After obtaining the top quality spirit stone, it wasn't that Wang Lin didn't think about going back the way he came, but the situation in the first trial was very dangerous. If he turned around and left, without Hunchback Meng to open the way, it was hard to say if he would be able to return safely. Even if he went through a lot of trouble to return, if this place restricted him from going back, then all that awaited Wang Lin was death. There was no way he would be lucky enough to pass the first trial again.
With Wang Lin's personality, he wasn't willing to gamble because he couldn't afford to lose.
However, according to Wang Lin's analysis, if Hunchback Meng and company were able to return 1,000 years ago, then it was very likely that there was a transfer array here. Otherwise, Hunchback Meng and company wouldn't have dared to attempt this trial no matter what.
Unfortunately, the jade that Hunchback Meng left behind didn't have any information about this place. The inheritance item they obtained wasn't in Hunchback Meng's hands.
Wang Lin's eyes lit up. He believed that if he could obtain the inheritance item, he would be able to find the way out.
After carefully looking around, Wang Lin walked forward. Not long after, he suddenly stopped and stared at a mountain in the distance that was emitting waves of spiritual energy. Wang Lin looked at it for a while, then slowly backed up a few steps and walked to the side.
The sky was dark, and it was as if there was a large stone pressing down on one's heart. It was so heavy that it made one's heart feel suffocated. Wang Lin carefully passed through the gap between two restrictions and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He looked down. He had only walked 300 feet, but it took him several hours. He had to make sure every step was correct before he dared to take another step.
Looking up, he couldn't see the end of the giant mountain. At this speed, Wang Lin didn't know how many years it would take for him to reach the top of the mountain.
He sighed to himself. If passing the first trial was a matter of luck, then passing the second trial was entirely up to him. Wang Lin was silent for a while. His face was dark. With his current Core Formation cultivation level, staying here was far too dangerous. However, if he retreated, the danger would remain the same.
If he wanted to live, he could only brace himself and move forward. Wang Lin pondered for a moment, and his eyes flashed. He didn't continue forward, but instead took a few steps back to the two restrictive spells he had just passed. He carefully went back through them and walked down the mountain.
At the bottom of the mountain, where the restriction had just appeared, he stopped and squatted down to carefully examine the restriction.
This was a patch of messy grass that occupied an area of several hundred feet. At the foot of the mountain, there was a lot of this kind of grass, but the higher one went, the fewer the grass.
At first glance, this place didn't seem to have any restrictions. However, upon closer inspection, one would discover that while the weeds seemed to be disorderly, they actually contained some sort of strange law.
Wang Lin stared unblinkingly at every weed in this patch of grass for a long time. Every time he finished examining a weed, he would take out a piece of jade and record what he saw.
Wang Lin used three days of time to clearly record every blade of grass, every direction, and every stripe on the grass.
He wanted to find a way to break the restrictions.
Wang Lin knew that if he tried to force his way through, he would have no hope of reaching the top. This was an impossible task.
Also, the higher one went, the more powerful the restrictions would be. There would be fewer and fewer paths to take. It was possible that there would be a situation where there was no path to take. Once that happened, if one wasn't prepared, the only path left for him would be death.
If he wanted to pass this trial, he had to understand the restrictions on this mountain. The more he understood them, the higher his chances of survival would be. Other than that, there was no other way.
This was why Wang Lin retreated from the top and began to carefully study the first restriction.
This restriction was different from an array formation. An array formation used a specific method to form a magic spell of varying power. The things involved were incomparably complicated. Even if one spent their entire life studying it, they would only be able to gain a basic understanding of it.
Restrictions were, in fact, a type of Spirit Array. However, this type of Spirit Array was more flexible. It could change according to the user's thoughts and thoughts. Simply put, restrictions were more inclined towards Divine Sense.
Those powerful cultivators could set up restrictions with just a thought. Even after thousands of years, as long as their divine sense wasn't destroyed, the restrictions would still continue to operate.
There were even some restrictions that, even if the user died, the divine sense inside would automatically form a new consciousness to maintain the restrictions.
It could be said that aside from the caster, very few people could truly fully grasp the various changes within. There were two ways to break the restriction, the simplest of which was to forcefully break it. This method required an extremely high cultivation level, and was not something that ordinary people could do.
The second method was to study it. Once one understood the principles and rules of the restriction to a certain degree, one would naturally be able to break it.
