Li Qingyun's strand of divine will splendor charged into the nebular vortex.
In an instant, he felt his various thoughts abruptly lighten, as if he were upon clouds in the outer void, yet alongside that lightness came an endless wave of emptiness and unsteadiness.
This was a somewhat familiar yet contradictory "Hua Xuan zone", making him think of the "Outer Ruin" for a moment.
Within the vortex lay another world. Wherever his "sight" reached was a grayish-dark void, with layers of clouds rising and perishing instantly within it.
Every time the clouds generated and vanished, Li Qingyun felt himself grow two portions lighter, as though the "stray thoughts" within his will were being washed away by the clouds, thereby becoming purer and more ethereal.
Then, a faint spiritual sense touched him: "Filter away stray thoughts to behold the Xuan heaven..."
The hint was that only by being sufficiently pure could one continuously lighten upward and glimpse the secret of Hua Xuan.
This was a test—a test of whether he was qualified to attain Hua Xuan.
If his will, in this space resembling the "Outer Ruin", could not filter out the complications, part the clouds and mist, and sublimate to the peak, then he would be unable to see the arcane mystery nor be able to induce the Outer Saint to bestow an opportunity.
"This poor priest's strand of will is as firm as a boulder, thoughts surpassing divine gold, yet in this bizarre space, casually washed by the clouds, I actually feel as if I am being stripped away layer by layer!"
"Throughout my life I have traversed all sorts of perils, with a Dao heart as one and a Dao spirit flawless—how could I possibly have so many stray thoughts and the like!"
"It seems somewhat not quite right..."