“The Spirit of the Ancestral Land is joking. I have no enmity with the Hidden Immortal Tower, not to mention that Chu Xian is a dear friend of mine. How could I possibly do anything detrimental to you?”
Qin Gou quickly realized that the Spirit of the Ancestral Land had likely seen through his peak cultivation. He let out a hearty laugh and said, “Even if the Spirit of the Ancestral Land cannot simulate a Dharma Aspect strike for me, surely you won’t just let me enter the trial with one less trump card than others, placing me at an absolute disadvantage, right?”
“Absolute… disadvantage?”
Repeating those words, even the Spirit of the Ancestral Land could no longer maintain a calm, water-like expression. Her lips twitched slightly as she said, “At most, I can provide cultivators with the power of an early-stage Dharma Aspect Realm. The strength of the simulated power also varies depending on the individual’s innate talent and cultivation. But for someone like you…”
A typical early-stage Dharma Aspect Realm cultivator was worlds apart from a monster like Qin Gou, who was at the limit of the Dharma Aspect Realm. The Celestial Master of Arc-Moon Mountain, renowned throughout the Cultivation World, had a terrifying record of defeating several Dharma Aspect True Persons with just his Natal Spirit Tool, the Kunpeng Fan, forcing them all to fall by one realm.
Therefore, the Spirit of the Ancestral Land spoke the truth; this indeed exceeded her laws’ control.
“I understand,” Qin Gou nodded, his heart filled with comprehension. “However, I still ask the Spirit of the Ancestral Land to answer another question: by giving all cultivators such a trump card and testing them in this manner, aren’t you afraid of causing a large number of casualties?”
“Those who suffer the attacks bestowed by my Dharma Aspect power will be injured, but they will absolutely not die. Instead, they will be directly expelled from the secret realm before they are truly unable to endure it,” the Spirit of the Ancestral Land explained. “I will personally inform every trial participant of this point later.”
“After all, in this trial, what our Hidden Immortal Tower truly wants to test is… even though those with higher talents will receive a more powerful Dharma Aspect, giving them an advantage, tactics, talent, and the ability to seize the best moment to defeat a stronger opponent are even more important.”
“So that’s how it is,” Qin Gou pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. “Thus, whether I receive the Dharma Aspect power you bestow is no longer important. To be precise, I might not even need to genuinely participate in this trial. After all, with my identity, it would seem too strange to fiercely compete with those juniors.”
The Spirit of the Ancestral Land immediately let out a dry laugh, her face twitching. She suddenly wanted to shout, “Big Brother, isn’t that exactly what I was thinking?” but she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
“Then, what are your intentions?”
“I wish to enter the secret realm as an observer, to experience it casually. I don’t need any trump cards, but likewise, if others attack me with Dharma Aspect power, I ask the Spirit of the Ancestral Land to help absolutely neutralize it,” Qin Gou said with a gentle smile.
The Spirit of the Ancestral Land asked, puzzled, “Your Excellency, what exactly do you intend to do?”
“I naturally have my reasons, but it’s not convenient to elaborate at the moment,” Qin Gou spread his hands and chuckled. “But rest assured, I won’t act rashly in the secret realm. If I attack those trial participants, and you have the ability, you can simply expel me directly from the secret realm.”
Upon hearing this, the Spirit of the Ancestral Land observed Qin Gou with suspicion for a moment, then pondered, “Your Excellency should know that your actions will bring about a tremendous change to the entire trial.”
Qin Gou smiled calmly. “Of course. However, aren’t you all trying to let those little girls test their wits and courage to determine the most exceptionally talented among them? With me like this, at most it will only increase their difficulty slightly. I believe this is something the Hidden Immortal Tower would be willing to see. Otherwise, you can report it to Chu Xian?”
“I have already sought instructions from the Saint Spirit.”
The Spirit of the Ancestral Land sighed silently and expressionlessly made a ‘please’ gesture. “I hope Your Excellency keeps your word. After all, the referee for this final ritual is me, not a one-man show for the Saint Spirit.”
The reason the Spirit of the Ancestral Land agreed to this was ultimately due to her immense fear of Qin Gou. But how many people in this world did not fear the Demon Master of Arc-Moon Mountain?
“You will definitely thank me in the future,” Qin Gou said, spreading his hands with a touch of melancholy. He was clearly doing a good deed, accumulating virtue, yet why did he always end up appearing like the greatest villain in the world?
…
Qin Gou’s figure officially appeared in the Ancestral Land secret realm.
Soon, including him, the voices of all trial participants within the secret realm echoed in their ears. The Spirit of the Ancestral Land detailed the characteristics of the simulated Dharma Aspect power. While it would not cause actual death, the elimination mechanism of this trial was absolutely unforgiving. The trial would last for a full three days, and there was also the presence of Qin Gou, the observer.
