The silver-haired man shook his head forcefully, then closed his eyes again.
Zilin Ling and Ye Lingyuan felt a blur before their eyes, and they were already standing on the nineteenth step.
The cold, robotic voice from before reappeared.
"Welcome to Hell Mode, Stage Three. The rules for this stage: Defeat yourself within one day! Please note, your opponent possesses the same strength as you, including spiritual power and divine sense! Survivors will be rewarded with two Purification Pills; failures will have to remain in the Purgatory Pool for eighteen days."
Defeat oneself?
How was that possible?
As expected of Hell Mode!
Who knew what kind of twisted mind designed these levels to be so utterly perverse.
Zilin Ling looked at Ye Lingyuan and noticed his brows were also slightly raised.
No matter what!
When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten itself!
"Three breaths from now, the challenge will begin!"
Not long after the voice faded, Zilin Ling was sent into a room.
The room was empty, save for a mirror.
Before Zilin Ling could even react, a person walked out of the mirror.
This person was identical to her in appearance, clothing, and even aura.
Zilin Ling frowned, her expression darkening.
It was unlikely anyone would look pleased upon seeing an exact replica of themselves.
The moment the fake Zilin Ling appeared, Zilin Ling felt her spiritual power and divine sense restored.
A flicker of joy crossed her mind as she quickly sent the box containing the breakthrough pills and the small cauldron into her Nine Spirits Ring.
Then, she took out a brand-new surgical scalpel from the Nine Spirits Ring.
While these surgical scalpels were sharp, they were merely mortal weapons. After killing a thousand demonic beasts, the previous scalpel had become blunted and unusable.
It seemed she would need to find a blacksmith to forge a set of treasured surgical scalpels upon her return.
As Zilin Ling's thoughts raced, the surgical scalpel was already in her grip.
She stared coldly at the fake Zilin Ling, her mind stirring, and a whip formed from wood spiritual energy lashed out fiercely towards the imposter.
The fake Zilin Ling smirked mockingly, and an identical whip of wood spiritual energy entwined with Zilin Ling's.
Under the impact of their spiritual energies, both whips shattered simultaneously, dissolving into spiritual energy elements and returning to the air.
The fake Zilin Ling's expression was one of disdain. "I told you our strengths are equal, so there's no need for probing. Show me your true skills."
Zilin Ling's expression turned icy. A soul needle shot towards the fake Zilin Ling.
Simultaneously, she employed the Dragon Dance Steps, using the Dragon Dance movement technique to close the distance. The surgical scalpel, infused with the Autumn Wind Falling Leaf Blade technique, instantly struck towards the fake Zilin Ling.
For a time, the room was filled with the clash of divine senses, phantom figures, and swirling spiritual energy.
Meanwhile, Ye Lingyuan, in a separate room, encountered the same predicament.
At this moment, Ye Lingyuan's eyes were cold, and his movements exuded a suffocating chill.
...
In the Divine Maiden's Palace, Xue Ying, who had been cultivating under the Bodhi Tree with her eyes closed, suddenly trembled. The aura of Body Tempering ninth level permeated from her.
Huang Yi, standing beside her, his eyes lit up. "Sister Yiran, this Xue Ying's talent is truly remarkable. In just over half a month, she's gone from an ordinary person to Body Tempering ninth level. No wonder she can follow Master!"
Yiran nodded. "Yes, Master herself is a person of great fortune. Those who are by her side are also affected by her luck and exhibit exceptional talent."
Huang Yi asked with a hint of confusion, "Sister Yiran, what is 'luck'?"
Ever since she was severely injured in that great battle and separated into her primordial spirit and main body by Feng Liqi to be nurtured separately, she had lost many memories.
To be precise, apart from the matters deeply ingrained in her bones related to Feng Liqi, she remembered nothing else.
Yiran looked at Huang Yi with affection. "Luck is something inexplicable. Take Master, for example. Things others cannot achieve, she can. Things others cannot obtain will fall into her lap. Situations that would be fatal for others become opportunities for survival for her..."
She paused, then continued, "And so on. You can think of her as someone favored by the Heavenly Dao, and those by her side also receive a portion of that favor."
"Favored by the Heavenly Dao?"
"Yes. Like Xue Ying, she should have been a person of outstanding talent, but her luck was insufficient, so she was overshadowed. Now, having met Master, her own luck has changed under the influence of Master's fortune."
Huang Yi nodded, as if understanding but not quite. He murmured, "I haven't seen Master for a few days. I wonder how she is doing!"
Yiran looked up ahead, a wry smile on her face. She thought to herself, "I wonder where Master is these past few days that she's broken off all divine sense contact with me."
Suddenly, her heart jolted, and a look of joy crossed her face.
She sensed that the connection between the Divine Maiden's Palace and Zilin Ling had been restored.
"Huang Yi, Master is so intelligent, and that King of the Underworld is accompanying her, she should be fine. You stay here and watch Xue Ying, I'm going out to take a look!"
With that, Yiran disappeared from the Divine Maiden's Palace without waiting for Huang Yi's reply.
"Sister Yiran! What happened?"
Huang Yi's anxious voice echoed in the Divine Maiden's Palace, but there was no response for a long time.
Huang Yi pouted, "Sister Yiran is always like this, leaving in a hurry without saying anything!"
At this moment, Yiran had already established divine sense contact with Zilin Ling. "Master, what's going on? Why haven't I been able to contact you for several days?" Su Dan Novel Network
Simultaneously, Elder Du's voice also sounded in Zilin Ling's mind, "Little girl, what is happening? Why did the Nine Spirits Ring's connection with you suddenly break?"
Zilin Ling appeared somewhat disheveled. Her clothes were slightly messy, and a faint trace of blood hung on the corner of her mouth.
This was because she had sustained a minor injury during her battle with the fake Zilin Ling.
This fake Zilin Ling seemed to be her clone.
Whatever move she made, the fake Zilin Ling would retaliate with the exact same move, with identical force and power.
It looked as if Zilin Ling was fighting herself.
She had never encountered such a situation before, hence the slight disadvantage.
However, she had also discovered one thing.
That was, the fake Zilin Ling could only replicate her moves when she initiated them. In other words, if she didn't attack, the fake Zilin Ling wouldn't attack either.