Chapter 58: First Hearing of the 'Seed Trial

Wind and Cloud Pavilion, first floor.

Suddenly.

Cheng Buzheng's ears twitched. Hearing the words "Seed Trial," he couldn't help but prick up his ears to listen intently.

Maintaining a calm expression, he toyed with the wine cup in his hand, casting a fleeting glance toward that direction before pulling his gaze back.

Not far from him, sitting by the window, three senior brothers and sisters at the late stage of Qi Refinement were sitting at a table, discussing something in low, solemn voices.

A petite senior sister dressed in green spoke with a troubled expression

"Second Senior Brother, are you participating in this Seed Trial?"

The young senior brother sitting opposite her, who had a delicate and somewhat fair complexion, replied helplessly

"In previous years, fewer than three out of ten cultivators participating in the Seed Trial survived. Not only must one prepare sufficient spirit stones, but if one wants to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, one must pass through one trial after another.

Once you encounter a cultivator stronger than yourself and cannot escape, you know the consequences...

It is a meat grinder. I am still hesitating whether to go. I'll decide in a month!"

Cheng Buzheng thought to himself: the round-faced senior brother from the Preservation Pavilion was actually planning to participate in the Seed Trial to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill despite such danger.

That hope seemed quite slim! Unless his strength was extraordinary, perhaps he could make a clean escape.

It seemed that the "Seed Trial" was not only extremely dangerous but also required a massive amount of spirit stones. He wondered what the stones were used for.

Although he had read a vast number of books, they only mentioned the "Seed Trial" in passing, leaving him unable to learn the specific details.

Cheng Buzheng was filled with doubt, but since no one was there to answer him, he could only listen quietly to their conversation, hoping it might resolve his confusion and lay a solid foundation for his future path of immortality.

At that moment.

The other young senior brother sitting beside the fair-complexioned one, holding a wine cup, spoke with an air of detached indifference

"This is the cultivation world. Precious resources are always limited. If you want a Foundation Establishment Pill, you have to fight for it with your life!

Or, if you feel the survival rate of the Seed Trial is too low, you can take a gamble: don't consume a Foundation Establishment Pill and attempt to break through the bottleneck directly. Those who succeed ascend to the rank of Foundation Establishment Senior Uncle; those who fail perish and their Dao vanishes."

The fair-complexioned senior brother let out a sigh.

"That may be so, but... who dares to make such a decision easily?

Until the very last moment, it is truly difficult to decide."

The petite senior sister nodded in agreement.

"Indeed!

I cannot be as free-spirited as you, Senior Brother."

Hearing this, Cheng Buzheng calculated in his mind: the danger level of the Seed Trial was likely not much different from attempting a direct breakthrough without a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The petite senior sister continued

"Senior Brother, why do you need to prepare such a large amount of spirit stones?

If—and I mean *if*—I wanted to participate in the Seed Trial, I would need to prepare magical tools, talismans, and medicinal pills. Where would I find extra spirit stones?"

The indifferent young senior brother swirled the wine in his cup and spoke softly.

"Junior Sister... you haven't participated in the Seed Trial, so you don't know... the origin of the Ancient Secret Realm. According to the sect's historical records, this realm was originally created by an ancient powerhouse for their descendants.

As long as one is a descendant of that powerhouse, they are safe inside.

But for those who are not his descendants, the realm transforms into a different mechanism, turning into the current 'meat grinder,' and it only allows Qi Refinement stage cultivators to enter.

Even Foundation Establishment seniors who try to sneak in will be struck down by the realm's defenses. After several Foundation Establishment cultivators died, no seniors at or above the Foundation Establishment stage wanted to hide their cultivation levels to try and bypass the realm's detection anymore.

Consequently, even when the Nascent Soul ancestors of our Great Jin Kingdom joined forces with the Nascent Soul ancestors of the other five kingdoms, they were unable to break it open.

