Left Eye In, Right Eye Out

The old man did not respond to this, but shook his head and said, "Those people outside are not close to you. Why would you give up your life because of them? Can't you see that those scholars have been trapped for hundreds of years and their will has long been twisted?"

"What those people want is simply to leave this place," Qiu Yan said calmly, looking at the old man. "Hunger leads to the desire for food, cold to the desire for warmth, and exhaustion to the desire for rest. The desire for profit and the aversion to harm are inherent in human nature. As you just said, human nature is inherently evil and selfish. They are trapped, so of course they want to escape. This is perfectly understandable, isn't it?"

When Qiu Yan said these words, he suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, as if a mysterious sensation was being transmitted to him, faintly connecting with his soul, and an image of an Azure-Vine Ancient Tree appeared in his consciousness.

But this the Unseen connection was broken by the old man's laughter—

"Hunger makes one want to eat, cold makes one want to warm—these are the words of Sage Sun. Since you understand this principle, you should know that what you did was unnecessary. Only things that benefit others will be remembered. If I hadn't spoken up, they would never have known what you did in the house today. The reason why people do good is to have others praise them; most of them are hypocrites. Sage Sun once said, 'Goodness is hypocrisy.'"

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes and replied, "'False' doesn't originally mean hypocrisy, but rather 'human-made.' So, the character is composed of 'person' on the left and 'to do' on the right. 'Human nature is Human Nature Is Evil, and goodness is feigned' doesn't mean that kind people are hypocritical, but rather that it's precisely because human nature is evil that we must pursue goodness. Human nature originates from birth; we cannot create our nature, but we can improve it. Otherwise, why would we need to establish Order? Without Order, the world would only be a dog-eat-dog world."

At this point, Qiu Yan's State of Mind, which had just calmed down, became even clearer, the red color in his soul grew even more intense, and his consciousness showed a tendency to solidify. The remote sensing of the ancient tree also became clearer, leading Qiu Yan to gradually form a guess.

Then, he changed the subject. "However, actions are driven by instinct. The reason you told so many lies, and even wanted me to leave so that you could slaughter all the Living Soul on the mountain, is also driven by your nature, for your own benefit. You..."

As she spoke, Qiu Yan glanced around a few times and uttered a sentence: "You must be trapped in this room, unable to get out, right?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's expression suddenly changed.

Qiu Yan continued speaking to himself, "The Scholar Forest exists because of Human Path. Even in danger, there is still a chance for survival. The Yin Side of the Scholar Forest's Abode is very likely the place where those who have been assimilated find their way out. By extension, the founders of the Scholar Forest's Abode probably didn't establish it for people to die here. They likely intended to train future generations and would certainly have left a way out. You once said that you had to Three-Gate Trial trials with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. This life might be the way out..."

At this point, he lowered his voice. "If I listened to you and cut off someone's path to survival, who knows what would happen?"

As he spoke, Qiu Yan had already walked up to the old man. He composed himself and said, "To put it another way, since the content of the Three Passes is unknown, a careless decision could lead to failure. In that case, I might fail if I left this hut. After all, you haven't given any clear indications. How can you let me know that I am truly attempting the trials and have succeeded?"

After he said that, the room fell silent.

After about ten breaths, the silence was broken by the old man, who sighed, "Since you have already discovered it, then I have nothing more to say, except to offer my congratulations." There was a sense of vicissitude in his words.

After saying this, the old man took a deep breath and then slowly opened his eyes.

In an instant, the light in the room distorted!

The old man's eyes had no whites or pupils; instead, they contained two swirling vortexes that constantly rotated, releasing a mysterious aura. However, the two eyes rotated in different directions: one clockwise and the other counterclockwise.

The different directions of rotation gave Qiu Yan different feelings. When he looked over, the old man's left eye gave him a feeling that his mind was being drawn in, while the other eye brought a sense of rejection, as if he was being torn apart from this world.

"This is..."

"These eyes of mine are proof that you have passed the first test. You have proven yourself through your actions, demonstrating not only courage but also wisdom. You did not shrink back from the fear of the unknown, nor did you become arrogant or complacent. You did not commit violence because of the instigation of others, nor were you confused by the chaos. You have naturally passed the first test."

"The first hurdle?" Qiu Yan's heart skipped a beat. "So, what you just said about the first and second hurdles were all lies?"

The old man nodded and smiled, "However, leaving this room won't necessarily lead to failure, but killing another soul will trigger the Scholar Forest Restriction. At that point, it won't just be a case of failure at the last minute, but you'll have to bear the punishment of the entire Scholar Forest. Being able to recognize this proves your judgment. Now, what lies before you..."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Qiu Yan interrupted, "So, if I were to annihilate all the souls, not only would their deaths have been in vain, but I myself would also be punished. But the word 'punishment' doesn't refer to the annihilation of souls. Is it related to your escape?"

Faced with the questioning, the old man showed no intention of responding, but continued, "You are presented with two paths. One is to enter the next level through my left eye, and the other is to return to the Yang Side of the Scholar Forest through my right eye, but..."

