The woman in the blue robe beside Senior Lu stepped forward. She approached the group of teenagers, her clear eyes staring at each of their faces one by one with unconcealed wonder. "Senior Brother, if it is true they come from the Three Thousand Worlds, shouldn't they have a cultivation foundation at least at the False Immortal level?"
She stopped right in front of Xin Yan, who was looking down in terror. "Look at this girl. Her breath is short, her heartbeat is irregular, and her pores are clogged with mortal impurities. They truly are just ordinary humans who haven't even begun to cleanse their bone marrow."
Senior Lu snorted softly. The pressure that had been crushing them began to slightly dissipate, but his alertness did not diminish. "That is what puzzles me, Junior Sister Su. The Elder said the previous spiritual fluctuation was the appearance of a heaven and earth treasure from the Forest of a Thousand Purple Leaves, but we found no treasure other than these mortals. Enough, take them all to the sect and report to the elder!"
Senior Lu's words had just fallen when the night sky above the river was suddenly torn by a loud roar. A violent whirlwind descended from above, sweeping the river rocks and making the silver tree branches creak and break. The calm river water instantly churned, creating waves that slapped the banks.
"Lu Changkong, since when did the Forest of a Thousand Purple Leaves become the backyard of your Heavenly Cloud Sect? Monopolizing the Heaven and Earth Treasure alone, are you not afraid your stomach will explode?!" that hoarse and pressured voice echoed from all directions, bringing a shockwave that made Chu Xinghe and his friends collapse to the ground again. Their ears rang loudly, their vision blurred for a moment.
Above the sky, three large shadows glided down with the speed of meteors. The first was a giant two-headed eagle with feathers as hard as black steel. Every flap of its wings produced wind blades that sliced the river water surface. On the eagle's back stood a man built like a bear, bare-chested with a tiger tattoo that glowed red on his chest.
On the other side, a giant blood lotus floated down, emitting a thick red light that smelled fishy yet sweet. Two women in thin, seductive red robes stood on the lotus petals, staring with cynical smiles that froze the blood. Right behind them, a rusted bronze war chariot pulled by four flaming bone horses landed with a loud thud, creating spider-web cracks on the river stones.
An emaciated elder in grey robes stepped out of the chariot, his sunken eyes emitting a pale green radiance. Senior Lu Changkong's face turned grim. He swept his sleeve, creating a transparent protective curtain to withstand the wind blast from the arrival of the three parties. Junior Sister Su took half a step back, her hand reflexively clutching the sword hilt at her waist.
"Xie Kun of the Iron Tiger Sect, Elder Mei of the Blood Lotus Valley, and Elder Yu Ding of the Bone Shadow Sect," Lu Changkong named them one by one with a heavy tone. "News spreads fast. However, you are late. That energy fluctuation was just a normal natural phenomenon; no Heaven and Earth Treasure was born here."
The muscular tattooed man, Xie Kun, jumped down from his eagle. The rocks beneath his feet were instantly crushed into dust. He laughed out loud, his laughter containing pure essence that made the chests of Xinghe's group feel like they would burst.
"A normal natural phenomenon? Lu Changkong, do you take us for three-year-olds? The pillar of light that pierced the clouds and the primordial pressure that shook this thousand-mile radius you call a natural phenomenon?" Xie Kun spat on the ground, his eyes staring fiercely. "Hand over the treasure, or tonight your sword will break here!"
The woman in the red robe, Elder Mei, laughed softly. Her laughter sounded melodious yet full of poisonous thorns. "Brother Lu, greed is not good for your Dao development. Our valley also felt the fluctuation. Something fell from the sky or emerged from the depths of the earth. And what we see here... is only you, your group, and..."
Elder Mei's gaze suddenly shifted toward the eight teenagers huddling on the ground, trembling with fear. Her beautiful eyes narrowed. "...and a group of filthy mortal humans. Interesting. Why are there mortals without a cultivation base in the heart of the Forest of a Thousand Purple Leaves?"
