Challenges and Rewards

The students from Hongpuhui University ventured into a dense forest, eager to uncover its secrets. Their footsteps echoed through the underbrush as they followed Juanxiu through the thick foliage. The trees grew denser, and the air grew heavy with the scent of earth.

Wang Shaojun noticed the creature sitting on Juanxiu's head and asked, "Hey, why do you have a winged creature with you? Did you bring a pet on this journey?"

Juanxiu smiled and replied, "No, this is not a pet. This is my contracted beast. He's been with me for a while now."

Yan Shenqing looked surprised, "Contracted beast? You mean like a familiar?" He looked at the cute creature that looked like a puppy. He will then wonder why Juanxiu will choose a weak looking creature.

As they pressed deeper into the forest, the trees closed in around them, casting long shadows across the ground. The group struggled to keep up with Juanxiu, who moved through the dense forest with the grace of a panther. His black hair trailed behind him as he picked his way through the underbrush, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.

Soon, the darkness became so thick that Juanxiu had to light a torch to guide their way. The six people behind him huddled close, their eyes wide with fear as they struggled to keep up with his swift pace. They knew that getting lost in this darkness was not an option, and so they held onto each other tightly, hoping to remain united in their journey.

The forest was alive with the sounds of crickets and rustling leaves, but the group remained focused on their mission. They moved silently, their footsteps light as they traversed the rough terrain. The forest seemed to stretch on forever, the darkness never-ending.

Liu Xie glanced around, the dense forest seeming to close in around them. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety. "Perhaps we are lost," he murmured, his voice low and uncertain.

"Stop saying anything that might jinx our situation," Yan Zhenqing snapped, his eyes darting around the dark forest. "Let's just trust Juanxiu here. I believe in him. After all he's done for us, trusting him is the least we could do."

Li Bai nodded in agreement. "He's right. Just don't let go of each other, otherwise, you and the people next to you will be in danger. In this pitch darkness, we don't know what might happen."

Suddenly, the torch that Juanxiu was holding was snuffed out, plunging them into total darkness. The group froze, their hearts pounding in their chests as they listened for any sign of danger.

Then, they heard Juanxiu's voice, calm and reassuring. "We are at the center of the formation. If we move further, the darkness will engulf us."

Wang Zhaojun's voice trembled slightly as she spoke. "What should we do?"

Juanxiu's tone was confident as he spoke. "I will realign the formation so we can move forward."

Ban Zhao looked at Juanxiu in surprise. "I didn't know you could do that."

Juanxiu looked at the group, his eyes sharp and focused. "The formation may appear like a complete sigil, but you can also think of it as a large puzzle," he explained. "Sometimes, the formation master will leave gaps for someone to solve. If we can fill those gaps using the right method, then it will lead us to our path."

Zhang Heng frowned, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What if we don't solve it?"

Juanxiu's gaze flicked over to him. "Then this formation will attack us," he replied evenly. "According to my observations, this formation is meant to rob us of our senses. So if we want to keep our senses intact, then we have to solve this. But don't worry, it'll be easy."

Liu Xie's voice was tinged with doubt. "Easy?" he muttered. He couldn't help but wonder how it would be easy when they couldn't even see a thing in this pitch darkness. How were they going to lay down their formation?

Juanxiu took out the five flags from his spatial pouch, each of them made from a special material and imbued with his own Qi. He threw them in different directions, and they embedded themselves into the ground. As he did this, the flags emitted a soft, pulsing light, indicating their location.

He turned to his classmates, who were looking at him expectantly. "Did any of you bring anything we can use as a medium for the formation? Even a semi-precious stone would do."

Wang Shaojun rummaged through her pockets and produced a small necklace, which she handed to Juanxiu. "This is a pearl extracted from a silver clam, given to me by my father. It's a semi-precious stone."

Juanxiu felt a pang of guilt at the thought of using something so valuable, but he knew they needed it. "Does anyone else have anything they're willing to part with? Something that's not too precious to them?"

Wang Shaojun could sense the unease that Juanxiu was feeling. She could see that he was hesitant to use her precious keepsake as a medium for the formation. "Don't mind too much about this," she said reassuringly. "While it was given to me by my father, he'll understand if I explain to him that it is necessary to get us out of this situation."

