A few days later...
Xu Xian left Zuiwan Residence without saying goodbye and headed for the Ancestral Mountain, never to return.
Yao Xiaoxiao packed her bags and moved back to the Baicao Garden.
Kongkong and Xiaoxiao also changed locations to continue their secluded meditation.
Lu Yuan, as usual, had nothing to do and spent his days counting on his fingers.
Li Qingshan... finally understood the meaning of a certain term: empty-nest elder!
Deep beneath the Wendao Sword Sect.
【Zhu】
【Min】
【Shuang】
【Qing】
【Zui】
The five sword spirits had not moved an inch for four hundred years.
Five saintly skeletons sat there, glowing with a pale, skeletal white.
The Sky Gate was half-sealed, gradually becoming turbulent as fortune ebbed and flowed, drifting in and out of reach.
Xu Xian sat in the center, resting his chin on his hand, his brow furrowed deeply. He asked out of nowhere, “How much longer can it hold?”
Zui, the Lightning Punishment sword spirit, replied, “A thousand years at most.”
For four hundred years, the Sky Gate had been re-sealed. The five sword spirits followed the example of Li Taibai and his companions, continuously absorbing Fanzhou's fortune to maintain the seal here, preventing the Breath of Darkness from leaking out.
Xu Xian's brow tightened. “It's decreased again.”
The same question, but a different answer.
Four hundred years ago, after his challenge to the world, the answer he received was five thousand years.
Three hundred years ago, before he entered the red dust, the answer was three thousand years.
Today, only a thousand remained.
A thousand years?
That was far too little. It was practically at the doorstep.
Before the five sword spirits could respond, the Little Book Spirit chimed in helplessly, “There’s no other way. Over these four hundred years, that fellow has also been devouring Fanzhou’s limited fortune. The sealing power of Fanzhou is continuously decaying...”
Xu Xian understood. That fellow was the Sovereign.
Four hundred years ago, when the sealing power waned, He had awakened. He first opened the Emperor's Tomb and later released a water Qilin.
Although both of His moves were intercepted halfway by Xu Xian, He had never remained idle during these four hundred years.
“That old thing really never stops,” Xu Xian muttered.
The Little Book Spirit complained, “What can we do? We can't kill Him. If this continues, I'm afraid that old thing will wreak havoc upon the mortal realm before the Sky Gate even opens.”
Xu Xian sighed.
“Haa...”
He felt a throbbing headache.
In four hundred years, he had just settled the internal and external troubles of the Wendao Sword Sect, only to be immediately faced with the internal and external troubles of all Fanzhou.
The pressure was immense.
He had seen through the red dust in three hundred years, yet he still couldn't avoid being trapped in this cage.
A way to break it?
What way was there?
The only thing Xu Xian could do was to become as strong as possible before those unknowns arrived.
“Is there really no way to break the seal?”
The Little Book Spirit pouted. “We can't kill Him.”
They had no way to deal with the Old Soft-shell Turtle, so how could they have a way to deal with its master?
Xu Xian shook his head.
In the past, even the emperors of the Era of Ancient Immortals had no way. It was only natural that he and the Little Book Spirit were stumped as well.
“Forget it.”
“I'll deal with the Heart Demon Tribulation first.”
There was always a way when the time came. If he couldn't handle it at the great ascension stage, what about the Immortal Realm? Perhaps then he could.
The Little Book Spirit's fragmented memories would gradually be pieced together as his realm grew and the Sword Tower was built.
Perhaps, once he stepped into the Immortal Realm, its restored memories would contain a solution.
His Master had left behind an Immortal Pavilion. In that secret room on the sixth floor, a map of the entire Fanzhou was carved, and that room required a lamp. A lamp belonging to an immortal.
Why did it have to be an immortal's lamp?
Why seal the Sky Gate while also hoping someone would ascend to immortality?
The answer likely held the key to everything.
After becoming an immortal, the situation could be broken. At least for now, Xu Xian could only persuade and comfort himself with that thought.
The path had to be walked. No matter how bitter or difficult, he couldn't stop.
Xu Xian cleared his mind of stray thoughts, stabilized his spirit, and began to breathe slowly...
