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

Faced with this strange question, the old sheep frowned slightly and replied in a calm tone, "The years have passed too long, and I can no longer remember the taste of that spiritual herb."

"Questions are over. Final vote, now begin!" the remnant soul announced in a deep voice at the opportune moment.

But everyone hesitated and weighed their options, and no one raised their hand for a long time.

Seeing this, the remnant soul had no choice but to restart the countdown, its cold sound echoing throughout the trial space, constantly urging a choice.

"ten!"

"Nine!"

"eight!"

The countdown was relentless, but no one made a move.

The old sheep, standing on the opposite side, was already drenched in cold sweat.

He had no say in the vote and could only passively await the verdict, his fate entirely in the hands of others.

In the deathly silence, Gou An was the first to raise his hand, his left hand.

He concluded that the old sheep had lied.

His decision was not based on recognizing the flaws in the story.

On the contrary, Lao Yang's past is too smooth and too reasonable, following logic throughout, with no flaws to be found.

After going through several rounds of trials, both real and fake, everyone had already figured out the pattern.

The biggest flaw is the complete absence of any weaknesses.

The people who came before all told stories that were half true and half false, leaving room for doubt, deliberately misleading the public.

Old Yang, however, did the opposite. He used a seemingly natural and truthful narrative to secretly conceal the most core secret, deliberately creating an image of openness and deceiving everyone into believing that he was completely genuine.

Everyone can see this calculation, but the game of human nature is the most unpredictable.

Old Sheep may have already figured out everyone's thoughts, deliberately going along with it, using an extremely sincere facade to complete the most covert deception.

As the countdown ended, the remaining participants raised their hands one after another, finalizing their answer.

The rat demon Xu Gu Zi, the crow Xuan Yu Zi, and the cloud cypress immortal all raised their right hands, confirming that what the old sheep said was true and that he had not lied.

Only Gou An and Master Qingfeng stood with their left hands raised high, convinced that his words were false.

The voting is over, and the dust has settled.

The remnant soul stared at the old sheep, its voice cold and indifferent: "Qingmianzi, can you now tell everyone the truth? Were you lying just now?"

Looking at the starkly different voting results, Old Sheep sighed deeply and frankly said, "I'm sorry, everyone, I just lied."

As soon as he finished speaking, the water mirror in mid-air suddenly lit up, reflecting the altered true past.

He was indeed born into a farming family and grew up in the mountains, but he did not gain spiritual intelligence by accidentally eating a magical herb.

The true cause and effect are completely opposite!

Years ago, a wandering cultivator passed through the village and saw that this goat was exceptionally intelligent and quick-witted, far surpassing ordinary animals. He then offered to pay for it and bought it from the farmer.

Then, by feeding him with her own elixir, she helped him break free from the shackles of mortal form, condense his demon core, and transform into a true demon beast.

The master and disciple then stayed together, cultivating their minds and seeking enlightenment. The master was martyred by evil practitioners.

His account of fleeing alone into the Monster Mountain Range was entirely true, except that the initial circumstances and causes had been subtly altered by him.

The truth has come out, and the outcome is settled.

Master Yunbai, Crow, and Rat instantly turned deathly pale, their eyes filled with extreme terror; their fate of elimination was already sealed.

On the other hand, Master Qingfeng and Old Sheep both breathed a sigh of relief, their tense bodies completely relaxing.

Throughout history, the joys and sorrows of humans and demons have never been shared.

Some survived the ordeal, while others perished in an instant.

"The outcome is decided!" the remnant soul said indifferently. "The trial for the three of you has ended."

Before the words were finished, three powerful and domineering suction forces suddenly appeared, locking the three people's bodies tightly.

The cultivation of Yunbai Zhenren, Xuanyuzi, and Xuguzi was forcibly stripped from their bodies and poured into their remnant souls.

Having exhausted their cultivation, they didn't even have a chance to say another word. The three figures were instantly enveloped in white light and dissipated in the trial space, completely eliminated.

After only three trials, of the original ten who attempted to conquer the tower, only Gou An, Qingfeng Shangren, and Lao Yang remain.

After a brief moment of relief, a heavy gloom settled over the eyes of all three.

This existence is only temporary; at most, only one person can reach the top of this ancient tower's secret realm.

The remaining three will most likely face the fate of being partially or completely destroyed.

Before the three could calm down, the space shifted, and a new trial began.

Gou An followed the remnant soul to the fourth floor of the ancient tower, where a triangular stone table stood quietly in the center of the secret realm.

On the stone table, three rows of mahjong tiles were neatly arranged, their layout orderly and easy to see.

Furthermore, the material of the mahjong tiles looks like it's carved from some kind of top-grade jade, making it clear at a glance that it's no ordinary object.

Upon seeing this, all three were filled with doubt.

No one expected that the fourth trial would be related to mortal mahjong.

The remnant soul did not rush to explain the rules. With a gentle wave of its sleeve, a mild yet irresistible lifting force steadily carried the three of them to the three positions in front of the stone table.

Each person has ten exclusive mahjong tiles in front of them.

It contains all the ordinal numbers from one to nine, plus a special "fortune" card, making a total of ten cards.

Each card has a distinct design and no two cards are the same.

Gou An held a suit of Wan (characters), Lao Yang held a suit of Tiao (bamboo), and Qingfeng Shangren held a suit of Tong (circles).

In the very center of the stone table stood three shimmering human figures, lifelike and miniatures of the three individuals.

Each luminous figure occupies a ten-step spiritual staircase, the steps are bright white and clear, and the steps are clearly distinguishable.

The initial positions are clear at a glance.

Gou An's light and shadow stood on the sixth step, while the light and shadow of Qingfeng Shangren and Lao Yang both stopped on the first step.

The three of them stared intently at the trial, but before they could figure out its secrets, the remnant soul's explanation came at just the right moment.

"The rules for the fourth level of the trial are extremely simple."

"Each of you three has ten mahjong tiles, including numbered tiles from one to nine, plus one 'Lucky' tile."

"Each round of play, cards are played face down. The outcome is determined by the cards being dealt, and the cards are revealed simultaneously for immediate settlement."

"The player with the highest score in this round advances one level, the player with the lowest score retreats one level, and the player in the middle remains in place."

"The 'Fortune' card is a special card, higher than all other cards. The player who plays it advances two levels immediately, while the other two players' cards are invalidated, and their positions remain unchanged!"

"All cards are immediately consumed and discarded once played, and cannot be reused."

"After ten rounds, the player with the lowest ranking is eliminated!"

"If there are ties, treat them all together!"

The remnant soul raised its hand and pointed to the light and shadow of the spiritual ladder in the center, continuing to add to the story.

"Your initial positions on the ladder are determined by the final mental strength value of the previous level."

"Master Gou ultimately retained six points of mental energy, thus starting on the sixth level. You two each retained one point of mental energy, so you both start on the first level."

Having finished speaking, the remnant soul coldly inquired, "The rules have been explained. Do you have any questions?"

"I have a question!" Gou An suddenly asked.

"Speak!" The remnant soul turned to look.

"What if multiple people bet the same number at the same time?" Gou An pressed.

The remnant soul slowly replied, "If all three play the same number at the same time, they cancel each other out, resulting in a neutral outcome."

"Both players reached their maximum score at the same time, neither rising nor falling significantly."

If both players have the lowest score, they will both be moved down one level.

After explaining, the remnant soul asked, "Is there anything you still don't understand?"