"Wangcai..."

Everything before him was a vast expanse of white. Chu Mu called out subconsciously and scanned his surroundings, but there was no sign of Wangcai.

He sensed the Divine Sense Imprint he had once left on Wangcai, and the worry that had just begun to bubble up inside him quickly subsided.

He had placed the Divine Soul Seal on Wangcai long before entering the Secret Realm, precisely to avoid potential situations like this.

And according to his senses from the Divine Soul Seal, Wangcai’s position hadn’t changed.

In other words, Wangcai was still at the bottom of Sword Washing Lake, blocked outside the white, glowing portal, and hadn’t followed him in.

Back at the bottom of Sword Washing Lake, although that strange hairtail fish had killed itself, the terrifying aura it left behind wouldn’t dissipate so easily.

Wangcai was much safer staying there than he was in this vast, unknown expanse of white.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, he surveyed his surroundings. Everything he could see was a sea of white, so thick he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.

Moreover, this white fog clearly placed immense restriction and pressure on his Divine Sense. His Divine Sense Perception...

Chu Mu’s expression shifted slightly. In this place, his Divine Sense Perception couldn’t even penetrate his own body by the slightest amount!

It was as if the surrounding white fog was restricting his Divine Sense, suppressing its power within his body and preventing even a trace from escaping!

He looked around again. Everything he saw seemed to perfectly overlap with his experience back at East Lake.

’This so-called "special" situation... It seems my judgment wasn’t wrong after all.’

According to the information left by Zhao Shuang, the scene after entering the Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion was nothing like this...

Chu Mu’s expression turned grim. In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, anything unknown meant unpredictable danger.

And this vast expanse of white was clearly the greatest unknown of all.

Chu Mu tentatively took a step forward...

"Ugh..."

He let out a muffled groan. Taking that step was like being hit with a sudden, devastating blow, and a trace of blood already stained the corner of his mouth.

Chu Mu immediately froze, not daring to move. He closed his eyes slightly, and his perception of his surroundings became exceedingly clear.

At that moment, he felt as if he were in a sealed space that was pressing in on him from all directions.

At first, it was just pressure on his Divine Sense, but when he took that step, even gravity had clearly changed.

His Divine Sense and his physical body were both under this immense pressure.

’No, wait, my Magical Power too!’

Sensing the difficult circulation of his Magical Power, Chu Mu instantly understood. The pressure was all-encompassing.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit...

His body, Magical Power, and Divine Sense—all were confined, all were under immense pressure!

Looking again at the vast white fog before him, he seemed to understand something...

After a moment, he tentatively took another step forward. Upon completing the step, the omnipresent pressure increased significantly again.

’A trial targeting all three: Essence, Qi, and Spirit?’

Chu Mu pressed his lips together, but much of the anxiety in his heart had vanished.

When it came to the three aspects of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, he could be said to have reached a peak within the Qi Cultivation Realm.

He didn’t dare claim to be the strongest, but if even he couldn’t pass, then there were probably very few people in this Secret Realm who could.

Chu Mu took a deep breath. Deep within his eyes, an illusory long saber seemed to flash and disappear. The sharpness originating from his Divine Soul Saber was now clearly visible.

His Spirit had the illusory long saber, his Qi was at the level of Qi Cultivation Perfection, and his Essence, through Body Refining, had also reached Perfection.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit...

All three advanced in unison.

This was Chu Mu’s true cultivation.

Another step forward, and the pressure increased again.

Having confirmed the nature of this white, foggy space as a trial, he began to walk forward, step by step, without any more hesitation.

His initial confusion slowly dissipated as he advanced, replaced by understanding.

This kind of pressure targeting Essence, Qi, and Spirit was definitely not something an ordinary Cultivator could withstand.

After all, even if an ordinary Cultivator reached Qi Cultivation Perfection, for the vast majority of them, that was all they had.

As for Body Refining, most Cultivators only dabbled in it secretly, lacking the resources to support its immense consumption.

Even those Clan and Sect Disciples who practiced Dharma and Body Cultivation were still just practicing Dharma and Body Cultivation.

The existence of the Spirit, and Secret Skills for Refining God, might exist, but... they were undoubtedly extremely rare.

But this trial before him targeted all three—Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Lacking even one would make it impossible to endure.

So, the "special" situation he found himself in probably stemmed from this.

It stemmed from his balanced advancement in Essence, Qi, and Spirit...

That was what allowed him to step into this mysterious trial ground.

Under the all-encompassing pressure converging on him from every direction, Chu Mu struggled to endure, moving forward one excruciatingly difficult step at a time.

Though it was difficult, he couldn’t hide the anticipation in his heart.

’Does a special trial mean... a special inheritance?’

After advancing about a hundred steps, Chu Mu paused briefly. Veins bulged on his forehead and his eyes were bloodshot. Under such pressure, all pretense and concealment had been stripped away, leaving only the grimace of a desperate struggle.

After resting for a moment, Chu Mu pressed on. His once-swift strides, which seemed like Shrinking Inches, had now been reduced to an indescribably unsteady stagger.

With his Divine Sense suppressed within his body, unable to be released at all, it undoubtedly meant that Magical Artifacts, Magical Power, Talismans, and all other external means were rendered completely useless.

Even his Qi Cultivation had practically no effect in this white, foggy space.

All that remained was a primitive struggle of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

A primitive struggle that precluded any and all other methods.

After another hundred meters or so, he was nearing his absolute limit. His body swayed on the verge of collapse. His once-erect posture was now stooped like that of an old man in his twilight years.

With every step he took, he left behind a grisly, bloody footprint.

The terrifying pressure acting directly on his Essence, Qi, and Spirit was far greater than the sum of its parts.

His skin had split open, drenching him in blood. His bones creaked and groaned as if they could snap at any moment. The function of his internal organs was suppressed to the extreme, and his heartbeat had already stopped for some time.

The Meridians inside his body were long since damaged, and his Magical Power, which was nearly as tangible as flowing water, had come to an almost complete standstill under the pressure!

As for his Divine Soul, its Divine Appearance was his Immortal Path...

But now, he couldn’t perceive the existence of his Spirit at all.

The existence of his Spirit seemed to have been compressed back into itself!

That illusory long saber had shrunk several times over. If not for a faint, lingering sharpness, its existence would be almost undetectable.

"Haaah..."

Chu Mu gasped for air. From his damaged windpipe came a harsh sound like a pulling bellows.

However, even sound itself seemed to be suppressed, transmitted through his own body rather than traveling through the air.

Looking ahead into the boundless fog, Chu Mu felt a sense of bewilderment.

All the signals from his Essence, Qi, and Spirit pointed to one extremely clear fact.

He was about to reach his true limit!

Pushing on was no longer a matter of willpower. It would cause direct damage to the very source of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit...

...