FIMA Ch163: Test

Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi entered the palace gate.

In the original work, the detailed situation of the Immortal Spirit Secret Realm was not described much, but undoubtedly, the greatest inheritances and opportunities for the main characters were obtained here.

Now, the little ice dragon was already on Xie Xueyi’s wrist, so next was the inheritance from the Ancient Immortal City.

They first encountered a library hall with two large bookshelves inside.

The right shelf had several wooden boxes on each row, looking much more high-end than the opposite side. Many boxes had already been opened, while some remained tightly closed.

It seemed there was a limit to the number of boxes each person could open.

Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi each opened one.

Xie Xueyi’s eyes widened in surprise, “Good stuff…”

Gu Siyuan tossed the item from his box to Xie Xueyi, “For you. These boxes all have formations. Each person can only open one.”

“Brother, you’re so nice…” Xie Xueyi happily accepted it.

Then, he couldn’t help but pout, looking regretfully at the remaining closed boxes.

The left shelf was scattered with various cultivation methods and inheritances, but they were relatively basic, far inferior to Gu Siyuan’s “Nine Heavens Star Formula.”

Those who arrived earlier didn’t care for them either, sitting cross-legged in front of the wall.

Xie Xueyi, however, picked a few to store in his space ring.

Gu Siyuan watched him, “You won’t miss a thing.”

Xie Xueyi glared at him angrily, “As a proud disciple of a big sect, you don’t understand the hardships of ordinary cultivators. These cultivation methods could cause rogue cultivators to fight over them at an auction, okay? I’m working hard to support us.”

Gu Siyuan calmly retorted, “Nonsense. Aren’t you now a proud disciple?”

Xie Xueyi paused, then smiled, leaning close to Gu Siyuan’s ear and whispering, “Good brother, you’ve suddenly become so eloquent. Are all men like this, changing after sharing a bed… Ah, if I’d known…”

Gu Siyuan, “Known what?”

Xie Xueyi licked his lips, fox-like, “If I’d known, I would’ve used some good stuff from the Hehuan Sect the first time we met.”

Gu Siyuan pinched his chin and bit his lips lightly, “Indeed, a pity.”

Xie Xueyi’s smile grew even wider, “Good brother… I knew it, you’ve been suppressing yourself all this time, haven’t you?”

Gu Siyuan ignored him and walked a few steps forward, squinting at the words and paintings on the wall ahead.

Xie Xueyi said, “Choose a spiritual skill, master it within three days to pass, or be eliminated.”

They immediately understood why the others who arrived earlier were all sitting in front of the wall, pondering deeply.

The wall stretched endlessly, with sword techniques, palm techniques, blade techniques, spear techniques, whip techniques, and dozens of other martial arts, clearly well-considered to ensure fairness, as everyone had different weapon specialties.

Gu Siyuan looked at Xie Xueyi, “What will you learn?”

Xie Xueyi puffed up his cheeks, “I’ll learn whip techniques. I’ve used a whip for over ten years. It seems this test has a time requirement; the sooner you learn it, the better. So I’ll learn something I’m good at to shorten the time!”

Gu Siyuan pinched his cheeks and led him to sit down, “Hmm, good, start comprehending.”

It was unclear how much time had passed.

Originally, the people sitting in front of the wall had started to open their eyes one by one, with flashes of light in their eyes.

Compared to before, the number of people sitting in front of the wall had also increased, having just passed the hundred steps outside the palace. Among them were Yi Qianqiu, Yan Miaomiao, and others from the Taixuan Immortal Sect.

The first ones to wake up from their comprehension began practicing in the air with their hands as swords or blades, facing the wall.

After successfully leaving marks, they couldn’t help but glance at Gu Siyuan.

They wanted to know how this boy, whose combat power and talent clearly surpassed everyone else, was doing with his cultivation.

However, Gu Siyuan made no movements. He maintained his initial posture, quietly staring at the wall, seemingly not comprehending anything.

At that moment, Xie Xueyi also opened his eyes.

His slender fingers raised, quickly drawing through the air, a faint white mark flashing and disappearing, carrying the essence of a whip technique.

Everyone was astonished.

Unexpectedly, Gu Siyuan’s little lover had such high talent. In such a short time, the essence of his technique was no less than that of Yu Haofeng and Yin Xiaojue, who had woken up first.