This was the second method that Wang Lin used.
After he engraved the first restriction into the jade, he began to study it. Fortunately, when he was a Xiang Hun, he had a thorough understanding of formations. Now that he was studying restrictions, he wasn't completely clueless.
Time slowly passed. Ten days later, Wang Lin stared at this place. His right hand suddenly reached out and the surrounding flowers began to sway. At this moment, it was as if Wang Lin already knew what was happening and he began to sway at the same time.
Sometimes he moved to the left, sometimes to the right, and in between, he moved to the front and back. At first glance, his right hand did not seem to have any pattern, but if one looked closely, they would find that every time he moved, the rhythm was the same as when he touched the flowers.
Within a few breaths of time, the frequency at which Wang Lin's right hand swayed surpassed a certain limit. It was as if his right hand had suddenly appeared, and countless afterimages began to appear. Often, just as one afterimage appeared, another afterimage quickly disappeared.
Ten breaths of time later, Wang Lin's expression was one of concentration. Sweat began to drip down his forehead. He suddenly withdrew his right hand, and a red light flashed out from the grass, chasing after Wang Lin's right hand.
The moment Wang Lin withdrew his right hand, he began to sway it again. As he swayed, the red light became weaker and weaker until it completely disappeared.
When he withdrew his right hand, he had lost all feeling in it. Wang Lin's eyes flashed as he stared at the grass. At this time, the grass had returned to normal, and he couldn't see any clues.
The function of the restriction here was to kill enemies. Once someone entered, they would be immediately killed. If a cultivator with a certain level of cultivation wanted to rush out, the red light would appear and it wouldn't stop until they died.
After studying the restriction for a few days, Wang Lin had a basic understanding of it. What he did just now was just a simple experiment. Wang Lin had tried the same experiment no less than 10 times in the past few days.
In the beginning, the first time he tried, he could only last for three breaths of time before he had to withdraw his right hand. He was almost injured by the red light, but now he could last for 10 breaths of time. He could also neutralize the red light. Wang Lin believed that if he was given a bit more time, he could last even longer.
This also meant that if he stepped into the restriction with his entire body, he would not be able to break it, but he would be able to safely survive within the restriction. Furthermore, if he were to leave within ten breaths of time, even the red light would not be able to stop him.
Wang Lin's eyes were filled with excitement. Although the restriction here was the simplest one on this mountain, Wang Lin believed that he had found the right path. If he could persist, then passing the second trial wouldn't be impossible.
In the beginning, Wang Lin's goal in studying restrictions was to pass the second trial. Now he had another goal. The more he studied, the more interested he became. Before this, Wang Lin had never thought that if he could master restrictions, he would have such a powerful force.
For example, although Wang Lin could safely pass through the restriction, he couldn't set it up himself. The main reason was because he hadn't completely studied it yet. Once he finished studying it and fused it with his body, he would be able to set up a similar restriction.
Although it wouldn't be as powerful as this restriction, it would be just as strange.
Wang Lin took a deep breath. With a hint of excitement, he immersed himself in studying restrictions.
Time slowly passed. One month later, Wang Lin suddenly put away the piece of jade and entered the grass.
The instant he entered, the weeds in the area began to sway, and strands of red mist began to rise up from all directions. The weeds on the ground began to sway violently, transforming into sharp weapons that shot out and then disappeared into the red mist.
At the same time, whistling sounds came from all directions. Sharp weapons flew out like rain and were all aimed at Wang Lin.
Wang Lin's expression was calm and his eyes were calm. He didn't care about the sharp swords flying at him. It was like he was walking in his own garden. As he walked forward, countless swords closed in on him.
Wang Lin casually waved his right hand. This movement seemed slow, but for some reason, it landed before the flying swords could reach him.
If an outsider was here and saw this scene, they would definitely be shocked. This was clearly a technique that could only be mastered by someone who had explored the restrictions to the limit.
Wang Lin didn't know anything about this technique. He only knew that his hand was faster than the swords, so he naturally moved faster.
With a wave of his right hand, he drew a circle in the air. This simple movement was something that Wang Lin had learned after studying Zen for a long time. Although it was a simple circle, Wang Lin's right hand made thousands of movements in one go without any pause.
Once the circle was formed, the swords flying at him immediately slowed down. They suddenly turned back into strands of wild grass and flew around Wang Lin.
