This was precisely aimed at cultivators' obsession with external things. Qin Yu didn't hear anyone explain the rules, but after entering this world, the rules had naturally entered his consciousness. Seeing through the illusion was meaningless. Knowing that the treasure was fake was also meaningless.
What truly determines whether a person can escape this illusion is whether, even after knowing it's all an illusion, that one thought still lingers in their heart—wanting, wanting to possess, wanting to take, wanting to own. As long as this thought remains, the Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion will not disappear.
... At the same time, countless cultivators in the black mist were being dragged into their own Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion in batches. When an old man who had cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years opened his eyes, he saw an ancient divine weapon hanging in the center of the world.
He knew it was fake at first glance. The old man even laughed. "A mere illusion..." He shook his head and walked forward. But when he passed by the divine weapon, his steps slowed for a moment.
In an instant, the world remained unchanged, and no path appeared. The old man frowned, but continued forward. After walking several hundred feet, the divine weapon reappeared before him. The old man's expression gradually darkened. "I know you're an imposter, yet you still try to trap me?" He closed his eyes and continued onward.
When he opened his eyes again, the divine weapon was still there. Because what truly remained was never the weapon itself, but the unspoken words in his heart. "If only it were true." With just this one thought, he could not pass the first barrier.
In another Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion, a cultivator faced a mountain of pills and celestial books piled up to the horizon. He too knew that everything was an illusion, yet throughout his life of cultivation, he had missed countless opportunities to break through due to a lack of sufficient resources.
So he stood there for a long time. "It's fake anyway..." he muttered to himself. "What's the harm in taking one?" He reached out his hand, his fingertips touching the pill. Boom! The entire illusionary realm expanded instantly. One pill became ten, ten became ten thousand. Endless treasures surrounded him in an instant. He could no longer find his way out.
Another powerful sect member stepped into the illusion, only to find no divine weapons or elixirs. He saw a throne. Beneath the throne, all cultivators bowed their heads. Those who had once looked down on him knelt at the very bottom, the sect elders who had once oppressed him bowed respectfully, and the once arrogant sect leader personally presented him with the ancient seal symbolizing the sect's supreme authority.
He knew it was fake, perfectly well. Yet, when all the cultivators chanted his title in unison, he couldn't help but straighten his back. He didn't sit on the throne, nor did he even reach out to receive the seal. But he couldn't bear to let this scene end. Thus, the illusion didn't end either. The Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion never required cultivators to actually take anything, nor did it even require them to take a single step. Reluctance was enough.
... The illusory realm where Qin Yu was located also continued to change. Initially, divine weapons, elixirs, celestial books, and many rare treasures appeared. Soon, the distant sky began to crack. Rumble—an ancient staircase spanning the heavens and earth extended down from the end of the void.
At the end of the ancient steps, a scroll of cultivation techniques, exuding a vast Daoist aura, slowly unfurled, the text manifesting itself. The scroll made no attempt to conceal its significance; whoever obtained it would have their cultivation path greatly shortened.
On the other side, endless streams of pure essence converged into a vast river, cascading down from the sky, each stream enough to drive ordinary cultivators mad. Further up, layers of realms appeared one after another.
Higher cultivation level, stronger power, and a more complete Great Dao. In the end, the entire sky transformed into a path leading to the pinnacle of cultivation. Step by step, as long as you walk up it, you will obtain it.
Qin Yu remained motionless. His gaze slowly swept over the objects. The Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion was clever. It didn't create any crude mountains of gold and silver for Qin Yu. It was constantly searching for something that could truly arouse a cultivator's possessiveness.
If precious elixirs are insufficient, then inheritances are given; if inheritances are insufficient, then divine weapons are given; if divine weapons are insufficient, then cultivation realms are given. If cultivation realms are still insufficient, then continue searching deeper into the cultivator's heart.
The world before Qin Yu changed once more. Countless treasures gradually receded, and the entire world fell silent. In the end, only an ancient stone platform remained. On the platform lay a book.
Qin Yu's gaze finally settled. The book had no name, no radiance, and no earth-shattering phenomena. It simply sat there quietly. Yet Qin Yu could clearly sense that the Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion was trying to tell him—that within it lay answers he had yet to grasp.
What a cultivator truly finds hardest to let go of is not necessarily wealth, nor divine weapons. For some, the "answer" that allows them to continue moving forward is itself the most difficult external thing to relinquish.