Were all the world’s good fortunes monopolized by Gu Siyuan?

Just then, Gu Siyuan, who had been staring at the wall’s martial skills, moved and said to Xie Xueyi, “Not bad, you’ve grasped the basics, but it’s too shallow. Practice more thoroughly.”

Everyone was stunned, then inwardly mocked.

You use a sword, don’t you? And yet you’re instructing a whip technique genius on how to learn whip techniques?

You’re taking pretense too far…

Xie Xueyi, however, smiled convincingly, “Okay, brother, I’ll try again.”

“Hmm.” Gu Siyuan stopped looking at the wall, sat cross-legged on the ground, and stared at Xie Xueyi practicing.

From then on, Gu Siyuan constantly corrected and guided every one of Xie Xueyi’s practices.

“That’s wrong. These basic spiritual skills emphasize retracting and releasing the whip freely. It’s crucial to release with force, but retracting must be light and nimble. You focus too much on the force of the release…”

“Hmm, better than before. A whip is a flexible tool, and the control of force points is crucial. You need to calculate it before releasing.”

“Okay.”

Xie Xueyi pondered for a moment, then nodded heavily.

Following Gu Siyuan’s instructions, he modified his practice.

Everyone else was dumbfounded.

But from Gu Siyuan’s brief words, they seemed to gain some unclear enlightenment.

Whether they practiced sword techniques or other skills, they appeared slightly more mature when they practiced again.

Moments later, Yu Haofeng from the Demonic Sect stood up and struck the wall with a palm. He had chosen palm techniques, his specialty in spiritual skills.

Immediately, the wall flashed with white light, enveloping Yu Haofeng entirely, and he disappeared.

“He passed…”

“Yu Haofeng was the first to pass.”

“As expected!”

Just then, Xie Xueyi also stood up, “Brother, I’ll try.”

Gu Siyuan nodded.

Xie Xueyi retrieved a long whip from his space ring and lashed it at the wall. The whip cracked loudly, a flash of white light, and Xie Xueyi’s slender figure disappeared on the spot.

Moreover, it was clear that his whip’s power surpassed Yu Haofeng’s earlier palm strike, indicating a higher mastery of the spiritual skill.

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained calm as he stood up and casually slapped the wall.

Instantly, with the wind leaving no trace, his figure in green disappeared.

The remaining people were dumbfounded.

Did Gu Siyuan just use a palm technique?

So, not only did he not learn his preferred sword technique, but he also instructed his lover on whip techniques and then used a palm technique to pass. How many spiritual skills did he master in such a short time?

Is he even human?

The second palace was similar to the first, with two large wooden shelves and a long wall of paintings.

However, it was clear at a glance that there were fewer boxes on the shelves than before.

Yu Haofeng stared in shock at the two who had followed him.

How did they get here so quickly?

Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi ignored him, directly opening the boxes on the shelves and taking the rewards for this level.

Xie Xueyi’s eyes widened, “Brother, these rewards are even more generous than the last level!”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged, “It will get better as we go.”

“Right.” Xie Xueyi immediately pulled Gu Siyuan to sit in front of the wall, “Let’s comprehend quickly and move to the next room for treasures. Oh, if only this entire palace belonged to me, there are still so many unopened boxes!”

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes, “Perhaps.”

“Huh, brother, what did you say?” Xie Xueyi didn’t hear clearly and blinked as he asked again.

Gu Siyuan shook his head and looked at the patterns on the wall, “Let’s start comprehending. This level’s whip technique is part of the same set as the previous one.”

According to the legends of the Ancient Immortal City, there were a total of nine test palaces, each with its own challenge, and the rewards for passing each would be extraordinarily generous.

However, each test itself was also a reward. For instance, the spiritual skills on these walls weren’t isolated; they were parts of a highly complete top-level spiritual skill, divided into layers. Passing one wall would allow learning the next layer.

Xie Xueyi studied the wall for a while and then smiled, “Hmm, I’ll continue practicing.”

Gu Siyuan nodded, remaining calm and continued to sit in his earlier posture, scanning the wall from beginning to end aimlessly.

The exercises and spiritual skills became more difficult the further they progressed.

Whether it was Yu Haofeng or others, this time their comprehension took much longer than before.

“They’ve passed…”

“And even faster.”