At this point, the old man raised his withered, emaciated arm, extended a single finger, and pointed it in the air.

Boom!

A violent gust of wind erupted, almost scattering Qiu Yan's soul River of History, Illusory World attached to the soul shattered, and many hidden souls flew out!

These souls were collected by Qiu Yan into the river when the Ore-Mother Hall shattered, along with the souls of Zhan Cheng, Zhan Zhen, and other Confucian scholars, including Bei Ming and Tang Qing.

Then, the resurrected deity, having made a desperate move, shattered the entire hall. Qiu Yan fell to the Yin Side of the Scholar Forest, River of History, Illusory World was absorbed into his soul, along with the other souls that had merged into it, which also went into hiding.

But now, with the old man pointing his finger, all the souls appeared, were blown out of the doors and windows, and transformed into figures that fell to the ground.

The fall was quite a commotion. After everyone got up, they all felt a bit dizzy. However, Elder Beiming and Tang Qing immediately calmed themselves down and became alert. They then carefully looked around and saw this unfamiliar bamboo forest.

Where am I?

Soon, the attention of all the spirits was focused on the thatched hut in front of them.

"Young Master Qiu, what happened? Where is the young master? We are waiting..." Bei Ming glanced at Qiu Yan inside the house, then steeled himself and stepped forward to ask, but he was blocked by an invisible protective barrier before he could even get close to the hut. "What's going on?"

He immediately realized something was wrong.

The old man inside ignored his words and simply looked at Qiu Yan: "Since you brought an outsider here, you will be bound by these constraints. If you choose to return to the Light Side, then these people will have to stay and remain here."

"They want to stay?" Qiu Yan frowned. Although Bei Ming and the others appeared here because of the resurrection of the gods, it was also because of Qiu Yan. Once the souls were trapped, Qiu Yan would not be able to escape responsibility and would be entangled in Karma.

"Your Excellency implies that if I choose to continue, they can leave? But how can I be sure this isn't just another lie? You've handled this delicate balance of truth and falsehood with exceptional skill."

"Once you make a decision, you'll naturally know whether it's true or false." The old man didn't argue. "You can think it over carefully."

But Qiu Yan said directly, "Since that's the case, there's nothing more to consider. I, Qiu, will naturally continue to attempt the challenge!"

The immediate response wasn't solely for the purpose of saving lives; rather, Qiu Yan wanted to gain a deeper understanding of Human Path. Just moments ago, Qiu Yan had sensed that a rare fortuitous opportunity was about to fall upon him.

As soon as he finished speaking, a thought suddenly came from afar, prompting Qiu Yan to think of a few more words. He immediately understood that the old man was indeed not lying.

"Alright!" The old man nodded, raised his hand and waved. Before the people outside could even react, they were swept up by the gale, pulled into the house, spun around, rushed into the old man's right eye, and disappeared.

Once the storm had passed, Qiu Yan looked at the old man with a mixture of surprise and doubt, and asked, "That thought just now told me that you are also one of those attempting to break through the barrier?"

Hearing this, the old man paused for a moment, then gave a bitter smile, "Indeed, this is my first hurdle. I wonder when I will be able to pass it."

Seeing the other person's expression, Qiu Yan didn't press further, but simply nodded and took a step forward...

Just then!

Whoosh!

A soul shadow flew in from outside, arriving in an instant. Its momentum was extremely fast, revealing an aura of desperate determination and certainty of victory!

"I, Zhao You, have raised troops for a thousand days, and now is the time to use them!"

This ghostly figure was none other than Zhao You! Its target was none other than the old man's right eye!

This person left decisively earlier, disappearing in the blink of an eye, but now he has come suddenly, returning without being hindered by the invisible shield, clearly indicating that he has something planned!

But Qiu Yan did not show any surprise. He raised his hand and grabbed, several strands of intent bursting out from his hand, condensing into consciousness, wrapping around and moving forward, directly grabbing the soul shadow that Zhao You had transformed into, and then smashing it down!

Boom!

His soul landed and scattered, then gathered again to form the shape of Zhao You, but he was extremely weak. He raised his head, looked at Qiu Yan, and opened his mouth to speak.

But Qiu Yan didn't even look at him. He just gave the old man a deep look, then took a step forward, turning into a beam of light that merged into the old man's left eye!

Then, light and shadow shifted, images changed, and an ancient tree appeared and disappeared in my mind, wavering and uncertain. When the surroundings returned to normal, all I could see was darkness, but there was a figure in front of me.

The man seemed to sense something, turned around, and smiled.

"Brother Qiu, you really did come here, not letting Bai Zhaoyuan steal the spotlight."

Upon seeing this person, Qiu Yan's pupils contracted, and he uttered a name—

"Chen Jing..."

ps:

Thank you "orisun" for the monthly pass! Thank you "Dao He Fa Fei" for the donation!

The Scholar Forest arc is coming to an end...