Martial arts have become extinct worldwide, yet I am forced to have a large family.

"roar!"

The Rock Armored Ape let out a defiant roar, its rock armor gleaming brightly, and its size swelled once more.

It charged headlong into the five devastating ice dragons!

However, it was all in vain.

Five ice dragons roared and engulfed it instantly from five different directions.

Biting, ramming, freezing...

With a mournful and unwilling roar, the Rock Armored Ape's massive body exploded, turning into countless blood-red ice crystals flying everywhere.

died.

A fourth-realm demon beast was instantly killed!

"How terrifying...such a powerful ice-type martial art!"

Zhou Xiyan stood there blankly, staring at the dozen or so ice sculptures of monkeys and the gradually dissipating ice shards.

She had thought she could win, but she never imagined she would win so easily, so decisively.

No wonder Yang Xi'an was able to lead Xi'er to the qualifying rounds back then.

What grade is the martial art he possesses?

High-grade Heaven-level? Or... top-grade?

How profound a level of skill did he reach in this practice?

This collaboration gave her a revolutionary understanding of Yang Xian's abilities.

This man has far surpassed 99% of his peers.

The girl was unaware that Yang Xian's cultivation level was only at the late stage of the second realm.

"So easily defeated!"

"Consider these beast cores from the four realms as compensation for my losses."

Yang Xian walked slowly to the spot where the Rock Armored Ape had exploded, and picked up a gleaming beast core from a pile of ice shards.

There's something good to eat.

Those two little cuties should be very happy.

He weighed the beast core in his hand, then turned to look at the blue-haired girl behind him. "Shall we rest for a bit? Or continue on?"

Zhou Xiyan came to her senses and gently shook her head.

"Let's keep going, don't keep those two little cuties waiting at the campsite."

Yang Xian was taken aback by her words and looked at her with some surprise.

He never expected that this seemingly aloof academic genius would say something so humane.

Zhou Xiyan takes her promise to Xiaofeng and Xiaoling very seriously.

Perhaps it was because her parents had promised her they would come back soon.

Sadly, they never came back after that...

"Let's continue."

Zhou Xiyan reached out her hand again.

"Want to hold hands again?" Yang Xian looked at her, and for some reason, the image of Xi'er came to mind.

That little girl also liked to hold his hand.

Are all sisters the same?

"Don't overthink it." Zhou Xiyan's expression remained unchanged. "I'm only doing this for your safety."

Yang Xian smiled and took her soft little hand in his again. "I'm not that weak, okay?"

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhou Xiyan's mouth, but it vanished in an instant.

The next moment, she walked ahead and headed deeper into the valley.

"Hold on tight..."

Shortly after they left.

In a dense forest on the outskirts of the valley, three enormous figures quietly emerged.

"That stupid monkey is dead."

"These two outsiders are quite strong, especially that kid who uses ice; he's very strange."

"Should we avenge that stupid monkey?"

"Ha, I don't know it well. Besides, they're not coming to my territory, there's no need for them to cause trouble."

"That makes sense. Judging from the direction they went, they're probably heading to 'that place,' right?"

"There's no need to do anything; they probably won't live much longer anyway, and they'll become nourishment for 'that tree.'"

------

"strangeness."

Yang Xian lowered his voice and glanced around at the quiet woodland.

"The further we went in, the denser the spiritual energy became, almost condensing into mist."

"But why... can't we see even the lowest-level demonic beast?"

This is very abnormal.

Logically speaking, a place with such abundant spiritual energy must be a paradise inhabited by monsters.

But now, it's so quiet here that you can't even hear a bird chirp or an insect hum; the deathly silence is unsettling.

Zhou Xiyan slowed her pace even further, her blue eyes filled with vigilance.

"Two possibilities."

"One type is a demonic beast that is far more powerful than the Rock Armored Ape, whose aura has driven away all other living beings."

"Another possibility is that this place is a naturally formed wasteland or dangerous area, devoid of any living beings."

Yang Xian listened to her analysis and silently complained in his heart.

Neither of these options sounds like good news.

However, having already come this far, with the treasure possibly right in front of him, he was unwilling to turn back now.

"Let's walk a little further and see."

Yang Xian made a decision: "If the situation really doesn't look good, we'll retreat immediately and won't linger."

"Um."

Zhou Xiyan responded softly, without objection.

The two walked about 100 meters further.

Suddenly, the view ahead opened up, and an unimaginably huge ancient tree appeared before them without warning.

The tree was entirely a dreamy pinkish-white color, its canopy blocking out the sun.

Countless ribbon-like branches droop down, each tipped with a budding flower, radiating a soft and sacred glow.

However, the moment Zhou Xiyan saw the tree, her face turned deathly pale.

"not good!"

"How did we end up bumping into this thing?!"

Yang Xian was startled by her sudden reaction.

"What do you mean? Is this tree dangerous?"

The magnificent tree before me doesn't look like anything ferocious at all; on the contrary, it has a sacred feel to it.

Zhou Xiyan's breathing became a little rapid, and she gripped Yang Xian's hand even tighter:

"That's the 'Acacia Tree for a Hundred Lifetimes'!"

"I've seen records of it in the sect's oldest scriptures; it's a wondrous object born from the cracks in the world's rules!"

"And it can only grow in places where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is abundant."

"Any creature that gets close to it must be a pair of opposite sexes; otherwise, it will attack."

Yang Xian was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at their tightly clasped hands:

"Together in pairs? Well, the way we are now... doesn't that perfectly meet the requirements?"

"Meeting the conditions is the most terrifying thing!" Zhou Xiyan continued:

"If the conditions aren't met, we might still be able to escape..."

"A creature that meets the requirements will trigger a special test for it!"

Yang Xian's heart skipped a beat. "What kind of test?"

Zhou Xiyan took a deep breath:

"The test is... the two chosen people will be stripped of all their memories and fall into a hundred lifetimes of reincarnation together."

"They must overcome countless difficulties in every reincarnation to finally fall in love and be together."

"Not a single one of the hundred lifetimes can be missed."

"If either of them fails in one lifetime, their souls will be imprisoned forever, becoming nourishment for this tree."

After hearing this, Yang Xian was completely dumbfounded.

What is that?

Deprivation of memory?

A hundred lifetimes of reincarnation?

Do you have to fall in love and get married in every lifetime?

What the hell is this bizarre and incredibly bizarre test?!

"Are you kidding me!"

Yang Xian's first reaction was to grab Zhou Xiyan and run away.

"Is this tree sick?! What are you waiting for? Run!"

One hundred lifetimes! Even if each lifetime lasts only twenty years, that's still two thousand years!

I don't have time to play dating simulation games here!

However, Zhou Xiyan stood still, her face filled with bitterness and helplessness.

"It's too late."

"The test began the moment we saw it."