Three Trials of the Secret Realm

Before the morning mist had dissipated, the area in front of the Trial Cave on the west side of Rainbow Island was already crowded with people.

The sixteen finalists each occupied a corner, the atmosphere heavy. Li Xian stood at the edge of the crowd, the pointer of the dark red crystal in his consciousness space steadily stopped at 55—the energy absorbed from the holy water last night had not yet been fully digested, but it had already made his aura as calm and unwavering as a deep abyss.

Xiao Lingshan stood beside him, dressed in a light gray outfit that was easy to move in. Her long hair was tied into a high ponytail, and besides the silk rope at her waist, she also had a short sword—which Peng Shitao had sent this morning, with peach blossom patterns engraved on the scabbard.

"The rules are reiterated." Clan Chief Peng Huaishan stood before the stone tablet at the cave entrance. "The cave is divided into three passes, each with a time limit of one hour. The top three, ranked by total time, will advance to the final showdown. Deadly attacks are forbidden inside the cave; violators will be disqualified. But—"

His gaze swept over the crowd: "Traps have no eyes, and casualties are inevitable. If you feel your strength is insufficient, it's not too late to withdraw now."

No one retreated.

Miss Chunmeng, wearing a newly changed golden mask, chuckled: "The clan leader is overthinking it. Since it is a trial, we must see who is truly capable." Behind her stood two black-clad swordsmen, both unfamiliar faces who had not appeared at the banquet last night.

At Linghan Palace, Aunt Xiao only brought Bingwei with her. Dressed in white as snow, her face veiled, only her eyes were as cold as an icy pool. Bingwei's gaze occasionally drifted towards Shen Aonan, a faint smile playing on her lips.

The five natives of Peach Blossom Village were Peng Shutao, Shen Aonan, Shen Jiaonan, and two older, more skilled fighters from the village. Peng Shutao and Shen Aonan stood side by side, their temperaments complementing each other perfectly, as if they were a match made in heaven.

The other four outsiders, besides Li Xian, included a burly man with a bushy beard wielding double hammers, a scholar waving a folding fan, and a man in a bamboo hat who always kept his head down.

"Then, let the trial begin!"

The cave's stone door suddenly opened, revealing a deep, dark passageway.

Sixteen people filed in.

First Stage: Thousand Machine Formation

At the end of the passageway was a huge stone chamber. The chamber was dark, except for the faint blue glow emitted by the fluorescent minerals embedded in the walls. The floor was densely covered with intricate energy patterns, and at the intersections of these patterns, hundreds of fist-sized crystals floated—moving slowly along some mysterious trajectory.

"An energy mechanism array," Superman analyzed via the mind link. "According to the Boltzmann brain database, this is a physical application of the 'swarm optimization algorithm.' Each crystal is a node, interconnected and mutually reinforcing. To break the array, the core node must be located and shut down within three hundred steps; otherwise, all the crystals will simultaneously unleash an energy surge."

"Core node characteristics?" Li Xianmo asked.

"The one with the most stable energy fluctuations and the most regular movement trajectory. But there are many interfering factors—wait, I've detected someone tampering with the array! Three crystals have been injected with extra energy; they're simulating the characteristics of the core node!"

Li Xian's eyes turned cold. Sure enough, someone was causing trouble.

Several people had already stepped into the formation. The burly man with a bushy beard cleared a path with his twin hammers, smashing several crystals away—but the smashed crystals exploded in mid-air, bursting with blinding lightning. The burly man screamed and retreated, his arms charred black.

"Fool." The scholar chuckled and unfolded his folding fan. The fan was painted with a Bagua diagram. He stepped on the Kan position, his body moving like a swimming fish, and actually traveled several feet through the gaps between the crystals.

Peng Shutao and Shen Aonan exchanged a glance, and then attacked simultaneously. Peng Shutao's sword tip emitted a cold mist, temporarily freezing the crystals in its path; Shen Aonan followed closely behind, his sword light weaving, precisely deflecting the frozen crystals—none of them exploded.

Their seamless teamwork drew everyone's attention.

