Chen Tian placed his blood into the young man's mouth. The youth erupted in golden radiance, his body regenerating, his entire form recovering. Dark energy coiled around the youth's body, as if encountering a natural predator, it burst from within him, yet could not escape his form, clinging tightly. Chen Tian watched, and with his left hand, produced a small knife. He sliced a piece of flesh from his own finger, and it fell onto the youth's body. Though small, the flesh was enveloped by a golden light emanating from the youth's form, a luminous sphere that encased him. Under the glow of this sphere, the dark energy slowly evaporated.
Chen Tian stared at the youth, whose left hand began to stir. The youth asked, his voice filled with confusion, "Shouldn't I be dead? Why am I still alive?"
As the youth's eyes fluttered open, he saw Chen Tian's figure. Chen Tian spoke to him, "I saved you. You are well now and will no longer be affected by that energy."
Chen Tian's finger wound had healed without him noticing. The youth knelt in reverence, "This humble one, Qingyun, thanks the immortal for saving my life."
In Qingyun's eyes, Chen Tian was like an immortal. He understood his predicament; it was not something an ordinary person could resolve. Only an immortal could achieve such a feat. He had already died once, and this was a means to bring him back from the dead.
Chen Tian helped Qingyun to his feet, saying politely, "There's no need to thank me. My purpose here is to save you all."
"Now, tell me about the specific situation here."
Chen Tian was curious. Was this city real or an illusion? If it was a trial, it shouldn't be real. Who would use an entire city as a trial? Moreover, the energy pervading the sky was too strange. Chen Tian knew the conditions for passing the trial and needed to understand more.
Qingyun replied, "To the immortal, this city is called Biyun City."
"Just call me Chen Tian. I'm not used to hearing 'immortal'."
Chen Tian said calmly. In Chen Tian's eyes, all beings were equal, with no distinction of high or low. Fundamentally, humans were humans, so what was the point of these divisions?
Qingyun continued, "Chen Tian, this place is called Biyun City. It is now enveloped by a mysterious energy from the sky. This energy was placed here by a monstrous figure in this city. Humans who inhale this energy fall into a state of suspended animation. This energy affects the body, making one lose the ability to resist, draining blood and damaging nerve organs. I should have died, but I thank you, sir."
"How many survivors are there in the city now?"
"A total of five hundred people are in a state of suspended animation, just like me. However, with time, they will not be able to hold on much longer."
"Do you know the source of this energy?"
Chen Tian had a feeling that the continuous energy in the sky must have a source. If Chen Tian could find and resolve the source, he would complete half of the trial.
"I don't know. I haven't investigated the sky, and we are all mortals in this city; we cannot detect anything."
Qingyun sighed, lamenting that it would be better if he were not a mortal, so the entire city wouldn't be in this state, and Chen Tian wouldn't have had to intervene. Chen Tian frowned. All mortals? A sense of crisis arose in Chen Tian's mind. He felt that the situation involved something terrifying. The entire city could not be composed of only mortals. In that world, there were always some cultivation legacies. Even in a trial space, there shouldn't be anyone who didn't understand cultivation.
Furthermore, the Wood Spirit clan had also entered this trial. He didn't believe the Wood Spirit clan hadn't taught them cultivation methods, especially since human cultivation methods were relatively easy to learn. The Wood Spirit clan's cultivation of life energy was more than ten times more difficult than human cultivation techniques and martial arts. However, the Wood Spirit clan possessed knowledge of human techniques and martial arts. This trial space had existed for thousands of years, and Chen Tian couldn't believe that during every trial, the Wood Spirit clan hadn't imparted cultivation techniques and martial arts.
It was too strange. Chen Tian couldn't explain it. Qingyun watched the pensive Chen Tian, not daring to disturb him. Chen Tian lowered his hands, looked up at the sky, and opened his Divine Eyes. With his silver eyes scanning the sky of the city, Chen Tian's gaze settled on a particular spot in the sky. In his Divine Eyes, a black sphere appeared, constantly emitting dark energy that permeated the entire city sky.
Chen Tian spoke, "Found you. So, this energy was emanating from you."
Golden-white light wings unfurled from his back, and he soared into the heavens. To complete his mission, Chen Tian had to first deal with this dark energy. These three tasks could be considered three trials.
Chen Tian had to go all out to pass. It concerned the existence of the entire world, and Chen Tian dared not be negligent.
Thousands of meters above the sky, Chen Tian's figure shot upwards like a beam of light, quickly reaching the upper atmosphere. Chen Tian's hands ignited with Divine Ice and Divine Fire, the two elemental powers merging into a sphere of light, half divine ice and half divine fire.
A cold current erupted, simultaneously searing hot and freezing, its frigid blast freezing the heavens. The entire sky was encased in ice, not even a gentle breeze could flow.
