Chaotic Heart Forest (Part 2)

Chaotic Heart Forest (Part 2)

"Heh, entering Chaotic Heart Forest? Can a useless good-for-nothing from the Washing Yan Ancient Sect manage that?" Outside Chaotic Heart Forest, a disciple of the Nine Sacred Demon Gate sneered.

Another disciple chimed in, "Back when Senior Brother Xu underwent the assessment, he entered the fifth level of Chaotic Heart Forest. Now he has reached the True Fate Realm and is advancing toward the Canopy Realm. Whether in cultivation or Dao Heart, he is far stronger than before. In my opinion, entering the seventh level will be no problem for him."

The realms of cultivators, from low to high, were: Palace Knocking, Territory Expansion, Physique Accumulation, Palace Opening, Life Strengthening, True Fate, Canopy, Nirvana Bath, Heavenly Origin, and Divine Nurturing...

When one attained true invincibility and bore the Heaven's Will, one became an Immortal Emperor.

No immortals had ever been heard of in this world, much less an emperor who ruled over all immortals. Yet there was a saying in the world: My fate is mine, not Heaven's!

The Heaven's Will was a fate that only immortals could seize. Thus, when cultivators reached the pinnacle of invincibility, what they pursued was seizing the Heaven's Will and bearing it themselves, truly reaching the realm where their fate was theirs, not Heaven's!

Only immortals could seize the Heaven's Will, while emperors possessed ten thousand lifespans. Thus, an Immortal Emperor signified an immortal being capable of bearing the Heaven's Will! Whether Immortal Emperors truly lived forever remained a mystery to this day.

At the same time, within a single great era, the Heaven's Will was unique. In one great era, there could only be one Immortal Emperor.

At this moment, countless disciples of the Nine Sacred Demon Gate had gathered outside Chaotic Heart Forest, all discussing the matter. In everyone's eyes, Li Qiye was no match at all in this written examination!

"A person who only practices martial techniques and does not even possess a Dao Heart—how could he speak of entering Chaotic Heart Forest?" someone sneered.

Chaotic Heart Forest was where the Nine Sacred Demon Gate assessed its disciples' talent, innate aptitude, and Dao Heart. Here, the Dao Heart was the most important thing!

Chaotic Heart Forest had fourteen levels in total. The vast forest looked little different from an ordinary woodland, but it had been personally created by the ancestor of the Nine Sacred Demon Gate, the Nine Sacred Great Sage.

Once one stepped into Chaotic Heart Forest, illusions would arise, and they would be as real as reality itself. Even discerning eyes could not break the illusion before them. Unless one was stronger than the Nine Sacred Great Sage of that year, the illusions born here would be just as real as the truth!

For example, upon entering Chaotic Heart Forest, one might experience the illusion of being trapped in a sea of flames. One would truly feel as though one stood within that fire, one's entire body being burned, able to feel that pain with absolute clarity. The deeper one went, the more intense that pain became.

Of course, during this process, one could also use cultivation arts to resist the pain or unleash peerless techniques to fend off the fierce burning. But none of that could guarantee passage through all of Chaotic Heart Forest. Unless one was stronger than the Nine Sacred Great Sage, one could not completely block such illusory scenes with cultivation arts and pass straight through.

"Ignorant brat, you go in first!" Outside Chaotic Heart Forest, Xu Hui sneered disdainfully at Li Qiye. He possessed incomparable confidence in this written examination. He believed that entering the eighth level of Chaotic Heart Forest would pose absolutely no problem!

Looking at Chaotic Heart Forest, Li Qiye could not help curling his lips. Chaotic Heart Forest had been personally created by that old chicken-head back then. It was indeed a place meant to test one's Dao Heart.

"Me?" Li Qiye said unhurriedly. "Something like Chaotic Heart Forest is far too lacking in challenge for me. If I go in first, I'm afraid you won't even get a chance to perform. You should go first, lest you say again that I didn't give you an opportunity."

Li Qiye's wild boasts once more made Protector Mo and Nan Huairen wish they could seal his mouth shut. Would it kill him to brag a little less? He boasted all day long!

"Ignorant fool!" Protector Xu snorted coldly. "A piece of trash who does not even know what a Dao Heart is dares to spout such shameless nonsense!"

Xu Hui trembled with rage. A worthless Mortal Physique actually dared to look down on him like this! So furious that he laughed, he said, "Good, good, what a huge mouth you have! I want to see how many levels you can enter!"

"How many levels? That is far too unchallenging. Passing through all fourteen levels is no big deal." Li Qiye spoke at an unhurried pace. "That is why I want you to go in first, so I won't strike too heavy a blow to you!"

"Pah—" Li Qiye's arrogance was too much for countless Nine Sacred Demon Gate disciples to bear. One disciple said coldly, "Are all people from the Washing Yan Ancient Sect this shameless? They brag without even drafting a script!"

Protector Mo and Nan Huairen had nowhere to put their old faces. They truly wanted to leave Li Qiye behind and be done with it. His boasting was becoming more and more outrageous. They knew the Nine Sacred Demon Gate's Chaotic Heart Forest all too well. Entering the seventh level was already an extraordinary feat. For disciples of the younger generation, reaching the seventh level meant either possessing an extremely firm Dao Heart or exceptionally high cultivation!

Even Yu He, the chief protector, could not help shaking his head. How had the Washing Yan Ancient Sect actually taken in such a supreme oddity as its Chief Disciple? Passing through all fourteen levels of Chaotic Heart Forest? His boasting had burst through the heavens. Even Yu He did not possess the strength to pass through the fourteen levels of Chaotic Heart Forest.

