Perfected State of Mind

The 1000th level—this was the only trial of desperate survival among the thousand life dilemmas Lu Yan'an had experienced. Moreover, it wasn't just about himself; he had to lead a tribe of over a hundred people to survive in an Ice Age!

This was also the only trial where Lu Yan'an had failed ten times. The mission requirements were absurd, demanding that the casualty rate of these hundred-plus people not exceed 50%! It was too difficult; even with Lu Yan'an's accumulated experience, he found it nearly unbearable.

In fact, if the trial had only required him to ensure his own survival, it would have been fine. As a trial-taker, even in an environment without cultivation, Lu Yan'an could have thrived using the knowledge in his mind.

But in this multiplayer doomsday survival trial, the situation was far more complex. Not to mention the freezing weather of the Ice Age or the food shortages, simply managing the migration of an entire tribe was enough to make one's scalp tingle!

Lu Yan'an tried a full ten times and accepted the penalty for failure nine times! Finally, on this tenth attempt, relying on a tiny bit of luck, he successfully passed the 1000th level trial!

"Congratulations on passing the Thousand Life Dilemmas trial. The trials are known, but the present is unknown. Therefore, it does not matter if you fall into a life dilemma; your life will never be without a solution." The voice echoed in his mind, and the final illusion dissipated. Lu Yan'an looked up toward the top, then took a step and leaped upward.

Lu Yan'an stood calmly at the pinnacle of the pyramid, the scenery unfolding beneath his gaze. He didn't say a word, just stood there quietly. His eyes were as still as an ancient well, possessing a wisdom that seemed to see through the world.

The thousand life dilemmas had taken two years in reality, but the time experienced within the illusions exceeded a millennium. For a stellar-level life form as young as Lu Yan'an, a thousand years of experience was enough to change many things. In the world of illusions, he had experienced much—the pursuit of personal honor and disgrace, the choices of national sentiment, and the collision of life and death.

He had held all sorts of occupations, from royalty and nobility to peddlers and pawns. He had wielded power that made feudal lords tremble in anger, and he had possessed martial strength where all greatness returned to the self. After passing through a thousand sails, the withered wood met spring. These scenes transformed into a seed that fell into Lu Yan'an's heart. At this moment, he had birthed a heart of innocence, akin to the unity of heaven and man!

With this, after experiencing a thousand years of trial and tribulation, Lu Yan'an officially stepped into the second realm of heart cultivation—the unity of heaven and man, the heart of innocence!

The unity of heaven and man, the state of mind is perfect! What is perfection? When yin and yang combine, the Dao is born. What is the combination of yin and yang? Yin reaches its extreme and yang is born; yang reaches its extreme and yin is born. Walking a single extreme might lead to improvement, but the combination of yin and yang is true perfection. For instance, in conducting oneself, one needs to combine the square and the circle; be rigid when necessary, and be soft when necessary!

The state of mind is the same. When it needs to be as sharp as a blade, it should be sharp. When it needs to be as gentle as water, it should be as gentle as water. As the saying goes... draw a blade to cut the water, and the water flows all the more; water can never be severed! In terms of defense, water is more formidable than the hardest shield. The combination of yin and yang, the unity of heaven and man, the perfect state of mind—of course, this ideal height of perfection is also known as the heart of innocence! It is already a theoretical peak.

The Thousand Life Dilemmas trial helped Lu Yan'an fill in the final shortcomings of his state of mind and character. For him now, he had achieved a true lack of weaknesses. Whether in the comprehension of laws or the realm of heart cultivation, geniuses of the same era might be able to compare with him in one aspect, but Lu Yan'an was the only one who grasped both!

"You have now completed the trial of the Orthodox Illusionist, congratulations!" A voice rang out beside his ear, and when Lu Yan'an turned his head to look, it was Lord Shen. When Lu Yan'an finished the trial, Lord Shen had flown up from below, but upon arrival, it discovered that Lu Yan'an seemed to be undergoing some kind of transformation. It waited until he completed the transformation and recovered his state before offering its congratulations.

Even Lord Shen had not expected that Lu Yan'an would complete the Stairs of Sinking in just about two years. One must know that the Stairs of Sinking was named as such primarily because its trial difficulty was so high that countless people sank into it! Lord Shen's original plan was to let Lu Yan'an inherit the path of the Illusion Martial Artist as long as he could complete the test of the 500th step.

