Using entries to cultivate immortality in chaotic times

"Hoo..."

Fat Long sighed in relief: "I knew Brother Qiu would definitely have a way. How do we test it?"

"Wait a moment."

Chen Qiu didn't speak, but continued to look down at the patterns on the ground. These patterns... had no regularity, no structure, nothing to convey any information, not even aesthetically pleasing, just random lines. Anyway, he couldn't glean any information from the patterns.

A few others were still lingering, watching him, clearly placing their hopes on Chen Qiu, even though time was running out. But as long as Chen Qiu was there, what was there to worry about? Let's see if Chen Qiu could find a way to clear the level.

They were also staring at the patterns on the ground, trying to see if they could discern any information, but mostly focused their gaze on Chen Qiu.

"Boom!!!"

At that moment—

A thunderous roar sounded as a bolt of Heavenly Thunder several zhang thick descended from the sky, sending another unlucky soul away, and this sudden thunder echoed deeply in the hearts of all who were still alive.

A young girl, overwhelmed by fear, unable to bear the pressure of walking on the razor's edge, chose immediately to jump back to the square, refraining from climbing any higher, preferring to be obliterated in nihility once time ran out rather than bear the psychological pressure.

The pressure of death is a curious thing.

Many people, when faced with intense death pressure, choose to face death willingly, hoping to shorten the period of torment. People fear death and will use any means necessary to delay their demise when it approaches. However, many are unable to withstand this pressure and choose to embrace death.

This young girl was clearly one of those.

Yet, it seemed she wouldn't need to wait for obliteration in nihility. The moment she fell back onto the square, another bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck down, enveloping her, leaving no trace.

There is no retreat allowed in this level.

This was the sixth level of the Secret Realm they entered, the most challenging with the highest mortality rate. The difficulty of this level matched the caliber of this Secret Realm, but it tested not strength, but luck, leaving many feeling somewhat indignant.

Everyone here practices cultivation.

Their journey so far relied on their own strength, only to falter in the end because their luck failed them. What sense does that make?

...

"..."

Chen Qiu gazed thoughtfully at the patterns on the floor. He could now be sure of one thing: these patterns conveyed no information at all, purely for decoration, or perhaps for misdirection.

The mortality rate for this level is over three thousand out of a million.

In other words, relying solely on luck would not suffice to reach the top, unless one's luck was incredibly extraordinary.

There must be another way to clear this level.

Chen Qiu had a conjecture — if... if the "Chao" character truly represented the Chao Tian Sect, then this Secret Realm might very well be a selection Secret Realm left by the Chao Tian Sect, similar to Da Xia Country's Secret Realm.

Da Xia Country's "Chao Tian Sect" Secret Realm was a selection type Secret Realm. If it was a selection type Secret Realm, then perhaps there was a trick way to clear it, namely... holding the Chao Tian Sect Leader Token.

This might provide a shortcut, but it was uncertain, with no solid evidence, just pure speculation.

After sharing his thoughts with Fat Long, a flicker of understanding flashed in Fat Long's eyes, agreeing with the conjecture quite favorably, but soon hesitated.

"Brother Qiu, if it really is as you say, this Secret Realm is a selection Secret Realm of the 'Chao Tian Sect', screening for people who meet certain criteria. This level, I understand, is selecting those with extremely good luck."

"Then what were the previous levels selecting for?"

"Lust, Greed, Strength."

Chen Qiu spoke seriously: "Let's carefully think this over, considering that the Artifact Spirit awakened unintentionally and caused some anomalies, and combining it with the information we now know."

"First, one must possess the trait of 'lustfulness'."

"If not 'excessively lustful', one must clear the first level, and once cleared, the fifth level becomes impossible to pass, resulting in certain death in this Secret Realm."

"Normally, this Secret Realm only permits those in the Body Integration Realm to enter, whereas the host of the Secret Realm had reached the Early Tribulation Crossing, essentially becoming the combat power ceiling of this Secret Realm. Once you clear the first level, you'll face the host in the fifth level, leading to a certain death scenario."

"Next is 'Greed'."

"If a person isn't greedy, even when seeing those doubled rewards, remaining unmoved, passing the first, second, third, and fourth levels steadily, then they'd never reach here or come to the sixth level."

"Finally, there's 'Strength'."

"You need to be strong enough to ensure defeating your peers of the same cultivation level, having the ability and potential to break through during combat, and here, 'Luck' is what is being screened."

"I don't know what lies in the following levels, but if up to this point, this Secret Realm truly is a 'Chao Tian Sect' selection Secret Realm, it is selecting for those who meet 'Lustfulness', 'Greed', 'Strength', and 'Luck'.