Ziyang and the others returned to the front courtyard of Yue Nan Marquis Estate and reunited with Old Song, Old Zhu, and the others.
"Ziyang, Le Xuan, Nannan, how was it?" Old Song saw the obvious joy on their faces and knew they hadn't encountered any difficulties. While relieved, she didn't forget to ask.
"It was good. Great-grand-aunt took us to worship the faith that the Moon Lineage and Yin Clan have worshipped for generations," Zhang Lexuan replied with a smile. "Old Song, Old Zhu, let's head back to the hotel first."
"Mm, alright!" Old Song nodded, agreeing.
"Xuanxuan, Nannan, I'll wait for you at the Marquis Estate tomorrow morning!" Xu Jianwei reminded them immediately when she saw Zhang Lexuan and the others about to leave. "Don't forget!"
"Mm-hmm, we won't forget!" Zhang Lexuan replied.
Ziyang and his group returned to the hotel and gathered the disciples. According to the mutually agreed plan, they needed to first completely control the Yue Nan Islands. This naturally required the help of Shrek Academy, so Old Song and Old Zhu assigned tasks to Wu Ming and the other seven Inner Courtyard Disciples.
These matters were unrelated to Ziyang, so while Zhang Lexuan and the others were in a meeting, Ziyang had already returned to his room to discuss the day's events with Electrolux and the two Soul Spirits, Xue Bing霜.
"Tsk tsk tsk! I really didn't expect it, another God Position!" Electrolux clicked his tongue, exclaiming, "The goddess of taiyin, a deity who controls the power of Taiyin. This World is truly peculiar!"
"I really envy you humans!" Second Shuang also sighed, saying, "You can obtain the inheritance of a deity so easily and casually, unlike us Spirit Beasts, who cultivate with great difficulty and hardship, enduring heavenly tribulations, yet don't even have the qualifications to become a god!"
"Mm-hmm! Exactly!" Snow Empress also echoed in strong agreement, "The heavens are truly unfair!"
"Bing'er, Shuang Er, you don't need to complain!" Snow Empress said with a gentle smile, comforting the two. "We are no longer Spirit Beasts, but Soul Spirits. When Dad becomes a deity in the future, we will naturally be elevated to godhood. Compared to those Spirit Beasts, we are undoubtedly much luckier!"
"Xue'er is right," Ziyang also said with a smile. "You really don't need to be so self-pitying. From the moment you became my Soul Spirits, you have already surpassed the Spirit Beast race by far!"
"Hehe, that's true!" Second Shuang then broke into a playful smile, saying, "Ziyang, you need to work harder, quickly complete the Death God Fourth Trial, don't procrastinate anymore!"
"Alright, alright, I will!" Ziyang, urged by Second Shuang, could only say with a smile, "Once Nannan and Sister Lexuan begin their Taiyin First Trial, I'll go back and then continue to complete the Death God Fourth Trial!"
—
The next day, in the early morning, Ziyang, Zhang Lexuan, and Jiang Nannan met Xu Jianwei at Yue Nan Marquis Estate. After Xu Jianwei briefly explained their next destination, the group of four set off.
Xu Jianwei led them flying towards the south of April Island. After crossing a dense jungle, the four arrived at a cliff. It was an arc-shaped cliff face, with a distance of nearly a thousand meters between its two ends. The cliff face was incredibly smooth, displaying a faint silver color, looking full of mystery. Waves crashed against the cliff face in succession, each reaching over ten meters high.
What surprised Ziyang and the two girls was that there was no wind near this sea cliff, yet the sea surface below the cliff kept churning with huge waves. From the moment they arrived until now, the waves had not stopped, constantly crashing against the rocks.
"Haha, this is the trial ground for the Moon-Luring Tide." Xu Jianwei saw their surprise and explained with a smile, "This place is called Moon Arc Cliff. It is said to have once been blessed by the Moon God, which is why the sea surface here continuously churns with waves, crashing against the cliff face of Moon Arc Cliff. Look, at that spot on Moon Arc Cliff, there's a row of protruding platforms. Those undergoing the trial need to sit on them and endure the crashing waves."
Ziyang and the two girls looked in the direction Xu Jianwei pointed, and sure enough, after a wave receded, they saw a series of rock platforms. Each platform was small, only enough for one person to sit on, and each wave was just high enough to submerge these platforms.
"These waves really won't stop?" Jiang Nannan asked, looking at the continuous waves.
