Filthy Cultivation: I Pierced the Heavens with the Merit System

The Shenwu Square was solemn at this moment, with only the whistling wind and a few sleepwalking murmurs.

The elders on the platform were observing the cultivators below with varying expressions, whispering and smiling. Suddenly, the leading discipline elder's expression changed, and he abruptly stood up, looking at the crowd below with hesitation:

"Wait, something seems off."

Seeing the other elders around him looking at him with surprise, he frowned and said:

"I have presided over several Ascension Ceremony before, so I know that it is normal for the test takers to look pained in the second stage. But the expressions of these test takers right now seem a bit too painful."

"Moreover, logically speaking, those cultivators who encounter the temptation of illusions should show joy or desire, so how could they all look like they are in pain?"

Upon hearing this, the other elders tensed up and also stood up to look down at the audience.

Upon closer inspection, a female elder with half-white hair and beard quickly noticed something amiss:

"The Bewitching Illusion created by the Bewitching Stone is only for testing purposes. Generally, to avoid generating inner demons and causing defilement, cultivators who are in too much pain will be sent out of the barrier by the formation on the square."

"But these cultivators are clearly in pain, their faces flushed and veins bulging, yet they haven't been ejected from the arena. This, this is definitely not normal!"

Another observant elder also noticed something amiss and pointed to the first incense stick in the incense burner, which was almost completely burned out, and said in a deep voice:

“In previous years, by the time the first incense had burned out, promising talents with strong willpower should have been sent to the stage. But now, the first incense has almost burned out, and not a single child has emerged from the illusion. Clearly, something strange is at work in this illusion, trapping them all inside!”

Upon hearing this, the elder with a stern face stepped forward and ordered the black-clad deacons who were recording the events on their swords in the sky to bring the most distressed people from the crowd to the stage.

The black-clad disciples obeyed the order and soon hundreds of cultivators with their eyes closed stood upright in front of the elders.

"This quantity is far too much!"

A few breaths later, another elder, his expression grave, frowned and sighed:

"Moreover, I just tried it, and the Mind-Clearing Mantra, which should have immediately awakened them, had absolutely no effect!"

"What?! Even the Heart-Cleansing Mantra didn't work?!"

Upon hearing this, the elders were incredulous and tried again, but when they found that they really couldn't wake up the increasingly distressed cultivators, their expressions immediately changed.

Those who passed the first round of selection were all outstanding talents in the Yanjian Domain, and many of these talents came from prominent families. If anything happened to these people during the Yanjian Sect's Ascension Test, the consequences would be extremely serious.

On a smaller scale, it will not only cause the world to doubt the credibility of the Yanjian Sect, but also create an irreparable rift in the relationship between the major families and the Yanjian Sect.

On a larger scale, if so many exceptionally talented young people suffer damage to their Dao hearts in this illusion, making it difficult for them to improve their cultivation in the future, it will not only cause a crisis of a gap in the new generation of cultivators in the Yanjian Domain, but also cause a significant decline in the strength of the righteous path in the Yanjian Domain to fight against demonic cultivators and corruption.

If today's events are not handled properly, they will cause a huge uproar and may even shake the foundation of the entire Yanjian Domain!

The elders knew this was no small matter. They exchanged glances, their expressions even more grave than before.

"In order to suppress the incident as much as possible, the Bewitching Illusion of the Bewitching Stone cannot be stopped, otherwise the people in the heavens will surely discover the abnormality!"

After the leading discipline elder finished speaking, he looked around at the other elders and then gave the order in a deep voice:

"The sect leader and the other elders are currently meeting with the delegations from the other three sects inside the spirit boat. To prevent the other three sects from taking this opportunity to cause trouble, we must immediately send three elders to lead all the Black Obsidian Division disciples present to secretly set up a spirit-locking array to block the news!"

"Apart from the three elders who led the team to block the news, the rest of us will join me in trying to awaken the test subjects in these illusions. We must find out the cause as soon as possible and absolutely cannot let these cultivators make a mistake here!"

"But even the Heart-Cleansing Mantra didn't work. With heaven watching over us, we can't do anything drastic. What if we can't wake them up using the methods we have?"

One of the elders asked with a worried expression.

The elder glared at him upon hearing this, gritted his teeth, and said sternly:

"Then immediately sever the illusionary connection of the Bewildering Heart Stone. If it can prevent the lives and futures of these younger generations from being affected, and the overall situation is of utmost importance, then it is worth it for the Yanjian Sect to suffer some damage to its reputation."

Upon hearing this, the other elders all straightened their expressions and responded in unison.

"However, the Bewildering Stone and the Illusionary Realm are sect treasures. Such an anomaly has never occurred before, and there are no precedents. What should we do now?"

An elder frowned with worry and asked.

"Don't rush. Let's check the condition of these cultivators first and see if we can find any clues."

The female elder, whose hair and beard were half-white, patted the elder on the shoulder and made a gentle suggestion.

The elders nodded in approval and began to check the physical condition of each cultivator.