Chapter 170 - The Final Test
Chapter 170 The Final Test
The moment the Demon Martial Bead was crushed, the Saint Qi entered Su Wen and circulated around his body before rushing towards his head! An incomparably complicated cultivation technique suddenly appeared in his mind. “Great Solar Supreme Policy!” Su Wen’s eyes lit up. This martial technique was completely a Yang-type battle technique. It was obvious from the name that it had the same origin as the Heaven & Earth Great Solar Sutra
However, he still needed a lot of time to fully comprehend it. Su Wen was not in a hurry. After all, he had the system. He just needed to increase his Emotional Value continuously!
At least it solved his issue of not having a Heaven Rank battle technique! Su Wen believed that this martial technique would definitely not be weaker than any Heaven Rank technique that the nobles possessed in the capital! After all, there was too much Saint Qi accumulated in the Demon Martial Bead!
After the battle ended, there was another harvest. Not only Su Wen, but everyone else had also gathered a large amount of Saint Qi. Basically, it was not a problem for everyone to have a Heaven Ranked cultivation technique.
However, Emperor Zhou looked at the large number of jade tokens left in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace and seemed unhappy.
He muttered, “What kind of mystic realm is this? How did so many people survive?” The old eunuch shook his head and said, “Who knows? The mystic realms are all different. Some strange mystic realms only have true trials at the end. Before coming back, there is no way to count.” Su Wen returned to the encampment and went to Ni Hongxiao’s tent.
Inside the room, a corpse of an unknown species was placed on the autopsy table. Ni Hongxiao was seriously experimenting. Su Wen spoke out first, “Thank you!” Ni Hongxiao did not raise her head as she replied, “No need to thank me, we are allies.” She softly said, “Actually, I feel that your condition isn’t too good. Many of the people outside are not in good conditions either. All of you have already lost your original intentions in pursuing the Martial Dao.” Su Wen narrowed his eyes and stared at the dissected corpse on the autopsy table for a while. He then looked up and smiled, “You have such an understanding of martial arts?” Ni Hong smiled and said in a deep voice, “All living things are born and destroyed, fighting and killing each other is thus part of the natural law. But you have to understand, are these people whom you want to kill from the bottom of your heart? A martial artist cultivates his heart to be as firm as a rock, but this translates to their beliefs and values, and not to steel oneself to disregard life. So long as you truly wish to kill, so what if you reap the lives of billions and annihilate the world? However, if your values and belief do not agree to wantonly killing, but because of external influences you start killing, it will sway your martial heart!”
Ni Hongxiao looked deeply at Su Wen as she asked, “If I say that killing me would allow you to obtain a Paragon Rank technique, would you do it?”
Su Wen was stunned. “If you kill your wives, you’ll immediately reach Heaven Rank. Are you going to kill them?”
“If you are to kill your father, you will be break through the Paragon Rank, roaming the world free and unrestrained. Are you going to kill him or not?”
The three consecutive questions made Su Wen fall into deep thought. If it really was the state of near-devilization from before, then perhaps it was possible. As he spoke, a change suddenly happened within Ni Hongxiao’s body. Her Qi merged with heaven and earth, directly breaking through and achieving 1st Grade Earth Rank. She ultimately remained the cultivator with the lowest cultivation among those surviving. But at that moment, Su Wen felt that if this woman focused on martial arts, her future achievements would probably surpass most cultivators.
Late at night, in the room, Su Wen looked at the four paintings she gave him. Tomorrow was the day of his return. For the days he spent in this place, all of his changes were summarized in these four paintings. Did he lose himself along the way? Su Wen began to ponder. If he was given this choice again, what would he have done? Most likely, he would still have picked up his saber and killed.
In the face of benefits… even one’s human nature can be forgotten. Was he still unable to extricate himself even with the prior knowledge? But wasn’t benefits what he most sought after? Then, was this still considered as losing one’s initial path? Su Wen frowned. The sky gradually brightened as countless white lights descended from the sky, enveloping every cultivator. Everyone disappeared.
The land seemed to return to its original calm half a year ago.
At this moment, Su Wen appeared in a strange space! In front of him were countless bubbles. Faint figures could be seen in the bubbles, mountains and rivers, sounds of joy, laughter, lamentations, and weeping. Just then, a bubble… burst. One of the shards from the burst bubble flew into Su Wen’s body. The scene in front of him changed yet again!
Su Wen lost all his memories.
At this moment, he had become a native of the Devil Martial Realm.
Being reared by the giant snake, he was not be able to eat well every day. For every meal he managed to obtain, he would probably have to skip one mealtime due to a lack of food. In order to feed himself, he had to fight against the other races in the oasis! He had to eat everything! Until one day, he met Su Wen!