The emaciated elder in the grey robe, Yu Ding, wasted no time with words. He raised his hand which was like a bird's claw. The air around Chu Xinghe suddenly froze. A giant black energy hand formed above Han Dong's head, preparing to grab his head.
"Let me use the Soul Search Technique on one of these ants. Their memories cannot lie. If they saw the treasure, or if Lu Changkong is hiding it and using them as false witnesses, I will know immediately!" Yu Ding's voice hissed like a snake.
Seeing the black claw descend, Han Dong's face became as white as paper. He wanted to scream, but his vocal cords were paralyzed. Shring! A flash of silver light darted through the night darkness. Lu Changkong had drawn his sword. A crescent-shaped sword energy strike hit the black claw, shattering it into fragments of blurred light.
"Yu Ding! Watch your actions!" Lu Changkong barked coldly. "Even though they are mortals, they were found by our Heavenly Cloud Sect. You have no right to touch them in my presence!"
"Heh, you protect mortals?" Yu Ding sneered, his eyes emitting killing intent. "Since when did the cloud warriors become so soft-hearted? Or... could it be that the treasure is actually with them? Perhaps they accidentally ate it? Or the treasure chose them as a temporary vessel?"
Yu Ding's words made the atmosphere instantly silent and extremely tense. Xie Kun and Elder Mei's eyes immediately flashed with unconcealed greed. They all looked at the eight teenagers like walking medicine containers. They were being fought over. Not because their lives were valuable, but because they were considered shells storing something precious. If one of these monsters decided to dissect them in search of the treasure that never existed because that object was actually the furnace and nine dragon corpses whose whereabouts were unknown now, then they would all die a gruesome death tonight.
Junior Sister Su Wan stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the three sect envoys. "Seniors, please be calm. We truly did not find a Heaven and Earth Treasure. When we arrived, this rift was already destroyed and only these eight people were here. However, their clothes are filled with remnants of primordial energy. It is very possible the large fluctuation earlier... was caused by their arrival into this world."
"Their arrival?" Xie Kun frowned. "You mean they came from outside the Eastern Heavenly Realm? Using a boundary-piercing treasure?"
"That is the only logical explanation," added Lu Changkong, sheathing his sword. "The primordial energy in their bodies is too dense for the scale of a mortal. If you kill them or damage their memories with the Soul Search Technique, we might never know where this energy came from, or if there is another treasure left in the space-time path they traveled."
The three sect leaders looked at each other. They did not trust one another, but none dared to start a life-and-death struggle here, because if two sides were injured, the third party would take the advantage.
"Very well," Yu Ding said in a raspy voice. "Let's just say they are vessels that absorbed the remnants of that treasure's energy. Mortals exposed to that much energy without their bodies exploding... that means their meridians and bones have been forcibly washed by the laws of nature."
Elder Mei smiled sweetly, twirling a strand of her hair. "That means, even though they look filthy and stupid, their physical foundation might have been formed without them realizing it. They could be superior seeds to practice the Path of the False Immortal. Brother Lu, since the four of us are here, wouldn't it be unfair if your sword sect took all eight seeds alone?"
"Share them equally!" Xie Kun snorted roughly. "There are delapan people, each sect takes dua. But before that, we must test them. I don't want to bring mortal trash with crippled meridian channels back to my sect. That would only waste resource pill rations!"
Lu Changkong was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Fair. We test them with the Star Stone."
Hearing the word Star Stone, Junior Sister Su Wan immediately reached into the storage pouch at her waist, a small cloth bag that magically could store large items. She took out a crystal stone about the size of an adult's fist. The stone was pitch black, but inside it were points of light that flickered resembling a cluster of constellations in the night sky. This crystal was an ancient mineral, the raw essence of the universe that became a requirement to pierce the boundary toward the Path of the False Immortal.
Su Wan walked toward the group of teenagers. Her beautiful face showed no emotion. She threw the Star Stone onto a flat rock by the river. "The eight of you," Su Wan's voice flowed coldly. "This is your chance to prove the value of your lives. In this world, the mortal is an ant, and ants will be stepped on. Place your palms on this Star Stone one by one. Focus your thoughts."