Juanxiu looked at her, his expression softening. He nodded in gratitude, appreciative of her understanding. He took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. Emitting a needle-like thin qi on his finger, he started etching a sigil on the pearl. It was meticulous work, and he concentrated intensely, his eyes squinting in concentration.

As Juanxiu worked, the pearl seemed to come alive beneath his fingers, pulsing with a faint light that grew stronger as the sigil took shape. Wang Shaojun watched in fascination as the sigil grew more complex, the lines intertwining and looping in intricate patterns that seemed to defy explanation.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Juanxiu finished his work. He poured his qi into the pearl and placed it on the ground, where it spun around slowly at first, then faster and faster. The darkness around them was being sucked into the pearl, which glowed brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the pearl shattered, and everything became bright. They found themselves in front of a massive cave with a metallic gate.

Ban Zhao complimented Juanxiu, "You really have limitless tricks, Juanxiu."

Juanxiu smiled humbly and responded, "It's just something I learned."

Li Bai joined in, "Wow, you are at the peak of the expert rank, a martial prodigy, an alchemy master, and now a formation master. Geniuses are really a cut above the rest."

Juanxiu shook his head, "Guys, I'm not a genius."

Zhang Heng interjected, "If you are not a genius, then what do you call the likes of us?"

Yan Zhenqing cut their conversation short, "Guys! Stop talking, look at this massive metallic gate, perhaps this will lead us to something."

The group followed Yan Zhenqing towards the gate. Symbols were written on top of the cave in an unfamiliar language. Juanxiu looked at them carefully, but he did not know what to do. He turned around to pick up the flags.

Li Bai suggested, "Let's just push it open."

Ban Zhao quickly responded, "What if there are traps? Let's not rush into things."

Zhang Heng added, "Let's just look at the symbols. If we can't determine any solution, then we'll push it open."

The Chaos Striker flew to get a closer look at the symbol on the gate. It seemed like it could at least deduce something from it.

Suddenly, the Chaos Striker communicated with Juanxiu telepathically. "This symbol is from the Lost Era," they said. "An era where the Gods waged battle against their creation. They were so ashamed of what they did that they tried to hide that piece of history." As a creature with the blood of the divine beast, it has inherited a portion of the memory of its ancestors.

Juanxiu looked at the symbol with a mix of awe and trepidation. "What should we do?" he asked the Chaos Striker.

"It's safe to push the gates open," the Chaos Striker replied. "The scribbles on the gate are just reminders of the events of the past. But make sure that you push the gates together. Each of you will be transported to a different location inside the cave. Don't worry though, you will all have the same exit. This is your reward for solving the formation."

Juanxiu turned to his classmates and relayed the information. "It's safe to open the gates," he said, "but we should push it together. Once we do, we'll be transported to different locations inside the cave. Make sure to take advantage of any opportunities presented to you. Once you're done, we'll wait for each other at the other exit of the cave."

The other students nodded in agreement. They all approached the gate and held onto it as they prepared to push it. As soon as they did, they were engulfed by the gates and transported to different parts of the cave, just as the Chaos Striker had said.

Juanxiu felt that familiar spatial distortion as he was suddenly transported to a different location inside the massive cave. The world around him seemed to ripple and warp, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in front of a cavern.

The cavern was filled with an eerie blue light, and as Juanxiu looked around, he saw that the walls were covered in glowing symbols that pulsed with an otherworldly energy. In the center of the cavern stood a being that looked like a ghost, its ethereal form flickering in and out of focus.

"Hmm," the ghost-like being spoke, its voice echoing through the cavern.

Juanxiu saw this and immediately greeted him, "Greetings, senior."

The ghost-like being regarded him for a moment, its eyes seeming to look straight through him. "I am Wu He," it said at last. "Are you the one who solved the formation puzzle?"

Juanxiu nodded. "I am, senior."

Wu He nodded approvingly. "Good. To show my appreciation to you, I will be giving you rewards. First would be a book."

