Chapter 83: End of the Perseverance Trial

"The sea of the heart is hard to cross…"

Hearing what Qin Hall said, some of the Cultivators present looked dazed, as if they had gained some insight.

Others turned a deaf ear, not caring at all.

In this way, the second day passed quickly.

Early on the morning of the third day, Qin Hall appeared in everyone's sight as usual.

Only this time, he wasn't drinking and was no longer drunk; he looked much more energetic.

"Today is the final trial." Qin Hall sized up the Cultivators present, his expression serious.

"On the path of cultivation, one will always encounter countless hardships or temptations. Can you persevere and remain true to your original intention?"

"Let me wait and see."

Amidst Qin Hall's words, everyone felt their vision go dark and lost consciousness.

…

In a small mountain village, Li Fan lay on the roof, watching the setting sun, always feeling as if he had forgotten something.

Growing up in the mountain village since childhood, he lived a life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset every day.

This had continued for a full fifteen years.

Such days were plain and happy.

If he continued to live like this forever, it seemed there would be nothing wrong with it.

But there was always a faint throbbing in his heart, feeling that he should definitely not end his life so ordinarily.

"Faner, Faner, where are you? Come home for dinner!"

Li Fan remained indifferent to his mother's call.

He looked up at the sky, watching the birds soaring freely, watching the sun and moon that had existed since ancient times and did not change according to human will, lost in thought.

Until night fell and the stars filled the sky.

Under the vast starry sky, he felt his own smallness even more.

And so, he watched for the entire night.

Until dawn approached, he suddenly had an Epiphany.

With a flip, he jumped off the house.

He rushed into the house and said loudly to his mother, who was still sleeping soundly, "Mother, cancel the marriage arrangement with Erniu's family next door."

"I'm not getting married. I'm going to Cultivate to become an immortal!"

His bleary-eyed mother was instantly startled awake, thinking the child had lost his mind. She hurriedly got up and grabbed Li Fan's hand, "What cultivation! Where are there any immortals! Child, wake up!"

Li Fan pulled his hand away, his youthful face full of determination, "I don't know where the immortals are, but I will definitely find them."

After saying that, amidst his mother's crying, he simply packed his luggage and strode out the door.

Half a year later, while exploring deep in the mountains, Li Fan unfortunately lost his life to a tiger's mouth.

…

In front of a dilapidated Daoist temple, amidst the flickering firelight and the sound of everyone's crying, Li Fan's heart was filled with confusion.

"Senior Brother, Master is dead. What will happen to our Chuyun Temple from now on?" a timid voice asked beside him.

Li Fan was about to speak when he heard angry voices coming from all around.

"What else can we do? Of course, everyone should divide up the things in the temple and go down the mountain!"

"I originally thought there was a True God on the mountain, which is why everyone went through so much trouble to come here. Who would have thought this old Daoist was an out-and-out liar!"

"Yeah, could a True God just suddenly die of illness like that?"

The more everyone spoke, the more agitated they became. Li Fan didn't know how to explain, so he could only let them loot all the items, large and small, in Chuyun Temple.

A moment later, Li Fan was the only one left on the mountain.

Collecting and burying his Master's ashes, Li Fan recalled the look in his Master's eyes as he watched him before dying.

Unwillingness, regret, melancholy, hope…

Was Master a liar?

Was the Chuyun Heaven-Ascending Chapter Master taught also made up?

Li Fan felt that perhaps it wasn't what everyone thought.

Immortals might truly exist.

In the end, Li Fan still did not go down the mountain.

He spent the rest of his life alone in the Daoist temple, watching the clouds roll and unroll in the mountains and the sun and moon change.

He spent his days comprehending the Chuyun Heaven-Ascending Chapter.

He passed fifty years of age but still could not make any progress.

He died with regret.

…

In the imperial palace.

Li Fan looked at the wooden plaques covered with names on the golden tray before him, a trace of impatience appearing in his eyes.

"Take it away. I will still Cultivate the Dao tonight."

"Your Majesty, you haven't graced the concubines of the harem for three months…"

"Hmm?" A fierce light flashed through Li Fan's eyes for a moment.

"…This servant obeys your command."

Watching the chief eunuch retreat in fear, Li Fan snorted coldly.

