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Chapter 612 The Spirit of the Monument
Chapter 612 The Spirit of the Monument
"As usual, if you want to obtain the Dao of Cause and Effect, you must pass my three tests."
The pure white cub pondered, "However, there are few people who are pleasing to the eye today, so we need to change the game. Anyone who can pass two rounds in a row will be fine."
As soon as the words were spoken, the young beast's body suddenly became transparent and disappeared as a wisp of white smoke.
Immediately, the surrounding landscape changed, forming a vast, winding, and interwoven maze.
"Today we're going to play hide-and-seek. Whoever finds me deep inside the maze of cause and effect will pass the first level."
"However, let me make this clear from the start: every fork in the maze has a price to pay, and if you choose the wrong path, you must bear the corresponding punishment."
"While playing games is supposed to be fun, if you can't accept the punishment, then don't enter the maze. Otherwise, you've chosen to accept my game rules, and I reserve the right to interpret them."
The crisp sound disappeared, and a portal of light faintly appeared at the front of the maze, quietly awaiting the choices of the cultivators present.
"call out!"
"call out!"
"call out!"
With a flash, four figures entered the gate of light in an instant, while Chen Beiwu was still frowning, pondering the words of the spirit of the Inheritance Stele.
Cost? What cost?
Chen Beiwu looked at Gu Qinghan, his gaze carrying a hint of inquiry.
Although the spirit of the monument was mischievous and playful, it dared not disregard the rules of the Immortal Alliance and harm the lives of its cultivators.
The so-called price is nothing more than some true qi, magical power, and spiritual essence. Of course, if you are unlucky enough to stumble upon a deadly path, you will most likely lose some of your vital essence and lifespan.
Gu Qinghan's eyes were like deep pools. He gave a couple of reminders with his divine sense, then took a step and instantly fell into the light gate, his figure disappearing from sight.
"Young man, what is your relationship with the Venerable Dongming Changqing?" asked a Nascent Soul Venerable whose face was obscured.
"A master-disciple relationship." Chen Beiwu's heart stirred. "Senior, do you perhaps know my master?"
"Of course I know him. Old Ghost Yun was a spendthrift under True Venerable Dongming Changqing. Back then, he couldn't even last three moves against the latter."
Another Nascent Soul True Venerable taunted, "Young man, you need to be careful if you want to enter the Maze of Cause and Effect. With Old Ghost Yun's temperament, he might take advantage of his strength to bully the weak and secretly attack you."
"Stop talking nonsense, Old Master Wang. Do you think I'm the kind of person who bullies the weak?" Old Ghost Yun scolded.
"I hope so."
With a flick of his sleeve, Wang Laodao's figure landed in the portal of light.
In an instant, only Chen Beiwu and the Nascent Soul True Venerable named Yun Laogui remained on the scene.
"Hmph, every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. Even if I have a grudge against True Venerable Changqing, I will not lay a hand on a junior."
Old Ghost Yun snorted coldly and entered the Maze of Cause and Effect.
"Eek?" (To go in or not to go in?)
Zhiling transmitted the message to her fellow practitioner.
With Wang Laodao's prior warning, she felt that Bei Wu would likely encounter some setbacks when entering the Maze of Cause and Effect.
"Why not go in?" Chen Beiwu smiled calmly, not taking it to heart.
While the Immortal Alliance's Nascent Soul True Venerable possessed formidable cultivation, his strength far surpassed that of him.
But he was not alone; he represented the vast Jade Purity Immortal Sect. How dare they bully the weak without reason? Did they really think the Jade Purity Immortal Sect had no one to rely on?
"Roar!" (Those words were most likely a deliberate threat!)
Golden Egg pondered.
"Hey!" (You actually use your brain!)
Schiller looked surprised and astonished.
That maze is dangerous!
Aji ignored his friends' playful antics and earnestly reminded them.
Without even entering the maze, just by sensing the energy on the outside, it could clearly feel that the danger within was far more complex than Gu Qinghan had described, and was definitely not something a Nascent Soul True Monarch could withstand.
No problem, give it a try.
Chen Beiwu sensed the aura of the Purple Gold Canopy and, after confirming it was correct, stepped into the gate of light.
"Buzz!"
With a dizzying sensation, the Nascent Soul True Venerables who entered the Maze of Cause and Effect all sensed the presence of a new aura in the world.
Yes, I wasn't wrong about you.
Gu Qinghan's lips curled up slightly, but he quickly regained his cold expression.
No way, you actually dared to come in!
Old Ghost Yun raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself.
He wouldn't attack Chen Beiwu, but if he accidentally triggered the maze traps, harming himself and thus affecting Chen Beiwu, then it would be the problem of the Bearing Stele, not his.
He who does not heed the advice of his elders will suffer the consequences. Given Yun Laogui's temperament, that young man is likely to suffer a lot.
Old Wang took out a wine gourd from his waist, drank a small sip, then smacked his lips, looking disheveled, and continued walking deeper into the maze.
On the other side, when Chen Beiwu came to his senses, he found himself in a strange space surrounded by gray-white stone tablets that could block the True Monarch's divine sense from detecting him.
