Reborn as a Mountain: I Defy the Heavens with a Smile

Swoosh!

As soon as Ye Chen flicked his sleeve, a giant purple cauldron appeared on the platform, stunning both Lin Xian'er and the old man Yang Wuji.

Then, before they could think of anything, Ye Chen waved his hand, summoning a bright red flame below the cauldron and placing some herbs inside it.

"Brother Ye Chen, are you refining pills?!!!" Lin Xian'er exclaimed suddenly, her big eyes shining like stars as she forgot her senior sister Liu Jiarong, who was about to fail.

"No, I am not," Ye Chen shook his head with an amused look as he saw her excitement.

Then, without explaining anything, he utilized spiritual consciousness to control the fire and herbs inside the cauldron.

The little girl was left puzzled at his reply; however, she understood it was not the time to inquire so she became silent and watched his actions with extreme focus even though she didn't understand a thing.

Unlike her, the old man Yang Wuji knew about alchemy, as he was one himself and with each action Ye Chen made, the old man's shock only increased.

'What a vast amount of spiritual consciousness! Maybe it can rival a tier-3 or even tier-4 alchemist! Then there is also his alchemy technique, extremely precise, profound, and mysterious! Along with the understanding of herbs this brat has, he is a one-in-a-million alchemy genius!'

'A pity that he has Divine Dao Physique; if not, I would've taken him as my disciple,' the old man sighed with frustration. Nonetheless, when he glanced at the little girl, his eyes shone brightly.

Just as the old man was busy in his thoughts, a fresh fragrance entered his nostrils, making his spirit feel refreshed.

Looking at Ye Chen, he saw him opening the lid of the cauldron and letting the light-green mist, which was the fresh fragrance, flow in the air.

'What is Brother Ye Chen planning to do?' Lin Xian'er thought with a puzzled look.

It didn't take too long, and soon she understood what he was trying to do as the green mist floated downstairs with a flick of his sleeve.

…

Swoosh!

After trying again and again, everyone was exhausted and felt their mental state getting worse.

Even Li Mei and Su Ying were no exception, as negative thoughts appeared in their heads, saying it would be impossible for them to reach the top.

It got so much worse that they even started to doubt themselves.

'Looks like I can't catch up with senior brother,' Li Mei thought to herself, feeling disappointed and discouraged.

She didn't understand love completely but just this thought made her eyes wet and soon her body felt a lot weaker, as if she was nothing but a mortal.

"Hmm? This fragrance?" Suddenly a fresh scent entered her nose, making her feel refreshed and calming her mental state instantly.

Looking around, she saw wisps of light-green mist flowing down from the top of the staircase.

Without even thinking, she knew it was Ye Chen, as only he could pull something like this.

However, she was not too happy because after helping her recover slightly, the light-green mist distanced itself away. No matter how hard she or anyone else tried, the light-green mist did not let anyone recover too much or, rather, kept them at the brink of the end.

As long as they tried to clear the trial one or two times, they would be faced with exhaustion once again.

…

"Brother Ye Chen, why didn't you help them recover completely? Look, there is so much light-green mist!" Lin Xian'er inquired as she grabbed his hand and started swinging back and forth with anxiousness.

How could she not worry when she saw her senior sister and others chasing the light-green mist to recover from mental exhaustion?

But before Ye Chen could reply, the old man Yang Wuji spoke.

"Little girl, although this brat's actions are a bit excessive, they are very useful and will help them," he stated with an approving look.

However, Lin Xian'er didn't believe him.

"Old man, you are the creator of trial and there is no way you want everyone to pass so you are lying!" she said with a pout.

Hearing her, the old man's face couldn't help but twitch. But before he could clear his name, Ye Chen spoke.

"He isn't lying. Also, he is extremely happy to see others clear the trial since they will compete with me," he explained.

Listening to this, the little girl did not even hesitate once and nodded as if his words were the heavens truth, while the old man was nothing but trash.

The old man's face was bitter when he realized how she treated him; nonetheless, he still didn't give up on the thought of taking her as a disciple and offered more conditions.

A pity that the little girl did not care. In the end, all the old man could do was to sigh silently and watch the disciples on the stairs taking the trial.

'This brat is really crafty; at this rate it wouldn't take too long, and they would attain enlightenment,' the old man thought to himself as he stroked his beard.

Although Ye Chen's actions looked like he wanted everyone to suffer, this was not entirely the case because the chances of attaining enlightenment were higher like this.

As long as he gives everyone hope that they can recover once again after clearing the next trial, they will do everything they can to gain the part of insight. Which meant exceeding the limits of their potential, which was the fastest proven way for attaining enlightenment.

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Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

As soon as everyone saw the light-green mist floating on to the next step, everyone understood what they needed to do and just like the old man had guessed, they started to do everything to gain the part of insight.

However, can everyone succeed? Of course not, as Wang Yiyi, Xue Feng, and Li Zhenyuan failed. Nevertheless, they could still try once again, and they just did that before finally gaining the part of insight.

After which came the recovery, but like last time, it was only slight.

However, this didn't dampen anyone's spirits, as they understood as long as they could climb the next step successfully, they could recover once again.

Just like this, they all became focused on the clearing trial and forgot the time.

Soon hours passed by, and evening came, then the night.

However, even Li Mei, who was at the six hundredth step of the insight trial, didn't attain enlightenment. Which meant things were even harder than before and unless she had three or more chances, she wouldn't be able to gain insight.

Although Ye Chen could let her try again and again, he didn't want that. Furthermore, to clear the trial like this, she and others would need at least half a day more.

There was no way they could continue like this, as three more trials were ahead, which would take a few hours to clear.

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"Only twelve hours remained! Do you think they can reach the top?"

"I don't know but things are harder now, as even the first two, Li Mei and Su Ying, are struggling."

"They are having such a hard time even after help; just what kind of trial is that?"

"Who knows since anyone who made it up there would get help, so it is hard for them to fail?"

"The one who is helping them is Ye Chen, right?"

"Yeah, why are you asking? Didn't you see him taking out a cauldron and doing something?"

"I did see that; it's just I don't understand why he is helping Zhu Dong? Didn't he have a beef with the Flame Dragon Sect?"

"Now that you say it, there is something fishy."

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Just as the disciples below were puzzled, even Zhu Dong himself was feeling baffled at why Ye Chen was helping his enemy.

Lin Xian'er, of course, saw this and inquired but Ye Chen just shrugged and refused to answer.

Only the old man could guess something and shook his head.

'He is really a demon,' he thought of himself and looked down to find some more promising disciples.

There were Li Mei, Su Ying, Lan Ming, and Wang Yiyi, who caught his eye. However, whenever he tried to look into their fate, it was all chaotic. He could force it but he understood they were closely related to Ye Chen so it would not do any good; hence, he could only give up and look for other candidates.

A few of them did catch his eye; however, he was not an omnipotent being who could teach everything so after looking into their fate, he had to cast a few of them out.

'It would be good if this little girl accepted to be my disciple.' The old man sighed inwardly as he glanced at Lin Xian'er, who, in return, after sensing his gaze, stuck her tongue out.

However, no matter how much she tried to anger the old man, he would just be furious for a while and then return to pestering her once again.

Ye Chen saw all of this and wondered what kind of talent the little girl had. However, before he could think further, the sky, which was brightly lit with moonlight, suddenly darkened.