Against The Heavens 45 Jing Yimu Finishes The Trial.

The darkness around Li Yang lit up with a soft white light that slowly increased in intensity. The white light started to surround Li Yang, solidifying as it did so. The light quickly turned into a white cloud that coiled around Li Yang, one end of the cloud merging into his chest, a pleasantly warm feeling spreading throughout his body.

Li Yang enjoyed the warm feeling, simultaneously inspecting what the cloud that was merging with his chest was doing. It only took a quick inspection to see that the part of the cloud that had already merged with his chest was slowly turning into a token that settled down close to the two other tokens that were already merged with his chest. This token was a light blue in color, the image of a lonely cloud with a sword hanging above it engraved onto the token.

After what felt like only a short while, the entire cloud had merged into Li Yang's chest and become a part of the token, returning the surroundings to a pitch black darkness. Just as Li Yang was starting to wonder what would happen next, a fresh breeze blew past him, the darkness swiftly melting and returning to the scenery of the valley.

Li Yang took a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling the solid earth beneath him and the soft breeze around him. No matter how hardy and resolute a person was, seeing both of their great regrets in quick succession would still be tough, no matter how they resolved the situation. While Li Yang was enjoying the breeze, the wind started to dance around him, the somewhat childish voice of Zizai ringing out.

"I said so, didn't I? That this trial would be no problem for you. Now it has only been a short three weeks, but you have already completed the trial and earned Big Brother Ning's emblem."

The wind around Li Yang turned into the cyan bird that was Zizai, who was currently wearing what seemed to be a proud smile. Li Yang's eyebrow ticked up slightly when he heard Zizai mention how long he had been inside the trial, even Jinwu looked rather shocked. To Li Yang, it felt like it had been no more than a few minutes at best, but now it turned out that it had been three weeks already? He could not help but wonder exactly how powerful the arrays located inside this hidden realm were, to distort his sense of time like that. Li Yang swept the surroundings with his gaze for a short moment, before turning back to Zizai.

"Since you are talking to me this openly, I guess that means Jing Yimu is still inside the trial?"

Zizai might have a somewhat childish mind, but Li Yang knew that he was not dumb enough to talk to Li Yang so freely if Jing Yimu was able to hear them. He also did not believe that Jing Yimu would simply leave him behind, not after Li Yang had made sure that the two of them had gotten as close as an intimate master and disciple. Zizai rapidly nodded his head, slightly tilting his head as he questioned.

"Yup yup, b.a.s.t.a.r.d Yimu is still taking the trial. It usually takes him two or three months to fail the trial, so if he follows the usual pattern, he will be out in a little over a month. Do you want me to send you to the location of the other trials?"

Zizai had watched Jing Yimu attempt the trials countless times, so he had already memorized how long it would usually take Jing Yimu to complete one attempt. Upon hearing Zizai's question, Li Yang could not help but let out a somewhat surprised exclamation.

"You can do that?"

When he had met Mengxiang and Chen Huo, neither of them had offered to directly transport him to the next trial, so Li Yang simply a.s.sumed that they were unable to do so. Zizai once again rapidly nodded his head, a proud smile on his face as he loudly proclaimed.

"Yup yup. The others can't, but since I can control all wind, sending you to the other trials is no problem. The ride might be b.u.mpy, but you can completely trust me, I will get you there in no time!"

Right after the last of Zizai's words fell, the wind inside the valley grew ferocious again, gathering around Li Yang and slowly lifting him and Jinwu up off the ground. Knowing what was about to happen, Li Yang hastily let out several loud shouts.

"Stop, stop! I was just asking because I was curious, not because I wanted you to send me away. And for that matter, you didn't even ask me where I wanted to go."

After Li Yang shouted out, the wind that was surrounding him started to weaken in ferocity, his body slowly returning down to the ground. Once his feet touched the ground again, he sent a slight glare at Zizai, who quickly started to explain himself.

"I can control all wind, so I can just ask you where you want to go while you are in the air. And why do you not want to go to the other trials?"

Seeing the innocent expression that Zizai wore while explaining himself, Li Yang could only let out a slight sigh. He gave a slight shake of his head and then once again explained his current plan to Zizai.

