Xu Lu slowly exhaled and counted to ten in her mind. When she stopped her breathing exercise, the strange feeling was gone.
The saintess cautiously looked around but could not detect any other lifeforms or threats. The plain was eerily quiet.
No traces of animals and not even a single blade of grass grew on this black soil. Xu Lu walked forward with her feet sinking into the soil ever so slightly.
This area was nicknamed 'The Dead Man Zone' for obvious reasons. Adventurers and mercenaries usually came here to set up camp to rest.
No monsters or dangerous wildlife would come near this place and there were no reports of any disappearances or attacks.
Xu Lu knelt down and used her fingers to lightly touch the black soil. She recoiled in shock as she felt... warmth?
The soil beneath her feet was warm as if something was heating it up. The sand was quite hot to touch to the point where it felt as though her skin was burnt.
Xu Lu checked her hand for any injuries but her skin was unblemished. Was it all in her mind?
What was going on in this strange place?
Truthfully... this place gave her the creeps.
Xu Lu didn't know if the entrance to the ruins was here but what she did know was that something about this area was wrong.
And she had seen quite a few horror movies to know that when scary stuff happens... you get the fuck out as soon as possible.
The sun was now beginning to drift towards the horizon and warm orange rays of light illuminated the plain.
Xu Lu walked for around thirty minutes and finally saw the opposite side of the zone.
The lush tropical forest beckoned her as if waiting to her to return to the natural world of greenery and vibrancy.
The entire time that Xu Lu moved through the plain, she was on a constant lookout for anything out of place or strange.
She found nothing.
Outside of the lack of plant growth, there was nothing unusual about this place. Xu Lu let out a heavy sigh and then decided to retrace her steps.
She had quite a few hours left to kill before she had to return to the meeting point so she might as well sweep the area a few more times.
Danger!
Xu Lu's body reacted automatically and she ducked her head just as an object whizzed past where her face had been just moments ago.
The black soil beneath her feet started to shift and a humanoid figure composed entirely out of sand emerged from the ground.
The figure had a vaguely feminine shape but did not posses any facial features since it was made from soil.
A small hole appeared in the middle of its face and words flowed out of its... mouth? Orifice?
"Greetings," the strange entity spoke in a relaxed manner.
"Hello..." Xu Lu replied cautiously as she took a few steps back and tried to create some distance between herself and the creature.
"Would you like to take my test?" the entity politely asked in a friendly tone.
"Test? What kind of test?" Xu Lu replied carefully while keeping an eye on the entity for any sudden movements.
"Sorry... I wasn't speaking to you," the entity's hole twisted upwards to resemble a small smile.
It raised up its sandy right arm and pointed to Xu Lu's pocket.
Squeak?
The little white mouse in Xu Lu's pocket poked its head out and a confused expression flashed across its furry face.
Squeak! Squeak!
"I see... well... hmm... I guess I could make an exception," the entity mused thoughtfully as it rubbed its chin.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
"What? You don't want to participate? But this inheritance is for spiritual creatures... your 'friend' isn't going to be able to practise those techniques," the entity argued back.
Squeak!
In the meanwhile, Xu Lu had a very lost expression on her face as she watched her pet mouse argue with a humanoid creature made of sand.
Today... was a very strange day.
Finally after several minutes of arguing, the entity and her pet mouse seemed to come to an agreement.
"Alright... you will be allowed to take my test and receive one of the techniques that 'may' work for humans. No promises though," the entity spoke in an annoyed tone.
"Wait... you still haven't told me what the test is abou..." Xu Lu's voice trailed off as the entity clapped its hand and a large hole appeared below the saintess' feet.
Before Xu Lu had any time to react, her body fell inside the hole and she disappeared into the darkness.
The last thing that she saw was the entity's smiling face as it waved its hands at her and then melted back into the sand.
"AHHHH!" Xu Lu screamed loudly as her body plunged underground.
She was grateful for her cultivation level since the passageway resembled a slide from hell.
There were numerous twists and turns and every so often her body would slam into one of the dirt walls with so much force that the air got knocked out of her lungs.
Xu Lu curled up into a ball and tried to shield her little mouse pet from the impact of the shocks.
She fell for what seemed to be hours but in reality it must have been around five minutes before landing with a heavy thump on solid ground.
The saintess opened her eyes and found herself standing inside a wide cavern that was illuminated by dozens of torches lining the walls.
The torches glowed with an intense blue flame that casted long shadows on the ground.
Xu Lu quickly checked her pocket and was relieved to find out that her mouse was okay.
"You and I will need to have a long conversation after this," Xu Lu whispered to the mouse as she touched the top of its head.
She knew that her pet was intelligent but clearly it was much smarter than she had initially assumed.
Now... she needed to take part in this test.
Xu Lu cautiously stepped forward while keeping her eye out for any traps. The large underground cave complex had no end in sight.
She walked for around ten minutes before she reached a large wall where three corridors had been carved into the stone.
The first corridor had the symbol of a wing painted above its entranceway, the one in the middle had a fang and the third had a white horn.
There were no other hints.
Xu Lu searched around the area for any clues but came up empty handed.
She frowned slightly as she studied each image hoping to see if she could gleam anything from the symbols.
A wing? Something to do with flying?
The fang? Well, that was ominous...
And finally, a white horn... a unicorn? Did this world even have unicorns?
Xu Lu searched through the original Xu Lu's memories for any trace of the mythical beast but found nothing.
Hmm... which one to pick?
Without a guide or sense of what to do... Xu Lu was forced to rely on an ancient method to decide which corridor to enter.
"Alright..." a serious expression flashed across Xu Lu's face as she circulated qi around her body and prepared to perform the ancient ritual.
She walked in front of the three entranceways, opened up her mouth and then began to chant,
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,"
"Catch a tiger by the toe."
"If he hollers, let him go,"
"Eeny... meeny... miny... moe!"
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