Chen Beiwu was not surprised by this.
If the cultivator's divine sense is not isolated, the so-called maze can be broken in the blink of an eye.
"Huh?" (Which way?)
The golden egg peeked out from the dragon's head, and the three heads looked in three different directions.
According to the spirit of the Bearing Stele, those who enter the labyrinth of cause and effect will suffer corresponding punishment if they choose the wrong path.
Chen Beiwu smiled, took out a jade stone the size of a thumb from his storage ring, and turned it slightly.
Soon, the jade stopped spinning and pointed to the rightmost fork in the road.
Chen Beiwu casually tucked the jade back into his sleeve and strode toward the rightmost main road.
In an instant, the terrain behind them changed, the fork in the road narrowed, forming an unbreakable stone tablet that blocked the way back, preventing the cultivators from regretting their decision and returning.
"tread!"
"tread!"
"tread!"
As steady footsteps sounded, the maze-like path remained perfectly clear, with no traps being triggered.
"Looks like I made the right choice."
Chen Beiwu smiled slightly and walked forward for about a hundred feet before another fork in the road appeared ahead.
Unlike last time, this time there are five main roads spread out in a fan shape.
Chen Beiwu spun the jade stone again and quickly pointed out the third path on the left, then stepped into it.
"Holy crap, someone's cheating!!!"
Deep within the maze, a pure white cub suddenly opened its eyes, its gaze filled with astonishment.
It has been holding maze games for 100,000 years. Some cultivators use their profound abilities to deduce and divine the correct path, while others find the correct path by sheer luck or through spiritual intuition.
However, there are very few genius cultivators like Chen Beiwu who can make the right choices several times in a row without using any profound abilities, but simply by relying on luck!
"This kid's luck is terrifyingly strong, he's not someone to be trifled with. Should we set up a random challenge later and give him some karmic Dao energy to get rid of him?" The pure white cub frowned as it pondered.
It's impossible to acknowledge a Lord.
Having stayed inside the Bearing Stele for so many years, it could comprehend the Great Dao and play games with the Immortal Alliance cultivators when it was bored. There was no need for it to risk leaving the Heavenly Ruins.
The reason is simple: once it leaves the Bearing Stele, allowing the true meaning of cause and effect within the stele to be successfully comprehended and completely mastered by the geniuses of the Immortal Alliance, its path to attaining the Primordial Chaos will be completely cut short.
What's going on? Another monster has appeared!
The pure white cub frowned slightly, its divine sense probing in another direction.
"boom!"
"boom!"
"boom!"
Unlike Chen Beiwu, who casually chose his path by rotating a jade stone, Gu Qinghan, dressed in white, was enveloped in the light of the moon with every step she took.
Even if she chooses the wrong path, and the side road collapses, she can still rely on her powerful cultivation, her feet blooming like moon lotuses, her steps perfectly steady, as if she has not chosen the wrong path, but a smooth road leading in the right direction.
This composure in overwhelming the enemy with overwhelming power is something even the other six Nascent Soul True Venerables could not achieve.
"Damn it, these are peerless geniuses protected by Primordial Dao Artifacts! How come these Nascent Soul True Monarchs who entered the Maze of Cause and Effect are all so outrageous!" The pure white cub couldn't help but complain.
After calming its emotions, it looked at the progress of the other six Nascent Soul True Venerables.
Unlike the unreasonable Chen Beiwu and Gu Qinghan, these six Nascent Soul True Venerables honestly used profound arts to deduce and divine. If they made a mistake and fell into a trap, they would use the Creation Essence to activate the law of cause and effect, forcibly rewrite reality, and return to the side path to try again.
Two of the Nascent Soul True Venerables were unlucky and accidentally triggered its carefully set trap, becoming trapped in place for three-quarters of an hour and unable to move for a long time.
Good, this is how it should unfold normally.
The pure white cub nodded slightly, its eyes showing satisfaction.
After a moment's hesitation, it made the two maze paths that could not intersect converge, wanting to test Chen Beiwu's abilities once again.
Rumble!
Seeing the suddenly changing terrain ahead, Chen Beiwu suddenly smelled a burnt smell, stopped in his tracks, and immediately used his Heavenly Footsteps to retreat rapidly.
In the next instant, countless black flames rose up, emitting terrifyingly high temperatures that could instantly kill a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
Within the pitch-black flames sat a Nascent Soul True Venerable, whose aura was quite familiar; it was none other than Old Daoist Wang, whom I had chatted with briefly not long ago.
At this moment, Wang Laodao looked relaxed and at ease, his Taoist robe untouched by any flames.
However, Chen Beiwu, with his keen senses, could vaguely perceive that Wang Laodao's outward strength was not as genuine as he appeared.
Indeed, if the True Venerable of the Divine Transformation could completely resist the punishment of the maze, then the obstacles set up by the Spirit of the Bearing Stele would be meaningless.
"Don't come any closer! This fire is the flame of karma. If a Nascent Soul True Monarch is touched by it, he will surely die and his cultivation will be extinguished," Old Daoist Wang warned with his divine sense.
