Chapter 289: The One Who Breaks the Mirror, Come Find Me

Chen Yan stood upon the scorched earth, his gaze looking into the distance.

Three thousand meters away from him, a pitch-black forest appeared.

And before the forest stood row upon row of massive, filthy wooden huts.

These wooden huts, like decaying giant beasts, stood silently upon this dark land.

Chen Yan had excellent eyesight and saw that the wooden doors on those giant huts were also painted with strange patterns in black powder.

The meaning represented by these paintings was likely unimportant.

What was important was this black powder.

Chen Yan's perception was sharp; in an instant, he discovered that from within those wooden huts, gazes were fixed upon him.

Frowning slightly, Chen Yan did not walk directly toward the wooden huts, but instead sought out a scorched cave and walked inside.

With a wave of one hand, a jade box and a brilliant white grain of rice appeared in his palm.

The just-exchanged 【Heaven-Patrolling Secret Medicine】 and the Time Seed.

Chen Yan pinched the Time Seed between two fingers and applied slight pressure.

Crack!

The Time Seed shattered.

In an instant, a gelatinous film appeared around Chen Yan, and everything outside seemed to be cut off from him.

Inside the cave, a gust of dry, fishy wind blew a speck of dust, and that speck of dust moved with extreme slowness under the rhythm of the wind.

This was the effect of the Time Seed.

Within this temporal domain, Chen Yan could cultivate and think for sixty hours, while only one hour would pass in the outside world.

After using the Time Seed, Chen Yan could exit at any time, but that Time Seed would then be wasted.

Chen Yan took a deep breath.

He intended to consume the 【Heaven-Patrolling Secret Medicine】, and as for the remaining time, he would circulate the medicinal power of the Azure Vault-grade healing elixir within his body to heal his wounds.

His injuries had not yet healed.

If he were to fight, it would be difficult to exert his full combat strength.

Subsequently, Chen Yan swallowed the 【Heaven-Patrolling Secret Medicine】 in one gulp.

At the same time.

Golden light erupted from his entire body.

【Heaven-Patrolling】, activate!

Within the Saint-Breaking Realm, green light representing physical energy and orange light representing power surged forth!

A brand-new Saint-Breaking Fruit began to be born!

Boom!

A roaring sound echoed from within Chen Yan's body.

Sss!

A scab on Chen Yan's shoulder instantly tore open, and blood splattered.

Chen Yan's eyes widened; the sudden, intense pain caught him off guard.

He realized he was wrong.

He was already heavily injured, yet he dared to consume a tempering treasure medicine; wasn't this just courting disaster?

Tempering treasure medicines were meant to refine the physical body, and only then repair it.

Now, he had added injury to injury.

Chen Yan regretted it.

But at this moment, he could only patiently absorb the body-tempering essence within the 【Heaven-Patrolling Secret Medicine】.

It was worthy of being a secret medicine matched to 【Heaven-Patrolling】.

Under the circulation of Chen Yan's internal energy, the refining medicinal liquid within this secret medicine instantly permeated every part of Chen Yan's body.

It was just like the first time he cultivated 【Heaven-Patrolling】.

A powerful sensation of blockage surged over him.

Behind Chen Yan, the Martial Dao Dharma Image of the entire Luoshan County appeared.

On Chen Yan's chest, one hundred and eighty-one Extreme Satin Patterns appeared.

His physical body was being refined; Chen Yan's skin glowed red, and the flawed areas began to strengthen rapidly.

Along with Chen Yan's muscles and bones, he felt as if he were soaking in magma.

Constantly being refined.

Sss, sss, sss.

On the Martial Dao Dharma Image, the scene surrounding the massive Luoshan County gradually emerged and continued to expand.

A neighboring county named Riqian County appeared.

However, the image of this county was extremely blurry.

Even so, Chen Yan's power began to increase, and overwhelming internal energy filled his body, filling every single particle within his flesh.

"Let's try breaking the realm limit."