"It's fine not to be this Emperor." This thought suddenly emerged in his heart.

He had plundered the resources of the entire country to support his cultivation.

On the surface, he still appeared to be a Mortal, but in reality, he had already stepped one foot into the door of the Golden Core Stage.

These mundane affairs of the Mortal world are truly boring!

Thinking this, three months later, during the morning court session, Li Fan broke through the air and departed in front of all the civil and military officials.

Two hundred and sixteen years later, while exploring an Ancient Immortal Cave, Li Fan was unfortunately ambushed by someone.

His body died and his Dao vanished.

…

Lingyun Peak.

"Why have these tribulation clouds been gathering for so long without falling?"

"The power of this Heavenly Tribulation is even stronger than when the Sect Leader achieved Ascension back then, right?"

"Naturally. In terms of combat power alone, Junior Martial Uncle can be called the number one person in our Lishan Sword Sect in a thousand years!"

Li Fan looked at the tribulation clouds overhead, their power constantly increasing, and a sense of heroic pride rose in his heart.

Three hundred years of cultivation—what is there to fear from a mere Heavenly Tribulation?

A sword light soared into the sky from Lingyun Peak.

It split the sky full of tribulation clouds right through the middle!

Sunlight poured down from the gaps in the tribulation clouds, shining upon Lingyun Peak of Lishan.

Celestial flowers fell in profusion, and the immortal gate suddenly opened.

Li Fan flew into the immortal gate without the slightest hesitation.

After entering the Immortal Realm, Li Fan discovered with indignation that the Lishan Seniors who had ascended in the past had all been mysteriously murdered by unknown enemies.

He cultivated while searching for the mastermind behind the scenes.

A hundred years passed with no results.

While exploring an ancient cultivation Secret Realm, he was sneak-attacked by a close friend traveling with him, and died in shock and resentment.

…

Northern Immortal Domain.

Since Fan Heavenly Emperor unified the Azure Heaven Immortal Domain two thousand years ago, he began a bloody journey of conquest.

Over these years, with the heads of five Immortal Emperors and sixteen Immortal Kings, Fan Heavenly Emperor established his peerless and fierce reputation.

In the end, only the Northern Immortal Domain remained in the entire Immortal Realm, barely surviving.

Now, the great army was pressing upon the borders, vowing to annihilate the Northern Immortal Domain within a year.

In the center of the army, Qin Hall looked at Fan Heavenly Emperor, who was resting with his eyes closed, and hesitated to speak.

Li Fan opened his eyes and looked at this trusted general who had fought alongside him from humble beginnings, revealing a rare smile.

"Qin Hall, you seem to have something to ask me?"

"To be honest with the Emperor, I indeed have one thing I don't understand."

"Feel free to speak."

"The Emperor started from a mere Mortal and experienced untold hardships to finally become a Heavenly Emperor of a region. Your power is immense, and all the immortals in the Immortal Realm tremble at the mention of your name. But why does the Emperor show no sign of stopping? What exactly is the Emperor painstakingly pursuing?"

"After killing Zhuan Heavenly Emperor and completely unifying the Immortal Realm, what other plans will the Emperor have?" Qin Hall stared at Li Fan and voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Hehe." Li Fan gave a light laugh.

"What I seek is nothing more than the two words 'Long Life'." he said indifferently.

Qin Hall was stunned, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Long Life? With the Emperor's current cultivation, can it not be called long life? If there are no accidents, wouldn't it be easy for the Emperor to live for another few million years?" he asked with a shocked expression, seemingly unable to understand.

"Living for a million years—can that be arrogantly called long life?" Li Fan smiled and simply asked in return.

"In the Desolate Heaven Tomb, hundreds of ancient Immortal Emperors have already become dried bones in their graves."

"Even that Ancient Immortal, who is rumored to have opened up the Immortal Realm and possessed supreme power—hasn't his body now turned into mountain ranges, suppressed by me beneath the palace?"

"This time, I intend to unify the Immortal Realm and gather the power of all the immortals in the world to build a grand array covering the entire Immortal Realm. With this, I will blast open that Immortal's Cage that is said to have existed since ancient times."

"I want to step above the immortals and go one step further." Li Fan's tone was indifferent, yet so firm that it allowed no rebuttal from anyone.

