The cultivators in the arena did not have to wait too long.

The dome’s light subtly shifted, transforming from a constant azure to a kaleidoscope of ceaseless, flowing starlight, then evolved into a vast and tranquil expanse of void, adorned with countless stars, clusters, and nebulae.

Qing Muling faintly sensed something; behind that mysterious starry sky, a powerful will was silently observing every cultivator present, especially himself, who received the most attention.

Of course, with her status, she was not yet capable of seeing through Qing Muling’s true depth, at most perceiving that his talent and fortune far surpassed ordinary cultivators.

Shortly after, that strange Dao Rhyme fluctuation reappeared, this time significantly stronger, causing the number of responsive cultivators in the arena to double compared to the last occurrence.

Qing Muling and his senior sisters remained silent, quietly waiting.

After a short while, the Dao Rhyme fluctuation emerged for the third time, its intensity now so great that nearly half of the cultivators present felt it. For Qing Muling, who had exceptional foundational potential, this fluctuation was like the tolling of bells and beating of drums at the Divine Soul level, resonating and enduring.

Thus, the Dao Rhyme fluctuations came one after another, not only increasing in frequency but also in intensity, to the point where a few cultivators of lesser strength could not bear it, showing pained and tormented expressions with traces of blood seeping from the corners of their eyes and noses.

Needless to say, they were destined to be eliminated.

Qing Muling silently circulated his cultivation technique, countering the invisible pressure from the Divine Soul level. His Divine Soul origin had grown so strong that ordinary cultivators could hardly imagine, and with the aid of the Harmony Spirit Seed constantly replenishing his energy, he naturally did not fear this test.

In this manner, nearly ten thousand cultivators persisted in silence. As the Dao Rhyme fluctuations appeared again and again, with the terrifying pressure increasing continuously, they all exerted their full strength, their bodies flickering with light, gritting their teeth and enduring.

This feels even more exhausting than the earlier skirmish!

Su Zhengji pondered to himself. With his insight, it wasn’t hard to discern the purpose of this tempering test. He estimated that only about one-tenth of those present would make it through successfully.

Moreover, many sealers might not be able to endure until the end, as this Dao Rhyme pressure mainly targeted the cultivators’ innate talents and gifts. Those old fellows whose fortunes and potentials were exhausted, with no hope of further progress, were certainly not what the tower spirit sought.

“Elder, what should we do now?”

A sealer beside him asked with some difficulty.

“There’s nothing we can do; we can only endure. Those who can’t bear it should exit early!”

Su Zhengji frowned as he spoke. He himself felt strained, let alone having the spare energy to help his fellow disciples. Even if he wanted to help, there was no way to start.

After all, of the more than three thousand disciples who followed him in, at most no more than twenty would emerge unscathed; a total annihilation wouldn’t be surprising.

With a bitter sigh, Su Zhengji was already pondering how much it would cost to settle this matter once he returned.

As time passed, Qing Muling only felt the pressure on the Divine Soul level becoming more terrifying. With each appearance of the Dao Rhyme fluctuation, it was like a mountain crushing over his entire body, an indescribable sensation that words could not convey.

Cheng Yulan and Yu Binghua’s complexions were somewhat pale, their delicate bodies trembling slightly, clearly struggling to resist.

Qing Muling thought for a moment, had his senior sisters sit beside him, and took one of their jade hands each. A clear and profound, lonely and distant light of enlightenment emerged from within him, slowly enveloping the three of them, successfully alleviating some of their pressure.

After all, with the barrier of the formation around them, there was no need to worry about outsiders seeing his secrets.

“Forget it, I… I’m dropping out!”

In the distance, a cultivator with blood seeping from his mouth and nose, his energy flagging, staggered to his feet and shouted towards the starry sky above.

With a flicker of light, his figure disappeared from the spot, presumably sent out of the Yunji Inquiry Tower by the tower spirit.

With the first example set, hundreds of cultivators subsequently gave up, disappearing one after another in the light.

As for whether these people could survive after exiting, it was up to fate. If there were cultivators from hostile forces waiting outside, the outcome… was merely a matter of dying sooner or later.

In such agonizing torment, two hours quietly passed, and the number of cultivators still persevering in the arena dwindled to just over a thousand.

At this point, Qing Muling himself felt almost at his limit, as he had to divide his attention to care for the two senior sisters beside him. If he only cared for himself, the pressure wouldn’t be so exaggerated.

Fortunately, by this time, the second test was finally drawing to a close. When the last batch of cultivators was sent out, the deadly Dao Rhyme fluctuations finally ceased.

