155: Repair, illusion

“Butian Pavilion!”

Is this the assessment for the third stage? What a boastful name; a pavilion named Butian, meaning ‘Mending the Heavens,’ shows its arrogance. The three golden characters on the plaque above, though dazzling, made one’s mind waver.

The moment Chen Cuo saw it, he felt as if he was watching a spirited young man pick up a feather pen, write freely, and finally complete the three characters, imbued with a strong Concept.

However, this Concept seemed to flash and disappear, and Chen Cuo didn't have time to experience it carefully.

“Your upcoming third stage will be within it. There is no fixed assessment standard. You will enter the Butian Pavilion and encounter the assessment inside. You might succeed, or you might fail!”

“Everything depends on yourselves. Those who succeed will receive both Legacy and Opportunity. As for the failures, hehe!”

“The time is not fixed!”

No standard, what does that mean?

How to pass the assessment, unclear! What assessment to pass, not explicitly stated! How long the assessment will take, also not regulated.

So, how to win this assessment, or rather, how to pass it?

“Go in!”

Ming Long was unwilling to elaborate. Giving everyone more than half a day to rest was the greatest care he could offer.

With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind swept everyone straight into the Butian Pavilion. The large gate of the Butian Pavilion opened, revealing a pitch-black entrance from the outside.

However, the Disciples who passed through the entrance seemed to see a 通道 paved with bricks and shining brightly.

Chen Cuo could have easily broken free from the means Ming Long used, but clearly, the inside was his target.

In an instant, the scene changed dramatically. The towering Butian Pavilion tower disappeared from sight, replaced by a desolate landscape.

Chen Cuo looked around and found no one else; he was the only person in the entire space.

On the ground were countless broken artifacts, ordinary furniture, or seemingly common decorations, but all were decayed and unusable.

“Is this the internal space of the Butian Pavilion? The difference is too great!”

Outside, the Butian Pavilion tower soared into the clouds, standing majestically on the entire Lingbao Mountain, looking incredibly splendid.

But upon entering, one saw countless broken walls and ruins, like a beautiful woman with a glamorous exterior whose internal organs had all rotted away.

Looking at it this way, the difference was indeed significant, which made Chen Cuo feel a sense of absurdity. He now guessed that he was inside the Butian Pavilion space, similar to the Saint Artifact Pavilion’s storage space or the boundary of the 鳴器碑.

“What is the assessment?”

No one answered, or rather, there was no one at all. Unlike the first stage of the assessment, where one could see someone with a turn of the head, this time, the seven True Legacy Seeds were all separated and unable to hear each other.

Chen Cuo walked back and forth in the entire white space. There was truly nothing but a dilapidated small hall that looked like someone's backyard courtyard.

The scenery appearing before him could not be without reason; perhaps the assessment had already begun.

Chen Cuo stepped into the small hall. The hall had a chess table, which seemed to be missing a corner, as if something had forcibly broken it off.

On either side, two stone stools were placed. In a trance, Chen Cuo seemed to see two old men sitting on the stools. Both had long beards and long eyebrows, their faces unseen, yet they exuded Immortal Qi, like Immortals who had achieved Immortal Ascension.

The two old men were playing chess, often laughing heartily. On the chessboard, weapons clashed, and black and white pieces intertwined, creating countless strange phenomena.

Just as he wanted to see more clearly, the old man among the two Immortals, whose forehead had a protruding bump, smiled kindly in Chen Cuo’s direction.

Chen Cuo was startled. When he opened his eyes and looked closely again, the two old men seemed to have never existed.

“This is, a Time Imprint, an old trace?”

Chen Cuo immediately felt familiar. When he captured the Time Blade in the first stage, he had a similar experience. The two old men who appeared before him seemed to vanish like an illusion.

In reality, the two individuals were so powerful that their every move was unfathomable; a casual game of chess could leave traces of time.

“What Realm of Cultivation is that? Nascent Soul Stage, or Soul Transformation, or an even higher Realm of Cultivator?”

Then what grade of Treasure is this chess table that can be used for their game? Is it a Magic Treasure, a Spirit Treasure, or an ancient Treasure?

Such a Treasure, yet it was missing a corner, damaged by something. This was simply a waste of natural resources.

