"Hmmph, entering the Chaotic Heart Forest? What can that trash hope to accomplish?"
In the outskirts of the forest, jeering conversations began again.
Another disciple voiced another thought: "In the last examination, Senior Xu made it to level five of the forest. Now that he has reached Heaven's Mandate and started preparing to cultivate in the Warrior Canopy stage, his cultivation and willpower are much stronger than before. I predict that he can get to the seventh level."
***
The stages for cultivators are as follows: Palace Foundation, Palace Expansion, Physique Accumulation, Provisional Palace, Inner Longevity, Heaven's Mandate, Warrior Canopy, Purified Rebirth, Heaven's Primal, and Soul Creation.
Once one has reached the unbeatable stage and receives the Heaven's Will, one will be dubbed an Immortal Emperor.
There were no immortals in this world, so one might ask, why was there an emperor for immortals? Why does this title exist? It was because of a saying — my fate is mine alone, it's not up to the heavens to decide.
The Heaven's Will serves as a shackle and encompasses and traps all living beings. Once a cultivator reaches the pinnacle, their goal is to control the Heaven's Will so that they will finally be freed from this prison.
This was why one will be called an Immortal Emperor once they obtain the Heaven's Will. However, no one truly knows if true immortality was possible; this remains a mystery to this day.
Each generation only has one Heaven's Will, so each generation can only have one Immortal Emperor.
***
The Chaotic Heart Forest was where the Nine Saint Demon Gate judged a disciple's innate talents, affinity for cultivation, and willpower. Here, the most important quality was one's willpower.
The forest consists of fourteen levels. From an outside perspective, there were no discernable differences between this and a normal forest. However, this seemingly normal forest was created by the Nine Saint Virtuous Paragon.
Intruders would be shown realistic illusions. Even the ones that possessed mystical eyes could not see through the technique unless they were stronger than the Nine Saint Virtuous Paragon. Otherwise, the technique would become reality for all who steps inside.
For example, one could find themselves trapped in a sea of fire. Their body would feel as if it was actually trapped and the mind would clearly feel pain. The higher the level, the stronger the illusion would be.
Of course, you could still use cultivation techniques to mitigate the pain and merit laws to prevent the fire from reaching your body. The only thing was that you couldn't escape the forest using any movement techniques.
"Idiotic little boy, hurry up and enter!" Outside of the forest, Xu Hui contemptuously smirked at Li Qiye. He believed that with his current abilities, it would be no problem to enter the eighth level.
Li Qiye looked at the forest and slightly grinned. That year, the old chicken created the Chaotic Heart Forest himself; it was indeed a good location to test one's willpower.
"Me?" Li Qiye clearly spoke: "Traversing the Chaotic Heart Forest holds no meaning to me. If I were to enter, you wouldn't even have the chance to show your worth. You should go first so that later on, you can't say I didn't give you a chance."
Li Qiye's arrogant comments made everyone shiver in contempt once more. Protector Mo and Nan Huairen wanted to lock up his mouth forever. Would he die if he said fewer sentences?! How could he spout lies all the time…
Protector Hua exclaimed: "Idiot!"
"You are just a piece of trash that doesn't know what the willpower to cultivate is, yet you still run your mouth without shame." Xu Hui couldn't believe that a mere mortal was looking down on him and frowned: "Good, good, such strong words! I have to see how many levels you can pass."
"How many levels? How meaningless, going through fourteen isn't a big deal at all." Li Qiye continued: "Which is why I'm letting you go first, so you won't be so shocked!"
Another disciple couldn't stand it anymore and yelled out: "Do all people from the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect lie like you without any hesitation?"
Everyone knew that going through level seven of the Chaotic Heart Forest was considered a wondrous feat for the younger generation. To complete level seven, one would have to have a tenacious willpower or a high cultivation.
Even the calm Grand Protector Yu He couldn't help but shake his head. Why was Li Qiye the prime disciple of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect? Going through fourteen levels? Was it that easy? Even he couldn't pass all fourteen levels at his current level.
"Fourteen levels?" Xu Hui exploded into laughter: "If you can pass all fourteen levels, I will call you 'Father'!"
Li Qiye retorted: "I wouldn't have an unfilial son like you!"
