The trials of the phoenix were indeed frightful. This first trial, had Yun Che not been invulnerable to fire, would have caused him to die to the Purgatory Flame Demon's flames who knows how many times. For this second trial, one could tell without thinking that it would undoubtedly be much more terrifying than the first.
The boundless, barren plain without a single blade of grass, along with the scorching wind, brought with them a desolation and loneliness that made people sullen. At this time, a sudden extremely loud and clear cry of a phoenix came from the sky. Following this, the originally dark sky abruptly became a blazing red, as if it was burned red from heavenly fire.
Yun Che looked up, and was surprised to see the scarlet-colored sky covered with innumerable amounts of red dots. Following this, the phoenix cry resounded again and the smear of red dots aimed at his location and suddenly started to swiftly fall like meteors. In front of his eyes, these dots drew increasingly closer and became increasingly larger. Finally, the silhouette of a phoenix clearly appeared within Yun Che's line of sight.
It was a body covered in scarlet fire, a small-sized phoenix about six-foot long. The speed of its descent was extremely fast, as if it was a swift and sharp arrow in flight.
Poof!!
The blazing phoenix violently crashed into Yun Che's body. It instantly exploded, creating a huge fireball and covered the sky with a rain of fire. If it had been someone else, they would have already failed the second trial, because these terrifying phoenix flames would have been enough to immediately scorch a person of the Spirit Profound Realm to a gravely injured state. These flames didn't hold any destructive force against Yun Che; however, that powerful impact force and explosive force directly smashed Yun Che onto the ground causing the blood in his entire body to churn.
Screee~~~
The phoenix cry resounded again and another phoenix silhouette bolted down like a flaming arrow. This time, Yun Che did not dare to forcefully receive it and quickly dodged. The phoenix shadow pounded into the earth and the flames exploded, causing the ground to crack into a long rift. Yun Che had not yet regained his balance when a phoenix cry yet again, resounded from above. But this time there were consecutive phoenix cries. Three consecutive phoenix silhouettes swiftly plunged from three different directions, aiming straight for Yun Che.
Yun Che's body flipped, dodging the first phoenix shadow, then used all his power to jump back and dodged the second.
"Star God's Broken Shadow!"
Suspended in midair, Yun Che tilted his body in a flash and also narrowly avoided the third phoenix shadow.
Boom, boom, boom!!
Three phoenix silhouettes exploded in succession, whirling up flames that were ten meters high. However, even clearer phoenix cries followed. Yun Che lifted his head and saw that this time, there were actually seven phoenix silhouettes falling towards him at the same time.
Dammit! This is not how it's supposed to be played! Yun Che's brow twisted as he secretly cursed in his heart.
...............
After Yun Che entered the entrance of the trials, the originally seal formation reappeared once more but Lan Xueruo had not left yet and instead stood in place. She had heard from Feng Baichuan about the frightful trials. According to Feng Baichuan, with Yun Che's power, even with a fire attribute profound art it would still be impossible to stay inside for more than ten breaths of time.
But ten breaths passed, twenty breaths passed, thirty breaths passed… half an hour passed… Yun Che still had not come out.
It was impossible for Lan Xueruo stay calm. The expression on her face became more and more anxious. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, she could no longer remain calm. Towards Feng Baichuan, she pressingly asked: "Feng clan leader, why has he not come out yet? Didn't you say it would be at most ten breaths before he came out?"
Feng Baichuan's heart had long since become uneasy. Listening to Lan Xueruo, he could only comfort her: "Perhaps the trials are varied for each person, so its difficult to say the exact amount of time it will take….. Rest assured, little brother Yun Che is not the kind of person who does not know his limits. If it reaches the point where he cannot endure any longer, he will immediately come out."
Lan Xueruo did not reply. She suppressed the anxious feelings within her heart and continued to wait.
............
Scree~~
Scree~~
Scree~~
Scree~~~~~
Numerous phoenix cries chaotically overlapped; the sharp cries seemed almost like they would tear the sky open. From the initial cry, to a group of three, to a group of seven, to a group of fifteen….. At the moment, the entire sky was filled with phoenix cries and phoenix silhouettes, just like a meteor shower that was horrifying beyond compare.
Yun Che used the Star God's Broken Shadow to swiftly move through the meteor shower, and maneuvered about. His Star God's Broken Shadow was currently only at the first stage but even though the Profound Movement Skill that came from Jasmine was at the lowest level, it still contained an extremely shocking power and allowed him move around like an illusion among the phoenix arrow formation while leaving behind countless afterimages that didn't even have enough time to dissipate.
However, these phoenix silhouettes eventually became far too concentrated; it was impossible for him to avoid every single one of them. After a dozen or so waves, he had already been hit seven or eight times. The power of the phoenix silhouette impact was simply incomparable to the flames it carried. However, to Yun Che, who was only at the Nascent Profound Realm, it was a major threat. Every time he was hit by a phoenix silhouette, his protective profound aura would weaken slightly. Coupled with the frequent usage of Star God's Broken Shadow, the consumption of his energy was immense.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…..
Wave after wave of phoenix shadows exploded next to him. The originally flat ground had become riddled with holes and pits. It was impossible to find a single area still intact within sight.
Once again, if he was not invulnerable to fire, he would have long ago, died several hundreds of times already.
The Fire Seed of the Heretic God was undoubtedly a huge cheat for him within this phoenix trial.
Boom!!!
