The mountain slopes grew steeper, and the appearance of the forest changed.
The low shrubs and common tree species of the outskirts were gradually replaced by taller, ancient trees.
Thick canopies blocked the sunlight, leaving the area below with very limited light.
Ordinary herb gatherers would at most wander around the outskirts; collecting some low-grade items like chixin grass or Earth-Root Vine would be considered a bountiful harvest.
True Spirit Medicine was always hidden in deeper, more dangerous places.
The surrounding atmosphere turned cold and gloomy.
Qin Lin: "The deeper we go, the richer the aura of the Yao becomes."
"What's the panic?" Han Chen casually brushed aside a cluster of thorns hanging in front of him. The thorny branches bowed obediently to both sides under the faint glimmer of spiritual light from his fingertips.
"The things in these mountains that have attained any level of power have already been cleared out countless times by the Sect's Elders. As for what's left..." He sneered.
"They're just some insignificant beasts, perfect for us to practice on."
His tone was relaxed, and his steps were light.
The mountain path was rugged and the rotting leaves were slippery, but to him, Qin Lin, and Sang Linger, it was like walking on level ground.
Spiritual Qi flowed slowly within their bodies, supporting them to maintain a near-suspended lightness; even the hems of their robes hardly touched the mud.
In contrast, Jiang Xun, following behind, stumbled along with heavy breaths. His pant legs and straw sandals were splattered with mud, and the hair on his forehead was soaked with sweat, clinging to his temples.
At first, he could still lead the way, but once the mountain path became rugged, he could only fall behind.
[Basic Skill 'Trekking': Proficient]
Of the two hundred proficiency points, only one hundred remained.
The gap between a human and a Cultivator was such that they were no longer the same species.
Although he was also a Cultivator, the Spiritual Qi cultivated at the First Level of Qi Refining was extremely thin.
Moreover, he didn't dare use Spiritual Qi in front of them.
If he were discovered, he wouldn't be able to explain it.
After walking for a long time, even the sounds of birds and beasts in the forest faded away, leaving only the wail of the wind through the treetops and the soft snap of dry branches underfoot.
The four of them walked through the mountain forest in silence.
Jiang Xun had no right to speak, while Sang Linger and the other two each had their own thoughts.
The Sect trial consisted of groups of three, randomly assigned to various towns in the Yunqi Mountain Range.
They didn't know each other.
Han Chen probably felt bored, or perhaps he intended to show off in front of Sang Linger, as he suddenly spoke again, his voice sounding clear in the silent forest:
"Speaking of which, do you know the origins of this Yunqi Mountain Range?"
Qin Lin turned his head, his face expressionless. "Hasn't it always been called by this name?"
"Always?" Han Chen chuckled, carrying a sense of superiority from knowing secrets.
"That was changed later. Not far to the north of here is the border of the Northern Region. In the early years... it was the territory of the Myriad Yao Kingdom."
"Myriad Yao Kingdom?" Qin Lin's brow twitched.
To the Cultivators of the Southern Region today, this name already carried a hint of the bloodiness found in ancient legends.
"That's right." Han Chen was satisfied with having attracted his companions' attention, especially since he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sang Linger seemed to have slowed her pace as well.
"Back then, this mountain wasn't called the Yunqi Mountain Range. It had a more famous, and more terrifying, name..."
He paused deliberately before slowly uttering three words:
"Burial Prison Ridge."
Even the sound of the wind seemed to stagnate for a moment.
"According to scattered records in the Sect's archives, a great Yao of the Void Penetration Realm once resided here, with countless Yao soldiers and generals under its command. Its Evil Qi reached the heavens, making it one of the most perilous places in the Southern Region."
Han Chen lowered his voice, which, combined with the dim light in the forest, really created an atmosphere for telling horror stories.
As he spoke, he didn't forget to glance at Sang Linger out of the corner of his eye, seemingly wanting to see a hint of surprise or curiosity on her face.
Sang Linger showed no reaction and simply kept walking, as if listening to an old story that had nothing to do with her.
