I'm determined to become an immortal!

"East Garden?!"

The North Garden within Black Vine Ridge is a medicinal herb garden, but what about this East Garden?

In a flash of thought, He Sheng used the Rippling Water Escape technique.

His figure left a trail of light blue afterimages in the void, and gray mist surged wherever he passed.

As they got closer to the tower, the primal aura became clearer, and He Sheng was almost certain that it originated from a Core Formation level being.

What exactly is this East Garden?

After several dozen breaths,

He Sheng successfully traversed the void and landed steadily in front of the tower.

The place where we landed was a square paved with bluestone, the ground engraved with intricate patterns. Although countless years had passed, the patterns were still clear, and a faint spiritual light seemed to flow within them.

At the end of the square stands a white jade archway several meters high, with the words "Dongyuan" written in ancient seal script on it.

He Sheng passed through the archway and was greeted by the towering pagoda that seemed to stand out from nowhere.

The tower is tens of feet tall and is built entirely of an unknown dark blue stone. Each layer of the tower's eaves curves outwards, and the copper bells that used to hang from the eaves have long since rusted away, leaving only a few bare iron rings.

That fierce, savage aura emanated from the top of the tower.

He Sheng did not rush to enter the tower, but instead turned his gaze to a stone tablet in front of the tower.

The stone tablet was entirely black, with fine cracks covering its surface, yet it did not break.

The stele is inscribed with several rows of ancient and simple characters. Although the characters have been eroded by time and are somewhat blurred, they are still faintly discernible.

The top row has three large characters: Trial Tower.

The smaller characters below explain the origin of this tower.

He Sheng read it carefully and realized that this Trial Tower was a place for the Heavenly River Sect to conduct trials and spread its teachings.

The trial tower in front of us corresponds to the spell trial. After passing the trial, one can obtain a superior spell unique to the Tianhe Sect.

"Tianhe Sect?"

He Sheng frowned slightly.

Because of the Moon Glow Sect incident, he had previously learned about the various immortal sects, including the Tai Xuan Zheng Yi Dao, the Siming Xuan Zhen Dao, and even the Youming Zhen Dao in the south.

However, none of these three paths have the Heavenly River Sect.

"Could it be a sect that has been destroyed for a long time?"

Or did something drastic happen, causing it to be erased from the annals of history?

He Sheng suppressed his doubts and walked straight towards the tower.

There are nine stone steps in front of the tower. He climbed the steps, and as his footsteps landed on the stone steps, the array patterns in the square lit up slightly.

Upon reaching the tower gate, the towering jade gate, over ten feet tall, slowly opened on its own.

The interior was dark, and no furnishings could be seen.

He Sheng paused briefly, then probed the space with his divine sense, only to find it completely empty, devoid of any array fluctuations or signs of life.

He hesitated slightly, but remembering the premonition from the Five Thoughts Communication Talisman, he still stepped into it.

Rumble...

The stone door behind them slowly closed with a dull thud.

The interior of the tower was surprisingly spacious.

On the dome, which is of unknown height, the pattern of stars in the sky is inlaid with unknown fluorite. Those stars seem to really exist, emitting a faint, cold light.

All around was a misty fog, making it impossible to see the surrounding environment clearly.

He Sheng waited for a while, but the trial mentioned on the stone tablet did not come.

Just as they were wondering, streaks of blood-red light suddenly burst forth from the surrounding mist.

The crimson light arrived abruptly, spreading across the space like the afterglow of a setting sun.

Amidst the blood-red light, countless fragments of light and shadow rippled outwards like ripples created by a stone thrown into water, then reformed, transforming into a series of flashback scenes.

Suddenly, an old voice rang in He Sheng's ears:

"What is the ultimate skill?"

The voice carried an indescribable weariness, as if it were questioning itself, or questioning the entire world.

According to the inscription on the stone tablet in front of the tower, this Trial Tower tests the magical skills of those who enter it.

But amidst the light and shadow, a blurry human figure slowly emerged.

It was an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in a black Taoist robe. His face was indistinct, but his eyes shone brightly, like two candles about to burn out.

The old man raised his hand and gently wiped it.

The array patterns inside the Trial Tower suddenly dimmed, and the trial array that had been faintly activated was forcibly erased.

The old man withdrew his hand and muttered to himself:

"The ultimate skill can reach the level of the divine."

Therefore, arts that cannot communicate with the divine are dead arts, while arts that can communicate with the divine are living arts.

A deadly technique? A living technique?

He Sheng immediately thought of the high-level spells "Water Dragon Chant" and "Nine Turns of Waves" that were included in the "River Tide Overlapping Waves Technique".

"Neither of these two spells can be improved further, meaning they're the so-called death spells?"