Qin Yu stood before the stone platform, not reaching out. The pages of the book, conjured from the black mist, turned on their own. Rustling... One page. Two pages. Each page was blank. It stopped just as the last page was about to unfold.
As long as Qin Yu reaches out, the answer will appear. The illusion doesn't conceal its falsehood. Qin Yu even knows that even if he really turns the page, the so-called answer is still just an illusion projected by his own obsession.
But that's where the test lies. Knowing it's fake and truly wanting it to disappear are two different things.
Qin Yu gazed silently at the book, he finally understood the true cruelty of the first trial: those powerful beings trapped within were not foolish. How many people capable of cultivating to the Eternal Silence Realm, the Wuji Realm, or even higher would fail to see through such an obvious illusion?
The reason they lost was never because they were "deceived". They spent countless years cultivating themselves, fighting for resources, seizing opportunities, seeking treasures, and comprehending the Great Dao, fighting time and time again between life and death, all for those things that would allow them to continue moving forward.
Now, the Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion lays bare all that they've ever desired before them, and then tells them—you know these are fake. So, are you willing to let them vanish completely? Some can choose not to take them, some can choose not to touch them, some can even turn their backs on them. But as long as the thought, "What if it were real..." still lingers in their hearts, they haven't truly let go.
Qin Yu stood in the center of the boundless illusionary domain. All the divine weapons, heavenly books, elixirs, inheritances, opportunities, and ancient steps leading to higher realms hovered there quietly. There was no urging, no attack, no danger.
The entire first trial was so gentle that one couldn't sense a trace of killing intent. But precisely because of this, countless cultivators were already trapped within it. They knew that what they were seeing was all an illusion, yet they still couldn't bear to leave.
Outside the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas in reality, a thousand miles of black mist still flowed slowly. Qin Yu's physical body stood motionless in place, his eyes completely losing sight of the outside world.
Not far from him, other cultivators were also bound by the space. Some gradually showed joy on their faces, some began to smile, some frowned, and some had their fingers trembling slightly even though they couldn't actually move, as if they were trying to reach for something in another world.
Within the Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion, there was no wind, nor any sound. Qin Yu stood alone in the center of that boundless white jade platform, his gaze passing over the Nameless ancient book before him, its last page unread, and looking into the distance.
Divine weapons, elixirs, celestial books, inheritances, the River of Origin, and an ancient staircase leading directly to a higher realm still exist, all within reach. The Illusionary Realm did not urge him, nor did it force him to make a choice with murderous intent. It simply placed all the things in the world that could drive countless cultivators mad here, quietly waiting for the little bit of "desire" in his heart to grow on its own.
Qin Yu didn't rush to close his eyes, nor did he turn around. He knew very well that closing his eyes and not being able to see these things didn't mean he had let go; turning around to avoid the temptations was just leaving them behind temporarily. As long as his Fate Soul still remembered them, still thought that these things could make him stronger, and still felt a desire to possess one of them, he would still be standing in the Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion.
So Qin Yu looked at them, truly looked at them. He first walked to the divine weapons. Countless ancient weapons hung between heaven and earth. Some swords stretched for thousands of feet, some ancient seals were only the size of a fingertip, and some divine weapons simply circulated a wisp of Daoist charm, and the surrounding void could not bear the weight and slowly collapsed.
Any one of these items, if placed in the outside world, would be enough to attract a large number of cultivators to fight over them. Qin Yu's gaze swept over them one by one. He admitted that he needed powerful weapons. Throughout his cultivation journey, he had never denied the value of external objects.
A truly unique treasure can increase a cultivator's chances of survival in life-or-death battles; a powerful celestial book can broaden one's path; and a great enough opportunity can save countless years.
If these things actually appeared in the outside world, he wouldn't pretend to be aloof and turn a blind eye. But "having value" and "must belong to oneself" are ultimately separated by a very deep line.
Qin Yu stopped before an ancient sword. The sword rang out with a deep, resonant sound. Clang— The sword itself left the platform and slowly came to him, the hilt facing Qin Yu, within easy reach.
Qin Yu stared at him for a moment. "You're very good." His voice was calm. "But without you, I would still be where I am today." The ancient sword trembled slightly. Qin Yu didn't reach out, continuing forward. The ancient sword gradually faded behind him.
Countless pills appeared before him, their rich fragrance filling the air, each possessing an undeniable value. Qin Yu did not deny that he had once needed these things, nor did he force himself to feel any aversion.