In the last wave, several hundreds of phoenix silhouettes descended from the sky. Their bodies emitted the radiance of blazing fire, illuminating the sky in red. The instant they fell, the vast earth erupted with fire, and the churning ground was burned into pitch-black charred earth. At the same moment, Yun Che was struck with seven phoenix silhouettes. His entire body's protective profound aura completely shattered in an instant. Fortunately, the impact ended there. Besides a wave of pain in his chest, he did not receive many injuries.
"Phew... Did it finally end?" Standing amongst the flames that still burned, Yun Che raised his head and looked towards the sky as he let out a long sigh of relief. The phoenix cries had completely stopped, and there were finally no signs of the phoenix silhouettes in the sky above. At this moment, he started to admire the ancestor Feng Baichuan had mentioned. With the body of a common human and the cultivation of the Spirit Profound Realm, he was actually able to pass that incomparably terrifying phoenix formation he had just experienced earlier; he was definitely a shockingly talented super-genius.
The flames nearby gradually burned out and the second trial had also finally ended. Rather than say that Yun Che passed, it would be better to say that he used his special physique to forcefully endure through it. At this moment, the scene in front of his eyes started to distort to become more and more obscure. Yun Che was just about to start observing the scenery of the third trial when he realized that everything in front of his eyes had already become pitch-black.
Following this, a pair of golden eyes opened within the pitch-black world. The phoenix spirit's voice resounded within his mind.
"That surprised me; you actually possess a special physique that is unafraid of flames. If I am not mistaken, the primordial Heretic God's aura resides inside your body."
"That is correct." Yun Che nodded. In regards to the phoenix spirit being able to discern the Heretic God's aura, within the depths of his heart, he was not surprised. After all, the phoenix and the Heretic God were both part of the primordial god race.
"The Heretic God does not align with any of the elements, for he is actually the nemesis of all the elements. But no one can compare to the Heretic God in terms of familiarity and capability in wielding the elements. If you somehow manage to completely inherit the Heretic God's powers, then not only fire, even water, wind, thunder, earth, domain, dimension, spirit… would all be subdued by you, and would never be able to bring you harm."
Yun Che: "....."
"You passed the previous two stages not because you had sufficient strength, but because of your special physique. Although this is cheating, passing is passing; I have no right to deny that. However, this third trial: Corruption of the Heart's Flame, is a trial of the heart that's unrelated to flames. The advantages of your body are thus nullified, and this third trial is also the hardest trial to pass. In these countless years, the amount of challengers who have passed the first two trials amount to three hundred twenty-nine. But the ones who passed the third trial.. only amount to seven people."
"Seven?" Yun Che was immediately stunned.
Although he passed the first two trials quite easily with his cheating condition, he had clearly witnessed the frightfulness of the two trials at the same time. Those who were able to pass the two trials while being in the Spirit Profound Realm were undoubtedly all unmatched geniuses. As for those in the True Profound Realm, there wasn't even the possibility of passing.
And it was precisely within these extraordinary geniuses, that only two out of a hundred of them were capable of passing the third trial!?
This third trial, how frightful could it be?
"However, you don't need to be too nervous. The third trial is a trial of the heart. It does not involve fighting, but instead involves the choices within your heart. If you are firm enough towards the pursuit for power, then even if you possess weak profound power, there is a chance you can easily pass. On the other hand, if you do not possess enough determination, then passing your life in the mundane world can also be an option. After all, power is not everything in life."
"You, are you prepared?"
Trial of the heart?
As a man of two lives, after experiencing the boundary of life and death so many times, what he should be least afraid of was a test for the heart, right?
"Trial of the heart"; these few words caused Yun Che's heart to become tranquil. Even when facing the extremely low passing rate the phoenix spirit had mentioned, he was not as nervous as when he was facing the first and second trials. Without any hesitation, Yun Che immediately nodded: "Let's start."
"As you wish… I wish you success."
The phoenix spirit's eyes disappeared and the pitch-black world started to distort once more. Yun Che felt as if his body had been swept up by a storm and started to float within the distorting space. He closed his eyes and muttered in his heart: "Let me see what this trial of the heart exactly is. The only thing that could truly break my mental state…. Should not exist anymore.
Within the darkness, he could feel his consciousness start to gradually blur. This caused him to suddenly open his eyes alertly, but the heaviness in his mind was irresistible. His vision and awareness became more and more blurred until his mind stilled completely.
When he regained consciousness, slight pains transmitted from various parts of his body. His body was also extremely weak, as if recovering from severe injuries. The tip of his nose overflowed with a faint smell of blood… That was the scent of his own blood.
What is going on? Why is my body so weak? It's like I just received serious wounds… Also, this feeling, this scent… Why does it seem so familiar?
He opened his eyes slowly. Within his gradually clearing sight, he realized where he was. It was a very simple bamboo cabin that contained a few simple tables. One small table was also made of bamboo and its surface was covered with all kinds of medicine bottles and gauzes. Another conjoined table was stocked with all kinds of healing instruments, as well as piles of white cloth stained with fresh blood.
A strong scent of medicine and blood permeated throughout the entire room. Only the thin blanket covering his body gave off a light and warm fragrance. Looking through the simple bamboo window, he saw a string on which a row of men's clothes hung… These clothes were covered with layers of patches. Although they had gone through meticulous cleaning, due to the heavy blood stains, they still retained a faint trace of blood after they dried.
The moment his consciousness cleared completely, as if struck by lightning, Yun Che abruptly sat up on the bed. His gaze blankly stared at the scene in front of him. His heart was like a small boat in the midst of a storm; wildly swaying….
This place is..… This place is…..