Chapter 71: Nine-Foot Long Scroll of Mountains and Rivers

The final martial exercise was set to take place at the plaza outside Hufeng Hall. Many Outer Disciples swept away the gloom of the previous exercises, and everyone was rubbing their palms and flexing their muscles—after all, success or failure hinged on this one attempt!

The Blood Stasis Dispelling Powder was highly effective; although only two days had passed, the blue and purple bruises on Long Qi's face had mostly faded, leaving only slight marks that would be hard to notice if one didn't look closely.

With the toll of a bell, Shangqing Zhenren and the Elders walked out from Hufeng Hall. The disciples hurriedly quieted down from their chatter and laughter, performing a Daoist salute in unison toward the steps. Once the disciples rose, Qianyuan Zhenren, having received a signal from Shangqing Zhenren, stepped forward to speak.

The gist was that after this martial exercise, the sect would combine the disciples' daily performance with the results of the previous two exercises to decide who would be promoted to the Inner Sect. At that time, the sect would not force those who were not promoted to either leave or stay; if they did not wish to remain, they could hand in their nameplates and choose a day to descend the mountain. If they still wished to cultivate, they would be reassigned to different courtyards. He hoped these disciples would cultivate with focus and wished them success in the future promotion examinations, and so on.

Lingxiang found it extremely boring and looked as if she might doze off even while standing. Fuyin Zhenren hurriedly tugged at her sleeve, whispering a reminder not to be so inattentive.

Qianyuan Zhenren finally finished speaking, then turned and performed a Daoist salute to Shangqing Zhenren before returning to his original position.

At this moment, Hanyang emerged from the hall below the steps holding a scroll. He bowed to the Elders, then presented the scroll to Zhaoming Zhenren, before turning to address the disciples below regarding this martial exercise.

For this martial exercise, the disciples would enter the Mountain and River Map just handed to Zhaoming Zhenren. The Mountain and River Map was a Spirit Treasure left behind by an ancient master, containing ten thousand types of illusions presented as paintings, such as Snow Kiln Cold Cave, Barren Land, Abyss Swamp, and Mist Illusion Forest. The disciples would enter the pre-set trials in groups of four from their respective dormitories; as long as they could crack the mysteries within, they would succeed.

However, strange beasts would appear in each trial to varying degrees, and it was possible for multiple groups to fall into the same trial. Since the mystery of each trial could only be solved by one group, the disciples would have to decide for themselves how to clear the trial.

This martial exercise was limited to one hour; those who had not cleared the trial after one hour would be considered to have failed.

As soon as Hanyang finished speaking, Zhaoming Zhenren began chanting the true incantation. The scroll in his hand slowly rose into the air. When the final word of the incantation was uttered, the scroll suddenly unfurled, and a painting appeared before everyone.

The painting was several feet long, and the scenery within was vivid and lifelike; the flowers, birds, beasts, rain, snow, and flowing water were all actually moving.

Following Zhaoming Zhenren's shout of "Appear!", a light array manifested beneath the scroll. At the same time, a light array also appeared beneath the disciples' feet. Upon hearing Zhaoming Zhenren's shout of "Enter!", the disciples vanished instantly. Yet, inside the painting, tiny figures appeared one by one. Those figures looked incredibly astonished; looking closely, they were none other than the Outer Disciples who had just disappeared!

"I didn't expect that for just a martial exercise, they would actually bring out the Mountain and River Map," Lingxiang said as she sat down. Having stood for so long, her feet were starting to ache.

Fuyin Zhenren smiled and shook his head, leaning down to check her feet. Seeing that the previously injured area was indeed somewhat red and swollen, he couldn't help but frown.

"Didn't I tell you to rest properly? What kind of wild playing have you been doing these past two days to make your leg like this?" As he spoke, he took a medicine bottle from his waist, poured some of the liquid into his hand, and gently massaged it into Lingxiang's leg.

Lingxiang didn't dare say anything else; it wouldn't do to openly admit it was caused by teaching Zhao Wuyang and Banxia. She only claimed it was from standing through these half-day formalities, then shot a glare at Qianyuan the Daoist Master.

Qianyuan Zhenren merely turned his head to talk to Shangqing Zhenren, pretending he hadn't seen Lingxiang's glare—if this little girl really caught him in a trap, she might just swindle him out of something again!

Although the Mountain and River Map was an illusion, the sensations were real. Some disciples landed on a snowy mountain, and the bone-chilling cold was enough to make them want to retreat. But before entering, Hanyang had made it clear: unless they found the mechanism or the mystery, they would have to wait until the hour was up to get out.

Lingxiang never imagined that these old foxes would use the Mountain and River Map as a test for the martial exercise. Perhaps it was because she had interfered with the second martial exercise last time, or perhaps these two old men had snitched on her, which was why these old antiques had come up with this countermeasure.

Thinking this, Lingxiang glared at Qianyuan Zhenren again. Qianyuan Zhenren felt a startle in his heart, secretly wondering where he had offended this little ancestor again.

In truth, this matter really wasn't Qianyuan Zhenren's fault. The original test for this martial exercise was the Mysterious Spirit Illusion Array set up by Zhaoming Zhenren. This Mysterious Nether Spirit Illusion Array was a profound method of Weapon Array, intended to send the disciples into the array for training. But just a few days ago, someone had broken into the area at night and destroyed the array core, which was why the Elders had urgently retrieved the Mountain and River Map.

Yesterday, Shangqing Zhenren had spent half the day casting divinations, but the results were all incoherent. He didn't know what kind of witchcraft the intruder had used to bypass his Divination of Heaven. If the Heavenly Mixing Instrument hadn't shown any signs of trouble, this martial exercise would have been canceled.

But this did not mean the matter was over. Yesterday, the Elders had carefully examined the situation from that day in the Dust-Peering Mirror. Although they still couldn't identify who it was, they were certain the act was committed by someone within the sect.

Zhaoming Zhenren had originally thought his own cultivation had regressed, which was why he had let the thief succeed time and again. He had specifically checked all the mountain arrays, but they were all intact. Now it seemed that the previous incident with the Demon Race was likely the same as this one; there was definitely a traitor within the sect!

However, although they had confirmed the matter, they still didn't know who was responsible. Thus, Shangqing Zhenren had sent Hanyang to lead the trusted disciples of the various Elders to make thorough arrangements overnight, and the matter had not been publicized.

Since that person had caused trouble twice and was backed by the Demon Race, they figured there would be further movements, at which point they could capture the culprit in one fell swoop.

If Lingxiang knew about this, she would surely be extremely happy—she had been worrying about how to cover up the matter of Xin Yi, and she hadn't expected a scapegoat to appear out of thin air.

However, if the Elders, especially Zhaoming Zhenren, knew of Lingxiang's thoughts, they would likely be so angry that even their old bones would jump up.

While those outside the array had their own hidden agendas, the interior of the Mountain and River Map had already become lively.

One must say that in cultivation, Daoist luck is truly indispensable. A quarter of an hour had passed; some disciples had entered the map and remained safe and sound, while others had encountered trouble the moment they entered the array.

If there are those in this world with excellent luck, there must inevitably be those with terrible luck. Take Miaozhi from Mei Courtyard, for example: in the last martial exercise, she had been bewitched and entangled by the spirits of Yinyu Peak shortly after entering the array. This time, she had landed in the Rootless Sand Dune. No sooner had the group stood still than a giant Sand-Roaming Shark emerged, and they were still fleeing from it even now.

To be this unlucky, one could almost call it being "chosen by heaven"…