Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Five Elements Source Thread

Everyone had at least a little understanding of what waited on the second level. Only Li Shuang was completely in the dark.

She steadied her mind, determined not to miss the slightest change.

On the Sky-Piercing Pillar before her, a single gilded character appeared. It glowed like fire: “Tribulation!”

This was the content of the second trial.

The next moment, the character scattered into light.

Another line of text surfaced on the pillar: “A tribulation that is not a tribulation; tribulation is the face of all beings.”

Li Shuang’s pupils tightened. [A tribulation that is not a tribulation; tribulation is the face of all beings? What does that even mean?] She had no time to figure it out.

The new line faded.

Countless threads suddenly unfurled from the Sky-Piercing Pillar and stretched toward the crowd.

Startled, Li Shuang tried to dodge.

It was useless. Before she could react, five threads twined around her in an instant.

She glanced at the others.

They were bound the same way yet sat calm and steady. Seeing that, she settled down.

[So these threads are the test for the second trial.]

A cool voice gave a hint: “Sever all tribulation threads, or endure for ten days. Meet either condition to reach the third level. For the first three days, you must enter the tribulation on your own. After three days, the tribulation will manifest.”

On the rows of golden altars, everyone sat down with practiced ease. They closed their eyes, while the threads around them flickered with strange light.

Watching carefully, Li Shuang also sat cross-legged.

Right now, five threads wrapped her body in all.

If she cut these five threads, she could go to the third level.

Or, if she lasted ten days, she could also go to the third level.

For now, the tribulation had not taken form. They had to enter it on purpose.

Li Shuang studied the five faint, transparent threads. She picked one at random and sent her spirit into it.

Heat roared around her.

The golden altar beneath her became a vast sea of fire.

Fire melts ice, and fire was the element she liked least.

But her Ice Spiritual Root was powerful. This level of heat could not do much to her.

She frowned. This thread represented a sky-wide sea of flames.

She withdrew and chose another thread.

Thick vines rose beneath her feet, oozing eerie purple liquid.

She pulled back again and tried a third.

The entire altar shook and split; slabs cracked and fell away. One careless move and she would tumble down.

She switched to a fourth thread.

A boundless ocean rolled into sight, with a deadly chill breathing up from the seafloor.

She touched the last thread.

As she expected, blades poured from the sky as sword rain, and endless Sword Qi fell like a storm.

After sensing all five threads, Li Shuang sank into thought.

[Five threads, five elements.]

[Does this trial expect a quick pass only if you comprehend the five elements? That feels impossible. We cannot do that here.]

[So most people will get through by just enduring for ten days.]

For now, the tribulation had not taken shape. They could still enter it, observe it, and grow used to it.

After three days, though, the Five Element Tribulation would be forced to manifest on every golden altar.

To reach the next level, they would have to withstand it.

In Myriad Arts City, people chatted with easy smiles as they watched the Water Screen: “Razorsteel Sword Rain,” someone said with a laugh. “Soul-Devouring Vines,” another added. A third counted on his fingers: “Bone-Eroding Weakwater, Burning Heaven Blaze, Earth-Rending Rockfall.”

An older spectator explained with authority: “These are the five-element tribulations for the second level. The exact forms change each time, but the test is the same.”

Another summed it up briskly: “Take the sharpness of metal, endure the blaze of fire, bind under wood’s vines, face water’s bone-deep chill, and bear earth’s collapse. Pass the five and temper your soul.”

Someone clicked his tongue: “This trial will cut out at least half the field outright.”

A veteran sighed: “From past results, fewer than a hundred people usually reach the third level.”

Even the talented were wary as a whisper went around: “Geniuses on the Genius Ranking fail here all the time. Let alone everyone else.”

“The second level is the real touchstone. If your soul has even a tiny flaw, you can fail on the spot,” another said.

Hidden among the crowd, Yan Fan listened, eyes bright with longing.

He did not dare hope to reach the third level.

If he could step onto the second level before his hundredth birthday, that alone would be a huge blessing.

Maybe because he had bet on Li this round, his gaze kept drifting to her. With the same Ice Spiritual Root, this genius named Li had already gone far deeper down this path than Li Shuang. If he saw some secret in her methods, he might even give Li Shuang a useful hint later.

Under his watch, Li Shuang tried all five tribulations.

Yet each time, she only took a quick look and did not sink into deep comprehension.

[If she keeps this up, then when the tribulation manifests after three days, she might not know how to handle it,] he worried. [She should make another move soon, right?]

On the Golden Soul Altar, after surveying the five-element tribulations, Li Shuang’s eyes shone with a strange light.

[This Five Element Tribulation… is a bit subtle.]

A prompt sounded in her mind: “Five Elements Source Crystal. Value Points: 50,000,000.”

Her brow twitched.

Fifty million Value Points.

She had never seen such a terrifying number.

She quickly checked the description: “The Five Elements Source Crystal is a Heaven-and-Earth treasure. It can generate five-element insights automatically. After the insights are used up, it goes dormant for seven years. After seven years, it generates insights again.”

She drew in a sharp breath.

[So it creates insights every seven years. Is that why the Golden Soul Altar opens only once every seven years?]

Li Shuang steadied herself.

The Heaven and Earth Furnace was against the heavens. It had already recorded the Five Elements Source Crystal. In theory, as long as she gathered 50,000,000 Value Points, she could craft one herself.

But 50,000,000 Value Points was impossible for her.

[Even if I sold myself, I could not afford that.]

While she still reeled, the text in her mind flickered and changed: “Five Elements Source Thread: the insight threads produced by the Five Elements Source Crystal. A Cultivator can gain five-element insights through these threads. If you sever a thread, you receive the corresponding Five Elements Crystal. A Five Elements Crystal is stored in your body and can be sensed at any time.”

“This site’s Five Elements Source Threads are initial-level threads.”

“Value Points: 500,000.”

Li Shuang looked at the five threads wrapped around her.

[So these five are the Five Elements Source Threads.]

[If I cannot cut them, then during these ten days I must race the clock and absorb as much as I can.]

[If I cut them, the insights turn into crystals that I can comprehend anytime later.]

[So this time, I cannot wait around. I need to sever the threads fast, or I will waste this chance.]