“Surround him, use the net, keep him from running away!”

“There is no place to run now bastard!”

A strange-looking gelatinous creature with a giant toothy skull inside its body was trying to squeeze through a constricting net made of metal. The body was attempting to squeeze through the gaps but a surprisingly sturdy thin energy filament kept it from escaping. Above in the air, a group of nascent soul masters were completing a grand technique that produced crackling lightning.

“It won’t last for much longer, give it your all, we must destroy that core!”

The monster continued to struggle but instead of trying to slip through the spaces in the net, it started to expand its gelatinous body. Inside it, there were several red orbs that were constantly moving around. To defeat this boss monster they had to identify the true core and destroy it. If not the creature would keep regenerating its body with no end.

Something like this was easier said than done. There were hundreds of fake cores swimming around the large translucent body which was quite toxic. If anyone attempted to place their limb into the gooey body, it would instantly dissolve it. Even their weapons like spears quickly corroded before being able to do much damage to the core.

The only way of destroying this monster would be by either identifying the true core and destroying it before the weapon gave out. The United Element Sect elders decided to go with a second option by bathing this monster in divine lightning. A strong enough technique that could devastate the creature’s entire body would also do the trick.

Everyone here had fought bravely and even suffered acidic wounds from luring the monster in. It was different from all the other strange things and trials that they had all faced here. Without the help of this net and other items that the glowing orb led them to, most of them would have already been dead.

The skies rumbled as all the nascent soul masters focused on the grand formation they created. Soon a massive surge of energy flew towards that silvery net that was able to contain the monster in one place. Thanks to some strange attributes on the net the electrical energy was equally distributed through the whole monster. Soon the people could see all the cores bursting like overfilled balloons and filling out the gelatinous monster’s body with a red pigment.

“The fake cores are bursting, don’t let up!”

A high-pitched screech escaped from the monster’s skull head as it continued to try to squeeze itself out of the net. It was not letting itself be killed by this wide-area attack and started focusing on one point of the electrified net. The skull shot upwards in a last-ditch effort of freeing itself and after slamming into the metallic barrier it was able to burst through it.

“It's heading for the elders, watch out!”

The people that were down on the ground called out while watching the skull heading up in the direction of the nascent soul masters. The creature had probably identified the sect matriarch that was the focal point of the formation as the main enemy. However, this was not enough to shock the experience group of cultivators anymore. Zhang Liena opened up her eyes and utilized one of her wind techniques to intercept the monster’s ascent.

“Zhang Zhi, the true core is inside of that skull, destroy it.”

“Yes, Matriarch!”

It was pushed back by a burst of green wind energy and put itself in a bad situation. Due to the wide-area electrical field, it was put in, the monster was forced to do something drastic. It abandoned most of its body and just surrounded its skull head with a more concentrated sludge. Inside it was the last core that didn’t have any space to move around.

Zhang Zhi shot out toward this monster that was momentarily halted. His blade remained in his hilt that was hovering right next to his hip. The creature opened up its mouth to reveal a plethora of shark-like teeth. The skull was a lot larger than a human and it could devour Zhang Zhi in one gulp if he failed in his attack.

Suddenly just as Zhang Zhi was about to get devoured by the massive skeletal head, his body turned to water. The monster chomped down hard but it only damaged its own jaw with that ferocity. Instead of a man, it got a mouth full of water that impeded its view for a fraction of a second. This was all the time that this swordmaster needed to deliver a thousand cuts, shredding the skeletal body into many tiny pieces.

Even if the core was still swimming around inside the monster’s cranium it was unable to contend with the mass of sword energy. The monster’s body started crumbling into many tiny even slices of bones before exploding into a red mist. With this the boss was dead and everyone could breathe out in relief.

“It’s over!”

“Elder Zhi did it!’

Everyone started cheering while the monster’s body disintegrated into a million tiny wisps of energy. This energy started making its way into the bodies of each and every cultivator here. They could feel a massive boost of energy coming over them and some were even ready to make the push towards a new realm.

