Is It Wrong to Bully the Novice Village for System Rewards?

Chapter 232: A Spiritual Treasure Chooses Its Master

After a moment of deliberation, the female cultivator in the green dress made her decision. Her expression hardened as she issued a solemn command.

“Since Junior Sister Bai senses something is wrong, we proceed with extreme caution. For the rest of this exploration, we move as a single unit of five. I would rather our progress be slow than lose anyone to a trap.”

“Understood, Senior Sister Jin.”

The other four nodded in unison, drawing their trump card magical artifacts. The air crackled with tension as they prepared for an ambush.

The valley around them was a picturesque scene of birdsong and fragrant flowers. A dense canopy filtered the sunlight, casting the valley floor in a cool, damp twilight. A thin mist drifted through the trees, adding an ethereal quality to the silence.

As elite disciples of the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary, all five were veterans of secret realm trials. They fell into a standard defensive formation and began to sweep the area.

Moments later, Senior Sister Jin—the team captain—froze. Her face went pale as she let out a strangled gasp.

“Something is wrong! I’ve explored this secret realm multiple times. There should not be this much vegetation… and look at the river! The water is flowing uphill!”

Jolted by the warning, the team snapped out of their complacency. Their faces grew grave as the uncanny wrongness of the valley began to sink in.

Bai Xirou frowned, her grip tightening on her ice-blue short sword. She spoke up, her voice steady but urgent.

“Senior Sister Jin. Look at me. In your eyes, am I holding my sword in my left hand or my right?”

Senior Sister Jin blinked, startled by the question. She scrutinized Bai Xirou for a second before answering confidently.

“Your left.”

Bai Xirou shook her head slowly, a grim look in her eyes.

“No. I am holding it in my right hand. And from where I stand, your hairpin is inserted on the right side of your bun.”

Senior Sister Jin’s hand flew to her hair. Her fingers brushed the jade pin, and her eyes widened in horror.

“But… I definitely put it on the left this morning. How is this possible?!”

The other three cultivators exchanged terrified glances as the realization rippled through the group.

“I felt something was off the moment we stepped inside,” Bai Xirou said, taking a deep breath. She stared at the distorted flora around them. “Now I understand. Everything we see here is reversed. It’s like… we’re walking inside a mirror.”

The team finally woke from their stupor. Now that the veil had been lifted, the anomalies were glaring. Tree branches twisted in the wrong direction. The wind blew against the sway of the grass. The world was a perfect, inverted copy.

“Abort mission!”

Senior Sister Jin’s face cycled through several shades of fear before she made the call.

“This place is too bizarre for us to handle. We return to the Sanctuary immediately and report this to the Elders!”

The group didn’t hesitate. They simultaneously produced their Teleportation Talismans—lifelines that cost a fortune but guaranteed an escape.

They injected their spiritual energy.

Nothing happened.

The talismans remained dull and lifeless, heavy as stones in their hands.

“Damn it! Space is sealed! The talismans aren’t responding!”

Panic finally set in. Several disciples frantically activated their communication jades, shouting into them, trying to hail the outside world.

Dead silence.

This secret realm existed in the void outside the main world. They had entered via spatial coordinates. As Golden Core cultivators, they couldn’t traverse the void physically. Without the talismans, they were stranded in a dimension that shouldn’t exist.

“How is this possible?” a male disciple stammered, sweat beading on his forehead. “Is… is this the work of a powerful demon?”

Bai Xirou remained calm amidst the rising hysteria. She turned to their captain.

“Senior Sister Jin. Since the exit is blocked, our only option is to go deeper. The source of this phenomenon might hold the key to leaving.”

Senior Sister Jin took a breath, forcing herself to stabilize. She nodded. “You’re right. We push forward.”

With no retreat possible, the team of five steeled themselves and ventured deeper into the inverted valley.

Time seemed to stretch. Eventually, the dense foliage gave way to a clearing, revealing a structure that defied description.

A majestic palace of glazed glass towered before them. It was entirely transparent, as if carved from a single block of ice and jade. Under the strange light of this realm, it refracted a dazzling spectrum of colors, shimmering with a divine, otherworldly beauty.

