System: After the fortune telling, my cultivation level skyrocketed.

Upon hearing this, Tiemushan could no longer hold on and fell down the steps, panting heavily and covered in sweat.

The old man shook the wine gourd in his hand, realizing that the immortal wine was empty. He then stood up, shaking his head, and said, "Do you know why the second trial is called 'Heart Painting'? And why the second trial is so simple, merely lifting a cauldron?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked surprised, clearly indicating that many had already noticed something unusual.

Seeing this, the old man laughed and said, "That's right. The bronze cauldron you chose in the second trial will appear and press down on you when you pass the third trial. And these nine steps, each step has a layer of water on it. Do you know what this water is?"

Among those who managed to pass this test were many members of large tribes. They were knowledgeable and experienced, and even they could only vaguely guess at some of the clues.

"Could this be heavy water?"

"Even if it's not heavy water, it must be a rare treasure comparable to heavy water!"

……

Upon hearing everyone's guesses, the old man first laughed and nodded in agreement, but then shook his head and said, "Yes and no!"

"This is indeed heavy water, but it is the essence of heavy water that has been refined."

The old man continued in detail: "Above, the Thousand Mountain Cauldron presses down on you, and below, nine layers of heavy water essence of varying depths drag you down. On this staircase, with each step you ascend, the weight of the bronze cauldron on your body will double."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the younger generation who had been sitting cross-legged and waiting in the square changed drastically.

Some people even wondered if there was something wrong with their ears and they had misheard the old man.

Nine steps, and the weight of the bronze cauldron doubles with each step you take?

"Senior, if we calculate it this way, wouldn't the person who chooses the nine thousand jin bronze cauldron have to carry a weight of eighty-one thousand jin to climb the nine steps?"

Chen Xuan was also deeply surprised by the difficulty of passing the test of the 9,000-jin bronze cauldron. He himself was not sure if he could lift the 80,000-jin weight, after all, he had never tried it himself and did not know the specific measurement standard.

“That’s right, it’s 81,000 jin!” The white-haired old man nodded without hesitation.

"We are only at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even among the Divine Demon Body Refinement cultivators, only those peerless geniuses who have achieved the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm by relying on the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram can lift more than 80,000 catties at this level."

"Senior, we refuse to accept this!"

"Yes, we don't accept this kind of routine. Why didn't the gatekeepers tell us the answer during the second trial?"

Among the younger generation present, many cultivators chose the 9,000-jin bronze cauldron. The weight of over 80,000 jin was simply unbearable for them, especially since most of them were Qi Refining cultivators, whose physical strength was relatively weak.

"Hmph, you're not convinced?" Hearing the crowd's rebuttals and expressions of dissatisfaction, the white-haired elder snorted coldly and shouted, "Do you think that my Xuanqing Palace only considers innate talent when accepting disciples?"

The old man's rebuke startled everyone.

"Little do people know that physical aptitude and talent are merely the minimum standards for becoming a disciple of Xuanqing Palace. It is one’s character, wisdom, and Dao heart that are the key factors that Xuanqing Palace focuses on examining."

The white-haired old man's eyes were like torches as he scanned the entire room. He continued to reprimand, "The second test was so simple, yet none of you thought about it deeply. Nine thousand catties of weight can be easily lifted by both Qi Refining and Body Refining cultivators. How could my Xuanqing Palace make such an easy test a formal part of our assessment?"

The old man had a fiery temper. He pointed at each of the resentful youths, scolding them like they were his grandsons, saying, "You lack accurate judgment of the situation and environment. You readily believe whatever others say. With such a mindset, even if my Xuanqing Palace spends all its efforts to cultivate you into talents, you will hardly achieve anything in the future. Once you go out to gain experience, you might easily be schemed against by others and end up dying a violent death."

This rebuke was like a sudden awakening, a wake-up call that instantly brought everyone to their senses.

Upon hearing this, many people wilted like frostbitten eggplants.

Thinking back to when they entered the second checkpoint and learned that there were three sizes of bronze cauldrons to choose from, they had subconsciously had doubts. However, because they blindly trusted the gatekeeper in blue, they did not think much about it and chose to believe him directly.

Unexpectedly, the seemingly simple deception of the second challenge turned into a doubly difficult test of everyone's mental fortitude in the third challenge.