Chapter 204: Illusion Realm, Breakthrough, Rewards! (5K)

Having risen to a certain height, the octagonal underground palace suddenly plunged into a mass of flames.

As for the ground above, the mountain itself began to burn.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss~"

The flames, as if possessing a spirit, frantically drilled into the underground palace, attempting to find cracks.

"Fire, come!"

Zhao Xing continued to cast spells, attempting to counter fire with fire; at this moment, it was impossible to use water to extinguish the blaze. Just looking at the single drop from the Drop Rain Method, it was clear this thing was not meant for large-scale fire suppression.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~" The underground palace teetered on the brink of collapse, utterly unable to rise any further.

This was because he had cast 'Heavenly Fire', merely a mid-tier spell at the perfection level, which could not withstand this Earthly Fiend Fire.

However, since the Divine Stride Protection guarding the underground palace was extremely potent, combined with the resistance of the Yin Wind Fiend, the earth fire could not burn its way in.

These two high-tier spells allowed Zhao Xing to hold his ground at the Fire Fiend Trial, but were insufficient for him to continue ascending.

"I do not possess a high-tier Fire Attribute spell, so I cannot pass this trial." After persisting for a moment, Zhao Xing quickly drew this conclusion.

The Wind Fiend fuels the Fire Fiend; if this continues, eventually he too will be unable to hold out.

"Abandon."

Zhao Xing silently commanded abandonment in his mind; the next moment, he returned to the outside of the gateway.

"You have passed the Earthly Fiend Trial of the Yin-Yang Six-Heaven Array. You may receive a reward of a Tier-4 Supreme treasure, choosing between a pill or a weapon." The voice of the Xie Zhi sounded.

"Pill." Zhao Xing spoke with little interest.

A Tier-4 Supreme reward was, for him, merely better than nothing.

The academies of Great Li were designed for the elite; obtaining rewards was not easy.

Of course, he was not disheartened.

"According to my calculations, to pass the Yin-Yang Six-Heaven Array, I only need to possess one high-tier Fire Attribute spell."

The Volcano Method is actually an Earth Attribute spell, because its essence is the 'Split Earth Method'; even though its name is Fire Attribute Split Earth Method, it does not count as a pure Fire Attribute spell.

The Fire Fiend Trial requires a pure high-tier Fire Attribute spell.

"As long as I pass the Fire Fiend Trial, the Thunder Fiend Trial will not be a problem for me," Zhao Xing thought silently.

Earth, Wind, Fire, Thunder; for the final Thunder Fiend Trial, Zhao Xing was confident he could pass, because he possessed a pure high-tier Thunder spell.

After passing the Earthly Fiend Trial, Zhao Xing received three Tier-4 Supreme 【Earthly Fiend Pills】, the effect of which was to assist in body refinement at the Earthly Fiend Realm.

Wasting no time, he left the Heavenly Craft Hall and headed to the Heart-Questioning Platform to attempt the trial.

"The Desire Trial of the Heart-Questioning Platform is at the Tenth Tier; I passed it long ago. Its reappearance proves I can continue the trials, though I wonder what test awaits."

Zhao Xing took a deep breath and ascended the steps of the Heart-Questioning Platform.

"Boom!"

The moment Zhao Xing stepped onto the stairs, his thoughts were scattered by a thunderclap.

His entire body was blasted backward; moreover, because the trial injured his Life Soul, he was directly expelled from the Great Dream Academy.

"How could it be so difficult? This version of the Heart-Questioning Platform is actually this strong?"

Zhao Xing pondered in his mind, vaguely sensing something was wrong, accompanied by a feeling of unease.

However, the Great Dream Academy version of the Heart-Questioning Platform was different from the one he knew, so he simply assumed the Great Li version was merely too powerful.

He cast Divine Stride Protection and floated up to the ground.

As soon as he reached the ground, he received a message from Chen Shijie.

"Zhao Xing, the Fire Dragon Pass is in crisis. Wen Shaoyang and Jiang Ming have sent word that the Jin Yu Wang Ting has dispatched a massive army, intending to retake the Fire Dragon Pass! We must return immediately!"

