Chapter 72: The Challenge

The old man sneered.

“Hand over the treasure obediently, and this old man might spare your life.”

Chen Ping did not speak.

He stared fixedly at the old man, the 《Grand Dao Divine Scripture》 within his body circulating furiously.

He had to risk it all.

Even if he could not win, he could not fall here.

Xiaoyu was still in the secret realm.

He still had to find her.

*

Another fierce clash.

Boom!!!

Chen Ping used the momentum to fly backward, his body drawing an arc through the air.

He stabilized himself, looked at the old man, and suddenly smiled.

“Senior’s cultivation is indeed profound. This junior is full of admiration.”

The old man frowned.

Why is this kid suddenly saying this?

Before he could even react, Chen Ping’s figure instantly vanished from the spot.

Grand Dao Evasion Technique: Void Chapter!

A purple-gold light tore through the void, and Chen Ping plunged straight into it.

“Want to run?”

The old man’s expression changed, and he struck a palm toward the closing rift in the void!

Boom!!!

The palm force slammed into the edge of the rift, causing the entire void to tremble.

But Chen Ping’s figure had already vanished without a trace.

*

The old man withdrew his hand, his expression grim.

He stared in the direction where Chen Ping had disappeared, remaining silent for a long time.

“What a bizarre movement technique…”

“Just what is this kid’s background?”

*

Tens of thousands of li away.

In a desolate valley.

The void suddenly cracked open, and a figure in green robes stumbled out.

Chen Ping landed on the ground, dropping to one knee as he gasped for breath.

His face was as pale as paper.

Blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth.

“Pfft!”

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, staining the gravel in front of him red.

Chen Ping closed his eyes. The 《Grand Dao Divine Scripture》 within him circulated furiously, and the Power of Primordial Creation surged forth, beginning to heal his injuries.

The Grotto-Heaven Realm… was still too strong.

He took a deep breath and smiled bitterly.

“If I hadn’t run fast, I would have lost my life there today.”

*

He leaned against the mountain wall, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Although the battle just now had lasted only dozens of exchanges, every single move had been a desperate struggle.

His Great Dao Primordial Power was mostly depleted.

The sphere of light inside his dantian had also dimmed considerably.

Even more troublesome was that the aftershock of the old man’s final palm strike toward the void rift had still injured him.

Although it was not fatal, it would still take time to recover.

*

“I need to find a place to heal my wounds first.”

Chen Ping opened his eyes and looked around.

This valley was desolate and remote; it was safe for the time being.

He struggled to his feet, found a hidden cave on the cliffside, and crawled inside.

He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

A purple-gold light slowly enveloped his body.

*

Outside the cave, the wind howled.

In the distance, the grand palace still hovered within the mist, radiating thousands of rays of auspicious light.

Numerous experts were still surging in that direction.

But Chen Ping could not care about that for now.

He had to heal his wounds first.

Once he recovered, he would go.

…

Half a day passed.

Chen Ping opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

The injuries inside his body had basically healed. Although his origin was still somewhat depleted, his movements were unimpeded.

The Power of Primordial Creation was indeed heaven-defying.

For an ordinary cultivator, such a severe injury would require at least ten to fifteen days of bed rest, yet he had only taken half a day.

“I can’t delay any longer.”

Chen Ping stood up and walked out of the cave.

In the distance, the grand palace still hovered within the black mist, radiating thousands of rays of auspicious light.

Countless experts were still surging in that direction.

The corner of Chen Ping’s mouth twitched.

“I’ve delayed for half a day. I hope I won’t even get a sip of the leftover soup.”

With a shift of his body, he pushed the Grand Dao Evasion Technique to its limit, turning into a purple-gold streak of light as he sped away.

*

Only when he arrived near the palace did he realize he had overthought it.

In front of the palace, tens of thousands of cultivators were still gathered.

A dense crowd stood on the plaza, forming a dark mass of people.

Some sat cross-legged with closed eyes to regulate their breathing, some gathered in small groups talking in low voices, and others looked up at the palace with eyes full of longing.

And the gates of the palace.

Still tightly shut.

Chen Ping breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness.

*

His gaze swept over the surroundings, and he quickly noticed something unusual.

Below the palace was a long flight of stairs.

The stairs were made entirely of white jade, extending upward step by step, leading straight to the palace gates.

