After the disciples from the noble clans had gone up the Bloody Mountain, it was the turn of the
thousand ordinary disciples. They formed a line and entered the mountain one after another.
A dozen paths snaked their way into and around the southern region of the Bloody Mountain. Since the
paths made it easier to navigate through the mountain, the disciples randomly selected a road and
made their way toward their destination.
Zen walked at the back of the line in silent contemplation. He was a little nervous and full of doubt. He
was not afraid of Billy and the Wang Clan, but he could not understand why Billy worked so hard to
help Perrin.
Yes, Perrin had the resource support of the Luo Clan. Compared with the noble clans in the Imperial
Capital, the Luo Clan was only a small clan in C County. Perrin had nothing to offer Billy in exchange
for his help.
'What the devil are they up to?' Zen couldn't understand Billy's motives.
While he was walking, Zen was distracted from his thoughts by a colorful band of light on the mountain
road ahead. The band of light fluttered erratically, like the entrance to a fairyland.
"This is the outermost magic array. We will enter the real Blooded Test after we go through this ribbon
of light," said one ordinary disciple. After saying this, he walked forward. As he neared, the light ribbon
enveloped his body. Within a blink of an eye, he had disappeared.
Zen stepped into the band of light without hesitation. After doing so, he found that the surrounding
scenery had changed!
"This is the magic array!"
When he had first arrived at the Bloody Mountain, Zen had been bewildered by the unique color of the
mountain. The entire scene was monotonous as even the plants were the same red color. But when he
walked into the magic array, Zen found that the scene inside was different.
The world suddenly became rich and colorful, including the tall trees on the mountain and the dense
growth of small trees and shrubs. He knew that the landscape was a facade that had been created by
activating a large phantom array with red magic sand.
However, when he reached for the trees and the shrubs, Zen found that their touch and taste were
lifelike.
After he had taken several steps forward, Zen heard the howling of a beast followed by the sound of
fierce fighting. Apparently, someone had encountered an unreal beast not far away.
He held his breath and crept toward the woods. When Zen neared the scene, he saw three men
working together to kill a first-degree phantom wolf.
The wolf was not difficult to deal with. Its force and attacks were equivalent to the bone refining level.
Since the three men had already stepped into the organ refining level, they didn't have any trouble
defeating the phantom wolf.
When the beast's body fell to the ground, it changed into colorful spots of light that floated up, and
slowly disappeared in the air.
A green crystal fragment was left on the ground.
"Haha, this green crystal fragment is mine!" One of the three men rushed to grab the fragment.
"What makes you think that you can take it? I helped kill the beast, too." Another man was determined
not to share the fragment.
"In that case, let's one on one. If you win, this fragment will be yours!"
A moment ago, the three men had worked together to kill the monster. Now, they were disputing over
who got to claim the green crystal fragment.
Seeing this, Zen shook his head and continued on his way to the depths of the Bloody Mountain. After
a while, Zen felt a little disheartened as he had not encountered a first-degree phantom beast.
The phantom beasts living in the first layer of this Bloody Mountain were the weakest of the monsters.
Most disciples could cope with them easily, and so they weren't in a rush to get to the second layer and
encounter new risks. As a result, the number of disciples hunting the beasts exceeded the number of
targets. As soon as a phantom monster appeared, someone would rush to kill it.
The level was so crowded that disciples began fighting each other for green crystal fragments.
A hundred green crystal fragments were needed to pass the test. The time allowed to complete the test
was not enough to accumulate that amount. Zen concluded that it was better to challenge beasts of the
second layer than to compete with others here. With a new goal to work toward, Zen headed further
into the depths of the Bloody Mountain.
It wasn't long before he entered the second layer of the Bloody Mountain.
Compared to the first layer, there were fewer people in the second layer. The strength of unreal beasts
in this layer was equivalent to the organ refining level, which was more suitable for a stronger person to
challenge.
While walking around, Zen saw a lush forest. Then, he heard a shrill cry from above.
He glanced up and saw a monkey hanging from a big tree. The monkey's eyes glowed red, as he
stared at Zen.
He had seen pictures of such monkeys in books. As a native of the oasis in the Western region, this
species of monkey was called the mane monkey. Zen had not expected that this kind of demon beast
could be created in the magic array. Cloud Sect was undoubtedly endowed with abundant talent and
resources including a learned and brilliant magic array master!
The mane monkey screamed at Zen. Suddenly, the beast sucked in its stomach. Then it took a deep
breath, and the stomach blew up like a balloon. In the next instant, its hard mane burst sending steel-
like needles hurtling toward Zen.
Zen was quick to react. He sprinted forward, and at the same time, he threw his fist at the tree. With the
help of this force, Zen was able to jump two feet in the air. As he did, Zen reached for the mane
monkey.
The mane monkey was extremely dexterous. It swung around the tree, avoided Zen nimbly, and
jumped on to another tree.
Seeing that the mane monkey was about to escape, Zen decided to chase it. It would be shameful and
embarrassing if he couldn't deal with a second-degree unreal beast.
He kept following the mane monkey as it jumped from tree to tree. The mane monkey was not good at
attacking. Its primary defense was its hard steel mane. But Zen's body was as hard as a mysterious
weapon, and so he could completely ignore the mane monkey's attack.
The mane monkey was so agile that it led Zen around the woods. It was very hard for Zen to catch it.
More than once Zen had almost caught the monkey, but the monkey rolled and slipped away again.
After a long period of pursuit, Zen decided to try a new tactic. He looked around and studied the trees
nearby. Having identified an opportunity, Zen rushed forward, spread out his arms, and hit a tree in
front of him with all his might!
"Fall down!"
The big, thick tree split in two before collapsing to the ground.
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