Questioning the Heart
Yun Jingheng's pupils contracted slightly.
The tone of Lunar Primordial Sovereign remained unchanged, exactly the same as when she announced the rules of the God Trial: calm, clear, and without any hint of manipulation.
"The order of the nine tests of the God Trial is not absolutely fixed. The last three tests are progressive to the first three tests, requiring the foundation laid by the first three tests. However, the order of the first six tests can be adjusted."
"Your Fourth Trial is ' Cold Sky’s Calamity-Crossing, Mortal-Flesh Purification,' and the Fifth Trial and Sixth Trial are ' Osmanthus Shadow’s Heavenly Punishment, Tribulation Crossing ' and ' Heavenly Gate Moon-Worship, Divine-Bone Refinement, ' respectively. These three tests are progressively more advanced—only after the mortal body is completely cleansed can one cross the tribulation, and only after successfully crossing the tribulation can one refine the bones."
The Seventh Trial is "The Compassionate Heart of the Laurel Moon Cuts Off Good Thoughts".
She paused for a moment, letting those words sink into Yun Jingheng's ears.
"The Seventh Trial requires actively stripping away one's excessive goodwill, entrusting the Good Corpse to a supreme treasure, transforming it into an independent avatar. The original body is no longer bound by pointless goodwill, acting in accordance with the Great Way rather than personal feelings; the Good Corpse protects the beings under the moon and accumulates merit."
"Originally, after you completed the fourth, fifth, and Sixth Trial, your physical body's endurance and the solidity of your soul would have reached a level sufficient to support the soul leaving the body and severing the Three Corpses. At that time, although the Seventh Trial would still be painful, it would be within your tolerance."
"But if you skip the last three tests and go directly to the Seventh Trial— "
The moonlight flickered slightly, and the floating text vanished as specks of light, replaced by another, shorter, and more glaring line of text:
[The Seventh Trial of the Taiyin Moon Goddess - The Compassionate Heart of the Osmanthus Moon Cuts Off Good Thoughts]
Status: Enabled ahead of schedule.
Warning: Lacking the foundation of the fourth, fifth, and sixth exams, your body will suffer the full range of pain of the seventh exam without any buffer.
Time limit outside the body: approximately thirty minutes. Once the time is up, the soul will be forcibly recalled.
Failure: Soul shattered, body disintegrated.
Yun Jingheng's gaze lingered on that line of "warning" for a long time.
"Once the Seventh Trial begins, your soul will be able to leave your body for a brief moment to do what you want."
The voice of Lunar Primordial Sovereign descended from the heavens, carrying the indifference unique to ancient deities. This indifference was not ruthlessness, but a calm understanding of suffering itself after experiencing too many worldly affairs.
Ask yourself clearly: Is this trip worth it?
Yun Jingheng did not answer immediately.
He lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the ground, staring at the shadow cast by a Moon Laurel Tree, as if counting the lines on the roots.
Lunar Primordial Sovereign did not urge him.
She thought he was hesitating.
The price paid for making a deal with an ancient deity was far more than just physical suffering.
It is as if the soul is torn alive from the body without any buffer.
This is not a test, it's torture.
He had reason to hesitate, and he also had reason to refuse.
The moon hung quietly in the center of the sky.
But Lunar Primordial Sovereign didn't know was that while Yun Jingheng was silent, his Divine Power had already reached a very, very distant place.
That was a mark.
Left over from before.
He and Ye Xinglan had been together for a long time at that time, and he left a Moonlight Mark on each of the people he cared about.
It doesn't need to be deliberately activated or maintained by consuming Soul Power; it simply lies quietly within the host's aura, like a seed buried deep in the soil.
He never actively activated them.
Because activating it means spying, and he has no right to spy on his companions' whereabouts.
But today, trapped on Sea God Island, when Lunar Primordial Sovereign thought he was hesitating, he closed his eyes and carefully used his divine sense to touch that mark.
Three hundred miles north of Heaven Dou City lies Sunset Forest, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The Moonlight Mark was deep within Ye Xinglan's aura. A faint sensation came back from a great distance; it was neither a picture nor a sound, but a vague perception.
