At the end of the stairs, there was a door shining with light.
Xu Mu did not hesitate and pushed the door open, walking in.
His expression was resolute, and a little urgent.
Because even though time had been slowed down five hundred times, he had already delayed for a long time and was being left behind.
He did not yet know what the trial of the third level would be, so he had to act quickly.
Upon opening the door, he saw a world completely different from the second level.
"This is..."
Xu Mu entered the third level of the palace. He stood at the entrance of the cave and could easily see the scene outside.
The dim sky had a dark yellow hue, like yellow mud mixed with boiled autumn leaves. He gazed into the distance and, at the end of a majestic mountain peak, spotted a sun about to be swallowed.
Only a sliver of the sun remained, and only that much.
Xu Mu stared for a full thirty seconds and found that it had not moved at all.
Therefore, he confirmed that this world was also false. The sun would neither set nor rise, and thus the world was gloomy.
"One thousand, what does this mean, points?"
Xu Mu noticed something above his head. He looked up and saw a blue light strip that clearly read "1000".
"There are people over there."
Before he could figure it out, Xu Mu observed that a considerable number of ability users had gathered inside the cave.
Like him, they all had colored strips above their heads. Most were blue, with points ranging from one thousand to five thousand. Only a few were purple, with points between five thousand and ten thousand.
The most striking was the orange point strip, displaying a number exceeding thirty thousand, belonging to only one person.
"Blue is the lowest, purple is second to last, and then they advance upwards in order?"
Xu Mu thought this, guessing that this round's trial was to accumulate enough points, but he didn't know how to obtain them.
"No, blue isn't the lowest. There's even green."
Xu Mu looked with surprise towards the deeper part of the cave. There were more than a dozen ability users there, mostly with green above their heads, and points only in the hundreds, with the most unfortunate having only dozens, and gray above their heads. Only one person had blue.
The person with blue was wearing a yellow traditional jacket and had a square, upright face.
It was none other than the patriarch of the Changsun family, Changsun Wuji.
Xu Mu frowned. He saw the clue: these people were not harmonious. They were clearly divided and confronted each other.
The group on the left clearly had a numerical advantage, and if the points above their heads could determine strength, they completely dominated the group on the right.
This was because only Changsun Wuji on the right had the initial points of one thousand, which was blue.
The others had green above their heads, or even just a few dozen points, and were gray.
But even so, anyone who could reach this place, even an ability user with gray points, possessed the combat power of the fourth stage.
Changsun Wuji and his group exuded terrifying fluctuations of ability, ready to attack at any moment.
"Nanfeng, have you no shame? The Ninth Stone Cave is our initial transfer point! Why do you demand half our points!"
Changsun Wuji snorted coldly. He had just cracked the chess puzzle and was immediately surrounded upon arrival.
What made him even more furious was that his own family members had arrived faster than him and had their points plundered. Fortunately, as the patriarch, he could rally them to resist; otherwise, he too would have been robbed!
"Why? Because strength is reason!"
A fat man with a coarse face and a stout build, wielding a large axe, stood in the middle of the left-side group and responded arrogantly.
The points above his head were orange.
Xu Mu heard this and suddenly understood: these points could be stolen.
This fat man had arrived before them, then gathered forces and robbed them one by one. While it was a method, it was rather selfish and would incite public anger, and it was also very dangerous.
Those who harm others will be harmed by others. If not handled well, it's easy to get into trouble.
Changsun Wuji heard this and sneered disdainfully:
"I admit you have some strength, but if you want to put on a show in front of me, you've chosen the wrong person!"
"If you want to experience the domineering true energy of my Changsun family, I'm ready at any time!"
"Good!"
Hearing Changsun Wuji's words, the fat man Nanfeng was provoked.
He stomped, creating a domain, and swung his great saber, attempting to envelop Changsun Wuji within the domain and then kill him!
But Changsun Wuji, as a former royal family member and a patriarch, how could he fear fighting cultivators of the same realm?
So, he snorted coldly and, at that moment, also summoned his domain.
It was a brilliant golden light. With a wave of his hand, a circular disc like a royal carriage flew out, carrying a massive golden attribute ability. It flew with tremendous momentum and clashed heavily with the fat man's great saber.
"Boom!"
With a loud noise, the great saber shattered the golden wheel disc, and terrifying energy erupted in the process.
As a result, Nanfeng himself was repelled by the force of the explosion.
And the domains of the two also collided, again without a clear winner.
The stone cave trembled because of this, and some dust fell.
"Hmph!"
Nanfeng's expression was grim. Standing still, he had fought Changsun Wuji to a draw.
Although it was only a probe, and neither had used their full strength, the opponent must have also held back. This person was different from the ability users he had robbed before!
"Patriarch Changsun, as expected, lives up to his reputation."
"Return the points stolen from my Changsun family, and the grievances will be settled!"
Changsun Wuji's voice was cold and resonant. The golden light around him grew more dazzling, as did the ability users behind him.
Most of them were injured and wore expressions of humiliation because, before Changsun Wuji's arrival, they had been oppressed by Nanfeng to varying degrees. Otherwise, why would they have lost even their initial blue points? Now that the patriarch had arrived, how could they let Nanfeng off easily!