Qin Hall was speechless.

Because he knew that above the Immortal Realm, there was nothing left.

So he could only lower his head in silence.

Everything proceeded according to Li Fan's plan.

In just one year, Li Fan unified the entire Immortal Realm.

After this, he used incredibly bloody methods to suppress all dissenting opinions. He collected resources from the entire Immortal Realm and successfully built that grand array used to break the shackles of the Immortal Realm.

As the array was activated, the entire Immortal Realm trembled.

Countless cracks appeared in the sky, and everything in the world seemed to be shattering.

Li Fan laughed loudly and rushed into the cracks.

Greeting him was only endless darkness.

…

At this point, the Perseverance Trial had ended.

Because Qin Hall knew there was no need to continue testing further.

An anomaly had appeared in this trial.

Even if he constructed infinitely layered worlds, he probably wouldn't be able to wear down this person's indomitable determination.

If Master were here and saw such an extraordinary talent, he would probably be very happy.

It's just a pity…

A trace of melancholy flashed through Qin Hall's eyes.

Amidst a long sigh, everyone woke up from the illusion one after another.

They were still in that square at the very beginning.

Some were dazed, while others woke up and their faces suddenly turned pale.

Others, however, fell into an Epiphany, having gained something.

…

Qin Hall looked at the various expressions of the Cultivators and said with a smile, "All three trials have ended."

"Among you, some performed beyond my expectations, while others were truly unbearable."

"Senior Martial Uncle Sect Leader once told me that our Yunshui Heavenly Palace recruits disciples based on quality, not quantity."

He sized up everyone, his expression gentle: "In that case, half of you shall remain."

The Cultivators who had previously shown joy on their faces underwent a huge change in expression after hearing what Qin Hall said.

"What do you mean?"

They were very clear in their hearts about how they had performed in the three trials.

Now, hearing that Qin Hall was going to kill half of the Cultivators present, they were suddenly shocked and angry.

Driven to a dead end, they began to launch attacks on Qin Hall.

Qin Hall was not angry either.

He just smiled indifferently: "Qin Hall, Chief of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion, Yunshui Heavenly Palace."

"I ask for your guidance."

Following Qin Hall's words, azure-blue figures suddenly appeared beside half of the Cultivators present.

They were just like clones of their targets; their appearance, aura, and even strength were exactly the same as the original bodies.

As soon as they appeared, they launched relentless attacks on their targets.

"Senior Martial Uncle Sect Leader was a strict man. But my Master once told me that one should not do things to the extreme. If you can survive at the hands of your own Mirror Images, I will not trouble you further."

Looking at the group of Cultivators caught in a hard struggle, Qin Hall slowly spoke again.

The other half of the Cultivators who were not attacked, including Li Fan, all chose to stay away from the battlefield to avoid being affected.

Li Fan retreated to a safe place and observed the situation in the field.

These blue Mirror Images' moves were extremely sharp, and they were tireless and would not get injured.

Ordinary Cultivators were truly no match for them. Once they engaged, they quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Before long, many Cultivators died tragically under their own Mirror Images.

As more Cultivators died, those remaining and struggling bitterly clearly couldn't hold on for much longer.

In their desperation, they began to curse at Qin Hall.

"Wake up! What disciples are you recruiting? Yunshui Heavenly Palace was destroyed who knows how many years ago!"

"What bullshit Master and Senior Martial Uncle! When the Great Tribulation descends, everyone will just kill each other!"

…

"Kill each other?" Hearing this, Qin Hall shook his head repeatedly.

"Our Yunshui Heavenly Palace is of one heart from top to bottom. We respect and love each other. Even if it means sacrificing ourselves for our fellow disciples, we wouldn't have much hesitation."

"How could we possibly kill each other?"

As Qin Hall spoke, his voice suddenly became quieter.

"Great Tribulation, Great Tribulation…"

His brow furrowed tightly, as if he had remembered something.

"Great Tribulation…"

He kept repeating in a low voice, and the sky over the square suddenly turned gloomy.

And those blue illusions attacking the Cultivators also underwent a mutation along with it.

Thick blackness constantly surged out from inside the illusions, and in an instant, they were dyed an ink-color that made one's heart skip a beat.

