From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 513 The Path of Trials Begins

The chill from inside the door, mixed with a musty smell, rushed up. Just as goosebumps appeared on the back of my neck, the jade pendant felt as hot as a burning charcoal.

Looking down, the jade pendant was pressed against the skin of the collarbone, emitting a very faint red glow—exactly the same color as the runes on the door knocker.

"This is the Library Pavilion?" Su Yao's golden hairpin swayed in the light of the luminous pearl, and she pulled back the silver butterfly dart she was holding. "Why isn't there even a bookshelf?"

I followed her gaze.

The walls of the circular stone chamber were inlaid with fist-sized luminous pearls, which made the walls appear bluish-green. There were no scriptures there.

Instead, the ground was engraved with a formation that covered half an acre in size, with dark red lines crawling like living creatures in the cracks of the rocks, and the edges were shimmering with tiny flashes of lightning.

"This is the 'Starfall Array'," Elder Xuanfeng's bronze bell rang softly. "Those who break the array will enter, those trapped will be eliminated."

Before he finished speaking, Ling Feng had already stepped onto it.

The jade pendant at his waist gleamed with a deep blue light—it was the token of the young sect leader of the Cangwu Sect, indicating that he had been preparing for this for some time.

Su Yao bit her lip and quickly followed, twirling a silver butterfly dart between her fingers: "Senior Brother Ling, wait for me!"

I stared at the lightning at the edge of the array.

Those tiny sparks of electricity weren't flashing randomly; every three breaths they would move half an inch clockwise.

Just then, Ling Feng casually made a hand seal, condensing a ball of cyan spiritual energy at his fingertips and slapping it towards the center of the formation.

"boom--"

Suddenly, the array exploded with a burst of red light, and Ling Feng was thrown back, staggering two steps with blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

Just as Su Yao was about to throw her silver butterfly dart, the lightning suddenly changed direction and "whooshed" through her sleeve, burning a charred hole in the snow-white satin.

"This method of breaking the formation is wrong!" Su Yao stamped her foot, the pearls on her golden hairpin trembling wildly. "My father said the Starfall Formation requires the activation of the five elements..."

"Shut up." Ling Feng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze fixed intently on the array diagram. "I've looked through your father's 'Hundred Array Diagrams,' the key to the Starfall Array lies in 'reversal.'" He reached out and pressed his hand against the patterns in the northwest corner of the array diagram, channeling spiritual energy through his fingers. "Look at these lightning patterns, they're clearly..."

Before he could finish speaking, a red mist suddenly rose from the center of the array, enveloping him completely.

Su Yao lunged forward to pull him away, but the red mist burned her hand, causing blisters to instantly form on her fingertips: "Senior Brother Ling!"

"Don't rush," said Master Huixin, her voice like the morning mist over a spring mountain. She stood beside me, her prayer beads spinning very slowly. "This sermon is spiritual; it recognizes the heart."

I touched the "Soul Lock Record" at my waist.

When the array diagram lit up, the dark patterns on the spine of the book also became hot—it was an ancient scroll I obtained in the far north ice plains, which recorded a similar "living array".

The tremors of the protective jade grew more and more rapid. I stared at the trajectory of the moving lightning patterns and suddenly remembered the words Night Shadow had spoken before his death: "The flames of calamity burn away all illusions, and true meaning will naturally reveal itself."

"The Calamity Fire that Night Shadow spoke of..." I murmured, reaching out to press my hand against the pattern in the southeast corner of the array diagram.

The lightning patterns there dimmed as I moved, as if in response.

Su Yao turned her head sharply: "Are you crazy? Ling Feng is trapped!"

I ignored her.

The spiritual energy at the fingertips flowed along the patterns, moving in the opposite direction of the lightning patterns—half an inch every three breaths, and moving half an inch back every three breaths.

When the spiritual energy completed its third circle around the center of the array, the red mist suddenly dissipated.

Ling Feng stumbled out of the mist, his face pale, and clung to the stone wall for support, but his eyes shone with an astonishing light: "You... how did you do that?"

"The array spirit doesn't recognize the five elements; it follows their nature." I withdrew my hand, and the heat of the heart-protecting jade finally subsided somewhat. "The lightning patterns are avoiding the tribulation fire, so we need to activate them along with their retreat."