As He Sheng's thoughts raced, the old man's voice continued to echo in the empty tower, as if he were giving instructions to future generations, or as if he were reminiscing alone.

"In this day and age, the art of killing is no longer necessary."

As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds or even thousands of jade slips suddenly appeared around the old man.

The jade slips were densely packed, like stars floating in mid-air, each one radiating spiritual light, and clearly recording the magical inheritance within the Tianhe Sect.

The old man raised his hand and waved again.

boom!

The vast majority of the jade slips were instantly reduced to dust, as if scorched by an invisible flame.

Countless sparks of light exploded and vanished in mid-air, falling like a meteor shower.

When the spiritual light dissipated, less than thirty jade slips remained in mid-air, scattered around the old man.

The old man was silent for a moment, then let out a barely audible sigh.

His figure began to blur, slowly merging into the crimson light and shadow along with the remaining jade slips.

The blood-red light faded, and the space returned to darkness.

He Sheng was still savoring the scene he had witnessed in the light and shadow when suddenly five points of light appeared around him.

Those were five dazzling beads of light, each a different color: gold, green, blue, red, and yellow. Each color emitted distinct spiritual energy fluctuations.

Five orbs of light slowly rotated around him, as if waiting for his choice.

According to the description of the trial on the stone tablet, the spell trial involves choosing the corresponding dazzling light orb based on one's own strengths in spells.

"In that flashback of light and shadow, wasn't the spell trial erased by the old man?"

How can trials still be conducted?

He Sheng was puzzled, but he had no other choice at the moment, so he naturally reached out and pointed at the blue, dazzling light bead.

The moment your fingertip touches the light bead, the surrounding environment changes abruptly.

The once empty space inside the tower has disappeared, replaced by an endless expanse of azure blue.

He Sheng found himself trapped inside a giant blue bubble, which was ten feet in diameter and had walls as thick as crystal, faintly gleaming with an indestructible luster.

He Sheng remained calm. He raised his hand and pressed it against the bubble's barrier. With the support of the Weilan Yijing (a spiritual technique), his divine sense penetrated the bubble like a fine stream of water, and he quickly figured out its structure.

"This water bubble barrier may seem indestructible, but in reality, with the power of water-gathering and breaking, it should be able to be broken."

Is this the content of the trial?

He Sheng's heart stirred, and spiritual light immediately gathered in his palm as he began to activate the Gathering Water Breaker.

Countless tiny water droplets converged from all directions, coalescing into a water clump the size of a fist.

"go!"

The rapidly spinning water burst forth with a roar, exploding at the weakest point of the barrier.

boom!

The bubbles burst instantly, turning into a mist that dissipated into the void.

A rainbow of light descended from the sky in an instant, enveloping He Sheng.

The rainbow light, warm and smooth as jade, lifted him slowly upwards. At the same time, a light blue jade slip, about the size of a finger, floated down from the rainbow light and landed steadily in his palm.

"Is this the reward for passing the trial?"

He Sheng probed the jade slip with his divine sense, and a row of information immediately appeared at the top:

"The Thousand Illusions Water Shadow Technique - Complete Cultivation Method with Embedded Divine Power Prototype [True Illusion]"

He Sheng was startled and quickly continued reading.

Only then did they discover that this jade slip not only recorded the complete method of refining the high-level spell "Thousand Illusion Water Shadow Technique", but also detailed how to continue to break through the limits after cultivating this spell to its great perfection, and then comprehend the "True Illusion Realm".

To He Sheng's even greater surprise, the jade slip also contained a complete record of how to cultivate the transcendent technique "Thousand Water Illusionary Body" using the realm of true illusion.

And how to combine the realm of truth and illusion with the Thousand Water Illusion Dharma Body to ultimately evolve the prototype of supernatural power [True Illusion] from the realm of truth and illusion!

He Sheng quickly scanned the contents of the jade slip, his heart filled with shock and disbelief.

He already knew from the "Ten Thousand Demons' Joint Journey to Divine Transformation Technique" that entering the Dao through techniques and cultivating supernatural powers requires a progressive advancement of three levels: magic, transcendent techniques, and artistic conception, each of which is extremely difficult.

The jade slip before us breaks down every step in a clear and concise manner!

This is more than just finding a treasure; it's like finding a golden key to unlock a treasure trove.

"If I were to study the 'Thousand Illusions Water Shadow Technique' in detail, I wonder if I could project its cultivation path into the 'Clear Ripples Water Control Technique,' thereby making the cultivation of the 'Subtle Ripples Realm' smoother and saving more time?"

While He Sheng was still pondering, the rainbow light that had enveloped him quietly disappeared. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had entered a completely new space.

The fierce and savage aura I had sensed earlier rushed towards me!