Although he was surprised that a Nascent Soul True Monarch's progress in the trials was on par with his own, he would not resort to underhanded tactics that would harm his junior.
Chen Beiwu nodded and, under the watchful gaze of Wang Laodao, changed direction and passed through smoothly without causing any disturbance.
"No, this works too!" The pure white cub took a deep breath.
To make things more difficult for Chen Beiwu, it deliberately used the Fire of Cause and Effect to obscure the correct path with the flames and the True Venerable of the Central Trap.
Who would have thought that Chen Beiwu would be so bold as to forcibly pass through the vicinity of the Fire of Cause and Effect based on his intuition?
"Fine, fine, you win."
The pure white cub took a step and appeared in front of Chen Beiwu.
It's too lazy to play games with cultivators who have cheat codes; it's simply not fun.
Furthermore, one can vaguely see the qualities of an old friend in Chen Beiwu.
If it remembers correctly, 60,000 years ago there was also a genius with ridiculously good luck who participated in a game of hide-and-seek and easily passed the level. Now he is the high-ranking Refining Void Dao Venerable of the Immortal Alliance.
"Senior, did I pass smoothly?"
Upon seeing the pure white cub, Chen Beiwu spoke.
The young beast gave Chen Beiwu a deep look: "That's right, you passed, but other cultivators need to pass the first test before you can enter the second test."
Upon hearing this, Chen Beiwu remained calm and waited quietly.
Luck is elusive and beyond one's control; the more open and honest he appears now, the better he can conceal his true nature.
A quarter of an hour later, a stunningly beautiful figure in white appeared, her gaze meeting Chen Beiwu's.
Gu Qinghan's expression remained unchanged, but he was somewhat surprised.
She was already fast enough to navigate the maze, but Chen Beiwu was even faster and managed to get ahead of her.
Gu Qinghan didn't say anything, but simply nodded to Chen Beiwu and then closed her eyes to rest beside the pure white cub.
Soon, a day had passed.
To Chen Beiwu's surprise, only two Nascent Soul True Venerables were able to approach the pure white cub: one was Old Ghost Yun, and the other was a Nascent Soul True Venerable whose identity was unknown and who had not spoken.
"That's about enough. Let's move on to the second stage."
The pure white cub yawned, and a stone platform slowly rose from the ground in front of it.
Three rows of jade boxes were placed on the stone platform. The jade boxes were all the same size, about one foot long and half a foot wide, and were carved from special white jade.
Chen Beiwu's divine sense was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, yet he could not discern what was inside the jade box.
"There are twelve jade boxes here, each containing the Dao of Cause and Effect, though the number varies."
The pure white cub leaped onto the jade box, revealing a smile of interest: "Of these twelve jade boxes, four are empty, four contain ten strands of causal Dao rhyme, and the remaining four each contain one, three, six, and ten strands of causal Dao rhyme."
Upon hearing this, all the cultivators present remained calm and waited for the spirit of the Inheritance Stele to continue.
"The rules for the second game are very simple: the four of you can choose any jade box on the stone platform. Once a jade box is chosen, it cannot be changed."
"Once you have made your decision, I will open the jade boxes on the stone platform one by one. For every certain number of jade boxes opened, I will offer a price to buy the jade boxes in your hands."
"You can choose to accept or refuse the deal, or you can bargain with me. In short, whoever gets the Dao of Cause and Effect depends entirely on their own luck."
"To be fair, even I don't know which of the twelve jade boxes contains the most Daoist principles of cause and effect, and which is empty."
At this point, the pure white cub looked up at Chen Beiwu: "According to the order of clearing the first level, you can choose the jade box first."
Although it was surprised by Chen Beiwu's luck and wanted to casually dismiss it with a little cause and effect, it still didn't believe in superstition and wanted to test it one last time.
If Chen Beiwu can accurately select the grand prize from the twelve jade boxes and obtain ten Dao of Cause and Effect, it means that he has the potential to become a Primordial Dao Venerable, just like that person before. He needs to guard against it closely to prevent the Dao of Cause and Effect from being taken away by him.
Under the watchful eyes of all the cultivators, Chen Beiwu turned his head to look at the golden egg on his shoulder: "Which jade box do you find most appealing?"
"Third, sixth, and ninth all feel pretty good," Golden Egg mused.
"Then let's go with jade box number nine."
Chen Beiwu channeled his magic power, and the jade box on the platform instantly fell into his palm.
Seeing this, the pure white cub reminded, "You can use your profound abilities to investigate; there's no need to rush to confirm."
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Monument Spirit, but once a move is made, there's no going back. I want Jade Box No. 9."
Chen Beiwu smiled calmly and said, "Senior, you may now open the jade box."
The pure white cub stopped trying to persuade it and opened the third and sixth jade boxes with a thought.
It was completely empty inside, without a trace of Daoist energy.
The pure white cub fell silent, then made its offer: "I'll offer six Paths of Cause and Effect Dao Aura for the jade box you hold. Will you sell it?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Gu Qinghan and the other two changed slightly.
The spirit of the monument spoke with the six causal Dao rhymes. Could it be that the jade box Chen Beiwu chose really has ten causal Dao rhymes?