That’s right, it was Su Wen!
When the huge saber qi flew over, he felt despair and fear!
“Huuu!”
Su Wen’s consciousness returned to his body, but what he brought with him was the experience of a native’s life!
The next memory… turned Su Wen into a Black Lizard.
This is just the beginning… It was all part of a huge cycle. Every time, ‘Su Wen’ fought to live, and then… ended up dying to his own hands… Every strand of Saint Qi gathered in his body currently was akin to him undergoing a cycle of reincarnation.
Every time he returned to his original body, hatred, fear, loathing; all these negative emotions would clash with each other. To wear a crown, one must bear its weight.
If he wanted to leave the mystic realm, he had to figure out his original beliefs
Practicing martial arts also involved tempering the heart.
The real trial had just begun.
Su Wen’s consciousness gradually blurred and he could no longer tell apart his identity. The large number of personality fragments nearly shattered his consciousness. Slowly, a massacre that did not belong to Su Wen started playing This was from the Saint Qi he obtained through killing another person full of Saint Qi. However, Su Wen could no longer tell who he was. He could only rely on the strength of his soul to persist. Everyone was enduring such mental impact. After endless reincarnations, their consciousness instantly returned to their bodies.
It was at this time that Emperor Zhou saw the jade tablets in front of him begin to crack and shatter!
One after another, in the blink of an eye, more than twenty jade tokens shattered. Those with weak consciousness would die once their souls shattered! Countless cracks appeared on Su Wen’s jade tablet! The main thing was that he had endured too many consciousness attacks unlike the others!
A large amount of consciousness surged back into his body. Su Wen could not digest it at all. If it was not for the fact that his soul had been strengthened before, it would have been gone by now. Thankfully Ni Hongxiao had woken him up from his madness in time. Otherwise, with his state of being completely dominated by his strength, he would have been finished. Even right now, Su Wen was only barely holding on. On the other side, the young monk was smiling while picking flowers.
He sat there and recited the scriptures softly, as if nothing could invade his heart.
All that fear, anger, and desires he gained during the trip became nourishment for the darkness in his heart.
At the same time, the lawful side that the little monk had nurtured for seventeen years stood out at this moment. It continuously chanted sutras to purify him, defending his heart. The Buddha Embryo and the Demon Heart were completely distinct at this point, allowing the little monk to live in peace. As for the other martial artists, they were not so lucky. They had to constantly fight against these emotions, using their consciousness to resist.
The existences that had once been crushed been to death like ants had now accumulated into an evil desire to take his life.
No one knew how to get through this factor. Xu Longcheng currently had a twisted expression. The countless lives he had experienced thus far nearly caused his consciousness to collapse! Suddenly, the scene in front of him changed again!
An image of Xu Qiao had appeared before him! Under the control of some sort of power, Xu Longcheng recognized him as the real Xu Qiao! “Kill him! Then you can live!” A voice sounded out of nowhere!
Puchi!
Xu Longcheng stabbed out without hesitation! Xu Longcheng’s life tablet shattered at the same time! Who appeared in front of Su Wen? Wu Muyu? Su Changqing? Neither, instead, it was Ning Shuang who had appeared. Just like Xu Longcheng, Su Wen could no longer tell if this was real or fake. The continuous divine sense impact and the mysterious power’s induction made him subconsciously think that it was real. At this moment, Ning Shuang held her sword and charged straight at Su Wen! “Kill her! Then you can live!” Su Wen instinctively raised his hand. However, when he caught sight of Ning Shuang’s face, his eyes seemed to regain some clarity. Ni Hongxiao’s question the previous day seemed to ring in his ears again. His fingers loosened and the saber fell to the ground!
“Ning Shuang will never hurt me!”
This was Su Wen’s only thought. The ‘Ning Shuang’ that was rushing over suddenly turned into specks of starlight and completely dissipated. Su Wen fell to the ground.
It was as if he had walked through countless ant-like lives, each step representing a life. What had he done? Suddenly, a voice appeared in the void.
“Life is akin to an ant. One should never look at it cheaply.”
“The Heavens and Earth have their own Daos. Those who become almighty can exterminate countries, exterminate clans, and exterminate even an entire specie.”
“However, the Dao of Heaven and Earth has its own set of rules. It cannot be manipulate them at will.”
“Now that the tribulation has passed, I hope that there is still a trace of good still left in you, and that you will proceed with caution!” A small bottle appeared in front of Su Wen when the voice stopped. There was a drop of fiery red blood essence inside!
It seemed to be burning continuously. “Vermillion Bird blood essence!” When Su Wen saw this reward, his eyes widened!
