[After entering the Golden Light Cave, you discovered an entirely different world within the abode. Though the cave appeared to occupy only a hundred-odd square meters from outside, its interior spanned millions of miles.]
[And in the sky above the abode, you saw heavenly treasures as numerous as the stars.]
Dharma treasures of every grade, immortal pills, wondrous objects... The sight left you dazzled.
[Then a golden book appeared before you. You took it and leafed through it, finally understanding what had happened.]
[The Golden Light Cave was a sanctuary left behind by an ancient mighty figure named Perfected Taiyi.]
[During the ancient war of destruction, the mighty figure knew he could not escape his destined calamity, so he left all his treasures in the sanctuary to give future generations some opportunities.]
[The strongman puppets outside were a trial set by Perfected Taiyi. Anyone who defeated all four puppets could select one treasure from the countless treasures in the sky.]
"The Golden Light Cave? So it was the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain."
After reading what had happened in the simulation, Zhou Qing wore a thoughtful expression.
In the myths of his previous life, the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain was Perfected Taiyi's abode.
And judging by the Investiture of the Gods, Perfected Taiyi should have been Celestial Venerable Yuanshi's disciple, which would make him Daoist Sanqing's disciple in the world of Desolate Era.
No wonder the original story made no mention of this mighty figure in later times. He had fallen in the ancient calamity of destruction.
[You carefully browsed the golden book and ultimately set your eyes on two treasures.]
[The first was a wondrous natural treasure called the Southern Brightness Li Fire Pearl, which could be used to cultivate a Second Primaltwin.]
[The second was the Heaven-Splitting Claw, a top-grade immortal-rank claw-type Dharma treasure, well suited for your use after breaking through to Void.]
[Between these two treasures, you chose: one, the Southern Brightness Li Fire Pearl. Two, the Heaven-Splitting Claw.]
"The Southern Brightness Li Fire Pearl." Zhou Qing made his choice without hesitation.
A top-grade immortal-rank Dharma treasure was good, but it wasn't indispensable to him.
The Southern Brightness Li Fire Pearl was different. Once he cultivated a Second Primaltwin, if the simulation succeeded, he would have an extra life.
[After careful consideration, you decided to choose the Southern Brightness Li Fire Pearl.]
[Once you had chosen your treasure, Xuanshu took the golden book and made her own selection.]
[Unlike you, she didn't pick and choose. She opened the book and chose something straightaway.]
[After you had chosen your treasures, a voice suddenly sounded in your hearts. It told you, roughly speaking, that you would next enter the second trial set by Perfected Taiyi, the Heart-Questioning Trial.]
[Upon entering the Heart-Questioning Trial, you would begin Endless Reincarnation. Each reincarnation would test your Dao heart, and if you could no longer endure, the reincarnations would end and your rewards would be tallied.]
[The more reincarnations you endured, the more precious your rewards would be. If you could experience three thousand reincarnations and pass the Heart-Questioning Trial, you would receive the most precious treasure in the abode.]
[After the rules were explained, everything went black before your eyes, and your first reincarnation began.]
[In your first life, you were a hired hand in the mortal world, working for a wealthy landowner. All you could do was toil from dawn till dusk.]
[One day, you chanced upon Xuanshu, the Heavenly Emperor's daughter, who had descended to the mortal world to travel. She fell in love with you at first sight and resolutely decided to marry beneath her station and become your wife.]
[With Xuanshu's help, your lives grew ever more prosperous, until the Heavenly Emperor learned that his daughter was carrying on with a mortal. Enraged, he immediately sent someone to bring Xuanshu back to the Heavenly Court.]
[As for you, if not for Xuanshu's desperate pleas, the furious Heavenly Emperor would likely have killed you long ago.]
[To bring your wife back, you began traveling everywhere in search of immortals and the Dao. After countless tribulations, you finally became an Empyrean God ten thousand years later.]
[You then led the gods and fiends of a major world in an assault on the Heavenly Court, forcing the Heavenly Emperor to acknowledge your marriage to Xuanshu.]
[In your second life, you were a secret agent of the Seamless Gate, ordered by the Godking to infiltrate Emperor Xuanwu's ranks.]