Chen Yan murmured, intending to attempt to break the limit of the Extreme Forging Realm once more.

His goal was to achieve complete unity after reaching two hundred and sixteen Extreme Satin Patterns.

At that time, it would be exactly three times the seventy-two Extreme Satin Patterns.

If Lu Xunyang's conjecture was correct, he might also obtain the Immortal Body!

The powerful Speech Realm, activated at every moment.

This was a tug-of-war.

Since his last realm breakthrough, Chen Yan had not broken through again for a long time.

Even Chen Yan himself was somewhat doubtful.

Was he afraid?

After knowing the immense difficulty, was he unwilling to face it?

"I think, I am not."

He murmured softly.

His body tensed, his surging blood seeming as if it were about to spray out from within his body.

It was as if he were forcibly contending against a mountain.

It was incomparably difficult.

Time passed slowly.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

Sss, sss, sss!

Behind Chen Yan, on the Martial Dao Dharma Image, the image of Riqian County became increasingly clear.

Even though Chen Yan had already exhausted all his strength to break the limit of the Extreme Forging Realm.

The realm limit had not been broken, yet the Martial Dao Dharma Image of the Unity Realm was becoming increasingly powerful.

An extremely thick and heavy power vibrated from within it.

Time passed slowly.

Four hours.

Five hours.

Six hours.

"Break for me!"

A low roar rang out.

Crack, crack, crack...

The space seemed like glass, shattered by this low roar, and cracks appeared all around Chen Yan.

Boom!

A low, deep sound seemed to ring out, traversing time and space, traversing endless space.

Truth hummed, and the rules changed.

The briefly halted realm limit changed once again!

On Chen Yan's chest, a brand-new Strength Mark appeared.

Boom!

Truth hummed again.

The one hundred and eighty-third one was a Bone Mark!

Time passed slowly, and blood seeped out from Chen Yan's body.

Boom!

The one hundred and eighty-fourth one!

The world felt like a drum surface that had been struck.

Invisible ripples surged into the void, lingering for a long time.

Inside the College Entrance Exam Secret Realm.

On a distant side.

A massive golden tower soared into the clouds, incomparably magnificent.

Yet, at this moment, it also sensed something.

"Come!"

A resonant and powerful male voice rang out from within the giant tower.

The earth shook, hurricanes howled, whipping up a thousand-foot storm.

"Come."

The man's voice rang out again, containing a force as if it could move mountains and rivers.

"The one who breaks the realm!"

He was joyful, as if he had met a soulmate he hadn't seen in a hundred years, and was issuing an invitation at this moment.

In the College Entrance Exam Secret Realm, all the examinees in the direction of Zhan Tu Forest, Mengyuan, and Xunyang Tower felt their bodies tremble.

They were incredibly excited.

"That is the voice of Xunyang Tower, that is the voice of Chief Lu!"

"There is a strand of Chief Lu's consciousness inside Xunyang Tower; will Chief Lu appear?!"

"A person who breaks the realm, there is a person who breaks the realm inside the College Entrance Exam Secret Realm!"

"Is it Bing Yi, or An Yunan?"

"Bing Yi, that is the person who breaks the realm in the path of Qi and blood; An Yunan..."

Shocked voices rang out one after another.

The vibration of this Xunyang Tower even broke the barrier between the College Entrance Exam Secret Realm and the outside world.

At this moment, a golden light shot out from above the plaza.

Outside.

Streaks of powerful auras locked on.

Zhang Ting appeared, his expression no longer able to remain calm.

"Master..." Shen Yiwei's gaze trembled.

"Come to me, breaker of boundaries!"

Lu Xunyang's voice rang out from within that golden light.

Filled with immense joy.

All around.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

Pillars of blood-Qi smoke erupted.

It was the soldiers of the Military Martial Guard; they were incredibly excited, hearing Lu Xunyang's voice once again.

Even though they knew Lu Xunyang had not yet returned.

They were still joyful.

Immediately following, the surroundings were shocked.