After a few breaths, the starry sky above subtly changed, and a second wave of clear-colored dew silently fell, pitter-pattering down, covering all the cultivators present with an even more pure and rich Dao Rhyme spreading out in all directions.

Compared to the previous round, this wave of clear-colored dew was significantly larger, both in quantity and quality, making the surviving cultivators feel that their previous hardships were not in vain.

Now, with less than a thousand cultivators remaining, any one of them, if placed outside, would be a renowned genius of the new generation, or like Su Zhengji, a long-established powerhouse. With such an opportunity, their future path of cultivation could be elevated by a significant level on top of their original foundation.

Cheng Yulan silently activated the formation again, a vast vortex of starlight emerging overhead, sweeping up all the clear-colored dew within a fifty-mile radius, with all gains still being divided equally among the three.

But this time, no cultivator was willing to step forward and compete with her. With about ninety percent fewer people than before, everyone could now get a sufficient share.

“This is great, I feel like if there’s another wave, I might be able to attempt breaking through to the Elemental Immortal realm after leaving the secret realm, right?”

Yu Binghua said joyfully, her eyes tenderly glancing at Qing Muling beside her. If not for the fortune and opportunity brought by their junior brother, she wouldn’t have been able to persist so easily and would have likely been eliminated early.

Although she hadn’t followed Qing Muling for long, the benefits she had received far exceeded her expectations. She had already pulled ahead of Qi Shuyu, Su Yunmo, and the other women who were at the same level as her, and perhaps it wouldn’t take long for her to catch up with Xuebing Xuan and the others.

“Just keep it to yourself, remember not to tell anyone.”

Second Senior Sister Cheng Yulan gave Yu Binghua a glance. She herself dared not continue to advance her cultivation, so all the clear-colored dew she received was used to optimize and enhance her flesh and Divine Soul, improving as much as possible.

“If there’s another round, maybe I could reach the pinnacle of the Heart Demon realm, right?”

Qing Muling mused. He continued the same approach as before, taking thirty percent for himself and giving the rest to the Harmony Spirit Seed. The result was that his flesh and Divine Soul were further optimized by about five percent, and his cultivation level had risen from the fourth level of the Heart Demon realm to the sixth.

However, the gap between the Heart Demon realm, Destiny Realm, and the True Immortal level was still vast, not something that could be bridged in a day or two. Qing Muling understood that he would have to rely on others for a long time before he could stand on his own in front of his senior sisters.

Moreover, even if he surpassed his senior sisters, there were still his master and the supreme elders above him, and even further above were the Xinyu Emperor, Qinghuan Emperor… It seemed there would never be a day when he could rise to the top.

Not to mention, the mysterious and unfathomable master of the Origin Star Palace, if she found him prematurely, what dire consequences would ensue was hard to say.

So Qing Muling felt that until he cultivated to the level of Quasi Holy Emperor, he could only choose to lay low; otherwise, when the truth came out, not even the three Emperors of Dao Court might be able to save him.

A quarter of an hour later, the clear-colored dew falling from the dome gradually lessened, eventually disappearing.

At this moment, the nine hundred or so cultivators not only had their injuries fully healed, but their spirits were at their peak, and their cultivation levels had all improved to varying degrees. Many cultivators had broken through a major realm with ease, and their talents and potentials had also undergone a significant transformation and sublimation.

Some cultivators were already contemplating whether to quit while they were ahead and voluntarily give up. After all, the benefits they had received so far were plentiful, and their status in their sects or families would surely rise, brightening their future path of cultivation.

If they became greedy and did not leave, the next round of testing would undoubtedly be unimaginably terrifying. If they couldn’t endure and perished here, wouldn’t all their previous efforts and gains be in vain?

In such a state of indecision and hesitation, time quietly passed.

“Here it comes!”

Qing Muling suddenly spoke. As a mysterious and indescribable heavenly sound echoed at the Divine Soul level, he was shocked to find his body undergoing changes.

Looking down, a faint azure flame sprouted from his dantian, spreading from the inside out, and in an instant, his entire body was enveloped in flames, burning fiercely.

“What is this?”

Qing Muling was startled and tried to extinguish the flames using various techniques, but found that no magical powers or spells had any effect. Not just him, but the two senior sisters beside him also had flames appear on them.

Looking around, nearly a thousand cultivators, each and every one, were enveloped in this mysterious azure flame, unable to break free no matter how hard they struggled.

“This flame seems to be no ordinary fire; it has no heat and, for the time being, does not seem to harm the flesh or Divine Soul. It’s quite strange. Could this be another special test?”

Cheng Yulan analyzed calmly. Although it was her first encounter with such a situation, she did not lose her composure. The tower spirit of Yunji Inquiry Tower had no intention of killing all the cultivators from the start, so there was no need to worry too much.