“It… it’s breathtaking.”

“Is this an Immortal’s abode?”

“There must be treasures inside! Look at that aura!”

“Focus! Watch for restrictions!”

Despite their caution, the sheer grandeur of the palace drew them in like moths to a flame. As they approached the massive crystal gates, the air began to hum.

RUMBLE!

The world shook. The silent palace suddenly roared to life, its gates swinging wide.

Before anyone could react, a terrifying suction force erupted from the entrance. It was irresistible, dragging all five disciples into the maw of the building in an instant.

Bai Xirou’s vision blurred. The world spun.

When her sight cleared, she was standing alone in a vast hall. The walls, floor, and ceiling were lined with mirrors—thousands of them, reflecting her figure from every conceivable angle.

Her teammates were gone.

Where am I?

Just as fear began to claw at her throat, a voice echoed through the hall. It was female, melodious, and perfectly calm.

“Do not panic. I am the Spirit of the Mingxiao Mirror. Those who pass my trial shall become the new master of this treasure.”

The Mingxiao Mirror?!

Bai Xirou’s heart skipped a beat. A thunderous realization struck her.

A Spiritual Treasure is choosing its master!

…..

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan was blissfully unaware that his Dao companion had stumbled upon a legendary fated chance. He had his own problems to deal with.

He had returned to the secluded blessed land where he had originally formed his Nascent Soul. It was time to attempt the breakthrough to Soul Formation.

This location was perfect: rich in spiritual qi, geographically isolated, and tested for privacy. Why fix what isn’t broken?

Returning to the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary would have been safer in theory, but Qi Yuan wasn’t attempting a normal breakthrough. He was challenging the legendary Myriad Tribulations Soul Formation.

If he did that at home, the resulting light show—ten thousand lightning bolts turning the sky into a rave—would expose his true strength instantly. The Holy Scion of Supreme Mystery achieving a Heavenly Dao Soul Formation? That kind of news would paint a giant target on his back.

As the saying goes, the bird that sticks its head out gets shot.

As a humble, suffering host trying to survive undercover in a demonic sect, Qi Yuan wanted to keep his profile as low as the floorboards.

After setting up a perimeter of warning formations, Qi Yuan sat cross-legged in the center of the valley. He closed his eyes, centering his mind and merging his consciousness with the earth and sky.

He cycled his cultivation technique. The ambient spiritual qi responded violently, rushing toward him like a tidal wave and pouring into the Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul residing in his dantian.

Based on his track record, the Heavenly Dao didn’t just “test” him; it tried to murder him. This tribulation would likely be far more destructive than anything a normal cultivator faced. He couldn’t afford a single mistake.

Time lost its meaning.

Suddenly, Qi Yuan’s eyes snapped open. A brilliant divine light exploded from his pupils.

His qi and blood were roaring like a tsunami. His spiritual power boiled. He had reached the absolute peak of his current realm.

Without hesitation, he pulled a jade bottle from his robes and swallowed the Nine-Turn Nirvana Pill.

Instantly, pale golden patterns spiderwebbed across his skin, giving him the appearance of a descending deity.

Above him, the sky began to scream.

Clouds gathered out of nowhere, not grey or white, but a thick, suffocating ink-black. The wind howled like grieving ghosts. An aura of apocalyptic destruction descended, pressing down on the valley with crushing weight.

At that exact moment.

Two streaks of light tore through the horizon, screeching to a halt at the very edge of the gathering storm clouds.

The lights faded, revealing two figures hovering in the air.

One wore a green robe and a small, pretentious crown. His posture was slightly hunched, giving him an air of inherent sleaze. This was Piao Genshuo, the Holy Scion of the Celestial Zenith Sanctuary.

Beside him stood a tall, slender man with handsome features and an aura of detached elegance. This was Tu Ruoxu, the Holy Scion of the Eternal Sacred Ground.

The two rivals had been in the middle of a pursuit when they were forced to stop by the sheer magnitude of the atmospheric pressure ahead.

They stared at the boundless ocean of black clouds churning above the valley, shock written plainly on their faces.

Someone is crossing a tribulation here!