Chen Yi, What Have You Done

The second trial: the Five Elements Mountain Range.

After overcoming numerous hardships, Black Earth and He Chunqiu finally reached the summit and laid eyes on the terminal stele.

By now, the encrypted missive Fang Fan had left on it had already been obscured by Chen Yi—ensuring everyone else could see it while she remained in the dark.

This wasn’t a deliberate slight against her. Rather, as a denizen of the Divine Realm, she was an ally bound by mutual aid, not some hired talent who could be lured in with wages.

The denizens of the Immortal Realm, however, had accepted wages from the Celestial Treasury of the Purple Tenuity Immortal Court in the first trial, the Spirit Treasure Paradise. This was karma. Did they think they could freeload? Absolutely not!

Thus, Chen Yi was fully justified—everything he did was lawful and proper. Claiming the spirit treasures was tantamount to signing an employment contract, binding them to labor for the Purple Tenuity Immortal Realm!

As for Black Earth? Well, in a way, she too had signed a contract. But since she remained unaware of the details, Chen Yi could bide his time, keeping her in reserve until the day came when she’d be dragged out for a proper reckoning.

"Chen Yi, did you erase more of the stele’s contents while I was still climbing?"

Black Earth was sharp. Sensing something amiss, she immediately turned to Chen Yi, who stood nearby, gesturing at nothing in particular.

It was absurd. Despite both voluntarily wearing Seals of Spirit-Severance, he could still freely wield magic, layering himself with buffs, while she was left with nothing but her physical endurance to weather the trial.

Watching the faint shimmer of the seal flicker around him, Black Earth couldn’t help but wonder—was he even wearing it properly?

"Don’t worry about it. I’ll stall the Immortal Realm folks below. You focus on deciphering the path to the next trial."

Black Earth: "..."

You’ve been up here for so long, and you’ve done nothing productive?

What exactly have you been doing up here?

Slowing down the Immortal Realm climbers?

How shameless can you be?!

Given the oppressive pressure of the Five Elements Mountain Range, even without your interference, they’d have no chance of overtaking me at their current pace!

Ah, whatever. This freak can still use magic. Best to humor him for now...

With that thought, Black Earth set aside her doubts and strode forward, running her hands over the stele to uncover the method to proceed.

Meanwhile.

Chen Yi stood atop the peak, his hands weaving intricate patterns in the air as he conducted "onboarding examinations" and "soul integrity tests" on the second batch of captured Primordial Heart-Soul clansmen.

The first batch had all been Golden Immortals, and since he’d already calibrated for that realm, the second batch went much faster. The real challenge was the single Great Unity Immortal among them!

Beings of this realm were no trifling matter—they could forge worlds, erect countless divine kingdoms!

Though his magic was currently sealed, leaving only his physical body functional, this Great Unity cultivator’s sea of consciousness was vast beyond measure. Within it, the phantom forms of three thousand divine kingdoms stood tall, their billions upon billions of inhabitants chanting his true name, weaving a shield of faith to protect his primordial spirit!

This was the most infuriating type of mental defense mechanism. Breaking it through conventional means was near-impossible—Chen Yi wasn’t the type to counter systems with systems.

But unconventional methods risked flooding the Great Unity’s sea of consciousness, reducing him to a drooling imbecile. That would be a waste. A fully functional Great Unity talent was far more valuable than a broken one!

Worse yet, this guy wasn’t even afraid of death. If he perished, he’d simply revive—his true spirit was etched into the Immortal Realm’s River of Time. At worst, he’d lose this lifetime’s cultivation and start over. But with his memories and insights intact, it’d be but a minor setback. He had all the time and patience in the world to retrace his steps!

So, for now, Chen Yi was at a loss.

To recruit him, a soul integrity test was mandatory. But with his refusal to cooperate... what a headache.

"You’re no guardian spirit of this place! Who are you?!"

"Stay back! Stay back!"

"Even with this Seal of Spirit-Severance shackling me, sealing away my transcendent power, I, Hun Lan, remain peerless in this world!"

"Control me? Impossible!"

"Walls of Faith, arise! Three thousand divine kingdoms, trillions of devotees—those who chant my name shall glimpse eternity in the cycle of reincarnation!!!"

The Great Unity expert, Hun Lan, resisted violently.

This sea of consciousness was his domain. The Seal of Spirit-Severance only blocked external spiritual energy—within, his power remained boundless. By raising these walls and shutting the gates, that intruder would never breach his defenses!

"Ah, why must you force my hand?" Chen Yi sighed wearily.

In an instant, forty-nine Chaos Pearls encircled Hun Lan, trapping him at the center!

A single Chaos Pearl could only bear a sliver of Chen Yi’s will, but forty-nine together could channel enough to overwhelm the faith-fueled barrier forged by Hun Lan’s three thousand divine kingdoms.

"Wait! I think there might be some misunderstanding between us—"

Feeling the immense pressure of that will bearing down, Hun Lan swiftly reconsidered.

Not that he was afraid, of course. But rebuilding his cultivation from scratch after investing so many resources would be... inconvenient.

Better to negotiate. If this guy’s demands were tolerable, he’d endure. After all, what were a few hardships in the grand scheme?

"Save your breath. I’ve got strength and methods to spare. If you won’t cooperate willingly, I’ll make you."

Chen Yi shut down Hun Lan’s attempt at negotiation outright!

This man’s ties to the Immortal Realm ran too deep. The soul integrity test was meant to sever those connections, stripping him of his status as a Great Unity under the Immortal Realm’s system and reducing him to an unaffiliated rogue.

Originally, a Great Unity’s fate spanned countless lifetimes. But once captured, he’d be left with just one. The Immortal Realm would no longer hold any claim over him—effectively erasing the very foundation of his existence. There was no way he’d agree to that!

So, Chen Yi wasted no more words. In one swift motion, he seized Hun Lan and began refining him!

There was no choice. With no way to bypass Hun Lan’s mental defenses conventionally, he had to take the risk—employing a brute-force method that might leave the Great Unity a babbling fool.

If he succeeded, and Hun Lan remained intact, it’d be a valuable precedent for subjugating other Great Unity experts of the Immortal Realm’s ancient clans.

If he failed, and Hun Lan was reduced to a mindless wreck... well, that too would provide useful data for future attempts.

Still, Chen Yi hoped for success. A fully functional Great Unity was worth nearly five broken ones.

Losing even one would be a significant loss.

The Primordial Chaos had only sent eighty-one Great Unity experts this time. Every single one was precious—not a single one could be wasted!

"AAAAAHHH!!!"

Hun Lan’s primordial spirit let out a terrified scream.

"No! It burns! What are you doing to me?!"

"Brother, Dad, Grandpa... I was wrong, I was wrong! Spare my life—I'll do anything you ask..."

"Damn it, are you fucking pretending not to hear me?"

"I swear I’ll your !"

"Come at me then! It’s just one life—take it! But mark my words, this grudge is etched in blood. The karma between us runs deep, and I will settle this someday!"

"Damn it, slow down with the refining! At least have the guts to tell me your name!"

"I’ll your !"