"Damn it, the light disappeared!"
In the instant when the Bailan was sucked into the black hole, the entire world went dark, as if all power and light were devoured, enveloping everything in a terrifying blackness.
Wang Xu released his spiritual consciousness, but his expression soon changed.
His spiritual consciousness was completely unable to extend outward; it could only detect the scene within a meter around him, unable to stretch even a millimeter further.
"My spiritual consciousness is forcibly confined." Wang Xu’s face looked grim, the Bailan had lost power, entirely plunged into darkness, the surroundings eerily silent.
"Celestial Spirit." Wang Xu called out, but there was no response,
Yet there was no reaction, as if Wang Xu was the only one left on the entire Bailan; everyone else seemed to have vanished.
Moments later, suddenly, Wang Xu’s surroundings were suffused with brightness.
The Bailan had already come to a stop, quietly resting on the ground, and the gentle sunlight spilled in, illuminating the entire Central Control Room.
The figure of Celestial Spirit disappeared, and all eleven slaves vanished. In the vast Central Control Room, only Wang Xu remained.
"Where is this place?" Wang Xu looked through the glass of the Central Control Room, taking in the scene outside.
An incredibly broad world, blue sky, white clouds, warm sunlight... aside from the lack of buildings, everything resembled Earth.
A voice of immense majesty and grandeur suddenly exploded in Wang Xu’s mind, echoing between heaven and earth.
"Who is it!" Wang Xu’s first thought had just emerged when his pupils contracted, and his entire body was instantly moved outside the Bailan, standing on a vast and boundless earth.
Wang Xu’s heart was filled with dread, this feeling was terrifying, obviously he was just inside the Bailan, yet suddenly he was outside, and the most crucial part was he sensed absolutely nothing.
Usually when Celestial Spirit would transport him, there were precursors to the teleportation, and if resisted, it was possible to forcibly counteract it.
But this teleportation was irresistible, with no sensation, not even knowing the destination, if the other party wanted to kill him, it would be effortless.
"No. 763204 Cultivator, this place is called ’Cyan Yang Hall,’ and you must successfully pass through Cyan Yang Hall within ten years, if you fail to do so within that time, you will be deemed unsuccessful and stripped of trial qualifications." The majestic and grand voice echoed once more, elaborating on the rules.
Upon hearing this name, Wang Xu’s first reaction was to immediately take out the greenish token from his Space Ring.
"Cyan Yang Hall... Mingyang Hall... is there a connection?" Wang Xu contemplated, thinking of the Mingyang Hall restricted area on Earth, "And Trial Taker, is this a trial of some kind? What is being tested? What force is organizing this?"
Questions upon questions surfaced in his mind, yet Wang Xu suppressed them all, his gaze constantly sweeping around, as a fiery red long sword manifested in his hand, all Star Spiritual Treasures immediately activated.
"Trial, begin!" The enormous voice shattered the silence, and a magnificent, grand, resplendent, enormous palace silhouette gradually became substantial in front of Wang Xu.
The shadow gradually took on substance, appearing like an Immortal Realm before Wang Xu.
On the massive palace gate, a plaque shimmered with golden light written with three large characters; with just a glance, an overwhelming, boundless aura could be sensed from it.
"Hmm? Why are there so many books placed here?" In front of the grand palace gate, there were nine long tables, each table laden with classical paper books.
Wang Xu stepped forward, picked up one book, casually flipped through it, and his face immediately revealed an astonished expression.
"Secret Techniques!" These nine long tables were actually filled with Secret Techniques.
"Is this one of the trial’s conditions?" Wang Xu was shocked, so many Secret Techniques placed in front of the palace clearly intended for him to learn.
"Pass through Cyan Yang Hall... but I can’t even enter the gate now. Does this mean I’m supposed to break open the palace gate to enter?" Wang Xu’s gaze shifted to the enormous palace gate.
"Let’s try first." Desiring to leave here, Wang Xu had no choice but to accept the so-called trial, but in unclear trial rules, Wang Xu chose to explore independently.