Bingwei, however, took a different path. She took out a jade flute and played an eerie melody. Wherever the sound waves passed, the crystals' movements became chaotic, colliding and exploding. Taking advantage of the chaos, she rushed forward, her movements as unpredictable as a ghost.

"She's using sonic interference to disrupt the array's algorithm," Batman's voice rang out. "But this brutal sabotage will trigger a chain reaction—oh no! The array is going out of control!"

Inside the stone chamber, hundreds of crystals trembled simultaneously! Their trajectories were completely disrupted, and they began indiscriminately attacking everyone!

Li Xian pulled Xiao Lingshan back quickly to the entrance. Seeing the crystals raining down like a storm, his mind raced—

"Superman! Give me the real-time coordinates of those three fake core nodes!"

"Calculating - Coordinates marked!"

A dark red light flashed in Li Xian's eyes. He made a grasping motion with both hands, unleashing the full power of the Northern Darkness Divine Art! But instead of absorbing internal energy, he forcibly absorbed the energy from the three fake node crystals!

The crystal's light dimmed abruptly, and it fell from the sky. With the interference of the fake nodes gone, the array's chaos subsided slightly.

But not enough.

"Li Xian, look over there!" Xiao Lingshan pointed to the center of the formation.

Miss Chunmeng had somehow already penetrated deep into the heart of the formation. Her hands formed a hand seal, and wisps of black energy emanated from beneath her golden mask. These black wisps, like tentacles, entangled dozens of crystals, forcibly rewriting their energy frequencies!

Even more astonishingly, the crystals tainted by the black energy began attacking other normal crystals—she was using demonic techniques to reverse control of the array!

"She's creating a safe passage," Li Xian instantly realized. "But this method will completely destroy the array structure, putting those who follow in danger."

Sure enough, wherever Miss Chunmeng passed, crystals shattered and turbulent energy surged. The burly man wielding twin hammers couldn't dodge in time and was struck in the chest by a turbulent energy surge, coughing up blood and collapsing to the ground. He was quickly teleported out of the cave by the teleportation array—eliminated.

The scholar's folding fan was half destroyed by the explosion, and he retreated in a sorry state. The man in the straw hat, however, remained unharmed, hovering at the edge of the danger zone.

"We can't let her continue to cause damage," Shen Aonan said coldly. "Otherwise, the formation will collapse, and no one will be able to get through."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Miss Chunmeng turned around and smiled sweetly. "If you're so capable, come and stop me!"

Before she could finish speaking, the two black-clad swordsmen beside her attacked simultaneously! Their blades flashed like bolts of lightning, aimed directly at Shen Aonan!

Peng Shutao drew her sword to meet the attack, and sparks flew as the blades clashed.

In the midst of this chaos, Li made his move.

Instead of vying for the passage created by Miss Chunmeng, he closed his eyes and focused his mind, immersing himself in the energy flow of the array. With the help of the administrator, his perception was amplified to the extreme—the movement trajectory of those crystals, their energy frequencies, the information exchange between them… unfolded in his mind like a three-dimensional light net.

"The real core node..." he murmured, "is not in the center of the array, but rather—"

He suddenly opened his eyes and shot towards the corner of the stone chamber like lightning! There was a very inconspicuous gray crystal there, moving slowly, with energy fluctuations so weak as to be almost negligible.

But Li Xian knew that it was the "queen bee" of the entire bee colony algorithm—the source of all instructions.

He slammed his palm down on the gray crystal!

"Stop!" Miss Chunmeng shouted sharply, and a black aura shot out like an arrow.

Xiao Lingshan's binding rope flew out just in time, dispersing the black energy in mid-air.

Li Xian's palm was already pressed on the gray crystal. The Northern Darkness Divine Art was activated, but not to destroy; rather—it was to infuse!

He infused a wisp of holy water energy into the crystal's core, simultaneously vibrating it at a specific frequency and issuing a command:

Cease attack. Restore initial trajectory.

The gray crystal suddenly glowed with a soft silver light!

The light spread out like ripples on water, and wherever it passed, all the restless crystals paused, then obediently returned to their original positions and resumed their regular movement.

