I am cautiously cultivating immortals in a strange world

Chapter 2304 Wooden House
Chen Lin also sensed the presence of the Star Lord and Snow Lotus.

There are more than just these two people.

In the distant void, several other auras were approaching, but due to the obstruction of the new Star Spirit, their speed could not be increased, and they did not immediately arrive.

Hearing Luo Qinglan's urging, Chen Lin removed the Dharma character from the jade pendant and placed it together with the Mysterious character.

A strange scene appeared.

Although the two characters have different shapes, they complement each other perfectly.

Followed by.

The new character twisted and swayed, seemingly trying to continue its transformation, but ultimately failed; it simply merged normally without undergoing a qualitative change.

Chen Lin did not feel any regret.

Because both the talisman he condensed and the talisman condensed by this seven-star flower were incomplete, with the last stroke not yet formed, they naturally could not advance.

Moreover, after the characters merged, he clearly felt that the power had become stronger and he had already benefited greatly.

I didn’t think much more about it.

With a thought, Chen Lin manipulated the new character to fly onto the wooden door.

He originally intended for the character to land in the center, but after it landed on the door, it moved automatically and landed on the doorknob, where it formed a character pattern.

It feels like a lock.

The keyhole is located precisely where the missing stroke of the character is.

This change caused Chen Lin and the other two to frown simultaneously.

It is clear.

The characters formed by the seven-star flower are the key to opening the door, but because they are not fully formed, the wooden door cannot be opened.

"Oh no, the wooden door is going to disappear!"

The swordswoman exclaimed in surprise.

Chen Lin and Luo Qinglan also saw that after the characters condensed into a 'door lock' pattern, the wooden door seemed to sense the defect and began to fade slowly.

"Try the Rainbow Sword."

Luo Qinglan spoke urgently to the swordswoman.

The swordswoman didn't counter with a wave of energy; instead, she shot the rainbow sword directly at the 'keyhole'.

But the wooden door trembled slightly, sending the sword flying.

The three men's expressions grew even more grim.

If the Rainbow Sword didn't work, then they had no other options and could only watch helplessly as the wooden door grew fainter and fainter, while the auras of the Star Lord and the others in the distance drew ever closer.

"Husband, please release her."

Seeing that the wooden door was already blurry, Luo Qinglan reluctantly spoke to Chen Lin.

Chen Lin knew who they were talking about.

He hesitated.

Without even communicating, they opened the Jade Pendant in the Cave Heaven, dug up Saintess He Qing by the roots, and took her out.

Just as he was about to hand it over to Luo Qinglan.

The seed flashed and transformed into the appearance of a woman, staring blankly at the wooden door.

"Saint!"

When the swordswoman saw Saintess Heqing, she was overjoyed and rushed forward, but Saintess Heqing raised her hand to stop her.

He said in a deep voice, "I never thought that all my calculations would come to nothing. It seems I have no connection with the world behind this wooden door, but..."

She turned around and looked behind her.

"If you can see a person clearly because of this, then your efforts have not been in vain."

After saying that, he beckoned to the swordswoman.

She scrutinized Luo Qinglan again and said, "You are my companion spirit. I know you have always been dissatisfied with being my spirit beast, but we are sisters after all. I hope you can help me one last time to get rid of that woman, Jin Xuedie!"

Luo Qinglan's expression changed slightly.

Still nodded.

Saintess Heqing smiled.

Her gaze shifted to Chen Lin, but before she could speak, Chen Lin flicked his finger, and a thin gray-white line shot out, hitting the 'keyhole' precisely.

Then the wooden door trembled.

With a soft creak, a crack slowly opened!
"what!"

The three women exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Saintess Heqing was the first to react. She flashed to the wooden door and tried to squeeze through the crack.

The swordswoman followed closely behind.

Luo Qinglan did not move, but watched Chen Lin's reaction.

"Humph!"

Just then, a cold snort rang out.

A colossal, seemingly real yet illusory monument appeared, its terrifying pressure suppressing all four people present, their movements as if in slow motion.

Followed by.

Two figures shot over, ignoring Chen Lin and the others, and rushed straight towards the wooden door.

Several more shadows flew over from behind, including the golden dragon that had been besieged by the Star Spirits. They all stared at the crack in the wooden door, their expressions filled with excitement.

however.

Neither Saintess Heqing and Sword Maiden, nor Star Lord and Snow Butterfly, managed to escape through the gap.

