Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

As soon as Ma Liang arrived at the gate of Huangfeng Valley, he saw more than a dozen disciples gathered in the sky.

Curious, he flew closer to investigate and discovered that a person was kneeling beneath the stone steps of the mountain gate.

"That's really rare!"

Ma Liang's heart stirred, and he probed out with his divine sense. Upon probing, he was even more surprised to find that this person had no spiritual energy fluctuations at all, and was a genuine mortal.

The surrounding disciples erupted in commotion, with one exclaiming in shock, "How did this mortal manage to bypass the sect's illusion array and get to the mountain gate?"

Another person chimed in, "Yes, yes, could it be that the illusion array protecting the valley has malfunctioned?"

Just as everyone was discussing, the figure below the stone steps suddenly shouted, "I am Chen Aniu, a mortal! After five years of arduous journey, surviving countless near-death experiences, I have finally encountered the gates of immortality! I humbly beg the immortal masters of the valley to have mercy and accept me as their disciple!"

After saying that, he bent down and kowtowed three times towards the mountain gate, his forehead hitting the bluestone and turning red instantly.

After kowtowing, he straightened his back and made no further unnecessary movements.

A few breaths after the shout, a beam of light burst forth from inside the mountain gate. The newcomer was none other than Uncle Liu from the sect's Enforcement Hall, whose cultivation at the late Foundation Establishment stage was calm and restrained.

He scanned Chen Aniu with his divine sense and was first taken aback, "A mere mortal? How did he manage to break through the protective illusion array?"

Uncle Liu scanned Chen Aniu's entire body with his divine sense again, but he did not detect any trace of the magical light of the treasure. A guess immediately arose in his mind.

With a flash of light beneath his feet, he landed in front of Chen Aniu.

Seeing that someone had finally stepped forward, Chen Aniu hurriedly bowed and kowtowed, saying, "Chen Aniu greets the Immortal Master! I humbly beg the Immortal Master to have mercy and accept me as a disciple!"

Uncle Liu didn't answer, but instead questioned, "You're just a mortal, how did you get here? Did you encounter any strange or unusual phenomena along the way?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Aniu replied, "I dare not conceal it from you, Immortal Master! I did indeed encounter some strange things while traveling."

"As I climbed over a hill, I felt dizzy and disoriented, as if something had confused me. I kept wanting to turn back. But the thought vanished in an instant."

"I continued onward, walking for several more miles, when suddenly a sheer cliff appeared before me, its bottom unseen. Just as I was thinking of taking a detour, the cliff vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye!"

"I encountered several strange and fantastical events like this along the way, but they all returned to normal after a few breaths. I don't know why, but I just ended up at the mountain gate in a daze."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Liu took out a spirit-testing ball from his storage bag at his waist.

Using spiritual power, he lifted the spirit-testing ball and placed it in front of Chen Aniu.

"Hold onto this ball."

Chen Aniu dared not delay and quickly held the spirit-testing ball in both hands.

In just a few breaths, three spiritual lights—gold, fire, and water—lit up inside the jade ball.

Uncle Liu frowned almost imperceptibly.

"With three spiritual roots, his aptitude is mediocre, barely enough to qualify him as a disciple of a sect. But with such talent, there is absolutely no way he can pass through the illusion array on his own."

"Could this child truly possess some undetected special physical constitution?"

"Come with me."

Chen Aniu was first stunned, then overjoyed, repeatedly kowtowing: "Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you for taking me in!"

Uncle Liu didn't respond, but with a flick of his sleeve, a wisp of spiritual energy lifted him up and flew into the valley.

The disciples who had been watching at the mountain gate dispersed when the excitement died down.

Ma Liang also left. He did not return to his residence, but went straight to the Hundred Machines Hall. He had only one purpose for this trip: to sign up for the trial in the Crimson Forbidden Land.

