「On the other side.」

Sword Sect's main hall.

"The final trial has finally begun."

"Every time, this trial is what I most look forward to."

The middle-aged man at the forefront stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "This year, for the sect's founding and disciple recruitment, we even had those old timers from the Divine Machine Sect create a few state-ruining level puppet dolls."

"Speaking of which, those old timers at the Divine Machine Sect are already heartless and desireless, fools with eyes only for their mechanisms. But the puppet dolls they create are indeed breathtakingly beautiful, so much so that even I can't help but want to take a few more glances."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rest of the people in the hall revealed a resigned smile.

"Sect Master, please maintain your dignity!" the beautiful woman said displeasedly.

"COUGH COUGH!" The middle-aged man gestured with his hand. "I'm merely appreciating beauty, with absolutely no desire for it in my heart."

Everyone was speechless.

"After all, it was Elder Yan who specially went to the Divine Machine Sect," the slightly plump elder chuckled. "Those old fellows at the Divine Machine Sect naturally did not dare to neglect it, and the puppets they crafted are all top-notch. Honestly, in my opinion, they possess at least eight parts of the charm of the demonesses from the Fengyue Sect."

"The most beautiful one, it is said, was personally designed by Elder Yan based on the appearance of Mu Lanxue, the Supreme Master of the Fengyue Sect, and crafted accordingly."

"It's just that those old timers at the Divine Machine Sect spent their whole lifetimes' worth of power to create the puppets, and Elder Yan also said that they barely captured three parts of the essence."

Upon saying this, the elder looked solemn. "Ah, for these youngsters, if they encounter this puppet, I'm afraid they might be so enchanted that their Taoist Hearts become disturbed. Elder Yan is still too harsh."

"Can't help it…" the middle-aged man sighed lightly. "Elder Yan failed in Crossing Tribulation and places great importance on this year's disciple recruitment… he naturally also put great effort into it. This Supreme Master of Fengyue Sect is recognized across several continents as a peerless demoness, and her complete visage has only been seen by Elder Yan himself..."

"Her mere three parts of charm—unless one has the Cultivation of Nascent Soul and Divinity Transformation and their Taoist Hearts have reached a state of complete fulfillment, it's hard to withstand."

"Let's hope these children don't encounter it…"

"The puppets are not many; they probably won't encounter any… Let's see how many Fierce Beasts they can defeat, and whether they can overcome themselves," the beautiful woman gazed at the light screen and said softly. "This trial seems simple, but it's actually the hardest."

Just as she finished speaking, a young man who had been watching suddenly said, "But... why do I feel like this guy seems to be having an easy time...?"

"This doesn't seem like the cultivation site transformed by the Ancient Saint's Secret Treasure... it's more like his own backyard..."

Everyone looked and was stunned...

Wang Mu slapped a Fierce Beast resembling the White Crystal Tiger King away with his palm.

The Fierce Beast immediately transformed into a streak of slightly red spiritual energy, which flew into Wang Mu's body.

Wang Mu smacked his lips, feeling the spiritual energy immediately locked within his body, and couldn't help exclaiming, "So, this is what Five Element Spiritual Energy feels like!"

After the eightieth layer of the Hundred Refinement Body Technique, one needs to open acupoints. It requires the Innate Five Elements and Yin and Yang Qi to condense into Mixed Element to then forge spiritual acupoints in the body.

Wang Mu's Cultivation had stalled up to this point. It was due to the map limiting the materials.

"I didn't expect to find it right here... Innate Five Elements! I just need to find and defeat Fierce Beasts of different attributes here."

The Five Element Spiritual Energy here was very pure. After the Fierce Beasts died, they all transformed into a Beast Talisman, and when the Talisman broke, it turned into pure Innate Spirit Qi.

"What a great place this is!"

Wang Mu thought to himself, Sword Sect sure knows what they're doing! They made this place similar to a game map. Fighting monsters directly releases spiritual energy, helping the disciples absorb it.

Wang Mu pondered, A Beast Talisman is also a kind of Talisman, isn't it? Made from Talismans, it's truly excellent! When I get the chance, I'll use action points to cultivate this art of Talismans to the highest level. Then, before a fight, just throwing out a handful of Talismans will be enough to take down the opponent.

Although Sword Sect primarily focuses on sword Cultivation, they are clearly proficient in other areas too. It's like university majors… Sword cultivation is the most popular, but there are other disciplines as well.

As for the Fierce Beasts here... they were actually not very weak. But compared to true Fierce Beasts, while these might possess greater raw power, they were unfortunately not real. They lacked some of the true ferocity. They're the type to pull their punches, completely different from true Fierce Beasts that fight with a ferocity as if wanting to devour your very bones. This naturally makes them weaker in actual combat.