It bounces back after hitting it.

Then a beam of light appeared from the crevice, pulling Chen Lin up and into it.

The teeth-grinding crunching sound rang out again.

The wooden door slowly closed and disappeared completely.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, then glared at each other angrily, creating a tense atmosphere.

Chen Lin instinctively felt a lightness in his body.

The next moment they were in a small courtyard.

Beside him was a somewhat dilapidated wooden house, surrounded by a crooked wooden fence. In front of him was an old man wearing a straw hat and straw clothes, hoeing the ground.

This situation is somewhat strange.

Chen Lin hesitated for a moment, then stood still without moving.

He was worried that, like the Nightmare Realm, there were strange quests here, and that moving around would trigger the rules.

Time passed little by little.

The old man hoeed one patch after another, never raising his head to look at Chen Lin, as if he hadn't noticed his arrival.

Chen Lin suppressed his anxiety and waited quietly.

About an hour passed.

The old man finished hoeing the entire courtyard, walked back to the wooden house, hung the hoe on the eaves, patted the dirt off his body, and then focused his gaze on Chen Lin.

"I'm old and useless."

He shook his head.

He took off his straw clothes and placed them on the shelf next to him.

He looked Chen Lin up and down.

"Your cultivation level is average. To get here, you must have relied on external resources rather than your own strength. How did you obtain those treasures from outside?"

"Is this what you mean, senior?"

Chen Lin stretched out his palm, revealing a slightly dim crystal needle.

"Yes, this is it. This thing shouldn't exist in this world, let alone fall into your hands. And the fact that you can use it is really illogical."

Why is it unreasonable?

Chen Lin did not answer immediately, but instead asked a question in return.

"hehe."

The old man smiled.

“If it’s unreasonable, it’s unreasonable. But if you don’t want to say, that’s fine. I was just asking casually. Since you’ve come here, you must be destined to be here. You can choose an item in this courtyard, and then I’ll see you out.”

Chen Lin glanced at it upon hearing this.

There were many spiritual plants planted in the courtyard, but he couldn't name any of them, nor did he know their uses, so he couldn't make a choice.

Moreover, he risked entering the star gate not for any treasure.

The main goal is to find a way out of the Seven Star Realm.

After a moment's thought.

He cupped his hands in greeting and tentatively asked, "Senior, could you tell me where this place is? May I leave through this courtyard?"

"Where is this place..." The old man glanced at the dimly lit space outside the courtyard.

His tone was dry and harsh.

"Let's call it a dimensional gap for now, but it's impossible to get out; you can only go back to where you came from."

"Then why are you here, senior?"

Seeing that the other party was willing to answer, Chen Lin continued to ask questions.

The old man gave a dry laugh.

"I don't want to stay here either, but I have nowhere else to go. I failed the Heavenly Trial, so I can only hide in a place like this and eke out a living, taking it one day at a time."

Chen Lin's heart skipped a beat.

He immediately asked, "The Heavenly Trial you mentioned, senior, could it be the Heavenly Ranking of the Heavenly Realm?"

"Ah."

The old man nodded.

"Everyone says that there are great benefits to getting on that list. If you can complete the Trial of Ascension, you can leap over the Dragon Gate and escape from this place that is neither real nor illusory."

"But no one mentioned the dangers involved."

"Each trial has a hundred slots, and only one person succeeds. The rest, even if they don't die, have to hide and eke out a living like me."

"What if we don't participate in the trial?"

"Not participating?"

"hehe."

"Once you're on the list, you have no other choice. And even if you're not on the list, the endless calamities make life worse than death. It's better to be on the Heavenly List and live a peaceful life."

Chen Lin understood.

One of the benefits of being on the list is that you will no longer suffer calamities.

This is indeed a real benefit, especially for those high-level rulers who have no hope of surviving the Heavenly Tribulation and have to hide. With such a benefit, they can openly and legitimately reveal themselves.

"How often does the Heavenly Trial take place, and can you participate again, senior?"

The old man found a wooden stool and sat down.

He said slowly, "The opening time is not fixed. It will start as soon as the number of places on the list is full. It has been more than 100,000 years since the last opening, so it should be soon."

As for whether I can participate again.

"Of course not."

“We are all losers. We should have turned into the power of the rules to nourish the Heavenly Stele. We only survived by using some cheating methods. How could we possibly have another chance?”