Wang Lin's expression was calm. From the moment he stepped into the grass, he didn't stop for a single breath. He kept walking forward, and this time was no exception.
As he walked, the weeds and leaves scattered, not daring to stop his footsteps at all.
Just like this, Wang Lin walked forward. Just as he was about to walk out of the restriction, a few rays of red light suddenly appeared in the red mist. As soon as the rays of red light appeared, Wang Lin's eyes lit up. He raised his right hand, faced the sky, and grabbed at it.
Suddenly, all of the red light seemed to have been grabbed by an invisible hand. With one grab, it shattered. Although it quickly gathered together again, it fell to the ground and turned into a red leg that extended all the way to the outside of the restriction.
Wang Lin's expression was the same as ever as he stepped on the leg and walked out of the restriction.
After walking out, he wanted to throw his head back and let out a roar. After spending so much time, he had finally completely mastered the restriction. His interest in restrictions had reached an extreme. Turning around, Wang Lin's eyes flickered. He suddenly let out a cold laugh and waved his right hand inside the restriction.
Suddenly, the restriction changed, and the direction of the wild grass changed. If one looked closely, they would find that it was even more complicated than before.
"If someone passes behind me, I need to be careful!"
Wang Lin murmured to himself. Based on his understanding of the restriction, he had added another layer.
In other words, if someone stepped into the restriction again, no matter how they tried to break it, they would run into the second restriction. If they were caught off guard, they would most likely die.
Of course, if he used the same method as Wang Lin, the difficulty of his research would increase by several times.
Wang Lin sneered as he looked around. His body suddenly moved and he walked toward the next bush. After doing this, all of the restrictions around the mountain were increased in difficulty.
After doing all of this, Wang Lin pondered a little. He still felt that he wasn't vicious enough, so he sealed all the gaps between the restrictions. As a result, if anyone wanted to enter the mountain, they would have to walk through the restrictions.
After doing all of this, Wang Lin lifted his foot and walked up.
At this moment, halfway up the mountain, Six Desire Devil Lord's eyes flashed as he stared at the thick fog in front of him. This fog had been floating there for three days. During these three days, the fog hadn't moved at all. No matter how many techniques Six Desire Devil Lord used, he couldn't make it move.
His face was slightly gloomy. Beside him was the young man who had been following him. The young man was standing there with a blank expression, staring at the fog in front of him.
Six Desire Devil Lord's gaze swept past the young man and then turned to look behind him. He revealed a sneer. Along the way, the first trial he entered was the land of ice. He was already very familiar with the land of ice. Although he didn't have Ancient Emperor's Ice Wind Barrier, he had prepared for this for the past 1000 years.
At that time, he had boasted that he could lead everyone through the second half of the first trial. With his identity, to say such a thing, he must have been very confident.
500 years ago, he had obtained a treasure that allowed him to use a water escape technique. It had the same effect as Wang Qingyue's earth boat.
As a result, with his cultivation and understanding of the land of ice, he was able to easily lead the young man through.
As for the Path of No Return between the first and second trials, it didn't take him much effort. Although he had almost died the first time he walked on the stone bridge, his Six Desires Demonic Art had already reached the Transformation Realm. What he was least afraid of were all kinds of emotional fluctuations and desires, and he had studied them to the extreme.
As a result, the road of no return was like child's play to him. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to protect the young man, he wouldn't have wasted any time.
Although protecting only one person made the journey a bit slow, the result was the same.
What really caught his attention was the second trial. The second trial was called Forbidden Mountain. As the name implied, the entire mountain was filled with restrictions. The higher one went, the more complicated the restrictions were and the more powerful they were.
When the four of them came here for the first time, they had to follow closely behind the powerhouses from that time. They had barely managed to pass through, but they had suffered heavy casualties. Most of them had been forced by the powerhouses to test the power of the Restriction and were killed in front of them.
If it wasn't for the fact that Six Desire Devil Lord came with his master, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape death.
Luckily, his master was the main force in breaking the restrictions. He spent his entire life studying restrictions and formations. Finally, he stopped about 100 feet from the top of the mountain. He couldn't go any further, so he went in the opposite direction and placed another restriction on top of the restrictions. Then, he sent a message to a few strong cultivators and ambushed a mid stage Soul Formation cultivator. Using the cultivator's flesh and blood spirit vein, he forcefully opened up a path that was 100 feet wide.
