Chapter 3493: Twilight Maple Forest

During ZENITH, Lu Yin had encountered a carrion bug as his opponent. Despite its miniscule size, it had been extremely tough and fast.

He had not expected to encounter any carrion bugs in the Spirit Nidus.

There was absolutely no difference between the bug before him and the one in his memories.

Since the megaverses were different, could the same species be born in both?

The carrion bug that Lu Yin had unlocked looked very immature, and its aura was weak. It was possible that it had been sealed away just shortly after being born.

Lu Yin put the carrion bug away, and then he looked up and moved onto the fourth step.

All of the hostility that had been directed towards him was completely gone.

Lu Yin could not make sense of what people were thinking.

His observers started to release the news, and another tremor rippled through the Spirit Nidus. The Third Boss was also a Spirit Treasure Master. How had he mastered everything?

His physical strength was enough to crush Yu Shan. His consciousness had shattered the Consciousness Domain, and his spiritual force was strong enough to ignore Hu Wu and Tian Ya. Now, he was revealing that he was also a Spirit Treasure Master of such incredible skill that people could not believe it. Just what could the man not do?

How had the man cultivated? That question might be the greatest mystery of the current era.

Whatever the Third Boss had done to achieve his strength needed to be found.

There was no sourcebox on the fourth step, just a powerful danger zone that completely covered the step.

This test was essentially a test of a person’s cultivation.

While Spirit Treasure Masters did not necessarily need to be powerful cultivators, without a certain level of personal strength, it would be impossible for them to even get close to certain spirit treasures.

In the Tianyuan Megaverse, to be qualified as a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, one needed to at least be a Melder.

A Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker needed to at least be an Explorer. Without that level of strength, even if a lockbreaker possessed the necessary skill, the Lockbreaker Society would not acknowledge their ability.

As for Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers, they needed to at least be Hunters.

These requirements existed for the lockbreakers’ own protection.

Without adequate strength, it would be too easy to die to a sourcebox.

The danger zone of the sourcebox in front of Lu Yin was powerful enough to threaten a Progenitor, which was perfectly reasonable, given the level of experts in the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin walked straight through the danger zone, neither avoiding nor trying to resolve it. He simply walked through it, demonstrating his formidable strength.

That particular danger zone had once infuriated Ying Han, but it could not even rustle the hem of Lu Yin’s clothes. This left many of the members of the Spirit Treasure Society dumbfounded.

Grandmaster Yu Ran sighed helplessly. Even if the fourth step’s danger zone was elevated to the point where it could threaten someone in the Spirit Origin Realm, it still would not be enough to do anything to the Third Boss. He was simply too powerful.

The fifth step had a sourcebox array, and it caused Lu Yin's eyes to light up.

This was where the test truly began.

In order to become a Spirit Treasure Grandmaster, it was necessary for a person to create their own spirit treasure formation, in addition to resolving another person’s formation.

The first four steps of the Grandmaster's Trial merely tested a person’s foundation. Only at the fifth step did the true qualifications of a Spirit Treasure Grandmaster start being tested.

The members of the Spirit Treasure Society grew nervous yet again.

The fifth step would reveal the Third Boss's expertise for spirit treasure formations.

Some Spirit Treasure Masters were incredibly skilled and quick at unlocking spirit treasures but were incapable of comprehending spirit treasure formations. There were also such people in the Tianyuan Megaverse.

Lu Yin's performance on the first four steps had been astounding, and people unconsciously hoped for the Third Boss to continue succeeding. It was possible that they might witness the birth of a legend here.

Lu Yin observed the sourcebox array before him. He paused briefly, but then he simply lifted a foot and continued walking. As he proceeded, he changed direction four times: he turned left, right, left again, and right again. Before he proceeded to the sixth step, he stopped completely.

All who bore witness to his movements were stunned.

Ying Han's mouth was hanging open in disbelief. He was flabbergasted.

Grandmaster Yu Ran stared on in a daze. Could it really be that quick?

“Master, Master! Is the fifth step empty?” someone asked.

Most people were wondering the same thing. In fact, even Old Tao was thinking that, but he did not want to ask the question aloud, as it sounded too childish.

“There is a spirit treasure formation on the fifth step.” A voice rang across the Spirit Treasure Society, causing many to turn and look to see who had spoken.

