15: Encountering evil and strange phenomena again, the elders make a bet.

Jiang Yan took the map and looked at it carefully.

Although the map was a bit crude, the general directions were very clear.

Liang Jian pointed to the wavy lines in the center of the map: "Senior Brother Jiang, this is the Cangyun Valley cliff. The sickle scarlet beehive you're looking for should be roughly below this cliff."

"Thank you." Jiang Yan put away the parchment map and cupped his fists in gratitude.

"We only helped a little; we should be the ones thanking you," Liang Jian said, cupping his fists sheepishly.

The young man with the saber echoed, "Yes, we should thank Senior Brother Jiang."

Jiang Yan didn't waste any more time with the two and turned to walk toward the center of the valley.

Traveling swiftly, Jiang Yan didn't intentionally avoid Spirit Beasts, but even with that choice, he only encountered some Spirit Beasts like Red Spirit Rats.

'Strange, isn't it said that the further you go into the valley, the more ferocious the Spirit Beasts become?'

"Why are these all small Spirit Beasts that haven't even entered a realm?"

At dusk, he finally reached the edge of the valley cliff.

The trees here all bore faint black traces, and the air was filled with a pungent, rotten stench.

From deep within the valley, mournful roars and hisses could be heard faintly; clearly, some Vicious Beasts were hidden there.

Jiang Yan didn't rush in blindly. His mission objective was to collect honey from the cliff, but since it was already late, he could only find a hidden place to rest and wait until dawn to act.

Meanwhile, Ma Zi was slowly approaching the deep valley with two Disciples. Originally, Ma Zi wanted to act alone, but he happened to run into two brothers from the Spirit Plant Garden. Since one of them also had a mission for sickle scarlet honey, he had no choice but to accompany them.

"Gangzi, are you sure there's a sickle scarlet beehive here?" Ma Zi asked quietly.

He always felt something was wrong here; it was eerily frightening.

"I've already looked into it. That sickle scarlet beehive is right under this cliff," Gangzi replied.

While Gangzi and Ma Zi were talking, the Disciple observing their surroundings suddenly pointed toward the deep valley: "Look quickly, what is that?"

Ma Zi and Gangzi looked up, and the sight immediately terrified them.

A massive black shadow, like a crawling maggot, was slowly spreading out from the deep valley.

Wherever the black shadow touched, a "sizzling" sound of corrosion would erupt.

"E-Evil spirit!" Gangzi stammered.

"Run! Run quickly, this place is too dangerous," Ma Zi said, pulling his two companions.

Ma Zi's words were like a jinx; the Evil spirit, which hadn't noticed them before, immediately surged toward them.

Gangzi got up and fled, cursing incessantly, "What the hell is this thing? How did it find us so easily?"

"Who cares what it is, escaping with our lives is what matters now," the other companion said regretfully.

Ma Zi didn't complain; he just focused on running. He didn't want to die here, and certainly didn't want to be eaten by such a monster.

The black shadow was extremely fast and soon closed in on Gangzi and the other.

"Gangzi, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have come," the other companion said while running. "Don't blame me. When I become strong, I will definitely avenge you!"

With that, the man kicked Gangzi. Gangzi, kicked to the ground, was dumbfounded.

He never imagined his companion would use him as bait.

"Ah..."

The massive black shadow pounced on Gangzi just as he was getting up, and he immediately let out a blood-curdling scream.

Following that, Gangzi's entire body began to rot, and he no longer looked human.

Ma Zi didn't dare look back. He never expected Gangzi to be betrayed by his companion like that.

"Ma Zi, wait for me!"

Hearing the shout behind him, Ma Zi ran even faster. He wished he had two more legs.

Seeing Ma Zi running like a madman, the Disciple left far behind was stunned.

Immediately after, he felt the black shadow right behind him.

"Ma Zi..."

A voice cracked in a scream, and the Disciple's body was instantly enveloped by the massive black shadow.

Jiang Yan, standing far away, saw everything. He didn't think Ma Zi was wrong, nor did he think the Disciple swallowed by the black shadow was wrong.

After all, such was the trial; dying here only meant one's strength was insufficient.

Seeing the giant black shadow stop, Jiang Yan lost interest in observing.

After merging back into the tree hollow, he closed his eyes to rest.

That night, more than twenty percent of the trial Disciples were killed or injured, and this was only the first night!

Inside the flying boat, two Elders looked down at the dozens of Disciples.

Those who could complete the trial mission on the first day had some strength in addition to good luck.

"This Qin family girl is not bad; she was the first to complete the trial mission," Elder Tang said, stroking his beard.

