Volume 1, Chapter 185 – The Trial

“This Sovereign has set two trials. If you can pass them, you will obtain this Sovereign’s inheritance.”

“I…”

“Bang—”

Shi Lan had just opened her mouth to ask if she could refuse the trial and go back the way she came when the Guiyun Sword Sovereign’s wisp of divine sense waved his hand and slammed the doors of Guiyun Hall shut, completely ignoring her wishes.

Clearly, when the Guiyun Sword Sovereign left this inheritance behind, he had not given anyone who entered this place the option to choose.

This left Shi Lan a little helpless. She had originally planned to return first and come back when her strength was greater and her chances better.

This wisp of the Guiyun Sword Sovereign’s divine sense obviously didn’t possess the ability to truly communicate. It could only follow a fixed pattern, carrying out the arrangements its owner had made back then.

The divine sense slowly stepped up to Shi Lan, raised his hand, and reached toward the top of her head.

By normal standards, Shi Lan was already fairly tall, but compared to this wisp of the Guiyun Sword Sovereign’s divine sense, she was still more than a head shorter, barely reaching his chest.

Seeing the divine sense’s movement, Shi Lan instinctively wanted to back away, but she couldn’t even move a single finger.

When the large hand pressed onto the crown of her head, it was as if a tidal wave crashed through Shi Lan’s mind. After a bout of spinning sky and earth, her vision went dark, and she lost consciousness.

…

Weak. Powerless.

That was what Shi Lan sensed first when her consciousness returned. Her body felt hollow; the vast true qi within her had vanished without a trace. Her tough flesh that could withstand a mid-grade magic treasure head-on was gone as well—her muscles and bones were soft, her hands and feet weak.

It was as if she had never cultivated the martial path at all.

The smell of moldy straw filled her nose and mouth, a little pungent. A faint prickling, like the sting of needles, came from her face.

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Forcing her eyes open, she propped herself up and shook her groggy head. Without sparing a glance for her surroundings, Shi Lan hurriedly began checking her own body.

The Yueji Skirt she had been wearing had completely vanished, replaced by a tattered cloth skirt covered with patches.

A few breaths later, Shi Lan let out a soft exhale.

All of her strength was completely gone.

“Samsara?”

Shi Lan called softly twice, but received no response.

Her power had disappeared, and Samsara had gone silent. A faint unease rose in Shi Lan’s heart as she tried to summon the Empress-raising System’s panel.

A familiar light screen slowly unfolded.

Shi Lan hadn’t held out much hope, so seeing the system still respond caught her slightly off guard.

After sweeping a glance over her attribute panel, Shi Lan froze.

Host: Shi Lan [Status: abnormal.]

Cultivation: mid Earth Fiend Realm [Sealed.]

Aptitude: 9 (Innate spiritual body, seen once in a thousand years.)

Cultivation Arts: Yuqing Creation Art (second layer), Vajra Divine Fist (mastery), Jade Tempering Art (eighth level)

Divine Abilities: Heaven’s Eye Qi-Sight (three stars), Black Domain (seven stars)

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Strength Evaluation: has achieved minor success

Reputation: 169,750 (renowned throughout the region)

[Exchange]

Time flow difference with the Lingyang Realm: [1:127.6]

Her strength was clearly still there, only sealed away.

The Exchange button below the reputation line no longer responded, and a new “time flow difference” line had appeared at the bottom of the panel…

Did that mean this place wasn’t the Lingyang Realm?

As Shi Lan was pondering this, the Guiyun Sword Sovereign’s voice sounded by her ear.

“Within three years, take control of a territory ten thousand li across. That is this Sovereign’s first trial…”

Take control of ten thousand li within three years?

Shi Lan frowned. How could she afford to spend three years here? The system’s main quest required her to reach the Heavenly Astral Realm within two years. More than half a year had already passed; her time had never been ample.

Moreover, the Guiyun Sword Sovereign had sealed her cultivation. Here, she clearly couldn’t cultivate.

If a quest timed out and she failed to complete it, that would cost her life.

As she was thinking, Shi Lan’s expression shifted slightly. She glanced at the time flow difference at the very bottom of her attribute panel, then hurriedly opened the quest section.

[Main Quest: Reach the Heavenly Astral Realm within two years.]

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[Remaining Time: 1 year, 5 months, 12 days…]

[Quest Completion Reward: two intermediate lottery chances, advanced body-tempering cultivation art True Martial Undying Body. Quest failure will result in the Host’s erasure, and the system will enter self-destruct mode.]

[Main Quest: Within one year, slay one thousand demon beasts at the early Earth Fiend Realm or above.]

[Remaining Time: 5 months, 12 days…]

[Quest Completion Reward: one portion of Ancient Enlightenment Tea. Quest failure penalty: deduction of fifty thousand reputation points.]

A time line had also appeared in the quest section, its changes extremely slow—after a full quarter hour, only about ten seconds had passed.

Clearly, the quest timer was being calculated according to the flow of time in the Lingyang Realm.

Three years here amounted to less than ten days there—something she could afford.

Temporarily setting aside her worries, Shi Lan turned her head and began examining her current surroundings.

She was inside a dilapidated temple, modest in size, no more than three zhang across. The windows all around had been boarded up, leaving the light rather dim.

Inside the temple stood only a single Buddha statue nearly a zhang tall, wrapped in cobwebs.

Beneath her was a layer of straw, speckled with mold from having seen no sunlight for a long time.

Shi Lan had at least gone through a transmigration once before. Looking down at the ragged cloth skirt she was wearing, she couldn’t help letting out a soft sigh. This starting point did not seem very auspicious.

Putting aside her anxiety about her own situation, Shi Lan felt a hint of awe toward the Guiyun Sword Sovereign.

The Guiyun Sword Sovereign had been dead for who knew how many tens of thousands of years, yet the backhand he’d left behind still possessed heaven-reaching power, completely beyond her understanding.

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After moving her limbs a little, Shi Lan found that by normal standards, her body wasn’t actually that weak. It was just that hunger had left her limbs slightly limp.

Her previous strength had been far too great. Suddenly becoming an ordinary mortal was bound to create a sense of weakness and powerlessness.

Bracing one hand on the ground, Shi Lan stood up and slowly walked out of the dilapidated temple.

Outside, it was midday. The blazing sun hung high, and the heat was rather stifling.

The temple stood beside a dirt road about three zhang wide, with desolation stretching all around.

With her cultivation gone, Shi Lan’s eyesight was no longer as sharp as before. She could only vaguely make out wisps of cooking smoke in the distance.

Directly across from the temple was a hillside. On it grew an ancient tree that would take five or six people to encircle with their arms. Under the shade, a few figures lay sprawled, avoiding the scorching sun.

Shi Lan lifted her feet and walked over.

The three people lying in the shade were all dressed as beggars, and each was of a different age: a man in his sixties, a thin middle-aged man, and a lean youth of about thirteen or fourteen.

“Young miss, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Before Shi Lan could speak, the old man was the first to open his mouth, his expression tinged with concern.

Shi Lan was slightly taken aback, then shook her head and said, “Elder, how did I end up here? Where is this place?”

“I can’t shoulder being called ‘elder’ by a young miss like you. Just call me Old Hongtou.” The old man shook his head and sat up.

“This place is the West City Temple. Thirty li to the east is Qingzhou City. As for how you came to be here, we don’t know. Last night, when this old man got up in the middle of the night, I found you lying alone at the temple door…”