#70 - Start the challenge
The Hundred Refinement Tower has a hundred floors, standing like a majestic mountain, towering into the clouds, with no end in sight, as if directly connected to the sky.
Su Chen and Qing Ling stepped into the Hundred Refinement Tower together.
In an instant, the surrounding scenery changed, and the two appeared in a bright and wide plain.
The Hundred Refinement Tower already looked enormous from the outside, but the internal space was even more astonishing, as if containing a small world within.
Appearing in front of the two was a straight mountain, with clouds only reaching the halfway point.
This mountain had a hundred blue stone steps, stretching from the foot of the mountain all the way to the top.
"The Hundred Refinement Tower trial has ten levels, each level having ten floors. This is the first level of the Hundred Refinement Tower trial, testing the aptitude and foundation of the martial artist."
"There are a total of ten thousand blue stone steps, with each thousand steps marking a trial level."
"All trials in the Hundred Refinement Tower are individual trials. The difficulty of the trial will be adjusted according to the cultivator's cultivation level. There are restrictions within the Hundred Refinement Tower, preventing trial participants from contacting each other and affecting one another."
A grand voice echoed in the ears of Su Chen and Qing Ling, announcing the rules of the Hundred Refinement Tower trial.
Su Chen reached out his hand towards Qing Ling, but he couldn't touch her, as if an invisible barrier was separating the two.
Su Chen saw Qing Ling open her mouth, but he couldn't hear her voice.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit understanding, stepping onto the blue stone steps together.
A vast and mighty force suddenly descended, as if a mountain was pressing down on Su Chen.
Su Chen's expression remained unchanged as he strode forward along the blue stone steps.
The higher he went, the more terrifying the pressure he endured.
If a martial artist's foundation was unstable, it would be impossible to reach the top.
But Su Chen seemed to feel no pressure at all, walking with great strides,
crossing thousands of steps in a few breaths, unbelievably fast!
"Huh?"
"Did a big black mouse just run past?"
Several martial artists on the surrounding blue stone steps rubbed their eyes, somewhat puzzled.
Just now, it seemed like a figure "whooshed" past the blue stone steps next to them?
They raised their heads in unison, looking towards the blue stone steps ahead.
"Holy crap!?"
Soon, their eyes widened a little.
On the originally empty blue stone steps, a figure quickly swept past the stone steps, passing hundreds of steps in the blink of an eye!
"Where did this monster come from?"
Several martial artists gasped in unison.
They considered themselves to have good aptitude, but they still endured great pressure climbing the blue stone steps, having to pant for a while with each step forward.
In comparison, Su Chen was simply cheating!
Under their stunned gaze, in just a few dozen breaths, Su Chen actually crossed ten thousand blue stone steps, successfully reaching the top and disappearing into the clouds.
"Gulp!"
These martial artists all swallowed hard.
As far as they knew, even the geniuses who successfully passed the eightieth floor and entered the inner sect of the Azure Profound Holy Land took at least a quarter of an hour to pass the first ten floors!
"Where did this monster come from?"
They looked at each other, quite shocked.
"Young Master is so fast..."
Qing Ling was also stunned, feeling the huge difference between her and Su Chen.
She had just climbed a thousand steps, and Su Chen had already reached the top.
"Come on, Qing Ling, you can't hold Young Master back!"
Qing Ling clenched her small fists, her eyes firm.
After stepping onto the top of the mountain, the scenery around Su Chen instantly changed, appearing in a world of boiling flames.
Dozens of volcanoes stood around, constantly spewing lava.
As far as the eye could see, there were terrifying flames everywhere, and the astonishingly high temperature was constantly distorting the air, making "crackling" popping sounds.
Spiritual power emerged from Su Chen's body, with strands of lightning surrounding him, blocking all the flames out.
Su Chen directly ignored the surrounding scorching volcanoes and lava, quickly passing through this area like lightning across the sky.
When Su Chen passed through the volcanic area, the surrounding scenery instantly changed, appearing in a snowfield.
Terrifying cold air attacked, accompanied by swirling blizzards, making the environment extremely harsh.
Su Chen's footsteps did not stop. With lightning protecting him, he directly crossed the terrifying blizzard and reached the next level.
Immediately following was a dense primeval forest. When Su Chen rushed into it, all the trees "came alive", and countless vines and branches attacked from all directions.
...
The eleventh to twentieth floors were all kinds of dangerous environments.
Earth, wind, water, fire... Endless!
When Su Chen stepped into the third level, the surrounding scenery changed again.
He appeared in a natural hot spring, surrounded by hazy clouds and mist. A group of lightly dressed young ladies were playing in the water, creating a charming scene.
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably not be able to suppress their boiling blood.
But Su Chen's eyes remained calm from beginning to end. In the sea of consciousness, the soul phantom suddenly opened its eyes, and lightning struck the sky between the opening and closing of its eyes, instantly annihilating those pink rays of light.
Clatter!
Su Chen suddenly stomped his foot, and with a large burst of lightning, the surrounding scenery shattered like a mirror, slowly dissipating.
This was an illusion!
If one was immersed in the illusion, they would be directly eliminated!
"Hehe... Not bad, not bad. You can actually resist such temptation. You must not be kept!"
At this moment, a sinister laughter sounded.
An old man wearing a Taoist robe and possessing an immortal demeanor appeared in front of Su Chen, with a ferocious smile on his face.
He was actually Chu Fan's master!
"Go to hell, you wretch!"
The old man sneered, and the ancient sword at his waist suddenly unsheathed, erupting with a terrifying sword aura that reached the sky!
At this moment, it was as if the entire world was split in half. That kind of power was too terrifying and irresistible!
A long-lost sense of fear surged in Su Chen's heart.
But Su Chen's expression was still incomparably calm, and the horizontal blade in his hand suddenly unsheathed!
Clang—
The bright blade light flashed and disappeared. The terrifying sword aura in front of him, along with the figure of Chu Fan's master, were all split in half by Su Chen's blade, and then turned into countless specks of light, slowly dissipating.
This was also an illusion!
"Congratulations to the trial participant for passing the level. This is a stage reward from the Hundred Refinement Tower."
A grand voice sounded, and a hazy light fell, turning into a cold-shining horizontal blade, engraved with ancient and supreme patterns, and radiating a terrifying aura.
But Su Chen turned a blind eye and still slashed out with his blade!
The surrounding scenery shattered and changed again...
The ten levels of the third level were all kinds of illusions, capable of arousing the deepest seven emotions and six desires of human nature, testing the martial artist's heart and nature.
Greed, hatred, lust, anger, fear...
If one could not control their emotions and became immersed in the illusion, they would be directly eliminated.
For those with weak wills, the difficulty of the third level was even higher than the later levels!
