The ultimate trial of the Realm Rift (part one): The threefold tempering of the Myriad Races' Furnace
[System notification: Hidden quest triggered: "The ultimate trial of the Myriad Races' Furnace." Quest rank: SSS. Participants required: ≥6. Quest objective: Endure the "threefold tempering" at the core of the Myriad Races' Furnace and awaken the slumbering "Heart of the Realm." Quest rewards: Unlock the "Myriad Races Affinity" passive skill; all team members obtain the "Realm Mark" (can resist cross-plane energy impacts). Failure penalty: Assimilation by the furnace, becoming a wandering spirit of the realm.]
Chapter 1: The furnace entrance's "gatekeeper"
The Myriad Races' Furnace floated in the deepest reaches of the Realm Rift. Its entire body resembled an enormous bronze cauldron turned upside down, its sides covered in the writing of myriad races: human seal script, the Shadow Realm's corrosion patterns, the Elemental Prison's energy symbols, the Mechanical City's gear totems... and even some spiral-shaped characters they had never seen before. Violet-gold flames billowed in and out of its mouth, and countless indistinct figures could be seen rising and sinking within them. They were the remnant souls left behind by generations of failed challengers.
"This thing... is even scarier than the Blazing Sky Tower in the Central Plains." Hu Gan rubbed the old injury on his arm. The spot where the energy rain had burned him in the Elemental Prison last time was still hot. "Just standing here, I feel like even the spaces between my bones are burning."
A stone statue stood before the furnace's mouth. It was ten zhang tall, with a human upper body and a griffin's talons below. It held a giant axe in its left hand and a translucent "Trial Plaque" in its right. Its eyes were two rubies that looked like quivering drops of blood in the light of the violet-gold flames.
"Who goes there?" The statue suddenly opened its eyes. Two beams of red light shot from its ruby pupils and swept over Xiao Yan and his companions. "The weak cannot enter the Myriad Races' Furnace. First, get past me, 'Bai Jie.'"
[System notification: Encountered "Gatekeeper of the myriad races · Bai Jie." The Trial Plaque in his hand must be shattered within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, or you will be forcibly teleported out of the Realm Rift.]
"Bai Jie? That's an auspicious name." Wu Hao stepped forward with the Space-Splitting Axe over his shoulder, spinning its blade in a circle in his palm. "Let me try!" He kicked off hard, his figure turning into an afterimage as the axe blade chopped toward the Trial Plaque with the hum of a spatial rift.
Clang! The Space-Splitting Axe struck the Trial Plaque and bounced back. The web of Wu Hao's hand went numb, and he staggered back three steps. There was only a white mark on the plaque, while a ring of red light spilled out from it. The light swept over Wu Hao, and he gave a muffled grunt as a bloody mark suddenly appeared on his shoulder-the old wound where a puppet's laser had burned him in the Mechanical City last time.
"This plaque can trigger old injuries?" Lin Xiuya frowned and drew his sword. "I'll do it!" His sword intent condensed into threads that coiled toward the Trial Plaque like venomous snakes, only to be scattered by the red light the instant they touched it. Lin Xiuya's face turned pale, and a metallic sweetness rose in his throat. The sword wound he had suffered years ago in Fallen Sword Valley was aching faintly.
"It's no use." The voice of Bai Jie's stone statue sounded like two rocks grinding together. "This Trial Plaque can stir up your deepest 'tribulations'-wounds of the flesh, knots in the heart and mind, pain that has never healed... If you cannot get past yourselves, how can you speak of tempering?"
Xiao Yan stared at the Trial Plaque and suddenly remembered that rainy night in Wutan City when Nalan Yanran had broken off their engagement. He remembered his anxiety when his father, Xiao Zhan, had gone missing, and all the times he had struggled on the brink of life and death. Those "tribulations" hidden in his heart seemed to be drawn out by the red light on the plaque, until the tightness in his chest hurt.