The array calmed down.

A portal of light appeared in the center of the stone chamber—the entrance to the first level.

The entire room fell silent.

Miss Chunmeng's eyes, hidden behind her mask, flickered with uncertainty. Peng Shutao and Shen Aonan exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes—not destruction, but true "control." This Mr. Li's understanding of energy far exceeded their expectations.

Aunt Xiao gave Li Xian a deep look, and then led Bingwei into the portal first.

Li withdrew his hand, his palm slightly warm. In his consciousness space, the pointer ticked: 57.

"What you just did..." Xiao Lingshan hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

"I used a bit of a trick." Li Xian smiled, but there was something new in that smile—a hint of composure that came with complete control, almost arrogant.

The seeds of evil have quietly sprouted.

Second stage: Mirror Flower Water Moon

Beyond the portal lay a peach grove shrouded in mist. There were no paths in the grove, only fallen petals scattered on the ground and the faint sound of flowing water in the distance.

"An illusion." Shen Jiaonan grabbed a handful of flower petals, which turned into specks of light and vanished in her palm. "This trial tests your willpower. Everyone, be careful not to be deceived by the illusions."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sound of a zither rose from the mist.

The music was mournful and plaintive, like weeping and lamenting. Everyone's hearts were stirred.

The scenery before Li Xian's eyes had changed. The peach blossom grove had vanished, replaced by the streetscape of a modern city. Cars and people bustled about, neon lights flashed, and he stood at the crossroads in his school uniform, holding the milk tea he had just bought.

"Li Xian! What are you daydreaming about!" His deskmate patted him on the shoulder. "Hurry up, we're going to be late for physics class!"

The realistic touch, the familiar scent. Li Xian was momentarily dazed, almost taking a step to follow.

[Low-dimensional illusion.] The administrator's voice was like ice water poured over my head. [Constructed based on your memory fragments. Solution: Find the discord.]

Something seemed out of place. Li Xian stared intently. The streets, pedestrians, vehicles… everything was too perfect. It was too much like the “everyday life” he remembered.

But there's a detail—everyone's shadow is reversed.

The left foot's shadow is on the right, and the right foot's shadow is on the left.

"A mirage..." Li Xian murmured, "So that's how it is."

He closed his eyes, no longer looking at the illusions, and instead focused his senses on hearing. The music was still playing, but upon closer listening, he could hear extremely subtle energy fluctuations within it.

"Over there." He walked toward the source of the music.

The illusion shattered like glass.

Upon returning to the peach grove, he saw the others trapped in their own illusions—

Shen Aonan knelt on one knee, pointing his sword forward, his eyes filled with pain, as if he were fighting an unseen enemy.

Peng Shutao stood by the pool, gazing at her reflection in the water, where "she" was smiling and reaching out her hand.

Miss Spring Dream... Her illusion was a palace, where she sat high on a throne, with countless figures prostrating at her feet. But beneath her mask, her lips were tightly pursed, and her fingertips dug deeply into the armrests.

What alarmed Li the most was Xiao Lingshan.

She crouched under a peach tree, hugging her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly. In her hallucination, a woman in green stood before her, her face blurred, gently stroking her head.

"Mother..." Xiao Lingshan's voice was choked with sobs.

The woman in green tried to say something, but Xiao Lingshan shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face.

That was her mother, whom she had never met. It was Xiao Lingyue.

Li Xian wanted to step forward, but Aunt Xiao beat him to it.

The woman in white walked up to the illusion of Xiao Lingshan, stared at it silently for a long time, and suddenly raised her hand and flicked out an ice crystal. The ice crystal shattered the illusion, and Xiao Lingshan trembled, regaining her senses.

"You..." She looked at Aunt Xiao with a complicated expression.

"An illusion is just an illusion." Aunt Xiao turned around, her voice cold and hard. "Keep moving forward, don't look back."

But Li noticed that when she turned around, there was a water stain on the corner of her sleeve.

The music grew increasingly urgent.

Suddenly, several figures emerged from the mist—they were their own reflections! Each reflection wore an eerie smile as it lunged at its original form!