Until it discovered that Lu Yan'an had completed the test of the 1000th step like a hot knife through butter, its heart was filled with a mix of relief and complexity. Lu Yan'an's excellence truly refreshed its perception time and time again. Lord Shen was still rejoicing that it hadn't simply given up on Lu Yan'an back then; otherwise, it would have been a loss for the entire human race! What was complex was that the path of the Illusion Martial Artist now seemed unworthy of the current Lu Yan'an.

"Lord Shen, what do you mean by 'Orthodox Illusionist'?" Seeing it appear behind him, Lu Yan'an didn't feel any surprise; he was already accustomed to Lord Shen's elusive nature. He was just curious about the term "Orthodox Illusionist"—could it be that there was an unorthodox path for illusionists?

Hearing Lu Yan'an's inquiry, Lord Shen didn't beat around the bush and introduced it directly:

"Illusionists have always been divided into two branches. The first is the 'Orthodox Illusionist' who has completed heart cultivation through the dilemma trials. The second is the 'Illusion Manipulator' who pursues the supremacy of illusion power."

Seeing that Lu Yan'an seemed quite interested in these two paths, Lord Shen began to explain the differences between them.

"The 'Orthodox Illusionist' is the original form of the illusionist school when it first emerged. The founder of the illusionist school, in order to help more budding talents with illusionist potential embark on this path, specifically established the secret realm known as the 'Stairs of Sinking' in the Virtual Universe. One must complete the 1000-level trial of the Stairs of Sinking at or before the stellar level to walk this path."

"As for the 'Illusion Manipulator', it is the path taken by the vast majority of illusionists today. This school became popular because the 'Orthodox Illusionist' path is far too difficult, and very few people can complete the trial at or before the stellar level, so it was carried forward by later generations. It discards the heart cultivation of the trials and turns to pursue the ultimate power of illusions!"

Lord Shen explained from the side.

"People who walk both paths are illusionists, but the former is undoubtedly more perfect. An 'Illusion Manipulator' who discards heart cultivation finds it difficult to gain any advantage against an 'Orthodox Illusionist', because the former is naturally countered by those with powerful heart cultivation!"

"However, 'Illusion Manipulator' illusionists now account for more than 90% of the entire school. A representative force would be the Hao God Clan. This clan is basically composed of people walking the 'Illusion Manipulator' path, but they dream of cultivating an 'Orthodox Illusionist'!"

"The Hao God Clan?" Lu Yan'an muttered to himself. He remembered that in the original story, there seemed to be a supporting character from the Hao God Clan—Illusion Demon Galaxi. During the Universe Genius Battle, he had crossed paths with City Lord Luo, which resulted in him failing to even enter the top ten of that genius battle. He was a complete unlucky soul. He clearly possessed the strength of the top ten or even second place, but he happened to be countered by City Lord Luo's heart cultivation. In this light, that Illusion Demon Galaxi was an illusionist walking the "Illusion Manipulator" path.

"You have now embarked on the path of the 'Orthodox Illusionist', and there are basically no thresholds for the secret techniques involving illusionists from here on out. Hehe, although two years were spent in the trial of the Stairs of Sinking, it was all worth it!" Lord Shen chuckled.

Lord Shen actually didn't know exactly how much benefit Lu Yan'an had gained from this trial, because there was no such concept as heart cultivation in the current universe. The three realms of heart cultivation in the original story were a summary of the insights of past sages by Hong, one of the Earth trio, after reading ancient texts. Simply put, Lu Yan'an's current realm of heart cultivation could be honored with the title of "Master Lu" even in ancient Earth!

Lu Yan'an's perfect state of mind, if placed within the Virtual Universe Company, would be enough to pass the 18th level of the "Sea of Illusions"! This was already a state of mind at the level of an undying king, and the most critical point was that he was only at the stellar level! With such talent, even an existence like the City Lord of Chaos would descend to take him as a disciple!

Coupled with the fact that he had comprehended a trace of the "Light Origin Law" and the "Time Origin Law", Lu Yan'an basically had no shortcomings in terms of talent. Even Feng Yunruo, whom he had previously regarded as a target to catch up to, had now been left behind by Lu Yan'an!