Breaker of boundaries.

…………

One hundred and eighty-five Extreme Satin Patterns!

Breaking the boundary limit four times.

Chen Yan was covered in blood, but a smile emerged at the corner of his mouth.

Putting pressure on oneself is always better than having others put pressure on him.

Yu Changsheng, is he very strong?

Behind him, within the Unity Realm Dharma Image diagram, the full appearance of the second county had already emerged.

Chen Yan had never been to Riqian County; the Riqian County he created was merely an existence within his own imagination.

But this was fine.

He did not like the real world.

Within the Saint-Breaking Realm, the fruits were plentiful.

Thirty 【Body】 Saint-Breaking Fruits.

Ten 【Strength】 Saint-Breaking Fruits appeared!

【Saint-Breaking Tree (Level 6): 392/500】

The Saint-Breaking Tree looked like it was about to promote.

Chen Yan swallowed the Saint-Breaking Fruits one by one, not intending to continue breaking the boundary limits.

Human will has its limits, and the physical body also has its limits.

Continuing to break limits would instead not be a good thing; it would only make Chen Yan's condition become worse.

Chen Yan began to continue cultivating.

The Martial Dao Dharma Image diagram behind him became increasingly solid.

But to completely manifest the appearance of Riqian County, it would still require some time and the polishing of resources.

Soon, the first Time Seed finished being used.

Chen Yan exhaled slowly and took out the second Time Seed.

The reason for using the second one was because his own injuries had become somewhat more severe during the previous cultivation.

Without spending time to recuperate, it would be difficult for Chen Yan to continue.

Just then, the voice of He Youtong appeared within the communication array disk:

"Chen Yan, the people on your side have been interfering with me!"

He Youtong was extremely angry:

"It's that Shao Hengyang and Shang Yunwu; they teamed up and ran into me, then snatched my Head-Severing Fruit!

I only managed to find two with great difficulty!"

Chen Yan's brows lifted slightly; there was such a good thing?

He did not intend to reply to He Youtong.

On the other side, He Youtong was choked with anger and directly adjusted the communication status to the public platform:

"Chen Yan, I know you are listening; Honorable Chen did say to have you help me!"

Chen Yan spoke:

"She only told me to help you obtain Youlan; if you can't even enter the Slaughter-Severing Forest, then what is there to talk about?"

He Youtong's breathing became rapid.

It was also at this moment that Jiang Yuan's laughter rang out:

"Still need to hurry and enter the Slaughter-Severing Forest."

"How many do you have?" He Youtong asked.

"Not a single one," Jiang Yuan laughed.

"You are playing me for a fool!" He Youtong snapped.

"I'm really not lying to you; I also want to enter the Slaughter-Severing Forest early; perhaps the first one to enter the Slaughter-Severing Forest will obtain a fortuitous encounter," Jiang Yuan laughed.

Chen Yan closed the communication, no longer caring about the content of the conversation between He Youtong and Jiang Yuan.

He could tell.

Right now, there should be no examinee who has collected ten Human-Head Fruits.

Whether anyone else entered like him, he did not know.

This is fixed thinking; the moment everyone saw that old man, they would assume the old man was the gatekeeper.

In fact, the old man really was.

But there is no need for everyone to listen to the gatekeeper.

As for the Xunyang Tower, he naturally heard Lu Xunyang's voice just now.

Chen Yan wants to go.

He knows that Lu Xunyang was talking about him.

From the moment Chen Yan saw that bronze statue at Qingshan High School, Lu Xunyang had already become Chen Yan's guide.

The other party is very strong, with a powerful will and a powerful mind.

Chen Yan wants to go and see, even though he knows that voice might just be a consciousness of Lu Xunyang.

He still wants to go and see.

But 【Youlan】 is equally extremely important; this is his first choice.

Giving the enemy a chance to obtain 【Youlan】 is an injustice to himself.

Chen Yan thought, and began to use the second Time Seed.

The time barrier was generated once again.