The ink-colored Mirror Images were much more ferocious than the previous blue illusions. In the blink of an eye, most of those Cultivators who were struggling to hold on died.

Only a few were left, still barely surviving.

And Qin Hall had not yet recovered from his obsession. He was still constantly whispering under his breath.

The ground of the square began to shake violently, and the dark clouds in the sky kept pressing down.

Thunder and lightning flashed continuously.

Those Cultivators who hadn't been attacked by the Mirror Images and were watching from the side also suddenly felt that things were not right.

But facing Qin Hall, who had already fallen into an obsession, no one dared to act rashly.

For a moment, everyone didn't know what to do.

Just then, Li Fan slowly walked to Qin Hall's side.

He was holding a wine gourd, patted Qin Hall's shoulder, and handed it over.

With a smile, Li Fan quietly said to Qin Hall, "Senior Brother Qin, have a drink."

"Don't worry about it, there is no Great Tribulation at all."

Qin Hall turned his head, his nose sniffed, and he instinctively took the wine gourd and took a gulp.

Then he looked at Li Fan somewhat blankly: "No Great Tribulation?"

Li Fan nodded with certainty and repeated it once more: "That's right, there is no Great Tribulation at all."

Qin Hall's eyes gradually lit up, and he kept murmuring and repeating: "No Great Tribulation, no Great Tribulation, no Great Tribulation…"

"Hahaha, you're right! There is no Great Tribulation at all!"

After a long time, Qin Hall laughed loudly and finally returned to normal.

The strange phenomena in the field also disappeared, and it became calm and breezy once again.

Seeing this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Li Fan with grateful eyes.

Li Fan's heart suddenly stirred, however.

Because he noticed that there were actually two faint traces of killing intent locked onto him.

Although these two traces of killing intent were extremely weak, Li Fan's perception of such things was extremely sharp, and he definitely wouldn't be mistaken.

And the owners of these two traces of killing intent were none other than Si Kongyi and Hundred Mile Chen!

Li Fan pretended not to notice, but secretly used Formless Killing Intent to inversely lock onto the two of them.

He just hadn't activated it yet.

The brief interlude quickly passed, and the slaughter between the Cultivators and the blue Mirror Images had also ended.

In the end, only two lucky ones survived.

Qin Hall looked at the still-living Cultivators with a gentle face: "The trial has ended, you may go now."

The Cultivators were confused and were about to speak, but they saw each other's figures gradually fade and slowly disappear from the square.

Soon, Li Fan was the only Cultivator left on the square.

Qin Hall looked at Li Fan, a complex look flashing through his eyes for a moment.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

Qin Hall asked.

Li Fan smiled frankly: "Senior Brother still owes me a gourd of good wine."

Seemingly not expecting Li Fan to answer like this, Qin Hall was first stunned, then burst out laughing.

"That's right, I still owe you a gourd of good wine!"

His expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Li Fan seriously.

Stretching out his right hand, his index finger lightly touched Li Fan's brow.

"This Cloud Water Illusion Dream Skill is a painstaking Cultivation Technique I created by synthesizing everything I've learned in my life. I hope you don't let it go to waste!"

A moment later, Qin Hall withdrew his finger.

Li Fan's figure also slowly disappeared.

On the vast square, Qin Hall was once again the only one left.

Just as it had been for these thousands of years.

"Senior Martial Uncle, Master, Senior Sister…"

Qin Hall looked around lonely, but found nothing.

So he took another gulp of wine.

…

Li Fan gradually regained consciousness.

Ahead was a towering gate with the four large characters "Yunshui Heavenly Palace" written on it.

And below the gate stood a stone statue.

The stone statue was dilapidated and covered in scars.

The heart area seemed to have been pierced through, revealing a huge hollow hole.

From the blurred face of the stone statue, one could vaguely see Qin Hall's likeness.

Li Fan quietly gazed at the stone statue for a moment, then took out a wine gourd from his storage ring.

He gently placed it in front of the stone statue.

Then, he activated the Follow Like a Shadow Art and sped off in the direction locked by the Formless Killing Intent.

Thanks to Long Sheng Yun Xiao, znfthink, and Xiang Bu Chu Ming Zi De Xie for the tips!