Chapter 648: Divine Tempering Ground!
"Speak."
Li Yun’s expression was indifferent as he spoke. "What secrets does this underground palace hold that attracted your Ironblood Sect to enter? Also, who exactly is that crimson-robed youth, and what is his relationship with the Ironblood Holy Son, Yan Wuhen?"
"I will talk. I will talk."
Feeling the terrifying pressure of the Sword Qi, the black-robed cultivator did not dare hesitate in the slightest and hurriedly blurted out everything he knew.
A moment later, after listening to the black-robed cultivator’s account, Li Yun could not help furrowing his brows.
Although the black-robed cultivator had said quite a bit, due to his status, his knowledge was extremely limited. However, it still gave Li Yun a general understanding of the situation.
It was said that inside this underground palace lay the legacy of an ancient and powerful sect. Any cultivator who could obtain this legacy would be able to ascend to the heavens in a single step.
Of course, rumors were still only rumors. Whether there truly was a legacy inside this underground palace, and what rank it might be, no one knew. Not even the Ironblood Holy Son, Yan Wuhen, had any certainty about it.
Therefore, Yan Wuhen had only dispatched the Crimson-Robed Holy Envoy, the weakest among his seven Holy Envoys, to investigate.
The seven Holy Envoys were respectively the Crimson-Robed Holy Envoy, the Orange-Robed Holy Envoy, the Yellow-Robed Holy Envoy, the Green-Robed Holy Envoy, the Blue-Robed Holy Envoy, the Indigo-Robed Holy Envoy, and the Purple-Robed Holy Envoy. Their strength increased in order, with the Crimson-Robed Holy Envoy being the weakest and the Purple-Robed Holy Envoy being the strongest. The Purple-Robed Holy Envoy was not far behind Yan Wuhen himself.
Of course, although the Crimson-Robed Holy Envoy’s realm was only at the perfection stage of the 7th level of Heavenly Core Realm, being able to rank among the seven Holy Envoys naturally meant he had something special.
In fact, each person who could become one of the seven Holy Envoys possessed their own unique ability. It was precisely because of these special abilities that they were valued by Yan Wuhen.
However, what special ability the Crimson-Robed Holy Envoy possessed was unknown to this black-robed cultivator. Not only him, but even Feng Wuyin and Elder Chen Ming were completely unaware of it as well.
Probably only the Crimson-Robed Holy Envoy himself and Yan Wuhen knew what his ability was.
"Die."
Li Yun shook his head, swung his sword, and cleanly took the life of this black-robed cultivator.
Witnessing this scene, the disciples of Martial Ascension Gate all revealed looks of reverence.
"Alright."
At that moment, Li Yun’s gaze turned toward them, and he said, "This place is not safe for long. You should leave as soon as possible. Remember, be careful and do not get captured by the Ironblood Sect again."
"Yes."
The five disciples nodded in unison.
In their minds, Li Yun’s words carried more weight than even those of their sect master. Hearing Li Yun speak, they naturally obeyed without question.
After leaving these disciples behind, Li Yun continued forward.
Along the way, he encountered several more waves of cultivators from the Ironblood Sect. Without exception, all these cultists were completely eradicated by him, while the disciples of Martial Ascension Gate were rescued one by one.
Unfortunately, even more Martial Ascension Gate disciples had already been used as cannon fodder and had died inside the traps and restrictions of the underground palace before his arrival.
One hour later, something other than emptiness finally appeared before Li Yun.
It was a stone door.
The door was not large, and its surface was covered with a layer of strange patterns. Light interwove across these patterns, forming a transparent barrier.
With a thought, Li Yun immediately swung his sword. A sharp strand of Sword Qi directly tore open the barrier, and then he gently pushed open the stone door.
Boom!
The moment he pushed open the stone door, a powerful consciousness impact suddenly surged forth.
That tidal wave of consciousness was like a sharp sword stabbing toward Li Yun’s mind.
"Hm?"
Li Yun raised an eyebrow but showed no fear.
The intensity of this consciousness impact was only equivalent to that of the 1st level of Heavenly Core Realm. It might cause some trouble for an ordinary cultivator at the 1st level of Heavenly Core Realm, but for him, it posed no threat whatsoever.
He did not even sway on his feet. His expression remained calm as he walked straight through the stone door.
Viewed from the outside, the stone door was not large, but once it was pushed open, the interior space was extremely spacious. It revealed a vast plaza, and a mysterious divine hall stood right in the center of that plaza.
The divine hall was paved with ordinary bluestone, and its surface was covered in mystical patterns. Faint light flowed over these patterns. Although the light had dimmed somewhat due to the passage of time, it still testified to the extraordinary nature of the hall.
In front of the divine hall stood nine statues.
The nine statues were arranged in order, each one taller than the previous one. The shortest statue was only about ten feet tall, while the tallest one was a full ninety feet tall.
Not only were their sizes different, but the completeness of the statues also varied greatly. The ten-foot statue was already damaged and dilapidated in many places, as if it might collapse at any moment.
Yet the ninety-foot statue was incredibly intact, without a single damaged point. Moreover, its appearance was vivid and lifelike, almost as if it were a real person.
"Intruder, congratulations on entering the Divine Tempering Grounds."
Suddenly, a phantom flew out from within the Azure Stone Divine Hall.
It was a handsome white-robed middle-aged man carrying a longsword on his back. His gaze was as bright as the stars as it fell upon Li Yun, and he smiled as he spoke.
"The Divine Tempering Grounds are a place to question the heart and temper the will. Here, there are nine statues that carry the wills of powerful experts."
"The nine statues respectively carry a wisp of will from six experts at the Spirit Manifestation Realm and three experts at the Dao Resonance Realm. Although each is only a wisp of will, it is absolutely not something an ordinary person can withstand."
The white-robed sword-bearing middle-aged man continued, "If you cannot even withstand the wills of the first three statues, then I am sorry, but I will directly erase you. Starting from the fourth statue, as long as you can pass the trial of the will statue, you will receive a reward bestowed by the divine hall. The more statues you pass, the richer the rewards you can obtain."
"If you can reach the seventh statue, which means withstanding a wisp of will from a Dao Resonance Realm expert, then the reward you receive will absolutely exceed your imagination."
"Alright, that is all for now. Intruder, I wish you good luck."
After speaking, the white-robed sword-bearing middle-aged man moved and directly dissipated on the spot.