This time, it was sixty hours of recuperation.

While Chen Yan focused on healing his injuries, he also began to review the process of his battles and cultivation over these past few days.

Reviewing has always been a method Chen Yan has used since entering the martial path.

It is incomparably important.

After every review, Chen Yan would gain something in his understanding of himself.

Planning, action, review, and adjustment are all indispensable.

While Chen Yan was reviewing, he was also activating the Word Realm to think about his martial arts.

Within the Saint-Breaking Realm, golden light emerged.

The 【Technique】 Saint-Breaking Fruit grew slowly.

Chen Yan has always wanted to create a powerful martial art that can combine 【Void-Breaking - Saint Explosion】 and 【Void-Breaking - Ice Dragon Waterfall】 to unleash his strongest strength.

But the more he thought, the more difficulties he discovered.

However, it is fine; he has the Saint-Breaking Tree, and he himself can also activate the Word Realm to strengthen his thinking.

Moreover, there is also the Dao-Enlightenment Seed.

However, Chen Yan only has seven Dao-Enlightenment Seeds and does not intend to use them casually.

Time passed slowly.

The sixty hours of the second Time Seed were used up by Chen Yan, while only two hours had passed in the outside world.

On the Saint-Breaking Tree, three 【Technique】 Saint-Breaking Fruits ripened.

This is Chen Yan's own realization.

He swallowed them in one gulp.

In familiar yet strange memories, Chen Yan was teaching Chen Yan himself how to learn to create martial arts.

But in the end, that teacher was also somewhat tongue-tied and could not think of a method.

His injuries were a bit better, and new flesh had already grown on his shattered shoulder under the powerful medicinal effect's repair.

As long as Chen Yan is careful during future battles and spends two more Time Seeds to cultivate while incidentally healing his injuries, the injuries should be almost fully recovered.

Chen Yan stood up and walked out of the cave.

He looked toward those huge wooden houses.

He walked over quickly.

Rather than calling them wooden houses, it would be better to call them huge churches; each house could accommodate at least one thousand people.

Chen Yan came before a wooden house and stared at the pitch-black brushstrokes on the wooden door.

And it was at this moment.

With a creak.

A little girl wearing tattered clothes opened the door and lifted her dirty face to look at Chen Yan:

"Respected examinee, because the number of people who can participate in the assessment stage has not yet been met, the wooden house cannot be opened to you for now."

The little girl was somewhat nervous, hiding her body behind the door, her head watching the outside with extreme vigilance.

With a roar.

A beast roar came from the low and gloomy forest, and a trace of terror clearly flashed in the little girl's eyes.

Chen Yan scanned the little girl, and a trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.

His perception is extremely strong, and he can also perceive a thing or two about the bodies of low-realm martial artists.

He discovered that this little girl, like that old man, contained not a trace of Qi and blood in her body.

This is not normal.

Even some mortals who have not awakened Qi and blood actually have Qi and blood in their bodies.

Even if it is minute, it is actually there.

It is just that awakening it is extremely difficult.

But the people in this village seem to have bodies different from the people of Great Xia, containing no Qi and blood.

Chen Yan touched the black ash on the door, and the little girl hurriedly let out a cry:

"Don't!"

"What is this?" Chen Yan was increasingly curious.

This black ash seemed extremely important.

Just at this moment, from the other wooden huts, gazes were suddenly cast over.

Chen Yan immediately felt as if he were being stared at by the entire village.

The little girl shook her head, her face deathly pale.

Chen Yan did not intend to press the matter and left directly.

Since the number of people for the assessment stage had not yet been met, he would first take a trip into the Slaughter Forest.

After all, slaying Ancient Beasts could also earn Dao-Slaughter Points.

Amidst the gazes, Chen Yan walked into the pitch-black dense forest.

The dense forest here looked as if it had been scorched, showing no signs of life.

Just at this time.

"Chen Yan?"

A surprised voice rang out.

Chen Yan looked over; it was Jiang Yuan.

