You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?-Chapter 252 : 41. Hidden Reward

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Light cascaded from the Myriad Mountains and Rivers painting, instantly enveloping Lin Yue and the colossal turtle-crocodile, which had fully transformed from stone sculpture to reality.

In a daze, Lin Yue found himself in a somewhat dim stone cave.

If not for the faint light emanating from the surrounding rocks, he would have been plunged into utter darkness.

"Fire, come."

With a thought, Lin Yue wielded the Fire Element, and immediately dazzling flames enveloped him, illuminating the dim stone cave in an instant.

He had already reached the depths of the stone cave; behind him was the rock wall at the end of the cave, while ahead lay a long, winding tunnel of indeterminate length.

With his keen hearing, he could clearly make out the heavy breathing and the sounds of movement of the turtle-crocodile, a hundred feet away in the cavern.

"A mature turtle-crocodile..."

With a grasp of his hand, Lin Yue produced a First Grade magic treasure longsword he had prepared in advance.

Then, he initiated the Mind Forbidden Technique.

As a Blood Sea churned in his eyes, his Essence Blood was also consumed by one-tenth.

Blood-red airstreams swirled incessantly.

"It is done."

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Lin Yue's figure transformed into a gentle breeze, effortlessly weaving through the winding cavern, and in almost the span of a breath, he was facing the towering body of the turtle-crocodile, over ten feet high—

At first glance, it resembled a massive turtle, but the heavy black shell was exceedingly hard, even the head was covered with rough and thick hide.

The shell's defense was so strong that even a Great Cultivator would find it challenging to break through.

"Roar!"

Upon spotting Lin Yue, the turtle-crocodile instantly lunged its head out, much like a Spiritual Snake striking, snapping towards Lin Yue's head with astonishing speed, akin to a Martial Arts expert's explosive punch!

The shadowy maw bristling with jagged teeth seemed ready to bite Lin Yue in half with a single snap!

The narrow cavern allowed just enough room for the massive turtle-crocodile to pass through, giving Lin Yue no space to evade.

Yet Lin Yue's expression remained unchanged, his figure immaterial as he left an afterimage to be devoured by the turtle-crocodile's gaping maw, while his real self swept around the side of its head with a masterful curve, like a swift wind.

Then, he struck with his sword.

A brilliant flash of the blade severed the turtle-crocodile's neck as it stretched from its shell.

The head fell, blood spurted forth.

With another swift movement, Lin Yue retreated several feet away, quietly watching the turtle-crocodile die in its death throes.

In place of someone else, caught by such a sudden attack from the turtle-crocodile, they might panic, attempting to parry or retreat to a safe distance.

But in the Eternal Night of the Black Jade Coffin Illusion Realm, in the Myriad Beasts Valley, he had fought countless Mutant Beasts.

The turtle-crocodile was among them.

Unless one's power was overwhelming enough to forcibly break the turtle-crocodile's shell, the best way to deal with it was to strike off its head as it extended during an attack.

Alternatively, one could thrust forward directly, driving through its maw to attack and damage its internal organs.

This was experience.

...

"You have passed the first layer of the Heavenly Ascension Test, here are thirty-six decree tokens."

"Also, since you achieved five consecutive victories without a single defeat, each philosophical debate garnered the highest praise, and you have passed the highest difficulty of the Heavenly Ascension Test with that same highest evaluation, you are awarded an additional two hundred decree tokens."

Amidst the astonished and envious gazes of the cultivators, the faceless stone statue handed Lin Yue a total of two hundred and thirty-six decree tokens.

With no defeats, passing the highest difficulty of the Heavenly Ascension Test rewarded at least one hundred extra tokens, with the maximum reaching two hundred based on the evaluations.

— This was no secret.

Yet knowing something and achieving it were two different matters, with few able to do the latter.

Having no defeats was not exceedingly hard, but the highest difficulty of the Heavenly Ascension Test was exceptionally challenging.

Deliberately choosing mutant beasts that counter one's abilities, purposefully selecting trial environments benefiting the beast and putting oneself at a disadvantage... combining these conditions rendered the difficulty fully equal to a second layer five consecutive victories!

Not to mention the highest evaluation.

Lin Yue was confident he could achieve this only by using the Mind Forbidden Technique.

Otherwise, even those top cultivators from the second layer, if they started fresh to challenge the first layer's highest difficulty Heavenly Ascension Test, it would still be double the difficulty, without much hope of success.

"To think there are two hundred decree tokens, turns out it's true."

Lin Yue cracked a slight smile and waved his hand, collecting all two hundred and thirty-six decree tokens.

Including the forty tokens from before, he now possessed two hundred and seventy-six decree tokens!

With so many tokens, it was enough to try twice with the Low Grade Treasure Secret Box.

However, he was not particularly interested in the Treasure Secret Box, his goal was to accumulate one hundred and eighty thousand decree tokens to have Tianxia Building assist in the deduction of cultivation techniques.

Tianxia Building could deduce cultivation techniques embodying the Heaven and Earth Law from Great Cultivators, tailoring them to fit one's own cultivation best. Presumably, it could also deduce Martial Arts True Skill, saving him considerable time.

But could he really gather one hundred and eighty thousand decree tokens?

Rumors had it that Tianxia Building harbored numerous hidden rewards, akin to Easter eggs. Perhaps completing these might provide the hope to amass enough.

"Go, the second layer of Tianxia Building awaits you."

As the voice of the faceless stone statue echoed, a spiral staircase appeared in the center of the first layer, leading upward amidst swirling mist.

Without hesitation, Lin Yue ascended this spiraling staircase towards the second floor of Tianxia Building.

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