The stone chamber was so quiet that one could hear the crisp sound of Su Yao's silver butterfly dart hitting the ground.

She stared at my trembling fingertips, then suddenly grabbed a silver butterfly dart from the ground and threw it onto the array diagram: "I don't believe it!"

The moment the dart tip touched the lightning pattern, the entire stone wall suddenly trembled.

The light from the luminous pearl flickered, illuminating Su Yao's gold hairpin that had fallen behind her ear, and her wide eyes were filled with resentment.

"The formation has been successfully broken." Elder Xuanfeng's bronze bell rang three times, and the ground in the center of the formation slowly cracked open, revealing a downward staircase. "The next test awaits you."

I followed the crowd up the stairs. As I passed Ling Feng, he suddenly whispered, "Miss Xiao's skills remind me of the legendary inheritor..."

"Senior Brother Ling!" Su Yao suddenly grabbed his sleeve, causing the pearls on his golden hairpin to hit the stone wall. "Look!"

I looked up, following her gaze.

The stone wall, which was originally inlaid with luminous pearls, is peeling away, revealing the bluish-gray rock behind it.

The uneven surfaces of the rocks vaguely outlined the shape of a maze—interconnected alleyways, intricately designed corners, and a faint, ethereal light in the deepest part.

"This is..." Master Huixin's prayer beads stopped moving. "It seems the next challenge is even more difficult than breaking the formation."

I touched the jade pendant around my neck.

It started getting hot again, the temperature drilling down my collarbone to my heart, as if reminding me of something.

A cold laugh came from behind him. Ling Feng's knuckles turned white as he gripped the sword hilt. Elder Xuanfeng's bronze bell rang softly in front of him.

The wind from below the steps whipped up stone dust, which stung my eyes.

When we opened our eyes again, the outline of the maze was clearer, and something seemed to be moving in the crevices of the uneven rocks—like countless eyes watching our every step.

Elder Xuanfeng's bronze bell rang three times at the entrance of the alley, and the stone walls of the maze suddenly made a soft "click" sound—the leftmost alley wall began to slowly move to the right, like a boulder being pushed by an invisible hand.

I stared at the trajectory of the moving wall, the protective jade burning painfully under my collarbone. The heat traveled through my veins to my fingertips, even more scorching than during the Starfall Array.

"Watch out!" Mingyue's voice came from behind.

Her white sleeves billowed in the wind, and her fingertips, holding a jade hairpin, pointed to my right: "The dent in that wall is moving!"

I sidestepped the wall that had moved to the right, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Su Yao clutching a silver butterfly dart and trying to hide it in her sleeve, the pearl on her gold hairpin brushing against her reddened earlobe.

Just now, her sleeves were burned by lightning patterns in front of the Starfall Array. At this moment, the stray hairs at her temples were covered with cold sweat, and her eyes stared at me like poisoned needles.

“The walls of this maze change direction every seven breaths,” Ling Feng suddenly spoke up. The jade pendant at his waist glowed with a faint blue light, clearly indicating he was using spiritual power to find his way. “Miss Xiao, look at the moss in the corner—”

Before he could finish speaking, the wall on the left suddenly accelerated and crashed into the spot where he had just been standing.

Ling Feng spun around to dodge, and as his back pressed against the other side of the stone wall, a crack suddenly appeared in the wall, and three poisoned short arrows shot out with a "whoosh".

He gritted his teeth and swung his sword to parry. Sparks from the blade grazed the arrowhead and landed on the back of my hand, burning me and making me pull my hand away.

"It's a trap!" Su Yao hurled her silver butterfly dart toward the source of the arrows, only to see the short arrows suddenly turn three feet away from her and "clang" into the ground at her feet.

Her face turned pale, and as she stepped back, she stepped on a protruding rock—which turned out to be alive!

A red-scaled snake darted out of a crevice in the rock, flicking its tongue and coiling around her ankle.

"Junior Sister Su!" Ling Feng was about to pull her away when I saw that the scales on the snake's belly were bluish-gray—it was a venomous snake, which loves to burrow into warm places.

I grabbed the "Soul Lock Record" from my waist and slapped it at the snake's head. Suddenly, the dark patterns on the spine of the book glowed with golden light, and the snake's body hissed and curled into a ball, then fell to the ground with a "thud" and remained motionless.

Su Yao collapsed to the ground, scattering her silver butterfly darts all over the floor.

