Chapter 85 The Beginning of the 5 Trials

Chapter 85: Chapter 85 The Beginning of the 5 Trials

The ancient chamber trembled.

Golden light spread across the floor, illuminating the mysterious markings that had remained dormant for countless years.

Lin Chen immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Everyone, move away from the formation!"

The 9 others reacted without hesitation, retreating from the central platform.

However, before they could leave the chamber, the golden markings suddenly spread beyond the platform, crawling across the surrounding walls like countless streams of light.

BOOM!

A powerful spatial fluctuation swept through the chamber.

Lin Qing’s expression changed.

"This formation is activating!"

Lin Chen had barely opened his mouth to respond when the entire chamber was swallowed by golden light.

Their surroundings vanished.

But the Lin Clan youngsters weren’t the only ones experiencing this phenomenon.

Throughout the Primordial Sealing Ruin, similar changes were occurring.

In a ruined valley, several cultivators who had gathered around the remains of an ancient building suddenly stopped what they were doing.

Golden markings appeared beneath their feet.

"What is that?"

Before anyone could investigate, the markings spread rapidly across the ground.

A cultivator attempted to leap away, but the light followed him.

"Something is wrong! Get away from the formation!"

His warning came too late.

The ground erupted with golden light, engulfing everyone in the valley.

In another section of the ruin, several young geniuses were fighting over a collection of medicinal herbs.

One of them had just reached for a rare spiritual plant when strange symbols appeared around the group.

"What kind of formation is this?"

"Forget the herbs! Get out of here!"

They tried to retreat, but the golden light had already surrounded them.

In the next instant, they disappeared.

Farther away, a young cultivator was running for his life.

Behind him charged a massive beast covered in dark scales. Its claws tore through the ground as it closed the distance between them.

"How unlucky can I be?!"

The young man gritted his teeth and poured all his spiritual energy into escaping.

He had entered the ruin hoping to obtain an opportunity. Instead, he had encountered a beast far stronger than himself.

The beast opened its mouth and lunged.

Just as the young cultivator believed his life was about to end, golden markings suddenly appeared beneath him.

"Huh?"

The beast’s claws descended.

But before they could reach him, golden light engulfed his body.

The beast struck empty ground.

The cultivator vanished.

Elsewhere, the successors of the 7 Forbidden Families and 8 Forbidden Sects were experiencing the same phenomenon.

Shi Tianba had been examining the remains of an ancient stone monument when golden markings suddenly appeared around him.

His brows furrowed.

"What is this?"

He released his spiritual sense, attempting to investigate the formation.

However, the moment his spiritual energy touched the glowing markings, an overwhelming spatial fluctuation swept through the area.

Shi Tianba’s expression changed.

"Wait—!"

Golden light swallowed him before he could finish speaking.

At another location, Ji Xueyan was exploring a ruined hall with several cultivators from her group.

She had just discovered a strange inscription on a broken pillar when the entire hall began glowing.

Ji Xueyan immediately retreated.

"This isn’t an ordinary formation!"

The inscription beneath her feet brightened.

A powerful force enveloped her, and she disappeared along with everyone else in the hall.

Huangfu Lei, Feng Yuling, Beiming Yue, Sikong Chen, and Xiahou Jian encountered the same phenomenon in their respective locations.

None of them had time to react properly.

The formation appeared, activated, and transported them away.

The Forbidden Sects suffered the same fate.

At the Myriad Heaven Sect’s location, Shen Feng was examining a broken staircase when golden symbols appeared beneath him.

Su Qinghuang turned toward him.

"Senior Brother, look!"

Before either could move, the staircase, walls, and surrounding ground were covered in golden light.

The 2 disappeared.

Mo Chen and Luo Xue of the Blood Moon Sect were engulfed while discussing a possible route. The same thing happened to cultivators from the Eternal Calamity Sect, Myriad Ages Sect, Netherworld Sect, Starfall Forbidden Sect, Void Severing Sect, and Sunless Heaven Sect.

No location was spared.