"Fourteen levels?" Xu Hui burst into laughter. Looking at Li Qiye, he mocked, "If you can pass through all fourteen levels, I'll call you father!"

"I have no son as unfilial as you!" Li Qiye glanced at Xu Hui with the calm composure of an old god, utterly at ease.

Xu Hui lost his composure. Li Qiye had taken advantage of his words, and he immediately flew into a rage. His gaze turned grim as he stared at Li Qiye. "Fine. Since you dare spout such wild nonsense, do you dare gamble with me?"

"A gamble? What shall we wager?" Li Qiye smiled.

Xu Hui sneered darkly. "If you can pass through all fourteen levels, I will admit defeat myself! If you cannot, then crawl under my crotch on your knees!"

Xu Hui's wager made Protector Mo and Nan Huairen's expressions change. This was no longer merely an assessment. It was a disguised humiliation of Li Qiye, and also of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect. Yet they could only shake their heads helplessly. Li Qiye had brought this humiliation upon himself!

"If I pass through all fourteen levels, will you also crawl under my crotch on your knees?" Li Qiye glanced sideways at him and smiled faintly.

"You—" Xu Hui's face flushed red with rage at Li Qiye's provocation.

"If you pass through all fourteen levels, he will kneel and crawl under your crotch. If you cannot, you will crawl under his!" Protector Xu spoke coldly at this moment. Li Qiye had killed Du Yuanguang, and Protector Xu wished he could kill Li Qiye with his own hands. Since he could not kill him now, humiliating him properly would do!

Li Qiye looked at Protector Xu, then nodded seriously. "Fine. Since you all want to gamble so badly, I agree."

"Senior Brother Xu, make him pay! Gamble with him!" the Nine Sacred Demon Gate disciples present clamored.

Xu Hui gave Li Qiye a cold look and said sinisterly, "I'll wait for you to crawl under my crotch on your knees!" With that, he turned and stepped into Chaotic Heart Forest.

"Heh, this time the Washing Yan Ancient Sect will lose all its face. Their Chief Disciple will crawl under Senior Brother Xu's crotch!" Nine Sacred Demon Gate disciples said with strange laughter.

Protector Mo and Nan Huairen both turned their faces away, unwilling to watch any further. It would already be a miracle if Li Qiye could defeat Xu Hui. Passing through all fourteen levels of Chaotic Heart Forest? That was sheer fantasy! They wished they could leave immediately. If Li Qiye truly had to crawl under Xu Hui's crotch on his knees, the Washing Yan Ancient Sect would truly lose every shred of face this time.

At this moment, even Protector Mo could not help hating Li Qiye, wishing he could teach him a vicious lesson!

The instant Xu Hui stepped into Chaotic Heart Forest, everything before him went black. He had entered a realm of ghosts. Across a land stretching ten thousand miles, ghostly energy surged into the heavens. Skeletons creaked and rattled, while corpses clawed their way up from the soil.

Xu Hui took a deep breath, circulated his cultivation art, held firm to his Dao Heart, ignored this ghostly realm, and slowly walked deeper in.

"First level—" Everyone outside stared without blinking at Xu Hui inside Chaotic Heart Forest. Without any suspense, Xu Hui swiftly passed through the first level of Chaotic Heart Forest.

"Second level—third level—" Xu Hui was indeed impressive. Both his cultivation and Dao Heart were outstanding, and he passed through the third level at great speed.

By the fourth level, his pace began to slow, because the skeletal fiends and vicious ghosts of the ghost realm began attacking him. At first, he could still ignore them, but after his arms were torn off several times, the pain made him scream miserably, and he instinctively fought back!

"Open—" By the fifth level, Xu Hui had been completely drawn into the ghost realm. He roared furiously and brought out a treasure. A divine sword shot into the sky, and he opened his mouth to spit out a True Artifact. The True Artifact cast down streams of laws that swept through the surroundings.

A life wheel emerged behind Xu Hui's head, his blood energy soaring to the heavens. He unleashed peerless laws and charged in, slaughtering his way forward.

"Senior Brother Xu actually cultivates the Great Sage Life Art of the Fierce Slaughter Sword Art!" Seeing Xu Hui force his way through the fifth level of Chaotic Heart Forest with such tyrannical cultivation arts, some Nine Sacred Demon Gate disciples were both envious and astonished.

Cultivation arts included longevity arts and life arts, as well as physique techniques! Life arts governed killing and conquest. In particular, Great Sage-level cultivation arts left behind by the Nine Sacred Great Sage were even more powerful!

Watching Xu Hui slaughter his way through the fifth level, Li Qiye gently shook his head. Chaotic Heart Forest, Chaotic Heart Forest—since it was called Chaotic Heart, using cultivation arts to kill one's way through was simply taking the wrong road! When the Nine Sacred Great Sage had established Chaotic Heart Forest, its purpose had been to temper the Dao Hearts of his disciples!

"Seventh level—" At last, Xu Hui fought his way into the seventh level. This performance left countless disciples astonished.

Even Protector Xu was very satisfied. As his disciple, Xu Hui truly was his pride. Although Xu Hui's talent was far inferior to Princess Li Shuangyan's, and his cultivation was far behind that of the eldest disciple Leng Chengfeng, Protector Xu was already deeply satisfied with Xu Hui's accomplishments today.

Bang— Not long after Xu Hui fought his way into the seventh level, he could no longer hold on. Unable to endure the power of Chaotic Heart Forest, he was flung out in an instant.

"So close!" Xu Hui, whose heart had been thrown into chaos by Chaotic Heart Forest, took quite a while to recover from the disorder. He could not help letting out a howl. He had believed he could enter the eighth level, yet he had only reached the seventh. He had still underestimated the power of Chaotic Heart Forest.