“It seems that more than a thousand other people got to the end of the labyrinth before me.” After looking around for only a moment, he saw Chen Hetian, Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan.
Among those from the Wildlands, he spotted a woman in a long red gown... Mistress Red-Dust!
Mistress Red-Dust’s glowing sphere was very eye-catching, sending dazzling light out in all directions, making it much brighter than any of the other spheres.
Not even the light of a hundred of the other glowing spheres would come close to hers.
After examining the situation a bit more closely, Bai Xiaochun realized that he was also surrounded by a glowing sphere of starlight, and that he was just another amongst the group of more than one thousand people floating within this starry sky.
In the middle of all the stars, floating there right in the boundless void, was a shocking, soul-stirring stone stele of enormous size!
Bai Xiaochun wasn't even able to tell exactly how large it was. It had words written on its surface describing the rules of the trials by fire here. Furthermore, each glowing sphere was connected to the stone stele by a faintly shimmering thread!
Bai Xiaochun trembled inwardly at the sight of this second stone stele, which looked similar to the first one outside the labyrinth. Based on the description written on the stone, passing a trial by fire here was the way to leave the labyrinth, and whoever took first place would acquire the deva soul.
By this point, Bai Xiaochun realized that he had definitely reached the end of the labyrinth, and entered the realm of the trials by fire.
“Deva souls are great and all, but my poor little life is most important. This place seems pretty safe, so I think the best thing will be to wait for someone else to get the deva soul, and then just leave....” With that, he reached out with both hands to touch the glowing sphere that surrounded him, to see if it was possible to emerge from within it. Unfortunately, the sphere itself was an unbreakable barrier that was impossible to pass.
That actually made him very happy.
“Seems I was right. This place is great! Hahaha! If I can’t get out, then other people probably can’t get in. We can all just sit around in harmony!” He was quite pleased with how fair and considerate this realm of trials by fire was.
Even as he reveled in his delight, he noticed some starlight off in the distance forming into a glowing sphere. Inside, a shadowy figure appeared who quickly became distinct.
“Zhou Yixing!”
Zhou Yixing looked very excited at having been able to find the exit. Just like Bai Xiaochun had, he looked around at his surroundings and almost immediately noticed the shocking stone stele. After a bit of time passed... he saw Bai Xiaochun.
When their gazes met, Zhou Yixing’s eyes went wide.
As for Bai Xiaochun, he laughed heartily. Apparently, Zhou Yixing really was Bai Xiaochun’s lucky star. Not only had he luckily escaped death, but he had also found the exit. Even though Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure if Zhou Yixing could hear him, he waved his hand enthusiastically and called out a greeting.
Zhou Yixing’s face twitched as he glared at Bai Xiaochun. Then he gritted his teeth and turned away, worried that if he kept looking at Bai Xiaochun, more bad luck might come his way....
After seeing Zhou Yixing look away, Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat and rubbed his nose, then looked around, feeling a bit bored.
“These people are taking forever! It’s just a trial by fire, right? Hurry up and finish!” Yawning, he looked back at the stone stele to see if he could figure out what was taking so long.
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Chapter
553: Spirit Enhancement?!
Any cultivator within one of the glowing spheres merely had to look in the direction of the text on the stone stele, and the words would appear in their minds. Although the descriptions of the trials by fire seemed simple, anyone who took 1st place in any of the trials listed on the stele would be named the overall 1st place winner!
It didn’t matter which trial by fire it was, or when the cultivator started it. As long as they took 1st place, they would immediately be teleported to the third level of the labyrinth, which was the location of the deva soul!
However, the description wasn’t clear about whether or not others might also be able to reach that third level. Based on the way the rules were described, it seemed possible that if the 1st place winner didn’t acquire the deva soul quickly enough, then the 2nd and 3rd place winners of the trial by fire might also be teleported to the third level, and thus have a chance to acquire the deva soul.
There was also a point explaining how the further one proceeded in a trial by fire, the more brightly that person’s glowing sphere would shine. From that, Bai Xiaochun could tell that Mistress Red-Dust was further along than anyone else. Likely, she would take 1st place and get the deva soul.
Bai Xiaochun felt a bit disappointed about that. After all, he wasn’t absolutely set on winning another deva soul, but if he could do so without much trouble, he would be more than happy.
At this point, though, there didn’t seem much hope. He had arrived too late, behind over a thousand others. Sighing, he looked closer at the stele to see the information about the various trials by fire.
The first was a trial regarding battle prowess.
“No way am I gonna do that one,” he murmured with the shake of his head. “All the fighting and killing doesn't suit me at all!” The second trial by fire caused his eyes to glitter. It was a trial of medicine concocting.
“Medicine concocting, huh? I'm pretty good at that!” Enthused, he proceeded down the list.
“Divine ability trial? Equipment forging trial? God soul trial? None of those will do. There’s no way I could match up with Granny Red-Dust in divine abilities. I can’t forge equipment, and I haven’t even formed a god soul yet, whatever that is. I guess medicine concocting is the best bet for me.” Bai Xiaochun was started to get interested in the idea, especially considering how boring it was. With that, he continued to look at the rest of the trials.
“Supreme unity trial? Spirit enhancement trial? Intrepid body trial?" Bai Xiaochun had no idea what the supreme unity trial was about, so he dismissed it. As for the intrepid body trial, he had his speculations.
“Sounds like that’s a test of fleshly body power. Definitely not for me. Too dangerous.” He continued to look down the stone stele, upon which were at least a hundred different trials by fire of all sorts. Many of them were tests of things Bai Xiaochun had never heard of, and eventually, his attention was drawn back to the trials of medicine concocting and spirit enhancement. However, he was still hesitating.
“It’s too bad that time is so limited, otherwise I would pick the medicine concocting. But when it comes to spirit enhancement....” Bai Xiaochun’s eyes narrowed a bit, glittering with a mischievous light as he realized that this was the perfect opportunity to cheat....
“If I can use my turtle-wok, then a spirit enhancement trial wouldn’t be hard for me at all. Maybe I would still have a chance of snatching 1st place away from Mistress Red-Dust!” The more he thought about it, the more excited he got.
“Yeah, might as well. I have no chance of catching up in medicine concocting, so I guess I should place my bet on spirit enhancement. If I win, I’ll get a deva soul, and if I lose, no harm done.” And thus, his decision was made. Focusing on the spirit enhancement trial, he followed the description on the stone stele, allowing his mind to sink into the words.
Rumbling sounds filled his mind, and everything around him began to spin. All of a sudden, he realized that his soul was leaving his body and flying toward the stone stele.