Chapter 166 - Critical Temptation
Zhao Feng found that the wooden room was about 100 yards from where he was and in between was the abyss.
Under normal circumstances,, those at the 3rd Sky of the Ascended Realm couldn’t fly. They can float in the air for 100 yards but the wind on top of the abyss was so strong that even cultivators at the 3rd Sky would be ripped to shreds in a few breaths.
At this moment, the 3 Core disciples all stood on the edge of the black and golden road, but they didn’t make any moves.
The pupil of Zhao Feng’s left eye slightly contracted as he inspected the skeleton and the items close up.
“The skeleton has been here for a long time, but the bones are still faintly glowing, meaning that this person’s cultivation was at the True Spirit Realm or higher when he/she lived.”
Zhao Feng’s eyes twinkled.
It wasn’t just him who saw this, the 3 Core disciples also saw this.
The items had been left behind for a very long time, but they hadn’t rusted or broken, which meant that they were not simple.
Broken bamboo sword, Jade ornament, ancient books…
The materials of these items were all unique and like the bones, they weren’t worn.
“If I could get the items next to the corpse, it wouldn’t matter even if I failed this trial. The items left behind by a cultivator at the True Spirit Realm may be Spiritual class skills or Spiritual weapons… ”
Quan Chen was extremely excited and he couldn’t contain his greed.
Everyone looked expectantly at the items next to the skeleton and Zhao Feng soon came to a conclusion:
The broken bamboo sword should be a Spiritual weapon and even if it had no spirit inside, it was still on par with an Elite class Mortal weapon at least.
The material of the jade ornament was extremely unique and it seemed to have a power flowing around it. The price of it might not be as much as a Spiritual weapon, but it shouldn’t be much off.
As for the 2 old books, no one knew precisely what the class was, but with the skeleton’s cultivation, before he/she died, it should be a Peak class Mortal skill at the minimum.
These items might even surpass the rewards from the 1st place of the Trial.
Even Zhao Feng had the urge to grab them, but his eyes twinkled and sighed: “Go!”
Lin Fan didn’t hesitate at all and he followed Zhao Feng.
“Indeed, even those at the 4th Sky of the Ascended Realm didn’t have full confidence to reach the wooden room and return unharmed.” Lin Fan thought.
Those at the 4th Sky of the Ascended Realm only had a 20% chance at success and Yang Gan, who had the highest cultivation, might have 30-40% depending on how strong the wind was.
“My goal is 1st place and beat Hai Yun Master’s score.”
Yang Gan’s eyes became sharp as he left as well.
Next, Quan Chen and Lu Hu both sighed and they started running again.
Most of the disciples would hesitate in front of these items, but they would leave after a while. They were all elite disciples and they could control their greed. Furthermore, the chances of success were far too low and those under the 4th Sky of the Ascended Realm almost had no chance.
After that, massive stones began to appear on the two sides on the road with ‘rewards’ written on them.
At a certain point.
A forest with dense energy appeared in the abyss and one could see the treasures in it with their eyes.
“Spiritual Tasty Fruit can help those under the 7th Sky of the Ascended Realm. One fruit can help the cultivator jump one Sky straight away.” Liu Yue’er exclaimed as she recognised the fruit.
“Moon Dragon Root, the rumoured treasure which increases the body’s attributes and even has a chance of giving an ancient special talent… ”
Zhao Feng stared at the forest in front and he took in a deep breath.
The bait was just too strong.
There were too many treasures here that could change one life and destiny, just like Zhao Feng’s left eye.
Zhao Feng even found some heaven defying materials, which could be used to increase one’s talent.
The treasures of this forest surpassed everything else they saw so far. If one of them could enter the forest and change their destiny, the True Spirit Realm wouldn’t be hard to reach.
“Spiritual Tasty Fruit! Scarlet Dragon Fruit!”
The eyes of a disciple at the peak 3rd Sky shone with greed. This person was Chen Yue, the only person that Zhao Feng wasn’t familiar with.
Teng!
Chen Yue exclaimed as he circulated his True Force to form a scarlet red wave, which propelled him towards the abyss.
Hu~
The wind above the abyss started to move, which made Chen Yue’s face go red. He used everything he had and ran about 10-20 yards before the layer of True Force around him crumbled.
“Ahhh!”
Chen Yue screamed before falling into the abyss and disappearing from view. This scene stunned all the other disciples.
“With Chen Yue’s peak 3rd Sky cultivation, he could only run about10-20 yards in the air, not even one-fifth of the total distance.”
Zhao Feng’s expression was extremely solemn. His cultivation was lower than Chen Yue’s, meaning that the quantity of True Force he had was lower than the latters. But it was better in terms of pureness.
“Let’s go.”
Lu Hu, a core disciple shook his head and left. At first, he wanted to try because he was at the 4th Sky and his forte was body strengthening. But after seeing what had happened to Chen Yue, Lu Hu knew that he could only travel 40-50 yards at best before falling into the abyss.
