Soul Emperor Awakening

The Life and Death Cave didn’t determine life or death, but it did determine victory and defeat. If it truly were a matter of life and death, then a single round would leave most of the participants dead. The survivors would be maimed, and what kind of candidates for Elder would they be then?

The competition was brutal, but death was not the price. At most, a participant might suffer some injuries, but no one would die.

As for why it was called the Life and Death Cave, it was mainly because it contained numerous winding tunnels, each marked with a number. Participants simply had to enter the tunnel corresponding to the number on their bamboo slip.

Each tunnel presented different choices, and whether one ended up on an easy or difficult path all came down to luck. However, two tunnels would eventually intersect, meaning two people would become opponents. In this way, a group of over thirty people would be cut in half!

If someone had terrible luck and kept choosing difficult paths, they might get stuck and be unable to proceed before even meeting an opponent. There was also a time limit; lingering inside for too long would also result in failure.

The bamboo slip in their hand also served as a small escape talisman. Crushing it would activate the Grand Array inside, teleporting them out to prevent them from being trapped if severely injured. Of course, if they failed to emerge after a certain time, the Elders would go into the tunnels to retrieve them. Anyone who needed to be retrieved was usually too injured to move, but at least they wouldn’t be dead.

This was, more or less, why it was called the Life and Death Cave. Every tunnel held different choices. Picking a high-difficulty path meant facing immense challenges that not only wasted time but also consumed one’s Elemental Power. Since they had to fight continuously, insufficient Elemental Power would make the competition incredibly arduous.

As for Elixir Pills, their use was permitted, but due to the time limit, they couldn’t restore one’s energy very quickly. Thus, everything came down to luck. If one chose a difficult path, it wouldn’t matter much if they were powerful enough. But if they barely managed to pass, most of their Elemental Power would be depleted.

At that point, forget reaching the end; they would get stuck along the way. Others might make it through, only to face an opponent in far better condition than themselves, resulting in another loss. This was the origin of the name "Life and Death Cave": choose right and you "live," choose wrong and you "die." It wasn’t quite that dramatic, but a wrong choice made it very easy to lose.

Of course, if one’s strength was truly overwhelming, then any choice led to "life."

Regardless of the starting number of participants, only five would remain at the end. If only four were left, no substitute would be chosen; there would simply be four. Quality over quantity—that was their principle. If more than five remained, there would be a normal series of duels determined by drawing lots, just like in the Inner Hall competitions. They would fight until a final victor emerged to become the new Grand Elder!

In other words, Qing Liuyun’s strength back then had surpassed that of Cyan Cloud Peak and the others, which was how he secured the position of Grand Elder.

"You may all enter now. Find the tunnel corresponding to your number. The time limit is two Hours. Exceeding this time will result in immediate disqualification!" Qing Deyun announced. "The competition officially begins now!"

The moment he finished speaking, the crowd surged into the cave. Time was limited, so they couldn’t afford to waste a single moment. Encountering a difficult trial would cost even more time, so they had to race against the clock.

Lin Xuan followed the surge of people inside. Upon entering the mountain, he was met with a row of spacious cave entrances, each marked with a number. Before entering, Lin Xuan and Lin Xue exchanged a glance and a slight nod, then dashed toward their respective tunnels.

Lin Xuan’s number was five, so he headed for tunnel number five. He entered without a second thought. According to Qing Liuyun’s memories, every tunnel held a different trial, so those memories were of no use to him, especially since Qing Liuyun had entered a different numbered tunnel.

Once inside, the tunnel was unremarkable and utterly devoid of light. This was of no consequence to him. For Cultivators of their level, darkness was no impediment. Once one’s Cultivation reached a certain stage, light became meaningless. A lamp in a room was merely an indication of someone’s presence.

As he ventured deeper, he reached the first choice: a fork in the path. One way was easy, the other difficult. There were no markings on the surface, forcing one to rely completely on luck.

However, this wasn’t entirely true. If one possessed a powerful Spiritual Sense, they could blanket the area and perceive everything with perfect clarity, encountering no obstruction whatsoever.

Lin Xuan immediately manipulated his Spiritual Sense, splitting it into two streams to probe both paths ahead. Probing beyond the cave itself was more difficult; the thick rock walls contained materials that blocked Spiritual Sense. But that didn’t matter to him. He only needed to determine which of the two tunnels was the easier one.

After investigating for a moment, his powerful Spiritual Sense easily perceived the conditions deep within both paths. A faint smile touched his lips. ’The left path is the easy one.’

He immediately dashed into the left tunnel. After advancing at top speed, he quickly encountered the first trial: a Puppet at the Second Layer of the Essence Pill Stage.

It was forged from the relatively tough Black Cloud Iron and, in conjunction with the Grand Array here, was able to function as a guardian. The moment Lin Xuan stepped into the area, he drew the Puppet’s attention. Its eyes flared with a red glow as it lunged at him.

"Extreme Point Inch Light!"

Lin Xuan swung the Chi Dragon Heavens Rod, which transformed into a streak of red light and shot forward. THUD! The Puppet was effortlessly sent flying, its chest completely caved in. The force of the impact made its sturdy back bulge outward. It was destroyed in a single blow, damaged beyond repair.

He passed with ease, which was to be expected—this was the easy path, after all. The other path also contained a Puppet, but its Cultivation was at the Fifth Layer, it was forged from completely different materials, and fighting it would have consumed far more Elemental Power.

This wasn’t Lin Xuan cutting corners; it was him making smart use of his abilities. The trial hadn’t been designed to block Spiritual Sense precisely to test whose was stronger. If one encountered a maze, were they really expected to just run around blindly? Such a method was not only foolish but also a waste of time.

For those without power, this part of the trial might seem to be about luck. But for a genuinely skilled Cultivator, it was a test of their own abilities, not a reliance on chance.

After dispatching the Puppet, Lin Xuan quickly rushed ahead. Two Hours seemed like a long time, but there were still many battles to face. It was better to have time to spare than to run short.

Meanwhile, the spectators outside the Life and Death Cave were watching a display of bamboo slips. Each slip corresponded to a participant, and every time a trial was cleared, the respective slip would shine with a ray of light.

Just then, several slips lit up, drawing the crowd’s attention. Among them were the slips belonging to Tong Yulong and Lin Xuan—and they had lit up at almost the exact same moment!