She stared at the book in my hand, her eyes reddening: "You...you knew there were snakes here!"

"The snake's belly scales are bluish; it's a treacherous snake that prefers shade and fears metal." I reached out to pull her, but she shook off my hand, her fingernails leaving red marks on my wrist.

The heat from the heart-protecting jade suddenly surged, and I looked up in the direction of its heat—at the end of the alley directly in front of me, the originally closed stone door had cracked open, letting out a sliver of light.

"The finish line is there!" Mingyue tugged at my sleeve. Her plain dress was covered in stone dust, but the wooden hairpin in her hair remained perfectly in place. "I've counted. The wall's movement follows the pattern of 'advancing from the Gen position and retreating from the Li position.' Follow me!"

We sprinted along the right wall, the roar of the moving wall exploding in our ears.

I noticed that the indentations on each wall corresponded to different trigrams: Gen for mountain, Li for fire, and Zhen for thunder—it turns out that this maze was arranged according to the sixty-four hexagrams of the Book of Changes!

The vibrations of the protective jade resonated with the divination symbols. Following its guidance, I turned left and right, squeezing through the gap just as the wall was about to close.

"We're here!" Mingyue pointed to the stone gate ahead, her forehead beaded with sweat, but her eyes shone like stars.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, I suddenly heard a whooshing sound behind me—it was a silver butterfly dart!

Su Yao had somehow appeared behind us, her hair disheveled, a golden hairpin askew behind her ear, and snake blood still stained her fingertips: "Xiao Yao, do you think you can keep me under your thumb forever?"

The tip of the dart had a ghostly green hue, clearly indicating it was poisoned.

I dodged to the side, but tripped over a protruding rock at my feet.

At the critical moment, Mingyue's plain white ribbon "whoosh" wrapped around the dart. She bit her lip and pulled hard, and the silver butterfly dart "clanged" against the stone wall, leaving a scorched mark on the stone surface.

"Junior Sister Su!" Elder Xuanfeng's bronze bell rang urgently. He had appeared at the entrance of the maze without anyone noticing. "Private duels are strictly prohibited during the trial. Do you know your mistake?"

Su Yao nearly bit her lower lip to pieces. Staring at the jade pendant around my neck, she suddenly laughed: "I know I was wrong, but if Xiao Yao can get through this, why can't I?"

“Your mind is distracted.” Master Huixin’s prayer beads had somehow ended up in her hand. “Just now, when the venomous snake coiled around your ankle, your first reaction wasn’t to avoid it, but to reach for the silver butterfly dart.”

Su Yao's face turned pale instantly.

I stood still, leaning against the stone gate. The moment my fingertips touched the patterns on the gate, the warmth of the heart-protecting jade suddenly subsided—as if it had completed some kind of mission.

The stone door creaked open, revealing a small stone chamber. In the center stood a jade tablet engraved with runes, and in front of the tablet were several pills that glowed with spiritual light.

"Speed ​​and reaction time test passed." Elder Xuanfeng's voice came from behind. "Next is..."

His words were interrupted by the commotion on the other side of the stone gate.

I peered through the crack in the door and saw that the door to the next room was ajar. The light leaking through the crack was ten times brighter than a luminous pearl, making the stone chips on the ground float to the surface.

The light wasn't a cold white, but a warm golden color, like the sun bathed in the morning mist.

The heart-protecting jade started getting hot again. This time, the heat traveled through my blood vessels to my heart, like a fine needle pricking my heart.

I touched the jade pendant around my neck and suddenly remembered the collapsed temple in the far north ice plains—on the stone platform at the deepest part of the temple, there was also a book that shone with the same golden light.

“Miss Xiao?” Mingyue put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s time for the next test.”

I took a deep breath and turned around to see Su Yao staring through the crack in the door to the next room. The silver butterfly dart at her fingertips glittered in the golden light, as if she wanted to hide it in her sleeve.

Ling Feng stood beside her, his gaze towards the ball of light no longer one of inquiry, but rather one of almost devout fervor.

Elder Xuanfeng's bronze bell rang softly again, and I stepped over the stone gate.

The door to the next room slowly closed behind me, and the golden light grew brighter and brighter, so bright that I could barely open my eyes.

In a daze, I heard the sound of pages turning, like someone softly saying, "You've arrived."