Realizing his attacks had no effect on the tens of thousands of headless corpses, Zhang Ergou found himself in a passive situation. He could only hover in the void, contemplating a counter-strategy. While the corpses' attacks were ineffective against him, their blows still registered as painful. Zhang Ergou had no intention of simply standing there and taking a beating.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. He put away his long spear, recalling the spiritual fire. Since the last time it had absorbed the essence of the Crimson Flame Mountain Range, the spiritual fire had been dormant within him, to the point where he had temporarily forgotten about it. These headless corpses were Yin in nature, and he surmised that a supremely Yang and fiery flame would surely be their bane.
He decided to test his theory. With a thought, a ball of flame appeared in his palm. "Go," he commanded, pointing at the foremost headless corpse. The spiritual fire obediently flew towards it. The moment it made contact, the headless corpse instantly turned to ash and did not reappear. Zhang Ergou rejoiced, realizing his idea was correct. Without further hesitation, he unleashed a torrent of spiritual fire, engulfing swaths of headless corpses, which were annihilated in moments, their ashes scattering into the void.
Unbeknownst to Zhang Ergou, his use of the spiritual fire immediately caught the attention of Hua Xu and Mu Chen. Their expressions shifted, and they exchanged glances. Though no words were spoken, surprise was evident in their eyes. While they could not discern the form of Zhang Ergou's flames, both felt the unique and formidable aura of the spiritual fire. At this moment, Zhang Ergou was exultant, completely oblivious to the attention his spiritual fire had drawn. He was immensely satisfied watching the headless corpses being harvested in droves, thinking the formation was nothing special. If Mu Xian'er knew his thoughts, she would surely scoff. Without his spiritual fire, tens of thousands of headless corpses would have given him considerable trouble.
Not long after, the tens of thousands of headless corpses were completely consumed by the spiritual fire. As the last corpse was extinguished, the scenery before Zhang Ergou shifted once more.
However, Zhang Ergou was unaware that his actions had caused a stir outside.
"Which sect's disciple is this? They've broken through five formations in such a short time."
"Their mastery of formations is quite impressive. I wonder whose disciple they are."
Although those watching from outside could not see the selection participants breaking through the formations, each successful breakthrough was signaled. Thus, Zhang Ergou's rapid progression through five formations quickly drew everyone's attention.
"Brother Mu, it seems Tree Eye City will soon have another formation genius," Hua Xu joked.
"Brother Hua exaggerates. While this child shows promise in formations, there are still two more trials ahead, personally set by you and me," Mu Chen replied. Hua Xu had accepted Mu Chen's invitation to design the final challenge for the selection, a trial meant to choose the ultimate candidate. Only one person would pass his formidable test. He doubted that this young prodigy, who had distinguished himself in breaking formations, could overcome the challenges designed by both Mu Chen and himself. Nevertheless, Hua Xu found himself intrigued by this young man's persistent breakthroughs.
"They've broken through again, broken through again! The sixth formation has been broken!" A gasp shattered the hushed discussions, and all eyes turned towards the illuminated jade tablet. Indeed, formation path thirty-four indicated that its sixth formation had been broken.
"Who is it on formation path thirty-four?"
"We don't know. The participants are assigned random codes, and they don't even know their own formation path number."
"They will only know the results after completely breaking through the formations or if they choose to withdraw."
For the sake of secrecy and fairness, Mu Xian'er had implemented a system of random coding for all participants, without prior disclosure. Only upon exiting the formations would they learn their assigned number.
While everyone was still in shock, a wisp of smoke appeared, and a figure materialized in the plaza before the dense forest.
"Formation path twenty-eight, Qian Yong. Withdrew from the formation. Eliminated." The supervising elder announced the result without emotion. The young man named Qian Yong's face flushed and paled, his attire tattered. It was evident he had gained nothing from his ordeal.
With the first elimination, a chain reaction began. More puffs of smoke appeared, and individuals emerged, disheveled and weary, onto the plaza. The supervising elders stoically declared their fates. Hearing their results, the participants' faces turned ashen. Dejected, they silently retreated to the sidelines.
"Look, formation path thirty-four has broken through again!" Amidst the elimination of numerous talents, the notable formation path once again defied expectations.
"Hmm, formation path six and nineteen seem to be catching up as well." People looked towards the jade pillars and saw that formation paths six and nineteen both indicated they had broken their fifth formation almost simultaneously. However, they still lagged behind the participant on formation path thirty-four. Following them, five other individuals had also broken their fifth formation almost concurrently, their progress remarkably similar.
"It appears the quality of the young talents participating in this selection is quite high," Hua Xu remarked, glancing at Mu Chen and then at the jade pillars displaying the rankings. Mu Chen's face was wreathed in smiles. The better the participants performed, the greater the benefit to Tree Eye City. Firstly, it demonstrated the city's influence. Secondly, selecting the most outstanding youth from this pool to become his son-in-law would greatly aid Tree Eye City's future development. Hua Xu even felt a twinge of envy for Mu Chen.
Zhang Ergou, unaware of the events unfolding outside, and completely oblivious that his formation path had risen to the forefront, found himself facing a new dilemma. This time, Zhang Ergou's challenge was not a complex environment or an endless pursuit. Instead, a line of text appeared before him. Beyond this, there was nothing. In the vast emptiness of the space, a few words materialized.
"Cultivator, why?"
These brief words posed a question, yet seemed to hint at an answer. Zhang Ergou was utterly bewildered. What kind of formation was this? It was unlike anything he had ever heard of or seen.