Chapter 30 - 26: Five Springs Mountain, Cyan Profound Wood

Chapter 30: Chapter 26: Five Springs Mountain, Cyan Profound Wood

"BONG... BONG... BONG..."

As the sun completely set below the horizon, three solemn bell tolls rang out from within Five Springs Mountain.

When the echoes of the bells faded, the golden light barrier enveloping the outside of Five Springs Mountain slowly vanished. It was replaced by a dense, pitch-black fog that shrouded the mountain ranges, so thick one couldn’t even see their own fingers.

At the same time, the smartwatches of all the candidates in the mock exam began to vibrate. A brand-new exam notification appeared on their screens.

[Phase Two of the Mock Exam has begun.]

[Exam Details: Survive as long as possible and earn points. The exam will conclude in three days, and rankings will be based on the total points accumulated.]

[Note 1: Upon entering Five Springs Mountain, locations will be randomized via teleportation.]

[Note 2: The location data of the top ten students will be broadcasted every half hour.]

Reading the message on his watch, Lu Chen pocketed his phone and turned to Mu Xiaoye. "Yezi, it’s time for us to go."

Mu Xiaoye nodded, then patted the head of the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard beside her and said, "You can go back now, White. Remember, absolutely no more shouting next time.

"After all, not everyone is as kind-hearted and averse to killing as I am."

Hearing this, the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard gave Mu Xiaoye a complicated look before dashing off into the forest without looking back, soon disappearing from sight.

Mu Xiaoye waved at its retreating figure, then turned to Lu Chen. "Alright, Lu, let’s go."

The two of them walked one after the other into the fog-enshrouded Five Springs Mountain.

The moment he stepped into the mist, Lu Chen once again experienced the sensation of being teleported into a Secret Realm for the first time.

"So Five Springs Mountain... is actually a multiple Secret Realm?" he wondered.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Chen finally walked out of the dense fog. Mu Xiaoye, who had originally been beside him, was nowhere to be seen.

Lu Chen wasn’t surprised by this. He looked up at what lay ahead. What entered his line of sight was a familiar yet unfamiliar cyan-gray forest.

Familiar, because Lu Chen felt as if he had seen this scene somewhere before.

Unfamiliar, because Lu Chen was absolutely certain this was his first time at Five Springs Mountain.

Unlike the vibrant, primeval forest-like outskirts of Five Springs Mountain, the forest before him was deathly still, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression. The trees were cyan-gray, resembling steel...

Lu Chen’s pupils constricted, and he hurriedly pulled out his phone. He controlled his game character to walk to the Cyan Profound Forest in the Outer Sect of the Cyan Cloud Sect and zoomed in on the screen.

A moment later, Lu Chen looked up at the cyan-gray trees of Five Springs Mountain in disbelief. Entirely Cyan Profound, the trees were like refined iron.

There was no mistake. What appeared before his eyes... were indeed the Cyan Profound Trees from the game!

"The world from the game has actually appeared in reality..."

At this moment, Lu Chen felt his mind spinning. Many thoughts he had never considered before suddenly popped up one after another.

A long time ago, Lu Chen had two hypotheses about the world in the game.

The first was that the game’s world and the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance were actually the same world, just existing in different eras. The era of the Cyan Cloud Sect was much older than that of the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance.

However, Lu Chen had scoured all the accessible information within the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance, yet he still couldn’t find a single trace concerning the Cyan Cloud Sect. This either meant that the era in the game was so ancient that even the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance had no record of it, or it simply didn’t exist in the world of the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance at all.

His second hypothesis was that the game’s world, much like the many Secret Realms that suddenly appeared across the Nine Provinces Land, was an independent world outside the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance.

This was the hypothesis Lu Chen originally believed to be the most likely. But now, the sudden appearance of the Cyan Profound Trees made him lean a bit more toward his first hypothesis.

But could a person... truly cross between two different dimensions of space and time?

Lu Chen pondered for a long time before finally shaking his head, feeling that his first idea was still too absurd.

"In the end, I just have too little information. I can’t use this as proof," he thought.

"Besides, I can’t be sure that this batch of Cyan Profound Trees in front of me is definitely the same batch planted in the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Outer Sect.

"Nor can I treat this as evidence that the Cyan Profound Sect once existed in this world.

"Unless I can find traces of the Cyan Cloud Sect outside a Secret Realm, or discover information about it in the Immortal Alliance’s history.

"Otherwise, regarding chaotic products of interwoven time and space like Secret Realms, it makes sense whether they represent Ancient Times or an alternate dimension.

"Forget it, I don’t need to care about so much right now.

"Whether the game’s world is from Ancient Times or an alternate dimension doesn’t matter much to me right now.

"I’m better off just taking care of myself. As for the rest... I can slowly explore it later when I’m capable."

Thinking of this, Lu Chen’s chaotic thoughts finally settled down. He then looked at the Cyan Profound Trees before him, his eyes gradually lighting up.

After all, he hadn’t forgotten the Cyan Profound Puppets he encountered in the Ancient Cultivator’s Tomb, much less the ’Qingxuan Puppet Technique’ he had obtained from them.

Originally, because crafting a Cyan Profound Puppet required Cyan Profound Wood as a material, and Lu Chen hadn’t found any information or procurement channels for Cyan Profound Trees within the Immortal Alliance, he hadn’t paid much mind to this Puppetry Skill.

After all, given his current attainments and talent in puppetry, he wasn’t yet at the level where he could improvise and craft the puppet without Cyan Profound Wood.

But now, with real Cyan Profound Trees in front of him, things were different. With them, his Qingxuan Puppet Technique finally had a use.

At this thought, Lu Chen immediately took out his Magic Sword from his Storage Pouch and walked toward the nearest Cyan Profound Tree.

As for the mock exam and earning points, Lu Chen had long forgotten all about them.

After all, how could an exam... be more important than chopping down trees!

...

Outside the Secret Realm, watching Lu Chen prepare to chop a tree, Chen Fugui asked in confusion, "What is Lu Tongxue planning to do? Chop down a tree?

"Playing on his phone during the first phase, and now wasting Spiritual Power to chop trees in the second phase. What’s with this kid? He’s doing nothing but things completely unrelated to the exam. Isn’t he worried that doing poorly will affect his Academic Credits?"

Hearing this, Li Youquan couldn’t help but say, "Let’s put Academic Credits aside for a moment. The hardness of these millennium-old Cyan Profound Trees is comparable to a Body Cultivator at the Peak of Qi Cultivation Stage.

"Even if Lu Tongxue wants to chop one, he might not even be able to fell a single tree in three days, right?

"Besides, even if he really wants Cyan Profound Wood, why doesn’t he just exchange for it in the academy’s Treasure Pavilion?"

Chen Fugui looked at Li Youquan like he was looking at an idiot, speaking dryly, "We only recently gained control over the Double Secret Realm of Five Springs Mountain. These Cyan Profound Trees are the very first batch discovered within the Immortal Alliance. The Treasure Pavilion doesn’t even have these things yet. Where do you expect him to exchange for them?"

"Uh..."

Li Youquan’s mouth twitched, knowing he had just said something stupid. But with this, he understood Lu Chen’s thoughts even less.

Even they hadn’t fully researched the specific uses of the Cyan Profound Trees. Why was Lu Chen, a mere student, so obsessed with them, to the point where he completely disregarded the exam just to chop trees?

Could it be... he knew how to use these Cyan Profound Trees?

Strange. This student’s actions were just too strange.