Shen Jiaonan's wood-based techniques had little effect on the mirror image; Peng Shutao's icy sword energy was neutralized by the mirror image with the exact same move; Miss Chunmeng's demonic arts did suppress the mirror image, but the backlash from the black energy that exploded when the mirror image collapsed caused her to groan and retreat.

Li Xian's mirror image stood before him, grinning: "Aren't you tired of keeping so many secrets in your heart?"

Mirror Image raised its hand, and dark red energy surged from its palm—it even copied the Northern Darkness Divine Art!

The two suction forces collided in mid-air, causing turbulent energy to scatter.

[The mirror image is built based on your currently exposed capabilities.] The administrator quickly analyzes: [To defeat it, you need to use techniques you don't know about.]

Unfamiliar moves? Li Xian's mind raced. He knew everything his mirror image knew. Unless—

He suddenly recalled those theories in Boltzmann's brain knowledge base that had never been put into practice: the simulation application of quantum tunneling effect on a macroscopic scale.

The risk is extremely high, but...

"Let's take a gamble." A dark red light shone brightly in Li Xian's eyes.

He no longer competed with the mirror image for suction; instead, he concentrated all his energy into a single point. Then, he took a step forward.

The figure disappeared.

It wasn't just fast; it was a true disappearance—in the mirror's perception, Li Xian's presence signal instantly dropped to zero.

The next second, Li appeared behind the mirror image. It wasn't that he circled around, but rather that he seemed to pass through an invisible wall, "tunneling" right through it.

The mirror image turned around blankly.

Li Xian's hand was already on its back.

"You can't copy this," he said softly.

The mirror image shattered into countless points of light.

The music stopped abruptly.

The mist dissipated, revealing a second portal of light at the end of the peach grove.

Li Xian, panting, withdrew his hand. That "quantum tunneling simulation" had consumed a full 5 energy points, but the gains were even greater—the pointer stopped at 59, on the verge of a breakthrough.

More importantly, he verified a hypothesis: the knowledge left in Boltzmann's brain was far more profound than he had imagined.

One by one, the group broke through the mirror image and gathered in front of the gate of light. Of the sixteen people who entered, only nine remained: Li Xian, Xiao Lingshan, Peng Shutao, Shen Aonan, Shen Jiaonan, Miss Chunmeng, a black-clad swordsman, Aunt Xiao, and Bingwei.

Both the straw-hatted man and the scholar were eliminated in the mirror match.

"This is the final hurdle." Shen Aonan looked at the portal with a solemn expression.

Third stage: Guardian puppet

Behind the portal was a circular arena. In the center of the arena, three metal giants stood silently.

The giants were about three zhang tall, their bodies cast entirely from a dark silver alloy, with flowing energy crystals embedded in their joints. They had no heads, and their chests contained a transparent energy core, within which floated a drop of—holy water!

"An ancient combat machine powered by the energy of the Cold Pool," Superman's voice came. "Advanced design concept, but outdated energy system. Weakness lies at the connection between the energy core and the body."

"The rules are simple," a mechanical voice, left behind by our ancestors, echoed in the air. "Defeat the puppet, or survive for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Performance will be scored."

An incense burner appeared at the side of the field, the incense already lit.

The three puppets simultaneously opened their "eyes"—the energy cores in their chests glowed with a ghostly blue light.

"One person, one statue, quick and decisive!" Peng Shutao charged towards the leftmost puppet first, his sword turning into frost.

Shen Aonan faced the center, while Shen Jiaonan faced the right. Miss Chunmeng and the black-clad swordsman joined forces to attack Shen Jiaonan's figure, clearly hoping to gain an advantage. Aunt Xiao and Bingwei, on the other hand, hovered on the perimeter, seemingly observing.

Li Xian didn't rush forward. He stared at the holy water in the puppet's chest cavity—it shared the same origin as the holy water he created, but was more condensed and ancient.

[Analysis complete.] The administrator provides a solution: [The puppet's energy cycle depends on holy water as its 'heart.' If the holy water can be extracted or contaminated, the puppet will collapse.]

"How do I draw it?"