This thing was too awesome! If he swallowed it… in reality, it was due to Su Wen’s ridiculous accumulation of Saint Qi that he was able to obtain this.
With this thing… the future troubles of the Sorcerer God’s Golden Gu could be resolved. But should he let Emperor Zhou know? In the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, Emperor Zhou clenched his fists as he looked at the jade tablets!
Dead! Most of them were dead!
In less than an hour, more than 20 of the jade tablets had been shattered!
For those who could not control themselves and wielded blades at their loved ones were all dead.
However… the Third Prince was still alive. Perhaps it was because of Emperor Zhou’s power, or perhaps it was because he truly respected him, but he did not attack the illusory Emperor Zhou. Wu Lie was also alive. In his illusion, the person who appeared was Wu Kaihu. He was never the kind of person who would attack someone close to him… As for Ni Hongxiao, this test for her was almost negligible. After all, she had killed very few people, so the impact on her consciousness was not a threat at all.
Looking at Su Wen who was walking over slowly in the illusion, Ni Hongxiao lightly smiled as she pulled open her collar.
Originally, Emperor Zhou thought that many would survive, but in the end, there were only a few. Su Wen, Ni Hongxiao, the little monk, the Third Prince, Wu Lie, and a few others… There were only about a dozen people. Everyone returned to the Great Zhou Royal Palace.
Su Wen turned around and looked back. There were only ten-odd people. The Third Prince looked at Su Wen with hatred and gritted his teeth. “You actually didn’t die!”
Those who had undergone the Heart Tempering Trial knew that the more Saint Qi one accumulated from killing, the greater the test one would face!
As the leader of the group, Su Wen was still alive!
Su Wen sneered. “Why? Do you feel bad if I don’t die?”
The Third Prince looked resentfully at Su Wen… then looked at Ni Hongxiao. He gritted his teeth and spat, “Adulterous couple!” Ni Hongxiao raised her eyebrows: “Who are you scolding!?” She was the only woman here! “Humph!” At this moment, Emperor Zhou snorted as he walked over to the Third Prince. He was slightly taller than the Third Prince and looked down at the Third Prince for a second!
Pa!
The Third Prince did not even dare to dodge the slap that was sent towards him! He received the slap forcefully. “Don’t you know the rules of the mystic realm? No matter what kind of grudges there are inside, once you leave the realm, you must forget everything!” Emperor Zhou looked at the others and said coldly, “All of you are the future pillars of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Remember these words and do not bear grudges for anything in the future!”
“Yes!”
Everyone bowed.
Emperor Zhou was very satisfied with this new wave of 3rd Grade Earth Rank cultivators.
However, when his gaze turned to Ni Hongxiao, Emperor Zhou’s smile froze. She was only at 1st Grade Earth Rank… The lowest ranked cultivator in the group… plus she was not very interested in martial dao… but she survived… she probably had little hope to enter the Heaven Rank as well… too bad!
He naturally knew Ni Hongxiao. Emperor Zhou smiled and asked, “Hongxiao, did you obtain any experimental materials this time?” Ni Hongxiao nodded. “There are a lot of experimental materials that I have never seen before… I hope Your Majesty can give us more funding…” “Cough cough! Let’s talk about this again!”
Emperor Zhou looked at everyone and said, “Alright, you can leave now. According to the rules, I won’t ask what you have obtained. Those who are willing to stay in the Royal court can come and find me. I will definitely make arrangements!” About half of these people were actually members of the sects.
Emperor Zhou really wanted to poach them!
At this moment, someone walked in front of Su Wen and cupped his hands. “Young Master Su, we shall part ways here. If you require my assistance in the future, do send over a letter!”
After that, he bowed to Su Wen and left. The rest of them also spoke to Su Wen before taking their leave. Evidently, Su Wen had established some prestige in these people’s hearts. Soon after, Su Wen and the others also left. Emperor Zhou left the Third Prince behind. The two of them came to the chambers where Emperor Zhou lived in before the Emperor spoke, “Thirdie, tell me everything that happened in the mystic realm!” The Third Prince started from the beginning. When he said that Su Wen had started to snatch people’s kills, Emperor Zhou sneered and said, “You are as stupid as a pig! When he killed someone and went to snatch the Demon Martial Bead, you should have helped your subordinates, so as to win the hearts of others. How can you just stand there and stare blankly?” The Third Prince lowered his head and said, “I was just angry at that time…” Then, he talked about his encounter with Wu Lie.