The other party was still holding a long sword in their hand, the long sword dripping with blood.

"Did you also discover the problem with that gatekeeper?"

The surprise on Jiang Yuan's face quickly vanished, followed by a smile.

"Mm." Chen Yan nodded.

"Have you obtained any Dao-Slaughter Points?" Jiang Yuan smiled, eyes curving.

"You obtained them?" Chen Yan frowned.

"No." Jiang Yuan shook their head.

Chen Yan nodded:

"I haven't either."

He left directly, and behind him, Jiang Yuan's voice rang out again:

"Do you want to cooperate to kill Ancient Beasts?"

Chen Yan ignored them and charged straight into the depths of the forest.

Jiang Yuan was not angry, a gentle smile remaining on their face throughout.

Chen Yan continued deep into the forest.

Roar!

A low bestial roar resounded.

It was as if countless beast eyes were watching Chen Yan.

As Chen Yan ventured deeper.

A suppressed, twisted babbling began to ring out beside Chen Yan's ears.

A faint malice.

It seemed to want to blur Chen Yan's consciousness at any moment.

But once this malice entered Chen Yan's body, it was thoroughly corroded and dissipated by the Word Realm, even strengthening Chen Yan's own will.

Until a certain moment.

Roar!

A black wolf, its body overflowing with black ash, standing two meters tall, and possessing a pair of fleshy wings formed from piled-up tumors, appeared before Chen Yan.

A violent aura struck in an instant.

Second-rank Ancient Beast.

Chen Yan frowned; it was a bit too weak.

At the same time.

In the surrounding dense forest, the sounds of more things slowly crawling rang out.

Hundreds of black wolves with double wings and varying sizes had surrounded Chen Yan before he knew it.

Among them, over a dozen clearly exuded fourth-rank auras from within their bodies.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Chen Yan's mouth.

This is enough.

Boom!

【Heaven Patrol】, activate!

Violent golden wind instantly diffused throughout his entire body.

A ball of light appeared around Chen Yan.

【Void Breaker】!

The initial version of 【Void Breaker】 was actually quite good for long-range attacks in Chen Yan's hands right now.

Boom!

He punched out, and the light ball exploded.

Roar!

Wails resounded.

Chen Yan waved one hand, and a Dao-Severing Seed appeared beside him.

All around, the instant those ancient beasts died, wisps of red light surged into the Dao-Severing Seed.

In an instant, a segment of emerald bamboo sprouted.

Outside.

On the massive leaderboard, Chen Yan's points, which had been calm for a long time, suddenly began to skyrocket.

Gaze after gaze turned to look, all revealing astonishment.

Chen Yan had always held the first-place position, far surpassing everyone else.

PS: Regarding the dungeon, some readers are worried that the dungeon is too long.

Actually, I worried about this before too, so I thought of a solution.

That is, the writing style of the Heaven's Pride Trial.

The dungeon is actually the explosive plot of the main storyline.

Before the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm, the author wrote about Chen Changyuan and wrote about various Heaven's Prides.

Everyone might have thought that was the main storyline.

It is.

But it was also foreshadowing laid for the main storyline.

In other words, the previous plot was actually all foreshadowing laid for the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm.

Everyone might think that plots like the Time Domain Phoenix, Zhu Lili, and Yu Changsheng are not very satisfying.

It's supposed to be unsatisfying, because that is foreshadowing.

The characters who appeared one by one will have their plot explode within the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm.

The College Entrance Examination Secret Realm will be very exciting.

When I thought of it, I felt satisfied myself.

Just like the Heaven's Pride Trial, the beginning of the Limit-Breaking Struggle was at one hundred thousand words, and the ending of the Limit-Breaking Struggle...

Alright, it hasn't reached the ending yet; the Limit-Breaking Struggle of the Heaven's Pride Trial is a transitional plot, and Chen Min's entry into the Speech Realm is also a transitional plot.

And the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm, while it looks like a dungeon, is actually also the main storyline.