Chen Tian hurled it with one hand towards the black sphere. The black sphere trembled, its entire body shaking. Cracks appeared in the ice surrounding it, and streaks of dark energy entered the sphere. With a boom, Chen Tian's Divine Ice and Divine Fire sphere struck the black sphere, exploding with a thunderous roar. The shockwave spread outwards.
Chen Tian raised his arm to shield himself, a barrier formed from wind elements acting as a shield. He took a step back.
"Kid, not bad. You managed to force me out."
A hoarse, ancient voice echoed, and a figure emerged. Chen Tian was stunned and exclaimed in awe, "I didn't expect you to have cultivated a spirit body. I underestimated you."
"I also didn't expect that after thousands of years, someone could disrupt my plans and almost make me fail."
"Kid, you are impressive, but unfortunately, you stand in my way. Die here."
"You are the one who should die here."
Chen Tian and the figure clashed, the sky echoing with their battle. Below, Qingyun watched as the dark energy in the sky vanished. He knew this was the work of the immortal, that the immortal was saving them. But why hadn't his friends woken up and were still in a state of suspended animation, even though the energy in the sky had disappeared?
Chen Tian and the figure retreated simultaneously. The old man gasped in shock, "Kid, from which world among the myriad heavens do you hail? Your power is comparable to mine. Someone like you shouldn't be cultivating in the Myriad Heavens Sanctuary, are you preparing for… that?"
Chen Tian's mind was filled with question marks. What was this old man talking about? He didn't understand a single word. Myriad heavens? Myriad Heavens Sanctuary? Preparing for what?
"God Realm, God Lord, Chen Tian. Remember the one who slew you."
"Never heard of it. It must be some obscure, insignificant world."
Wen Qingfeng scoffed. He had traveled through countless worlds; while not all, he recognized most. But he had never even heard of the God Realm. It was likely just a small world, yet it could produce someone of this caliber, which was indeed remarkable.
Chen Tian's long spear materialized in his hand, its silver body entwined with a star river. The spearhead was enveloped in Divine Ice and Divine Fire, its icy blue tip gleaming. The spear was eight feet long, radiating a sharp edge, and as the star river appeared, a celestial river hung above Chen Tian's head.
"An Rank 1 Spirit Fire, Rank 1 Spirit Ice, and how can fire and ice, two different elements, be fused? You have some skill, kid. The Ancient Starry Path, these things are indeed extraordinary. Very well, this old man shall not be polite and will take them."
In Wen Qingfeng's hand, a black long saber appeared. It was inlaid with red snow skulls, making the entire saber incredibly eerie. Chen Tian felt the quality of the saber in Wen Qingfeng's hand; it was comparable to his own weapon. His Divine Eyes provided the information: an equipment of White Blaze level, thirteen stars.
Chen Tian's system now compared the opponent's cultivation level to game-like tiers. His weapon also displayed similarly. Before his Divine Eyes, there was nothing Chen Tian didn't know. This skill was truly monstrous.
With his long spear in hand, Chen Tian assumed a stance. Both sides were gathering momentum, their eyes locked onto each other, searching for a weakness. Encounters between experts were fleeting; the first move had to be cautious, with no room for error, or one wouldn't know how they died.
Chen Tian and Wen Qingfeng's gazes met. Instantly, their eyes blazed, and light illuminated the sky. Chen Tian and Wen Qingfeng stood back to back, looking at each other. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Chen Tian's mouth.
Wen Qingfeng turned back and said, "Kid, you're still alive after taking my full power attack. I have to admit, your strength is considerable."
"Ahhh!"
Wen Qingfeng suddenly cried out in pain. He looked down at his abdomen, where a nine-colored light was consuming his body. Wen Qingfeng trembled in fear, "Impossible! This is a fusion of multiple elements with Dragon and Phoenix power. How is this possible?"
"No!"
"Kid, you've ruined my plan! I'll make you wish you were dead! When my true body arrives, it will be your demise."
Wen Qingfeng's body exploded, dissipating into streaks of light. Simultaneously, a black sphere hung in the sky, and countless rays of light shot out from it.
The light rained down like a deluge. Black energy flowed onto the city below and entered the brows of the people. Those in suspended animation recovered, their bodies slowly coming back to life, and they began to open their eyes.
A vortex appeared behind Chen Tian; this was the passage to the next mission area. Chen Tian had passed the first trial. Without hesitation, he entered. He had no time to concern himself with this city now.
He needed to get the Wood Spirit Mirror first. Chen Tian stepped into the spatial vortex tunnel, which then vanished. His figure disappeared, and the entire city vanished with him, as if it had never existed.
In the vast cosmos, a soft whisper was heard, "You've finally arrived. The world depends on you."
A majestic will descended, stirring all the worlds in the myriad heavens. They had never seen such excitement from that being before. What had happened?
Chen Tian knew none of this.