"What?"

Zhao Xing was stunned, but at this moment Liao Ru, Xia Jing, and others were hurriedly setting sail, so he could only follow them onto the ship and rush to the Fire Dragon Pass.

Sitting on the warship, Zhao Xing stared blankly at the map and intelligence reports.

He never expected the Jin Yu Wang Ting to have such determination to retake the Fire Dragon Pass; this was far too different from what he had anticipated.

Yue Hai Sheng had only just fled; the side occupying the Fire Dragon Pass numbers merely over a hundred thousand, yet the Jin Yu Wang Ting actually mobilized eight hundred thousand troops to attack!

"Zhao Xing, you will now lead a regiment independently. I have assigned three thousand men to you, all drawn from the original Fire Crossbow Camp, Brave Camp, Nine-Joint Camp, Divine Machine Camp, and Five Elements Camp."

"You will now proceed to the fortress to support Wen Shaoyang's forces."

After disembarking from the warship, Liao Ru immediately assigned combat tasks, then departed on a supreme warship.

Only Zhao Xing and his three thousand mixed regiment were left behind.

Watching Liao Ru's warship fly away, Zhao Xing could not help but frown; he felt something was strange somewhere.

But events kept spinning in a cycle, constantly urging him to act, leaving no time to think.

"We set out!"

Zhao Xing led the three thousand men onto the General Ming Yan warship and flew toward the fortress.

Liao Ru had assigned Han Bing, Wang Ji, Che Shihai, and other acquaintances to assist him; the three thousand men quickly left the Fire Dragon Pass to support Wen Shaoyang's forces, which were under attack.

After the warship flew five hundred li, Zhao Xing spotted a contingent of demon soldiers.

They were marching in great numbers toward the Fire Dragon Pass. Han Bing immediately asked, "Commander, shall we intercept and kill this troop of Ape Demons?"

Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "Do not fight. Our mission is to support Wen Shaoyang. This troop of Ape Demons that has circled around will be dealt with by the main army in the rear."

The General Ming Yan warship flew through the Gao Wind Layer for a day and a night, finally arriving at the fortress boundary.

Below, the White Bone Golden-Toe Army was present; above, the Flying Bear Man Tribe Army was there. Like ants, they were besieging the fortress where Wen Shaoyang was located.

"How could there be so many people?" Zhao Xing looked at the battlefield, his heart pounding in fear.

"Commander, do we fight or not?" Wang Ji asked.

Just as Zhao Xing was pondering what was wrong, a martial artist suddenly reported from outside the cabin: "Commander, we have been surrounded by the warships of the Flying Bear Army!"

"Wang Ji, immediately order the artificers to prepare for battle!"

Zhao Xing had no time to think and hastily accepted the challenge.

He quickly walked onto the deck outside the warship and saw five Flying Bear warships appearing in the sky.

Besides these, many flying strange beasts shaped like fierce bears but with a pair of wings hovered beside the warships.

On the strange beasts sat barbarian soldiers and generals clad in silver-feather battle armor.

"The Flying Bear Army of the Jin Yu Wang Ting has combat power ranking within the top thirty of the Wang Ting; why not attack Lu Yuanwei in the west, or the strong armies of Zhao Yuan and Danxia in the north, but instead rush over to attack our Shenwei Army?"

Zhao Xing silently cried out that things were bad.

He realized everything seemed to have slipped out of his control, just as the Three Kings had suddenly intervened in the judgment.

But by now, there was no time to think so much.

The battle had already begun!

"Boom boom boom boom boom boom!"

The five warships launched an attack against the General Ming Yan warship, unleashing crossbow cannons, spells, blood quills, and various methods in succession against it.

"Swallow Clouds!"

Zhao Xing cast the Cloud Technique, intending to create a favorable environment for the army.

But before he could finish casting, the warship's barrier was declared broken.

"Commander, the barrier has been broken!" Wang Ji roared, "There are too many of them; we have fallen into an ambush!"