Later, an ancient Fourth-Rank Array Master was invited to assist. According to that master's assessment

To forcibly break the formation, one would need at least one Deity Transformation stage cultivator to act as the array core, supplemented by dozens of Nascent Soul stage cultivators, using a method of 'using an array to break an array.'

However, doing so would cause the entire secret realm to collapse, shatter, and vanish into the spatial turbulence.

Even a Deity Transformation great cultivator cannot resist spatial turbulence.

But that Fourth-Rank Array Master was no pushover; he cleared out many of the realm's hidden safeguards. After that, the ancestors of various factions could only follow the rules of the realm.

The reason cultivators entering the realm need to prepare sufficient spirit stones is to maintain the stable operation and storage of the formations within the realm.

Otherwise, one cannot proceed through the trials. Without the trials, one cannot obtain spiritual herbs, and thus cannot exchange them for Foundation Establishment Pills.

Although there is a large spiritual vein within the realm, it is gradually consumed over time. To replenish the spiritual energy consumed each time the realm is opened, the ancient powerhouse established this rule.

Of course, if you don't follow the rules to replenish spirit stones, you can only stay inside to go into seclusion. After all, the spiritual energy inside is still much denser than in our sect.

But don't dream of anything else; you won't obtain a single spiritual item, let alone spiritual herbs to exchange for pills.

The historical records and the jade slips containing the specific rules of this secret realm must be collected from the Tower Guarding Senior Uncle on the second floor of the Sutra Repository Tower."

The petite senior sister frowned.

"Senior Brother, do you have the jade slip for the Seed Trial secret realm?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Buzheng realized why he hadn't seen any trace of such a jade slip in the Sutra Repository Tower.

Perhaps only disciples participating in the "Seed Trial" could obtain that jade slip. The rules within were simply too cruel and unfriendly to cultivators.

And those cultivators who chose to participate must have already steeled their resolve; they wouldn't give up easily.

At this time.

The young senior brother playing with his wine cup took a small sip and said slowly

"Junior Sister... only after registering can you go to the Tower Guarding Senior Uncle to collect the secret realm jade slip for free!"

Hearing this, the petite senior sister's eyes darted around, and she looked hopefully at the two senior brothers across from her, saying brightly

"Senior Brothers... let's team up!

The danger level will decrease significantly if we team up, and we'll have a better chance of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill."

The fair-complexioned senior brother sighed softly.

"Junior Sister... the Seed Trial does not allow teaming up. You can only brave it alone. Otherwise, the survival rate wouldn't be so low—fewer than three out of ten."

Hearing this, Cheng Buzheng thought pensively. He took a small sip of spiritual wine, mulling over all the information regarding the Seed Trial.

Perhaps this was the most valuable information he had obtained in the Wind and Cloud Pavilion. Although he didn't know the specific rules, he now knew the general idea. He would deal with it when the time came.

After all, he was only at the third level of Qi Refinement; these events were still a long way off.

There were still a full twelve years until the next Seed Trial.

This current Seed Trial was about to begin. He wondered how many senior brothers and sisters would participate this time, and how many would actually return?

Thinking of this, Cheng Buzheng couldn't help but think of the round-faced senior brother from the "Preservation Pavilion" and his determined expression. He wondered if that man would return safely this time.

Shortly after.

The two senior brothers and the senior sister at the window table rose and left.

People came and went in the Wind and Cloud Pavilion; as soon as some left, new senior brothers and sisters would enter.

Cheng Buzheng remained sitting in his secluded corner. Occasionally, he would lift his wine cup for a small sip and continue to sit there, ears pricked, listening to the conversations of his fellow disciples.

Most of what he heard was mere gossip among disciples, none of which was particularly important.

However, through this gossip, Cheng Buzheng was able to grasp the general situation of the sect during the two years he had been away.

Cheng Buzheng sat in the corner until night fell.

Only then did he return to the wooden house in the canyon.