"Yes, at least they didn't stop when I underwent the trial," Xu Jianwei said. "Don't let these continuous waves fool you; each one weighs over a thousand jin and, when it hits a person, has the best body-tempering effect."
"Understood, Nannan, let's begin!" Zhang Lexuan nodded, then said to Jiang Nannan.
"Mm!" Jiang Nannan nodded, and then the two girls leaped. In the lull between one wave subsiding and the next rising, they accurately landed on two platforms, each sitting down to await the first wave's assault.
Ziyang looked at the two girls below and suddenly had an idea, asking, "Can I also go down and experience it?"
"No!" Xu Jianwei heard this and decisively shook her head, saying, "This Moon Arc Cliff is specially prepared for trial-takers. Those who haven't received the trial cannot land on the platforms."
"Is that so?" Ziyang stroked his chin, pondering something. He didn't disbelieve Xu Jianwei's words, but his curiosity compelled him to make a move that startled Xu Jianwei.
Ziyang seized the opportunity and leaped, jumping towards a platform next to Jiang Nannan. However, just as he was about to reach the platform, an unprecedented pressure suddenly struck. Ziyang was caught off guard and was directly suppressed by this pressure, plummeting straight into the sea below.
This scene made both Zhang Lexuan and Jiang Nannan worried. They both stood up and looked at the sea below. Only after seeing Ziyang surface did they relax. Just as they were about to sit down again, a huge wave crashed directly onto them. Their clothes were instantly soaked, and their bodies swayed from the impact of the huge wave. However, they both managed to stabilize themselves in time and did not fall off the platform.
Zhang Lexuan and Jiang Nannan dared not be distracted again. They immediately sat down and focused on dealing with the next wave that followed.
On the other side, Ziyang, who had failed in his attempt, wasn't annoyed. Although his previous action was a bit embarrassing, he didn't care at all. He swam out of the Moon Arc Cliff's range, and the gravitational force that had restricted him from flying disappeared. He immediately left the sea, flew in a large circle to return to Moon Arc Cliff, and then saw Xu Jianwei looking at him with a half-smile.
Ziyang chuckled, saying nothing.
In the time that followed, Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan endured the crashing waves below, while Ziyang silently meditated above. With Xu Jianwei present, even if the two girls couldn't hold on, she would bring them up. After all, Moon Arc Cliff would not attack the trial-takers, and Xu Jianwei was also a trial-taker.
—
In the Star Luo Empire, at the foot of Red Minister Mountain, in a small town called Chijia Town, Ma Xiaotao, who had been traveling for over a year, had just walked out of the town and was heading towards the depths of Red Minister Mountain.
"Huan Er, hurry up, don't dawdle!" Ma Xiaotao turned back, her pretty face filled with helplessness and doting as she called out.
"Coming, coming, Sister Xiaotao!" A red-haired girl responded to Ma Xiaotao's call.
The girl was tall and slender, almost as tall as the twenty-year-old Ma Xiaotao. Her long red hair cascaded down her back like waves, and in front, her proud chest was in no way inferior to Ma Xiaotao's. If judged solely by her figure, the girl appeared to be at least twenty years old.
However, despite such a 'cheating' figure, the girl's pretty face was unexpectedly tender, with large eyes, a small mouth, a perky nose, and small tiger teeth, looking full of innocence and naivety. Her watery gaze, when it fell upon someone, would unconsciously evoke a desire to protect her.
"You really are something, always eating!" After the girl ran to Ma Xiaotao's side, Ma Xiaotao, with doting eyes, pinched the girl's delicate cheek and teased her.
"Hehe, because it's really delicious!" The girl giggled, handing the untouched food in her other hand to Ma Xiaotao's mouth, saying, "Here, Sister Xiaotao, you try it too, it's super delicious!"
"You, you really haven't eaten in vain!" Ma Xiaotao took the food the girl offered, her gaze sweeping over the girl's chest, and exclaimed, "She's only sixteen, yet she's already at the same level as me."
"Ah? Sister Xiaotao, what do you mean by'same level'?" The girl, Huan Er, heard Ma Xiaotao's words, raised her bright, innocent eyes, and asked with pure curiosity.
"It's nothing..." Ma Xiaotao's mouth twitched slightly, and she quickly changed the subject, saying, "Let's go, let's see if there are any Spirit Beasts on Red Minister Mountain suitable to become your sixth spirit ring!"
"Hehe, there should be, right? Didn't Sister Xiaotao say that this Red Minister Mountain is an active volcano?" The girl Huan Er's voice was full of innocent tenderness as she spoke.