sect for anything, I’m afraid I won’t be able to accompany you.” He sighed. “I’ll be cultivating safely in our domain, but whenever you travel, you’ll need to be careful. If you take this beast with you, I’ll worry less and won’t let concern disturb my state of mind.”
Otherwise, the longer he remained in seclusion, the more he would miss his senior brother. His feelings might escape his control and even give rise to another inner demon.
But much of that longing arose from worry. With this puppet at Yun Lie’s side, Xu Ziqing would be less anxious and his state of mind more at peace.
He added, “After I leave seclusion, we won’t need to be apart, so I’ll have nothing to fear. And before you go into seclusion another time, you can give it to me, so you won’t have to worry about me either. What do you think?”
Yun Lie considered this and nodded. “As you wish.”
With that settled, neither lingered on the matter.
Yun Lie beckoned again. A huge hand appeared out of thin air, collecting the dozens of white lights and the black sphere.
Xu Ziqing extended his spiritual sense into one of the lights and was surprised yet again.
This was… a first-grade spiritual vein?