Ma Liang arrived by air. As soon as his flying artifact landed in the square in front of the Hundred Machines Hall, he heard two disciples of Huangfeng Valley whispering to each other.

"Have you heard? Martial Uncle Ye died in his seclusion!"

"Really?!"

"It's absolutely true. The people from the Enforcement Hall went to investigate long ago and said that he suffered a qi deviation while practicing his internal energy, which forcibly severed his meridians, and he died a terrible death."

"Tsk tsk, I never expected a Foundation Establishment cultivator to make such a mistake!"

Ma Liang listened to the news without any emotional fluctuation.

Ever since he revealed to Xiang Zhili that he needed the "Great Evolution Manual", he had already foreseen this kind of change.

He deliberately played a trick during the initial transaction. Of course, it would be best if he could get the cultivation technique, but even if he couldn't, the 20,000 spirit stones were his real goal.

As the thought crossed his mind, he subconsciously stroked the storage bag, knowing that Xiang Zhili's divine sense must be on him.

From now on, we must not be careless in any way in Yellow Maple Valley.

A thought flashed through Ma Liang's mind. He suddenly turned around, bowed deeply in the direction of Xiang Zhili's residence, and whispered in a voice only he could hear, "Senior, how have you decided on your end?"

Just as Ma Liang had predicted, Xiang Zhili was indeed using his divine sense to spy on them from afar.

Noticing Ma Liang's gesture of bowing from afar, he stroked his teacup and chuckled softly, "This lad..."

The laughter faded in the quiet room, but his consciousness did not withdraw; it remained fixed on Ma Liang, eager to see what the junior would do next.

Our gaze returns to Hyakujido.

Ma Liang stepped into the main hall and asked a disciple on duty for a brief inquiry. He then learned that Uncle Wang, who was in charge of registration for the Crimson Forbidden Area, was not in the hall.

Following the disciple's directions, he walked through the corridor and finally arrived at the door of an elegant room deep inside the Hundred Machines Hall, where he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

The next instant, the door to the elegant room opened by itself without any wind.

Ma Liang stepped inside and saw Uncle Wang sitting cross-legged on the central prayer mat, cultivating.

He quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Disciple Ma Liang greets Uncle Wang."

Uncle Wang slightly raised his eyelids and merely hummed in acknowledgment, "You've come here for the trials of the Crimson Forbidden Land?"

"Yes, Master Uncle. This disciple wishes to participate in this forbidden area trial," Ma Liang replied, bowing his head.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Wang flipped his wrist and summoned a scroll from his storage bag.

The scroll unfurled in mid-air, already covered with names written in vermilion ink—all those who had registered.

Write your name on it.

Ma Liang took the vermilion pen floating beside the scroll and wrote his name in the blank space.

As I was writing, I glanced ahead and saw the name "Han Li" standing out prominently, separated by several names.

A subtle feeling stirred within him, but he didn't linger. He quickly finished writing and handed the pen back.

"Reporting to my master, I have finished writing."

With a flick of his wrist, Uncle Wang put the scroll and brush into his storage bag.

"There are only seventeen days left until the start of the trial. Meet at the martial arts training ground. Don't be late."

"Yes, disciple will remember."

Uncle Wang waved his hand, "Go down."

"This disciple takes his leave."

Ma Liang left the elegant room and was about to close the wooden door when he heard footsteps behind him.

He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, and his heart skipped a beat. He then quickly suppressed all unusual expressions.

The person who came was the "man" he had met by chance at the Hall of Hundred Beasts, or more accurately, the female cultivator disguised as a man.

The other party deliberately concealed their identity, and considering the impending war between good and evil, this person's identity must be extraordinary; they are most likely a spy who infiltrated Huangfeng Valley!

The thought flashed through his mind like lightning, but Ma Liang maintained a respectful demeanor, turning to the side and bowing: "Disciple Ma Liang greets Martial Uncle."

The cultivator was taken aback when he saw him, then a cryptic smile appeared on his lips: "What a coincidence, to run into you here again."