"So that's how it is." Heavenly Flames sprang to life at Xiao Yan's fingertips. This time, rather than attack directly, he condensed the flames into a ball of light the size of a lotus seed, enclosing all his "tribulations" within it-the humiliation of the broken engagement, the torment of searching for his father, parting from comrades... "Aren't the 'tribulations' you speak of just the marks of everything we've been through?"
The instant the ball of light struck the Trial Plaque, there was no explosion. Instead, it was like a drop of water merging into the sea. The Trial Plaque shook violently, more and more white marks appearing on its surface, until it finally split with a crack. The ruby eyes of Bai Jie's stone statue flickered, and he moved his giant axe aside. "You understand 'tribulations,' at least. Go in. The first tempering of the furnace is called 'Heart Flame.'"
Chapter 2: Heart Flame tempering-burning away illusion
As they entered the furnace, violet-gold flames instantly wrapped around everyone. Strangely, the flames were not hot. Instead, like warm water, they seeped through their skin and into the spaces between their bones. The writing of myriad races on the furnace walls lit up, projecting countless illusions-
Xiao Yan saw Nalan Yanran standing before the gates of the Misty Cloud Sect, reaching out to him. "As long as you admit defeat, I'll persuade my teacher to spare the Xiao Clan." The Nalan in the illusion had a gentle expression, utterly unlike the proud young woman in his memories.
Zi Yan saw Dragon Island in ruins, the bones of the Dragon Clan strewn across the ground. An aged voice whispered in her ear, "You're a Dragon Phoenix, yet you couldn't even protect your own people. How can you still have the face to live?"
Wu Hao saw his brothers from Stone-Splitting Mountain lying in pools of blood. The hall master at their head pointed at him and cursed, "If you hadn't rushed ahead, greedy for glory, how would everyone have lost their lives?"
Lin Xiuya saw a sword graveyard. His sword was thrust into a pile of white bones, its blade covered in the word "coward"...
"These flames can bring out the 'illusions' we care about most deep down." Xiao Yan clenched his teeth. Heavenly Flames churned in his palm, but instead of dispelling the illusions, they burned them into even sharper clarity. "It wants us to burn ourselves up in regret and doubt!"
"Then what do we do?" In Hu Gan's illusion, his Black Tortoise Shield had been reduced to dust, and the faces of countless members of his clan flashed before his eyes, making them turn red.
"Don't hide!" Xiao Yan suddenly thrust his Heavenly Flames at his own illusion, and Nalan Yanran's figure twisted in the fire. "This isn't real! The broken engagement back then was what gave me the chance to grow stronger; she stopped being the goal I wanted to surpass a long time ago!"
As his words fell, the illusion of Nalan Yanran burst like a bubble. A thread of cyan light flew out of the violet-gold flames and slipped into the spot between Xiao Yan's brows. At once, his heart felt much clearer, and more than half the negative emotions that had been stirred up dissipated.
"So you have to 'acknowledge' it before you can 'break' it!" Zi Yan realized. Dragon Phoenix Flame surged, burning the illusion of Dragon Island's ruins to ash. "The Dragon Clan's glory doesn't lie in living with regrets about the past. I'll rebuild it myself!"
Wu Hao roared and swung his axe, cleaving apart the hall master's illusion. "My brothers' deaths are my pain, but they aren't my shackles! I'm alive so I can see a wider world on their behalf!"
Lin Xiuya drew his sword and slashed at the illusion of the sword graveyard. "My sword is in my hand. It's not for anyone else to carve the word 'coward' on it!"
The illusions shattered one after another. The violet-gold flames gradually grew docile, clinging to their skin like a thin film of light. The human seal script on the furnace wall lit up, projecting a line of words: "Heart Flame tempers the heart, casting away illusion and preserving truth-the first tempering is passed."
[System notification: The team has obtained the "Heart Flame Mark." It can resist mental illusion attacks. Dou Qi purity increased by 5%.]
