CHAPTER 96: PROGRESS.

Nonetheless,

After the ’battle’ was over, Young Master decided to take a few hours to rest before progressing further. This is one of the floors where they can make easy progress but, they need to kill at least one person and lose one of their own team members.

Anyway, everything is done and they can progress anytime they want.

As they took a rest, Wa Ti Ning couldn’t help but think about how quickly things had escalated. Just a day ago, she was part of a respected group, following the traditional path of cultivation with honor and dignity.

Now, she found herself in a world where that honor was replaced by something far more primal. A world where she had to rely on her beauty and charm to survive, where she had to offer her body to a man she barely knew.

It was a world she never imagined she would be part of, and yet, here she was, feeling the lingering warmth of his seed in her belly.

She had always prided herself on her strength, both in cultivation and in her unwavering commitment to the principles of the Peak. But now, she was forced to confront a different kind of strength.

"Are you alright?" Yi Xin Xue asked softly, noticing the turmoil in her eyes, perhaps she was still a little conflicted.

Wa Ti Ning forced a smile, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her robe. "I’m fine," she replied, her voice barely hearable like a whispering wind

"It’s just different. I never thought I would be in a situation like this. This one can’t help but feel something is off..."

Yi Xin Xue nodded understandingly, her own experiences flashing before her eyes. Things happen you need to get used to it. "I know," she said gently.

"But we are in this together now. We have been a dagger for each other, as a woman you are destined to take that oath someday, don’t think too much. You did what you had to." The truth is, the women are already growing attached to each other.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Senior is right," she said, squaring her shoulders. "We need to rely on each other if we’re going to make it through this. But will he do it with us again!?"

She can’t help but ask, as the warmth inside her felt so comfortable. It just made her feel who she is.

She glanced at Zhao Fan, who was meditating nearby. His presence was imposing, almost intimidating, but beneath that stern exterior, she had glimpsed moments of unexpected kindness.

"I never thought I would say this, but... I think I’m starting to trust him," she admitted, her cheeks flushing slightly, her heart beating faster and faster.

It is said that the one who has harnessed his Yang rod can make any maiden fall to her knees with it.

Yi Xin Xue smiled knowingly after all a single encounter also changed her view and she also kept looking for that cultivation session. "Trust is a powerful thing," she said. "Especially when everything around us is uncertain. Anyway, fellow sister should take rest..."

This place was like a hell in the name of heaven and blessing. However, the path of cultivation is filled with hardship, climbing the mountains above mountains, crossing the sea beyond seas.

Yet, maybe it is doable.

* * *

On the 11th floor,

The eleventh floor was a farming ground and it was less dangerous than before based on the information found on that useless elder who had yet to learn the vastness of the world.

They were walking through the forest when they came across a group of cultivators who were being attacked by a pack of ferocious beasts.

The floor was simple. Slaughter one of the members from the other team, and one of the members from your team must die in order to progress.

Based on the information, these floors weren’t as much difficult as the earlier floors, where one needed to fight tooth and nail to survive, but let’s see how accurate the information is.

..

Anyway, the beasts were strong, and the cultivators were in trouble. From the looks of it, they were badly injured and exhausted, fighting for their lives.

Zhao Fan and his group stopped to assess the situation as it’s better not to rush and first check the depth of water.

"What should we do, Young Master?" Ling’er asked, her brow furrowed in concern as she watched the cultivators struggle but she dared not state her opinion.

Zhao Fan was silent for a moment, as for, what was there to ask? The sun rises from the east, sets in the west. The only best course of action is to kill the beast and those people and it’s unquestionable.

It seems, Ling’er is looking at a particular fairy with long flowing hair, wide hips, alas the beauty of the fairy is too shallow to attract the attention of Young Master Zhao.

Swoosh!

Yi Xin Xue threw her hairpin infused with her Qi, glowing orange towards exactly the woman noticed by Ling’er instantly killing her.

