Lin Mo stood at the edge of the Qingyun Sect's trial grounds, gazing at the towering thousand-step stone staircase before him. The surface of the stone steps was covered in moss, and each step was engraved with intricate runes, which glimmered faintly with golden light as they swayed with the morning mist. Hundreds of new disciples were packed in front of the staircase, and the air was thick with oppressive gasps.

  "First challenge: ascend the Heavenly Steps," the voice of the elder in charge echoed throughout the area, infused with spiritual energy. "Only those who reach the top within three hours will qualify to enter our Qingyun Sect."

  Before his words had fully settled, some eager disciples rushed up the stone steps. However, just as one of them stepped onto the third step, he suddenly trembled violently, collapsing to his knees with a heavy thud. The crowd soon realized that the runes on the steps were absorbing the climbers’ spiritual energy.

  "This staircase..." Su Wan'er tightened her grip on her clothes, her face paling.

  Lin Mo reached out and placed a steadying hand on her trembling shoulder. "Follow in my footsteps." A flicker of golden light shone in his eyes as the Myriad Beasts Pearl slowly rotated in his dantian—those runic patterns were strikingly similar to the ancient inscriptions within the pendant space.

  As the two stepped onto the first step, Lin Mo suddenly heard a faint chirping sound. He looked down to see a completely green bird tilting its head at him, its tail feathers shimmering with three golden plumes under the sunlight.

  “A Green-eyed Golden Plume Sparrow?” Qing Zhu's voice echoed in his mind, filled with surprise. “This spirit beast excels at breaking restrictions. How could it...”

  Before she could finish, the bird suddenly flapped its wings and circled around Lin Mo three times before landing on his shoulder. Gasps of astonishment arose from behind—everyone knew that the Green-eyed Golden Plume Sparrow was proud by nature and had never been known to approach cultivators voluntarily.

  "It seems your beast-taming talent is beginning to awaken," Qing Zhu said with a light laugh.

  Lin Mo closed his eyes to sense the connection, and indeed, he found a faint bond forming with the little bird. When he opened his eyes again, the runes on the steps transformed into flowing golden lines in his vision. With every step he took, the soles of his boots accurately avoided the centers of the spiritual energy whirlpools.

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  "Left three, right five, jump!" he whispered to Su Wan'er. The girl bit her lip and followed closely, surprised to find the previously heavy pressure suddenly lightening.

  As they reached the five-hundredth step, an unexpected change occurred.

  The mist on either side of the staircase suddenly surged like boiling water, and three chains as thick as bowls shot through the air. Lin Mo swiftly wrapped his arms around Su Wan’er’s waist and spun in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the chains as they crashed down, carving deep trenches into the stone steps.

  "This isn't part of the trial!" Su Wan'er exclaimed in shock.

  Lin Mo's pupils constricted—at the ends of the chains were dark, ink-like mists, clearly the "Spirit-Eating Toxic Fog" unique to the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. He quickly drew the dagger from his waist, and the blade clashed with the chains, creating a dazzling shower of sparks.

  "Clang!"

  Amid the clash of metal, the little sparrow emitted a sharp cry. Lin Mo, feeling a sudden inspiration, infused a strand of spiritual energy into the bird. The little creature's wings flared open, and three golden plumes fell off, transforming into arrows that pierced through the black mist at the joints of the chains.

  "Crack!"

  At the moment the chains snapped apart, a specific image from the Myriad Beasts Pearl suddenly flashed in Lin Mo's mind. He bit his fingertip, using his blood as a guide to draw incomplete runes in the air. The previously dissipated golden plumes reformed, creating a cage that completely sealed the black mist.

  "Y-You... how do you know the Celestial Sealing Formation?" Su Wan'er stammered, her voice trembling.

  Before Lin Mo could respond, a sudden whoosh sounded overhead. Twelve beams of sword light descended in a deadly formation, each beam swirling with crimson threads of blood—this was an attack meant to end their lives!

  In an instant of crisis, the sparrow on Lin Mo's shoulder exploded into countless glowing particles. These particles didn't dissipate; instead, they coalesced into a three-meter-long shadow of a Qingluan. The divine bird's cry echoed through the skies, and as it flapped its wings, the sword formation melted away like spring snow meeting the sun.

  "Run!" Lin Mo shouted, pulling Su Wan'er as they dashed toward the final hundred steps. He could feel the pendant in his arms growing warm, and at the moment the Qingluan appeared, several powerful presences seemed to sweep across the trial ground.

  When they stepped onto the last step, the sundial's pointer was perfectly aligned with the hour of noon. Lin Mo turned to look back and saw dozens of disciples sprawled across the steps, all entangled in that familiar black mist.

  "It seems the reach of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion is longer than we imagined," Qing Zhu's voice carried a chill.

  Just as Lin Mo was about to speak, he suddenly heard applause from behind. Xiao Han appeared at the edge of the trial grounds, his moon-white robe pristine and unblemished, but his gaze was fixed on the sparrow that had reformed on Lin Mo's shoulder.

  "To be able to summon the essence of the guardian spirit beast for assistance," he lightly brushed his fingers across the jade pendant at his waist, "Lin's chance is truly amazing."