“My axe!” Meng Jingzhou shouted in the illusion, wanting to go down and retrieve his axe.

The River Spirit lifted three axes and appeared on the surface of the river.

“Young child, you…”

Plop–

Before the River Spirit could finish speaking, Meng Jingzhou dived into the river with a big splash, spitting out bubbles even bigger than himself.

What’s going on?

The River Spirit was confused, encountering this situation for the first time.

The bubbles gradually disappeared until the river became calm and terrifying, with only the breath emitted by the River Spirit causing ripples under his feet.

“Why is there no movement? Could he have drowned?” The River Spirit murmured. He was not too worried that Meng Jingzhou would really drown, as this was an illusion and people could not die from drowning here.

Before the River Spirit could figure out what Meng Jingzhou was up to, another change occurred!

The ripples on the surface of the river became more frequent, and the River Spirit frowned slightly. He had controlled his power well, so it should not have been his breath that caused it.

He realized, “It’s that kid who just jumped into the river!”

Golden breath mixed with the stream, and the water vapor on the surface of the river emitted a fairy-like aura, as if something terrible was gestating at the bottom of the river!

The unknown terror was frightening!

Three fountains of water sprayed up from the river, splashing a faint golden mist and spreading it across the entire river surface, making the River Spirit unable to see what was happening.

A wind blew from somewhere, dispersing the faint golden mist.

Three figures appeared, all resembling Meng Jingzhou, but their aura was completely different from before.

The River Spirit trembled, this was an instinctive reaction from the depths of his soul!

Ordinary Meng Jingzhou, Immortal Meng Jingzhou, and… Divine Meng Jingzhou!

This was the fundamental rule of the illusion: when ordinary objects fall into the river, they will undergo three transformations of mortal, spirit, and immortal.

“Give it to me.” The three Meng Jingzhous said in unison, taking their own axes.

With Divine Meng Jingzhou present, the River Spirit had no power to resist and could only let him take what he wanted.

Divine Meng Jingzhou obtained the Immortal-level Kai Tian Axe, Immortal Meng Jingzhou obtained the Spirit-level Kai Shan Axe, and Ordinary Meng Jingzhou pretended to be powerful and took the old and worn-out axe while the River Spirit was not paying attention.

With the three axes in hand, the illusion shattered, and Meng Jingzhou passed the level.

Those from the Seek Tao Sect stared at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou who passed the second level, speechless for a long time.

Where were the honest people they were promised?

Yun Zhi did not speak, she had a premonition that bringing these two into the Seek Tao Sect would never be peaceful.

She hoped her premonition was wrong.

The real River Spirit appeared, holding two axes made of gold and silver, and rushed towards Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou with a fierce aura.

As the guardian spirit of the Seek Tao Sect, he had never suffered such humiliation before.

“Don’t stop me, I must teach these two little brats a lesson today, break their hands and feet, and then reattach them!”

The disciples of the Seek Tao Sect hurriedly stopped the angry River Spirit.

“Senior River Spirit, you can’t do this!”

“Senior River Spirit, calm down.”

“If something happens to the participants, it will ruin the reputation of our Seek Tao Sect!”

Finally, Dai Bufan stepped forward and stopped the raging River Spirit.

“Senior River Spirit, rest assured, I personally designed the third test, and it will definitely teach these two a lesson.”

Seeing Dai Bufan’s firm assurance, the River Spirit finally gave up.As the final test, there were two proposals, one suggested by Yun Zhi which was mild, and one suggested by Dai Bufan which was cruel, both could test one’s Dao heart. After voting, they unanimously decided to choose Yun Zhi’s proposal.

Yun Zhi’s proposal was too mild, even if they couldn’t pass, there would be no punishment. To calm down the River Spirit’s anger, they could only choose Dai Bufan’s proposal.

Yun Zhi didn’t object to this.

It’s good to let these two kids suffer a bit.

In the second test, many people were screened out. Faced with the temptation of three axes, many people followed their inner desires and deceived themselves that they had dropped the Kaitian Axe and Kaishan Axe.

Those who were screened out left the illusion one after another, complaining that the second test of the Seek Tao Sect was too difficult.

But not everyone complained about the difficulty of the second test, like those who passed it.

“Actually, the second test is quite simple.” Man Gu said, “Just tell the truth.”

The people waiting for the second test nodded one after another, agreeing with Man Gu.

“What? So we’re not supposed to jump into the river and snatch the axes from the River Spirit?” Meng Jingzhou exclaimed, why was everyone else’s method different from his?

Lu Yang sneered at Meng Jingzhou, thinking he was really stupid, “If the River Spirit is not an illusion but really exists, wouldn’t you be provoking the River Spirit?”

“You should do what I did, take the River Spirit’s axes and throw them into the river, so all three axes will be considered as dropped by us.”

Meng Jingzhou suddenly realized, “You’re smart.”

Everyone silently looked at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou summarizing their experience, beginning to doubt whether their method of passing was wrong.

Man Gu nodded lightly. His father had said that the ancient barbarians almost went extinct because they were arrogant and ignorant. As a descendant, one must overcome this flaw and learn from others with an open mind.

Man Gu felt that he had found a learning object.

Just when everyone was discussing what the correct way to pass was, Yun Zhi and Dai Bufan, and other Seek Tao Sect disciples appeared.

Dai Bufan had a smile on his lips. He flipped his hand, and a mountain the size of a palm appeared. The mountain grew in the wind, and within a few breaths, it grew to a height of a hundred feet.

The people were amazed in a low voice. This kind of technique was rare among cultivators.

The mountain was lush with trees, just like a real mountain. There was also a long staircase leading to the top of the mountain.

“This thing is called the Heart-Questioning Mountain, it’s a strange object that I asked the elders to refine. On the Heart-Questioning Mountain, immortals and mortals are equal. What you have to do is climb the Heart-Questioning Mountain. The higher you climb, the more determined your will.”

“Passing the test requires climbing to the fiftieth level.”

Someone raised a question, “But doesn’t this give Man Gu an advantage?”

Fifteen-year-old Man Gu had the physique of a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old, and he was indeed advantaged in climbing. He could take two steps for every one step taken by others.

Dai Bufan smiled, “You don’t have to worry about that. The Heart-Questioning Mountain will pull everyone’s physical fitness to the same level. Whether you’re a mortal or a cultivator, in my Heart-Questioning Mountain, you will become a mortal.”

“Is there a time limit?” someone else asked.

“No.”

Everyone was delighted. Without a time limit, wouldn’t it mean they could keep trying? Why worry about not passing the third test?

Could it be that the third test was just a formality?”Can we use magic weapons?” They had specially crafted magic weapons bestowed upon them by their clan, which could be used without the need for spiritual energy activation, making them a great weapon.

Dai Bufan chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude, “Yes, we can.”

If the magic weapons are still usable, that is.