The vermilion gates of Qingfeng Courtyard were shut tight. A fine layer of dust had settled on the heavy hinges. Only the faint, pulsing glow of an Array in the dead of night indicated that the small courtyard was under some kind of extreme lockdown.
Inside the Cultivation Room, the air had condensed until it was as thick as amber.
This terrifying phenomenon was the result of the Five Elements Gathering Spirit Array endlessly drawing from the Spirit Vein, combined with the constant flow of Origin Water Qi from the Abyssal Spring Pearl and the steady, heavy Earth Qi from the Mountain-Suppressing Platinum, all interweaving day and night.
If an ordinary Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator were to stand here, the circulation of their Spiritual Power would likely be disrupted in an instant by the absurdly high Spiritual Pressure.
Chu Bai sat cross-legged, his upper body bare.
Shrouded by the viscous Spiritual Mist, his skin flowed with a heart-stopping, dark-gold luster. With his every breath, the very air in the stone room seemed to pulse in rhythm.
These past three months marked his final period of secluded cultivation in Anping County.
The Microscopic-level Guiyuan Technique operated within him like a colossal millstone, rumbling as it turned.
Every wisp of the Five-Colored Spiritual Mechanism that surged into his body was forcefully disassembled and purified by this domineering will, stripped down to its most fundamental Five Elements particles. It was then transformed into Spiritual Power as heavy and dense as mercury, filling the meridians that were as wide as great rivers.
His foundation, which had been somewhat unstable after his breakthrough just three months ago, had now been tempered day and night until it was as firm and unshakeable as a mountain boulder.
Not only had he stabilized his Realm, but with this near-extravagant accumulation of resources, both the total amount and purity of his Magical Power had climbed by nearly half again.
The grating sound of bones grinding against each other echoed intermittently in the quiet room.
Chu Bai was circulating the Iron Bone Casting Body Technique with all his might. The excruciating pain of his marrow being repeatedly hammered and forged by Spiritual Power was something he had long grown accustomed to.
As he absorbed the energy from vast quantities of High-Tier Spiritual Cuisine and medicinal supplements, the Nourishing and Exquisite Fate Chart in his Sea of Consciousness acted like a tireless furnace, constantly converting immense reserves of qi and blood into profound physical fortitude.
The once-dull, dark-gold sheen was gradually receding deep beneath his skin.
Under Divine Thought Introspection, Chu Bai saw that his bones had been purged of the very last trace of mortal impurity.
Bathed in a shimmering Spiritual Light, every single bone exuded an indestructible quality, as translucent as glazed glass yet possessing the hard texture of metal.
As the final dawn of the three months broke across the sky and the first rays of morning light shone on the roof tiles of Qingfeng Courtyard, Chu Bai slowly opened his eyes.
Two beams of dark-gold light, each a dozen feet long, shot out from the depths of his pupils, piercing two vacuum tunnels straight through the amber-like Spiritual Mist that filled the Cultivation Room.
"Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer. My foundation is stable."
Chu Bai muttered to himself, his voice carrying a clarity like the chime of striking jade.
Although a mere three months wasn’t enough time for his Cultivation at this layer to reach Perfection, the foundation he had forged with Earth Treasures and a Microscopic-level Cultivation Technique was already solid enough to look down on his peers.
More importantly, the strength of his physical body had essentially reached the very pinnacle of the Qi Cultivation Realm. Every move he made now carried the power to shatter mountains and split stone.
He rose slowly and clenched his fist in the empty air.
BANG!
The air in his palm let out a sharp crack, unable to withstand the extreme pressure.
Chu Bai draped the long-unworn, ink-blue official robe over his shoulders and took one last look at the Cultivation Room that had accompanied him for several years.
’It’s time to go.’
The night was deep. In the Inner Hall of the Anping Evil Suppression Department, only a few Everlasting Lamps cast a faint glow in the silence.
Zhang Cheng had dismissed all his guards and attendants. In the spacious yet somewhat empty Inner Hall, he personally lifted a zisha teapot and poured Chu Bai a cup of warm green tea.
The steam from the tea curled upward, softening the usually stern facial contours of the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator.
At this moment, Zhang Cheng was not the County Captain who held the power of life and death, but rather an elder giving earnest advice to a younger relative about to embark on a long journey.
"The Celestial Examination is imminent. You are to set off for Dayuan Prefecture City tomorrow."
Zhang Cheng set down the teapot, his voice somewhat low. "The rules for each Heaven-Scaling Ladder are decided on the spot by those high-ranking officials from the State City. They are, you could say, unpredictable, with no absolute pattern to follow. But no matter how the format changes, the core logic remains the same."
Chu Bai accepted the teacup with both hands and sat up straight, his expression solemn. "Please guide me, Master."
From the wide sleeve of his official robe, Zhang Cheng took out a yellowed scroll of sheepskin parchment.
He placed it gently on the table, his fingertips stroking the mottled cover as a profound look of reminiscence flashed in his eyes.
"These are the notes I wrote, stroke by stroke, while crawling out of a pile of corpses during my own Celestial Examination."
Zhang Cheng’s tone was exceptionally grave. "Inside are the unwritten rules of survival I learned in those Wild Secret Realms. Within the borders of the Great Zhou, the Law Net is strict; that is a world of order. But the Wild Secret Realms used for the Celestial Examination are worlds unto themselves—lawless, chaotic lands."
Chu Bai took the notes. As his fingertips touched the rough texture, he could almost feel the decades of iron-willed bloodshed and cruelty seeping out from within.
"Remember, in there, you won’t have the protection of the Great Zhou Laws. There is only the naked law of the jungle. The weak are prey for the strong—that is the only truth."
Zhang Cheng leaned forward, his gaze burning as he stared at Chu Bai. "And the most dangerous things are often not the native Demons and Evil Lands within the Secret Realm, but the other competitors thrown in with you. Outside the Law Net, the human heart is a greater test than any demon."
"Procedurally, you examinees from the various Counties will first gather in Dayuan Prefecture City. At that time, an official from the Examination Department will personally take action, activating a Heaven-Reaching Magical Treasure to randomly teleport all of you to different corners of the Secret Realm."

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