Who Let Him Cultivate?!

“Eh? We’re back again?” Lu Yang opened his eyes to find himself back in the mysterious white space.

There were many familiar faces around him: Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, Chi Xulong, Shen Jinyi and so on.

Only ten people from Yanjiang Rudder had successfully passed the first two trials, and Lu Yang knew only half of them – he hadn’t had enough time to trick the remaining half into revealing their personal information.

Memories of the previous levels gradually returned: the Mantis Fist in the first level, and pushing the potato cart in the second…

It seems the trials of the Eternity Sect aren’t so difficult,” Lu Yang felt that his approach was pretty standard – anyone with a brain could do it.

“I had the same thought,” Meng Jingzhou agreed, “The first trial just required being bitten by a spider, the second involved punching a fat man.”

Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou in slight surprise. “Hmm? How come our method of passing the trials isn’t the same?”

Meng Jingzhou confidently shrugged, “That’s obvious, isn’t it? My method must be the standard one. You probably passed by dumb luck.”

Lu Yang scoffed at Meng Jingzhou’s confidence: “Ridiculous. The first trial saw me master the Mantis Fist, reflecting my Martial Dao proficiency; what did your first trial reflect? That you’re lucky? Do you think the Eternity Sect recruits based on luck? It’s clear that my method was the standard one!”

“I advise you to face reality.”

Man Gu listened from the side as the two stubbornly argued. He silently recalled his methods.

In the first trial, he had learned perseverance from the spider, strategy from the mantis, and in the second trial, empathy and thorough consideration from the task.

“In that case, my method seems rather common. It looks like Brother Lu and Brother Meng’s methods are the correct ones. It’s just hard to tell who is the most correct,” Man Gu mumbled to himself, smiling as he felt he had learned something new.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou argued for a long time, but weren’t able to reach a consensus. Eventually, it was the onlooker Man Gu, who had the clearest mind and was able to end their argument.

“Could it be possible that both of your methods are correct?” he suggested, “The way of the Demon Path allows you to do as you wish. There may not be a right answer. Or perhaps, any method that allows you to pass is considered the correct answer.”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou looked at Man Gu in surprise, thinking that what he said made a lot of sense.

“I never knew the trials of the demonic sect were so broad.” Lu Yang remarked in admiration, and Meng Jingzhou nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, why are we back here after only passing two trials? What about the third trial?” The trio finally recalled the matter at hand.

The figure of the deputy Master appeared in the sky once again, holding a ball the size of a palm. There was a slit in the middle of the ball.

With a step into the air, the mysterious white space suddenly transformed. Centered on him, buildings surged out like a tidal wave. City walls, palaces, courtyards, lofts, towering mountains, rivers that spanned the whole city, busy pedestrians, hawkers, cultivators moving mountains and seas… it was like a bustling cultivator city.

The deputy master then divided everyone by their sect, scattering them across the city. The ten members of Yanjiang Rudder were seated in a small building with a view of the outside.

A voice devoid of emotion sounded in everyone’s ears: “Congratulations on passing the first two trials. Now, the third trial will begin.”

“This is a simulated city, and soon I will release your true nature. Your true nature will make you believe this world is real and drive you to commit acts you genuinely wish to.”

“The more destructive you are, the higher our evaluation of you will be. The time limit is one day and one night.”

The deputy Master then raised the ball in his hand, opening a slit to reveal a black pupil.

It wasn’t a ball, but an enormous eyeball!

The giant eye opened, and a bizarre purple light enveloped the whole city.

The deputy Master’s consciousness returned to their headquarters, still holding the giant eye.

“Indeed, only an Immortal Treasure could have forged this Immortal Eye. Nothing is more complex than the human heart. Only an Immortal Treasure can release one’s true nature and tease out the darkest side of a person.”

The deputy Master returned the Immortal Eye to the Master, somewhat reluctant because it’s rare to have the chance to use an Immortal Treasure.

Theoretically, he doesn’t have the authority to use the Immortal Eye. This time, in order to start the third trial, the Master temporarily lent it to him.

The Master said, “This third trial is crucial. It will determine whether any cultivators from the Righteous Path can infiltrate the Demon Path.”

“The Immortal Eye can release people’s true nature. Righteous Path cultivators are normally kind-hearted and will not cause too much destruction. Under the cover of the Immortal Eye’s light, those Righteous Path cultivators can’t even bring themselves to commit acts like murder and arson!”

“Moreover, when incompatible actions occur, Righteous Path cultivators will take action to stop it. In this way, we can screen out those Righteous Path cultivators who might have mixed in!”

The first prerequisite for becoming a member of the Eternity Sect is that you cannot be a Righteous Path infiltrator.

The deputy Master laughed, “Furthermore, this Immortal Eye can determine the level of destructiveness based on the cultivators’ cultivation level. With this Immortal Eye, the two of us just need to wait for the result.”

Squish-

A pedestrian’s heart was pierced by a sword. Onlookers screamed and fled. The rogue cultivator from the Demon Path stood behind, laughing wildly. As he laughed, he swung his weapon at others, killing mercilessly, and leaving corpses everywhere.

“Refreshing, refreshing!” The rogue Demon Path cultivator had never killed so joyfully before. In high spirits, he was releasing his true nature: “Today, with your corpses, I shall establish my foundation in the Eternity Sect!”

He intended to seize this opportunity to kill to his heart’s content!

“Stop!” A spear suddenly intervened, parrying the rogue cultivator’s sword.

The rogue Demon Path cultivator saw who it was and paused, “Who do we have here, isn’t this Fang Hao? Always putting on a cold front, I thought you were a thoroughgoing evildoer of the Demon Path. Turns out you’re from the Righteous Path.”

Fang Hao was doing his best to keep his emotions in check, reminding himself that this was a critical moment. He must not reveal his Righteous Path identity, or all his previous efforts would be in vain. But under the cover of the Immortal Eye’s purple light, any disguise was futile.

He couldn’t bear to see the Demon Path cultivator’s wanton killing. He wanted to do everything he could to prevent it!

He couldn’t resist this overwhelming urge that welled up in his heart!

Fang Hao engaged the Demon Path cultivator, their sword and spear clashed resulting in an evenly matched fight.

“Sure enough, there’s a Righteous Path infiltrator!” The deputy Master said angrily. If it weren’t for this third trial, this Fang Hao would have already joined the Eternity Sect!

The Master’s eyes were icy, “Without me having to say, you should know what to do.”

The deputy Master nodded, “I will order the Huangyue Helm Master to kill him.”

“Kill him? Hell no, inform the Huangyue Helm Master ASAP, our location has been exposed. Run!”

“Huh?” The deputy Master was dumbfounded.

The Master explained with some frustration, “What do you mean ‘Huh’? If Fang Hao could infiltrate our trials, then the Righteous Path must already know the location of Huangyue Helm. Shouldn’t we let them pack up and run?” “What about this Fang Hao?”

“We can’t kill him. The Righteous Path must have Fang Hao’s Soul Lamp. If Fang Hao is killed, the Righteous Path will know that the undercover operation has failed and will storm our headquarters. How would Huangyue Helm then have time to escape?”

“Oh.”