"Zing~"

Crossbow arrows as thick as arms rained down onto the deck; Zhao Xing, having no choice, had to interrupt the Cloud Technique and order the warship to flee.

"Retreat!"

With its barrier broken, the General Ming Yan warship turned and fled backward.

"Five Elements Mist Concealment!"

Zhao Xing changed the Cloud Technique to the Mist Concealment Technique to create favorable conditions for the warship's escape.

With the barrier broken, they could only take beatings; at this moment, they could only flee.

After the General Ming Yan warship had flown for half a shichen,

it finally shook off the pursuers.

Zhao Xing, exhausted, walked into the cabin; he had used a high-level technique to finally confuse the pursuers' vision.

But the Wen Shaoyang unit could not possibly provide support; he had only three thousand men, while the besieging force numbered at least one hundred thousand—how could they be saved?

Yet this was too sudden; why had the Jin Yu Wang Ting come to attack Huolong Pass?

Zhao Xing had just wanted to rest and think carefully.

But the warship suddenly emitted a mournful cry, and the entire vessel began to shake.

"Wang Ji, what is happening?!"

"Commander, the warship is too severely damaged; we must make an emergency landing!"

Zhao Xing went out to look and found the warship had been pierced like a hedgehog, and even the right-side cabin had a large hole.

It was already extremely difficult to have lasted this long.

"Hng~ Boom~"

Flames spewed from the tail of the warship as it plummeted from the sky into the forest below.

Zhao Xing flew out of the cabin and ordered all Farm Officials and Sorcerers to fly beneath the warship to cast the Wind Technique.

They would use the Wind Technique to reduce the warship's descent speed; after all, there were many devices on board, and if it crashed, they would have no devices left to use, moreover, martial artists cannot fly, and such a crash would kill people.

"Boom~"

The General Ming Yan warship still crashed into the forest.

Fortunately, no explosion occurred, nor did it ignite the firecrackers stored on board.

Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered the soldiers to disembark, carrying down the firecrackers and other dangerous and precious items.

"Zhang Quan, send people to patrol the surroundings."

"Han Bing, count the casualties."

"Yuan Yang, you will accompany Han Bing."

"..."

Zhao Xing gave his orders; at this moment, his brows were tightly furrowed, and a vague unease filled his heart; without the warship, their mobility was greatly reduced.

They still did not know where they had crashed, nor how many enemy troops were around.

"Scout Grass Men, rise!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand, instantly turning the surrounding grass and trees into rows of grass men, spreading out and searching the area.

However, not long after, he actually discovered traces of the barbarian army.

His crash site was actually not far from the camp of that group of Ape Barbarian Army.

"Hiss! So many military tents; how many people must there be!"

Zhao Xing knew they could not stay in this place for long, or they would easily be discovered.

"Wang Ji, how long will it take to repair the warship?"

"It requires fourteen shichen."

"Fourteen shichen? That is too long!" Zhao Xing said, "We will walk; abandon the warship."

"Han Bing, issue the order: rest for half a shichen, then depart."

"Yes."

After Zhao Xing and the others left, the Ape Barbarian Army discovered their tracks and began sending troops to pursue.

But within the forest, it was entirely Zhao Xing's home ground.

Whether it was the straw men confusing the line of sight or the Five Elements Mist Concealment, these allowed Zhao Xing's three thousand men to always leap out of the encirclement a step ahead.

Time passed; in the blink of an eye, seven days had gone by.

By now, Zhao Xing had led his men out of the Yuanman Army's encirclement, but this had exhausted him greatly; seven consecutive days of uninterrupted, large-scale, practical combat with area spells had left him utterly drained.

Seeing they had broken the encirclement, Zhao Xing handed command to Han Bing: "Go meet Liao Ruolong. For the road ahead, you and Wang Ji must lead the way; I must sleep for a while..."

With Zhao Xing's guidance, the most dangerous time had passed. Han Bing and Wang Ji took control of the column and successfully returned to Huolong Pass to rendezvous with Liao Ruolong.

After Zhao Xing awoke, they were already on the retreat.

At this time, Liao Ruolong's forces had abandoned Huolong Pass and retreated to Zhiyou City.

