Upon reaching the very center of Sea God Island, a shimmering expanse of water came into view. In the middle of the sea lay a small island, upon which stood a majestic mountain. The Sea God Temple was situated at the peak of Sea God Mountain.
The Sea God Temple appeared to be carved from white jade, with a domed roof supported by massive white jade pillars. At first glance, it was impossible to discern the true Materials of the Sea God Temple.
The Sea God Island itself was emitting a vibrant, colorful light, illuminating the surrounding circular sea with a dazzling radiance.
The figures of the Seven Sacred Pillars remained outside the island, their eyes filled with reverence, not daring to overstep their bounds. They paused, turned their heads, and said apologetically, "This is the Forbidden Land of our Sea God Island, and it can be considered the true Sea God Island. Only Sea God guardians with a divine trial of purple rank or above can enter the temple to worship."
"There are a total of one thousand and one steps leading to the Sea God Temple. This is where you should prepare for your trial. We are unable to proceed further, so you must walk the rest of the way on your own."
As they spoke, a staircase, seemingly made of silk yet glowing with an unusual luster, descended before Qian Renchuan. The other end of the staircase led to the entrance of the Sea God Temple.
"Senior, I'll go first then."
After speaking, Qian Renchuan's gaze fixed on the staircase before him, and the voice of the Sea God echoed in his mind.
"Sea God Nine Trials First Trial: Pass through the Sea God Temple staircase, enduring the baptism of ten times the Seagod's Light, and enter the Sea God Temple."
"Reward: All spirit ring years increased by 1000 years, 5% Sea God affinity."
The voice flashed by, but it was incredibly clear. Qian Renchuan's eyes sharpened, and then he stepped onto the first stair.
Immediately, a golden light enveloped Qian Renchuan's body, and an indescribable, irresistible pressure suddenly bore down on him.
"This feels… this feels similar to the gravity training father put us through, but with the added trial of mental force."
Qian Renchuan mumbled, but he did not let his guard down, remaining vigilant at all times, taking one step at a time.
As Qian Renchuan moved forward, the resistance he encountered grew stronger. However, for Qian Renchuan's Physical Body, which was now comparable to a Titled Douluo, it was merely child's play.
He ascended a hundred steps in one go before Qian Renchuan felt a slight resistance, but it still had little impact.
At this rate, it wouldn't take long for Qian Renchuan to ascend to the Sea God Temple and begin the Seagod Nine Trials.
"How can it be this easy?"
In Qian Renchuan's view, this was a divine trial; how could it be so easy? Something abnormal always indicates something strange. He immediately calmed his mind and observed the surrounding changes.
Just as Qian Renchuan was continuously moving forward and feeling a sense of doubt, in an instant, a blue light suddenly enveloped the entire staircase.
A strong sense of expulsion immediately enveloped Qian Renchuan, attempting to directly throw him off the steps, but it was resisted by Qian Renchuan, who had already anticipated it.
"As expected, there was something fishy!"
Qian Renchuan's eyes lit up, and he secretly marveled at his foresight. Otherwise, he might have truly been flung off the stairs by that mysterious power.
Before long, water spears formed from divine force suddenly condensed above the staircase. If struck, one would be instantly expelled from the staircase.
"Wind Spirit Moon Shadow!"
Qian Renchuan immediately activated his Angel's Eye. His figure was like Gui Mei, leaving no trace. With just a few flashes, he had ascended dozens more steps.
With each step forward, the water spears flying down from the staircase became denser, making Qian Renchuan feel somewhat strained.
However, his speed did not decrease because of this. Instead, he became more proficient as time passed, and sweat gradually seeped from his forehead.
Qian Renchuan had never felt as exhilarated as he did today; this was true training.
His figure constantly flickered, and in the last few steps, he even leaped ten steps at once, directly reaching the top and arriving outside the Sea God Temple.
Afterward, Qian Renchuan collapsed exhausted onto the white jade-like floor, panting heavily. Although his body was utterly fatigued, his mental force had not weakened in the slightest.
Bearing his father's expectations, Xiao Wu's grievances, and the future of Spirit Hall, he would not retreat.
"Sea God Nine Trials First Trial passed. Reward: All spirit ring years increased by 1000 years, 5% Sea God affinity."
As the voice faded, information about the second trial immediately appeared.
"Sea God Nine Trials Second Trial: Without using any spirit power, dodge the attacks of the ten thousand-year Sea Spirit Beast phantoms in the circular sea for one hour."
As the voice faded, Qian Renchuan's figure vanished from his original spot. Then, the circular sea below the mountain began to surge, and ten azure Sea Spirit Beast phantoms formed.
However, because Qian Renchuan had not announced the start of the trial, the ten Sea Spirit Beasts did not attack, merely awaiting Qian Renchuan's response.
After about an hour, Qian Renchuan had completed his meditation. He exhaled softly and said, "I'm ready. Let the trial begin."
As Qian Renchuan's voice faded, in an instant, the ten Sea Spirit Beast phantoms attacked simultaneously. Water blades and water spears surged from all directions.
Qian Renchuan focused intensely, not even using his Angel's Eye. As he slightly narrowed his pupils, the surrounding attacks seemed to slow down by several times.
With a single crouch, he instantly dodged ten attacks. Water splashed past, wetting Qian Renchuan's hair.
Without the slightest pause, the ten Sea Spirit Beast phantoms attacked again. This time, Qian Renchuan skillfully used his movement technique to arrive in front of one of the phantoms.
After dodging the attack of the nearest phantom, he saw the remaining nine attacks approaching. Not daring to be careless, he hurriedly dodged them.
The nine attacks instantly struck the Sea Spirit Beast phantom behind Qian Renchuan. The phantom, upon being hit, immediately dissipated into a mass of seawater and fell into the sea.
"It really works."
Qian Renchuan was panting heavily from his extreme maneuver. Because he couldn't use spirit power, his current speed was less than one-tenth of his usual.
To last for an hour by conventional methods was certainly impossible, so he thought of trying to see if these Sea Spirit Beast phantoms were indestructible.
Now that he knew the Sea Spirit Beast phantoms could be destroyed, it became much simpler. He only needed to repeat the trick to easily destroy eight more phantoms.
If only one remained, he could easily last an hour without any major issues.
However, as if guessing Qian Renchuan's thoughts, the surrounding Sea Spirit Beast phantoms actually began to move.
This caused Qian Renchuan, who had planned to execute his strategy, to miss his chance. But he didn't get discouraged; instead, he wanted to try if he could use another method to exploit attacks and continue to destroy the phantoms.
But it still didn't work. Helplessly, Qian Renchuan could only continuously dodge the water spears that appeared from all directions.
It wasn't until he was gradually exhausted that he barely passed the trial. However, he definitely couldn't continue with the third trial today.
So, dragging his sore body, he arrived outside the Sea God Temple, where Sea Dragon Douluo and the others had already been waiting for a long time.
Seeing Qian Renchuan emerge, they eagerly went to meet him.
"Senior, I can't participate in the third trial today. I'll go rest first."
Qian Renchuan gave a wry smile. He had originally thought he could complete it in three days, but now it seemed that a divine trial was indeed not that simple.
"There's no rush. Back then, our Black Rank Seven Trials also took us a year and a half."
Sea Dragon Douluo chuckled a few times, comforting him. He then had someone settle Qian Renchuan down so he could rest well.