Fluctuations in temperature, air pressure, and energy, as well as the host's most instinctive bodily reactions.
He felt the excruciating pain in Ye Xinglan's hand.
It was a pain caused by some kind of terrifying pressure that had forcefully shattered it.
She was still gripping the sword tightly, but the blade was trembling.
He could feel Xie Xie's breathing—erratic and rapid—but it wasn't fear; it was anger.
He felt Yuanen Yehui's chest blocking a certain figure; her heartbeat was fast yet steady, like a war drum.
He could feel Xu Xiaoyan's tears, but they didn't seem to be for him.
Then, he sensed Gu Yue and Tang Wulin.
The Gu Yue's aura was cold and chaotic, like a Ice Seal volcano.
Tang Wulin's aura was right in front of her, a few steps away, and he was so calm that he didn't seem like a young man who had been betrayed by the person he trusted most.
He wasn't afraid of his presence.
We have prepared for the worst.
He was preparing to make a sacrifice.
Yun Jingheng's divine sense lingered on that mark for a few more moments.
The sensation of the Moonlight Mark was very vague, so vague that he could only perceive the roughest outlines of these emotions.
He couldn't hear what they were saying, nor could he see their expressions.
But he sensed the Di Tian.
Black, unfathomable, something even more dangerous, a resolute force that, after being suppressed to the extreme, has begun to seep out from the cracks.
He was walking towards Gu Yuena.
It's not about protection, it's not about waiting; it's a completely different stance.
He was preparing to take action.
Yun Jingheng understood everything in that instant.
Di Tian never wanted to trap him.
Trapping him is merely eliminating variables; the real plan lies in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Gu Yuena must reclaim the Golden Dragon King Bloodline. If she cannot do it, then she will be forced to.
Di Tian said, "Don't put your father in a difficult position."
He was telling the truth.
The real meaning behind that sentence is: Whether your father is in a difficult position or not is not important.
The important thing is that you can't be there.
Yun Jingheng withdrew his divine sense and opened his eyes.
The voice of Lunar Primordial Sovereign rang out at the opportune moment. "Have you made up your mind?"
Yun Jingheng remained silent for a moment.
He stared at the floating warning text, at the eight words "soul shattered, body disintegrated," and then spoke.
His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.
But the Lunar Primordial Sovereign heard it.
"I've thought it through."
"Bring it on."
Lunar Primordial Sovereign did not ask any further questions.
The crack in the very center of the moon slowly widened, no longer a slit, but a door that was opening.
A silvery-white light surged from the door, carrying within it something far more ancient and weighty than the chilling aura of the Fourth Trial.
"Go inside. Once the time limit is up, you will be forcibly recalled. After being recalled, the Seventh Trial will begin immediately."
The altar of the Seventh Trial slowly descended from the moonlight.
Its entire body was solidified from silvery-white light, and the surface of the altar was covered with dense ancient runes, each rune flickering as if breathing.
At the center of the altar was a recessed, human-shaped groove, just large enough for a person to lie down in. Countless fine, hair-like threads of light extended from the edge of the groove, slowly writhing in the air, as if waiting for prey.
Yun Jingheng stood up and walked towards the altar.
Suddenly, Zi JI spoke up from behind, "Wait."
He stopped and turned his head.
Zi JI stood under the Moon Laurel Tree, holding Xiao Jiu in her arms.
Xiao Jiu curled up in her arms, staring wide-eyed at the filaments of light on the altar, instinctively snuggling closer to Zi JI.
Zi JI looked at Yun Jingheng, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something.
But in the end, she only said one sentence, "Are you going to stop the Lord?"
"Zi JI, you understand Di Tian better than I do."
Yun Jingheng said, his tone devoid of accusation or coercion, only a very calm statement, "What do you think he wants? Is it to let Gu Yuena make her own choice, or to force her to make the choice he wants?"
silence.
Zi JI didn't answer, but she loosened her grip on Xiao Jiu's arm a little.
Just a little bit.
"She is also my companion," Yun Jingheng shifted his gaze from her face to the slowly opening silver light gate.
"Just like you."