"They... they should be able to make it through." Wan Hongxin gritted his teeth, his heart filled with grief no less than Old Fang's.

Five years. His child had finally returned, only for him to watch them descend into danger, utterly helpless.

"It's all my fault. Why didn't I stop them before? I was so swayed by that halo, I even gravely wounded them myself. Big Wind Novel

They... how did they manage to stand up?"

Old Fang felt a pang of agony whenever he thought of the palms he had unleashed. If he hadn't acted, perhaps...

Perhaps they could have weathered this ordeal.

Who could be sure that the injuries he, Old Fang, had caused wouldn't be the reason they ultimately failed to persevere?

Outside, those who cared about Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu watched anxiously. Qi Man Yao, Sui Xiao Hang, and the others cheered them on loudly, praying for their safe return.

Yet, the majority watched with schadenfreude.

"Why did this happen? Was it that halo's doing?"

"It must be that grand gate. Whoever opened it has to face the danger."

"This is simply the gate to hell. Back then, I felt the formation in the darkness was definitely strange, but Wan Lei, in his recklessness, insisted on opening it. Who can be blamed for this predicament?"

"Exactly. This Wan Lei is just young and impetuous. He brought this upon himself by insisting on opening the gate and snatching that halo. Now he's trapped inside, surrounded by monsters, and he's even dragged Fang Xiaoyu down with him. What a jinx."

"Let him die. Fang Xiaoyu is so beautiful and still unmarried..."

The crowd gloated and gossiped, as if they hadn't been the ones egging Wan Lei on to break the formation, or hadn't gone madly scrambling for the protagonist's halo themselves.

Although Old Fang was present to suppress them, they dared not speak too loudly. But the law punishes the masses too severely. They muttered in low voices. Could the Fang clan leader possibly kill everyone present out of anger?

The exploration of the Wood Immortal Secret Realm had concluded, but no one left. All were gathered at the edge of the darkness, watching the two figures within the formation ten miles away.

The two figures, clad in armor with wings spread, battled the vast swarm of monsters that covered the sky.

It was like a gladiatorial arena, with the audience outside jeering and laughing, engaging in witty banter, while those inside fought for their lives.

"Wife, these initial power realm monsters are endless. Do you think the immortal's trial is just to let these monsters wear us down to death?"

Wan Lei flung the Hammer of Thor outwards. The hammer spun in a circle, smashing all the approaching faceless figures into pieces.

"I don't think it's that simple. There should be stronger monsters later, otherwise, what's the point?"

Fang Xiaoyu wielded a laser gun, continuously firing outwards, like a futuristic sci-fi girl.

Just then, the dense assault of faceless figures abruptly ceased. The last wave of faceless figures was easily eliminated by them.

"That's it? This immortal is really something. If they wanted us to obtain the final token, they could at least give us some hints or rules.

Just tell me clearly how many monsters we need to kill, or how far we need to go, and what dangers lie ahead. That would be fine.

Instead, they give us a secret realm and tell us to wander around. Whatever we get, it's all up to luck.

And now this dark world suddenly appears, and they still have the nerve to call it a 'world of light.' Where's their face?"

Young Master Lei complained, warily observing the surrounding darkness.

"The dark areas around us seem to be encroaching on our light."

Wan Lei keenly noticed that the area illuminated by their divine light technique was continuously shrinking.

Even though they were constantly supplying energy, and the divine light technique hadn't weakened, the illuminated area was still being swallowed by the darkness.

"Yes, that's true. I suppose it won't be long before we too are consumed by the darkness."

Fang Xiaoyu looked into the distance.

"The people outside are also becoming indistinct. I suppose once our light completely vanishes, they won't be able to see us anymore."

"What kind of blasted world of light? This place is all darkness."

Wan Lei's mood was slightly irritable. This feeling was truly unbearable.

It was always like this. They fought for their lives inside, while those outside watched the spectacle without lifting a finger.

"Doggy, why aren't you saying anything? You know this immortal too. Help us figure out what kind of trial she would leave behind."

Xiaoyu hugged Doggy and gently stroked its yellow fur.

"Her? I don't know what heritage she would leave behind, but I do know what her supreme dao technique is, and how it came to be."

"Then tell us."

Wan Lei gave Doggy a rap on the head.

"Roar!!!"

A roar echoed from the darkness once more.

Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu immediately became vigilant, raising their weapons and pointing them outwards.

Soon, within the area illuminated by light, serpentine demonic beasts began to appear.

These beasts were slightly larger than the small centipedes they had seen, but smaller than the large ones, and their power didn't seem particularly strong.

Fang Xiaoyu carefully controlled her strength and fired a shot, turning one centipede into fragments.

After several attempts, Fang Xiaoyu finally failed to shatter a centipede with a single shot.

"They are Foundation Establishment realm demonic beasts."

"The previous wave was initial power realm, and now it's Foundation Establishment. Will the next one be Core Formation?"

Wan Lei's brows furrowed.

"Husband, have you ever considered that the immortal's trial isn't actually these monsters?"

"But rather, these monsters are used to set a time limit. If we fail to pass the trial, the monsters will grow stronger and stronger until they tear us apart."

"You mean the monsters are just punishment, not the trial itself.

Then... what is the trial?"

Wan Lei asked as he continued to blast the centipedes outside.

These centipedes were too weak. Wan Lei could easily blast large swathes of them, without any pressure.

No matter how many there were, they were all destined to die.

Back then, when he first transmigrated to the Thunder Wind Realm, encountering a Foundation Establishment cultivator was like facing an invincible foe, someone he couldn't resist.

But now, after a few years, Foundation Establishment cultivators were truly like ants in his eyes.

Young Master Lei had grown stronger, but he hadn't become arrogant.

His heart was still heavy. The monsters were endless, and they were getting stronger.

Even though they were only Foundation Establishment monsters now, what about later?

Core Formation monsters, Nascent Soul monsters, Spirit Yuan monsters, Mahayana monsters...

If this continued, even if they weren't killed by the monsters, they would run out of energy and die of exhaustion.

Thinking of this, Young Master Lei flicked his hand and sent a bolt of lightning towards Fang Xiaoyu.

"Ah! What are you doing? Are you taking your frustration out on me?"

Fang Xiaoyu stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Wan Lei. It looked like if he didn't give her an explanation, she was going to beat him up.