"Good, if you are this confident with your mouth, do you dare to make a bet?"
Li Qiye happily smiled and asked: "Bet, eh? What will we bet?"
"If you can pass all fourteen levels, I will voluntarily concede! If you can't, then you will have to crawl under my crotch." [2. This is an extremely shameful punishment. Can be found today; crawling under a table after losing in a card game.]
This bet caused the expressions of Protector Mo and Nan Huairen to instantly darken. This wasn't a test, it was a facade to shame Li Qiye and the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. However, they could only dejectedly shake their heads; Li Qiye brought this upon himself.
Li Qiye asked: "Would you do the same if I pass the fourteenth level? You will crawl under my crotch, right?"
Protector Hua interjected: "If you can pass the fourteenth level, he will do it and vice versa!" Due to the killing of Du Yuanguang, Protector Hua wanted to kill Li Qiye with his bare hands. Since the opportunity wasn't right, the best he could do was to shame Li Qiye.
Li Qiye looked back at Protector Hua and then formally nodded his head: "Fine, if this is your condition, I shall accept!"
The disciples of the Nine Saint Demon Gate all loudly yelled: "Senior Xu, destroy him! Accept the bet!"
Xu Hui coldly replied: "I'll be waiting for you to crawl beneath me."
He then turned and left for the Chaotic Heart Forest.
A disciple creepily laughed: "This time, the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect will lose all face. Their prime disciple will have to perform such an act! Haha!"
Xu Hui took his first step into the forest. The surroundings immediately darkened. He found himself in a demonic world, an area that spanned for ten thousand miles. Demonic energy filled the air. The sounds of rattling bones could be heard even before the bodies began to leave the ground.
Xu Hui inhaled and calmed himself. He channeled his energy and strengthened himself with his cultivation while steeling his willpower. He ignored the demons and passed them with ease.
"The first level!" Everyone outside carefully watched without blinking. Without any complications, Xu Hui successfully passed the first level.
"Second level, third level…"
Xu Hui was definitely not average, his cultivation and willpower were both excellent. His speed at breaking through the first three levels was, indeed, very swift.
At the fourth level, however, his speed began to slow down. Fierce Silver Skeleton Kings began to attack him. In the beginning, he chose to evade and parry them, but after his hands were crushed, prompting him to cry out in pain, he used his body to destroy them instead. He possessed a silver body that warded off invaders on its own. However, this took a lot of energy.
Once he reached the fifth level, he was completely surrounded by the skeletons. He loudly roared and summoned his defensive artifact. His magical sword flew straight into the sky; its blade spewed out true energy. This form of energy consisted of the dao of truths and it conquered the four directions.
His crimson red life wheel appeared behind his head and exuded a blood energy that encompassesed the sky. It used unparalleled laws of power that destroyed everything in the surrounding area.
Cultivation techniques that allowed for one to use their life wheel as an offensive tool were often stronger than certain physique techniques. This life wheel technique specialized in destruction and was left behind by the Virtuous Paragon. It was not of the paragon level, but it was still quite formidable. [2. Physique forming techniques are another cultivation method; they specialize in strengthening the body, which is why his arms were broken multiple times. His life wheel makes up for it.]
Li Qiye slightly shook his head when he saw Xu Hui killing his way through the fifth level. Chaotic Heart Forest — if your heart is chaotic, then killing will only increase uncertainties and exacerbate the illusions. The Nine Saint Virtuous Paragon's goal was to train the willpower of his students, not their physical or combat strength.
"Level seven."
Xu Hui annihilated his way to the seventh level, filling all the spectators with awe.
Even Protector Hua felt satisfied. Xu Hui was his disciple and his pride. Although Xu Hui's aptitude could not compare to Li Shuangyan's and his strength was lacking against Leng Chengfeng, his progress today had pleased his master.
"Bang!" Xu Hui had just made it to the seventh level, but his strength had been expended. He couldn't handle the pressure of the Chaotic Heart Forest any longer and was promptly removed.
"Just a little bit more…" After the forceful ejection, it took Xu Hui a moment to regain his consciousness. He couldn't help but yell out his regret. He thought that he could have at least made it to level eight, but he had underestimated the difficulty of the Chaotic Heart Forest.