"Quickly! Who is first?!" Xie Kun barked impatiently. Han Dong swallowed hard. He glanced at Xinghe for a second, then with trembling steps yet forcing himself to look steady, he stepped forward. As a school athlete, his survival instinct was strong. He knew they had no choice.
Han Dong placed his large, calloused palm on the surface of the Star Stone. Initially, nothing happened. However, after a few seconds, sweat began to drip from Han Dong's forehead. He felt his hand being pulled by a vortex of hot energy. Suddenly, the Star Stone emitted a dense red light that was blinding. The light traveled upward, forming a three-meter-high pillar of light in the air. The surface of Han Dong's skin began to redden, the veins in his arms and neck bulged, emitting thin steam.
"Hahaha!" Xie Kun laughed explosively, his face full of joy. "Dense red light! The Blood Transformation is naturally halfway done! This boy has a top-tier physical body, his muscles and bones are very suitable for the physical strengthening path of my sect. Big boy, you come with the Iron Tiger Sect!"
Han Dong panted, pulling his trembling hand away. He backed away with a pale face, but there was a slight relief because he felt his life had just been saved.
"Your turn," Su Wan pointed at Xin Yan who was hiding behind Li Wei. Xin Yan cried silently, stepping forward with weak legs. When her small hand touched the stone, a glow of ice-blue light that was very soft and cold exploded out. The air around her instantly froze, creating small ice flowers on the nearby grass.
The eyes of Elder Mei from the Blood Lotus Valley brightened. "Incredible! A Yin Root seed! No wonder she survived the space storm without exploding, the cold energy in her body protected her heart! She belongs to the Blood Lotus! Anyone who dares to snatch her will deal with my blood poison!"
Xin Yan was magically pulled by a red gust of wind toward the lotus boat, making her shriek in surprise before falling sitting near Elder Mei's feet. The testing continued. Lin Mei and Fang Hua stepped forward together. Lin Mei emitted a bright green light showing an incredibly high wood element affinity, while Fang Hua emitted a golden-yellow light. Both were immediately claimed by Su Wan for the Heavenly Cloud Sect.
Li Wei went next. He touched the stone and a dark purple light shot out, accompanied by fluctuations of shadows. Elder Yu Ding grinned horribly, revealing his yellow teeth. "A dark Root seed. Very suitable for cultivating shadow killing techniques. This crybaby boy belongs to my sect."
Zhao Lin produced a thick earth element light and Yun Hai emitted a calm water-blue light. Zhao Lin was taken by the Iron Tiger Sect, while Yun Hai was taken by the Bone Shadow Sect. Seven teenagers had been tested. All emitted bright lights. The predictions of the cultivation experts were correct. Whether because they were near the ancient object during the journey through the stars, or because their mortal bodies were forced to adapt when passing through the void, the pores and meridians of these seven teenagers had been forcibly opened.
They had passed the stage of cleansing mortal impurities and were ready to enter the first layer, which is Blood Transformation, to become cultivators on the Path of the False Immortal. Now, only one person remained to be tested and Chu Xinghe was still silent. He stood alone near the rock crevice. The sharp gazes of the four high-level experts were now fully focused on him. Because his seven friends produced such extraordinary talent, their expectations for this last youth soared very high. Especially since earlier, this youth was the calmest, even able to lift his head under the pressure of Lu Changkong's aura.
"Step forward, boy," said Lu Changkong, his eyes emitting interest. "Your friends have very good talent. Show us, what rare spiritual root is hidden within your body."
Chu Xinghe took a slow breath. He stepped toward the flat rock. His feelings were mixed. He knew this was a world driven by pure power. If he had talent, he could survive, practice cultivation, find that bronze cauldron again, and maybe find a way home to Earth. If not, he would be an ant forever. He raised his right hand, staring at his own palm dirty with soil and dried blood. Then, with a steady motion, he pressed it against the surface of the cold Star Stone.