“It’s Grandmaster Ling! He’s arrived!”

“It’s not just Grandmaster Ling. I also saw Grandmaster Xia Bao! There should be quite a few Spirit Treasure Formation Masters nearby right now.”

“That’s right. A number of Formation Masters live here in the Spirit Treasure Domain. When they heard that the Third Boss was coming to the Spirit Treasure Society, it’s only natural that they came to offer their support.”

“Even if they haven’t been able to become the Spirit Treasure Society’s tenth Spirit Treasure Grandmaster, they are still concerned for the society, just like the rest of us.”

“Grandmaster Ling just said that there’s a spirit treasure formation on the fifth step, so it must be true. Wasn’t Grandmaster Ling the last person to challenge the nine steps of the Grandmaster's Trial? He failed on the sixth step.”

“But how is the Third Boss going so fast?”

“He’s a monster...”

Grandmaster Ling's expression grew heavy as he observed the figure climbing the nine steps of the Grandmaster's Trial. This man was truly a monster.

Grandmaster Ling had failed on the sixth step, but that meant that he had personally experienced the spirit treasure formation on the fifth step. Even if it was a simple, beginner-level formation, it was intended to test whether or not the challengers understood and could unravel such formations. It should have been impossible for anyone to pass through it so quickly.

Grandmaster Ling had spent more than ten days to pass that step.

How long had this Third Boss spent? He walked across the step, moving at a normal pace. He had taken a few turns, but was that all that he needed to do to pass through? Grandmaster Ling could not make sense of Lu Yin’s success.

Some people could unravel puzzles to find answers, but when those same answers were provided to others, it was impossible to understand those answers.

Grandmaster Ling could not understand how Lu Yin had succeeded.

On the other hand, Grandmaster Yu Ran could. Because of that, her eyes glowed brightly at the moment. The abilities that the Third Boss had displayed so far indicated that there was no doubt that he could become the Spirit Treasure Society’s tenth Spirit Treasure Grandmaster.

The tenth Grandmaster will be the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss.

When she realized this, Grandmaster Yu Ran started to have a headache. The Third Boss seemed to be a ruffian. He wanted to challenge the strongest cultivators in the megaverse, and at the same time, he had claimed that he would visit the Apex Palace and carve on its wall in order to provoke the High Seraph.

What would the Spirit Treasure Society do about this person?

It was a massive problem.

How could such a person have appeared?

The woman hoped that the Third Boss would be stopped by the next steps.

Grandmaster Ling stared at Lu Yin.

The sixth step...

That was where Grandmaster Ling had failed.

The sixth step also held a spirit treasure formation. It was called the Twilight Maple Forest, and it had been created by one of the Spirit Treasure Society’s nine Grandmasters, Qian Huifeng.

Someone stepped out from a corner of the Spirit Treasure Society to stare at the Grandmaster's Trial in the distance.

Has he arrived?

The man was close to where the people who had tried to stop Lu Yin from entering the Spirit Treasure Domain stood.

“Look! It’s Grandmaster Qian Huifeng!”

“Really? He rarely makes an appearance. I didn’t expect him to show up.”

Qian Huifeng looked over and showed a slight smile. “Still as mischievous as ever, Zhi Hua?”

The cute girl in the group stuck her tongue out at the older man. “Uncle Feng, I’m not being mischievous!”

“Do you think that your grandfather doesn’t know what you were doing? You’re lucky that the Third Boss didn’t do anything to you. If he had, no one would have been able to save you.” Qian Huifeng’s expression grew very serious, and Zhi Hua ducked her head.

The people around her all grew confused. They were completely ignorant of the girl's background, and they merely knew that her name was Zhi Hua. She had been with them for some time, but it appeared that her family background was far from simple, seeing as how even Grandmaster Qian Huifeng knew her.

In the plaza, Old Tao overheard the conversation, and it caught him by surprise. "The sixth step actually contains Grandmaster Qian Huifeng's spirit treasure formation? The Third Boss might encounter a bit of trouble here."

“Qian Huifeng?” Cai Keqing asked in confusion. She had never heard of the name before.

Old Tao explained, "Qian Huifeng is one of the Spirit Treasure Society’s nine Grandmasters, and his spirit treasure formation is known for being the most beautiful form of death.

