The ocean of the soul surged like tides, interacting silently with the spiritual energy of each meridian and vein.
He could clearly hear the rumbling sounds of his meridians being unblocked and the roaring of the churning ocean of his soul.
Others, however, lived in constant agony. Some managed to get up, while several others turned into white bones.
Duobao Daoren, Lingya Xian, and others watched with amazement, exclaiming, "How strange, he seems so at ease."
"Indeed, when I went down back then, I cried out in pain."
After a while, another large group of people emerged from the pool. Apart from Mo Qi, the pool was filled with white bones.
Mo Qi, meanwhile, was still fully engrossed in circulating the Great Heavenly Cycle.
He was oblivious to the passage of time, not caring about it at all. It seemed there was something more important than the test at hand: breakthrough.
Time continued to march forward.
Several hours passed unnoticed.
Mo Qi was still channeling his spiritual energy, circulating the Great Heavenly Cycle.
Initially, people were very curious, wanting to see how long he could endure. However, after waiting for several hours, many grew impatient.
Among them were those who emerged after a quarter of an hour, meaning they had passed the first test.
It was impossible to make everyone wait here indefinitely, wasn't it? At the very least, those who failed should be allowed to leave first.
Thus, Wu Bao Daoren immediately announced the list of those who had passed the first test, and the unsuccessful ones departed dejectedly.
By this time, a full day had passed!
The disciples of the Shangqing Sect were greatly astonished. They reckoned that even their Master, if present, could not be so nonchalant in the Refining Pool.
The Refining Pool seemed to show him only kindness, inflicting no harm whatsoever.
Another day passed. The onlookers at the Refining Pool felt that the person inside would climb out at any moment. Yet, as more hours slipped by, he still hadn't emerged.
Some fell into despair, even believing they would never see him climb out in their lifetime.
Duobao Daoren's shock was beyond measure. Even his Master could not have endured for so long!
Who exactly was this fellow?
Many began to complain, "Is it possible they expect everyone here to wait for him alone? If not, we'll leave and not participate in the next round; let him compete by himself."
Someone else proposed, "How about we proceed with the second test first, and he can take it alone? Is that acceptable?"
Wu Bao Daoren pondered for a moment and said, "That is also acceptable. Then you may proceed with the next round."
Duobao Daoren waved his hand, "No, all tests must ensure everyone is in the same environment and at the same time to be fair." He surveyed the crowd, "Those who wish to leave are welcome to do so. Biyou Palace will not be diminished by your absence, nor will it be enhanced by your presence. If you have the ability to protest, it would be better to continue staying in the Refining Pool, like that young man. Then others will wait for you, how imposing that would be!"
The crowd blushed with shame, daring not to utter another word of complaint, nor did anyone leave.
With the Master of the Shangqing Sect, Lingbao Tianzun, absent from Biyou Palace, Duobao Daoren held absolute authority over all matters.
Therefore, at this moment, if he said to wait, everyone could only wait.
However, many Shangqing Sect disciples who had come to watch the spectacle grew weary and began to depart.
Later, Gui Ling Sheng Mu also left, and Huo Ling Sheng Mu followed suit...
Duobao Daoren, as the temporary in-charge, naturally could not leave.
Yet, he began to regret his words and inwardly started to grumble. How long was this fellow going to linger? Did he have no sympathy? Did he not consider the feelings of others?
Several times he wanted to summon Mo Qi, but his curiosity got the better of him, wanting to see how much longer he could hold out, so he restrained himself.
Jin Ling Sheng Mu, valuing talent greatly, particularly wished to take Mo Qi as a disciple and also did not leave.
Thus, seven days passed, and Mo Qi still showed no signs of emerging.
The testers on the shore were waiting until they were foaming at the mouth, many on the verge of death.
The suffering they endured was not only the unbearable passage of time but also the psychological impact of Mo Qi. Every moment he persisted felt like a sharp knife twisting in their hearts.
If one person spars, no matter how poorly, there will always be applause.
But when many compete together, and others are so outstanding while you are so mediocre, can your inner self remain calm?
The self-esteem of several individuals was severely battered. Feeling inferior, they quietly slipped away.
This was a苦 for Wu Bao Daoren. Later, when he was calling out the names of those who passed the first test, several people did not respond, and he was unsure if they had already left, leaving him in indecision. This is a story for another time.
Mo Qi broke through to the late True Immortal stage within the Refining Pool, and then from the late True Immortal stage to the early Profound Immortal stage.
At this point, he felt he had encountered a bottleneck and knew he could not continue breaking through for the time being, so he forcibly stopped circulating his energy.
When he opened his eyes, he saw everyone on the shore staring at him with various expressions.
Mo Qi coughed dryly, "The quarter of an hour is up, isn't it?"
A large number of people collapsed around him!
This was deliberate harm!