Qin Gou’s appearance was directly imprinted in the minds of all trial participants. The Spirit of the Ancestral Land assigned him the role of a referee, who would roam among the participants to prevent severe casualties, and specifically pointed out that Qin Gou was completely unaffected by the Dharma Aspect power.
After the extensive explanations related to the trial, the voice of the Spirit of the Ancestral Land fell silent, and the entire secret realm suddenly became exceptionally quiet. Qin Gou calmly removed his veiled hat, casually taking steps forward as he muttered to himself, “According to the term ’round them all up’ used by Old Pal in the mission description, it indicates that the mole in this secret realm is certainly not just one person.”
Not long after, he found the first trial participant in the woods.
“Are you… Referee Qin?” a petite young girl asked, examining Qin Gou with curiosity.
Qin Gou smiled gently and nodded. Originally, in this trial, the first thought a trial participant would have upon encountering someone other than themselves would be to threaten them with their “trump card” or to flee immediately. However, Qin Gou had now become a special case. Everyone knew that he posed no threat.
“Your hiding spot was too obvious. See, I spotted you at a glance. Remember, in this trial, brute force is not the answer. You need to use your brain more and employ strategy.” Qin Gou’s kind words, which sounded like a reminder, caused the petite girl to nod repeatedly.
Then, he continued to ask, “By the way, have you seen any traces of other people? You might as well tell me.”
The petite girl directly pointed him in a direction, and Qin Gou left with a smile.
One day passed. Although the participants were distributed very scattered, and the area of the trial ground was not excessively vast due to the Hidden Immortal Tower’s deliberate planning, Qin Gou managed to meet almost all the trial participants with ease. And to all of them, he said the same thing. ‘Use your brain more and employ strategy.’
Thus, the expected situation occurred. After one day, only ‘Qin Gou’ remained in the Ancestral Land secret realm. To be precise, all the trial participants had deliberately disguised their appearances to be exactly the same as Qin Gou! This was because, even among them, there were simple-minded silly girls, but under Qin Gou’s deliberate hints, they all understood… that he, an outsider, was immune to the Dharma Aspect power, and their trump cards could only be used once. The most foolish action would be to waste this life-saving straw on Qin Gou!
“This way, unable to guess whether the ‘Qin Gou’ in front of them is real or fake, all the participating girls will have to be more cautious and dare not use their trump cards easily,” Qin Gou mused.
“But… by doing this, Old Qin, how does it relate to ‘finding someone’ that you mentioned earlier?” Qiu Lingyun asked confusedly. “These trial participants have all undergone rigorous selection. Those moles Old Qin mentioned must be well-prepared, so even with the Hidden Immortal Tower’s assistance, it might be difficult to identify them accurately, and it might even alert the enemy.”
Beside her were Li Yuanzhen, Liang Tiantian, and others. In just one day, Qin Gou and his companions had already gathered. As for Liang Guiyun, Qiu Lingyun explained that she had been arranged in a very safe hiding place nearby, as her identity made it inconvenient for her to participate in Qin Gou’s plan.
“Do you, little ball, need to teach me? I, your Master, have already considered all this,” Qin Gou chuckled. “You must understand that no matter what those with ill intentions plan to do, whether it’s to disrupt the trial or cause massive casualties and make the Hidden Immortal Tower a target, they fear that few people have been eliminated and everyone still holds the trump card that can easily eliminate them!”
“Furthermore, after carefully planning and going through various selections, they have prepared extensively for this precious trial, seeing it as a golden opportunity. Thus, you guess… watching time slip away, who will be the first to lose their composure and find another way to break the stalemate I’ve created?”
“Master… Your schemes, Old Qin, are so complex and terrifying!” Qiu Lingyun’s lips parted slightly, a mixture of admiration and shock on her face. Fortunately, her esteemed master was always a virtuous gentleman, not a villain who would bring chaos to the world, nor an Abyssal Demon Race member, otherwise, it would be too dreadful.
Suddenly, a voice resounded throughout the entire secret realm. Although they couldn’t communicate or form alliances through sound transmission here, they could amplify their voices with spiritual power to carry them far.
“Little girls, this isn’t a solution. Yesterday, the Spirit of the Ancestral Land mentioned that this trial only lasts for three days!” This action allowed many people within the secret realm to deduce the approximate location of the speaker. However, she dared to do so precisely because she was leveraging Qin Gou’s tone and identity.
“As expected, someone couldn’t hold back. But this voice, is she really imitating Brother Qin? Why does it sound so soft and feminine!” Liang Tiantian suddenly couldn’t help but chuckle, finding it quite amusing.
“This is normal. The Spirit of the Ancestral Land provided a very specific description of my appearance, but only my appearance.” Qin Gou then laughed along with Liang Tiantian, but his smile at this moment could no longer be described as ‘kind’.
“Therefore, whether it’s soft and effeminate, hoarse, or deep and resonant… I intentionally used slightly different voices for all the trial participants I met yesterday, and I clearly memorized each of their names, appearances, realms, and all other details!”
