The "fundamental forbidden arts" the Huchen Ancestor spoke of did indeed exist in the refining of magical treasures. A magical treasure could not be successfully refined just by obtaining the materials. Besides requiring a set of quenching techniques, its interior was composed of interconnected or nested formations, much like the meridians and bones in a human body.
At least one or more sets of these formations served as the most basic foundation of the magical treasure, known as the "fundamental forbidden art formation" or simply "fundamental forbidden art." It constituted the basic framework of the magical treasure, and all other formations and restrictions were built upon it, producing immense power through complex combinations.
After hearing the Huchen Ancestor's words, the crowd below let out a collective gasp of amazement. So this assessment area was an illusion created by a magical treasure the Ancestor had once used. The power they were seeing was less than twenty percent of its full strength, and even so, a Foundation Establishment cultivator might not be able to pass. And they had to be constantly wary of the fundamental forbidden arts within. Subsequently, they also felt relieved. It seemed they only needed to pay attention to the areas with fundamental forbidden arts. Even if they were poisoned in other places, there was a Nascent Soul Ancestor there to treat them.
Hearing the Huchen Ancestor's words, Zhuo Lingfeng and Li Yan exchanged a glance, a cold sneer forming in their hearts. 'Fundamental forbidden arts, red spiritual light shields, hmph. I'm afraid that even if there were no red spiritual light shields nearby, you could conjure one out of thin air. What a fine excuse to kill someone.'
Just as the Huchen Ancestor's voice fell, a figure shot up from the crowd on the viewing platform, flying like a bolt of lightning into the sky above the plaza. After a circle, he hovered in the air. He first bowed to the Huchen Ancestor and the others, then straightened his body and looked proudly at Zhuo Lingfeng on the platform. "Fellow Daoist, please go first, lest it be said that I, the host, am oppressing the guest."
This man was about thirty years old, of medium height, dressed in a black robe. His face was majestic, his eyebrows distinct. Standing in the air, his figure was tall and straight, presenting a fine appearance.
"It's Huchen Wanmu! Hasn't he been in life-or-death seclusion? He said he wouldn't come out until he successfully formed his core. I didn't see him just now. How did he get here?"
"Hehe, you don't know, do you? The reason Huchen Wanmu has been cultivating so fast these years is that all his cultivation resources were provided by the Fourth Branch. Now that the Fourth Branch needs him, it's only natural for him to come out. With his cultivation, his mastery of the Ghostly Poison Scroll is probably close to the sixth layer. I estimate that among those below the Golden Core realm in the family, few can be his opponent."
"Hmph, I heard that the young master Wuding's supporter is also at the Pseudo-Core realm. That may not necessarily be the case."
"Are you stupid? If both sides were to fight with their true abilities, it would be uncertain. The Pseudo-Core cultivator on Young Master Wuding's side might not give him time to set up his poisons. But what is this round testing?"
"..."
Amidst the whispers from below, a sneer tugged at the corner of Huchen Wanmu's mouth. He certainly knew what the Farewell Snow Sect cultivators were good at. He had heard that this person had once competed against cultivators from the four major sects and had even won several matches. If it were a true life-and-death battle, he might not necessarily win against him. But now? It was a different story.
'The Fourth Matriarch has given me so many cultivation resources over the years. I also promised back then that I would do my best whenever my help was needed. Now is the time to repay that debt,' he thought to himself, his eyes fixed on Zhuo Lingfeng.
Just as all eyes were on Zhuo Lingfeng, he didn't even move. This not only stunned everyone, but the Huchen Ancestor's gaze gradually turned sinister. 'Could it be that he knows he is going to die and is deliberately playing with me? If so, I will extract your soul and refine your spirit in public, to let you know the consequences of toying with a Nascent Soul cultivator.' That way, he would have a real reason to kill this person immediately, without having to be so secretive.
