by Tinalynge
The friends looked at one another, and all their faces were filled with determination and excitement. None of them had ever had their martial heart tested before, but they all felt that they had unwavering determination; thus, they felt no fear for this test, only curiosity.
Truthfully the bull's words had affected them, but upon hearing that Hui Yue was willing to stake his life for them to be reunited even after death, they no longer feared the test. Even if they were to fail and perish, they would be saved by Hui Yue. In their hearts, he had already become a shining star of constant hope, a person in whom they trusted completely. He was someone whom they were willing to follow, even in death.
Hui Yue was aware of just how high a place he had in the hearts of his friends, but he did not wish for any of them to die. He understood the words of the bull. Currently, he had nothing which could please Yanluo, the ruler of the Netherworld and thus he needed all his friends alive. Still, this trial was not one he feared. He had grown up with all his friends present, and he knew that the martial way was what mattered the most to them.
"Let’s begin!" Hui Yue ordered, and they all found a seat on the cold, hard ground. Everyone closed their eyes and awaited the start of the trial.
Chapter 455 - The Stone Mansion
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Chapter 455: The Stone Mansion
Seeing that everyone followed his orders, Hui Yue nodded his head. He closed his eyes and sat down on the cold floor just like the others had done.
Seeing that they were so determined, the bull could only make a sad smile and start the Trial of Determination. Waving his hand, golden light appeared in his palms and landed on everyone present. It landed right between their eyes and entered deep into the consciousness of the ones who were seated on the ground.
They all felt this energy enter their bodies and they did not fight it. All of them were interested to see just what this dangerous Trial of Determination was like.
As the energy entered their bodies everything went black. Their consciousness seemed to have vanished as they all collapsed on the ground. Looking at this happening with a sad sigh, the bull could do nothing more than hope for all of them to return.
Moving to them he placed them on their backs lying them down as though they were asleep. It was much better than the cramped positions they had collapsed in, especially since this trial was likely to be incredibly long. The Trial of Determination could only be overcome with a strong enough martial heart, and to test this, a lengthy challenge was needed.
It was impossible for Hui Yue to tell how much time had passed, but suddenly the darkness vanished. Hui Yue found himself awake in the same position he had collapsed in. Had he already succeeded? Did he just not remember the test? Had his heart already been tested? He did not know, but it looked like he had passed already.
Looking around, he found that all his friends were still unconscious, so he stood up, stretching for a little while. Afterwards, he decided to look and see if he could find the bull, yet no matter how much he looked he could not find a trace of him.
Frowning, Hui Yue could not help but feel that something was amiss, but he could not place his finger on what was wrong. Pinching himself, he felt pain, and even Lan Feng was still present cultivating within him like usual. His energy was exactly as it used to be and his body did not seem to have changed after having gone through the trial.
Shaking his head, Hui Yue assumed that this was part of the last trial. The bull had already briefly explained it, and he was not too worried about the bull’s disappearance. Still, he decided not to start moving about to explore his surroundings before the others awoke. Not having the bull by their side was enough to make him more cautious.
Looking behind him, his friends were all placed on their backs in a line. He noticed how they looked like they were merely asleep.
Sitting down by their side, Hui Yue felt that it wouldn’t be long before the next person awoke and so he started cultivating.
He was correct, and within a few moments, Cai Jie awoke. His face was filled with disbelief and confusion.
"What happened?" He asked, looking to Hui Yue for answers. However, the young man could do nothing but shrug. He too had no idea what exactly had happened during the trial.
"I guess we’ll never know. There should be one more trial left, the Trial of Talent, but the bull has vanished. Who knew how they would get to the final trial, or if they had already passed it. Everything could have ended already for all they knew.
"This place is massive." Cai Jie said as he let his energy sweep the surrounding area. "I have a feeling that the final trial is something we will have to find on our own."
Hui Yue nodded his head. Assuming that they had not finished the last trial they needed to find it themselves but for now, they wished to wait for their friends to wake up.
Slowly everyone awoke. Some were quite quick in waking up while others needed a lot of time. The first to awaken after Cai Jie was surprisingly Wang Ju Long. Although she was very low key, her heart was focused on the martial path. The only other thing which had ever entered her heart apart from the martial path was Hui Yue. In her heart, there was no space for anything else.
Just like Hui Yue and Cai Jie, Wang Ju Long was confused about the trial they had gone through. She too could not remember anything and just like Cai Jie and Hui Yue, she gave up and started cultivating.
After Wang Ju Long the next to wake was Lao followed by Deng Wu and finally Jo woke up. All of them waited silently for Sha Yun's awakening, but it took her an entire week after Jo had come to.