Qing Muling calmed down and carefully felt the characteristics of the azure flame, discovering that it used his own mana as fuel but did not have any negative effects on his body or Divine Soul. It even did not affect his ability to circulate his cultivation and recover the depleted mana.

Moreover, as time passed, the consumption of mana seemed to slowly increase. Of course, with Qing Muling’s profound level of mana, it was no problem for the azure flame to burn for two or three hours. If you add his extraordinary recovery speed, he could almost support it to burn indefinitely.

After repeated confirmations, Qing Muling shared his findings and speculations with his two senior sisters. With their more extensive experience and knowledge, they might see something different.

“Let’s just watch. The tower spirit should have follow-up actions,”

Cheng Yulan mused, “This flame is most likely the selection mechanism for this round. Probably less than ten percent will be able to endure it, but with our junior brother here, we should have no problem persisting until the end.”

Qing Muling shook his head slightly, “I think it would be good if thirty people can hold on this time. After all, their resources for pills have been exhausted. Apart from relying on their own cultivation to endure, what other means do they have to replenish?”

The two women thought about it and agreed. With their junior brother’s mana recovery speed, none of the cultivators present could compare with him. Moreover, even if that was not enough, the three of them still had plenty of pill resources on them, fully capable of enduring until the final stage.

The surrounding environment quietly changed, and boundless darkness, tangible like substance, slowly surged in, engulfing the figures of all the cultivators in just a few breaths.

Affected by the domain of darkness, a thick sense of death, despair, and decay rose from the cultivators’ hearts, almost impossible to suppress.

Qing Muling internally deduced for a moment, his heart chilling. The cultivators’ Divine Souls were generally strong, and their mental resilience far exceeded ordinary people, yet they still could not withstand the erosion of this dark domain. If it lasted too long, they could lose their sanity and go mad.

Inside his sea of consciousness, the Harmony Spirit Seed slowly rotated, casting down a swath of soft, hazy light, warm and bright, with the miraculous effect of stabilizing the Divine Soul and strengthening the origin. Not only did he benefit greatly, but it also extended to the two senior sisters beside him, preventing any heart demons from arising.

The other cultivators around were not so fortunate. Influenced by the dark domain, the speed at which the mana in their bodies was burned and consumed increased significantly, and their spirits also showed signs of substantial loss.

In the boundless darkness, the figures of nine hundred or so human torches were clearly visible, some bright, some dim. The strong and the weak were obvious at a glance.

Especially Qing Muling and his two companions, their light was dazzling and intense, almost like human-shaped golden crows, even causing the surrounding darkness to seem to melt and disperse.

However, this situation did not last long. As mana continued to be consumed, and with insufficient replenishment, the azure flames on many cultivators gradually dimmed.

“Don’t let the fire on your body go out, or something very terrible will happen.”

In the distance, the number one prodigy of the Kylin clan, Chiye Ling, spoke softly. At this point, only about twenty companions remained by his side, with the rest already eliminated.

The flames on his body were hot and bright, rising several meters high, almost no less brilliant than Qing Muling’s current state. However, considering the current difference in cultivation level between them, it was not surprising.

“Young Master, we really can’t hold on any longer!”

A strong member of the Kylin clan said helplessly. His mana was on the verge of depletion, and his resources for pills had been exhausted; he was now at his wit’s end.

“Then exit.”

Chiye Ling spoke. The young master’s intuition told him that once a cultivator let this mysterious darkness near, hoping to survive was a luxury. Their flesh and Divine Soul would be devoured by something terrible, leaving nothing behind.

Rather than dying without a trace, it was better to give up directly, still having a chance to live.

“Alright, we’ll listen to the young master.”

The twenty or so strong members around him weighed their options briefly, with more than half making their choice, directly expressing their desire to exit, and were then sent out by the tower spirit. The rest still had the strength to persist, so they decided to wait and see.

However, wise and decisive cultivators were ultimately in the minority. Most people still harbored a glimmer of hope, and even after their mana was exhausted and the flames on their bodies extinguished, they remained silent.

“They’re done for!”

Qing Muling said softly. In his innate divine sense, dozens of indescribable beings quietly appeared, using the darkness as cover, moving slowly but swiftly, targeting those cultivators whose flames had already gone out.

Their beastly bodies, several meters long, resembled crocodiles with wide mouths and sharp teeth, ferocious and terrifying. Their auras were elusive and difficult to fathom, but definitely not lower than the Ascending to Immortality realm.

“Ah ah ah—”

A series of extremely shrill screams rang out in the darkness, filled with intense despair and unwillingness.