On both sides of the stairs stood two rows of mechanical puppets, pitch-black and motionless.

At the entrance of the stairs, a long queue had formed.

Some were locked in fierce combat with the mechanical puppets, some had just defeated a puppet and stepped onto the stairs, while others were sent flying by the puppets, spitting blood.

Chen Ping walked up and patted a middle-aged man on the shoulder.

“Senior, what’s going on here?”

The middle-aged man turned around and sized him up.

“New here?”

Chen Ping nodded.

The middle-aged man pointed at the stairs ahead and said, “See those mechanical puppets? Challenge them. As long as you can break through, you can ascend the Heavenly Stairway and enter the palace.”

Chen Ping fell into thought.

“Is it that simple?”

The middle-aged man looked at him as if he were looking at an idiot.

“Simple? Kid, do you know what realm these mechanical puppets are at?”

Chen Ping shook his head.

The middle-aged man held up a finger.

“They are always one major realm higher than you.”

Chen Ping was stunned for a moment.

“One major realm higher than me?”

“Yes,” the middle-aged man nodded.

“For example, if you are in the Nascent Soul Realm, the puppet will be in the Divine Ability Realm. If you are in the Divine Ability Realm, the puppet will be in the Grotto-Heaven Realm. And so on.”

Chen Ping fell into thought.

“Is it that hard… to defeat an enemy one major realm higher than oneself?”

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened.

“Kid, are you just ignorant, or what?”

He sized Chen Ping up from head to toe, then suddenly froze.

“You… you’re only in the Qi Refining Stage?”

Chen Ping nodded.

“Yeah.”

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Qi Refining Stage?

A kid at the Qi Refining Stage, running all the way to the Inner Sect Treasury?

This is a place where experts of the Divine Ability, Grotto-Heaven, and Dao Severing Realms gather!

Even for the Nascent Soul Realm, only a very few peerless monsters who are confident in their invincibility would come to the upper secret realm.

Most of them still go to the lower secret realm.

“How… how did you get in?”

Chen Ping did not answer, only smiled.

“Senior, don’t mind me. Please continue.”

The middle-aged man took a deep breath, suppressing the doubt in his heart.

“Fine… anyway, a Qi Refining Stage cultivator like you probably won’t even pass the first trial.”

He continued:

“Whatever your realm is, the puppet will be one major realm higher than you.

For example, if you are in the Divine Ability Realm, the puppet will be in the Grotto-Heaven Realm.

If you are in the Grotto-Heaven Realm, the puppet will be in the Dao Severing Realm.”

Chen Ping nodded.

“Then what if someone is in the Dao Severing Realm? Would a Saint Realm puppet appear?”

The middle-aged man shook his head.

“Not really. The rules of the secret realm only allow experts of the Dao Severing Realm at most to enter.

Moreover, the gap between Dao Severing and the Saint Realm is like a chasm. There has never been a Dao Severing Realm cultivator who could fight above their realm to defeat a Saint Realm expert.

So for the Dao Severing Realm, the puppet that appears won’t be of a higher realm, but rather of the same realm, though the number will increase.”

Chen Ping was thoughtful.

“I see…”

He looked at the people queuing up to challenge.

The opponents for those in the Nascent Soul Stage were Divine Ability puppets, and they were fighting a difficult battle.

The opponents for those in the Divine Ability Stage were Divine Ability puppets, and they were beset with danger.

The opponents for those in the Grotto-Heaven Realm were Nine Grotto-Heaven puppets, making it even harder to take a single step.

Everyone was fighting for their lives.

As for himself…

Chen Ping calculated in his mind.

He was in the Qi Refining Stage.

According to this rule, he should be facing a Foundation Establishment Stage puppet.

Foundation Establishment Stage?

Forget Foundation Establishment, even if it were a Golden Core, he could take them down with a single strike of his sword.

If it was a Foundation Establishment Stage puppet…

He could sweep through ten thousand of them.

*

The corners of Chen Ping’s mouth curled up slightly.

This rule was practically tailor-made for him.

He lifted his foot and walked toward the queue.

The middle-aged man grabbed him.

“Kid, what are you doing?”

“Queuing up to challenge.”

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he just shook his head.

“Fine, if you want to seek death, this old man won’t stop you.”

He really couldn’t figure out how a Qi Refining Stage cultivator could end up in the upper levels of the secret realm!