Chapter 26 – Wuquan Mountain, Azure Mystic Wood

“Dong… dong… dong…”

As the sun completely disappeared beyond the horizon, three solemn bell tolls resonated from within Five Springs Mountain.

When the bell sounds faded away, the golden barrier enveloping Five Springs Mountain gradually dissipated.

It was replaced by a thick fog that shrouded the mountains, so dense one couldn’t see their own hand before their face.

Simultaneously, all examinees’ wristwatches in the simulation exam vibrated.

A new exam message appeared:

[Second Phase of Simulation Exam Commences]

[Exam Content: Persist until the end and accumulate points. Exam concludes in three days. Ranking determined by point total]

[Note 1: Upon entering Five Springs Mountain, positions will be randomly teleported]

[Note 2: Location information of top ten students will be broadcast every half hour]

After reading the message on his wristwatch, Lu Chen put his phone in his pocket and turned to Mu Xiaoye.

“Little Yezi, it’s time we set off.”

Mu Xiaoye nodded, then patted the head of the giant-toothed snow leopard beside her and said, “Go back now, Big White. Remember not to shout so loudly next time.”

“After all, not everyone is as kind-hearted and averse to killing as I am.”

Hearing this, the giant-toothed snow leopard gave Mu Xiaoye a complicated look before running off into the forest without looking back, disappearing from sight.

Mu Xiaoye waved at its retreating figure, then said to Lu Chen beside her, “Alright, Little Lu, let’s go.”

The two entered the mist-shrouded Five Springs Mountain one after the other.

The moment he stepped into the fog, Lu Chen once again experienced the sensation of his first teleportation into a Secret Realm.

‘Five Springs Mountain… so it’s a multi-layered Secret Realm.’

After what felt like an eternity, Lu Chen finally emerged from the thick fog.

Mu Xiaoye, who had been beside him earlier, was nowhere to be seen.

Lu Chen wasn’t surprised by this. He raised his head to look ahead.

What greeted his eyes was a forest of bluish-gray trees that felt both familiar and alien.

Familiar, because Lu Chen felt like he had seen this scenery somewhere before.

Alien, because Lu Chen was certain this was his first time visiting Five Springs Mountain.

Unlike the vibrant, primeval forest-like periphery of Five Springs Mountain,

the forest before him was eerily silent, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.

Bluish-gray trees that resembled steel…

Lu Chen’s pupils contracted sharply, and he hurriedly pulled out his phone.

He controlled his game character to the Azure Darkwood Forest outside the Azure Cloud Sect’s outer sect, zooming in on the game screen.

After a moment, Lu Chen looked up in disbelief at the bluish-gray trees of Five Springs Mountain before him.

Completely azure-dark, trees like refined iron.

There was no mistake – what appeared before him now… were indeed the Azure Profound Trees from the game!

“The world from the game… has actually appeared in reality…”

At this moment, Lu Chen felt as if heaven and earth were spinning in his mind.

Many thoughts he had never entertained before now surfaced one after another.

Long ago, Lu Chen had two theories about the game world.

The first theory was that the game world and the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance were actually the same world, just existing in different eras.

The era of the Azure Cloud Sect was slightly more ancient than that of the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance.

But even after scouring all available information within the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance, Lu Chen still couldn’t find any records related to the Azure Cloud Sect.This either indicates that the era in the game is so ancient that even the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance has no records of it.

Or it simply does not exist within the world of the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance.

His second conjecture was that the world in the game, much like the many secret realms that suddenly appear across the Nine Provinces, is an independent world outside the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance.

This idea was originally what Lu Chen considered the most likely possibility.

But now, with the sudden appearance of the Azure Profound Trees, he found himself leaning more toward the first conjecture.

But could a person… truly traverse two different times and spaces?

Lu Chen pondered for a long time, eventually shaking his head and deciding that his first idea was still too absurd.

“After all, I have too little information to use it as evidence.”

“Moreover, I can’t be certain that this batch of Azure Profound Trees is definitely the same one planted in the outer sect of the Azure Cloud Sect.”

“Nor can I take it as proof that the Azure Cloud Sect once existed in this world.”

“Unless I can find traces of the Azure Cloud Sect outside the secret realm, or discover information about the Azure Cloud Sect in the history of the Immortal Alliance.”

“Otherwise, for chaotic products of time and space like secret realms, they could just as easily represent ancient times or alternate worlds.”

“Forget it, there’s no need for me to worry about so much right now.”

“Whether the world in the game is from ancient times or an alternate dimension, it doesn’t really matter to me at present.”

“I should just focus on taking care of myself. As for other matters… I’ll explore them slowly when I have the ability in the future.”

With this thought, Lu Chen’s previously chaotic mind finally settled.

Then he looked at the Azure Profound Trees before him, his eyes gradually lighting up.

After all, he hadn’t forgotten about the Azure Mystic Puppets he encountered in the Ancient Cultivator Tomb, nor had he forgotten the ‘Azure Profound Puppet Art’ he obtained from them.

Originally, since crafting Azure Mystic Puppets required Azure Darkwood as materials, and Lu Chen hadn’t found any information or sources for Azure Profound Trees within the Immortal Alliance,

he hadn’t paid much attention to this puppet art.

After all, given his current attainments and talent in puppetry,

he wasn’t yet at the level where he could infer other things from one fact and create puppets without Azure Darkwood.

But now, with real Azure Profound Trees available, things were different.

With them, his Azure Profound Puppet Art could finally be put to use.

Thinking this, Lu Chen immediately took out his Magic Sword from his Storage Bag and walked toward the nearest Azure Profound Tree.

As for things like the mock exam or earning points,

Lu Chen had long forgotten them completely.

After all… how could exams be more important than chopping trees!

Outside the secret realm, watching Lu Chen preparing to chop trees, Chen Fugui asked puzzledly: “What is Student Lu planning to do? Chop trees?”

“Playing with his phone in the first stage, wasting Spiritual Power chopping trees in the second stage – what’s going on with this kid? He keeps doing things unrelated to the exam. Isn’t he worried about performing poorly and affecting his academic credits?”

Hearing this, Li Youquan couldn’t help but say: “Forget about credits for now – these thousand-year Azure Profound Trees are as hard as Body Cultivators at the Peak of Qi Condensation Stage.”

“Even if Student Lu wants to chop them, he probably couldn’t cut down a single tree in three days, right?”

“Besides, if he really wants Azure Darkwood, why doesn’t he just exchange for it in the academy’s Treasure Pavilion?”Chen Fugui looked at Li Youquan as if he were a fool and said faintly, “We’ve only just gained control of the second layer of the Five Springs Mountain Secret Realm. These Azure Profound Trees are the first batch discovered within the Immortal Alliance. The Treasure Pavilion doesn’t even have these items yet—where do you expect him to exchange for them?”

“Uh…”

Li Youquan’s lips twitched, realizing he had said something foolish.

But this only made him more confused about Lu Chen’s intentions.

Even they hadn’t fully researched the specific uses of the Azure Profound Trees yet. Why was Lu Chen, merely a student, so fixated on them—to the extent that he would neglect exams and only care about cutting them down?

Could it be… he knew how to utilize these Azure Profound Trees?

Strange. This student’s behavior was truly strange.

(End of Chapter)