Huolong Pass had returned to the Manchu's hands.

They had suffered a crushing defeat.

"What happened? Why was the defeat so swift? The Jin Guang Wang Ting actually sent the Young Prince Yanda to retake Huolong Pass?"

Looking at the intelligence, Zhao Xing felt a sudden, unexplained panic.

Yet he still fought bravely alongside the Shenwei Army.

In the remaining two months of the seventeenth year of Jingxin, the Shenwei Army retreated in defeat.

But Zhao Xing's war merits continued to grow steadily.

Without control over the future, Zhao Xing remained a high-end player; he still struggled ceaselessly toward his goals.

Spring of the eighteenth year of Jingxin.

The Jing Emperor did not conduct a phased awarding, once again exceeding Zhao Xing's expectations.

Yet Zhao Xing still returned to the Ten Yang Cave Heaven garrison to rest, awaiting the imminent "Cave Heaven Spiritual Beauty Revival."

However, waiting until the sixth month of the eighteenth year of Jingxin, he still had not witnessed the "Cave Heaven Spiritual Beauty Revival."

After leaving in the sixth month, he went back to the battlefield to fight.

But in the tenth month of the eighteenth year of Jingxin, the "Ten Suns Hanging in the Sky" occurred; Chen Shijie and Long Xiao Tian Shan both died in this disaster.

When Zhao Xing rushed back, the Cave Heaven had already closed; upon receiving news of Old Chen and Long Xiao's deaths, his head began to ache.

The nineteenth year of Jingxin, Wanfa Palace.

Pain, so much pain; Zhao Xing's head throbbed as if splitting. He did not know when he had begun suffering from this headache.

He sought out many military doctors to examine him, but they could never find a specific cause, saying only that he worried too much and needed more rest.

As if multiple images were in his mind, causing his head to split with pain, Zhao Xing came to Wanfa Palace to seek Liu Tianning's instruction in cultivating the Wanfa Straw Man.

During the process of cultivating the Wanfa Straw Man, Zhao Xing's headache eased somewhat.

He cultivated continuously until the nineteenth year of Jingxin.

It was at this moment that he finally withstood the interference from the unknown, gathering his thoughts.

At the same time, the first True Self Straw Man appeared before Zhao Xing.

Seeing this, Liu Tianning came before Zhao Xing and looked at him: "You seem to have gained some realization."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Yes, I have finally figured it out."

Liu Tianning asked: "What have you figured out?"

Zhao Xing pointed to his own head: "Actually, the military doctor was right; I truly have no illness. The reason I cannot concentrate is that my own power is attacking me."

"What is it?"

"Fear."

Looking at the "Wanfa Straw Man" before him, Zhao Xing's expression was tense, his eyes full of terror.

At this moment, it could be called a "Fear Straw Man."

"Fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear of losing foresight."

Liu Tianning looked at Zhao Xing in surprise: "What are you saying?"

Zhao Xing did not answer, muttering to himself: "If I did not have these advantages and feared the path ahead was vast and unknown, then I would truly have no qualification for immortality."

"You are mad," Liu Tianning said. "Immortality again, the future again; what exactly are you talking about?"

Zhao Xing curved his fingers into a sword and struck the True Self Straw Man before him.

"Plop~" The Fear Straw Man Zhao Xing fell down.

"No matter how the future changes, I shall press forward courageously; my heart to prove immortality remains unchanged!"

The voice was like thunder, echoing through heaven and earth. The sound grew louder and louder, until finally everything before his eyes shattered.

Zhao Xing looked at the steps before him and realized he was still on the Questioning Heart Platform inside the Great Dream Academy.

"As expected," Zhao Xing sighed. Unknowingly, he had already stood on the twentieth step.

And he had randomly encountered the "Fear Trial" of the Questioning Heart Platform.

"Amplifying the subtle fears in my heart, then layer by layer deducing, creating a complete illusionary realm."

"Making one struggle endlessly within the fear illusion; if one cannot break through the fear in one's heart, one will forever sink in the illusionary realm."

