Sect Master's Immortal Journey

Chapter 6: Trial Ground

As soon as Meng Zhang's soul entered the portal, he immediately felt a sensation of dizziness and lost his sense of direction. The surrounding space was rapidly changing and spinning continuously.

It felt like his soul was thrown into a washing machine's spin-dryer, spinning along with it without stopping. After an unknown amount of time, Meng Zhang's soul was on the verge of losing consciousness due to the violent spatial changes, but finally, the drastic transformations came to a halt.

Meng Zhang felt as if his soul was about to scatter, and even the glow on the surface of his soul became dimmer.

Fortunately, Meng Zhang had entered this realm with his soul; if it were his physical body, he would probably have vomited from such intense turmoil.

After the surrounding space stabilized, Meng Zhang discovered that he had arrived in a world unlike the mortal realm.

The sky in this world was gray and obscured by thick leaden clouds, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression. There seemed to be no sun in this world, and consequently, there was no sunlight. The entire world was covered in a faint yellowish gloom, giving it an eerie and ominous atmosphere.

Surprisingly, Meng Zhang's soul had a peculiar feeling of affinity here. It was as if he had found his natural habitat, experiencing a sensation of inexplicable comfort and ease.

In the mortal realm, every time he performed Divine Soul Left the Body, he would experience a strong sense of oppression, as if the whole world was rejecting him. As a result, he was always cautious and never stayed outside for too long during that state.

The sensation from his soul made Meng Zhang realize that he had arrived in the Netherworld, a place where the soul ultimately belongs, contrasting with the mortal realm that repelled souls.

Looking around, Meng Zhang found himself floating in mid-air with emptiness all around. Beneath him was a vast ring-shaped mountain range, forming an unusually round and smooth circular shape.

In the center of the ring-shaped mountains was a massive basin, predominantly flat terrain mixed with some mountains, hills, lakes, and rivers.

Inside the basin, there seemed to be several cities crowded with countless troops and fluttering banners.

Outside the ring-shaped mountains, a thick black mist enveloped the area, obscuring the view of what lay within.

During his time in the mortal realm, Meng Zhang's soul had the ability of night vision. After arriving in the Netherworld, his five senses were greatly enhanced. However, he still couldn't see through the dark fog below.

Suddenly, an enormous force descended from somewhere, pressing heavily on Meng Zhang's soul. He had no resistance and was forcibly pushed towards the ground.

Meng Zhang's soul descended rapidly and soon penetrated the layer of black fog, entering it.

As his soul was inherently light, it landed with a mysterious buffer. The descent wasn't too fast, and the impact wasn't severe, causing no harm.

Meng Zhang's soul got up from the ground, swayed for a moment, and then surveyed the surroundings.

Below the black fog was a dark space.

Meng Zhang couldn't see far; he could only perceive a nearby flat ground. Looking a little further, everything was pitch black, as if the thick black ink had spread across the area.

With his soul's unique perception, he carefully observed his surroundings.

The ground was entirely covered in black sand, devoid of any signs of life. The surrounding silence was absolute, without even the slightest sound of wind.

Endless Sea of Sand, where Taiyi Sect was located, was known to be a desolate place in Grand Dust World. However, it wasn't entirely devoid of life.

Not to mention the scattered oases within the vast desert, even in the endless sea of yellow sand, one could occasionally discover some resilient creatures struggling to survive.

But here, apart from the dense death energy, there was no trace of life.

According to the records in the Sect Master's Chronicle, the Trial Ground was located in the Netherworld.

This place should be the legendary Trial Ground. The only question was what kind of trial he would be facing. After waiting in place for half a day without any changes in the surroundings, Meng Zhang decided to take action.

Since he came here to undergo a trial, standing around waiting was not going to get him anywhere.

With no sense of direction in this place, he randomly chose a direction and started to move forward.

After all, he couldn't distinguish north, south, east, or west in this space. As he advanced, more and more scenery came into his view.

As far as the eye could see, the surrounding scenery remained unchanged, with nothing new on the ground except for the black sand.

Meng Zhang's soul was not walking on the ground but floating in the air very close to it, drifting slowly forward. Since there was no wind around, he couldn't find any source of force to accelerate his floating speed.

After an unknown amount of time and distance, the place where Meng Zhang's soul had originally landed was now engulfed in darkness, completely invisible.

At that moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew from the left side of the darkness. Alert, Meng Zhang looked over and soon spotted a floating ghost emerging from the darkness.

The ghost retained a human form, emitting a dim cold light all over, like a humanoid cold lamp.

Upon noticing Meng Zhang, the ghost let out a sharp and piercing screech, then rushed towards him without hesitation. If Meng Zhang were in his physical form, ghosts like this one would be inconsequential, easily dealt with using a few spells.

However, in the state of the soul, Meng Zhang's magic powers were left in his physical body, rendering him unable to cast spells.

The ghost's attack was swift, taking only a few moments from discovery to reaching Meng Zhang's side.

Despite his lack of magic powers, Meng Zhang wasn't going to sit idly and wait for his demise.

Usually, cultivators in the Refining Qi stage of the Cultivation World would practice martial arts. On the one hand, it could strengthen their bodies and enhance their vitality. On the other hand, since their magic powers were limited during battles, they needed combat skills to gain an advantage.

Although his martial arts proficiency was diminished to less than 30% in his soul state, it should still be sufficient to deal with the ghost before him.

With a simple side step, Meng Zhang easily evaded the ghost's attack, then floated to its back and delivered a series of powerful punches.

Meng Zhang's soul, in the state of Divine Soul Left the Body, was fundamentally similar to a ghost like this one. This sudden encounter was a real ghost-on-ghost battle.

With each punch, a faint light spot detached from the ghost's body. In a moment, the ghost, who had endured countless strikes, shrunk by almost half.

While Meng Zhang was beating the ghost, the wind from the left side intensified.

Two more ghosts emerged from the darkness, and it seemed that there were even more ghosts behind them.

The ghosts didn't have any vital points, and even with Meng Zhang's superb martial arts skills, it was difficult to take them down with a single strike.

Seeing two more ghosts appearing and not wanting to be surrounded, Meng Zhang grabbed both sides of the ghost's body in front of him and exerted all his strength, tearing the ghost's body apart.

The ghost's body was ripped into two halves, and then, with a tremble of Meng Zhang's hands, the ghost's body completely disappeared.

As the ghost's body disappeared, Meng Zhang felt a refreshing energy flow into his own body. He, who was feeling a little weary, suddenly felt reinvigorated, and his expended energy quickly recovered.

Moreover, he sensed that his soul received an additional piece of information.

However, busy with the ongoing battle, he had no time to process this new information.

As more ghosts rushed out from the darkness, Meng Zhang shouted and took the initiative to confront them.

After several fierce battles, Meng Zhang was exhausted, but every time he killed a ghost, a refreshing energy entered his body, immediately restoring him to full strength. Similarly, his soul received more pieces of information.

Meng Zhang continued to eliminate eight ghosts in a row.

With high spirits, he was preparing to take the initiative and confront the ghosts within the darkness when a mysterious force suddenly repelled him from this space.

Once again, Meng Zhang experienced a dizzying sensation, and just like when he arrived, he was subjected to the torment until he finally returned to the sect's grand hall in the mortal realm.

His soul had never been out of his body for so long. As soon as he regained consciousness, he didn't hesitate and immediately rushed back to his physical body.

With Divine Soul Return to the Body, Meng Zhang's physical body also woke up.

The anomalies on the altar had all disappeared, and even the crude stone altar, when touched by the wind, turned into a myriad of stone dust, dissipating quickly.

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