This small hall was merely a small pavilion for leisure and entertainment. It seemed to be a place for true powerful beings to play and rest, and it was unknown how it appeared inside the Butian Pavilion.

From his left side, which was above the chess table, the exit led to a long, winding corridor. The railings and barriers around this corridor, originally smooth and round jade, were now in a state of disrepair.

It looked like no one had walked through it for a long time; the entire railing and handrail were covered with a thin layer of moss and lichen, decayed and broken.

Walking along the long corridor, winding and turning, he eventually reached a pond. The pond was filled with countless lotus flowers, all exuding a fragrant scent. Chen Cuo took a glance and realized they were all Spirit Plants, specifically Black Jade Lotuses.

The Black Jade Lotus is a type of Spirit Plant that can grow indefinitely. Its growth cycle is long, and the longer it grows, the more valuable it becomes.

Based on a ten-year cycle, a ten-year Black Jade Lotus is merely an ordinary medicinal material used by Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators. A hundred-year Black Jade Lotus can cause Foundation Establishment cultivators to fight fiercely. A thousand-year Black Jade Lotus is a Spirit Plant used by Golden Core Stage Cultivators. A ten-thousand-year Black Jade Lotus is rare even for Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. As for those with a longer medicinal age, perhaps only True Immortals in the Immortal Realm can witness their true appearance!

When this medicine reaches a thousand years, whether it's the root, petals, or leaves, they will all have a golden ring around their edges.

In this pond, nearly half of the lotuses were in this state, so many of them were thousand-year-old Spirit Plants.

Chen Cuo was instantly excited. The effect of a thousand-year Black Jade Lotus already had the efficacy of a Core Formation Spirit Material.

There was such a large patch here. Just as Chen Cuo was about to reach out and grab them, his hands seemed to pass through the air.

He instantly reacted, and even the surrounding pond remained undisturbed, without any ripples.

The lotus treasure pond and the Black Jade Lotus pond before him were clearly a fleeting dream, a mere projection.

This winding path ended at the pond.

“Damn it, what’s wrong with this! It’s actually an illusion similar to a mirage.” Even with Chen Cuo’s good temper, he couldn’t help but feel angry. The assessment for this third stage didn’t explain anything and even played a trick on him, which was quite something.

His Divine Sense was already strong enough, and combined with his Soul-Devouring Eye, he still couldn’t see through this illusionary projection.

Chen Cuo returned the way he came, to the chess hall, and walked to the other end of the corridor. That path also led to a pond, and then there was no way forward. He was the only one in the entire space.

In such a secluded place, with one hall and two corridors, Chen Cuo immediately sat down on a stone stool.

He couldn't help but run a hand over the chess table, sighing with emotion: “This is a Treasure used by Immortals, but it’s a pity it’s missing a corner!”

As his hand covered the missing corner, a sudden change occurred.

The chess table glowed brightly. The grid lines on the chessboard, crisscrossing horizontally and vertically, seemed capable of evolving all things in the world within their small squares.

Chen Cuo’s hand was now firmly stuck to the damaged part of the chess table, and the wound, already cut open, dripped countless drops of blood into it.

Yes, with the strength of his Physical Body, he was actually cut open by the chess table.

But the next moment, his Physical Body instantly recovered, and then was cut open again, repeating this process. The chess table absorbed a lot of his blood.

At this moment, Chen Cuo actually felt that this chess table was beginning to have a faint, not too small, connection with him.

It was as if he was refining this Treasure.

“Good, you like to absorb blood, do you? I’ll let you absorb your fill!” Seeing the changes occurring in the stone table before him, Chen Cuo also became ruthless. He no longer instantly restored his Physical Body, but instead produced a large amount of blood.

He fed all the blood into the chess table.

At this point, an inexplicable golden light flashed, revealing several large characters.

Assessment: Repair the Stone Chess Table.

Then, the chess table seemed to emit an invisible suction force. He immediately felt a strong sense of heart palpitations. He couldn’t resist, and then his soul was pulled out.

In an instant, it plunged into the chess table.

Meanwhile, his Physical Body remained in place, still in the act of bleeding.

And strangely, the chess table seemed to emit an inexplicable heartbeat, seemingly identical to Chen Cuo’s heart rate.