"This is what I worked hard to steal, how can I return it!"
Nanfeng waved his great saber, and saber intent scattered around him, but he did not attack again.
Although his strength was comparable to Changsun Wuji's, both being top-tier cultivators in the fourth stage, the problem was that he could not afford to be easily injured.
Changsun Wuji and those ability users were all from the same family.
As for him, apart from the three brothers with whom he had sworn brotherhood, he only had allies.
If he were injured, those people might turn against him and try to steal his points.
"The Changsun family cannot be offended any further," Nanfeng thought to himself, then said:
"Patriarch Changsun, returning them is impossible."
Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji was about to attack, but unexpectedly, Nanfeng changed his tone:
"However, I can allocate a piece of mountainous land for you to hunt monsters and earn points, and I promise that we of the Northwest Four Freaks will never steal your points, how about it?"
Hearing this condition, Changsun Wuji glanced at the people behind him, then at the dozens of ability users behind the opponent, and the muscles in his face twitched.
This condition was actually quite good.
The Northwest Four Freaks were all powerful cultivators in the fourth stage. Their leader, Nanfeng, could fight him to a draw. Setting aside the two of them, the remaining three were enough to deal with the ten people behind him.
But should he agree?
As the patriarch and a royal family member, he couldn't even fully protect the dignity of his own kin. This was a great humiliation.
But other than this, there seemed to be no other good option. The opponent's forces were too strong now!
And as Changsun Wuji was hesitating, a voice from Nanfeng's side rang out:
"Brother Nanfeng, a newcomer has arrived at the cave entrance!"
Nanfeng heard this, turned his head in surprise:
"Transferred to the cave entrance?"
He was a little astonished, as he had arrived relatively early and understood the rules here thoroughly.
Ability users below the fourth stage would be transferred here.
And everyone's transfer location was in the middle of the cave.
Now, someone had been transferred to the cave entrance?
The others also knew this, so they all simultaneously turned their gazes curiously towards the cave entrance.
There was a man with his upper body exposed.
That person was naturally Xu Mu.
His back was to the dim light, his upper body was bare, and his face was covered in a long beard, making his features indistinguishable.
"Who is this person?"
As everyone saw clearly, the question arose in their minds simultaneously.
They didn't seem to have seen a cultivator dressed like this on the first level.
"Who cares, as long as he's not a Domain Lord, he's my big fish!"
Nanfeng also found the person familiar, but he didn't think much of it. Because he didn't sense any Domain Lord fluctuations from Xu Mu, this meant he could be robbed.
The fat man grinned sinisterly, his coarse face bulging.
He was now less than eighty thousand points away from advancing his orange points to the next level.
Although that wouldn't allow him to pass this round's assessment, according to the rules, he could exchange points for corresponding items. Ten thousand points was just enough to reach the threshold of those coveted treasures.
For example, priceless pills, high-level cultivation techniques, divine weapons, and sharp implements were all available, with prices around ten thousand points!
Besides killing monsters of different stages, people could also earn points by mining crystals and collecting spirit herbs.
But if they were unlucky, after spending half the day, they would only accumulate a few hundred points, and there was also a certain danger, as the monsters here were very powerful.
A third-stage monster was only worth ten points, far less satisfying than robbing someone!
"You there, come over here!"
"Honestly hand over your points, and from now on, I, Nanfeng, will cover you in this place."
The fat man's face was covered in coarse flesh, and he said with a sinister grin, having already mistaken Xu Mu for a soft persimmon to be easily manipulated!
In contrast to his arrogance, Changsun Wuji's expression gradually changed from strange to surprised after gazing at Xu Mu for a long time.
Others might not recognize him, but he did.
Because the first time he saw the person, he looked exactly like this.
Like a wild man!
"This time, you've gotten yourself into big trouble."
Thinking of the magnificent figure who had passed through hundreds of thousands of times the pressure on the first level, the terrifying talent and physique, Changsun Wuji felt a hint of schadenfreude.
Nanfeng was strong, but he was likely far inferior to Xu Mu. This was because the latter had comprehended the Great Dao of Gravity and had even exchanged a palm strike with the ancestor of the Wang family.
Even Domain Lords couldn't do anything to him. What storm could the mere Northwest Four Freaks stir up?
"Before, because of the King of Linghai, I missed an opportunity to share hardships. I cannot repeat the same mistake now!"
Thinking this, Changsun Wuji immediately let out a furious roar:
"Nanfeng, I do not accept your conditions!"
"You must return all the points stolen from my Changsun family."
"Furthermore, you injured my people, you must pay the price. I want half of your points!"
Changsun Wuji's body emanated a powerful golden light as he roared, stunning everyone.
Nanfeng looked back in surprise, and then seemed bewildered.
At this moment, Xu Mu, who was standing at the cave entrance and was about to make a run for it, also looked stunned.
Although he had learned the Lian Shan Yi, his realm was still at the second stage.
If a fourth-stage person wanted to steal his points, he had no choice but to run.
But at this moment, Changsun Wuji was going against the tide, stepping out imposingly, which greatly surprised Xu Mu.
"As expected of a descendant of the royal family."
He muttered, slowly retreating.
...