The cultivators following behind Qin Tang all shivered in fear when they noticed the scene in the distance.
"What a bunch of idiots. They were clearly told they were dealing with a paranormal phenomenon, yet still tried to escape. They truly didn't know how to write the character for 'death'."
"I recognized one of them - a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Sun Kairong. His cultivation techniques were quite impressive. Who would have thought he'd die so quietly?"
"Strange, why didn't their deaths trigger any celestial phenomena?"
"Is this your first time hearing about paranormal phenomena, fellow Daoist? Under their influence, they follow their own rules. Most conventional knowledge becomes invalid. That's why we must be even more careful."
"Thank you for the advice, fellow Daoist."
...
As they walked, they continued communicating through spiritual sense while wearing varied expressions.
Before long, Qin Tang led the group to a tall building.
At its center ran a straight corridor.
On either side of the corridor were small partitioned rooms.
Each room contained no other furnishings.
Only five wooden beds were simply placed inside.
"Alright! Everyone will rest here tonight! Gather at the plaza first thing tomorrow morning!" Qin Tang turned his head and said to the group.
Having said this, he swayed his head and walked out.
"Oh, and remember to sleep early!"
His voice faintly drifted back after his figure had already disappeared.
With that eerie presence gone, the cultivators present finally let out a sigh of relief.
Most chose rooms together with people they were relatively familiar with.
Naturally, Sikong Yi and Baili Chen stayed together in one room.
Li Fan didn't force himself to join them, instead selecting another room relatively close to theirs.
There were already two people in the room.
These two also knew each other and were currently communicating through spiritual sense about something.
Li Fan didn't greet them either.
He went straight to lying on a bed, circulated the Profound Yellow Heart-Refining Mantra, and cleared all distracting thoughts from his mind.
Before long, he fell into deep sleep.
The other two who had still been talking were first stunned when they saw this.
Then, as if realizing something, their faces suddenly turned deathly pale, seemingly struck by belated fear.
So they too quickly stopped communicating and forced themselves to sleep.
But not everyone could keenly perceive what was about to happen.
Many were still enthusiastically discussing today's events with their companions, as well as their longing for the possible treasures in this newly emerged Cloudwater Celestial Palace ruins.
Their expressions were excited, making it hard for them to sleep.
Time passed bit by bit.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Suddenly, all the lights in the tall building abruptly went out.
In the complete darkness, Qin Tang's voice drifted eerily through the air.
"Ah, this batch of newcomers really doesn't listen well."
"I told you all to sleep early."
"Why are there still so many people not resting yet?"
"If this delays tomorrow morning's trials, that won't do."
"Since you can't sleep, let me help you."
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
Horrifying sounds rang out continuously.
No one knew how many cultivators died without even getting to scream.
Only then did everyone present understand that Qin Tang's earlier words of "remember to sleep early" weren't a joke.
But it was already too late.
One cultivator's aura after another disappeared from perception.
Some wanted to shout loudly to wake those already asleep.
But their voices were abruptly cut off as soon as they made a sound.
Slaughter and death spread through the darkness.
In this terrifying atmosphere, some cultivators who still hadn't fallen asleep finally couldn't take it anymore.
Their auras surged as they prepared to go all out in a life-or-death struggle against Qin Tang in white.
Qin Tang coldly snorted, seeming to be provoked.
Blue light flashed, then immediately went out.
Thus, these would-be resisters died without making even the slightest ripple.
After killing these people, Qin Tang's mood seemed to improve slightly.
"Ah, this job is so tiring. If the Sect Master, uncle-master, and senior brothers and sisters hadn't all disappeared, there'd be no need for me to handle this."
"Boring, so boring. Might as well go drink!"
Qin Tang's words were incoherent, and his actions followed his whims.
As his voice faded away, the surviving cultivators in the building all exhaled in relief.
But no one could guarantee when Qin Tang might return.
Thus, they all tried desperately to fall asleep.
But...
Those who often suffer from insomnia will deeply understand this about sleep.
Without psychological burdens, one can fall asleep easily.
But conversely, if one keeps thinking about it and forces themselves to sleep...
Nine times out of ten, they'll jerk awake just as they're about to fall asleep.
Moreover, many of these cultivators had long replaced sleep with closed-door cultivation.
They had essentially lost the ability to sleep.
Thus, even knowing that not sleeping meant death, many cultivators still couldn't fall asleep.
Seeing that the deadly Qin Tang might return at any moment, these people had no choice.
Secretly cursing themselves for not learning any sleep-inducing spells beforehand, they could only choose to knock themselves unconscious, hoping to pass off coma as sleep.
Unfortunately, in Qin Tang's eyes, sleep and coma were clearly two different concepts.
Thus, when Qin Tang returned in the latter half of the night...
Another storm of blood and death ensued.
When Li Fan woke up the next morning...
What he saw was the building filled with corpses.
As Li Fan had expected, Jiao Xiuyuan hadn't survived this trial.
His head and body lay separated, quietly lying there.
Li Fan naturally felt no pity for him.
Without delay, Li Fan headed straight for yesterday's plaza.
Having learned yesterday's lesson, the cultivators didn't wander elsewhere and obediently gathered at the plaza.
The crowd was sparse - fewer than two-thirds of yesterday's numbers remained alive.
With so many casualties before the trials had even officially begun, the survivors were quite pessimistic about what was to come, their expressions gloomy.
Li Fan knew this was only the beginning.
In the end, fewer than one in ten of these first batch of cultivators who entered the Cloudwater Celestial Palace would leave alive.
In the crowd, Li Fan also spotted Sikong Yi and Baili Chen.
His gaze swept past them without lingering.
He quietly waited for Qin Tang to arrive.
Before long, Qin Tang appeared before the crowd again.
He carried a wine gourd, taking big gulps as he walked.
"Good wine! Excellent wine!"
Only after loudly exclaiming his appreciation did Qin Tang turn his attention to the surviving cultivators on the plaza.
"Good, it seems everyone's here."
"Then let's officially begin the first trial."
He slightly narrowed his eyes, as if reminiscing.
"My master once said that in seeking the Dao and immortality, three things are most crucial."
"Talent, temperament, and fortune."
"My master believed that of these three, talent was most important."
"I disagree."
"I believe that among them, temperament is the most important."
"Therefore, the three trials I've arranged all relate to temperament."
As Qin Tang slowly spoke, he led everyone into a pavilion.
The pavilion had three floors.
The first floor where everyone stood contained over a hundred bookshelves.
Every bookshelf was filled with books.
When everyone looked closely...
"Illusory Cloud Flight", "Thunder Escape Technique", "Verdant Wood Revival Art"...
Every single book was clearly a cultivation technique.
Everyone's breathing immediately became rapid.