In the end, of course, Tian Chu Zhenren was victorious, and Ye Tianfan collapsed from exhaustion.

Seeing Ye Tianfan fall to the ground, although Tian Chu Zhenren knew what was going on, he still panicked and hurriedly asked You Tianjiao to send Ye Tianfan back to his bedroom, placing a low-grade Spirit Stone inside to help Ye Tianfan recover better.

Ye Tianfan slowly woke up, dazed for a moment, and then slowly sat up, recalling the previous assessment, when he seemed to have fainted from exhaustion. Now he didn't know how much time had passed.

He slowly got up, stretching lazily, feeling his body had completely recovered. It seemed like he had even broken through to the fourth level, though he was not very certain. He thought about doing a self-check during training later.

For now, he decided to go out for a stroll. Ever since arriving at the Taichu Sect's peak, he hadn't properly looked at it. Stepping outside, he saw it was still early morning. Walking out to the corridor, he looked toward the back of the mountain, where a misty haze still lingered between the mountains in the distance.

After closing the door, Ye Tianfan headed towards the mountain's edge. He wanted to see the principles of how this peak floated in the air and what lay beneath it. Because when he first came with Tian Chu Zhenren, he only saw the general outline from above but did not see below Taichu Sect's peak.

As Ye Tianfan walked downward through the lush forest, he felt a faint water attribute Spiritual Qi drifting in the air.

Hmm?

Why is there water attribute Spiritual Qi?

Obviously, Taichu Sect's peak is filled with fire attribute Spiritual Qi, along with other attribute Qi, but definitely no water attribute.

Practicing a water attribute Immortal Technique in a place brimming with fire attribute isn't that asking for trouble?

And it seemed like the further he walked forward, the richer it became.

Ye Tianfan was curious about where this water attribute Spiritual Qi was coming from. Logically, Taichu Sect's peak was named as such because the first head of its lineage, Taichu Zhenren, had gone to one of the top ten forbidden grounds in the cultivation world – Steel Mountain Fire Prison, cut off its highest peak, and brought it back with great effort for the Taichu Sect, which resulted in the formation of today's peak.

Ye Tianfan was no longer a novice in cultivation. Over the past several months of practice, he had also looked through the Taichu Sect's library, obtaining a greater understanding of today's cultivation world.

Steel Mountain Fire Prison has not a trace of water attribute Spiritual Qi. It mostly consists of fire attribute and a small amount of earth attribute Spiritual Qi. Thus, aside from those who practice fire attribute Immortal Techniques, barely anyone else has the endurance to enter; those practicing other attribute Immortal Techniques essentially never return.

Thus, Ye Tianfan was extremely curious why there would be water attribute Spiritual Qi in the background of Taichu Sect's peak, and he was certain there was something very rich ahead.

So Ye Tianfan curiously walked forward. He had considered the possibility of danger, but then dismissed the thought, thinking: where is this place?

The Taichu Sect's lineage on the peak, not even mentioning Tian Chu Zhenren, had unique protective Arrays for each lineage, complemented by other Arrays. If anyone intrudes, they will be noticed. Even if one Array fails, others will catch it. Even if you ascend to an immortal, you will be discovered.

Ye Tianfan continued walking slowly forward, and the forest ahead grew denser and denser.

Ye Tianfan felt a waft of fragrance coming toward him, a plant fragrance. Taking a deep breath, every pore in his body seemed to open up entirely, a euphoria unmatched even by practicing the Grand Circulation.

Looking into the depth of the forest from a distance, it was an endless sea of green, so vast that one can't help but feel delighted.

This is a bit overgrown, isn't it?

Ye Tianfan felt something was off. Not only was the fire attribute Spiritual Qi growing more intense, but even the water attribute Qi was starting to thicken. However, the fire attribute Qi constantly suppressed the water attribute Qi, intentionally keeping it in check.

The confidence Ye Tianfan had had moments ago began to waver as the two attributes of Spiritual Qi grew denser the further he went, the suppression increasingly fierce.

From where Ye Tianfan now stood, even the fire attribute Spiritual Qi was denser than in his training room, meaning it must be visible to the naked eye further on, right?

Go?

Not go?

Ye Tianfan now had two voices in his mind: one wanting to go satisfy his curiosity, thinking surely there aren't any signs forbidding access, and his Master never mentioned it was off-limits, nor did his senior brothers remind him.

The other voice said not to go, as there could be danger. At the third or fourth level of his current stage, if danger struck, what could he do? There's barely any chance to resist.

Go!

Ye Tianfan ultimately decided to go, to satisfy his curiosity because no one told him it was off-limits, suggesting it wasn't too dangerous.

Once Ye Tianfan decided, he continued forward. After walking a while, he felt a faint chill.

The surrounding water attribute Qi was rich enough to be tangible, and the fire attribute Qi barely kept it in check to prevent chaos. The fire attribute was hardly manifesting any presence. If Ye Tianfan couldn't sense it, he would've thought only water attribute Qi remained here.

Circulating his internal Spiritual Qi, Ye Tianfan immediately felt warmth all over, ignoring the cold, and continued walking forward.

Ye Tianfan eventually reached the end, blocked by a mountain wall.

In front of Ye Tianfan stood a gigantic stone gate emanating a faint red glow.

So it seems beyond the stone gate lies the cause of everything!

Ye Tianfan approached and cautiously poked the stone gate with his Fire Lotus Sword, wary of any traps, but after probing for a while, found none. So he touched the stone gate with his hand, then knocked on it, discovering it wasn't particularly thick.

Ye Tianfan pushed hard, but the stone gate remained unmoving. He tried various methods, but the gate did not budge.

Without any other options, Ye Tianfan gave up on opening the gate and turned back, planning to ask his Master what lay beyond the stone gate.

But before Ye Tianfan could turn around, hypnotic whispers filled his mind.

"Open it, open it!"

Dazedly, Ye Tianfan tried to open the gate once more, but suddenly his arm was grabbed, waking him up.

Reacting immediately, Ye Tianfan began struggling to free his arm, looking to see who had grabbed him.

"Mas... Master?"

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