Prelude: The Temple of Doom 2

The temple behind Afanzo was a gigantic piece of art from eras long forgotten. The ancient builders erected the temple like the spear of a hardened warrior. It had a long shaft that pierced through thick layers of clouds. Its tip was like the blade of a spear, sharp and shiny as if golden rays of sunlight slept on its surface. Thick slabs of ancient rocks built the shaft in clean overlapping circles right up to the base of the spearhead. Golden metal took over, spreading across its entire surface.

Afanzo stood ramrod straight on air, gazing at Bai Yunru and his entourage. The man didn't move and simply observed the glowing blood on the forest floor. Once the brightnes intensified to the point where the orange slowly invaded the rest of the place, Afanzo flicked his wrist. The Droplets released immense power that rushed into Afanzo's palm. He clenched his fist and his entire appearance went under a sudden change, one that drilled fear into the emotionless Bai Yunru.

The Transcendent Talents noticed their ability to move and talk left them the moment Bai Yunru slashed with his blade. At first they thought Bai Yunru's power was so inconceivable that they froze, but quickly they realised that wasn't the case. Even Bai Yunru stopped moving a while after putting his sword back in place. Then they felt it. A deep ancient presence swoop its senses through them, freezing their souls and shaking the foundations of their Mindscape. An instant later the presence disappeared. But frozen, they remained.

"This is not the first time your kind has desturbed the peace of this place. Whenever your kind show up. A tribulation of mass proportions kills millions upon millions of this lands people. I'm puttingan end to that," Afanzo said, "Finding you is surprisingly easy. Especially with the Heavens Aiding Me," Afanzo spoke in a simple tone, one laced with anger.

The righteous expressio he showed earlier was a mere mask to understand the situation. He thought that maybe the foreigners could be reasoned with, but witnessing people of his nation slaughtered in an instant before negotiations were completed made him lose faith. The Young Man's attainment in the sword far eclipsed his own, and if it weren't fpr an artefact deep within his heart, he would have died like the rest of his people. Besides the artefacts basic ability to protect him from life threatening injuries it boosted his strength and cultivation.

"I am Afanzo the Guardia of Umwazo. The Heavens have given me the power to judge your transgressions," he said.

The temple rumbled with resplendent light. Power waves of power spread out to the far reaches of the trial grounds, alerting countless geniuses to the temple. Through the aid of the heart-shaped crystal inside his heart, Afanzo connected to the temple. His body disappeared in golden sparkles. Suddenly everyone could move again.

Bai Yunru had no idea what happened. His muscles and even qi wasn't under his control for a few seconds. Something blocked his sword slash when he was about to decapitate Afanzo, leaving the man in one piece. I'm that moment he felt a string presence residing within Afanzo. Though he couldn't tell what.

"Should we leave? This has clearly evolved into a trap I don't think we are qualified to tackle," Kun Hui said.

A few moments of total powerlessness made him realize that completing the trials wasn't a cake in the walk he initially thought it was. The presence that seeped through him meant that his Saint Level cultivation was far from enough to single handedly win these trials. And he still had Long Wei to worry about.

"You don't get it do you fatso? This should reinforce your drive to explore that temple. Our lives are secured here. It's perfect way to practise exploring forbidden grounds. And most of all their has to be some Dao Defying treasure if an entire squadron of more than eighty Saint Realm experts came to block our path. I'm only seeing ups here. Most of all, we are Saints," Tang Pengfei said.

"... That Afanzo just became countless times stringer before he disappeared. I don't I can kill him with one or two full powered strikes," Bai Yunru told the rest his observation.

Tang Pengfei rethought his assessment. He didn't feel any powerful waves from the man that just disappeared. How did Bai Yunru feel it? He noticed Bai Yunru gently running the hilt of his blade as it shivered. Fear? Bai Yunru's blade felt afraid?

Bai Yunru was the second in line to the Bai Clan's Patriarch seat. His older sister was the first in line. As the second in line, he was gifted one part of the Bai Clan's most precious swords: Pale Emotions. A legendary blade that never feared to cut anything within the user's Realm. The metal used to make it withstood the birth and destruction of four Chaos Era's at point blank and the hilt was made from Nether-Ice, a special type of ice found only in the Nether Expanse a few quadrillion light years from the Imperial Expanse.

Seeing the Blade Shiver against an opponent of the Mortal Realms was a sight to be hold.

"We wait. The Waves of power were bait for others to come in this direction. And they probably will. So we just wait and see," Tang Penhfei said, "You see. The mantra of the cultivation world has always been the same from the very first Chaos Cycle. High Risk. High Reward."

"I'm aware of that. But the Cosmic Bead is enticing. I highly doubt this opportunity will out class winning that," Kun Fei.

"I'd suggest you just enjoy your time here and try to score a good enough score to make your Elders Proud. With Long Wei here. No one else has a chance at the firsts spot," Bai Yunru broke his silence, "Did you not feel his power in the battle a few days ago? I can't match that at my strongest."

"You have a point Lovely Bai-"

"Can you stop that? It's annoying," Bai Yunru interrupted Tang Penhfei.

Tang Pengfei rolled his green eyes and continued, "As I was saying. Lovely Bai Yunru has a point. The Cosmic Beads are Long Wei's for the taking. Since that's the case. We should turn our energy to other opportunities lying around in this place. By luck, we might find something that at maximum can compete against a Cosmic Bead."

"Shit! I forgot about him. We really don't stand a chance," Kun Peng said.

The other Transcendent Talents agreed with the decision to wait it out until a large enough group gathered so that they could tackle the temple together. They realised that the temple wasn't a simple relic from the past. The presence they felt for a split second removed all doubts. A treasure. A treasure that could change the course of their cultivation lied somewhere within the walls of that temple and they has a chance of getting it.

"How many Alchemists and Formation Masters do we have in this group?" Tang Pengfei asked.

He lifted his hand first, "Tang Pengfei. Ninth Grade Mortal Alchemist, Ninth Grade Mortal Formation Master."

A few gasps bounced from one cultivator to the next. For a mortal to reach the Ninth Grade in any profession was extremely rare, most Ninth Grade Mortal Professionals were in the Human Immortal Real and above. The insights required were top difficult for those in the Mortal Realms to grasp. Eighth Grade was the highest most professionals reached and that was usually when they were in the Pseudo-Immortal Realm. Someone in the Saint Realm was supposed to be between the Sixth and Seventh Grade Mortal level in any profession.

"Zu Long, Eighth Grade Formation Master," A young man that was no different to speckless white snow raised his hand. His hair was white as snow, his skin pale as white paint and eyes as silver as the moon.

"Wan Liling, Eighth Grade Formation Master, Eighth Grade Alchemist," A lady with silky brunette hair and a pair of pink eyes shouted in a lovely soft voice.

Aside from the two, there were no other professionalists amongst the Transcendent Talents. The rest below the Saint Realm had a slew of Alchemists, Craftsmen and Formation Masters that were between the Fourth and Fifth Grade Mortal Ranks. Tang Pengfei wanted to gather all the professionalism and form an elite team that would be prepared for anything the moment they stepped into the tower.

Traps of all kinds were the basics of any ancient inheritance site or treasure cove. Cultivation One-O-One. The Temple at minimum had Immortal Origins, meaning they couldn't overpower it with their current cultivation bases. They had to follow the rules like any ant.

Once he got everything he needed he started discussing the plan with everyone. Bai Yunru turned his head to the side and didn't bother much with the planning phase. Though he made certain to understand the tactics they'd go through.