The 9 Holy Families and 8 Holy Sects were affected as well.

Some cultivators were searching for inheritances.

Others were gathering herbs, fighting beasts, exploring ancient buildings, or investigating mysterious formations.

Regardless of where they were or what they were doing, the golden formation appeared beneath them.

Then the same spatial force swept through every location.

And all of them disappeared.

The Primordial Sealing Ruin fell silent.

When the golden light finally faded, every cultivator who had entered the ruin found themselves standing on an enormous stone platform.

The platform stretched across a vast area, surrounded by towering black pillars engraved with ancient symbols.

A strange sky hung above them, while distant stone structures floated amid swirling spiritual mist.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

Then confusion erupted.

"Where is this place?!"

"I thought I was still exploring the ancient hall!"

"Wait! I was fighting a beast just now! Where did it go?"

A young cultivator from a Holy Family looked around in disbelief.

"I was searching for an ancient inheritance. How did I end up here?"

Another cultivator from a Forbidden Sect clenched his fists.

"I had almost defeated that beast! I was about to obtain its core!"

A young woman from one of the Holy Families stared at her surroundings.

"I was collecting medicinal herbs with my companions. One moment, we were still in the valley, and the next, we were here!"

The complaints came from every direction.

Many cultivators were still trying to understand what had happened.

Some immediately searched for their companions.

Others examined the platform, hoping to identify the formation responsible for transporting them.

Then several people began recognizing the powerful successors standing nearby.

"Isn’t that Shi Tianba of the Shi Family?"

"Ji Xueyan is here too!"

"Look over there! That’s Shen Feng of the Myriad Heaven Sect!"

"Mo Chen of the Blood Moon Sect!"

"Even the successors of the Holy Families and Holy Sects are here!"

The realization spread rapidly.

This wasn’t a small group of cultivators who had accidentally entered the same hidden region.

Everyone who had entered the Primordial Sealing Ruin appeared to have been gathered together.

At the Lin Clan’s position, Lin Chen looked around and counted his companions.

"Everyone is here?"

"Yes," Lin Qing answered.

Lin Mo frowned.

"We were inside that tomb. How did we end up here?"

Lin Yu studied the enormous platform.

"Whatever happened, it affected the entire ruin. We weren’t the only ones transported."

Lin Jue nodded.

"And judging by the reactions around us, nobody seems to have known this would happen."

Lin Chen remained silent as he examined the surrounding pillars.

He had a feeling that this place was no ordinary section of the ruin.

Before anyone could investigate further, a deep, ancient sound suddenly rang across the platform.

The entire crowd fell silent.

"Welcome, cultivators, to the Trial Grounds of the Primordial Sealing Ruin."

The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Nobody could determine its source.

A powerful pressure spread across the platform, causing even the most arrogant geniuses to become cautious.

The ancient voice continued.

"The deeper inheritance of the Primordial Sealing Ruin cannot be obtained through ordinary exploration. Those who seek to proceed must undergo 5 trials."

The crowd immediately erupted.

"5 trials?"

"What trials?"

"Why weren’t we told about this before entering?"

At the position of the Forbidden Families, Shi Tianba’s expression turned unpleasant.

"The elders never mentioned anything about trials!"

Ji Xueyan’s gaze remained fixed on the surrounding pillars.

"My family told me to explore the ruin, seek opportunities, and avoid unnecessary danger. They never said we would be forced into something like this."

Huangfu Lei snorted.

"Mine didn’t mention trials either. If they had known, they would certainly have warned us."

Feng Yuling nodded.

"The same goes for my family."

Nearby, Shen Feng exchanged a glance with Su Qinghuang.

"Our sect master never mentioned anything about this," he said.

Su Qinghuang looked toward the empty space above the platform.

"Perhaps even the elders didn’t know."

At the Blood Moon Sect’s position, Mo Chen’s expression was equally serious.

"Our elders spoke about inheritances, herbs, and cultivation opportunities. Nothing about 5 trials."

Luo Xue folded her arms.