Ma Liang did not respond, but simply bowed again.

He knew the principle of "the less you say, the less mistakes you make," and that speaking too much to this suspicious cultivator would only cause more trouble.

Seeing that he was so taciturn and uninteresting, the cultivator casually waved his hand.

Ma Liang then stepped aside and passed by the other party.

The monk pushed open the door to the elegant room and went inside.

Ma Liang pondered as he walked out along the corridor.

"According to the storyline, there are no other forces causing trouble in the Crimson Forbidden Land and Yellow Maple Valley. As far as I can remember, there are only a few troublemakers around Spirit Beast Mountain."

"Never mind, I'll take care of myself first." He shook his head, suppressing his distracting thoughts, and continued walking towards his residence.

Ma Liang returned to his residence smoothly without encountering a single fool along the way.

"I really don't know if Han Li is just unlucky or has a naturally troublesome constitution, but wherever he goes, enemies come knocking on his door. On the other hand, the original owner stayed in Huangfeng Valley for several years, and in his memory, no one ever deliberately caused him any trouble."

"This is much quieter." Ma Liang pushed open the wooden gate to the courtyard and was about to step out when a voice called out from behind, "Ma Liang!"

He sighed inwardly; he had just finished saying there were no trivial matters, and trouble had already come knocking.

But he quickly put on a peaceful smile and turned to look.

"Oh, it's Qin Yue. Weren't you in seclusion? What brings you here to see me now?"

Qin Yue ran over in a few steps and raised his hand to pat Ma Liang on the shoulder.

Ma Liang's heart tightened. Remembering the consequences of being touched, he hurriedly dodged to the side, but he was a beat too slow. With a "smack," Qin Yue's hand slapped his shoulder.

The moment he touched it, a scene suddenly shot into Ma Liang's mind—an eye-watering scene automatically recorded by the divine pen.

He tried to block out the images, but the images in his mind were completely out of his control, making his head ache.

"Holy crap!" Ma Liang slapped his head. "Get out of here! Get out of my head right now!"

Qin Yue was startled by his sudden reaction, withdrew her hand, and stared at him blankly: "Ma Liang? What's wrong with you? What's gotten into you?"

It took Ma Liang a long time to recover before the horrifying image in his mind faded away.

He glanced at Qin Yue and said, "Don't touch me again. If you dare to lay a hand on me again, I'll chop it off."

After saying this, Ma Liang ignored Qin Yue's surprise and turned to walk into the courtyard.

Qin Yue quickly caught up, "What's wrong with you today? I just finished my seclusion and came specifically to have a couple of drinks with you, why are you so angry!"

"Is something bothering you? Tell me, maybe I can give you some advice."

Ma Liang sat down on a stone bench in the courtyard. "Didn't you say before that you wouldn't leave seclusion until you reached the Foundation Establishment stage? What, you can't even wait a few days?"

As he spoke, he casually swept his divine sense over Qin Yue, "I see your aura is still only at the late stage of Qi Refining. You haven't crossed the Foundation Establishment hurdle?"

Qin Yue plopped down next to the stone table, and with a flick of his wrist, a wine pot and two white jade wine cups landed on the table.

He filled both glasses, picked up his own glass and drank it all in one gulp, only letting out a heavy sigh after the wine had gone down his throat.

"I just received a message from my family yesterday, urging me to return home to get married."

As he spoke, he filled his glass again and drank it all in one gulp.

"As you know, I secretly ran away from home to avoid the marriage arranged by my family. Who would have thought that some kid would leak the news and they'd still find me!"

Ma Liang's lips twitched, and he picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp, the bottom of the cup slamming heavily onto the stone table.

"Are you deliberately trying to annoy me? What do you mean by forced marriage, or failing at cultivation and then going home to inherit billions?!"

"I hate you family scions the most! Even your troubles reek of showing off; you're just asking for trouble!"