This path could only exist for three breaths of time. In these three breaths of time, all the survivors rushed through. In the end, only a small number of people successfully made it to the top of the mountain and entered the third trial. The others all died.
Every time Six Desire Devil Lord thought about this, he couldn't help but feel fear. Now that his cultivation had reached the mid stage of Soul Formation, he dared to come here again.
The success of the first trial and the road of no return gave Six Desire Devil Lord a lot of confidence. He felt that he was lucky. The key person to pass the third trial was in his hands. Based on Six Desire Devil Lord's analysis, this person would definitely be able to help him pass the third trial, but the price would be this person's life.
However, Six Desire Devil Lord didn't care about this at all.
What he cared about was how to cross the 100 feet from the top of the mountain. Although he had prepared for this 1,000 years, he only had a 50% chance of success.
Over the past thousand years, he had spent a lot of time and energy studying restrictions. With his extraordinary memory, he had memorized most of the restrictions in the second trial. After a thousand years, he was confident that not a single restriction could stop him. He had solved them all with ease. However, every time he solved a restriction, he would immediately return it to normal.
He also added a few more restrictions. His goal was the same as Wang Lin's.
However, the higher the restrictions in the mountain, the more complex they became. Even Six Desire Devil Lord couldn't help but slow down. He often had to study it for a long time before he could take a step forward.
For example, the fog in front of the mountain didn't exist, but now it was here. This surprised him.
As for Wang Lin, after walking a few dozen feet, the weeds gradually lessened, revealing a black mountain rock. Wang Lin carefully looked at it for a long time, then took out the jade again and began to record.
The restrictions on this mountain rock were completely different from the weeds. The weeds followed the direction of the grass and added some mysterious laws to form restrictions.
However, this mountain rock was different. Aside from some stone patterns, there was nothing unusual about it. If it wasn't for the spiritual energy fluctuations coming from it, it would be impossible to tell that there were restrictions here.
Wang Lin walked around in a circle and found that all around him were similar restrictions. If he followed the path he took before, he would be able to pass. However, Wang Lin was more interested in studying the restrictions than passing through here.
He knew that passing through here was easy, but if he wanted to reach the top of the mountain, he would have to spend a lot of time studying the restrictions.
With this thought in mind, Wang Lin began to carefully study the restrictions.
There was no sense of time in the mountains. In the blink of an eye, seven years had passed.
On this day, Wang Lin stood on top of a protruding boulder and drank a large mouthful of spirit liquid. Over the past seven years, half of his hair had turned white.
He forgot to eat and sleep, not caring about anything else as he studied the restrictions. His mind was constantly calculating. Four years ago, his hair started to turn white from the roots.
However, as he continued to study the restrictions, his divine sense became stronger. Even his cultivation level had unknowingly reached the mid stage of Core Formation.
He was one step closer to the Nascent Soul Realm.
His gaze was even sharper and his temperament was completely different than before. If the Wang Lin from seven years ago was like a block of ice that couldn't be melted in ten thousand years, he gave off a cold and gloomy feeling. Now, other than that, he gave off an unfathomable feeling.
This feeling came from his eyes. His eyes seemed to contain everything. Occasionally, the sun, moon, and stars would flash by. If Duanmu saw Wang Lin again, he wouldn't be able to believe his eyes. This was clearly the eyes of Divine Sense that could only be obtained after reaching a certain level of mastery in restriction techniques.
Wang Lin's eyes were trained. In the past seven years, he had experienced countless restrictions. Each restriction required a lot of time and effort to study. There were a few times where he almost died.
Some of the restrictions were obviously added by someone else. Luckily, Wang Lin had always been cautious, so he immediately recognized that the restrictions were different from the ones on the mountain. After studying them, Wang Lin understood that the person above him was also an expert in restriction techniques.
Looking at the restrictions, it was obvious that the person's mastery in it was much higher than his.
However, Wang Lin wasn't afraid at all. He was no longer interested in passing the second test, the restriction mountain. In his eyes, this was the perfect place to learn restriction techniques step by step.
A place like this was hard to find. The restrictions here went from simple to complicated, from easy to difficult. It was a rare treasure!
Today, it was cloudy and raining. He had been sitting there for too long. When he got up, he almost didn't get up. His body was too weak.