Who is it!" The echo reverberated through the empty tunnel, like a stone dropped into a dry well. Indeed, no one answered.
Bai Ran gritted her teeth, summoning the Feng Yin sword and gripping it tightly. Everything around was so dark that the originally narrow path was now completely lost.
Another gust of wind. Bai Ran turned her head to dodge, her heart pounding like a drum.
"Bang—!" The sound of a sword chopping down and burying itself in the ground. Someone was wielding a sword!
Bai Ran closed her eyes, spreading her spiritual energy. But as soon as it was released, a sharp pain shot through her mind, forcing her to withdraw it.
Cannot use spiritual energy... She opened her eyes. It was still pitch black all around, so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.
Was she going to fight an unknown person in the darkness?
"Bang—!" Another sound of sword clashing. But Bai Ran noticed that the person's movements were getting faster.
In the previous encounters, she could rely on her body's instincts to dodge. But just now, the sword blade had grazed her clothes, almost cutting her skin.
Her brow furrowed. While dodging the onslaught, she pondered a solution.
"Hiss—" Her long skirt was torn. Startled, Bai Ran immediately leaped backward. But before she could react, the blade fell again.
"Clang—" Bai Ran, holding the Feng Yin sword, blocked it.
The opponent's strength was immense, her sword-holding hand trembling under the pressure. "Damn it!"
A red glint flashed in her eyes. In a daze, Bai Ran seemed to see a giant suit of armor standing before her, but in the next moment, it dissolved back into darkness. Kuai Shu Ge.
Could it be! Bai Ran instantly realized, and gathered spiritual energy to her eyes.
Her ink-black eyes turned blood-red. She could finally see clearly!
Standing before her was an unoccupied suit of armor. The cold iron was covered in rust, appearing to be controlled.
The surrounding darkness was invisible to the naked eye, but with her red pupils, she could see everything.
At this point, Bai Ran completely understood. This was a trial specifically set for a Ghost King.
Although Zhong Zi and Dong Ling had entered the mausoleum, they had not entered the true mausoleum, because only those with red pupils could enter the real one.
...
The scene shifted. On the stone walls surrounding the tunnel where Zhong Zi was, large red characters suddenly appeared!
Dong Ling walked over, frowning, and read the words: "I. Those without red pupils are forbidden from entering the mausoleum...?"
"But aren't we also inside the mausoleum?" Zhong Zi pondered with his head bowed. The next moment, he seemed to understand something, his eyes widening.
"Could it be that the place we are in now is not the real mausoleum!"
Dong Ling looked at the red characters, his expression complex. "That's right. Only when the King entered the true mausoleum did this rule appear."
It seemed that the text would only appear when the King completed the trial's conditions...
...
"As expected of the clan elder, truly formidable."
Bai Ran smiled, then gripped the Feng Yin sword and charged towards the armor before her.
"Clang—" The armor was undamaged, but a tingling sensation shot up Bai Ran's sword-wielding arm. This guy... how could he be so hard?
Ever since she could see clearly, her speed had increased significantly. Bai Ran stared at the armor, meticulously analyzing its structure.
The armor did not die. Even if knocked down, it could stand up again, like... a living dead person...
Bai Ran's gaze deepened, her mind racing. A living dead person?
Could it be... She leaped back, ceasing her attacks on the armor, and continuously scanned the surrounding stone walls.
"Found it..." Bai Ran smiled.
Behind the armor, on the stone wall, was an extremely well-hidden small hole. Countless threads extended from the opening, connecting to the armor's limbs and various parts of its body.
Gripping her sword, she sliced past the armor's descending blade and appeared behind it.
"Swish—" Without hesitation, Bai Ran severed those threads.
"Rumble—" The armor's body trembled violently. In the next moment, it disintegrated, turning into a pile of scrap metal.
It was indeed being controlled. No wonder she couldn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations...
Bai Ran sheathed her sword, but her vigilance did not diminish in the slightest.
At this moment, the Vermilion Bird divine fire seemed usable again. She reignited the flames and walked deeper into the mausoleum.
For the next incense stick's worth of time, she groped her way forward for a long distance. She didn't encounter any armor, but she did come across a bronze mirror...
A dead end? Bai Ran surveyed the tunnel. The path ended here, with only a giant bronze mirror placed in front of it.
She stood before the mirror and examined it carefully. The next moment, she frowned, because the bronze mirror did not reflect her image!
However, the Vermilion Bird divine fire was reflected in the mirror. Only a bright flame burned in mid-air, its appearance strange and terrifying.
Could this mirror be some kind of teleportation array or mechanism?
Thinking of this, Bai Ran tensed and slowly reached out towards the bronze mirror. The moment her fingers touched it, a powerful suction suddenly arose.
The bronze mirror seemed to become a giant vortex, pulling Bai Ran's hand into it.
There was no path around, only the bronze mirror before her. Bai Ran pursed her lips. It seemed entering the mirror was the only option.
So, she stopped resisting and allowed the bronze mirror to absorb her.
Her consciousness flickered. When she opened her eyes again, Bai Ran was in another place.
A tranquil lake, where the water and sky merged into a line that stretched to the horizon. Bai Ran stood on the surface of the lake, ripples spreading around her.
This place... was very similar to the scene when she met the Azure Dragon...
The next moment, Bai Ran's breath hitched. She unconsciously clenched her fist, because her reflection on the lake showed the appearance of someone else.
"Exactly the same..." This was the scene when she met the Azure Dragon.
And what was reflected on the lake was none other than the reincarnation of her brother, Bai Li Xiao, who had betrayed her in her previous life.
"After the martial strength trial, does it begin with a test of my heart?"
Bai Ran sighed, drew the Feng Yin sword, and directly slashed at the reflection on the lake, her movements clean and decisive.
"However, I have long since overcome this hurdle."
The man's reflection vanished. When Bai Ran opened her eyes again, she was back in the tunnel. The bronze mirror had disappeared, and there was a path ahead.
Bai Ran walked straight ahead, not dwelling on this minor interruption.
Meanwhile, back with Zhong Zi, another line of red characters appeared on the stone wall...
"II. The weak are forbidden from leaving the mausoleum." Zhong Zi curved his lips: "It seems the clan elder acknowledges the King's strength."
Dong Ling leaned against the wall and slowly sat down: "Only the third trial remains."
Zhong Zi nodded, but still felt a sense of worry. After all, among the many Ghost Kings, none had passed all the trials...