Chapter 262: A New Test

After the first round of testing, two men who didn’t believe they would be swallowed by the mirror stood arrogantly in front of it. The outcome was predictable—Ye Feng and the others witnessed the entire process of the two being consumed. A black shadow emerged from the mirror, quickly catching up to the two who tried to flee at the sight of danger. It wrapped around their ankles and eventually enveloped them entirely, disappearing from sight.

In those mirrors, two grotesque faces appeared, pounding against the glass desperately in an attempt to escape. Seeing this, Ye Feng and the others realized that the rules of this game were no joke. It was unclear what kind of item those mirrors were, but they were capable of trapping living people inside.

Ye Feng shook his head helplessly. The two trapped individuals belonged to the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect respectively, but there was no way to rescue them. Fathe, standing nearby, said to Ye Feng and the others, “Let’s go. Everything here is over.”

They stepped through the gate, only to find themselves in a primeval forest when they emerged again. “Where is this place?” Ye Feng and the others were puzzled. They had clearly been in a palace just moments ago, yet now they were suddenly in such a place.

Moreover, Ye Feng noticed something else—seems the entrance brought by different mirrors was different. Aside from him, Xiao Yu, and Xiao Bei on his shoulders, there was no one else around. He waited for a long time in place but still saw no one else arrive.

“It seems it’s just the few of us again!” Ye Feng shook his head helplessly and flew upward into the sky, hoping to see where the forest ended and perhaps find traces of the others.

He rose to heights of tens of thousands of meters, but as far as his eyes could see, it was still forest. As he had expected, he didn’t see a single human figure.

“What are the rules of this game?” Ye Feng frowned slightly and murmured to himself.

He slowly descended, hoping to find some clues at the place where he had just appeared. After scanning the surroundings, he saw a few lines of text carved on a stone tablet and immediately read them.

“The Dark Forest has six exits in total. Each exit opens only once and can accommodate up to ten people. There is one or two guards at each exit, all at the Absolute Immortal level with varying strengths. There are no indications as to the direction or location of the exits. Once all six exits are opened, those who fail to leave will be trapped in this forest until the next group of adventurers arrives to take their spots and escape…”

Seeing this, Ye Feng frowned. “Guards at the Absolute Immortal level—given the situation, things don’t look good. And those who fail to leave will be trapped here forever. This palace might not have had other owners before Perryt. That means, besides the magical beasts and us humans who came this time, there’s a high possibility that people from the past still remain here.”

At this thought, Ye Feng began to feel a headache. If it were just magical beasts, it would be easier to deal with. But with humans involved, things weren’t as simple as imagined.

Humans are different from magical beasts, especially those who have been trapped in this forest for so long—they are extremely aggressive. And to get out, they would surely stop at nothing to kill him and the others to secure a spot. After all, there are only sixty spots available.

After Ye Feng finished reading everything on the stone tablet, it slowly cracked into several fissures before finally crumbling into pieces that scattered to the ground.

“Trouble. According to his requirements, while searching for powerful guards, I also have to find Fat and the others. Leaving anyone behind could mean they get trapped here for hundreds of years before having a chance to escape.”

“Boss, have you forgotten about us?” Bernard said proudly. “Don’t forget—I can control plants and see everything happening in the forest through their eyes. Although the forest is quite large, we can search area by area.”

“And I can easily spot targets from above. It shouldn’t take long to find them,” Xiao Yu added, nodding.

“I almost forgot about you two. With your help, things should be much easier,” Ye Feng said, his eyes lighting up upon hearing their words. “Xiao Bei, go and look first. See where Fat and the others are.”

Bernard closed his eyes, spreading his mental energy to connect with the plants around him, allowing him to hear everything within thousands of kilometers.

After a while, he opened his eyes and shook his head at Ye Feng.

“Not found?” Ye Feng asked.