【Use the holy water you create to resonate, trigger a resonance, and then—absorb it forcefully.】

The risk was extremely high. But Mr. Li did not hesitate.

He took out the small jade bottle containing holy water from his bosom—the remnants of the cold pool from the previous night, which he had kept close to his body. He uncorked the bottle, and the aroma of the holy water filled the air.

The movements of the three puppets froze simultaneously! The holy water within their core cavities trembled violently!

"Now!"

Li Xian fully activated the Northern Darkness Divine Art! But this time, the object he absorbed was not internal energy, but—holy water energy!

A surge of pure energy, as vast as the ocean, flooded into his body! The dark red crystal in his consciousness space spun wildly, its pointer jumping rapidly:

59→ 63→ 68→ 72!

Breaking through several levels in a row!

But the energy was too immense! Li Xian felt as if his meridians were being washed away by a flood, almost bursting apart!

"Ugh—!" He knelt on one knee, and strange blue-red vein patterns appeared under his skin.

The three puppets froze simultaneously, their energy cores flickering on and off.

"He...he's absorbing the puppet's energy?!" Shen Jiaonan exclaimed.

"Stop him!" A greedy glint flashed in Miss Chunmeng's eyes. She abandoned the puppet and lunged at Li Xian, shouting, "Give me the holy water!"

The black-clad swordsman's blade was already aimed at Li Xian's face!

At the critical moment—

Xiao Lingshan's silk-wrapping rope wrapped around the swordsman's wrist.

Peng Shutao's sword blocked Miss Chunmeng's path.

Shen Aonan thrust his sword into the puppet's connection point—and the puppet collapsed to the ground with a thud.

However, the other two puppets went berserk due to an energy imbalance! Ignoring attacks, they pounced on Li Xian frantically—to reclaim the holy water!

Li gritted his teeth, forcibly compressing the absorbed energy, and then—

Push out with both palms!

Instead of attacking the puppets, they injected excess energy into the ground!

Countless energy patterns lit up on the ground of the arena—an array similar to the one in the first level. Now activated by Li Xian's energy, it transformed into a cage, locking the two berserk puppets tightly in place!

The incense has burned out.

A mechanical voice announced: "Level 3 complete. Scoring in progress—"

The nine people were panting, looking at each other. Only one complete puppet remained on the field (the one defeated by Shen Aonan was no longer capable of fighting), while the other two were temporarily imprisoned.

Miss Chunmeng stared at Li Xian with eyes that seemed to want to devour him alive. Aunt Xiao seemed lost in thought. Peng Shutao and Shen Aonan had complicated expressions.

Li Xian slowly stood up. The energy within his body was still surging, but it had been forcibly suppressed by the administrators. The pointer stopped at 75, far exceeding expectations.

An evil aura was uncontrollably emanating from his eyes. It was a dangerous confidence born from mastering power.

"Rating complete."

"First place: Li Xian."

Second place: Shen Aonan.

Third place: Peng Shutao.

"The rest are eliminated. The top three will enter the ancient altar on Star-Picking Island in three days."

The portal reappears, leading to the outside world.

Li Xian stepped in first. As he passed Miss Chunmeng, she suddenly chuckled softly, "Young Master Li, the secrets about you... are becoming more and more fascinating."

Li Xian glanced at her, a cold smile curving his lips: "If you want to know more, young lady, why not come to Qixia Pavilion tonight, and we... can talk slowly."

These words were ambiguous and dangerous. Xiao Lingshan paused in her tracks.

Miss Chunmeng laughed heartily, "Alright~ I will definitely keep my promise."

Stepping out of the cave, the sunlight was blinding.

Standing in the light, Li Xian felt something growing in the shadows within his heart.

The manager's cold voice carried a hint of satisfaction:

[Energy level met expectations. Next step: Enter the altar and seize the core.]

As for that woman... if she dares to come, let her become the first stepping stone on your 'evil path'.

Li clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it.

He turned around, looking at Xiao Lingshan's worried eyes, at the idyllic Peach Blossom Village, and at the ancient altar on the distant Star-Picking Island.

The path has been chosen.

There's no going back.