But immediately, the pressure vanished.
He was completely inside the True Yang Building. Before him lay a lake.
The sky was azure, the lake shimmered, and surrounding them were hazy green mountains and ink-like shadows.
The Visitor Token in his hand dissolved into a puddle of cool molten iron, dripping through his fingers.
The Visitor Token could only be used once.
Fang Yuan shook his hand to shake off all the molten iron.
He looked around and found himself on a small island in the center of the lake. Standing beside him was Hei Lou Lan.
"This is the fifty-fourth checkpoint," Hei Lou Lan said, not looking at Fang Yuan but straight ahead. "Look, that is the trial you must overcome, Brother Shan Yin."
Fang Yuan followed his gaze and saw another small island not far away.
On the island, a group of Water-Snake Lions were resting.
These Water-Snake Lions were covered in smooth, shiny blue fur. Their limbs were not claws but frog-like webbed feet. Their tails were venomous snakes, either coiled on the lion's back or rearing up, flicking their forked crimson tongues.
He didn't need Hei Lou Lan to explain further. At the same time, a mysterious stream of information was injected directly into Fang Yuan's mind—
"Utilize the Hedgehog Fish on the island to break through the Water-Snake Lions' defenses and occupy the island across."
Fang Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the edge of his own island.
In the azure waters at the island's edge, he indeed saw the figures of numerous Hedgehog Fish.
At this moment, the clan elders of the Hei family entered one by one and stood beside Hei Lou Lan.
"Whether it's the Water-Snake Lions or the Hedgehog Fish, they are both wild beasts of the Middle Ages. Nowadays, they can only be seen in the depths of the Eastern Sea," an elder mused.
"If you ask me, this checkpoint is extremely unfair. A single Water-Snake Lion is as powerful as five or six Hedgehog Fish. However, the number of Hedgehog Fish we have is only about double the size of the lion pride," a Hei family member stated, staring at the island to explain the difficulty to Fang Yuan.
"Don't worry, Brother Shan Yin. Consider today's attempt a test run," Hei Lou Lan said, patting Fang Yuan on the shoulder.
After all, Fang Yuan was used to commanding wolves. This time, it was a school of fish—and not just any fish, but Hedgehog Fish, which were scarce nowadays and completely extinct in the Northern Plains.
Hei Qi Sheng had failed X times, and his best record was only wiping out thirty percent of the Water-Snake Lions. This made the Hei family Gu Masters acutely aware of the difficulty of this checkpoint.
Chang Shan Yin might be a master of enslavement, but this was the True Yang Building created by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable!
Fang Yuan stared for a moment and frowned.
He calculated in his heart. With just his strength alone, commanding these Hedgehog Fish to annihilate the Water-Snake Lions would not be difficult. In fact, it was practically a done deal.
However, while clearing the checkpoint seemed simple, there were actually great nuances to it.
Back then, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable established the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building to leave behind a legacy and reward exceptionally talented descendants. Therefore, the rewards for every checkpoint in the True Yang Building were divided into three grades: Low, Medium, and High.
Low-grade completion granted the fewest rewards, allowing one to proceed directly to the next checkpoint.
Medium-grade completion granted more than double the rewards of Low-grade, and also gave a hint about the checkpoint upon entering the next one.
High-grade completion doubled the rewards of Medium-grade, and also teleported the challenger to a place deep within the True Yang Building called the Secret Archive.
This Secret Archive housed countless rare treasures, and even included several Immortal inheritances from Giant Sun Immortal Venerable himself.
However, these items in the Secret Archive could not be taken at will; the challenger had to exchange for them.
One could exchange Gu worms, Gu recipes, or even their own cultivation insights and experiences as items for trade.
Only after the challenger completed their exchange would they be allowed to proceed to the next checkpoint.
Hei Lou Lan only needed to pass with a Low-grade completion. Just entering the fifty-fifth checkpoint would satisfy him. But Fang Yuan had different needs.
He needed High-grade completion to enter the Secret Archive. Only in the Secret Archive, when he was alone, could he use the methods he had long prepared to obtain the greatest benefits!
"Passing with Low-grade completion is easy for me. But I don't know what the standards for Medium-grade and High-grade completions are. For now, I'll just have to give it my best shot!"
With this in mind, Fang Yuan took a deep breath and nodded at Hei Lou Lan, signaling that he was ready to begin.
Hei Lou Lan then took out a token and waved it at the sky.
This token was different from the Visitor Token; it was the Master Token. When Hei Lou Lan was the first to enter the Imperial Court blessed land, he had obtained this token out of thin air, symbolizing his noble status.
As the Master Token was waved, ripples spread through the air, and dozens of Fish-Controlling Gu materialized, ranging from Rank One to Rank Three.
The moment Fang Yuan took these Gu and easily refined them, the others were restrained by a gentle, invisible force, unable to assist him from the sidelines.
Only Hei Lou Lan could still speak. "Brother Shan Yin, pay attention to the time," he reminded. "You only have the time it takes an incense stick to burn for this checkpoint."
Fang Yuan nodded and casually scattered them. The Fish-Controlling Gu in his hand transformed into dozens of strange streaks of light, flying out.
Seeing Fang Yuan's casual attitude, everyone gasped inwardly.
If it were Hei Qi Sheng, he would have to carefully handle each Gu, extremely cautious. When planting Fish-Controlling Gu like this, the Gu Master would inevitably face resistance from the fish. One slip-up often led to failed taming, or even backlash on the soul.
"Is the Wolf King too arrogant?"
"I've never seen anyone tame beasts like this!"
"This is bad..."
Everyone's hearts were in their throats.
But immediately, their eyes widened. After the Gu were planted in the fish, the school transitioned from stillness to motion, swimming out of the island. It was as if they had always belonged to Fang Yuan. There wasn't a single failure.
The Water-Snake Lions were also startled by this turn of events. They changed from their lazy postures, standing up from their sitting or lying positions. The lion heads raised and growled, while the snake heads bared their fangs and hissed.
Many of the Water-Snake Lions jumped into the water to establish an underwater defense line.
Fang Yuan, in contrast, stood proudly with his hands behind his back, his body perfectly still. The enslavement path skill and soul foundation he displayed earned silent admiration from everyone present.