Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

Climb to the third floor of the pagoda.

The layout here is exactly the same as the previous two floors, with the huge space feeling empty.

Only the lingering phantom of a soul hovering in mid-air and the six challengers who successfully ascended the building remained.

The two cultivators are Venerable Qingfeng and True Man Yunbai.

The four demon cultivators were: Old Sheep Qingmianzi, Rat Xuguzi, and Crow Xuanyuzi.

And Gou An, Gou Zhenren.

At this moment, no one felt any joy at passing the second level. Everyone's face was gloomy, their hearts were tense, and they looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Everyone knew that the current peace would be short-lived.

Of the six, at most only one will be able to preserve his cultivation completely.

Even in the worst-case scenario, no one can escape the punishment of having 50% of their cultivation drained.

As for what exactly the secret treasure mentioned by the remnant soul was, no one present knew the details.

After a moment of silence, the remnant soul in mid-air slowly spoke, its voice echoing throughout the empty hall: "Next, we will begin the third level of the trial!"

"Distinguish between truth and falsehood!"

Upon hearing the name of the trial, all six were completely bewildered, their faces filled with confusion.

With a sudden flick of his sleeve, the remnant soul unleashed a gentle force that lifted the six people, placing them in six different locations in the open space, forming a neat circle.

A circular barrier automatically appears beneath each person's feet, firmly restricting their movement and preventing them from moving freely.

At the same time, three luminous orbs floated in front of each person, and no one could guess their purpose.

Once the formation was complete, the remnant soul explained the rules again: "The rules for this trial are simple and easy to understand."

"The three orbs of light floating before you are called Mental Power!"

"You will take turns telling a story from your own past, the content of which can be true or false, you are free to make it up."

"After one person finishes speaking, the remaining five people can ask each other a question once."

"Then they will vote based on their own judgment to determine whether the story is true or false."

The judgment rules are as follows!

"If more than half of the people guess whether the story is true or not, the storyteller loses a little effort."

"Those who vote incorrectly will also have a small amount of effort deducted."

"Only those who vote correctly can put in a little more effort."

"After all six people have finished speaking, the person whose mental energy is reduced to zero, or who has the lowest mental energy in a tie, will be eliminated."

After recounting the entire set of rules, the remnant soul paused and asked, "Does anyone have any questions?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Master Qingfeng spoke first, asking, "May I ask, senior, how is the order in which the stories are told determined?"

"That's an excellent question," the remnant soul replied calmly. "You might recall the order in which you all exited the maze!"

"We'll personally designate those who exited the maze in the order they did!"

Having said that, the remnant soul's gaze fell upon Master Qingfeng: "You are the first person to leave the maze, and you have the first right to designate the first person to tell the story."

"You can choose yourself, or you can choose anyone else."

His gaze then turned to the rat demon Xu Gu Zi: "After the first round of designation, the designation right will be handed over to you."

"The same applies to the rest!"

At this point, the remnant soul added a crucial warning: "I must warn you all in advance that I can see into everyone's deepest memories. Whether what you say is true or false, I can tell at a glance."

"Even if you can fool the other challengers, you can't fool me. The final determination of the truth of the story rests entirely with me."

"The rules have been explained; the third level of the trial shall now begin!"

"Master Qingfeng, it's your turn to designate the first storyteller."

Master Qingfeng slowly swept his gaze over the other five people who were gathered in a circle, and silently weighed his options. No one was willing to be the first to tell their story.

The first storyteller has no prior stories to refer to, making it difficult to control the balance between fact and fiction, and making it easy for others to see through the flaws and guess the truth.

After much deliberation, Master Qingfeng's gaze finally settled on Master Yunbai.

"Then you may go first, fellow Daoist!"

Master Yunbai was slightly taken aback, clearly not wanting to be the first to speak, but since things had come to this point, he could not refuse.

Under the threat of having half of his cultivation drained, the little affection he once had meant nothing.

The reason why Master Qingfeng chose Master Yunbai was simply because the two of them were more familiar with each other.

Therefore, Master Qingfeng clearly intends to increase his mental strength first, widen his own advantages, and avoid the risk of being eliminated due to unexpected events later.

After Master Qingfeng finalized the selection, the remnant soul looked at True Man Yunbai and instructed, "Now, you may begin to tell your story."

Master Yunbai sighed softly, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then slowly began to speak, recounting his past.

...

I was a young mortal, and I grew up with a childhood friend from the same village.

That year, the Grand Master descended the mountain to recruit disciples, and ordinary children within a hundred miles could participate in the trials.

The trial rules are cruel and straightforward: a hundred children will enter the desolate forest to find ten jade orbs scattered by the sect. Those who find them can join the immortal sect, transcend the mortal realm, and escape the fate of a poor and toiling mortal.

That desolate forest was extremely dangerous, not only because wild beasts lurked there, but also because of countless children who were blinded by greed for immortality.

A hundred sons vied for ten seats, showing no mercy. Fighting, ambushing, brawling, and even killing became commonplace for a single jade ball.

My childhood friend and I ventured into the forest together, carefully avoiding dangers along the way, looking after each other, supporting one another, and searching with great difficulty.

Finally, they found a jade ball as a token deep in the dense forest, hidden among the rocks.

At that time, we were both surprised and delighted, thinking that we had finally made it through and could escape the suffering of the mortal world together and embark on the path to immortality.

Because we made a pact that whoever joins the sect first must help the other escape the suffering of the mortal world.

However, this jade ball was also discovered by others, who coveted it and stared intently at the opportunity in our hands.

Finally, they even swarmed forward, rushing to snatch it like madmen, exchanging blows and kicks, creating a chaotic scene.

My childhood friend stood firmly in front of me, pushing away the oncoming crowd with all his might, trying to help me escape with the jade ball.

However, the group of people were blinded by their obsession and became ruthless in their pursuit of the jade ball. Some even picked up a stone and smashed it hard on his head.

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere.

He fell to the ground with a thud and remained silent.

In the end, I didn't dare to go up and help; I just took the token and ran out of the woods.

In the end, I successfully passed the trials and joined the sect, thus embarking on the path of cultivation.

The Trial of a Hundred Sons: Ten People Entered the Path, and I was one of them.

But this path to immortality was bought with the life of my dearest friend.

After a hundred years of cultivation, my cultivation has deepened day by day. I have become indifferent to the rise and fall of the Great Dao, witnessed the fall of geniuses, and seen fellow Daoists part ways, but I can never forget the blood-red scene in the forest that day.

If it weren't for his selfless protection, I wouldn't have the cultivation I have now; I would probably have turned into a handful of dust long ago.

This matter has become a lifelong knot in my heart, one that will remain unresolved for centuries and will never bring me peace. The memory remains vivid.

After Master Yunbai finished speaking, he let out a long sigh, looking genuinely moved.

Gou An even noticed that his eyes were red and he was deeply saddened.

At this moment, the remnant soul spoke up: "Now, you may ask your questions."