Instead, it was Jiang Xun, who had been silently following at the back and trying to minimize his presence, who suddenly tripped when he heard the words "Burial Prison Ridge."
He barely managed to steady himself by grabbing a small tree nearby, his face instantly flushing with a nearly comical look of shock.
His clumsy and exaggerated reaction immediately caught Han Chen's eye.
"Pfft—" Han Chen laughed rudely, pointing at Jiang Xun from a distance, and said to Qin Lin and Sang Linger, "Look at that, scared out of his wits already? A Mortal is just a Mortal; his legs go weak just hearing an ancient name."
He shook his head, the contempt in his voice almost overflowing. "That's why I say, without the protection of the Sect, people like you wouldn't last a single day."
Jiang Xun quickly let go of the tree trunk and stood up straight, a forced smile of embarrassment and lingering fear on his face as he bowed repeatedly:
"Please don't laugh, Immortal Master. I... I just thought the name sounded too terrifying, and I slipped, I just slipped..."
He even cooperatively patted his chest, looking as if he still had lingering fears.
Jiang Xun tried to suppress the joy in his heart.
No wonder he felt the name "Yunqi Mountain Range" was unfamiliar when he first arrived in Yunshan Town.
The map of "ethereal immortal destiny" was as vast as a real world. Back then, for the sake of a speedrun, he only focused on conquering key characters and main storyline areas. He simply couldn't remember the names of many transitional zones, and in the later stages, he relied directly on teleportation points, leaving large areas covered in fog.
Plus, the Original Owner's understanding of the world was very limited.
This led him to mistakenly believe that the Yunqi Mountain Range was an unexplored area he had bypassed.
But "Burial Prison Ridge" was different.
He was all too familiar with this place!
It was an important resource dungeon and plot point in the Middle Stage of the game!
That Void Penetration Realm great Yao "Blood Prison Nether Spider" that resided here was exactly one of the BOSSes he had meticulously designed a "strategy" to take down for Materials and experience!
Of course, with the strength of his game character at the time, a direct confrontation would have been pure suicide.
He definitely had to find someone to soften the blow first.
So he set his sights on an NPC in the game, the top Sword Immortal of the Southern Region, "Yan Qingning."
First, he maxed out Yan Qingning's favorability at the time, utilizing her sense of justice and anger toward the Yao Race's atrocities to lure her to Burial Prison Ridge.
Then, he "accidentally" discovered the Nether Spider's weakness and "happened" to provide key information. When Yan Qingning and the Nether Spider were both exhausted from their bloody battle and the spider was on the verge of death, he "timely" appeared.
He "tearfully" delivered the final blow, calling it "rescuing the Fairy and eradicating evil to the end"... At that time, Yan Qingning was down to her last bit of health, yet she still looked worried about whether Jiang Xun was injured.
She was a very competent tool.
Qin Lin's voice interrupted Jiang Xun's turbulent thoughts. He asked:
"Since a Void Penetration great Yao once resided here and it was so dangerous, why would the Sect still designate this place as a trial ground for Foundation Establishment Disciples?"
Han Chen withdrew his gaze from his contempt for Jiang Xun, his tone becoming casual again:
"Naturally, it wasn't at first. The earliest ones to come here for trials and purges were all Senior Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Core Stage."
"But over a thousand years, how many times have the powerful figures in the mountains been repeatedly cleared out? Not even one in ten remains."
"These remaining first and second-tier, at most third-tier, minor Yao are perfect for us Foundation Establishment Cultivators to test our courage and see some blood."
Otherwise, what's the point of just swinging swords at wooden posts in the Sect?
He added:
"Nowadays in these mountains, the most powerful ones are probably just some third-tier Yao Beasts that luckily survived and hid deep inside, equivalent to our strength in the Middle or Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.
With the Magical Artifacts and Talismans bestowed by our Masters, the three of us working together have nothing to fear."
At this moment, Sang Linger, who hadn't said much, suddenly spoke, her voice clear and cold: "Senior Brother Han."
"Ah, Junior Sister Linger?" Han Chen replied immediately, a smile unconsciously forming on his face.
"You said that Void Penetration Realm great Yao—who was it killed by?" Sang Linger asked.