He was making the final preparations before entering meditation.
The Three Tribulations of Immortality were the Red Dust Tribulation, the Heart Demon Tribulation, and the Immortal Lightning Tribulation.
Each tribulation was a natural chasm. Only by leaping over all three could one reach the next height and take a step further.
The Red Dust Tribulation. If one could not see through it, it was like a self-imposed prison, keeping one stagnant until death.
The Heart Demon Tribulation. If one could not cross it, at best, their dao heart would be damaged and their realm would drop; at worst, they would be trapped within it, living a life of delusion.
To put it simply, this tribulation could be fatal. Heart demons are difficult to overcome; one can only save oneself.
Succumbing to heart demons and becoming an empty shell—such cases were everywhere. Many were recorded in Fanzhou, and they were countless in the Little Book Spirit's knowledge base.
As for the Immortal Lightning Tribulation, those were the nine strikes of heavenly thunder, a reckoning of one's past and present lives.
Win, and one would transcend and ascend to the heavens. Fail, and one would become a handful of yellow earth. If you couldn't cross it, you would surely die.
The Little Book Spirit hovered before Xu Xian, its eyes filled with worry and caution as it reminded him repeatedly, “Master, you must remain conscious. You must be careful. Do not let the heart demon deceive you, and do not forget yourself and become lost within it.”
Xu Xian answered seriously, “I know.”
The Little Book Spirit was still uneasy. “Maybe... we should wait a bit longer? Let you settle your foundation more.”
Xu Xian comforted it, “I have to take this step eventually. Besides, I don't have much time left.”
“But...”
“You must have faith in me.”
The Little Book Spirit hesitated but eventually stopped.
“Fine.”
The Heart Demon Tribulation was different from the Red Dust Tribulation and the lightning tribulation; it couldn't help, and it couldn't even interfere.
Giving the Little Book Spirit one last reassuring look, Xu Xian took a long breath. He closed his eyes and entered meditation. Spirit qi began to flow slowly around him...
The world fell into a dead silence.
The Little Book Spirit hovered in the air, its expression consistently solemn. It had never been this worried about its master. Because the unknown was the most terrifying.
It was true that Xu Xian had extraordinary talent and a deep character, but it was precisely because he was so outstanding that it worried so much.
In the Heart Demon Tribulation, Xu Xian's opponent was himself. The stronger he was, the stronger the heart demon would be.
This was a process of self-challenge and self-salvation. A single slip-up, and everything would return to zero. And no one could help; Xu Xian had to rely solely on himself.
Throughout his life, Xu Xian had encountered many setbacks and constant reversals, walking past the gates of death more than once.
Yecheng, the East Desolation, the Demon Abyss, the Emperor's Tomb, his challenge to the world... Ten thousand skeletons, millions of tons of Shadow Soul Stones, and half of Fanzhou's treasures.
In the end, he had even sacrificed his Master and four senior brothers...
His experiences were incredibly rich, and the path he walked was incredibly firm. But he had simply walked too fast—it had only been four hundred and thirty years.
Compared to a mortal, it was a long time, but compared to a cultivator, it was far too short. To face the Heart Demon Tribulation at such a tender age carried immense risk.
However, what Xu Xian said made sense. He had to take this step, and the time left for him was indeed running out.
It could only pray. Pray that everything would go smoothly, and pray that Xu Xian could defeat himself with his powerful will and cross this hurdle...
“Please don't let any hiccups happen!”
It was anxious, frantic, and had lost some of its composure...
Before it, Xu Xian, who was in meditation, began to show signs of pain on his face. This indicated that the youth's heart demon had been awakened.
A new world, a new perspective, yet it was filled with familiar scenery and familiar people.
Xu Xian stepped into this world, remaining perfectly conscious. With a wave of his sleeve, he dispelled all delusions with effortless calm.
He stood in a dim world, staring at the swirling black mist before him. The mist churned and rolled, and the sounds of ghosts weeping, wolves howling, and infants crying echoed in his ears.
Inside, a voice seemed to be constantly calling out to Xu Xian, telling him to come closer, just a little closer.
Xu Xian remained unmoved, murmuring to himself, “So, this is my heart demon?”
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