"I'm not sure of the specifics, as I’ve never encountered it myself. But when I first visited the Spirit Treasure Society, I heard that he once used his formation to bury many powerful cultivators, and he has even fought in the Consciousness Megaverse. He's a Spirit Treasure Grandmaster who is a deadly threat."

Cai Keqing's expression shifted. Such Spirit Treasure Masters were quite rare.

Lu Yin fully stepped onto the sixth step of the Grandmaster's Trial, and as soon as he did so, he found himself within a sourcebox array.

At this moment, he felt very calm—eerily so, in fact.

He could see a maple forest, and its leaves were falling. As he looked around, he experienced a peace that he had never felt before. The chaos in his mind transformed into perfect peace.

The feeling felt quite similar to the Vast Qian Domain’s Skyriver’s mist. Granting a person absolute tranquility via a sourcebox array; the creator of this array was a true master, though he most likely did not feel such peace himself.

In a person's life, the greatest peace that they could experience stemmed from the most chaotic moments of their life.

Whoever had created such a peaceful sourcebox array must have lived through unmatched chaos. The battlefield was the most likely explanation.

In that case, what is the ultimate end of this sourcebox array?

Lu Yin was curious.

There was a dull yellow sky above the maple forest that had replaced the true sky. Slowly, the color faded as darkness took over.

Lu Yin looked up and understood. As one was consumed by the perfect peace, they would die, silently and without any struggle.

It was a beautiful way to die.

Grandmaster Yu Ran gazed at the sixth step.

Twilight Maple Forest... Its essence lies in a single word—'Evening.' That word itself is the killing intent at the heart of this sourcebox array.

No one could resist the temptation of such perfect peace, and yet that peace would also kill them.

Creating this effect with a spirit treasure formation was very similar to a person developing a comprehension technique. Qian Huifeng was a true genius.

When he had challenged the Grandmaster's Trial, he had succeeded on his first attempt.

Of the Spirit Treasure Society’s nine Grandmasters, Qian Huifeng was clearly among the top three.

After entering the spirit treasure formation, how would the Third Boss break free?

Would he shatter it? No, that would not happen. Since the goal of the formation was to overcome a person with peace, Lu Yin allowed himself to be consumed.

He closed his eyes and took a nap.

It had been a very long time since he had last slept so peacefully.

Everyone who was watching continued to stare. They all saw Lu Yin close his eyes.

Will he be consumed by the peace?

Grandmaster Yu Ran frowned.

How could he be defeated so easily?

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Elsewhere, Qian Huifeng himself was also surprised by this turn of events. While he was very confident in his formation, he knew that it should have been impossible for such a powerful person to be overcome so quickly. This was a man who dared to provoke the High Seraph, and he had already defeated many powerful experts. He was in the Spirit Treasure Domain to confront Senior Su Shidao.

Could such a person really fall to a spirit treasure formation like this?

And yet that was exactly what had happened.

Enough time passed for an entire stick of incense to burn.

Then, half a day went by.

No one in the Spirit Treasure Society spoke. All of them were still staring at the sixth step, as if frozen in place.

"This... he failed, didn’t he?"

"He should have failed."

"As expected of the Twilight Maple Forest and Senior Qian Huifeng."

"Our Spirit Treasure Society's nine Grandmasters are no pushovers! In the entire Spirit Nidus, out of the dozens of Spirit Treasure Grandmasters, only nine are qualified to represent our society."

"Ah, what a pity. The Third Boss is also a Spirit Treasure Master. He's not really our enemy."

"True, he's not an enemy, though he was rather arrogant."

"To be fair, he never said anything outrageous, and he had no intention of disgracing our Spirit Treasure Society."

"His attitude was rather annoying. Still, it is a pity. Maybe next time."

"We’ll give him another chance. Next time he encounters the Twilight Maple Forest, he should be able to pass through it."

...

Qian Huifeng heard the various discussions around him, but he was not happy about what he heard. He could not help but feel that something was off about the situation. Things could not end so easily. He had fought in the Consciousness Megaverse, and if his Twilight Maple Forest was capable of defeating the Third Boss so easily, then Qian Huifeng would have defeated the Thirteen Luminaries long ago.

Something was very wrong.

Just what was the Third Boss doing? He had not shown even the slightest reaction so far.