Chapter 3: Bone Fire tempering-remolding flesh and sinew
Beyond the Heart Flame zone, the flames in the middle level of the furnace turned silver-white. The temperature rose sharply, their skin felt as if it were being scoured with sandpaper, and a needle-like pain came from between their bones. The Shadow Realm's corrosion patterns on the furnace wall lit up, and countless bones emerged from the floor. They reassembled in the silver flames, becoming weapon-wielding Shadow Clan warriors.
"The second tempering: 'Bone Fire.'" The voice of Bai Jie's stone statue came from the top of the furnace. "It burns away the mundane impurities in your flesh and sinew. The price is... enduring the Shadow Clan warriors' 'thousand cuts.'"
The Shadow Clan warriors silently swung their blades. Their gleam was like moonlight, yet more piercing than ice. They did not attack vital points, instead striking joints and places where meridians converged-wrists, knees, the sides of the waist... With every cut, silver flames drilled into the wounds and burned away the obstructions in their meridians.
"Damn it, this hurts worse than being struck by lightning!" Wu Hao's arm was cut, and silver flames burrowed into his meridians, making him bare his teeth in pain. Yet he backhanded his axe into a warrior's skull, splitting it open. "But my bones are damn hard!" As the silver flames scorched his meridians, they actually began to glow faintly gold, and he swung his axe even harder.
Zi Yan's dragon scales were split open, and silver flames seeped in through the wounds. She let out a dragon's cry, and Dragon Phoenix Flame clashed with the silver flames, forming a thin golden film over the wounds. "This little bit of pain isn't even one ten-thousandth of what I felt when I transformed into a dragon!" She smashed a warrior's skeleton with one claw, then swept her dragon tail across ranks of Shadow Clan warriors, reducing them to bone dust.
Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flames tangled with the silver flames, and he discovered that although the flames were fierce, they carried a power of "purification." He stopped resisting them head-on and instead guided the silver flames through his meridians, using his Heavenly Flames to spur them into burning whenever they reached a blockage. The pain was real enough, like countless needles moving through his meridians, but with every section they burned through, his Dou Qi flowed a little faster.
"So we don't have to kill them. We have to use their blades to draw Bone Fire into our bodies!" Xiao Yan shouted. "Don't dodge! Wrap the Bone Fire in Dou Qi and let it burn!"
Lin Xiuya's sword grew faster and faster. Silver flames burrowed into his arm through his sword wounds, but he used the pain to break through the bottleneck in his sword intent, adding a sharp edge of "destruction before rebirth" to his sword techniques. Hu Gan simply put away the Black Tortoise Shield and let the Bone Fire scorch his body. His skin split open and healed, becoming ten times harder than before. When the Shadow Clan warriors struck it with their blades, they could leave only white marks.
When the last Shadow Clan warrior was burned to ash by Zi Yan's Dragon Phoenix Flame, the silver-white flames suddenly drew back, receding like the tide. Everyone's wounds began to heal, and silver-white patterns appeared on their exposed skin: the marks left by Bone Fire tempering.
The Shadow Realm's corrosion patterns on the furnace wall dimmed, and the Elemental Prison's energy symbols lit up, projecting words: "Bone Fire tempers the body, shedding the old and remaking the bones-the second tempering is passed."
[System notification: The team has obtained the "Bone Fire Mark." Physical defense increased by 20%. Dou Qi circulation speed increased by 10%.]
Chapter 4: Soul Fire tempering-the resonance of myriad races
There were no flames on the top level of the furnace, only a ball of seven-colored light floating in the center. Within it was a crystal the size of a pigeon's egg, and inside the crystal seemed to be a galaxy-the "Heart of the Realm." All around them, the writing of myriad races on the furnace walls lit up at once, casting light of different colors over the entire space until it resembled a rainbow.
"The final tempering: 'Soul Fire.'" There was a note of gravity in the voice of Bai Jie's stone statue. "The Heart of the Realm has slept for ten thousand years. It needs the 'souls' of myriad races to awaken it. Can your souls resonate with them?"
