Dao Heart

"Heart Inquiry Trial, begin!"

At County Commandant Zhang Cheng's low shout, the Official Seal in his hand blazed with golden light once more.

This time, the Law Net did not lower rays of spiritual light. Instead, it released an invisible yet vast pulse that swept across the entire Martial Training Ground in an instant.

Chu Bai felt a buzz inside his head, and the scene before his eyes instantly warped and collapsed.

Before he could react, before he could even settle his mind after the exertion of the Spellcraft Trial, he sank into a state of profound mystery.

"Big Brother, time to eat!"

A familiar voice rang beside his ear.

Chu Bai's eyes snapped open. He found himself seated before a large, round rosewood table, laden with delicacies from mountain and sea. The old hen that had once made his mouth water was now merely an unremarkable side dish.

His parents wore luxurious brocade robes, their faces rosy as they smiled at him. Xiao Man and his younger brother were no longer sallow and thin, but fair and plump, like the lucky children in paintings.

"Dad? Mom?"

Chu Bai felt a little dazed.

"Silly boy, what are you daydreaming about?" Li Qing smiled and placed a piece of venison in his bowl. "This is the birthday banquet of Master Chu, the richest man in our Anping County. How can you let your mind wander when you're the head of the household?"

"Master Chu? Me?"

Memories surged in like a tide.

Yes, he had passed the Dao Academy's examination, but later found immortal cultivation too arduous and difficult, so he had turned to business. With a few clever methods, he had soon become the richest man in Anping.

The scene shifted.

His once-scathing Second Aunt knelt before his estate's gates, sobbing with tears and snot streaming down her face as she begged him for a morsel to eat.

The wealthy young men who had once looked down on him now bowed and scraped before him.

This feeling... was wonderful.

Food and clothing without worry, his parents alive and well, respect from everyone.

Wasn't this the life he had once dreamed of?

Just stay here...

A voice sounded in his heart. What's so good about cultivating immortality? Fighting and killing all day, facing those terrifying demon beasts. Here, you are king. You are heaven.

Chu Bai's gaze gradually grew hazy. He raised his wine cup, then lowered it again, seemingly ready to lose himself in this tender land of wealth and luxury.

The scene shifted again.

He wore a purple robe and a golden crown, standing at the pinnacle of power beneath the sovereign.

At his command, countless cultivators bowed in submission. His every word and action decided the lives and deaths of millions.

Peerless beauties even attended him, their crimson sleeves lending fragrance to his study, their warm, jade-soft bodies nestled beside him.

The taste of power and the temptation of beauty seeped into his will, little by little, like the richest poisoned wine.

Was this the end of the road?

Chu Bai felt lost. He lingered in these utterly lifelike illusions, his awareness growing increasingly blurred. He even began to forget who he had originally been and what he had been doing.

Just as he was about to sink completely into them, ready to close his eyes and savor it all—

Buzzz—

Deep in his mind, the line of text that had always existed in silence suddenly grew faintly hot.

[Relentless Toil, relentless effort]

Those words split the fog like a bolt of thunder.

This fate destiny had not appeared out of nowhere. It was an affirmation of the countless days and nights he had spent sweating in the fields, studying by lamplight at the academy, and cultivating tirelessly beside the Three-Bath River.

"No..."

Chu Bai's hand jerked. His wine cup fell to the floor, shattering with a crisp crack.

"Why do I want to cultivate immortality?"

"For money? If that were all, being a well-paid sparring partner at the Zhao Residence would have been enough."

"For power? To make my relatives respect me? To make Second Aunt kneel and beg for mercy?"

"No... those things are too small."

Chu Bai rose, looking at the faces around him as they gradually froze. His gaze grew clearer and sharper with every moment.

"I do not cultivate immortality for fame and fortune, nor for eternal life."

"I simply want to... move forward!"

He raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce the lavish roof and reach the boundless heavens beyond.

"I want to see what vistas await in Foundation Establishment, beyond Qi Refining!"

"I want to know what lies above the Celestial Court hanging high over our heads!"

"I want to know where this world ends, and where the Great Dao ultimately leads!"

"As long as my feet haven't stopped, as long as there is still a road ahead, I will keep walking!"

A pure desire to seek the Dao, untainted by any impurity, blazed within his chest.

"This wealth, this power, are merely clouds passing before my eyes. Only the Dao moves eternally forward!"

Chu Bai gave a low shout, his voice resounding like a great bronze bell.

"Break!"

Crack—

The vast world of mortal splendor before him instantly shattered like a mirror, dissolving into countless motes of light.

On the Martial Training Ground.

Chu Bai's eyes snapped open, his gaze clear as water, as though all worldly artifice had been washed away.

He looked around and found that most of the other examinees still had their eyes closed. Some wore besotted smiles; others were stricken with terror, cold sweat pouring down their faces. Clearly, they remained trapped deep within their illusions, unable to escape.

Even Li Han and Wang Teng stood with tightly furrowed brows and faintly trembling bodies, evidently undergoing fierce struggles within their hearts.

Chu Bai looked up at the raised platform.

The incense stick used to keep time had only burned down a short length.

So an entire lifetime in an illusion was only an instant in reality.

Chu Bai drew a deep breath. His spiritual sense felt more condensed than ever, and his Dao heart was utterly clear. Though his cultivation had not increased, he felt as though he had shed a thousand-pound burden, his entire being elevated.

On the raised platform.

The three examiners—Zhang Cheng, Li Wenyuan, and Zhao Wu—were staring at the first boy to awaken with expressions that suggested they had seen a ghost.

"He's... awake already?" Zhao Wu swallowed. "How long has it even been? Not even half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, right?"

"The Heart Inquiry Trial involves no slaughter, yet it is the most perilous. How many brilliant talents have fallen before their inner demons?" Li Wenyuan's eyes shone. "Not only did this boy awaken quickly, but his gaze is clear. He has plainly seen through the falsehood completely, rather than forcing his way free."

"Such firmness of Dao heart is rare."

As time passed, examinees began to awaken one after another.

Some looked lost and bereft, some were drenched in sweat, and some even burst into tears on the spot.

When the last wisp of incense burned away, the Law Net dispersed.

The three trials were finally over.

Chu Bai stood among the crowd, neither sorrowful nor joyful.

As the Law Net's radiance slowly faded, the gates of the Anping Examination Hall opened once more.

The sunset's lingering glow spilled over the blue flagstone path, gilding the solemn Examination Institute with a golden edge.

The examinees filed out. Some looked dazed, clearly not yet free of their illusions' lingering hold; some wore delighted expressions, believing they had performed well; more sighed endlessly, their faces filled with regret.

Chu Bai stood at the entrance and drew a deep breath of the slightly boisterous air outside, feeling every pore on his body relax.

"Brother Chu!"

A familiar voice called out.

Gu Qinghe strode toward him. Though his face was still somewhat pale, his eyes were exceptionally bright.

"Brother Gu." Chu Bai smiled and went to meet him. Their eyes met, and each saw the relief in the other's gaze.

"It's over." Gu Qinghe let out a long sigh, his voice carrying both release and unease about the unknown.

"Yes. We've done all we can; now we leave the rest to fate." Chu Bai patted his shoulder. "Come on, let's go to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. My treat today. First, to unwind, and second... to celebrate your breakthrough into Qi Refining!"

"Great! Then I won't stand on ceremony! I've been saving money these past few months, and my mouth's been so starved of flavor a bird could hatch in it!"

They exchanged a look and burst out laughing, then draped their arms over each other's shoulders and disappeared into the bustling crowd, as though they were merely two ordinary boys who had just finished school.