“Let’s go!” Seeing that the sculpture had entered, Zhang Xuan and the others quickly made their way into the Ran Zi Hall as well.
The passageway had many brilliant Night Illumination Pearls embedded in the ceiling, lighting up the entire place. As such, despite the closed space that they were in, the surroundings were as bright as day.
There were ancient inscriptions carved along the passageway that detailed desirable values that a person should cultivate and the etiquette one should preferably adhere to.
“Didn’t you say that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu is not one to care too much about formalities? Why would…” Zhang Xuan could not help but ask the adolescent boy sculpture.
Earlier, the adolescent boy sculpture had said that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu was a person who paid little attention to formalities, so it seemed highly contradictory to see inscriptions of values and etiquette in the passageway of the Ran Zi Hall.
“It’s precisely because he paid little attention to it that he was criticized by Kong shi over it. Thus, he carved these inscriptions to remind himself to adhere by these values and etiquette at all time!” the adolescent boy sculpture replied.
Kong shi had once said that one should seek to reflect and learn from one’s actions, and as one of Kong shi’s direct disciples, Ancient Sage Ran Qiu was bound to adhere by his teachings.
Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before asking with a hushed voice, “Did the four people who came prior to us cleared the trial as well?”
So far, they had not seen any traces of the four Otherworldly Demons who had come ahead of him. Could they possibly have failed the test?
Of course, it was not to say that the four Otherworldly Demons who had come before them were weak, but surely the ancient domain left behind by the number one student of Kong shi should at least have the capability to discern between Otherworldly Demons and humans?
Otherwise, what a huge disgrace it would be!
“They have cleared the trial and entered the compounds,” the adolescent boy sculpture replied politely.
After learning that Zhang Xuan had inherited Ancient Sage Qiu Wu’s heritage, the attitude of the adolescent boy had become much more courteous.
“They cleared the trial, too? Then, did you notice… any anomaly with them?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
“Anomaly?” The adolescent boy sculpture shook his head in response. “There’s nothing of that sort. They have defeated the Golden Warriors of Mentor’s Calligraphy and cleared the trial fair and square. However, one of them did have one of Ancient Sage Yan Yan’s treasures with him.”
“Ancient Sage Yan Yan’s treasure?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.
Ancient Sage Yan Yan was one of the Ten Apostles under Kong shi’s lineage, too. Viewed to be of equal standing with Ancient Sage Bo Shang, Ancient Sage Ran Qiu, and the others, he had specialized in the field of music 1 . He had played a huge part in passing down the heritage of the Demonic Tunist Guild, and for that reason, most demonic tunists viewed him as their founder.
But to think that those four Otherworldly Demons would actually have one of his possessions.
To be able to arrive on the Master Teacher Continent while avoiding the detection of the master teachers, find ancient domains that even the Master Teacher Pavilion is unaware of, and even be in possession of one of Ancient Sage Yan Yan’s treasures… it seems like the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has really prepared! Zhang Xuan thought grimly.
The war between the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and mankind had caused immense damage to both parties over the years. Mankind had lost a lot of its treasures to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, so it was not unthinkable for them to be in possession of one of Ancient Sage Yan Yan’s treasures.
However, Zhang Xuan was a little surprised by how well-prepared they were. It was definitely no easy feat for one to fool the eyes of the adolescent boy sculpture.
The reason Zhang Xuan had asked that question was to warn the adolescent boy sculpture. If those four fellows had shown the slightest lapse in their disguise, the adolescent boy sculpture would surely have raised his guard against them.
However, from the looks of it, there was no point bringing up the matter anymore since he had no evidence against those four fellows. It would be one thing if he failed to convince the adolescent boy sculpture of the matter, but it would be a catastrophe if he accidentally turned the adolescent boy sculpture against him in the midst of doing so.
Without a doubt, they must have prepared for this matter for a very long time. It was no wonder they had been able to capture Zhao Ya and the others so easily. Indeed, it would not be easy to deal with those four after all.
“We have arrived.”