Just as the plaza began to grow quiet and somewhat eerie, a voice suddenly rang out. "Oh, my apologies, fellow Daoists. I was just thinking about something and was in a daze for a moment. We'll start the assessment now."
As this clear voice sounded, the crowd watched in extreme surprise as an ordinary-looking young man in a green shirt, who had been sitting next to Zhuo Lingfeng, stood up. He nodded apologetically to the crowd, then slowly flew up into the sky above the plaza.
Li Yan had just finished his quick exchange with Huchen Wuding. Knowing that he couldn't delay any longer, he stood up and flew into the air, stepping onto a flying sword of ordinary quality.
With Li Yan's rising and speaking, the plaza fell silent for a moment. Even the Huchen Ancestor was somewhat taken aback. Although he had long seen through Li Yan's hidden cultivation, no matter how he looked at it, Li Yan was not the best candidate.
The Chi Family Ancestor and the Xie Family Ancestor were also stunned. With their cultivation, although they hadn't paid attention to Li Yan before, a quick scan with their divine sense now clearly revealed his cultivation level. Even the Ye Family Ancestor, with his Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivation, although he couldn't see through Li Yan's cultivation, could sense that Li Yan was not what he appeared to be on the surface, but that was all.
"He didn't send out his strongest combatant. This is rather interesting," the Xie Family Ancestor had been somewhat dissatisfied with the Huchen Ancestor's sudden favoritism towards the Ye family, but like the Chi Family Ancestor, he didn't know the reason and was baffled. Now, seeing Li Yan's fearless demeanor, he found both sides to be extremely strange.
Looking at Li Yan who had arrived on his sword, and hearing the rising discussions in the plaza, Huchen Wanmu, though momentarily startled, soon wore an angry expression. He immediately thought that the other party was looking down on him.
"You know you're no match for me? Then you don't have to send a little Qi Condensation cultivator to fight me. Winning would be utterly boring. Would it be considered me bullying the weak? Or is Fellow Daoist Zhuo disdainful of fighting me?" Huchen Wanmu said coldly.
"The rules of this competition have already been stated. It is only a test of poison techniques, not a life-and-death battle. If Fellow Daoist feels this method is unacceptable, you can directly propose a life-and-death duel. In that case, it naturally wouldn't be me who fights," Li Yan glanced at Huchen Wanmu and said faintly.
As soon as he said this, Huchen Wanmu's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so I was mistaken. You are also a fellow Daoist of the poison cultivation path." In his surprise, he didn't even notice that Li Yan had called him "Fellow Daoist" instead of "Senior."
"Alright, it's getting late. Please!" Li Yan didn't want to waste any more words. After speaking, he gave a slight bow and flew towards the rear mountain.
"What an arrogant junior." Seeing Li Yan ignore his words and fly off first, the anger that Huchen Wanmu had just suppressed rose again. He hadn't seen a junior treat an elder so disrespectfully in many years. Although in the Huchen family, a Qi Condensation disciple could defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator under certain conditions, the order of seniority still had to be respected.
'This boy is at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but his spiritual power is not comparable to that of a normal early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. It's on par with the mid-stage. Which sect is he from? The spiritual power aura on him is one I have never seen before. He is definitely not a disciple of the Farewell Snow Sect. If he is truly from some hidden family, this matter would be quite troublesome. I think Zhuo Lingfeng has already explained the situation to them...' The Huchen Ancestor watched the two figures fly away amidst the discussions of the crowd, his youthful face showing deep thought. After a moment's consideration, he ultimately decided that regardless of the outcome, he still had to find a reason or secretly kill Zhuo Lingfeng and Li Yan. Cultivators who could reach the Nascent Soul stage were all experts who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How could they be tied down by a small matter, let alone just two small Foundation Establishment cultivators?
In the rear mountain, Huchen Tingchun sat cross-legged at the foot of the mountain. When Li Yan and Huchen Wanmu flew over one after the other and landed, they both bowed respectfully to him.
