Feeling the weakening aura of his master, Hei Yu rushed out, moving at a much faster speed than Xue Yueliang had ever known him to do. The usual lethargy that accompanied him was seen nowhere as he - for the first time - appeared like a ferocious beast rather than the cute creature he was in her arms.

The door appeared in front of them, but the weakening aura on his back showed him that he would not make it in time. Growling, Hei Yu leapt forward, crossing the distance as fast as he could. He could not allow her to die, not because of what would happen to him but because he cared for her. She was the only person by his side since he was born.

Smashing through the door, Hei Yu placed her gently on the ground, shrinking and curling up next to her. He gently nudged her and recalled the last time he had seen her like this. Afraid, he whimpered as he kept prodding, hoping for her to finally react and was relieved when he heard her break out in a fit of coughs.

"That was a close one," she giggled, her laughter interrupted by the coughs that ripped out her throat.

Looking at Hei Yu's worried face, Xue Yueliang couldn't help but bitterly smile, "Don't worry, I'm fine," she comforted, as a streak of blood dripped down her chin.

Hei Yu stared at her dispiritedly, and through their mental link, she could sense what he was thinking. He was remembering the time she died because of her tribulation. Thinking about it, she told him she was fine then too. Her expression turned strange, as she had no idea how to comfort him.

It was not rare for cultivators to endanger their lives, and as she was trying to climb to the top, there would definitely be more near-death experiences in the future. There was no other way.

Sighing, she decided not to say anything and focussed on absorbing the surrounding Qi. She needed to re-ignite the Berserk Dragon Flame to free herself from the poison that infiltrated her body.

Feeling the numbness in her body slowly dissipate, Xue Yueliang sat up and took in her surroundings. The surroundings were the same as on the last floor, the place was faintly misty, and a flight of stairs led upwards. Her gaze then fell on the only difference between the two floors, a stand that held a jade bottle. Though she could not see its contents, she hoped it was the antidote for the poison she had consumed.

"Hei Yu, can you bring that?" She asked, pointing at the jade bottle, but he was still upset, so he turned around in disdain. Xue Yueliang could understand how he felt, as it could not be pleasant to watch someone you love throwing themselves into hell.

Getting up, she could clearly feel the stinging coming from her injured feet but did not let the pain bother her as she steadily walked to the stand. She opened the jade bottle, and after taking a whiff, she could feel the spiritual Qi in her body rushing around excitedly. It increased her cultivation sutra circulation rate, which helped her recover her Qi faster.

"How stingy," she mumbled.

Though this pill would be helpful for her, it would not directly get rid of the poison in her body, meaning she would still have to rely on her own methods. Blasting your way through the hallway was not the only test surviving after that was too. Though she could use her Berserk Dragon Flame to nullify the poison, it did not mean others would be capable of that.

Did that mean their elders would watch them die here? She thought doubtfully.

"It can, at least, kickstart the process," she mused, pushing her doubts to the back of her mind. Hei Yu carefully turned around, and seeing her bloody feet on the ground, he whimpered again and rushed toward her.

Xue Yueliang sat back down and cuddled with him, "You have to be strong," she smiled.

"Whatever happens, I will not end up like them."

They were the people who died to make Hei Yu, the lives she took, the people unable to rest because their remains had been tarnished. Hei Yu was afraid for her, and however endearing it was, she could not allow him to put her life in danger.

"As long as you listen to me, we can stay together forever," she warned sternly.

She was not entirely happy he had ignored her order before.

Feeling him calm down in her embrace, Xue Yueliang sighed and swallowed the pill. She had to focus on her recovery. The pill melted in her mouth, and vibrant streams of spiritual Qi streamed down her throat, heading right toward her dantian. As it passed through her meridians, it dragged down any straggling Qi and swirled down in her dantian, turning blood red as it completed one cycle.

The swirl that formed in her dantian was recreated in the outside world, causing the spiritual Qi competed to enter her body.

Feeling that she had recovered enough, she brightly lit up the Berserk Dragon Flame. Leading its heat to cause Hei Yu to jump off her lap as the poison in her body was purified. Streams of black gas rushed out of her pores, and her complexion slowly returned, bringing back the rosiness to her cheeks. The injuries on her body slowly healed, her aura grew more substantial and a week slowly passed by.

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After finishing her cultivation session, Xue Yueliang got up and stretched, feeling that her body had fully recovered. She put on a new pair of shoes and headed up the stairs, thinking about what challenge would be next as Hei Yu hopped behind her.

Absorbed in her own thoughts, she was shocked awake by another presence. Raising her guard, she walked up the flight of stairs carefully. In front of the doors, there was a black-robed young man deep in thought, concentrating so much so that it seemed he did not notice her. He was someone she knew, the person who had attacked her when she was scaling down the mountain.

She placed her hand on her hilt, prepared for any sudden attack as she walked forward. Hei Yu also bared his teeth aggressively as he growled, ready to lunge at any second.

"I don't plan on attacking you," he said, the boredom in his voice evident.

