The cultivators following behind Qin Tang noticed the scene in the distance and were all shocked.
"What a bunch of fools. I already said we encountered an anomaly, yet they attempted to escape. They truly don't know how to spell 'death.'"
"I know one of them, a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Sun Kairong. His Dao techniques were quite impressive, I never expected him to die so quietly."
"Strange, when they died, why didn't we see any declaration by the heavens and earth?"
"Friend, is this the first time you've heard of an anomaly? Under the shroud of anomaly, its own rules are established. Most common knowledge is invalid. So, we must be careful."
"Thank you for the advice."
...
As they walked, they communicated through their divine senses, their expressions varying.
Not long after, Qin Tang led everyone to a tall building.
In the center was a straight corridor.
On either side of the corridor were small rooms.
Inside each room, there were no other decorations.
There were only five wooden beds placed simply.
"Alright! Rest here for the night! Gather in the square early tomorrow morning!" Qin Tang turned around and said to everyone.
After speaking, he shook his head and left.
"Oh right, remember to sleep early!"
After his figure disappeared, Qin Tang's voice faintly echoed again.
Seeing the anomaly vanish, the cultivators in the square finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Most of them were familiar with each other, so they found rooms together.
Sikong Yi and Baili Chen naturally stayed in the same room.
Li Fan didn't force himself to go over and just chose another room relatively close to theirs.
There were already two people inside the room.
These two were also acquainted, currently communicating with each other using their divine senses.
Li Fan didn't greet them.
He lay directly on the bed, circulating the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra, calming his mind and dissipating distractions.
Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.
The two people still conversing noticed this and were momentarily stunned.
Then, they realized what was going on. Their faces suddenly turned pale, as if struck by a sudden horror.
So, they hastily stopped communicating and forced themselves to enter sleep.
However, not everyone could keenly perceive what was about to happen.
There were still many people exchanging what they had seen and heard today with their companions and expressing their excitement for the possible treasures in this brand-new Cloud Water Heavenly Palace ruins.
Their expressions were full of excitement, making it difficult to fall asleep.
Time passed bit by bit.
It was unknown how long had passed.
Suddenly, all the lights in this tall building went out.
In the darkness, Qin Tang's voice echoed softly.
"Oh dear, these newcomers aren't very obedient, are they?"
"I already said to sleep early."
"How come, until now, so many people still haven't rested?"
"If it delays tomorrow's test, that wouldn't be good."
"Since you can't sleep, let me help you."
Splurt!
Splurt!
Splurt!
Chilling sounds kept ringing.
Countless cultivators lost their lives without being able to utter a scream.
At this moment, everyone present finally understood that Qin Tang's earlier words, "remember to sleep early," were not a joke.
But it was too late.
The breaths of many cultivators were continuously vanishing.
Some wanted to shout, waking those who were already asleep.
But as soon as the sound came out, it abruptly stopped.
Murder and death spread in the darkness.
Under this terrifying atmosphere, some cultivators who hadn't fallen asleep finally couldn't bear it.
Their auras surged, preparing to use all their strength and confront Qin Tang in white to the death.
Qin Tang snorted coldly, seemingly offended.
The blue light flickered and then extinguished.
As a result, those cultivators who wanted to resist fell silently without a ripple.
After killing these people, Qin Tang's mood seemed to improve a bit. "Oh, this task is really tiring. If it weren't for the fact that the Sect Master, senior martial brothers, and senior martial sisters have all disappeared, they wouldn't have needed me to step in."
"Boring, really boring. I'd rather go for a drink!"
The words of Qin Tang were incoherent, and his actions were arbitrary.
As his words faded away, the surviving cultivators inside the building all breathed a sigh of relief.
However, no one could be sure when Qin Tang might return.
So, they all wanted to take the opportunity to fall asleep.
But...
Sleeping, for those who often suffer from insomnia, was certainly a familiar struggle.
If there were no mental burdens, falling asleep was natural.
However, on the contrary, if one kept worrying about something, forcing oneself to sleep.
More often than not, they would startle awake just as they were about to fall asleep.
In addition, many of these cultivators had become accustomed to using closed-door cultivation to replace sleep.
They had seemingly lost the ability to sleep.
Thus, even though they knew they would die if they didn't sleep, many cultivators still couldn't fall asleep.
Seeing that the life-threatening Qin Tang could return at any moment, these people were helpless.
They secretly regretted not learning a few hypnotic spells before coming here and could only choose to knock themselves out, hoping to bluff their way through.
Unfortunately, in Qin Tang's eyes, sleeping and being unconscious were clearly two different concepts.
So, in the latter half of the night, when Qin Tang returned again.
It was another scene of bloodshed and carnage.
Early the next morning, when Li Fan woke up.
What he saw was corpses covering the ground inside the building.
Jiao Xiuyuan, as Li Fan expected, hadn't been able to pass this test.
Headless, lying silently there.
Li Fan naturally wouldn't have any pity for him.
Without delay, Li Fan headed straight to yesterday's square.
With the lesson from yesterday, the cultivators didn't wander around randomly and gathered obediently on the square.
The crowd was sparse, and the surviving cultivators were less than two-thirds of yesterday.
The trial hadn't officially started, and there were already so many casualties.
The survivors were pessimistic about what they would face next, their faces gloomy.
Li Fan knew that this was just the beginning.
In the end, less than one-tenth of the first batch of cultivators who entered the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace could make it out alive.
In the crowd, Li Fan also saw the figures of Sikong Yi and Baili Chen.
He just swept his gaze over them, not dwelling for long.
Quietly waiting for Qin Tang to arrive.
Not long after, Qin Tang appeared in front of everyone again.
He held a gourd flask and was chugging it as he walked.
"Good wine! Such good wine!"
Qin Tang shouted joyfully while looking at the surviving cultivators on the square.
"Alright, it looks like everyone is here."
"Then, let's officially begin the first trial."
His eyes narrowed, as if reminiscing about something.
"My master once said that in the pursuit of immortality and enlightenment, three things are crucial."
"Natural talent, character, and luck."
"My master believed that among these three, natural talent is the most important."
"But I think differently."
"I believe that among the three, character is the most important."
"So, I've arranged three trials, all related to character."
Qin Tang spoke slowly, leading everyone to a tower.
The tower had three floors.
The first floor where everyone was situated had hundreds of bookshelves.
Each bookshelf was filled with books.
Everyone looked carefully.
"Flight of the Clouds," "Flying Thunder," "Wood Rejuvenation Technique"...
Each book was indeed a cultivation technique.
The breathing of everyone suddenly became rapid.