Huchen Tingchun had seen the two fly over long ago. After they paid their respects, he nodded slightly. But when his gaze swept over Li Yan, surprise still showed in his eyes. From his cultivation level, he also saw Li Yan as being at the Qi Condensation stage. But this surprise was fleeting. In the Huchen family, whatever the Huchen Ancestor said was like an imperial edict. Although he also had his own views on the results of the previous competition, he would never voice them. Although he didn't know what had ultimately happened in the plaza in front, resulting in the change to a Qi Condensation cultivator, he had no desire to ask.
"There are two paths up the mountain here. You two can each choose one. However, in my opinion, there is no difference between these two paths. Everything still depends on your performance within. I will guard here. If there is any situation, I will intervene immediately. If the situation the Ancestor mentioned, of mistakenly entering a 'fundamental forbidden art' area, occurs, the Ancestor himself will intervene. So there is no need to worry. You can just display your cultivation to the fullest. However, let me tell you in advance, after entering the path, there will be a no-fly restriction. You can only walk, or at most run, but you cannot fly."
When Li Yan landed just now, he had already seen that behind the meditating Huchen Tingchun were two mountain paths about ten zhang apart, winding upwards and disappearing into the grass and trees on the slope.
"Junior, don't say I'm bullying you. You can pick one first," Huchen Wanmu turned to look at Li Yan, displaying a certain degree of grace.
"Then many thanks!" Li Yan was not coy. He gave a slight bow to Huchen Wanmu and walked straight towards the path in front of him, without any hesitation or choice.
Seeing Li Yan disappear into the path in a few steps, Huchen Wanmu smiled faintly and also strode towards the other path.
Seeing the two quickly disappear into the mountain paths, Huchen Tingchun slowly closed his eyes. His powerful and unparalleled divine sense instantly spread up the mountain. In that moment, every blade of grass and every tree on this mountain peak, which was an illusion created by the Huchen Ancestor's magical treasure, was clearly reflected in his divine sense.
At the same time, on the light screen in the sky above the plaza in front, the entire mountain peak also became clearer. Two figures were moving up from the foot of the mountain, one fast and one slow.
The fast figure was like an arrow. At the very beginning, he seemed a little hesitant, but after only a few hundred meters, his speed became faster and faster. In the end, he was like an arrow shot from a bow, showing no signs of stopping at all.
This person was none other than Huchen Wanmu. At first, he was wary and cautious of the assessment set up by the Ancestor. After stepping onto the path, he released his full divine sense and enveloped his entire body in a spiritual light shield. At the same time, he slapped his hand and several medicinal pills flew directly into his mouth. These pills were refined by himself and had some resistance to common poisons. Now, just entering the slope, under unknown circumstances, it was of course necessary to be foolproof.
Huchen Wanmu felt an invisible, immense force pressing down from the sky, making the cultivators within feel as if their bodies were being held down. Although he had been warned by the elder, Huchen Wanmu still formed a hand seal. But when his body was less than a foot off the ground, he stumbled and fell heavily, his face a little pale. Then he walked a few steps forward, backward, left, and right, but there was no obstruction at all. He couldn't help but give up the last shred of hope of flying quickly.
So, next, in his perception, there were only the strong or fragrant smells constantly emanating from both sides of the path. In the distance, there were also clouds of miasma-like fog blocking the middle of the path. After carefully distinguishing them one by one, he was relieved that these poisonous smells and the poisons mixed in the air that could silently stick to one's body at any time were all within his controllable range. What he was worried about was whether these known poisons would suddenly condense and intersect on their own, evolving into mixed poisons. If that were mishandled, he would either faint on the spot or die. Even with the Huchen Ancestor's guarantee, he did not want any accidents to happen.
After carefully distinguishing the poisons here, Huchen Wanmu thought for a moment. After some consideration, he took out another white medicinal pill. A look of pain flashed in his eyes, and only then did he put it in his mouth.