He glanced at Hei Yu before retrieving his gaze, finding the creature too to be curious.

Hearing him, Xue Yueliang relaxed, though she did not know why she trusted his words.

"You went through the poison door too?" As if recalling something, he added, "Well, it makes sense. Your immunity against poison isn't bad."

He recalled how she had easily shook off the venom earlier, so it made sense she would choose this. Remembering how he had attacked her, Xue Yueliang did not feel like replying to him. She walked forward to his side, sensing the energy emanating from the two different doors.

She had to carefully choose her next challenge.

The aura of the first door caused her to feel her blood wilding through her body, and her heartbeat increased crazily; the door tested one's bloodline. The other door gave a twisting, disorienting feeling, causing her to reason that it tested one's spatial abilities.

Though controlling space matter was not something a cultivator at their level was capable of, it was possible for them to have an affinity for it. Likewise, the power of a person's bloodline would only show its full glory at a later stage, so both tests could only be testing their foundation.

"Both choices are terrible, aren't they?" The black-robed man asked, not angry that he had been ignored. "Power that comes from the bloodline. Is that something nobodies like us can have? Or who is talented enough to have an affinity for space?"

Though he made it seem like he believed they were on the same level, she easily picked up the probing intent behind his words.

"Who said we have to have powerful ancestors? You can rely on the power of your own body. Or is your physique really that weak?"

Since he would not stop talking to her, she might as well take the time to insult him. Besides, from how he disappeared earlier, she refused to believe that he could not survive the other door. She had not wanted to enter the blood door because her pride did not allow her to rely on the power given to her by that man, but as she said in the past: pride was a weakness.

"You don't seem like a body cultivator to me," he replied.

"Things aren't always as they seem," she smiled, entering the blood door.

The young man could not help but frown as he watched her disappear into the darkness, "Really, who are you?"

Her mannerisms were confusing, appearing like someone from noble birth, but at times gave a careless, vicious turn. She was not someone he could easily read.

Is she like me or not?

Shaking his head, he entered the other door, who she was didn't matter much, and if he had to know, he could find out after getting out of this place.

Like this, the quiet returned.

Behind the blood door, Xue Yueliang saw a wide plain in front of her, witnessing what should have been the greenery that appeared like the skin of a diseased person.

The plants were colours bruised purple and blue, making the place appear much more lifeless than she had expected. Streams of blood flowed through the plains, reflecting the only celestial body in the sky, the moon. The horrid stench of blood hung in the air, causing one to feel sickened as strange beasts meandered around.

Unlike the withered looking plants, these beasts appeared healthy and robust, every step they took caused the earth to shake, and deep footprints were left behind.

"Looks like these are our new opponents," Xue Yueliang chuckled as she watched them clumsily move around. She had the feeling that this level would not be hard to clear. Even Hei Yu looked down on these beasts, letting out what seemed like a sigh of relief as he thought that her life would not be in danger this time.

Though Xue Yueliang was confident, she was not reckless, so she attacked an aimlessly moving boar that walked near her, not separating from Hei Yu yet. Like many beasts in this area, the boar was entirely crimson, from its fur to its hooves and pupils. The only exception was its tusks were an ivory white, clearly contrasting from its body.

"Blood Moon Waves," Xue Yueliang said, deciding to rely on the Blood Moon Cultivation Sutra.

Waves of sword Qi headed toward the clueless boar, alerting it.

"Grr," it growled menacingly. It allowed the attack to land on it as it charged forward, not caring for the injuries the attack might cause.

Xue Yueliang jumped out of the way with ease, watching as her attack cut the beast from each side of its hide. Although it was clearly injured, the boar appeared unfazed, as if it did not feel the injuries of its body, preparing to charge at her.

Xue Yueliang noticed that the blood seeping from its body was slowed down, as the blood appeared much more dense than usual, with faint gold tints. Its thick nature caused its blood loss to be much less severe, as although the wounds were wide, the blood seeped down at a slow pace.

Xue Yueliang felt this interesting as she had never witnessed anything like this before.

Raising her sword, Xue Yueliang launched another attack, but it charged at her again. Uncaring of the attack heading toward it. This time the boar managed to reach Xue Yueliang, nicking the side of her leg, leading to a small cut.

However, due to its close proximity, she managed to skillfully stab it in the neck, and jumping behind it, she did that a few more times, and the boar was skewered to death. The boar had not tried to flee or block. It only had eyes for attacking, and it's relentless attacking was scary.

Though it was much too weak to cause any substantial damage and its crazed frenzy led it to die faster, Xue Yueliang did not feel at ease. It was a natural instinct to defend and protect yourself from further injury, and disregarding your own life was never worth it.

Yet, after recalling how it had managed to injure her, she was forced to re-evaluate that thought. If it had tried to defend itself, it would have died slower, but it would not have been able to harm her. A chill travelled through her spine as she imagined what would have happened if it was at the same level as her.

As it turns out, even a vicious person fears a madman.