The eighth day of the opening of Tianyuan Secret Realm.
Xu Chunniang glanced at the palace in front of her and her eyes fell on the words "Heavenly Way" on the plaque.
This magnificent palace with tightly closed doors was exactly the Tiandao Palace that she had been searching for for many days.
The two words "Heavenly Way" may seem ordinary, but if you look at them for a long time, they seem to produce infinite changes and can absorb your mind.
It was not until the token held tightly in her hand continued to heat up and a burning sensation arose that Xu Chunniang's whole body trembled and regained consciousness.
She took a deep breath, her eyes fell on the token in her hand, and she injected spiritual energy into it.
However, a resistance force emanated from the token, expelling all the spiritual energy.
Xu Chunniang thought for a moment, cut her fingertips, and a drop of blood fell on the token and instantly merged into it.
The next second, her eyes went dark.
When she regained consciousness, she was already in a hall filled with stone pillars.
Most of these stone pillars are empty, but a small number of them have monks sitting cross-legged.
And the place where she stood happened to be on a stone pillar.
"Hey, here comes another one."
A slightly excited voice sounded from the left, and a skinny male cultivator looked towards Xu Chunniang.
His eyes fell on her with interest, looking her up and down.
Xu Chunniang frowned imperceptibly. The look in this monk's eyes was too straightforward.
"Don't be nervous. The trial hasn't officially started yet. The monks can't attack each other on this stone pillar."
The thin male cultivator seemed to have seen through her concerns and explained with a smile, "Is this your first time at Tiandao Palace?"
Xu Chunniang ignored him and just sat cross-legged, observing secretly.
There are a total of 361 stone pillars here, of which less than 100 are occupied by monks.
Does it mean that the trial will only officially begin after all the stone pillars are occupied
I just don't know what the specific content of the trial is.
The thin male cultivator was disappointed, but the smile on his face remained unchanged.
"Since you are a newcomer, you probably don't know much about the Tiandao Palace. Are you interested in cooperating?"
Xu Chunniang then looked at him again and asked, "How can we cooperate?"
She didn't know much about the Tiandao Palace, but since someone was asking her to "cooperate", it wouldn't hurt to listen.
The thin male cultivator smiled more deeply, "Of course we will go hand in hand in the trial later."
"Just the two of us?"
"Of course there are more than that. Including you, there are five of us. How about joining us?"
Before Xu Chunniang could answer, a familiar voice came from the right.
"Fellow Daoist, would you consider coming to our side? We have twelve people here in total. Including you, there will be a total of thirteen people."
When Xu Chunniang heard the voice, she looked over and saw the man's face clearly through four or five stone pillars.
It was the old woman beside Xie Changyuan in the City Lord’s Mansion.
Seeing Xu Chunniang looking at her, the old woman gave a kind smile, but there was a hint of arrogance in her eyes.
"We are from the City Lord's Mansion. If you choose to join us, at least you can pass the first few checkpoints safely."
Before Xu Chunniang could answer, the thin monk on her left became annoyed.
"Mrs. Gong, you are here to snatch someone from me again! It was clearly me who invited this Taoist friend first. Isn't your behavior a bit too much?"
The smile on Mrs. Gong's face faded slightly, revealing a few deep wrinkles.
"I'm not competing with you. The choice is in the hands of this fairy. Anyone with a discerning eye will know what to choose."
The thin male cultivator was so angry that he jumped up and down. Although Mrs. Gong said that she didn't rob, there were more people on her side, and if she brought up the name of the City Lord's Mansion, how many people would not be tempted
There were two people who were snatched away by her in this way before.
Xu Chunniang thought for a moment and said, "I don't know much about the Tiandao Palace. Do I have to cooperate to participate in the trial?"
"Of course not. It's just that according to past experience, it's best to choose to stick together, so that the passing rate can be maximized. At least the first few rounds of levels can be passed easily."
Seeing that the female cultivator did not immediately accept Mrs. Gong's invitation, the thin male cultivator became more spirited and quickly spoke up to help her clear up her doubts.
"Every time you pass a level, you will get corresponding rewards. Joining a team is a mutually beneficial thing."
"What if someone pretends to cooperate but secretly turns against us?"
Xu Chunniang's eyes were calm. The temporary team consisted of all kinds of people.
It is meaningless to just talk about cooperation.
"Just take the oath before joining the team. Tiandao Palace has its own rules. The oath will take effect once you take it. The punishment for violating the oath is quite severe. But don't worry, this oath will automatically lose its binding force after leaving Tiandao Palace."
Mrs. Gong also nodded. "That's right. No matter what team you join, you must take an oath before entering."
"Do the two Daoists know the specific content of this so-called trial?"
The thin male cultivator shook his head. "Every trial in the Heavenly Dao Palace is different. Even though this is my third time here, I cannot predict the future."
Xu Chunniang's eyes showed a thoughtful look.
The two men couldn't wait to recruit her into the team, and since they were bound by the Heavenly Oath, there was no need for her to refuse.
She just hasn't decided which side to join.
The City Lord's Mansion is certainly powerful, but once they are chosen, it means... they cannot do anything to them.
But no matter what, if you agree to one party, you will inevitably offend the other party.
Seeing that the female cultivator was silent for a long time, Mrs. Gong showed a hint of impatience in her eyes.
While they were talking, several more people came in and she didn't have time to waste any more.
"Fairy, have you considered whether you want to join our City Lord's Mansion?"
The thin male cultivator looked anxious and lowered his voice deliberately.
"Fellow Daoist, please consider this carefully. Joining the City Lord's Mansion can certainly help you pass the first few levels easily, but that's all."
Xu Chunniang sighed inwardly, clasped her fists towards Mrs. Gong, and slowly spoke in the satisfied look on her face, "I'm sorry."
Mrs. Gong's face froze and she snorted coldly, "You don't know how to appreciate my kindness!"
After saying this, she ignored Xu Chunniang and turned to look at several newly appeared monks.
The thin male cultivator's eyes lit up, "Congratulations on joining, my name is Chu Youtian. I'd like to ask for your name, fellow Taoist?"
"My last name is Yan. I don't know what you mean by 'only this'?"
The thin male cultivator hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke.
"The so-called cooperative relationship is actually temporary. The rules of some levels will make team members... kill each other."
Xu Chunniang was slightly startled, but then she understood. Perhaps this was the Tiandao Palace's way of checks and balances to prevent too many people from passing the trial.
"But Brother Daoist Yan can rest assured. Before it comes to that, we can at least maintain a cooperative relationship."
Chu Youtian smiled casually, "It all depends on your ability at that time. Or you can choose to leave Tiandao Palace early after passing a certain level."