It was unclear how long it took, but the people in the second palace were utterly shocked when they saw Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi disappear.

Yu Haofeng’s face grew darker. Earlier in the first palace, Xie Xueyi’s comprehension speed was clearly slower than his, but now it was faster, just because of Gu Siyuan’s guidance.

Just because of Gu Siyuan…

Everyone else thought the same. They had never realized that in the world of cultivation, being good-looking could have such a significant advantage.

…

“The fifth room.”

Xie Xueyi looked at the exercises on the wall and pouted in dissatisfaction.

He had a high talent for cultivation, comparable to Yin Xiaojue and others even without Gu Siyuan’s guidance; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been captured by the demonic sect initially.

But the spiritual skills in this palace were indeed profound.

Comprehending the first wall took him over half an hour, the second wall nearly two hours, then half a day, over a day, and this fifth wall would likely take the full three days.

If it continued like this, he wouldn’t have enough time. He couldn’t just follow Gu Siyuan’s pace.

Gu Siyuan gently rubbed his hand, “Don’t worry, the next ones shouldn’t involve comprehending skills.”

Xie Xueyi widened his eyes, “Really?”

Gu Siyuan nodded, “Yes, in the fourth palace just now, I only had time to comprehend seven or eight spiritual skills like sword techniques, palm techniques, and whip techniques. If the difficulty continues like this, I will surely be stuck around the eighth room, making the tests set by the palace master pointless.”

Xie Xueyi was confused, “Why… would it be pointless?”

Gu Siyuan gave him a puzzled look, “There are nine palaces and nine tests in total. If even I can’t fully pass them, who else in the world could? Then what’s the point of setting them up?”

“…” Xie Xueyi.

Alright.

That reason was overwhelmingly strong and made perfect sense.

Three days later, they passed the fifth palace almost right on time.

But, just as Gu Siyuan had said.

The decoration of the sixth palace was different from the previous ones. Although there were still wooden boxes with treasures, the walls no longer had illustrations of spiritual skills, meaning the test methods would undoubtedly change.

Xie Xueyi excitedly rushed to get the treasures.

The difficulty of the last test was a turning point, so the treasures here were bound to be even more exciting.

However, just as he opened the wooden box, a faint fragrance spread throughout the room, and then his vision changed.

Gu Siyuan also experienced a flash before his eyes.

The bright moon hung high, and there was a banquet with singing.

Before him, Xie Xueyi still had the same face, but at some point, a pair of cute lion ears had sprouted from his head, and a long, thin tail was swaying continuously.

Then, he walked forward, lay on Gu Siyuan’s lap, blinked adorably, and coyly begged for petting.

Gu Siyuan’s lips curled into a smile, and he instinctively raised his hand to touch him, finding the texture even better than he had imagined.

After satisfying himself thoroughly.

In the next moment, his eyes cleared, filled with sharp intent.

Gu Siyuan smiled and turned to look at Xie Xueyi, who was still trapped in the illusion. His fair, handsome face was very expressive, alternating between smiles and shyness, quite amusing.

He silently admired for a while before raising his hand.

Immediately, the hall was filled with sharp sword energy, flashing brightly. The way of the sword and its intent were the most righteous and grand, dispelling all illusions.

Xie Xueyi trembled, snapping out of the illusion, his moist, slightly red eyes meeting Gu Siyuan’s amused gaze. Instinctively, he scolded, “How can you be so rude to your master…”

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes, his voice low, “Master?”

The tone was too dangerous.

Xie Xueyi, initially dazed, was suddenly startled awake.

His dark eyes rolled around, taking in the familiar surroundings, and he suddenly realized something.

Damn, this test was actually about human desires…

Everything just now was an illusion.

Hmph, the image of Gu Siyuan clinging to his leg, pitifully begging for his touch and affection, could never exist in reality, right?

Gu Siyuan reached out to pinch his chin, their gazes locking.

Xie Xueyi felt guilty, “Wh-what?”

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow slowly, “Master and pet, huh? Seems like an interesting idea, let’s play like that next time.”

“…” Xie Xueyi was shocked, “You’re willing?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Gu Siyuan’s expression was utterly calm, his other hand gently stroking Xie Xueyi’s hair, his voice magnetic and low, “Good boy, I’ll take good care of you.”

Xie Xueyi: “…”

He knew it.