Chapter 395: Falling into the Illusion, A Real Test

His expression was serious: "Once you enter the illusion, your consciousness will be completely immersed in it."

"In the illusion, everything is real."

"You will experience life and death, love and hate, gain and loss…"

"Therefore, you must hold fast to your original heart and not be deceived by the illusion."

"Otherwise…"

He scanned the crowd: "The consequences are yours to bear."

As soon as he finished speaking, many Cultivators' expressions became solemn.

The Dao Heart test was indeed the most difficult stage.

Because it tested not one's cultivation or combat power, but one's inner heart.

And the human heart is often the hardest thing to grasp.

"Now, enter the Trial Array in numerical order."

True Person Ziyang waved his hand, and the Magic Array opened.

"Number one, step forward!"

The first contestant walked into the Magic Array.

Hum—

The Crystal Ball emitted a hallucinatory light, enveloping him.

In the next second, his eyes became dull, and he fell into the illusion.

In the audience, everyone held their breath and watched the Magic Array.

Scenes of the contestant's experiences in the illusion appeared on the surface of the Magic Array.

The contestant was seen returning to his childhood in the illusion.

He saw his parents, who had been dead for many years, and was moved to tears.

"Father… Mother…"

"You're still alive…"

He rushed toward his parents, wanting to embrace them.

But at that moment, his parents' figures suddenly distorted, turning into two hideous ghouls.

"Child… come with us…"

"In the underworld, we will never be separated…"

The ghouls opened their bloody mouths and lunged at him.

"Ah—!"

The contestant let out a shrill scream and collapsed to the ground.

He failed to see through the illusion and was deceived by his inner obsession.

Hum—

The Magic Array forced him out.

The contestant opened his eyes, his face full of terror and his body covered in cold sweat.

"Fail."

The judge said indifferently: "Next."

Next, one contestant after another entered the Magic Array.

Some experienced life-and-death crises in the illusion, eventually saw through them, and successfully passed.

Some were deceived by their inner desires, sank into the illusion, and were forced out.

There were also those whose Dao Hearts were damaged as they broke down in the illusion due to deep-seated obsessions.

Time passed bit by bit.

Out of the four hundred people, more than three hundred had completed the assessment.

Among them, only one hundred and fifty successfully passed.

The rest all failed.

The elimination rate was as high as fifty percent.

"Number ninety-nine, Murong Fei, step forward!"

Murong Fei took a deep breath and walked into the Magic Array.

His gaze was firm, clearly confident in his Dao Heart.

Hum—

The light of the Crystal Ball enveloped Murong Fei.

In the next second, he fell into the illusion.

On the surface of the Magic Array, the scenes of his illusion appeared.

Murong Fei appeared in a magnificent palace.

The palace was filled with countless treasures—Immortal Rank Magic Treasures, ancient legacies, Heaven And Earth Treasures…

Everything one could want.

A voice echoed in the palace: "Murong Fei, these treasures are all yours."

"As long as you give up the Zixia Sect selection, these treasures will belong to you."

"With these treasures, you can Breakthrough to the Quasi-Immortal Realm or even the True Immortal Realm in a short time."

"Why go to the Zixia Sect to be an Outer Sect Disciple and be bullied by others?"

Murong Fei looked at the treasures filling the hall, a hint of greed flashing in his eyes.

But soon, he regained his clarity.

"This is an illusion…"

"These treasures are all fake…"

He sneered: "Trying to deceive me with such low-level tricks?"

"In your dreams!"

He struck out with his palm, shattering the palace.

The illusion shattered, and Murong Fei opened his eyes.

He successfully passed the Dao Heart test.

"Pass."

The judge nodded: "Time taken: half a quarter-hour. Excellent performance."

Murong Fei stepped off the Magic Array, a smug smile on his face.

He looked at Zhou Chen in the audience, his eyes full of provocation.

As if saying: "Did you see that? I passed the assessment easily."

"What about you? Can you do it?"

Zhou Chen remained expressionless, without any reaction.

The assessment continued.

Soon, it was Zi Yan's turn.

Zi Yan walked into the Magic Array and similarly fell into an illusion.

In the illusion, she saw the Zixia Sect being overrun by enemies, the Sect Master dead, and countless Disciples killed.

And she was the sole survivor.

"No… no…"

Zi Yan knelt on the ground in pain: "This isn't real… this isn't real…"

But the illusion was too real, and she could hardly distinguish it.

Just as she was about to break down, she suddenly remembered True Person Ziyang's words—

"In the illusion, everything is real."

"But being real doesn't mean it's reality."

Zi Yan suddenly looked up, her eyes regaining their clarity.

"I understand…"

"This is an illusion, testing my Dao Heart."

"The real Zixia Sect is still perfectly fine."

She stood up, and the illusion shattered.

Zi Yan opened her eyes, having successfully passed the assessment.

"Pass."

The judge nodded: "Time taken: three-quarters of an hour. Good performance."

Zi Yan stepped off the Magic Array and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Dao Heart test was indeed dangerous.

If she hadn't come to her senses at the critical moment, she might have failed.

—

Finally, it was Zhou Chen's turn.

"Number two hundred and thirty-seven, Zhou Chen, step forward!"

Zhou Chen slowly walked into the Magic Array.

His expression was calm, as if he didn't care about the upcoming test at all.

Murong Fei sneered: "Let this young master see how long you can last."

"The Dao Heart test isn't something you can pass just because your cultivation is high."

"If you break down in the illusion and suffer a Qi Deviation…"

A hint of anticipation flashed in his eyes: "That would be very interesting."

Hum—

The light of the Crystal Ball enveloped Zhou Chen.

In the next second, he fell into the illusion.

On the surface of the Magic Array, the scenes of his illusion appeared.

Inside the illusion.

Zhou Chen opened his eyes and found himself in a field of ruins.

This place used to be the Jixia Academy.

But now, the academy had been reduced to ruins, with broken walls and bloodstains everywhere.

"This is…"

Zhou Chen frowned.

At that moment, he saw several familiar figures.

Elder Xuan, Xi Linger, Lin Xueer, Miao Dandan, Bei Nianyu…

His teacher and confidantes were all lying in pools of blood, their breaths gone.

"How could this be…"

Zhou Chen's expression changed, and he rushed over.

"Elder Xuan! Xi Linger!"

He wanted to check their injuries, but as soon as his hand touched Elder Xuan, Elder Xuan's body turned into ashes and scattered with the wind.

"Holy crap…"

Zhou Chen was stunned.

The bodies of the others also turned into ashes one after another, dissipating in the wind.

"These movie special effects are actually quite good…"

Zhou Chen muttered to himself.

At that moment, a voice sounded in his ear.

"Zhou Chen…"

"It's all your fault…"

"If you hadn't left the Tianxuan Continent…"

"If you had stayed to protect us…"

"We wouldn't have died…"

That was Elder Xuan's voice.

Immediately after, the voices of the others also rang out.

"Zhou Chen, why did you abandon us…"

"You clearly promised you would protect us…"

"You liar…"

"You coward…"

Countless voices of accusation and resentment echoed in Zhou Chen's ears.