"Of course I know!" Han Chen thought his chance to show off had come. He puffed out his chest and spoke with certainty.
"This matter is recorded in the Sect's archives! A thousand years ago, Elder Yan Qingning, with a Soul Transformation Peak cultivation, entered Burial Prison Ridge alone and fought a bloody battle with that Void Penetration great Yao for three days, causing the heavens and earth to change color!
In the end, she had a Breakthrough during the battle, comprehended the supreme Sword Dao, and slew the Yao with a single sword strike, spreading the prestige of our Xuanxiao! This is a legendary tale of our Sect's Legacy!"
He spoke vividly, as if he had been there in person. "Afterward, our Xuanxiao Immortal Sect was able to move from the Eastern Region to the Southern Region because of this reason as well."
Listening to this, Jiang Xun felt his calves go weak again, and this time he wasn't faking it.
He was truly frightened.
He quickly supported himself against a nearby rock to avoid making a fool of himself again.
A thousand years ago? He finally realized that this Xuanxiao Immortal Sect was the Xuanxiao Sect.
It wasn't a shift in the world line.
He thought he had started a new save, but in reality, he had been in the old one all along.
And the timeline had already advanced by a thousand years.
He wondered if the NPC Yan Qingning, whom he had tricked into fighting the boss for him back then, still remembered him now?
He hoped not!
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
The things he had done in the game probably wouldn't be wiped away so easily.
Jiang Xun warned himself in his heart that he must never get involved with the female characters he had pursued in the game.
Otherwise, he really might "die."
Sang Linger nodded.
She suddenly asked another question, her tone flat, yet it caused the smile on Han Chen's face to freeze:
"Then does Senior Brother Han know who my Master is?"
Han Chen was stunned.
With thirty-six grotto-heavens and seventy-two Spiritual Peaks in the Xuanxiao Sect, and Disciples as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, how could he know every single one?
His previous attentive advances were merely because he saw Sang Linger's outstanding appearance and extraordinary temperament, thinking of becoming familiar with her during the trial so they could perhaps develop a relationship after returning to the Sect.
How could he have ever thought about her lineage?
"This... Junior Sister's name is Linger, but I wonder under which Elder you have studied?" Han Chen's tone was somewhat awkward.
Sang Linger didn't speak; she simply flipped her fair hand, and a warm white jade plaque appeared in her palm.
The jade plaque had an ancient design, with four small characters in ancient seal script carved on the front using spiritual runes:
Jade Void Grotto-Heaven.
Qin Lin, who had been silent and stern-faced all along, suddenly had his pupils contract the moment he saw the jade plaque, and he even lost his voice in a low cry:
"Jade Void Grotto-Heaven?! You... you are under Immortal Venerable Han Yao?"
"Immortal Venerable Han Yao?"
Han Chen looked blank, clearly having never heard of this title.
Qin Lin gave Han Chen a look as if he were an idiot and lowered his voice, yet his tone carried an unmistakable tremor:
"Immortal Venerable Han Yao is the very Elder Yan, Yan Qingning, whom you just mentioned as the one who slew the Void Penetration great Yao!
'Han Yao' is her title. It's only because she hasn't traveled outside for a long time that ordinary Disciples mostly refer to her as 'Elder Yan'.
You didn't even know that?"
Han Chen's face turned white in an instant.
He had actually shown off her Master's "deeds" in front of Immortal Venerable Han Yao's Disciple?
Sang Linger had already taken back the jade plaque, as if she had only shown a common item.
But her nose was held high in the air.
"Humph!"
She didn't look at Han Chen again, whose face was turning pale and blue, nor did she pay attention to the surprise in Qin Lin's eyes.
She simply cast her gaze toward Jiang Xun, who had his back to them, and frowned slightly.
Because that Mortal's shoulders had suddenly trembled when he heard the name "Yan Qingning."
His steps even faltered.
Although he quickly steadied himself, in Sang Linger's eyes, she only felt that this Mortal was truly as timid as a mouse, having nearly fallen three times along the way.
To be scared like this just by hearing a name, he really was useless.