"That girl should be at Qi Refining Level Two; such a trial is nothing to worry about." The middle-aged Elder Lü nearby smiled as he looked down, then pointed to a young man standing at the front of the flying boat. "However, this grandson of Chancellor Liang from the Tianfeng Dynasty is quite interesting. At a mere Qi Refining First Layer, he actually managed to hunt a second-stage Spirit Beast."

"Well said, he's worth observing," Elder Tang laughed.

"Then do you dare to bet on this little fellow?" Elder Lü challenged.

Elder Tang laughed and shook his head, pointing at the Qin family girl. "I've already bet on that girl making it into the top ten; I don't have any resources to bet on others."

"Oh, I didn't realize you thought so highly of this girl." Elder Lü was quite curious and turned his gaze back to Qin Shuang.

"You don't know, but this girl is the fiancée of Old Ghost Yu's grandson." Elder Tang smiled smugly and patted Elder Lü's shoulder. "With Old Ghost Yu's connection, do you think this Qin girl will be lacking?"

"Interesting. I didn't expect you to dig up that connection." Elder Lü stroked his chin and pondered. "According to what you said, doesn't that mean the top three spots are already decided?"

"Pretty much, but the odds are so low they're almost negligible. It's just for fun. People are now betting on fourth to tenth place," Elder Tang explained.

"Then for fourth place, is there anyone you favor?" Elder Lü asked.

"Ji Daofeng of the Tianfeng Dynasty's imperial family and Zhou Ling of the Great Gan imperial family. The competition between these two is the most intense, and they are currently the favorites among the Outer Sect Disciples." Elder Tang stroked his beard while looking at the Disciples below, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, right, there's also the Menial Servant Li Yi bet on. Although the odds are very high, that kid seems to be intentionally setting a trap for us."

Elder Lü was somewhat surprised and confirmed again: "Li Yi bet on a Menial Servant?"

"Yes, and a Menial Servant who has only been in the sect for two months," Elder Tang said dismissively.

Hearing this, Elder Lü's expression became strange. He felt there must be something going on.

Others might not know Li Yi well, but as his fellow sect member, he had watched Li Yi rise and then fall into the mud.

If there was anyone among his peers he admired, it was none other than Li Yi; even Murong Xue was a tier below Li Yi.

Of course, he couldn't compare to those two. In this lifetime, the best he could hope for was the Core Formation Realm; as for the Nascent Soul Realm, he didn't even dare to think about it.

Noticing Elder Lü leaving, Elder Tang quickly asked, "Where are you going? We have to keep watch tonight."

"You keep watch first, I have some business to attend to." After saying that, Elder Lü flew directly into the cabin.

Three days isn't long, but for the Outer Sect Disciple Trial, many variables can occur.

If he didn't ask and clarify, he, Elder Lü, would probably go crazy with curiosity.

Taking out paper and brush, Elder Lü quickly wrote down the questions he wanted to ask.

As he finished writing, Elder Lü lightly tapped the table, and the paper filled with questions instantly transformed into a paper crane.

"Go!"

With a low shout, the paper crane came to life.

It flew wobbly out of the window and instantly turned into a shooting star, disappearing into the night sky.

At dawn, Jiang Yan yawned and stretched his aching limbs.

To be honest, spending a night cramped in a tree hollow was very uncomfortable.

He glanced into the deep valley, and seeing that there was indeed no danger during the day, he walked toward the cliff.

Regarding that black shadow Evil spirit, he knew very well that he was no match for it; he suspected even a Foundation Establishment Elder might not be able to defeat it.

'Looks like this is the place.'

Seeing the densely packed Sickle Scarlet Bees flying above, he immediately drew his long sword.

With a "whoosh."

A small fireball flew from his fingertip, heading straight for the sickle scarlet beehive above the cliff.

"Boom!"

The small fireball exploded, and sparks of fire fell onto the beehive.

The Sickle Scarlet Bees, their peaceful lives suddenly disrupted, fled the hive. One by one, they were like soldiers going to their deaths, using their bodies to smash into the flames on the hive.

[Sickle Scarlet Bee killed. Experience gained: 30. life span gained: 1 year. life span gained: 1 year.]

[Current Experience: 99.97%]

[Sickle Scarlet Bee killed. Experience gained: 30. life span gained: 1 year. life span gained: 1 year.]

[Current Experience: 100%]

[Level Up Successful]

[Current Experience: 0%]

Jiang Yan was happy about the level up, but also a bit speechless that he hadn't plundered anything.

Seeing the flames on the cliff about to be extinguished by the Sickle Scarlet Bees, he threw another Fireball Technique at it.