Juanxiu furrowed his forehead. The Tower had all the books that he needed, which is why he didn't see the value of another one. However, upon opening the book, Juanxiu realized that the pages were blank.

Wu He noticed the confusion on Juanxiu's face and said, "This is called the Book of Thousand Learning."

Juanxiu's curiosity was piqued, "What does it do?"

Wu He smiled, "During our time, it serves as a record. It can store information from at least 1,000 books. Of course, you may not think that it is significant, but compared to ordinary parchment, this one will never rot. There are only a handful of items like this during our time."

Juanxiu thanked Wu He and carefully placed the book in his spatial pouch. As he did, he felt a sharp pain in his mind as the Chaos Striker communicated to him telepathically, "Stingy old brat."

Wu He nodded and continued, "Next, I am giving you this artifact, an engraver. This is my personal item. I've been using this to increase the efficiency of my formation by as much as 80 percent."

Juanxiu took the engraved object and studied it closely. It was a smooth, silver rod with intricate carvings on the surface. He could feel a faint hum emanating from the artifact.

The Chaos Striker moved forward to observe the engraver, and spoke to Juanxiu telepathically, "Hmmm, good stuff."

Finally, Wu He handed Juanxiu a bone that contained the fresh bone marrow of the Kunpeng. "Assimilating your body with it will strengthen your body and boost your speed," he explained.

Juanxiu's mind immediately thought of his friend, Chang Bao. Would this assimilation allow him to produce the blood of the Kunpeng? It was a tantalizing thought, but he pushed it aside for the moment.

"Thank you, senior," Juanxiu said with gratitude. "But are my friends all right?"

"Of course, they have also received rewards from me," Wu He reassured him.

Juanxiu's eyes widened in surprise. "At the same time? Is your cultivation related to time and space?"

Wu He chuckled softly. "You know something about time and space cultivation. As expected of the person who solved the formation. However, the answer won't benefit you." He looked at Juanxiu with interest. "Are you going to assimilate with the bone marrow right now, or do you wish to leave the cave?"

"I wish to leave," Juanxiu replied. "Perhaps my friends are all waiting for me."

Wu He shook his head. "You should not worry too much about it. You will get to the exit point at the same time."

Juanxiu hesitated for a moment. The thought occurred to him that perhaps time here was different from the outside world, like in the Tower of Primordial Era. Should he ask this senior? But then he pushed the idea aside. He couldn't risk giving Wu He any hints about his possession of one of the Universe's Divine Treasures.

"It was nice meeting you here, senior," Juanxiu said with a bow.

Wu He nodded. "Very well. Remember, young one, do not take these gifts lightly. They are not just mere trinkets," Wu He warned as Juanxiu turned to leave.

Juanxiu nodded respectfully, "Thank you, senior. I will keep your words in mind."

With a wave of Wu He's hand, a bright light enveloped Juanxiu and suddenly he found himself transported to the other end of the cave. The familiar faces of the six other students from Hongpuhui greeted him, and Juanxiu immediately noticed an improvement in their cultivation.

Li Bai spoke up first, "How long did we stay inside the cave?"

Ban Zhao replied, "I was inside for a year."

Wang Shaojun chimed in, "Same here. Perhaps the Recondite Battle is already finished."

Juanxiu shook his head, "No. I was only inside for a couple of minutes. I can tell you that not a lot of time has passed since we remained inside." he assured them.

The others nodded, somewhat surprised by Juanxiu's response. They had all experienced the passage of time differently, and it was clear that something strange was happening in this cave.

"Well, regardless of how long we've been here, we should make our way out and see what's happening outside," said Li Bai.

As the group of seven students continued their journey, the chaos striker hovered above them in the air, observing their surroundings. After a few moments, it flew back down to Juanxiu and transformed once again into a pendant, not wanting to inconvenience him. However, it had already revealed its true form to the others since its master, Juanxiu, trusted them.

The chaos striker communicated with Juanxiu once again, its voice echoing in his mind. "Follow the path towards the East. I can see a stairs bathed in pure energy there."

Juanxiu nodded in response and turned towards his comrades. "We are heading east," he announced, relaying the creature's message to them.