“Let’s continue running.”
Everyone sighed and suppressed the greed in their hearts as they started to run again.
Jiang! Jiang! Jiang…
The black metal monster behind them didn’t know tiredness or food and it kept on chasing. Even though the speed of the disciples was fast, they still needed time to rest and recover, meaning that they wouldn’t be able to fully throw the monster off.
“30% chance.”
Zhao Feng’s eyes twinkled as he stared at the forest, but he gave up in the end. The road of the Floating Crest Trial was long and there would definitely be more rewards later on.
This was just the first Trial and it was the road of temptation, not just the road of death.
………..
The entrance of the Floating Crest Palace.
Weng!
A weird green light shined from the door.
“This fast?”
The 4 Elders and the Clan Master were all surprised. The circle faded and a figure appeared - it was Chen Yue.
“What made you come out so quickly?” Elder Xue asked deeply.
Chen Yue’s expression was grey as he told the Elders and Clan Master what had happened.
“You’re an inner disciple and you can’t even resist this temptation?” Granny Liuyue said disdainfully.
“It’s not all his fault. This Trial seems to be harder than the previous ones - they were chased by a monster at the True Spirit Realm and the rewards on the path was great.”
The Broken Moon Clan Masters’ soft and charming voice sounded.
“The harder it is, the greater the final reward. Unfortunately, this youngster didn’t even pass the first Trial, meaning that he won’t get any rewards. Luckily, this is just a ground of Trial for those of the Righteous. Can you imagine him coming back alive if he went to a Demonic Trial?” 1st Elder faintly smiled.
The Elders weren’t very surprised at Chen Yue’s failure since their own disciples were still participating.
…..
In the blink of an eye, 2 more days had passed in the Trial.
Jiang! Jiang!
The black metal monster chased effortlessly, although it’s speed wasn’t very fast. Most of the disciples had to rely on their willpower and pills to continue.
Of them all, Yang Gan was the most relaxed. His cultivation was the highest and his speed was several tiers higher than the black metal monsters.
Even Quan Chen started to feel tired. The disciples under the 4th Sky of the Ascended Realm had to push on bit by bit, step by step to avoid being killed by the monster behind them.
Everyone had finally understood that the 1st Trial Abyss of Death meant that they would be chased for 3 days and 3 nights straight, while temptation would be on the path as well, trying to distract them.
“There’s only half a day left. Everyone, keep it up!”
Yang Gan cheered on from the front, but this was all he could do. Even he would be instantly slaughtered by the monster.
Yang Gan’s gaze landed on the only other disciple of 1st Elder, Zhao Feng. The latter’s breathing rate was even and he had a calm expression unlike many others. It was Lin Fan beside him who had sweat pouring down his face, but he continued with his strong willpower.
The thing that surprised Yang Gan most was that Zhao Feng and Lin Fan both had the lowest cultivation in the group, but they could continue up to here. Especially Zhao Feng, he seemed much more relaxed than most others.
At this time, the temptations’ on the two sides of the path became closer and closer.
These temptations were 100 hundred yards away, but now some were at 70-80 yards with the lower range even being at 50-60 yards away.
But through 2 days of continuous running, the energy that the people had had dropped. Furthermore, the value of the items dropped compared to before.
“The greater the reward, the bigger the risk. While the difficulty drops, it also means that the rewards drop in value as well.”
Zhao Feng nodded his head silently.
As they ran, his left eye kept on scanning the rewards that popped up and he analysed the success chance. However, the success rate of most rewards were lower than 50% and the items weren’t that great.
At a certain moment.
The scenery of the abyss suddenly changed and a weird pavilion about 4-5 yards big appeared 20-30 yards away.
From the pavilion came the sound of a lute and a beautiful women sat there. The women had creamy white skin and thin black eyebrows. Her every smile was filled with limitless temptation, which made those that looked become dazed.
Such a strange scene made the disciples wary, but when their eyes landed on the women, everyone felt a beauty go straight into their body and soul.
This place was only 20-30 yards away, meaning that power of the winds was smaller.
The hearts of everyone sped up and the eyes of Lu Hu, Sun Yuanhao and Quan Chen were filled with obsession. The weird thing was that even Liu Yue’er and Ran Xiaoyuan had dazed expressions.
Almost no one could resist the charm of the lute. Of the group, only Zhao Feng wasn’t affected as he stared at her with twinkling eyes.
The first to react was Yang Gan, then Lin Fan, who clenched his teeth and restrained himself.
Zhao Feng was slightly impressed - he didn’t think that Lin Fan’s willpower was even better than Quan Chen’s.
Da!
Yang Gan exclaimed loudly and he woke up the remaining people.
“Brother Yang, it’s only 20-30 yards away… should we try… ?”
Quan Chen suggested, the women in the pavilion was far too pretty, like she was a goddess.
“20-30 yards is the closest distance so far… ”
Zhao Feng’s eyes squinted as he estimated the success rate and the value of the items inside.