Chapter 4

The journey ahead was relatively smooth, and Le Li initially thought she would make it to the end without incident.

However, the trial was never simple, especially since she had based her route on memories from her previous life and information she had heard secondhand. The trial grounds contained many mechanisms and setups she had never heard of, hidden in unknown corners. Perhaps they were concealed within a stone, a withered branch, or perhaps they drifted with the wind and flowed with the water.

A single falling petal landing in water can create ripples; a variable as significant as Le Li could not help but trigger the dormant traps and formations within.

When she found herself at Qingxuan Peak and Yan Yueheng appeared before her, Le Li felt a momentary trance. She could not distinguish between reality and illusion, and for a second, it felt as if her rebirth was merely a dream before her death.

Death? Le Li instantly snapped to alertness, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. The pain of her death was etched into her bones. At this moment, she was certain: this life was a new beginning, and the Qingxuan Peak and Yan Yueheng before her were nothing but an illusion. Since it was an illusion, as long as she remained clear-headed and refused to be deceived, nothing within it could harm her.

She decided to see exactly what this illusory Yan Yueheng would do.

She watched as Yan Yueheng frowned slightly and spoke slowly, "I asked you to give the Nine Heavens Profound Fire to Xiaoxiao so that she could secure a ranking in the Sect Grand Competition, contribute to the sect, and bring glory to Qingxuan Peak. She will not forget your contribution. Only by supporting one another can fellow disciples go further. As the senior sister, you should set an example and consider the bigger picture. Your refusal to share, your narrow-mindedness—such a temperament makes you truly unworthy of cultivation."

Hearing these familiar words again, Le Li felt no sting in her heart; only anger remained. In her past life, she had felt immense pain because she still held onto the bond between master and disciple. Now, with no such bond left, the words of a stranger could not hurt her, yet they still filled her with fury.

Back then, it had been only a few days since she returned from the Star Illusion Secret Realm. Somehow, Yan Yueheng had discovered she had obtained the seed of the Nine Heavens Profound Fire and urged her to yield it to Feng Xiaoxiao. She had naturally refused. The seed of the Nine Heavens Profound Fire was something she had obtained through grueling hardship; it was her great opportunity, and she could not simply hand it over to another. The seed was the source of life, capable of burning fiercely without the support of spiritual energy, emitting infinite flames. In contrast, the Southern Brightness Leaving Fire they refined for the *Vermilion Bird Heart Sutra* was merely a flame fed by spiritual energy; without that energy, it would eventually flicker out. The two could not be compared!

When Yan Yueheng saw she was unwilling, she had pressured her in various ways, even claiming she was unfit to be a disciple and threatening to take back the Southern Brightness Leaving Fire.

Yet, when she had first become her disciple, Yan Yueheng—though strict—had been an impeccable master. She had taught, educated, and clarified her doubts; she had provided everything that was needed. Le Li had been grateful for her master’s guidance and had always prioritized her master’s affairs, striving for perfection. When her master disliked dealing with the mundane affairs of Qingxuan Peak, she handled them. When her master went into seclusion and could not teach the younger disciples, she, as the senior sister, passed on everything she had learned to Huo Fengji and Feng Xiaoxiao without reservation, treating them like her own siblings and sacrificing her own cultivation time for their sake.

Those days had lasted for many years, and she had been full of strength, believing it would last forever. But things often turned out contrary to her expectations.

It seemed that after she entered the late stage of Foundation Establishment, things changed imperceptibly. Because of a trivial matter, her master had lashed out at her in public. Afterward, any slight mistake led to reprimands, accusing her of having an impure heart or being too dull to understand her intentions. At that time, she truly thought she had done something wrong or hadn't done enough, so she became even more attentive to her master’s affairs and treated Huo Fengji and Feng Xiaoxiao even better, hoping to return to the way things were.

But it was only her own wishful thinking!

The master-disciple relationship fractured under repeated unfair treatment. The attitudes of Huo Fengji and Feng Xiaoxiao toward her also shifted in line with their master's, and everything turned to bubbles. Heartbroken and with her parents deceased, she had no ties left. She hardened her heart, forced out the Southern Brightness Leaving Fire, and snuck out of the sect, hiding and fleeing all the way toward Tianming Ravine.

She had intended to cross Tianming Ravine, leave the Southern Continent where she had lived for decades, and head to the Central Continent to completely distance herself from the sect and start a new path of cultivation. But in the end, her trail was found by Yan Yueheng. To avoid being tracked, she had been injured, fallen off a cliff, and ultimately perished in the jaws of a miasma beast.

Thinking that the seed of the Nine Heavens Profound Fire had likely ended up in Yan Yueheng’s hands and been given to Feng Xiaoxiao, boundless rage and resentment surged within her again.

The phantom before her was still prattling on. Le Li stared at her constantly moving mouth, walked over step by step, her eyes filled with determination, and thrust her sword through its heart.

"In this life, you are no longer my master. Whether my path of immortality is good or bad, you have no right to interfere!"

The phantom of Yan Yueheng shattered instantly and vanished. Le Li’s soul felt clearer than ever before. Yesterday’s occurrences died with yesterday; today’s occurrences are born with today!

Leaving the trial grounds would be the true beginning of her new life. Le Li channeled her Flying Smoke Steps and moved at high speed; half an hour later, she drifted past the exit like a wisp of smoke.