The ball of seven-colored light suddenly scattered into countless points that entered the spot between each person's brows. Instantly, countless fragments of unfamiliar memories flooded their minds-
Xiao Yan saw the Shadow Clan hunting in the Eternal Night Forest, the Elemental Clan cultivating in an ocean of energy, and the craftsmen of the Mechanical City forging the first puppet...
Zi Yan saw the Dragon Clan's covenant with myriad races, the stirring sight of the Phoenix Clan undergoing nirvana in a volcano, and the sorrow of countless races falling in the realm war...
Wu Hao saw the forthright spirit of the Stone-Splitting tribesmen, the tenacity of the Stone People Clan, and races he had never seen before struggling, striving, laughing, and crying in their respective planes...
The memories did not belong to them, yet they felt them as if they were their own. It was like seeing themselves in different worlds, holding fast to the same things on different paths.
"So this is... the soul of myriad races?" Xiao Yan murmured. An inexplicable emotion welled up in his heart: he was moved, awed, and relieved by the realization that "we were never alone."
The seven-colored points of light gathered again. This time, instead of forming a ball, they became countless tiny flames, each representing a race-the Shadow Clan's ghostly fire, the Elemental Clan's energy fire, the Mechanical Clan's gear fire, the Dragon Clan's dragon fire... There were even flames they had never seen before, carrying the fresh fragrance of plants, the weight of rock, and the swiftness of wind.
"Use your souls to stir them!" There was anticipation in the voice of Bai Jie's stone statue. "Let the Soul Fires of myriad races see how strong human souls are!"
Xiao Yan closed his eyes and released his soul power without reservation. His Heavenly Flames, infused with the clarity of Heart Flame and the tenacity of Bone Fire, were now like a magnet, stirring countless Soul Fires. The Shadow Clan's ghostly fire was drawn to his "unyielding spirit," the Elemental Clan's energy fire was moved by his "mastery," and the Mechanical Clan's gear fire was drawn by his will to "create"...
Zi Yan's Dragon Phoenix soul resonated with the Soul Fires of myriad races, releasing a dragon's cry that rang throughout the furnace; Wu Hao's battle soul stirred the Soul Fires of countless warrior races, and his axe hummed in his hand; Lin Xiuya's sword soul resonated with the souls of weapons from myriad races, their ringing joining into a melody...
When everyone's Soul Fires intertwined with those of myriad races, the Heart of the Realm in the center suddenly lit up. A ring of characters from myriad races appeared on the crystal's surface. It turned, radiating a warm and immense power that flowed along the Soul Fires into the depths of everyone's souls.
"The Myriad Races' Furnace burns for the 'heart.'" There was a trace of gratification in the voice of Bai Jie's stone statue. "You have passed the trial and awakened it."
The Heart of the Realm flew out of the crystal and turned into a stream of seven-colored light, merging with Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flames. Countless strands then separated from the flames and entered the souls of the others.
[System notification: Ultimate trial complete! The team has obtained the "Myriad Races Affinity" passive skill (initial favorability with all races is friendly). All members have unlocked "Realm Mark: Complete Form," allowing free travel between explored planes.]
The seven-colored light faded, and the Myriad Races' Furnace began to shake. The writing on its walls gradually dimmed. Bai Jie's stone statue waved his giant axe at them. "Go. Take the Heart of the Realm's blessing and see a wider world. The Myriad Races' Furnace will always be open to those who dare temper their souls."
Everyone stood at the furnace's exit and looked back. The enormous bronze cauldron slowly closed in the Realm Rift, sinking into its depths like a star that had fulfilled its mission. Xiao Yan clenched his fist. The Heavenly Flames in his palm flickered with seven-colored light-the resonance between him and the Soul Fires of myriad races.
"Where to next?" Zi Yan's dragon eyes sparkled with excitement.
Xiao Yan looked toward the plane fragments floating in the distance, a smile curving his lips. "How about we go see the worlds we saw in the Soul Fires?"
[System notification: The team has unlocked the new achievement "Emissaries of the myriad races" and begun the "Plane traversal" main quest. Next stop-the Elemental Prison's ocean of energy.]