"Then we’d better find out what these trials involve before making any decisions."

Similar conversations broke out among the 9 Holy Families and 8 Holy Sects.

Their elders had sent them into the ruin expecting them to search for opportunities, obtain inheritances, and gain experience.

Nobody had prepared them for this.

At the Lin Clan’s position, Lin Mo muttered, "We came here to explore a ruin. How did it become a competition?"

Lin Qing glanced at him.

"We don’t even know whether it’s a competition yet."

"Whatever it is, I hope the rewards are worth the trouble."

Lin Chen shook his head.

"Listen first. We still don’t know the rules."

As though responding to his words, the ancient voice sounded again.

"The 5 trials shall test your strength, judgment, resolve, and comprehension. Those who pass each trial shall proceed to the next. Those who complete all 5 shall earn the right to pursue the deeper inheritance."

The words caused another stir.

A deeper inheritance!

Even the cultivators who had been complaining began paying closer attention.

However, the voice wasn’t finished.

"Those who die within a trial shall not die permanently in the outside world. Upon death within the trial grounds, the formation shall transport them outside the Primordial Sealing Ruin, where their elders await."

The crowd quieted.

Then the voice delivered the final condition.

"However, those expelled in this manner shall suffer a regression of 1 minor cultivation level. They shall be eliminated from the trials and shall not be permitted to continue."

For several moments, nobody spoke.

Then a young cultivator exclaimed, "We lose a cultivation level if we die in a trial?!"

Another cultivator’s face paled.

"Even though we return alive?"

"1 entire level? Do you know how long it took me to reach my current realm?"

The implications were clear.

They wouldn’t permanently die inside the trials, but they could lose the cultivation they had painstakingly built over the years.

A Void Refining Realm Level 6 cultivator, for example, would return to the outside world at Void Refining Realm Level 5.

And once expelled, they would lose their opportunity to participate in the remaining trials.

At the Lin Clan’s position, Lin Qing’s expression grew serious.

"So we must be careful. Dying doesn’t end our lives, but it ends our participation and costs us a cultivation level."

Lin Chen nodded.

"Exactly. We cannot treat this as an ordinary adventure."

Across the platform, Ji Xueyan narrowed her eyes.

"The formation has made its rules clear. We should understand the trials before deciding how to proceed."

Shi Tianba clenched his fists.

"I don’t care how powerful the inheritance is. I’m not losing a cultivation level carelessly."

The ancient voice fell silent.

For the first time since their arrival, the cultivators had a clear understanding of their situation.

They had been gathered into a mysterious trial ground.

5 trials awaited them.

Those who passed would continue.

Those who died would return alive to the outside world, 1 cultivation level weaker, and their chance to obtain the deeper inheritance would end.

Yet 1 question remained.

Could they refuse to participate?

A young man from one of the Holy Families stepped forward and raised his voice.

"Senior, are we required to participate in these trials? If someone doesn’t want the inheritance, can they leave?"

The platform fell quiet as everyone waited for the answer.

The ancient voice spoke once more.

"All cultivators gathered here are bound by the trial formation. The trials shall proceed."

The young man frowned.

"That still doesn’t tell us whether we can leave!"

He turned and rushed toward the edge of the platform.

The moment he approached the outer boundary, an invisible force stopped him.

He pushed against it with all his strength, but the barrier remained unmoved.

His expression changed.

"I can’t get through!"

Several other cultivators immediately tried to leave through different directions.

They all encountered the same invisible barrier.

The formation had gathered them here, and it would not allow them to leave at will.

At the Lin Clan’s position, Lin Chen looked toward the center of the platform.

"We have no choice but to proceed carefully."

Lin Qing nodded.

"Then let’s see what the first trial is."

As though hearing her words, the ancient inscriptions covering the pillars began to glow.

A massive stone gate slowly emerged from the mist ahead of them.

The ancient voice rang across the platform for the final time.

"The first trial shall now begin."

The stone gate began to open.

And every cultivator turned their attention toward the darkness beyond it.

The 5 trials had begun.