"It's not that I don't want to go, it's that I can't go yet. I already told you, I have to wait for Jing Yimu and take Yawen's trial alongside him. Only there will I have a good chance of killing him."

Li Yang had already somewhat explained his plan to Zizai when the two of them first met again, but now it seemed like he had forgotten all about it. Zizai's eyes quickly lit up with the light of remembrance as he heard Li Yang's words, his head rapidly bopping up and down.

"Ah! Yup yup, that makes perfect sense, I must have forgotten!"

Li Yang wanted to comment on Zizai mentioning the obvious, but seeing his innocent eyes and bright smile, he could not bring himself to say anything, so he only shook his head and let out a slight chuckle. After a short moment of silence, Zizai seemed to have suddenly come up with an idea, as his eyes lit up with a bright light.

"Ah! Then you have to wait for him to come out, which will still take a bit of time. Let me take you to a good place where you can wait for him."

Before Li Yang even had the chance to think of a response, the wind around him picked him up once more, flying him through the air at high speed. Zizai also remembered Jinwu, who was surrounded by a smaller gust of wind and dragged along.

After flying for a short while, the wind brought Li Yang and Jinwu down to the ground, revealing the area around them, a small and refres.h.i.+ng meadow. This part of the valley was different from the rest. The gra.s.s was shorter and had a more vibrant color, there were fewer flowers here, but the air was fresher and held a calming scent. There was a single tree located not far from where Li Yang stood, a ray of sunlight s.h.i.+ning directly down on the tree, illuminating the red apple-like fruits that were growing on the tree.

There seemed to be an array surrounding the entire meadow, as Li Yang could sense that the Qi in the air was far denser than it was in the outside world. Looking at the meadow around him, Li Yang's eyes could not help but brighten. The fruits that were growing on the tree were a type of fruit that was very useful to certain Demonic beasts, so he did not care much about them, but this meadow was extremely useful for cultivation, allowing one to save a large amount of time.

"This is the place? It really is a good place, cultivating here will save a lot of time."

Hearing Li Yang praise the meadow, Zizai's entire face lit up with a bright smile, his body turning into wind. The wind danced around the meadow, rustling the gra.s.s and the leaves, Zizai's joyful voice sounding out.

"Yup yup, this is where Big Brother Ning said that I should live after he left. He said that he hoped I would be nice and big when he came back to pick me up. It has been a while, but I am sure he will come and pick me up soon. After all, even you have already come."

Li Yang could tell that Zizai was truly happy, seeing the arrival of Li Yang as a sign that Ye Ning would soon come to pick him up. Seeing him happy like this, how could Li Yang have the heart to tell him that whether or not Ye Ning was alive was unknown?

"Yup, I am sure that Ning will soon come to pick you up. If he doesn't, I will make sure that Yawen gives his rear a kick and forces him to move."

Li Yang decided to toss out a few words here, walking forwards and sitting down beneath the lone tree. The speed at which the wind danced increased after Li Yang spoke, so it was clear that Zizai became even happier.

"You'll do that?! Thank you, Thunder Monarch! I will let you know when b.a.s.t.a.r.d Yimu is about to finish the trial!"

After Zizai's words sounded out, the wind that danced around the meadow died down, bringing a tranquil silence to the meadow. With Zizai keeping an eye on Jing Yimu, Li Yang felt confident that he could cultivate in peace. He took a few deep breaths, crossed his legs, and then closed his eyes. When he finished Dai Shu's trial, he had already been very close to carving his fourth rune, so he was confident that he could at least carve his fourth rune while waiting for Jing Yimu if he was lucky, he might even be able to carve the fifth.

Jinwu seemed to understand what Li Yang was thinking, so it did not disturb him while he was cultivating. What he chose to do instead was to start eating the fruits that were growing on the tree, slowly but steadily devouring more and more fruits. With Li Yang fully immersed in his cultivation and Jinwu fully focused on eating fruits and resting, time pa.s.sed by unnoticed, two months pa.s.sing in silence.

