Eight Sage Spirits!

At the same time.

Palm Heaven-and-Earth Realm, the old man's expression suddenly changed drastically, revealing surprise. Then, with a loud "boom," the entire hill shook.

The many Confucian scholars on the mountain were immediately startled and appeared somewhat flustered, but they quickly calmed down. After all, many of them had condensed their Literary Heart, and even those who had not were close. Although their minds had been distorted due to being trapped for a long time, they still had some control over their State of Mind.

However, the reason they were panicked was that such an anomaly had never occurred on this mountain since they arrived.

What does this strange change signify?

"There must be a reason why this has never happened before."

"Could it be because of Qiu Yan? I've heard he's Literary Path Creation. He hasn't come here to be assimilated or trapped by the Scholar Forest, but rather to explore the true essence of the Scholar Forest."

As everyone discussed and speculated, a vast and profound aura suddenly descended, permeating the entire mountain. Above, in the pitch-black space, a blinding light streaked across the darkness, like a comet, heading towards the depths of darkness!

What is that?

As that radiant light faded into the distance, the grand artistic conception dissipated, but its lingering charm allowed everyone to savor it. They were all educated people, each with their own achievements in Literary Dao, and they were even more able to appreciate the preciousness of that artistic conception.

"That artistic conception seems to resonate very well with my current state of mind. It was just a fleeting realization, yet it touched my heart and gave me the urge to pick up a brush and write."

"That's right, I feel the same way. It seems that I can find a way to calm my evil thoughts from that state of mind."

"I feel my long-stagnant thoughts coming alive again. By calming my mind and thinking deeply, I have the opportunity to solidify my Literary Heart!"

Among the crowd, some quick-witted and with excellent memories recalled their earlier feelings and realized where the opportunity lay. Others disregarded everything else and immediately turned and headed towards their houses.

In the bamboo grove, in the thatched hut.

The old man sat motionless, yet a powerful aura filled the surroundings, causing even the most thoughtful Literary Thought to stagnate, creating a sense of oppression and heaviness!

Even Zhao You's constantly fading Literary Thought were halted by this thought. However, Zhao You was not pleased by this; instead, he became even more terrified. Because he was so close, he could clearly sense that an undercurrent was hidden within the kind-faced old man, like a volcano about to erupt!

Faced with this thought, Zhao You felt utterly insignificant, as if he could be shattered to pieces at any moment. He fell silent in fear.

After a long while, the oppressive atmosphere dissipated as the old man exhaled, which relieved Zhao You but also plunged him back into panic—his Literary Thought was still slipping away.

Suddenly, the old man raised his hand and made a grasping Literary Thought. Immediately, the surrounding spiritual energy surged towards Zhao You, freezing his entire body and preventing Literary Thought from flowing out.

"This..." Zhao You was stunned. He looked at the old man with an incredulous expression on his face, then realized what he meant and quickly bowed deeply to the old man, thanking him verbally, but he was very puzzled in his heart.

"I was hiding outside and overheard your secret. It would have been fine if he hadn't killed me to silence me, but why did he save me?"

Just as his thoughts were swirling, the old man spoke up, "You don't need to guess wildly. I can stop the flow of Literary Thought, but that's only a temporary fix. You'll have to come here every month so I can perform the treatment, otherwise it will be difficult to maintain."

Upon hearing this, Zhao You felt a chill run down his spine, finally understanding why the old man wasn't sparing his life—it was clearly because he held his life in his own hands.

The old man continued, "This time you wanted to break the rules and take a risk, so I won't pursue it, but this is a one-time exception. What you heard and saw..."

"Don't worry, sir, I didn't hear or see anything," Zhao You quickly assured him.

The old man neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying, "When you go back, don't dwell on today's events. Just do what you normally do. Go on."

"Yes." Zhao You left tremblingly, but once he was out of the hut and the external pressure disappeared, he felt the excruciating pain in his heart.

Freedom was within reach, yet it slipped through his fingers; years of Literary Thought were destroyed in an instant; and his life was now in the hands of others.

Thinking of this, he was startled.

"I used to merely borrow the old man's name to intimidate others, but now I have no choice but to submit completely and can no longer act on my own. In that case... speaking of which, since he possesses such cultivation, how could he not have discovered me when I was hiding outside? Could it be that all of this was due to his negligence? What exactly is his purpose...?"

As he thought about it, Zhao You's fear grew stronger. He realized that he would only be able to eke out a living on thin ice in the future. Combined with his many experiences, he immediately felt that he was worse than dead. However, he did not have the courage to face death and was suffering greatly.

Leaving aside Zhao You, let's talk about the old man sitting quietly in the thatched hut. Suddenly, the ground beside him shattered with a loud crash!

Amidst the swirling debris, the old man's words echoed—

"In the end, I couldn't hold back. But then again, how can envy be easily subdued? Back then, in my prime, I was confident in my superior knowledge. I traversed the Sea of Learning, wandering to the ends of the earth to come here Three-Gate Trial. But due to a moment of carelessness, I failed and have been trapped here for nearly a thousand years. During that time, every person I encountered who attempted the trials was misled by me. Their souls and thoughts have accumulated in my body. If Qiu Yan were to be trapped here as well..."