“No signs of humans were found, but there are plenty of magical beasts, all quite powerful,” Bernard said helplessly, shaking his head. “What should we do now?”
“What about the Guardian at the Absolute Immortal level? Have you seen any?” Ye Feng continued to ask.
“No. Although I can’t determine the level of the magical beasts here, ones of this caliber usually possess a strong domain sense. Our earlier scans didn’t detect such a presence, so there should be no such powerful beings in this area.”
“If that’s the case, staying here doesn’t make much sense,” Ye Feng said, shaking his head. “Let’s head north. By searching along the way, we might find something.”
“Boss, do we need to avoid all the magical beasts along the way?” Bernard asked.
“If possible, try to avoid them,” Ye Feng nodded. “If we can’t avoid them, then fight. After all, this place is a severe test of survival skills. Some of those beasts are definitely targeting us on purpose, so it’s hard to avoid all predators.”
A day passed quickly. Under Bernard’s monitoring, Ye Feng successfully avoided all the predators.
“Let’s rest for a while!” After a day of exertion, Ye Feng knew Bernard’s mental energy was also severely depleted. He had kept his mental energy at full capacity throughout the day, observing every change around them. Though they gained little—no human traces or signs of the Guardian at the Absolute Immortal level—they still made progress.
By now, the sky was gradually darkening…
“Boss, we still haven’t found any useful information…” Bernard said, sounding somewhat frustrated.
“There’s no need to rush. This forest is vast beyond measure. It’s normal not to find them right away. We need to be patient,” Ye Feng reassured him.
“Let’s rest for one night first!” Ye Feng looked up at the sky, which was darkening rapidly. It seemed nights came too quickly here—the transition from day to night took less than three minutes. Just moments ago, the sky was clear, but in the blink of an eye, it turned completely dark.
“Boss, the sky is getting dark way too fast!” Xiao Bei couldn’t help but ask, sensing something unusual.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Ye Feng said, looking up at the sky. “If anything happens, Xiao Yu and I will handle it. All you need to do now is rest.”

“I want to fight too!” As soon as Bernard heard Ye Feng say that, he knew something might really happen. However, he had only been monitoring the ground and not the sky, so he wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Just stay put. The guy this time isn’t someone you can handle!” Xiao Yu said bluntly. “His cultivation level is roughly that of an Eighth Calamity Immortal. Boss, let me take care of it!”
“No, I’ll do it myself. You help watch over Xiao Bei,” Ye Feng said, his face filled with excitement. “I want to test some new insights I’ve gained recently!”
“Alright then…” Seeing that Ye Feng was determined to act on his own, Xiao Yu had no choice but to agree.
“I don’t know what this thing is, but this ability is indeed quite special!” Ye Feng moved his right fingers slightly, clenched them into a fist, and threw it toward the sky. “Break apart!!!”
The fist emitted a white light like a lightning bolt, rising high into the sky.
In no time, it seemed to collide with something, and loud rumbling noises came from the sky, shocking Bernard and Xiao Yu.
In just a moment, the black sky suddenly cracked like an eggshell, and intense light streamed through the cracks, allowing Bernard and Xiao Yu to finally understand what had happened.
As the cracks appeared, they quickly widened, and in just a few breaths, the entire black sky vanished. The red clouds in the sky looked exceptionally beautiful under the light.
“Come out! Your trick won’t work on us!” Ye Feng’s voice echoed everywhere, accompanied by a gentle breeze that made the leaves and grass sway.
Xiao Yu seemed to sense something and watched Ye Feng’s every move closely. Bernard, on the other hand, looked at Xiao Yu curiously. “What’s wrong?”
“It seems the boss has initially touched the Way of Heaven. His realm is completely different from before,” Xiao Yu said, noticing Ye Feng’s changes keenly.
“How can you tell?” Bernard asked naively.
“Can’t you see? With just a casual movement, he can trigger an energy resonance between heaven and earth. This resonance is weak now, but it will grow stronger as his understanding of the Way of Heaven deepens—it could be terrifying.” Xiao Yu explained.

“Are you referring to that gust of wind just now?” Bernard finally realized. “That wind was indeed strange; it must have been created by the boss.”
“It seems I greatly underestimated you. But that doesn’t stop me from using you as my dinner.” At that moment, a completely black magical beast slowly stepped out of the jungle…