Foowsh~

Swoosh~

Instantly all others were killed too, including the beasts.

Floor 10 -20 was truly less dangerous.

Within a few days, they managed to collect as many points as possible on these floors. Yeah! Not a single treasure was saved for future use. All of them were converted to points.

In total, they currently had:

Zhao Fan: 36 million points.

Yi Xin Xue: 22 million points.

Ling’er: 18 Million.

Lu Qingyan: 18 million.

Jia Mei: 18 million

Wa Ti Ning: 18 Million.

...

Floor 21,

Zhao Fan single-handedly managed to wipe out almost a thousand teams.

As soon as they entered of they were ascended, the first thing that greeted them was a white space and a green frog with a long white beard holding an enlightened peach tree branch.

Based on the information, this is supposed to be going and best for treasure hunting.

"Greetings, Young ones... To reach this stage you must have overcome too many hardships, but worry not, you can now progress beyond what you can fathom." The Frog snapped his fingers and instantly blue systemic panel opened in front of everyone.

"From now you can use the points you have gathered to progress your cultivation. Ahem* Ahem* there is an exception for your team... You can directly pay 15 million to reach the peak of the nascent soul realm." The Frog was a little dumb founded seeing his many points they had on their jade token.

Nonetheless, hate the game, not the player, the one willing to do so shall bear the fruits of success.

Woosh~

With a refreshing feeling, all of them were promoted to the ninth stage of the nascent soul realm including the ones that had died previously.

"May the fruits be cultivated, may the night be warm." The Frog vanished and the white space turned into a dazzling enchanting forest.

The blue systematic panel popped up once again.

[ I am the guide 0001. From now on all the tasks will be given by me. ]

[ Welcome to the dazzling forest of greed. This place holds unfathomable treasure, heaven-shattering rewards, and more. You have 30 minutes to take as much as you can. After that, you will be asked 2 questions. If you fail one question, all the treasure you have collected shall be seized ]

[ And if you fail the second question. You will lose one life and all the points.]

[ Good luck ]

Get as much treasure as you can!? How interesting

Zhao Fan looked around and it seemed he was alone, perhaps everyone had their own forest to collect the treasures.

Without wasting any time, Zhao Fan closed his eyes and multiple runes began to appear around him, causing the space to shake violently.

Woosh~

Hundreds of golems appeared out of thin air.

...

The golems surged through the forest like a tide of controlled chaos. Their palms emitted faint light as they scanned and absorbed the natural qi of the forest.

One by one, nature’s hidden treasure were revealed, These golems were sensitive, being able to differentiate between silver and dust.

Five-hundred-thousand-Year Enlightenment Bamboo: a group of clusters of jade-green bamboos, tall and slender, surrounded by natural arrays that disguised their presence.

Each stalk contained a sliver of Dao insight enhancing spiritual comprehension during cultivation.

Heaven’s Dew Nectar Pods: Delicate, translucent pods hanging from the upper boughs of a silver-barked tree. Each pod held only a few drops of liquid. They taste sweet like ambrosia, yet volatile with pure spiritual qi.

Lunar Vein Grass, Sunburnt Divine Fruit, Twin-Spirit Lotus, and all other treasures were easily gathered.

Within, given time Zhao Fan had gathered as much as possible with a large army of golems.

Woosh~

As soon as time went to 0, Zhao Fan was recalled to the dark space.

The guide once again appeared.

[ Congratulations on passing the trial. You have successfully collected 8743 treasures. However, you have not collected the most important treasure. Now, answer the following two questions ]

[ 1. What is the most precious treasure on this floor? ]

Zhao Fan smiled, this is too easy.

"Enlightenment."

One can get enlightenment anytime, anywhere.

[ Correct, Enlightenment is the greatest treasure of them all. Now, answer the second question. ]

[ 2. What is the biggest sin? ]

"The biggest sin is being weak."

Indeed, the biggest sin is being a weakling.

[ Correct. ]