In the midst of his thoughts, Zhang Xuan suddenly heard a voice from the side. Raising his head, he found that they had already arrived in an atrium.
The atrium was round in shape, and there were doors all around. With just a quick glance, he could already spot nearly a hundred of them.
“There are ninety-nine doors here, and each of them represents a different trial. Each of you can only enter one of the doors, and no two persons can select the same door to enter. If you successfully clear the trial and reach the very end, you will be able to find what you seek.” The adolescent boy sculpture turned around and addressed them. “If you fail to clear the trial, you will have to spend the rest of your life here with me till your time is finally up!”
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“This…” Zhang Xuan looked at the doors around him as he confirmed once more. “So, we can choose any door that we like here?”
“That’s right, feel free to enter any door you want. You only have an incense’s time, so make your decision quick!”
After saying those words, the adolescent boy sculpture took two steps back and stood quietly.
Knowing that it would be futile to ask the adolescent boy sculpture for any hints, Zhang Xuan, Luo Ruoxin, and Wu Chen exchanged glances as they began examining each of the doors carefully.
All of the doors were made of granite and were identical in appearance. There was nothing that allowed them to set any of the doors apart from one another. If not for the doorway that they had entered the atrium from, had they closed their eyes and spun around, it would have been impossible to tell which doors they had set their eyes upon previously.
“This is no different from a labyrinth…” Looking at the doors around left Zhang Xuan feeling a little light-headed. Unable to make sense of the situation, he willed in his heart, Eye of Insight!
Hula!
Lines of insight surfaced in Zhang Xuan’s eyes, and he quickly scanned his surroundings carefully.
Since the four Otherworldly Demons had entered the palace before them, they would have come to this atrium and made a decision as well.
The fact that they had come well-prepared for this ancient domain, bringing with them the Netherworld’s Boat and even a treasure of Ancient Sage Yan Yan, would suggest that they had prior knowledge of this place. So, it should be much safer to follow their footsteps.
With a swift scan of the surroundings, a deep frown formed in between Zhang Xuan’s brows. Hmm? Why aren’t there any marks around?
He had thought that he would be able to find some clues, just as he had done outside. However, who could have thought that those four fellows did not leave any clues behind, such that even the Eye of Insight was unable to catch the slightest trace of them?
Seeing through Zhang Xuan’s thoughts, Luo Ruoxin sent a telepathic message over. “Don’t bother. Since this is a trial, there’s no way it would allow you to see through anything. Furthermore, the stone sculpture has also said that no two people can enter the same door, which means that even if you find the doors that they’ve entered, we won’t be able to enter them.”
“This…” Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.
Indeed.
Since this was a test, there was no way that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu would have left such an obvious loophole. After all, after someone had entered one of the doors and triggered all of its traps and formations, there would no longer be any danger in it.
“What do we do now?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“Let’s leave it to fate and pick a random one,” Luo Ruoxin said as she randomly picked a door and pulled it open without any hesitation.
“You… Be careful!” Seeing that Luo Ruoxin was going to enter the door just like that, Zhang Xuan could not help but feel a little apprehensive on the inside.
“Rest assured!” Luo Ruoxin replied with a faint but confident smile. “Ancient Sage Ran Qiu’s trial is unlikely to be easy, but to keep me here is not an easy feat either!”
After saying those words, she decisively entered the door.
“That’s true…”
Zhang Xuan had never seen Luo Ruoxin making a move before, but considering how powerful Wu Chen was, it stood to reason that Luo Ruoxin was a formidable expert as well.
The trial left behind by Ancient Sage Ran Qiu might still pose a great challenge to ordinary geniuses, but to her, it was unlikely to pose any threat at all.
“I’ll be entering as well!” Seeing that Luo Ruoxin had already entered one of the doors, Wu Chen also randomly picked a room and strode in.
“You’re the only one who is left…” the adolescent boy sculpture remarked calmly by the side.
“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded. He was just about to select a random room too when his heart suddenly skipped a beat. The Eye of Insight might be unable to see through what lies beyond the door, but what about the Library of Heaven’s Path?