Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue were now placing their hands on the black stele but their glances were on each other instead.

Ling Feiyue shyly averted her eyes as she muttered softly, “Do you know that you have to focus your thoughts to decipher the messages in the stele?”

Yuan Ji grinned, “I can read and look at you at the same time.”

Ling Feiyue hummed coldly, “Don’t decipher or interpret the wrong message.” But secretly, she was pleased in her heart that Yuan Ji was looking at her.

The messages of the black stele;

“Trial of the Golden Citadel.”

“Storm the golden stairs to the golden citadel above.”

“What is this trial? And where is the golden citadel?” Yuan Ji frowned lightly.

“It is a combat trial. And it is pretty hard.” Ling Feiyue heaved a soft sigh. “Let’s take a look over the mountains first.”

Yuan Ji nodded.

Before long they were overlooking the mountains and were astonished that there was a golden citadel that was floating on a plain below them.

This floating golden citadel had a flight of golden stairs that led directly to its golden gates and they could see sporadic fighting that was at the bottom of the golden stairs.

Dozens of cultivators were fighting a group of golden golems that resembled heavy armored warriors. These golden golems were everywhere on the golden stairs. However the majority of the golden golems that were lined up in row of five did not move from their positions.

It seemed that they would only be triggered once the cultivators were close enough to them.

A big group of cultivators that numbered several hundreds were also watching the fight keenly but they made no attempt to help the dozens of cultivators.

Yuan Ji said to Ling Feiyue, “Let’s go and take a closer look.”

Ling Feiyue returned a light nod, “It seems that this trial is a group trial and not a solo trial.”

In no time they had crossed the plain and were now where the hundreds of cultivators had gathered. They were just in time to see that the earlier group of cultivators had all been completely vanquished and the ‘destroyed’ golden golems on the golden stairs had been completely revived.

When the hundreds of cultivators saw Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue, they looked a little disappointed that there were only the two of them.

However most of the cultivators were friendly enough to display a hand gesture when they saw them. It was because anyone that could reach the fifth level of the trial was a strong cultivator that deserved their respect.

Yuan Ji estimated that there were about two hundred cultivators and there were roughly fifty golden celestials among them. Although it was difficult for a non-golden celestial to reach the fifth level but most of these lower level cultivators were accompanying their clan’s elders or experts and they got a free ride to the top.

Most of them were the survivors of the epic desolate beast trial on the fourth level.

Now that Yuan Ji was near the golden stairs, he could see that the golden stair were actually giant flight of stairs that reached all the way to the floating golden citadel. The length of the step was 10m in length and width, and a 1m in height. All in all, there were a hundred golden steps.

The golden citadel was floating higher than they had expected.

Ling Feiyue smiled weakly, “100m. This trial is too difficult.”

𝗇𝑜𝑣𝗲𝗅𝒏𝑒xt.𝚌𝑜𝓜

She looked a little disappointed because it seemed to her that there was no way for her to complete the trial.

Yuan Ji rubbed his chin before adding, “This is an interesting trial.”

Most of the cultivators were now discussing the earlier battle.

“We told them not to try until we have more experts but they didn’t listen to us and they have paid with their lives.”

“Maybe they just want to exit the trial.”

“Did you see that? Once a golden golem gets vanished, it will roughly take just a while for it to be revived.”

“These golden golems are unkillable. How the heck are we able to get to the top?”

“Each of the golden golems has the equivalent profound strength of a fifth realm cultivator. That is from the results of our testing from the lower flight of stairs. We don’t know how strong these things are at the top.”

“This trial is to weed out the weak. Only the strongest cultivators are able to complete this trial.”

“We don’t have unlimited profound strength and healing pills to keep attempting this trial. Why don’t we exit the trial? Our results are already good enough…”

“Only those who can complete the trial will have their names written in the valley outside…”

“In the end, we are all nameless cultivators…”

“Do we have any saints around here?”

“I saw several saints before the start of the trials. Saint Wu Heng from the Burning Heavens Pavilion and Saint Mo Xingku of the Flying Daggers Divine Sect are also here. We can choose to wait for them.”

“Why aren’t they here yet? Did something happen to them?”

“They are saints. Nothing will happen to them on the lower level trials.”

“I heard that Saint Mo Xingku has purposely slowed down his speed just so that he can kill the cultivators.”

“That is his style. I wish that we won’t be meeting him here.”

“I wonder just how many of these level five trials are opened? If the stronger cultivators are not here then our situation here are truly hopeless.”

“We got fifty golden celestials here. If we want to storm to the golden citadel above, we still have a chance.”

“So we are waiting for more cultivators to arrive?”

“We have two more golden celestials that have just arrived…”

“They don’t look particularly strong. The one with the fan looks stronger.”

“Just two handsome but useless young masters…they must have lost all their retinues when they are coming here…”

Yuan Ji: …

Yuan Ji whispered to Ling Feiyue, “You look weaker than me. How come they are gossiping that you actually look stronger than me?”

Ling Feiyue chuckled softly as she waved her fan, “That is because I’m more handsome than you. That’s why.”

Yuan Ji: …

Yuan Ji laughed weakly before he said solemnly, “Feiyue, let’s take this trial together.”

Ling Feiyue gasped softly, “Just the two of us?”

Yuan Ji nodded, “That’s right.”

“But these golden golems have the profound strength of a fifth realm golden celestial and they are way tougher. They won’t feel any pain and won’t be slowed down by our attacks.”

Yuan Ji grinned, “Isn’t that great then? We can test our strength to our limits. This is a trial after all.”

Ling Feiyue giggled softly, “Alright but don’t you die before me or I will be really unhappy.”

Yuan Ji laughed, “I won’t. I am more afraid that you will be the one that will be killed.”

Ling Feiyue hummed coldly, “I won’t.”

But she quietly whispered to him, “Do you have a stratagem?”

Yuan Ji nodded, “We will fight our way up slowly, one step at a time.”

Ling Feiyue: …

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