At least for Wang Mu, they were too weak. He could identify the weak spot and scatter one directly with a single slap. For slightly tougher ones, just a few more slaps were needed.

"This trial really is easy..." Wang Mu mused aloud. "If it's this easy for me, wouldn't it be even easier for those who use spells? After all, spells have their own counters..."

Wang Mu shook his head and casually slapped away another Fierce Beast, which was brown like an armadillo.

Pure Earth Attribute Spiritual Energy surged into Wang Mu's body and was firmly locked in.

Wang Mu continued to dominate his way through, constantly absorbing the Five Element Spiritual Energy as he headed towards the central position...

「Meanwhile...」

In the grand hall of the Sword Sect.

The middle-aged man watched Luo Qifang, another strong disciple, struggle for a long time on the light screen to deal with a Wood Attribute Thorny Ancient Demon.

He then looked at the other side, where Wang Mu slapped an Earth Spirit Armored Beast away with one hand, quickly located the next Fierce Beast, dealt with it in a matter of seconds, and then looked for the next target.

For a moment, everyone was silent. It was hard to tell who the real Fierce Beast was.

"This Luo Qifang has the strongest power, the best Spirit Root, and the finest constitution in this batch..."

"Even with the Five Elements attributes working against it, it took him tens of moments to deal with a Thorny Ancient Demon... This Wang Mu just disperses it with a slap... Lao Mo, is there something wrong with your Beast Talismans?"

The middle-aged man looked puzzled at an old man with disheveled hair on the other side, who was watching intently. The elder wore dark clothes and was covered in densely packed Talismans. At first glance, one might even think he was a madman.

"Impossible!" The elder waved his large hand. "There is nothing wrong with my Beast Talismans! These Talisman-transformed Fierce Beasts are even stronger than normal Fierce Beasts! I have controlled their strength at the Qi Refining Realm; they are all the same!"

"It's this kid who has the problem!"

"Big problems! The strength of this kid's physical body, if not innate, then must have been cultivated! And it has reached a terrifyingly formidable level!"

"Moreover, Elder Yan said he has no Spirit Root. Yet, he was just absorbing those Five Element Spiritual Energies—look, he can absorb all of them! For someone supposedly without a Spirit Root to absorb energy like this, as if he *does* possess one, the only explanation is that he cultivated the Hundred Refinement Body Technique Elder Yan gave him!"

"And what's more, he's already close to Great Success!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

"Elder Yan said he gave him the Hundred Refinement Body Technique..." the plump elder quivered, "but in just a few years, he was able to cultivate it to Great Success? He's just a villager from the foot of the mountain... Where did he get such an opportunity?"

"Um... eh, could Elder Yan have secretly helped him?"

In the Cultivation World, countless people have attempted to cultivate the Hundred Refinement Body Technique. Let alone achieving Great Success, even those reaching Small Success are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns! They knew that to cultivate it, one not only needed talent but also a lot of resources.

Everyone was silent.

"Forget it, don't agonize over it!" the middle-aged man smiled slightly. "For us, that's a good thing. Look, someone has encountered a puppet. It's that kid Zhong Feng..."

"This kid has a will as determined as iron, ranking at least in the top three among this generation of disciples. For him, this should be a trivial matter... Eh, why is this puppet suddenly that of the Supreme Master?"

"Not good! How come this kid couldn't hold on even for a breath and got enchanted?"

As soon as the words fell, several people looked over. On the light screen, a transcendent figure appeared, wearing a bright red long dress and a Phoenix hairpin, moving delicately like a goddess descending to the mortal world.

But within a single encounter, the puppet's adversary, Zhong Feng, trembled all over. His eyes lost focus as if he were immersed in some illusion, unable to extricate himself, and then he collapsed.

Moments later, this puppet appeared in front of several other disciples, who also fell down one by one...

"Why is this puppet so strong?" Several people in the hall took a deep breath, feeling something was amiss.

Just then, the puppet suddenly turned around, revealing a supremely seductive and beautiful face, carrying only a hint of divine aura.

But at that moment, even across the light screen and space, everyone in the hall's complexion changed.

The leading middle-aged man even radiated an azure divine light, his face flushed red, as if under tremendous pressure.

"Not good! This Mu Lanxue puppet has a problem! Quick, report to Elder Yan!"

"Just a single glance, and even we can hardly withstand it... This can't possibly be just three parts of her essence..."

At that moment, the light screen trembled as if it would disappear.

In the last moment before it vanished, everyone only saw the puppet appear near Wang Mu...

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