As a cultivator, the amount of food Li Yang needed and the amount of waste he produced was far lower than that of a normal person. Once a cultivator reached a high enough level, they even stopped needing to eat all-together, surviving on Qi alone. After two months of cultivating, Li Yang had easily managed to carve the fourth rune for all his elements and was almost finished carving the fifth one. But his cultivation was cut short by the voice of Zizai, which resounded over the meadow after two months of absence.

"Thunder Monarch, b.a.s.t.a.r.d Yimu is about to leave the trial! Let me bring you to the place where he will appear!"

Li Yang opened his eyes and stood up, stretching his body and enjoying the popping sound of his joints. He did not even need to say anything, wind automatically gathering around him and Jinwu, dragging them away. Li Yang sent one last look at the meadow, a slight smile on his face.

"Shame to lose such a great place, but I have already gotten quite a bit of worth out of it."

The wind brought Li Yang and Jinwu back to the place where they had first appeared after they cleared the trial. The area was currently calm, but Li Yang did not doubt Zizai's words that Jing Yimu was about to finish the trial. He took a deep breath to correct his mindset, and then sat down on the ground with his legs crossed, calmly cultivating.

After a few minutes of cultivating, the air not far from Li Yang started to s.h.i.+mmer and distort, Jing Yimu stepping out of the s.h.i.+mmering air. Once Jing Yimu stepped out of the s.h.i.+mmering air, Li Yang sprang up and put on an excited expression.

"Master Yimu, you have finally finished the trial!"

Upon spotting Li Yang, a wide grin spread on Jing Yimu's face. His body blurred as he dashed forward, picking up Li Yang and spinning him around in a tight hug, utterly shocking Li Yang.

"HAHA, Little Yang! You truly are my lucky charm!"

He continued to spin around a few more times, his loud laughter resounding within the valley and echoing into the distance. Had he not paid attention to his strength, Li Yang would have already been squeezed into a fine paste. It was only after a few more seconds of spinning and laughing that he put down Li Yang, taking out a sky blue token and showing it to him.

"371 times! 371 times I have attempted this d.a.m.ned trial, and every single one of them has failed! That is, until now! Look at this, Little Yang! This was earned thanks to you!"

Li Yang's pupils shrank slightly when he saw the token in Jing Yimu's hands. Jing Yimu had also completed the trial? Despite already failing so many attempts? But how could Li Yang know that the reason Jing Yimu often failed this particular trial was because of his regret that he had never had a child he could pa.s.s his own legacy onto? With Li Yang acting the part of a perfect disciple and lovable child, that regret had completely vanished. Li Yang quickly regained his calm state of mind, giving Jing Yimu an apologetic bow.

"Is that the token that one gains when completing the trial? That is amazing, Master Yimu. I was forced to escape the trial not long after I started it, please forgive me."

Li Yang's words sounded like they were filled with heartfelt joy, something that caused the grin on Jing Yimu's face to grow even brighter. He gave Li Yang a few heavy pats on the shoulder, letting out another loud laugh.

"Don't think about it, even I have failed the trials so many times after all. As long as you persevere and never give up, you will eventually succeed. I can also see that you have managed to raise your cultivation while I was inside the trial, so you have clearly not been idle while waiting for me. That is good, managing to cultivate even in a place like this."

Li Yang had almost engraved his fifth rune, so he had loosened up the technique he used to hide his cultivation, making it look like it had risen slightly since the time Jing Yimu entered the trial grounds. Jing Yimu wanted to say more, but the wind in the valley started growing ferocious and sharp as if it wanted to slice them both in half. Zizai had to act his part, after all, looking like he wanted to tear Jing Yimu apart on the spot.

"s.h.i.+t, I completely forgot about him! Little Yang, we are leaving!"

Jing Yimu's expression rapidly distorted as he grabbed onto Li Yang's wrist and kicked off the ground, soaring away at a speed faster than the eye could see. The two quickly left the valley, the howling wind stopping at the edge of the valley. It was only after reaching a distance that was far from the valley, that Jing Yimu's lips curled into a grin again. Now he had completed one of the trials, the next stop was Zhao Feng's trial in Soul's Rest.