Speaking of it.

The old man pointed to the water vat next to him.

Do you see this tank?

"The water inside has the power to nourish all things. You can take a bucket with you and drink it all. It's possible that you and the true character being nurtured will become one, completing your incomplete character... Huh?"

As he spoke, the old man's expression shifted.

then.

Chen Lin then felt his natal rune being drawn out of his body by a powerful force.

Then the legal characters are automatically separated.

“Your characters… are interesting. I understand why you can use treasures from outside now, so that’s how it works.”

"how is it like?"

Chen Lin disregarded the characters and hurriedly asked.

The old man did not answer.

He stood up, slowly walked into the wooden house, and came out with a spoon in his hand.

It's not very big.

It doesn't look particularly special, except that the shape is a bit strange.

"This is a seven-star spoon."

The old man walked up to Chen Lin and handed him the spoon.

He explained, "The seven stars you see are the manifestation of the aura leaked from this object. It's also a treasure from the outside world. Try refining it and see if you can use it."

Chen Lin was stunned.

The seven mysterious stars of the Seven Star Realm are merely manifestations of the aura leaked from this thing. What level must this thing be?

and.

The other party actually asked him to refine such a treasure?

Unable to discern the intentions, Chen Lin hesitated, unsure whether to accept or not.

"Don't worry."

The old man placed the spoon in Chen Lin's hand.

He sat back down on the wooden stool and said, "I don't need this anymore. I just saw that your cultivation level was low, and even if you mastered that needle, you would only be ranked at the bottom on the Ascension Ranking. I didn't want to waste the treasure."

"However, since your soul is so special and you have mastered the Soul Master's inheritance, it is worth investing in."

After saying that, he gestured for Chen Lin to proceed.

"Give it a try. If you can successfully refine it, I'll give it to you. It might even help you get into the top ten in the rankings, giving you some special privileges during the trials."

Chen Lin looked at the spoon, then at the old man.

They became even more hesitant.

After a moment of silence, he said, "This junior's strength is too weak, and I am not ready to participate in the trial. Senior, please take this back. I will just choose a bucket of water."

"You think too much."

The old man was not displeased.

He continued calmly, "You've already mastered that needle, and with the Soul Master's inheritance, your name is probably already on the Ascension Ranking. Whether you take this treasure or not, you can't escape the trial, unless there are too many powerful people this time and they push you off the Ascension Ranking, but that's unlikely."

Chen Lin's heart sank.

He didn't know if the other party was exaggerating, but he felt that the other party had no reason to lie to him.

The old man glanced at the spoon.

"I only have one of these treasures. It was with this that I made it onto the Heavenly Ranking. If I hadn't had no other choice, I wouldn't have given it to you."

"But it's not free either."

"If you succeed in the trial and truly leave this cultivation world, you'll need to find a way to come back and save me."

There was a pause.

The old man continued, "I'm not like the travelers on the ferry of life who ask about worldly affairs, with any rules or contracts. Just remember this, and whether you're willing to come or not depends on your character."

"Has the master of the ferry of life also participated in trials?"

Chen Lin was stunned.

But I also think this answer is very reasonable.

Only those who can survive such trials can create something as mysterious as the Ferry of Life.

If we analyze it this way...

The owner of the Dream Horse and the owner of the Riddle Mask are most likely of this type.

"Yes."

The old man sighed.

"He was incredibly strong; he almost won first place, but he still lost to the Shadow Scholar."

"I wonder if the Shadow Scholar went to that higher dimension."

"I heard that he hasn't appeared since the trial ended. He's very mysterious, and maybe he really did manage to leave this world."

Chen Lin's expression kept changing.

The other party's words solved most of the mystery for him, but new questions arose.

Is this world truly a book?

He asked the final question.

"Who knows."

The old man spoke calmly.

"Whether it's a book or not is not important. Reality is illusion, and illusion is reality. It all depends on how you define it in your heart."

"Even if we get out of here, who knows if the outside world isn't some other illusion?"

"We cultivators only need to keep exploring the mysteries and enjoy the process of exploration. Once we reach the final point, it becomes meaningless."

Speaking of it.

The old man stood up and shook his sleeves.

He walked to the water vat, filled a bucket with water, and looked at Chen Lin, saying, "Do you want to make a deal with me? If not, take this bucket of water and leave."