"It's up, it's up, it's been up for a long time," said Duobao Daoren.
Mo Qi slowly climbed ashore, "Since it's up, I'll come out. I have no need to prolong the time to show off how powerful I am."
"Yes, you are the most humble and low-key," Duobao Daoren said with a wry smile.
The people around him rolled their eyes.
At this moment, Duobao Daoren felt that the young man before him was too extraordinary, and he likely couldn't manage him. Therefore, he would have to recommend him to his Master.
The second test was the Red Water Abyss test.
Spiritual leaves and poisonous leaves would fall from the sky above the Red Water Abyss.
The spiritual leaves and poisonous leaves looked almost identical.
During the test, everyone would enter the Red Water Abyss, and within the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, those who collected three spiritual leaves would pass the test.
The poisonous leaves would erode one's heart, causing hallucinations.
All participants in the test could only float in mid-air to collect the falling leaves, as the Red Water Abyss contained crimson liquid that resembled lava, or perhaps water.
If one accidentally fell in, they would be instantly corroded into dust.
Moreover, the liquid could take form, like a flood dragon, suddenly erupting, biting a person and dragging them into the terrifying liquid.
This round was even more perilous than the previous one.
Because, in addition to facing the dangers above and below in the Red Water Abyss, testers would compete with each other, leading to fights.
However, collecting three leaves within the time of one stick of incense made it seem like another goal that was not difficult to achieve.
Furthermore, Wu Bao Daoren offered a helpful reminder: "The petiole of the poisonous leaf has a small, inconspicuous dot. You can distinguish poisonous leaves from spiritual leaves by that dot."
This seemed to make it even easier!
People eagerly plunged into the Red Water Abyss.
A moment later, leaf-shaped objects fluttered down. One person was close and immediately chased after one. After a brief glance, it seemed the petiole had no dot, and he was extremely excited. He immediately reached out to grab it. Once in his hand, a foolish look appeared in his eyes, and he plunged headfirst into the liquid below, disappearing.
Everyone was utterly shocked!
What in the world was happening?
Wu Bao Daoren immediately said again, "That dot is very faint and not easy to see. You must look closely to see it."
So, when the next leaf fell, several people nearby gathered around, looking closely, very closely. As the leaf descended, they all fell into the liquid together and vanished.
The remaining people were stunned. It seemed that even knowing the difference between poisonous and spiritual leaves, it wasn't that easy to catch them.
At this rate, within the time of one stick of incense, let alone catching three, it would be difficult to catch even one!
Several people stood there blankly, unsure of what to do.
At this moment, a fire dragon suddenly erupted, opening its gaping maw and swallowing those few people. Then, with a flick of its tail, it dove back into the red liquid below and disappeared.
How could anyone pass this test? It seemed utterly impossible!
Several more people, their faces pale with fright, retreated.
However, about a dozen people persisted, including Mo Qi.
At this moment, another leaf fell, right between Mo Qi and two other people. All three chased after it simultaneously.
Mo Qi did not rush to act, but followed the falling leaf.
The other two also did not get a clear look and followed it down.
As they neared the abyss floor, all three saw almost simultaneously that there was a small dot on the petiole.
At this moment, a fire dragon suddenly erupted from the abyss, aiming its gaping maw at the three of them.
Mo Qi, having been prepared, suddenly used the Golden Light Shrinking Earth Technique, dodging with extreme speed.
The other two also attempted to dodge, but they were not as fast and were instantly swept into the abyss and disappeared, the abyss floor churning with huge waves.
At this time, another leaf fell. Mo Qi followed it again, and several people nearby chased after it simultaneously.
The leaf fluttered down, emitting a faint glow. It was indeed difficult to see the dot on it clearly.
Initially, everyone could only follow its descent, observing carefully.
At this moment, these few people were no exception, observing while descending.
This leaf had no red dot.
But by the time people realized it, it was already a bit late, costing the lives of two people.
The remaining few, along with Mo Qi, retreated in time.
Subsequently, Mo Qi followed several more times but still did not manage to catch any.
In this process, several more people perished.
By this time, time had quietly run out.
Mo Qi and the remaining three people had obtained nothing.
However, through their observations along the way, they had completely mastered the distinction between poisonous and spiritual leaves. If it was a poisonous leaf, they knew where the red dot would appear, its shape, and its size.
At this point, if another leaf fell, everyone could tell almost at a glance whether it was a poisonous leaf.
By this time, time was not ample, so if spiritual leaves fell, it would require a抢.
The remaining four people had actually not rushed to act before. Each time a leaf fell, they actively chased to observe it, until the last moment when the leaf fell into the abyss, they would immediately return to the surface.
During this process, they would carefully observe the movements below. If they sensed any anomaly, they would return beforehand.
Mo Qi was the first to adopt this strategy. Those three people, observing Mo Qi carefully, followed suit, thus surviving until now.