[To better conceal your identity as a spy, you did everything you could to become Dao companions with Xuanshu, Emperor Xuanwu's disciple.]
[Yet after spending your days and nights together, you found yourself gradually developing feelings for Xuanshu and paying less and less attention to the Godking's orders.]
[But soon afterward, the Seamless Gate went to war with the Nuwa Faction. To shake the morale of the forces in the world under Emperor Xuanwu's command, the Godking ordered you to kill Xuanshu.]
[As one of those enslaved by the Godking, you could not disobey his orders, but neither were you willing to harm your Dao companion. Caught between the two, you chose to kill yourself.]
[By the time Xuanshu realized what had happened, your soul had already scattered, and your true spirit had returned to the River of Fate.]
[Shaken by this, Xuanshu's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Before the final battle, she actually broke through to become a peak Ancestor God, and afterward suppressed the Lord of Heart Demons, Elder Yuan, and all the other masterminds behind the scenes.]
[Tens of thousands of years later, she even broke through to the World Realm and fished your true spirit out of the River of Fate.]
Zhou Qing fell silent as he watched one reincarnation after another unfold in the simulation.
The things happening in these reincarnations were far too wild.
[As reincarnation after reincarnation passed, your Dao heart grew ever firmer.]
[After five hundred reincarnations, Xuanshu could no longer endure and ended her cycle.]
[You endured another seven hundred reincarnations before you began to feel the strain. In the end, your total stopped at 1,820.]
[When the reincarnations ended, you found yourself back inside the Golden Light Cave. You looked around, but Xuanshu was nowhere to be seen.]
[Just then, a white-bearded old man appeared before you and told you he was the Abode Spirit of the Golden Light Cave.]
[He then produced the familiar golden book and let you choose a treasure.]
[As you leafed through it, you discovered that many more precious treasures had been added for you to choose from. In the end, three caught your eye.]
[The first was the Shadow-Splitting Stone, a wondrous chaos treasure. When its user fled, it could create six shadow clones that even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals could not distinguish from the real thing. Its drawback was that it would shatter after a single use.]
[The second was the Divine Wind Gourd, a low-grade connate spirit treasure capable of releasing Samadhi Divine Wind. Ordinary Celestial Immortals would be reduced to ashes if it so much as touched them.]
[The last was the Yellow Heaven Treasure Armor, a low-grade connate spirit treasure. Once donned, it allowed the wearer to withstand attacks from Celestial Immortal experts without injury.]
[Among these three treasures, you chose: one, the Shadow-Splitting Stone. Two, the Divine Wind Gourd. Three, the Yellow Heaven Treasure Armor.]
"Hmm..."
Looking at the three treasures in the simulation, Zhou Qing found himself struggling to choose for the first time.
He first ruled out the Divine Wind Gourd. A treasure that only increased his strength was the least valuable.
But Zhou Qing had a hard time choosing between the Shadow-Splitting Stone and the Yellow Heaven Treasure Armor, because both could save his life at a critical moment.
"The Yellow Heaven Treasure Armor, then."
Zhou Qing pondered for a long time before making the difficult choice.
Between a single-use treasure and a Dharma treasure he could use for the long term, he chose the latter.
[After weighing the options for a long time, you finally decided on the Yellow Heaven Treasure Armor.]
[Once you had made your choice, the Abode Spirit took out the Yellow Heaven Treasure Armor and handed it to you. He then also gave you a storage Dharma treasure.]
[Before you could ask, he told you it was something Xuanshu had left for you.]
[As soon as you heard that, you opened it and took out the items inside.]
[The moment you opened the storage Dharma treasure, you were astonished. Inside was a claw-shaped, top-grade immortal-rank Dharma treasure.]
[The remaining two items were a recording mirror and a Communication Talisman.]
[After activating the recording mirror, you saw a recording of Xuanshu saying farewell.]
[She thanked you for bringing her into the Golden Light Cave and giving her the chance to obtain such a great opportunity. To repay your kindness, she gave you the Heaven-Splitting Claw in the storage Dharma treasure as a gift.]
[If you ever needed her help, you could crush the Communication Talisman in the storage Dharma treasure. She would go through fire and water without hesitation.]
[After watching the recording, you didn't know what to say. You felt a mixture of emotions.]