The week was filled with worry for Hui Yue. Although he had faith in Sha Yun, he could not help but feel that if anything happened to her, then it would be his fault. He would not be able to forgive himself if he was the reason for her to death.
But although the wait was harsh for him, it allowed for him to understand that he truly loved Sha Yun, and he was filled with relief and happiness when she opened her eyes.
"Let‘s rest for a day before we set out to look around." Hui Yue decided, and no one disagreed with what he said.
Their day was spent recuperating. Although no one knew what exactly they went through in the previous trial, everyone knew that they needed to be in their best condition.
Soon a day had gone by, and all of them gathered. Their faces were filled with excitement as they could not help but look forward to the final trial.
"What do you think it will be like?" Jo asked excitedly as they moved towards the end of the hall they had been resting in for days.
"I don't know." Lao said with a low voice as he looked around their surroundings with curiosity. The two children were older now, but they were still the youngest of the group. They were the ones who had the hardest time controlling the excitement they felt.
Everything they saw had been made from black stones, and they ended up calling the area the stone mansion due to its appearance.
The further into the stone mansion they moved, the more chilled the air grew. Soon it was as though the air was as cold as a frozen world, and everything had been frozen in place.
Moving further and further into the mansion, Hui Yue noticed that they had moved underground. Walking even further, the air became colder and colder until eventually, they reached a massive door which was frozen solid.
Spending all their energy, they managed to slowly push open the door just enough for them to move inside one at a time.
Hui Yue walked at the front, and Cai Jie was at the back, between them were all their friends, but just as Hui Yue entered the room he stopped, his mouth open and his eyes widened.
"What is going on?" Cai Jie asked curiously, and Hui Yue awoke from his stupor. Shaking his head he moved further into the chamber, allowing for his friends to follow through the door behind him.
"The trial we had just before must have been very complex." He said excitedly. "This is the Formation of Life! We reached it already!"
He was excited, and his words caused ev
eryone to stare at the formation in front of them.
Right in front of them was a large drawing on the ground. It looked like someone had drawn a circle, and within this circle were thousands of small symbols. Some were circles; some were stars. Some were triangles, and some were squares. Some had never been seen before, and others looked like letters. These various symbols all intertwined with one another making one large picture on the ground.
Above this was half a globe created from the energy which seemed to protect the array, but what shocked Hui Yue the most was the fact that no energy fluctuations could be felt.
Was this not the Formation of Life? The birthplace for all the essence of the heavens and the earth within this world of the divine beasts.
It was not only Hui Yue who, although certain that this was the Formation of Life, still had doubts.
"Perhaps this is a protective barrier around it which blocks all energy from being emitted." Cai Jie said doubtfully, and Hui Yue nodded his head. There was no other explanation. Right now he truly wished that the bull was by their side, to explain it to them. Shaking his head, he knew that although he wanted to talk with the bull, he would not appear suddenly; therefore, he decided to stop thinking about him and instead studied the formation in front of him.
"I think I know what the answer is...," Hui Yue said seriously as he stood up, constantly shifting the weight from one foot to another. He was secretly contemplating whether or not the idea he had come up with would tell him what he wanted to know.
"Tell us!" Deng Wu urged as he hoped for a way to determine whether or not the Formation of Life truly was as miraculous as they had been told.
Hui Yue nodded his head and reached out a hand. "No matter what happens, just watch. I will enter the barrier, and see what happens when I do."
Everyone was shocked hearing his crazy idea, but no one could come up with a better one, and they all knew that they could not change Hui Yue's decision.
"Be careful," Wang Ju Long mumbled while looking down at the ground. Her complexion was not good; it was clear that she was worried.
Sha Yun dealt with it another way. Although she too was worried, her head was held high, and she went to hold Hui Yue's hand tightly. Looking him in the eyes, she sighed deeply. "Make sure to return!" She said seriously before kissing him gently.
Although Sha Yun was an enchantress, she was incredibly shy right now, and she rushed to Wang Ju Long's side. Picking up her hand, the two women looked at Hui Yue with fear in their eyes.
It was not only Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long who were worried. Lao and Jo both ran to their mothers' sides and together those four observed Hui Yue's every movement towards the barrier.
Hui Yue, who reached the barrier, used his stretched out arm to break through the barrier. He found that it was not hard to enter the barrier itself, however, deep within the barrier was such potent and volatile energy that Hui Yue felt as though his arm was being shredded. his skin started to rupture and blood flowed from his arm.
Still, Hui Yue used the Ancestral Worldpower from within to protect him and enter the barrier. The energy was ruthless as it assaulted his body, making it almost impossible to withstand.
