Under the guidance of Ge Ping and the others, Ye Haochuan, Ju Yuqu, and another person arrived at the summit of Half-Mountain Residence for the first time. Ye Haochuan was witnessing for the first time just how grand this mountain, cut by a sword, truly was.

This section of the Half-Mountain was as large as a small town, with houses densely packed and immensely spectacular. However, there were surprisingly few people visible between the tidy alleys and buildings.

Squeak~ Squeak~

The sound of brooms sweeping the ground approached as Ye Haochuan and the others moved forward. Before long, two figures entered Ye Haochuan’s sight.

Among the two, an elderly man was hunched over and moved very slowly, pausing for three seconds between each sweep. In stark contrast, the middle-aged man next to him swept quickly and fiercely.

Neither of these two had any spiritual energy fluctuations about them, appearing just like ordinary groundskeepers.

But Ye Haochuan dared not assume so; in Half-Mountain Residence, there was no such thing as a servant. Anyone who could stay here was certainly a disciple of the residence.

With the strict disciple selection of Half-Mountain Residence, how could there be ordinary people here?

With this thought in mind, Ye Haochuan dared not show any disrespect and respectfully saluted the two sweeping figures.

Li Qi clearly shared the same thoughts as Ye Haochuan and bowed respectfully. Only Ju Yuqu remained defiant and unmoved.

The old man sweeping the floor nodded slightly with a smile at Ye Haochuan and the others and then continued to sweep the ground slowly and with dedication as if he hadn’t seen them.

As for the middle-aged man, he didn’t acknowledge the two at all, continuing to fervently clean the floor that was not dirty to begin with.

"Let’s go!" urged Ge Ping, leading them onward.

A few minutes later, they arrived inside a palace-like hall.

Inside the grand hall, three cultivators sat in a row.

The elderly man in the middle had white hair and beard, exuding an ethereal and amiable aura.

To the left sat Shentu Fu, whose hair was partially gray. Ge Ping had mentioned before that Shentu Fu disliked trivial matters, implying deeper meanings as to why he was here now.

The man on the right had sword-like eyebrows and eyes like a tiger, with whiskers resembling steel needles, possessing an imposing demeanor even without anger.

Ge Ping and the others respectfully stepped forward and bowed, greeting, "Manor Master, two senior brothers!"

The white-bearded elder nodded slightly, signaling them to begin.

This white-bearded elder was Liu Bai, the current Manor Master of Half-Mountain Residence.

Ge Ping and the others bowed respectfully, recounting the conditions of the previous competition and individually introduced Ye Haochuan, Ju Yuqu, and Li Qi.

After the introductions, Liu Bai nodded again, and Ge Ping and the others tactfully left the main hall.

This final round of trials did not require their presence as referees.

Or rather, they were not qualified to participate.

"You three have emerged from among countless young talents, clearly being one in tens of thousands,"

After Ge Ping and the others withdrew, Liu Bai kindly said, "The final test will be much harder than the previous ones, with even the possibility of life-threatening dangers. Be prepared; if you wish to quit, now is the time!"

Ye Haochuan and Ju Yuqu paid little heed to these words, as the previous four challenges weren’t tests in their eyes. If the last challenge was equally unchallenging, then Half-Mountain Residence’s selection would indeed be a joke.

However, Li Qi had a different perspective. For him, the prior trials had been extremely hard exams, incomparable to Ye Haochuan and Ju Yuqu’s ease. Should the fifth trial increase in difficulty by several multiples, he was unsure of passing.

Yet, having come thus far, giving up now felt like a waste, so after brief hesitation, Li Qi decided not to retreat.

"You three truly deserve to be called the elite of the younger generation, so I won’t say more. Let’s start the trial!"

Liu Bai chuckled and sighed, then waved his hand, causing a pea-sized golden orb to float out, hovering before the three.

Ju Yuqu, as if accustomed to such things, stepped forward. In the next moment, his figure twisted and was completely absorbed into the golden orb like oil caught in a vortex.

"This is... a dimension world?" Ye Haochuan was amazed.

On Earth, he had encountered several dimension worlds, but those were spatial intersections with the Earth world and didn’t move easily.

However, this Golden Pearl World could transform into a tangible item, carried and deployed at will.

After the brief amazement, Ye Haochuan and Li Qi also took a step forward, entering the golden orb.

The next instant, the surroundings shifted dramatically for Ye Haochuan. Gone were the luxurious halls with carved dragons and painted columns, replaced by an endless forest. However, Ju Yuqu and Li Qi, who had entered with him, were nowhere to be seen.

Roar~ Howl~

Within the forest, endless screeches and roars of creatures echoed, each sound seemingly resonating in the heavens, as if declaring sovereignty to these three intruders.

"Gentlemen, do you see the tallest mountain here? At its peak is a Seven-Colored Mysterious Stone. The one who retrieves this stone shall become the ninth disciple of the Half-Mountain Residence’s Filial Sect," came Liu Bai’s voice from the sky.

"Oh? So the results of the previous four trials are irrelevant here?" Ye Haochuan felt pleased.

He had worried about the nine-point gap with Ju Yuqu and how to bridge it. But now, it seemed irrelevant; securing that Seven-Colored Mysterious Stone would mean victory.

Yet, the most delighted was not Ye Haochuan, but Li Qi. His score from the previous four trials lagged more than twenty points behind Ye Haochuan’s. If those scores mattered, he’d have no chance to win. But now, he had a glimmer of hope.

"The tallest mountain?" Ye Haochuan climbed to the treetop to survey his surroundings.

His location was amidst a valley surrounded by equally high mountains; discerning the tallest one was perplexing.

"Never mind, I’ll just scale one and see!" With that decision, Ye Haochuan began planning his route.

At that moment, a wild roar suddenly came from ahead, sounding not far from him.

Alarmed, Ye Haochuan quickly activated his Perspective Eyes to see.

Goodness, am I down on my luck?

Ye Haochuan was deeply concerned.

Before him, in the direction of the noise, a giant tiger-like demon beast was charging towards him. Additionally, he noticed many other demon beasts converging upon him from all sides.

He initially believed that although this place had many demon beasts, his Heavenly Eye could aid him in discreetly avoiding their territories to stay safe.

Yet, unexpectedly, these beasts didn’t defensively guard territories but actively launched a cooperative hunt against them.

With demon beasts closing in from all directions, Ye Haochuan was in dire straits, unable to ponder further, choosing a path with fewer beasts, and dashed off.

The demon beasts quickly arrived at the spot where Ye Haochuan had been moments ago, sniffed around, and soon detected his trail, pursuing him once more.