Hearing the Third Prince’s words, Emperor Zhou facepalmed. “Your mother didn’t even knock her head when she gave birth to you. Are you really a member of the royal family? You wanted to ostracize Su Wen, so that’s understandable. However, you have to bring Ni Hongxiao and Wu Feng out too, right? You ran away with his subordinates, so how could he let it go? He only said that because there were enemies by his side and didn’t want to fight with you. Furthermore, what makes you think that Ni Hongxiao would obediently work for you? You clearly know that Su Wen’s relationship with her is abnormal, yet you still had the guts?” The Third Prince did not dare to explain himself.
He started to talk again, but this time, he learned his lesson. When it was time to tease Ni Hong Xiao, he hid the fact that he was going to enter Ni Hongxiao’s tent. He only said that he patted her, and Ni Hongxiao made things difficult.
When Emperor Zhou heard this, he looked at him suspiciously and frowned. “That’s not right. If Ni Hongxiao suddenly made trouble, why didn’t the people around her come to help you? Furthermore, since she followed you, it would be better for her to wait until Su Wen arrives before making trouble. Why did she suddenly make a move in advance? If the others made a move now, wouldn’t she be in danger?”
Emperor Zhou suddenly shouted, “Speak! Are you hiding something from me?” When the Third Prince saw that he could not hide it, he told her about his conversation with Ni Hongxiao!
Emperor Zhou was furious! He stood up and kicked out a foot!
“I’ll beat you to death, you stupid pig! Have you never seen a woman before? You even went to tease her in the mystic realm? Furthermore, you opened your mouth and wanted to enter the tent! Do you have sh*t in your head?” As he said that, he started punching and kicking the Third Prince! “Damn it! Do you think I’m Su Changqing? I don’t spoil children!” After a series of punches and kicks, Emperor Zhou looked at the Third Prince and asked, “What benefits did you get this time?”
“A Heaven Rank martial technique…” Emperor Zhou frowned. As a member of the royal family, this thing was not very useful. “Anything else?” “A Heaven Rank elixir. If I consume it now, I should be able to increase my cultivation by three grades.” The Zhou Emperor narrowed his eyes and muttered, “Your score is only average, yet you got a Heaven Rank elixir. What did Su Wen get?”
“Why don’t you just ask him?” The Third Prince was confused. Emperor Zhou sneered and said, “Since ancient times, the rules have always been like this. You can’t ask about such things openly. Do you think I was the only one present at that time?” As he spoke, he looked at the Third Prince and said, “The benefits of the Saint Qi entering your body are not something that can be obtained just through cultivating normally Try to comprehend it well. Cultivate well and don’t think about anything else.” “Yes!”
The Third Prince bade farewell and left. On the other side, Su Wen and Ni Hongxiao left the palace together. “Alright, I’m going back to the Spiritual Master Palace, goodbye.” Ni Hongxiao casually spoke. Su Wen smiled. “You’re not coming home with me?”
Ni Hongxiao rolled her eyes: “You, you better take care of your wives, don’t think about me. I’m not interested in getting married!” After saying that, she turned around and left leisurely. Su Wen sighed and suddenly realized that a carriage was rushing over. In the car, Zhao Jin smiled and said, “Young Master, you even dare to take this woman?” Su Wen sneered. “This Young Master skills have improved greatly during this time, I’m no longer afraid!” “Impressive, impressive! Young Master is mighty!” Zhao Jin immediately flattered. Su Wen got onto the carriage and laughed loudly. “Let’s go home!” At this point, he couldn’t help but shake his head secretly.
It was a pity that Bai Xiangxiang was quite the skilled practitioner in bed.
He recalled the final scene in the illusory space.
Each bubble represented a different mystic realm.
The reason why the Star Martial Secret Realm was different every time was because they would enter different worlds.
These small worlds were filled with forests and people, waiting for the cultivators to enter. After entering, it would end with that world bubble shattering.
On the other side, the young monk, Zhizhen, had also left the capital. There was a relic hanging around his neck. This was the reward he had obtained from the mystic realm. It was currently emitting a Buddhist glow that nourished his body. He had a face was full of smiles.
Anyone who saw it would be infected by his jovial mood. The darkness in his heart disappeared once again.
Ni Hongxiao also returned to the laboratory. She took out her reward.
It was an egg-shaped object!
After staring at this thing for a while, Ni Hongxiao muttered: “How should I use it? Should I lie down and incubate it?” Su Changqing also received news that Su Wen had returned safely. A smile appeared on his face.
‘As long as he’s back… that’s great.’
It would be a lie to say that he was not worried. After all, the survival rate in mystic realms was never high!
When Su Wen returned home, the first thing he did was not to make out with his wives.
Instead, he went to cultivate in seclusion!
The benefits of this mystic realm had yet to be fully digested!
The earlier he finished absorbing them, the more secure he would feel!