Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 174 Without self-confidence, there is no way to break through the barrier.
This coming and going left Chen Ye somewhat puzzled.

He had assumed that the constantly changing runes at the entrance were the challenge, and that by choosing the right moment to enter, he could reach the interior of the maze and then find the exit.

Chen Ye has just found the pattern of change in one of the entrances.

"The hexagram Qian above and Gen below is the Dun hexagram. The hexagram's rise and fall... I didn't miscalculate. That moment just now was the entry point, so why did I exit through another entrance?"

Chen Ye frowned and looked at the dozen or so entrances again, trying to find the problem.

Yu Xing from the Mirage Sect walked over with a disdainful look and mocked, "What, can't solve it? Do you need me to remind you? Just admit defeat to me."

Chen Ye glanced at the man and couldn't help but ask, "How old are you this year?"

"What? You think that because I'm older than you, I can claim I've been cultivating for longer and that you're not convinced you lost?"

“You’re older than me, that’s great, then I’m not bullying the younger one.”

As soon as Chen Ye finished speaking, a huge, tapering bronze bell fell down, engulfing Yu Xing. A deafening clang resounded, sending a sharp pain through everyone's heads.

Yu Xing, trapped inside, immediately struck the bronze bell, producing a series of piercing sounds.

But what followed was the man screaming in pain.

The bronze bell is a form of torture in hell, and it wasn't just used to shield Chen Ye from the wind. Each toll of the bell cleanses the soul, and those with grave sins will suffer splitting headaches from the shock.

However, Yu Xing's sins did not seem too serious. Although he shouted out, the gong kept clanging, indicating that the punishment was not very effective on him.

But it didn't matter. Chen Ye snapped his fingers, and a series of clanging sounds rang out. Seven bronze bells, each gradually increasing in size, fell down, enveloping Yu Xing and preventing his screams from escaping.

It's finally quiet down.

Chen Ye then began to re-examine the entrance to the maze.

To outsiders, Chen Ye's actions seemed incredibly audacious. After all, those were disciples of the Mirage Sect. When did it become the turn of a rogue cultivator to teach the Five Great Sects a lesson?

Some cultivators who didn't recognize Chen Ye whispered among themselves, but they were quickly reminded by other cultivators from Hundred Seas Valley.

The man before them was no ordinary rogue cultivator; he was a rogue cultivator who had rendered meritorious service to the entire Hundred Seas Valley, the very one for whom Chen Ye had forced the five major sects to bow down and apologize to rogue cultivators. Don't let his low cultivation level fool you; he was undoubtedly a renowned figure in the cultivation world.

So this is the one. Many independent cultivators have heard of Chen Ye's name, but they didn't expect him to be so young.

However, why is it said that his cultivation level is not high?
Many discerning cultivators noticed something amiss. Chen Ye's bronze bells didn't seem to be magical artifacts; they were spells that could be created with a thought, and even the disciples of the Mirage Sect couldn't break them. Could this be some kind of supernatural power?

To be able to use supernatural powers is to reach the Profound Realm, but according to rumors, Chen Ye was just a minor cultivator in the Qi Sea Realm a little over a year ago.

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

It's impossible for someone to cultivate from the Qi Sea Realm to the Profound Realm in just one year. That's inhuman. Even the old demon couldn't have achieved that quickly by possessing another body and starting over.

Many people looked at Li Minglu, who had come with Chen Ye. He seemed to have "wide connections," and soon acquaintances came up to chat with him, wanting to inquire about things related to Chen Ye.

Surrounded by the crowd, Li Minglu's expression immediately changed, and he whispered to them, "Brother Chen and I became friends after a fight..."

Chen Ye was completely oblivious to the discussions around him; he was completely captivated by the maze before him.

He had clearly found the pattern to the rune changes and was certain that he hadn't miscalculated, but when he entered again, he was sent out from another entrance and couldn't get into the maze.

After several attempts yielded the same result, Chen Ye had to consider another possibility.

These entrances may all be deceiving themselves.

The real entrance may not be right in front of us.

Above the maze, several cultivators from the Yunlu Immortal Sect were carefully observing the crowd present, one of whom was Yang Shuo Zhenren, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. During the last major upheaval in Hundred Seas Valley, the Yunlu Immortal Sect hadn't sent many disciples to participate, but Yang Shuo Zhenren had still witnessed Chen Ye's abilities.

Even though the Yunlu Immortal Sect lost some face, it did not diminish his appreciation for Chen Ye.

Therefore, when Chen Ye covered Yu Xing with a bronze bell, the other disciples of the Yunlu Immortal Sect tried to stop him, but were stopped by True Person Yang Shuo.

He had long disliked Yu Xing, but he couldn't lay a hand on a junior for fear of being accused of bullying the younger. Now that Yu Xing had provoked him first, it was the perfect time for Chen Ye to punish him.

Seeing Chen Ye blocked by this maze, even Master Yangshuo couldn't help but want to offer a word of advice.

However, he immediately held back, wanting to see how much talent Chen Ye possessed in the art of formations. The first test was to examine a cultivator's ability to establish order from chaos, which is the foundation of formations.

The foundation of all cultivation lies in understanding and transforming the spiritual energy of heaven and earth according to one's own will.

Chen Ye did well. Not many people can break through the first level so quickly. Many people break through by accident, and 80% of challengers will exhaust all their spiritual energy in the "Colorful Clouds" and then have to admit defeat.

