Chapter 66

The number nine is the ultimate of heaven and earth, so it makes perfect sense for Qingxuan to choose this day to open the mountain gate.

Although many were naturally weeded out, at least thirty people remained unscathed.

These people, whether in talent or character, had much to commend them, or like the top scions of noble families, had experts guarding them.

Shen Lian was neither the first nor the last to arrive.

As the sun rose, the cloud barrier that concealed the mountain gate continuously swallowed and expelled mist, gradually revealing a path up the mountain.

The first to enter was a scholar surnamed Lu.

This person was not from a noble family, and his background was unknown, making him one of the three most mysterious individuals in this group.

Someone had tried to harm him, but each time he emerged unscathed. The person who tried to harm him left in shame the next day.

Shen Lian speculated that this scholar surnamed Lu must have some psychological tactics.

Although Lu was a scholar, he was tall and had the air of a chivalrous hero.

After he entered, nothing strange happened, and the others followed in a steady stream.

The second mysterious person was a thin, ordinary-looking, and seemingly timid young man.

This person had a peculiar trait: you could easily overlook him.

Even Shen Lian, with his keen senses, was always startled when the young man sat down next to him during meals.

If Shen Lian hadn't observed him for a long time, he might have forgotten what the young man looked like.

Even a moment's inattention, and you wouldn't know where he had gone.

Few people noticed the strange qualities of the timid young man; only Shen Lian and a few others did.

Thus, among the three most mysterious individuals, the timid young man had almost no reputation.

When Shen Lian stepped onto the path up the mountain, he habitually looked back. Despite being surprised many times, he was still startled to see the timid young man.

The young man's pace was not fast, and he didn't seem to have any martial arts foundation. He even stumbled and fell.

But he still walked up the stone steps at a steady pace.

The mist enveloped everyone.

Although thirty people entered together, once inside, it was as if they were in different spaces, unable to see each other.

Those outside the mountain gate couldn't see the situation inside, and those inside didn't know the situation of others.

From the first day, people kept rolling down the mountain path, bloodied and bruised.

If someone paid attention, they would notice that those who fell had all killed people in the town.

A total of twenty-two people fell, leaving fewer than ten people. It seemed everyone had overlooked the fact that the mountain gate would remain open for half a year.

At the top of Qingxuan Mountain, there was a celestial pond.

It emitted a cold mist.

Two elders were playing chess under a tree by the pond, one in a red robe and the other in a gray robe.

Shen Lian was the first to reach the top, and he wasn't surprised. In fact, due to his powerful soul and the "Supreme Clarity Spirit Treasure Natural Heart Locking and Mind Stabilizing True Explanation," he was rarely confused by illusions when visualizing the primordial deity.

The so-called Heart-Testing Path was actually based on illusions.

Moreover, testing these people who had not yet entered the immortal stream couldn't be too profound.

Shen Lian saw the two elders, but they ignored him and continued their game.

Three days and nights passed, and Shen Lian still hadn't seen anyone else come out.

If it were an ordinary person, they might have gloated over their own excellence, but Shen Lian wasn't proud, as he knew his own capabilities.

Life on the mountain top wasn't easy. The cold mist from the celestial pond was so cold that Shen Lian had to constantly use his inner energy to resist it.

Even though his eight meridians were unblocked and his energy was continuous, three days and nights without food or drink had severely depleted his inner energy.

In fact, he could absorb a bit of the elemental energy of heaven and earth, but it wasn't enough to replenish his losses.

In fact, he would have been better off staying on the Heart-Testing Path, where the consumption was much less.

He had asked the two elders, but they didn't answer, and he didn't know how long he would have to wait.

After leaving the Heart-Testing Path, there were no other paths; the surroundings were impassable.

Unless Shen Lian could fly.

At the same time, the fierce mountain wind made Shen Lian dare not let his soul leave his body, for fear of being scattered and losing his soul.

Waiting wasn't the hardest part; the hardest part was the unknown waiting, the waiting without an end.

This kind of test could make even the toughest hero feel despair.

Shen Lian was human, with a heart, and thus had emotions. The pervasive despair pushed him to the brink of madness.

But his rationality told him not to go mad and to remain calm.

His chest was on fire, but his head was icy.

He knew he was on the verge of losing his mind, almost wanting to re-enter the Heart-Testing Path and go down the mountain. But a premonition told him that if he went down, his chance at immortality would be lost.

But a clear rational analysis told him that the chance at immortality wasn't exclusive to Qingxuan.

Shen Lian quietly watched the two elders play chess, and no one knew that beneath his calm exterior, he was on the verge of a volcanic eruption of madness.

Shen Lian gradually shifted his attention to the chessboard. Each move by the two elders took a long time.

His chess skills weren't particularly high, but he could understand the game. The black and white pieces were evenly matched.

The complexity of the game was entangled and intricate, with layers upon layers.

This was more complex than any inner energy circulation route.

Shen Lian didn't speak, focusing his attention on the chessboard.

On the chessboard, the black and white pieces had less and less room, approaching the endgame, but it was hard to see who would win.

Sometimes, when Shen Lian noticed a particular piece, a certain acupoint on his body would throb.

Sometimes it was a black piece, sometimes a white piece, not always the same.

When he connected the black and white pieces, the throbbing acupoints on his body also connected, forming a network.

The human body's acupoints are as numerous as stars, and many are unknown in function.

He mapped the chess pieces on the board to his body's acupoints, totaling over three hundred. Over a hundred acupoints were connected, and his agitated inner energy calmed, and his anger gradually subsided.

Only then did he realize that this game of chess contained a profound inner energy circulation route.

Unfortunately, before he could finish watching the game, the elder in the red robe waved his hand, disrupting the chessboard.

The elder in the gray robe scolded, "You're about to lose, what does this mean?"

"These three promising candidates are all here; it's time to report to the sect leader," the elder in the red robe smiled, stroking his beard, with an air of "it's the will of heaven, what can you do?"

The elder in the gray robe looked to the side and saw a scholar and a timid young man behind Shen Lian.

As for the others on the Heart-Testing Path, they were all eliminated. It was unknown if, in the remaining time, seven more could come up to make a total of ten.