The net that they used to trap the monster dropped to the ground and lost all of its luster. Within it, a bright glow appeared that everyone here already knew. Soon from within the light an item appeared, it was a long spear with a jagged tip. It was green and looked to possess some poisonous affinities.

“Get ready everyone, we have some time to rest before the exit appears, use it to recover your stamina and Qi! Gather up all the items, herbs, and anything that could be useful!”

One of the elders that took part in creating the large heavenly lightning formation floated down to give out some orders. The pattern of this secret ground was already known to them. After thirty minutes of defeating a boss, an exit would be created. They had then around ten minutes to get through it or be left behind in this place. One time they had almost lost one of their sect brothers that was slow in passing through.

“Wait… something is wrong… it's opening too soon, everyone, pick up your weapons! This might not be over yet!”

To everyone’s surprise, the path to the next level appeared a lot sooner than before. A regular-looking double door appeared in the air with a set of stairs made up of white light heading up to it. Previously what was presented to them was usually not as eventful, a simple blue portal down next to the strongest creature in a given tower level.

“What should we do? Could it have been the last beast?”

The group looked at the snow-white door that wasn’t opening but looked quite inviting. Before anyone here made a decision they looked at the orb of light that had helped them out throughout their adventures. Previously fake portals had appeared and the orb had reacted by glowing red to warn them. However, this time around the orb started floating towards the stairs and started quickly flying up.

“Does it want us to follow inside? It must be safe.”

Zhang Liena moved towards the orb while the other sect members followed after. No one really knew what would happen but the blue orb had allowed them to pass through many tiresome trials and they had learned to trust it. For some reason, there was something familiar about it but no one could really describe it with words. Only after the door started to open by itself did the people realize that this orb had been sent out by someone that they knew very well.

“I see that you all managed to get through it, welcome back.”

Without anyone's input, the path ahead started opening and a figure appeared from within. He did not cross through the threshold but his face was one that everyone knew. Those snow white hair and handsome features were plastered all over the United Element Sect, it was their patriarch, Zhang Dong.

“W-we greet the Patriarch!”

Everyone besides Zhang Liena clasped their hands together while bowling. The orb of light that was their helper flew toward their Patriarch and settled down on his shoulder before quickly vanishing afterward.

“You’re not an illusion.”

“I hope not, I wouldn’t be able to give you a hug if I was one.”

He reached out with his hand and Liena hesitated. There were traps and techniques that could impersonate loved ones. They usually lured in people like her that longed to see their family again. At their lowest, they would present them with what they were searching for and sometimes it would mean death. Her eyes quickly went over the mannerisms of this Zhang Dong and she could not see it as anyone else but her husband.

“Don’t worry I’m not an illusion but I can’t really get through this barrier either. You’ll have to step inside, there aren’t any more beasts inside.”

The man pressed his palm against the empty air in the door to show off that there was some kind of invisible barrier that he couldn’t cross. Liena slowly pushed her hand forward and was able to stick her hand through the threshold of this door. Soon her palm made its way to Zhang Dong’s cheek.

“It is really you, husband.”

“Of course, now get over here.”

He pulled her inside and their bodies touched, the fear of this all being an illusion evaporated. Liena could tell the soul of her husband from anything else thanks to their close relationship. Soon the two were leaning against each other, his arms were around her waist while hers were around his shoulders. The two embraced in silence as the other sect members watched without uttering a word.

“We should probably call over the juniors, this door won’t stay open forever.”

“Why did you have to ruin it…”

Liena puffed up her cheeks like a little pouty child after Zhang Dong whispered into her ear. The troubles all of them were facing weren’t over yet. The Long Clan was still after them and not everyone was assembled. Zhang Zhi and Liena were here but Zhang Jin was still missing. He was not in this trial tower so perhaps he remained in the other area where his sect members went to explore. Going by the number of people here, there were still a lot of missing people from his sect that needed to be rescued, time was of the essence.