The second challenge tests the ability to find weaknesses in the formation while maintaining order.

When Chen Ye first entered the entrance, Master Yangshuo knew he wasn't just blindly stumbling around; he had genuinely discovered the pattern of the runes at the entrance. Looking at Chen Ye deep in thought, Master Yangshuo sighed, "It's a pity he's still a little short of understanding. Just a little bit more. If he can overcome this hurdle, he will truly be a rare genius."

Among the disciples of the Yunlu Immortal Sect standing nearby, one of them asked, "Master, it seems you really like this rogue cultivator. I think he's quite good too. Could you take him into our Yunlu Immortal Sect and make him my junior brother?"

The speaker was Yu Shenxing, a disciple of Master Yangshuo. He was rather thin and sat in a wheelchair, as if he had a disability in his legs.

Disability is very rare for monks.

Many elixirs have miraculous effects in healing injuries and curing diseases; even severed limbs can be regrown.

Not to mention that the disciples of the Yunlu Immortal Sect are not short of medicines for treating illnesses. If Yu Shenxing is not faking his disability, then his illness must be unusual.

Despite being disabled in both legs, Yu Shenxing showed no sign of being cautious. While others dared not speak, he dared to joke with Master Yangshuo.

Yu Shenxing found Chen Ye quite agreeable, but Chen Ye didn't get along with Yu Xing of the Mirage Sect.

Yu Xing acted ostentatiously. Although he did not commit any major evils, he was too arrogant. When he first heard the name Yu Shenxing, he said that the two names clashed and that he should have a contest with Yu Shenxing. The loser would have to change his name.

Yu Shenxing was too lazy to pay attention to him, but he ended up being pestered by him for many days.

If it weren't for the intervention of the elders from both factions, Yu Xing would have been entangled in this situation for who knows how long.

This is a self-righteous and unreasonable person; sometimes I really want to beat him up.

Chen Ye caused Yu Xing a great loss, which pleased Yu Shenxing, who genuinely hoped that Chen Ye would become his junior brother.

Master Yangshuo shook his head and said, "Haven't you heard? He's going to establish a sect in the Northern Frontier. He's accomplished so much at such a young age. It won't be easy to recruit him into the Yunlu Immortal Sect."

Yu Shenxing said doubtfully, "What's so difficult about that? It's just a minor sect. If you, Master, were to recruit them, I'm afraid they would agree without even thinking about it."

None of the disciples of Yunlu Immortal Sect felt anything was wrong. The five major sects were far superior to small sects. In such a remote place as the Northern Frontier, there was nothing to boast about in establishing a sect there. It was probably not even comparable to any random cave heaven of Yunlu Immortal Sect.

Master Yangshuo said, “You have never been out to experience the world of cultivation, and you have never seen what the cultivation world is like. You are so self-righteous. Sooner or later you will end up like Yu Xing.”

Yu Shenxing quickly said, "Master, you've gone too far with your scolding. If I were like that madman, I'd rather have both of my hands crippled."

Master Yangshuo seemed to realize he had gone a bit too far, and laughed, "Alright, I admit I was wrong. Let me test you. How long will it take Chen Ye to break through the second level? Whoever guesses correctly will receive a magic weapon."

The disciples of Yunlu Immortal Sect immediately lit up upon hearing this, for Master Yangshuo's magical treasures were all precious gems.

One by one, people eagerly made guesses. Some said it would take a day, some said several hours... No one thought Chen Ye would fail, but they all felt that it was impossible for Chen Ye to come up with a solution in such a short time.

Yu Shenxing carefully observed Chen Ye's expression as he solved the problem, and then said, "Master, I think he's about to solve it."

Master Yangshuo asked, "Oh, what makes you say that?"

Yu Shenxing said, "Because this person is determined, the surrounding disturbances cannot distract him in the slightest. Isn't this what the second test is about? Only those who are convinced that they are not wrong can pass this test in the fastest time."

As soon as Yu Shenxing finished speaking, Chen Ye made a move.

He seized the opportunity, entered the leftmost entrance, and was then quickly teleported to another entrance.

But this time, Chen Ye did not stop there. Instead, he turned around and recalculated the changes in the runes at the entrance.

In just a few breaths, Chen Ye strode in again, and was then teleported out from the third entrance.

Two consecutive failures did not discourage Chen Ye in the slightest. Instead, a smile appeared on his face, and he said smugly, "So that's how it is. This test is to see if I believe in my own calculations."

After Chen Ye finished speaking, he repeated his previous actions.

Each time he enters an entrance, he is sent out through another entrance, and then he turns around and comes back again.

Every calculation must be precise, to discern the patterns in the changes of the hexagram. Once you've calculated it correctly and stepped into it, you'll be one step closer to the true entrance.

Only by exploring all the entrances can one truly enter the maze.

This is the key to the second challenge, testing whether you believe in your calculations.

Each entrance presents a challenge. Getting it right once doesn't mean you can get it right a dozen times in a row. Many cultivators begin to doubt themselves after being teleported a few times and want to find another way.

But Chen Ye firmly believed that he had not made a mistake, so he continued to calculate again and again.

Finally, after being teleported eighteen times in a row, Chen Ye entered the room again and disappeared from everyone's sight.

I finally passed the second hurdle.

(End of this chapter)