While Hui Yue was busy withstanding the energy as everyone observed him, paying no attention to anything else. It was clear that they followed his every word as they too needed to understand this Formation of Life.
Hui Yue withstood the energy for an hour before he was exhausted and slowly withdrew from the barrier. He had used all of his energy to protect his body, but at the same time, the volatile energy within the formation had also rushed through his body. This allowed him to refine and increase his strength immensely. Just being within this formation once had already doubled his strength!
While Hui Yue was deeply shocked by this result, he did not wish to waste any time and instead ordered Cai Jie to enter the barrier while he sat down to cultivate.
"No, do not enter!" A voice suddenly sounded through the cold chamber. "Don’t touch master He's formation! Why don't you come play with me instead?"
Chapter 456 - Death
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Chapter 456: Death
The voice that boomed throughout the chamber caused everyone to turn and look at whoever spoke. Behind them, a cloaked person had appeared, and this person was clearly at least as strong as the bull.
His entire body was covered by a cloak, and nothing could be seen of his body, but his voice seemed familiar. Yet Hui Yue could not exactly place where he knew him from.
The person had no aura which Hui Yue could feel, but it felt as though this person was the most dangerous person Hui Yue had ever met before.
Looking at this person, Hui Yue was uncertain of what to do. But before he could do anything three beams of red light shot out from this person's hand and penetrated the chests of Deng Wu, Sha Yun, and Wang Ju Long.
Looking at their chests, the faces of these three were filled with utter disbelief as their bodies slowly tilted to the side and collapsed. Their eyes were filled with unwillingness as their life left them.
Before Hui Yue had the chance to react another three red beams appeared from the hand of this cloaked man and this time they pierced the hearts of Cai Jie, Jo, and Lao.
The three of them were filled with horror as they felt their lives slip away. Hui Yue was so shocked that he was unable to do anything other than watching all his friends and family die.
The world turned silent. No one moved as the ones he truly cared about were lying on the ground, never to move again. The cloaked man just stood there as well not moving. He showed no signs of attacking Hui Yue; he just allowed for the white-haired young man to go insane with grief.
A loud howl rang from the depth of his soul as he threw himself at the man in front of him, yet every attack he unleashed was easily avoided by this cloaked figure.
He even unleashed what black energy he had left, but even this did nothing to the cloaked man. Even when Hui Yue was forced into using Phoenix Descent, he could do nothing as the cloaked man lifted up his hand and a protective barrier of Ancestral Worldpower surged forth protecting him.
Hui Yue had no more energy; he had nothing. His heart had died alongside his last traces of energy. He felt nothing but sheer hopelessness. Looking around him, he saw the young faces of Lao and Jo still filled with horror; he saw the faces of the two he loved the most in this world, Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long, filled with confusion and unwillingness. Even Lan Feng was shocked silent at this moment.
Collapsing to the ground, tears streamed down his cheeks. A roar sounded out as he grasped his chest because his heart had broken into tiny pieces. He was overwhelmed by grief, and it was impossible for him to comprehend what was going on as he just kept crying. He tried to tell himself that what was happening was not real, that it could not be real. He stared hatefully at that coward hiding behind his barrier while he cried as his heart trembled uncontrollably. It was impossible for him to accept what had just happened; such a thing made no sense.
"Why do you practice martial arts?" The general finally spoke, "for what purpose do you seek strength?"
Although he heard the question, Hui Yue ignored him. He just sat there on the ground that felt colder than it had ever felt before. No, it was not just the ground, the whole world felt different… colder, desolate. He was filled with despair and was almost unable to think. After a while, what this person had said finally reached the core of his being.
After thinking, he was at first confused. Why would this general of An He ask such a question? It was clear that they were enemies; however, this question seemed to contain some meaning hidden within. Suddenly, the grief in his eyes lightened as a gleam of understanding replaced it. A small smile spread on his lips as he nodded his head slightly.
"I see." He said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "That’s what this is!"
He was now enlightened, and he turned his back to the general. With his strong arms, he lifted up all the corpses of the most important
people to him putting them into a line one by one while looking at and thinking of them all.
"I thought the reason I wanted to become strong was for revenge." He said with a soft voice. "The road to revenge was paved years ago when my body became shared with Lan Feng; however, the reason I want strength now has changed."
"I no longer gain strength for the sake of revenge, nor do I gain strength to get back what Lan Feng lost. Although this is something I must do, the reason I gain strength is to protect those dear to me."
Thinking this, Hui Yue looked at the cloaked man in front of him, but his eyes which were full of hate earlier had changed. Now a slight bit of gratitude could be seen within.
