After the Purple Lightning Qilin was slain by Yuan, its body immediately began decomposing at a rapid rate until there was nothing but a single item on the ground— a purple key.
Yuan picked up the key and thought to himself, 'Is this what he meant when he said that I'd eventually find them no matter what? Is this a work of fate, or is this the tomb's doing?'
"Brother Yuan, that wasn't a Purple Lightning Qilin. It was an Ancient Lightning Qilin, something that only exists in the Seventh Heaven and above. Even top Cultivators in that realm have trouble dealing with it." Xiao Hua's voice suddenly resounded.
"Have you encountered one before?" Yuan couldn't help but ask her.
"Xiao Hua isn't sure," she said.
"How are you not sure?" Feng Yuxiang then asked.
After a moment of silence, she spoke, "Xiao Hua's memories have been hazy lately. Memories that I don't recall have been appearing in my mind since we arrived in the Third Heaven."
"That is interesting…" Yuan mumbled.
"If I recall correctly, all exiles have restrictions placed on them to make their climb to the upper heaven as hard as possible, such as their strength. Does this mean Xiao Hua's memories have been restricted and such restriction is weakening as we move towards the upper heavens?" Feng Yuxiang theorized.
"That does sound plausible. What do you think, Xiao Hua?" Yuan found such a hypothesis entirely possible.
"Xiao Hua also thinks it's possible. This will also explain why my cultivation suddenly increased when we arrived in the Second Heaven and the Third Heaven." She agreed.
"If that's true, I wonder how strong you truly are, Xiao Hua." Yuan smiled.
"..." Xiao Hua blushed inwardly.
Yuan returned to Tian Yanyu and Tian Suyin shortly after.
"A-Are you okay, Xiao Yang?! It looked painful when you were struck by the Purple Lightning Qilin's red lightning…" Tian Yanyu looked at him with a worried face even though he looked perfectly fine.
"It was indeed a little painful, but it's not unbearable," he said.
"What did you receive from the Purple Lightning Qilin? Surely, it was an amazing reward." Tian Suyin was more interested in the reward.
Yuan showed her the purple key and silently smiled.
"That's it…?" Tian Suyin was dumbfounded.
He nodded.
"No way… These keys better lead to something heaven-defying for them to be considered as a reward…"
"Hopefully. Anyways, let's continue with our journey."
The three of them returned to the air shortly after and started flying towards the Sword Temple again.
A week later.
"Is that the Sword Temple?" Tian Yanyu mumbled as a white building appeared on the horizon.
"It is." Tian Suyin confirmed.
"It's a lot more ordinary than I expected."
The building itself was impressively large, but besides the beautifully detailed design exterior, everything was plain white.
However, that was not what Yuan saw.
While the others may only see an oversized white building, Yuan could see and sense that the entire building was overflowing with Enhanced Sword Aura, so much so that it sent shivers down his back.
Once he was close enough, Yuan could see a large group of Cultivators standing around a tall platform in front of the Sword Temple, where two individuals were engaged in an intense match.
'So that's the Sword Trial…' Yuan thought to himself when he saw it.
This was something he'd read about in Jade Sword Manor's library.
In order to enter the Sword Temple, one must participate in the Sword Trial and defeat their opponent first.
The opponent is different for everyone depending on their strength and talents. If one fails to pass the Sword Trial, they will be denied entry to the Sword Temple, and everyone only has one attempt.
"According to the statistics, less than one percent of challengers have actually stepped foot inside the Sword Temple, and hundreds of thousands of Cultivators participate in the Sword Trial every time the tomb opens." Tian Suyin said as they watched the Sword Trial from afar.
"The summoned Spirits always have the same cultivation as the challenger, but their techniques are usually far superior."
The opponents summoned by the Sword Trial are also addressed as 'Spirits' by most people.
"He lost already? It hasn't even been two minutes since the fight started…" Tian Yanyu mumbled after the challenger was sent flying off the stage with one less arm that he entered the stage with.
"You'd have to be a genius to last more than five minutes against the Spirits. That's how powerful they are." Tian Suyin said.
"The more I witness the Nameless Emperor's Tomb the more it feels like the odds are stacked against us. Just what kind of talent is the creator of this world looking for? Surely, they didn't make it just to mess with us, right?" Tian Yanyu sighed.
The vast majority of Cultivators create a tomb to pass down their legacy to someone worthy, but the Nameless Emperor's Tomb is so difficult that it feels like the creator made it just to mock the challengers.
'Sorry…' Yuan couldn't help but apologize to her inwardly, as this tomb was clearly created solely for him.
Sometime later, they made their way towards the stage before splitting up again.
Yuan went to the back of the line for challengers while Tian Yanyu and her mother went to stand with the spectators.
A few hours later.
"Hm? Look at that young man in the center of the line. Isn't that Xiao Yang?"
A few people who'd just arrived after coming from the Sword Pagoda quickly noticed him.
"You're right! It's him!"
"You mean the genius who cleared the Sword Pagoda?! That's him?! He looks so young!"
An uproar within the spectators quickly ensued, and it didn't take long before everyone was talking about him.
However, the conversation didn't last long, as everyone had their breaths taken away by a group of newcomers.
More specifically, a group of beautiful ladies that instantly stole the spotlight with their peerless appearance, especially the woman with an aloof expression in the front.
Yuan noticed the sudden change in atmosphere and turned to look as well.
'She's strong…' He immediately thought to himself after seeing the beauty in the front.