After experiencing three complete life choices, 70% of his consciousness has regained consciousness. He knows that he is in an illusion, knows that he is in the main hall of Morning Star Training Ground, and knows that he is sitting cross-legged under the ancient mirror. He can even feel the empty right shoulder sleeve in his real body and the string of Mysterious Iron prayer beads on his chest.
The remaining scenes in the illusion began to distort and reorganize. The broken skylight, broken walls, and flying snowflakes seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, trying to spell out a new test. Qin Tiexin could feel the pulling force, like countless transparent threads sticking to his body, trying to drag him into a new illusion.
But he is no longer passively accepting it.
He raised his head and looked at the shattering sky. The cracks in the sky were getting bigger and bigger, and silvery-white light came out from behind the cracks, which was the light of the ancient mirror itself. He looked at the light and said a word.
"I, Qin Tiexin, have a firm heart in this life. I am filial to my teachers, righteous to my friends, and stick to my heart. I have never regretted it."
The moment these words were spoken, the pulling force completely broke.
The world collapsed. All the fragments shattered at the same time, and white light swept in from all directions, submerging the city walls of Wind and Snow Pass, the grotto of the blood pool, the school ground of Xinyang Pass, and the wind and snow of Soot Alley. Qin Tiexin felt that his consciousness was lifted up by a soft and irresistible force, passing through the layers of white light, rising steadily in a certain direction.
In the main hall.
Qin Tiexin opened his eyes suddenly.
His chest heaved violently, then calmed down. What came into view was the ancient inscription on the dome of the main hall of the Chenxing Campus. The winding strokes glowed dark gold in the skylight through the glass window. The ancient stone mirror was still suspended in the center of the hall, and the silver-white light on the mirror slowly flowed, exactly the same as before entering the mirror, as if nothing had happened.
Qin Tiexin looked down at himself. His left arm was still there, and the empty sleeve on his right shoulder was still there. He shook his left hand, clenching and unclenching his fingers, which was very real.
The illusion is completely gone, and consciousness is completely restored.
He glanced at the other people in the hall.
Most of the candidates were still wandering in the illusion. Some frowned, some smiled, some had red eyes, tears streaming down their cheeks, dripping on the sapphire ground. There were also a few with gray faces, disordered breath, and bodies trembling slightly, which was a sign that their minds were not strong enough and were suppressed by the illusion.
The hall was extremely quiet, except for the subtle buzzing sound from the silver light of the ancient mirror.
Qin Tiexin withdrew his gaze, looked around, and found that only five people including him in the entire hall were awake, each sitting cross-legged in silence, breathing calmly.
In the direction of the main examination table in the hall, the eyes of two Golden Core deputy examiners paused on him and exchanged glances with each other. One of the deputy examiners with a short beard nodded slightly and made a note on the jade book in his hand.
Qin Tiexin didn't move anymore. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and breathed evenly.
Temperament Trial lasted for three days. It only took him half a day from entering the mirror to breaking through the triple illusion.
Qin Tiexin sat cross-legged on the sapphire floor of the main hall, closing his eyes and regulating his breath. The hall was still quiet, and the silver light of the ancient mirror slowly circulated on the dome. Occasionally, some candidates made tiny whimpering sounds in the illusion, and were swallowed up by the silence in the hall.
I don't know how long it took, but a voice sounded directly in the sea of consciousness.
"Mingjue, Temperament Trial, ten points."
Full marks.
Qin Tiexin opened his eyes, with no expression on his face. He glanced around the hall and saw that the four people in front of him were already adjusting their breaths. One after another, candidates began to wake up. Some were gasping for air, some were looking around blankly, and some were still crying silently.
According to the rules, as long as they wake up on the first day and are in normal condition, they will be considered full marks. Among more than a thousand candidates, about 20% can escape from the illusion on the same day.
Illusions are easy to talk about. As long as you can realize that this is an illusion, you can basically escape smoothly. But when you actually go in, you will realize that the road is so smooth. Every fork in the road you take feels like you have chosen it yourself, and every harvest you take feels like you deserve it.
The smarter and experienced people are, the easier it is to get stuck in it. Because smart people will make up reasons for themselves, telling themselves that everything on this road is more right, better, and more worthwhile. In the end, they will be immersed in the ending where everything is available and everything is right.
There are not many people who can find something wrong and stick to the path they have chosen.
The voice in the sea of consciousness rang again. "The Secret Realm Trial assessment will take place in ten days. It's still this time, it's still here. Secret Realm Trial is dangerous, be prepared." After a pause, he added, "You can leave on your own, or you can wait here."
Qin Tiexin didn't get up immediately. He sat cross-legged and went through the three illusions from beginning to end in his mind.
The blacksmith shop, the reward in the army, and the escape from the blood pool. Every fantasy was very real. It was so real that when he stood at the entrance of Soot Alley, he could smell the smell of burning cinders. It was so real that when he clenched the silver seal, his palm was painful from the tiger button. It was so real that he could really feel the stickiness and sweetness in the blood pool.
And every illusion was beautiful. The first one made him full of children and grandchildren, and made him famous. The second one made him a wife and a powerful minister. The third one made him save more than 200 lives and greatly improve his cultivation. Every path was smoother, more complete, and less painful than the one he actually walked.
But he shook his head at the last moment.
It's not because the fantasy is not good enough, it's because those good things have to be exchanged for other things. If you take comfort, you lose your commitment. If you take power, you lose persistence.
This stone mirror can only express the "perfection" it can understand. But it cannot see the things that truly define who he is, let alone copy them. Li Zhenwei's trust, Shi Meng's break Finally, Lin Feng's sword, Duan Xuan's friendship, these things were not within the reach of the illusion, but it was these things that made him shake his head three times and walk back to the path he was supposed to take three times.
Qin Tiexin slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
He suddenly felt something loose in his body. After experiencing the illusion this time, there seemed to be some small breakthroughs in State of Mind. The bottleneck of Peak of Qi Refining seemed to be loose, and it seemed that he could Foundation Establishment at any time.
But this was not the place for a breakthrough. He stood up, raised one hand and bowed slightly towards the ancient mirror, then turned and walked towards the door of the palace.
When he walked out of the main hall, the sky was bright. He had experienced three complete lives in the illusion, and lived for more than two hundred years in total. But outside the hall, the sun had just turned westward, and the sunlight shone on the row of blue-gray stone arenas outside the school grounds, making the defensive formations embedded on the edge of the arena shine brightly.
There are still ten days until the next level, so I have to go back and plan my practice during this period.
Qin Tiexin walked along the main road towards the east gate of Purple Jade Ward. When he was about five hundred steps away from the city gate, he suddenly stopped.
The back of his neck felt as if he had been lightly pricked by a very thin ice needle, and all the cold hairs stood up at that moment. The Fire of Life in his heart beat rapidly without any warning, pumping a hot Qi and Blood into the blood vessels, and pulsed along the meridians to the limbs. The blood in his body accelerated involuntarily at this moment, as if he was suddenly awakened from a deep sleep by something.
Killing intent.