After thinking about it for a while, he shook his head.

"However, Qiu Yan's accumulation of knowledge is insufficient. Even if he can pass the Three Passes, he cannot reach the final destination. The aura of the Scholar Forest on his body is weak, indicating that this is his first time entering the forest. He will return in the future..."

As this thought settled, the hut fell silent once more.

Meanwhile, Qiu Yan, who was Human Thoughts, was immersed in a strange feeling—

Within Qiu Yan's consciousness, there was a radiant light. This light did not originate from the sun, but from countless spirits. However, these spirits were illusory and uncertain, merely having form, and could not be absorbed by anyone.

Even so, Qiu Yan still gained a lot of inspiration and benefited from it.

"These Sage Spirit undoubtedly all originate from Sage Sun, and that illusory tree should be the projection of the tree belonging to Sage Sun in the Scholar Forest. The fact that I can perceive and observe it is probably a reward for passing the second trial. Although I can't see the effect now, I will be able to..."

As he was thinking, his soul suddenly trembled, and the light in his consciousness suddenly shone brightly, making Qiu Yan feel as if he had woken up. He turned his thoughts and spread his perception, only to notice that his soul was now surrounded by bright light, and the illusory street had long since shattered and disappeared without a trace, not even a fragment remained.

All that remains is the article he wrote.

Suddenly, a beam of light flew from afar, stopped a long way off, transformed into a suspended ball of light, and split off a beam of light that arrived in front of them in the blink of an eye. It combined with a section of the article written by Qiu Yan, and then quickly changed, soon forming a scroll of bamboo slips.

The bamboo slips bear the words "Honor and Disgrace," radiating a profound meaning that subtly echoes and connects with Qiu Yan's "Exhortation to Learning."

Upon seeing this, Qiu Yan was stunned. But before he could recover, another beam of light flew out from the distant ball of light, combining with a passage from Qiu Yan's article. It then transformed into a bamboo scroll inscribed with the words "Rectifying Names".

At this moment, Qiu Yan finally realized what was happening before his eyes. Feeling the profound and solemn atmosphere emanating from the two bamboo scrolls, his heart was filled with turbulent waves.

"The two articles left by Sage Sun, 'Honor and Disgrace and Disgrace' and 'Rectification of Rectifying Names,' are similar to the spirit of 'Exhortation to Learning' that I have gathered. Could these be two volumes of the Sage Spirit? Could it be that by passing this second test, I can obtain the Sage Spirit?"

Just as Qiu Yan was surprised, another beam of light flew out from the distant radiance, combining with the remaining text to form the third bamboo scroll, inscribed with the two characters "Kingship and Hegemony".

Upon seeing this third bamboo scroll, even though Qiu Yan was still in spirit form, he felt somewhat unable to control his thoughts, and the surprise in his heart was truly indescribable.

The article "Kingship and Hegemony" was also written by Sage Sun.

However, Qiu Yan had indeed condensed his Divine Soul and even developed Primordial Divine Sense, so he calmed down, and with a thought, he understood the cause and effect. "It seems that using Literary Thought inspiration to break through the second illusionary realm can yield the corresponding Sage's inheritance, and which specific article it is should be related to the article itself. For example, my article involves three articles..."

Before Qiu Yan's thought could settle, another beam of light flew in, this time combining with the title "Transforming Nature and Developing Artifice," transforming into a chapter on "Human Nature Is Evil."

"Another volume?"

Before Qiu Yan could think it through, a loud "boom" was heard, and the distant ball of light suddenly exploded, splitting into several beams that flew straight towards Qiu Yan, circling around him before quickly condensing to reveal scrolls of bamboo slips!

Qiu Yan's eyes widened suddenly, revealing a look of surprise, followed by a look of doubt and uncertainty.

With a quick glance, Qiu Yan spotted several familiar words on the scrolls of bamboo slips—

<On Music>, < On Enriching the State>, < Against the Refuting the Twelve Masters>, <On Heaven>.

Including the previous four volumes, there are a total of eight Sage Spirit!

The articles represented by these names were all written by Sage Sun. Qiu Yan had read some of these articles in classical texts and had a slight understanding of them, but he was not proficient in them. At this moment, as he felt the aura emanating from the scrolls of bamboo slips, he immediately realized that they contained the true essence of literature!

Only...

"How can so many Sage Spirit be revealed before even passing the Three Passes? Isn't that too bizarre? If passing these trials will grant these inheritances, the rewards are far too abundant. Is there something fishy going on?"

At first, Qiu Yan was inevitably pleasantly surprised, then astonished, but after experiencing initial surprise and doubt, now only vigilance remains.

However, the eight volumes of Sage Spirit did not intend to give him time to think carefully. After each of them appeared, they first circled around Qiu Yan, and then moved together to rush towards his soul!

Qiu Yan's heart tightened suddenly!

ps:

Thanks to "Liangxiuqingfeng" and "g" for the reward!