Within the illusionary realm, he lost his panel and lost his foresight of the future.

But in the end, Zhao Xing broke through the bonds of fear in his heart, strengthened his conviction, and successfully escaped the illusionary realm.

【Student Zhao Xing, will unyielding, passed the "Fear Trial." Reward: one Fate Soul Pill.】

Two thousand meters underground, inside the cave covered by the Octagonal Cage Underground Palace.

Zhao Xing opened his eyes.

In his arms lay four pills.

Three were merely fourth-grade supreme Earth Fiend Pills, which he casually put away.

The other one emitted a faint Jin Guang.

When Zhao Xing looked at it, a craving arose from the depths of his soul, completely impossible to suppress.

"Life-Soul Pill? The reward from the Heart-Questioning Platform is truly generous," Zhao Xing couldn't help but exclaim.

Both the Dao-Embryo Pill and the Life-Soul Pill were unranked 'Oddities', for their produced quantity was extremely scarce, their effects did not take effect immediately, and they varied from person to person.

If Zhao Xing were to estimate himself, both the Dao-Embryo Pill and the Life-Soul Pill would have to be considered Grade Six Supreme.

For in his past life, their selling price was benchmarked against Grade Six Supreme or Grade Seven Low pills.

"When the Life-Soul dwells in the womb, its soul is restricted by the flesh body, often causing the Life-Soul's realm to lag behind the flesh body's realm."

"But the Life-Soul Pill can nourish a person's Life-Soul, even causing it to surpass the flesh body's realm," Zhao Xing thought silently.

He was currently at the Grade Seven Perfection realm, but his Life-Soul was only at Grade Seven Early Stage.

"According to the Great Dream Spring and Autumn, the Earth Fiend Realm in the ancient methods, aside from refining fiends into the body, should actually include a step of refining fiends into the soul."

"The Heaven Star Realm is the same: refining stars into the body, refining stars into the soul."

"The Life-Soul realm, just like the flesh body realm, must reach this state to be truly perfect."

"With a mere gesture, one possesses the true aura of a powerful expert; a single shout can frighten away demons and monsters."

"The benefits of elevating the Life-Soul are too numerous," Zhao Xing rejoiced, and immediately swallowed the pill.

After swallowing, there was no sensation at all, as if he had eaten air.

But a wisp of Jin Guang spread throughout his body, wrapping every inch of his skin.

Zhao Xing felt his entire being become spirited, his whole body warm.

Numerous insights into the Dao surged into his heart.

The instant he swallowed it, his High-Grade Technique 【Yin Wind Fiend】 broke through, reaching High-Grade Five Turns.

Immediately after, one of his spells broke through to High-Grade.

It was the 【Sleeping Bug】 spell from the Great Dream Spring and Autumn.

The Sleeping Bug spell's function was to extract parasites from the Life-Soul.

With a powerful Life-Soul, one's comprehension of the Dao naturally became faster, and understanding of soul-type spells deeper.

After reaching High-Grade, the extraction range of the 【Sleeping Bug】 spell greatly increased; what previously required casting at close range could now extract and release across several thousand meters!

Zhao Xing's Life-Soul realm changed quickly.

Rising from Grade Seven Early Stage, to Grade Seven Mid Stage, Grade Seven Late Stage, and Grade Seven Perfection.

Two hours later, at the moment the Jin Guang receded.

A soul-stealing light shot forth from Zhao Xing's eyes.

He looked at the panel.

The panel now displayed the Life-Soul realm as: Grade Six Early Stage!

"The Life-Soul's realm has surpassed the flesh body's realm, actually reaching Grade Six!"

"And after reaching Grade Six, I have another spell breaking through."

A Grade Six Life-Soul already meant stepping into the second realm of cultivation, no longer one of the three low realms of Seven, Eight, or Nine.

The Life-Soul is the human's divine thought; upon stepping into Grade Six, Zhao Xing's Bright Eye Technique broke through.

The 【Discerning the Autumn Hair】 spell previously displayed on the panel vanished.

In its place appeared the High-Grade 【Heavenly Eye Technique】.