Turning and standing still, she first saw Chen Qiaoxuan leaning under a tree, smiling at her as if to say he had won this time. Beside him were two others: a seated youth who looked as elegant as a jade tree, his lips curled in a faint smile, and a standing girl who stood as straight as a pine, her eyes sharp and her aura cold.

The youth was Lu Yuan, possessing a single water spiritual root, and the girl was Qin Ruoqing, with a single metal spiritual root. Their aptitude values were even higher than Le Li’s fire spiritual root. They had begun cultivating upon entering the sect and were the only two in their batch to reach the late stage of Qi Refining. In her previous life’s trial, Lu Yuan had ranked first, Qin Ruoqing second, and Chen Qiaoxuan third. It seemed it was the same in this life.

"Senior Brother Lu, Senior Sister Qin!" Le Li greeted them. Lu Yuan and Qin Ruoqing returned the gesture, "Junior Sister Le!"

Le Li went to the Foundation Establishment steward to register her name and saw that the ranking was indeed as she had expected: she was fourth. Chen Qiaoxuan waved at her, and Le Li walked over, sitting cross-legged to his left, leaving a distance of two meters. "How long have you been here?"

"A quarter of an hour before you!" Chen Qiaoxuan grinned.

Le Li lowered her eyes. If she hadn't been trapped in the illusion array, she would have arrived before Chen Qiaoxuan. Still, fourth place wasn't bad; she would receive ten Foundation-Building Pills to boost her cultivation and six hundred contribution points. Added to what she had collected during the trial and her remaining points, she would have enough for a thousand, which should be sufficient to exchange for a cultivation technique at the Library Pavilion. Given her current cultivation level, she could exchange for a Foundation Establishment stage technique at most. Once she selected the technique, she would first exchange for the Qi Refining portion, and as she accumulated more points later, she could exchange for the Foundation Establishment and subsequent stages level by level.

Two quarters of an hour passed, and a tall, sturdy young man emerged from the trial grounds. His name was Wu Qiang; he had earth and metal dual spiritual roots and immense strength. He had entered the sect at thirteen, the oldest in their batch, and was following the path of body cultivation. When he greeted her, Le Li met his gaze calmly, feeling no guilt for having squeezed him into fifth place by taking fourth.

Matters like this wouldn't happen just once; there would likely be a second or third time in the future. When that happened, she would still strive for what she wanted without retreating or feeling conflicted.

Being reborn with the memories of her previous life did grant her an advantage in some matters, allowing her to avoid mistakes and seize opportunities. It was much like those who could predict the future, avoiding harm and seeking gain. Le Li viewed this as an opportunity granted to her in this life! Since it was an opportunity, she would grasp it well and wisely apply it to her future path of immortality.

She would never hesitate to fight for what she deserved, but she would also remain steadfast in her original intention, never resorting to malicious slander, never engaging in plunder, and never causing others to lose their lives because of it. Thinking this, Le Li felt her mind become light and clear, and the world in her eyes gained a few more shades of color.

Chen Qiaoxuan seemed to notice something and looked at her in surprise. Le Li pretended not to notice and smiled to herself.

Another small, thin figure emerged from the trial grounds, followed by other disciples finishing the trial one after another. The hot, glaring sun hung high in the sky, gradually slanting toward the west, beginning to withdraw its heat. The horizon was stained with sunset glows. By this time, one hundred and eighty-seven people had finished the trial, and twenty-four had not yet come out. If they did not emerge before the end of the Shen hour, they would not have passed the trial and would be eliminated and sent back to their hometowns.

Suddenly, the sound of gongs rang out, spreading far and wide—the trial was over!

As the final gong faded, one person rolled out of the trial exit. In full view of everyone, he stood up, shrinking his neck, clutched his robe that was tattered into strips, and dragged a broken leg to register before the steward.

The steward chuckled upon seeing him, "Lin Fan, you brat, you came out right at the edge of the deadline. One more breath and you would have been sent home."

Lin Fan bowed and scraped, asking the steward to record his name before walking to the back of the crowd to tend to his injured leg. Le Li caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. It turned out that Lin Fan had entered the sect in the same batch as her, and he had been in such a pathetic state. In her previous life, she had never paid him any attention. The time she truly remembered him was when he had already become an inner sect disciple, having risen to fame due to his exceptional talent in alchemy. It was said that he had been extremely lucky to obtain a Spirit-Cleansing Pill, which had washed away three of his low-value spiritual roots, leaving him with fire and wood roots.

Le Li’s eyes flashed. If she could obtain a Spirit-Cleansing Pill, perhaps she could wash away her ice spiritual root and restore her single fire spiritual root aptitude. However, Spirit-Cleansing Pills were extremely rare, and it was uncertain if she could even find one. Moreover, one could not choose which spiritual root the pill would remove; it was entirely up to fate. Looking at it this way, it was truly unreliable. If it were to wash away her fire spiritual root, the loss would outweigh the gain. Le Li immediately dismissed the thought and stopped dwelling on it.

"All disciples, line up in two rows according to your trial rankings and follow us to the Great Hall of the Sect."

Hearing the steward’s reminder, everyone stood up and lined up to leave. Behind them came bursts of wailing and pleading; those disciples who had not passed the trial were being led out, begging for a chance to stay in the sect. Leaving the sect meant either the end of their path to immortality or becoming a rogue cultivator. Neither was better than staying in the sect; some were even willing to become the lowest-ranked laborers just to stay.

But for the disciples who had passed the trial, this no longer concerned them. Other arrangements awaited them.