Approaching the grand gate, compared to it, Wang Xu seemed like an inconspicuous ant.
Wang Xu gripped the fiery red long sword with both hands, his gaze turned sharp, and his entire aura erupted magnificently.
The fiery red long sword struck out with flowing light, millions of kilograms of giant force poured onto the palace gate, producing a thunderous roar.
However, the palace gate merely slightly moved before slowly recovering to its original state.
"Indeed, this is the so-called trial." Wang Xu’s heart sank, confirming that breaking open the palace gate and eventually passing through Cyan Yang Hall was the primary objective of this trial.
Wang Xu couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Ten years’ time to a Cosmic Martial Artist is nothing; their lifespan spans thousands of years, to them, ten years is a blink.
But Wang Xu cannot afford to wait!
The crisis on Earth will erupt in less than five years, and once it does, even if Wang Xu returns to Earth ten years later, all he would see would be ruins, his family and friends gone forever...
"No, I must leave, I must leave quickly!" The thought made Wang Xu look up and shout loudly to the sky, "Let me out, I give up, I am unwilling to take the trial!"
Wang Xu’s voice rolled out through the sky, yet no response came.
"Let me leave, I have something very, very important, I cannot stay here!"
"During the trial, abandonment is not possible, nor can you leave voluntarily, once the trial period ends, you will return to where you came from." The majestic and grand voice responded.
"You can hear me, you know of my existence, I know you are an omnipotent senior, I beg you, let me out, my homeland is under crisis, I must return!" Wang Xu pleaded.
Yet, after waiting for a long time, no voice responded, Wang Xu repeatedly called out, but received no reply.
A day quietly passed by, Wang Xu spent an entire day trying to converse with that majestic and grand voice, but only boundless silence answered him.
When the dawn of the second day broke, Wang Xu finally accepted reality.
Ten years, the trial cannot be abandoned; leaving voluntarily is impossible, only when the ten-year period is over can he leave this Land of Trial in failure.
There was only one route for an early exit—pass through Cyan Yang Hall!
As long as he could return to Earth before the five-year crisis broke out, everything could still be in time!
"Secret Techniques, they left Secret Techniques, as long as I cultivate these Secret Techniques to the utmost, I will be able to break open the gate!" Wang Xu immediately headed to the nine tables, beginning to select Secret Techniques related to Sword Technique.
Soon, however, Wang Xu frowned.
The profundity of the Secret Techniques on the tables had surpassed his understanding.
""Countless Lines", an Attack Type Secret Technique, with nine layers, accumulating a thousand lines for each layer, when reaching Perfection, can cut through anything in the world!"
""Hundred Streams Converging into One", an Attack Type Secret Technique, converging hundreds of streams of power into one strike, reaching the Fifth Layer, can annihilate anything!"
Casually looking at two books, both were Attack Type Secret Techniques, uniting hundreds or thousands of forces to unleash a strike, with explosive power, quite suitable for the palace gate challenge.
""Blue Crystal Bone Body", Physical Body Secret Technique, burns energy, reaching Perfection Realm can lead to an incorruptible body, with hardness comparable to Immortal Divine Soldier."
""Formless Giant Power", a Physical Body Secret Technique, burns off energy, and when achieved, generates enormous force, a supreme state among cultivators."
Wang Xu cataloged the Secret Techniques, taking note that among them were Attack Type, Physical Body Type, Body Technique Type, and very rare Spiritual Sense Type.
However, Wang Xu realized he had to choose wisely.
Attack Type Secret Techniques unleash tremendous energy upon activation. On the other hand, Physical Body Type unlocks the potential of the body and then explodes. While their starting points are different, the results are the same.
Given his situation, Wang Xu knew his physical potential might not be strong enough to offer any significant advantage. Thus, Attack Type Secret Techniques seemed more suitable for him in comparison.
After nearly two hours of deliberation, Wang Xu finally gritted his teeth and decided on one of the Secret Techniques.
"Formless Giant Power".