Chapter 304: Giving a Way Out

Beyond the Stone Gate was not another bizarre space as expected, but a Corridor of Green Stone extending downward, built from massive green stones. Embedded in the stone walls on either side of the corridor were night-luminescent pearls emitting a faint white glow; the light was deep and dim, barely illuminating the path ahead. The air was thick with the scent of dust and ages, utterly unlike the energy-saturated twilight space outside, as if one had fallen from myth into the mortal world in an instant, returned to some forgotten ancient tomb.

"The Third Trial, 'Knocking on the True Heart.'" Jing Yi's luminous figure floated at the corridor's entrance, his voice still calm, yet carrying a power that struck straight at the soul. "Go forward. The key lies at the end. But whether you can obtain it depends on yourselves."

Having spoken, his luminous figure slowly dissipated, as if it had never appeared.

The strange costumes on everyone vanished like bubbles, and their original combat suits were restored. The Tactics Captain breathed a sigh of relief and quickly adjusted his gear—the knight's armor from earlier, though imposing, had really hindered movement. The Technician looked even more relieved, a flush still lingering on his cheeks.

"Maintain formation, heighten vigilance." The Tactics Captain gave the order, and the squad adopted a defensive array, cautiously stepping into the Corridor of Green Stone.

The corridor was long, winding downward, so silent that only the footsteps and breathing of the group could be heard. The light from the night-luminescent pearls on the stone walls was steady, yet could not dispel that heavy, oppressive feeling. This place seemed to cut off all external energy—even the Bloodline Resonance within Xia Wan's body had grown faint.

After walking for roughly a quarter of an hour, a corner appeared ahead. Turning the corner, the view opened up suddenly—it was a vast Circular Stone Chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a Stone Platform half a person's height. Above the Stone Platform floated a crystal, roughly the size of a fist, irregularly shaped, its entire body a chaotic hue. It emitted no light whatsoever, yet seemed to devour all the light around it; merely gazing at it gave one the throbbing sensation that one's very soul was about to be sucked in.

That... was the "key"?

However, the group's attention was quickly drawn to other things within the stone chamber.

The perimeter of the stone chamber was not empty—nine tall stone statues stood there! These statues took various forms: some were scholars holding scrolls, some were warriors clad in heavy armor, some were dancers in graceful poses, some were monks with faces of compassion... They were carved so lifelike they seemed as if they might come alive at any moment, and each statue emanated a Spiritual Pressure that was utterly different, yet equally powerful!

The instant the Exploration Squad stepped into the stone chamber, a ghostly light simultaneously lit up in the Hollow eye sockets of all nine stone statues!

Boom—!

Nine vast Spiritual Forces, like invisible tsunamis, instantly swept through the entire stone chamber! This force was not a physical attack, but acted directly upon the Consciousness Deep, stirring up the deepest emotions, desires, fears, regrets within each person...

"Argh!" A squad member dropped to his knees clutching his head, his face filled with terror, as if seeing the most horrifying sight of his life. "No... don't come any closer!" another member waved wildly at empty air, tears and snot streaming down his face. "Mine! It's all mine! Wealth! Power!" the Geologist's eyes were glazed, muttering to himself as he grasped at the void. Even the most experienced Tactics Captain had gone deathly pale, veins bulging on his forehead, clearly struggling with all his might against some Spiritual Impact.

The entire squad, except for Qin Feng, almost instantly lost combat ability, each trapped in their own Mind Demon Illusion!

Xia Wan was no better off. Countless chaotic thoughts and images assailed her consciousness—the helplessness when her father fell gravely wounded, her mother's tearful face, Sister's innocent smile, the starry-sky crisis described by "Yun Ge," her own longing for and confusion about power... All these emotions intertwined, like countless hands trying to drag her into the abyss of consciousness.

She bit down hard on her lower lip, relying on the clearer, more resilient spirit she had after drinking the "Jade Nectar," and the unyielding will deep within her Bloodline, barely maintaining the last sliver of clarity in her spiritual platform, yet her body swayed like a candle in the wind, on the verge of collapse.

Those nine stone statues were like nine mirrors reflecting the human heart, infinitely magnifying each person's most vulnerable part!

So this was "Knocking on the True Heart"? Using this method to select the one who would obtain the "key"? Too cruel!

In the center of the stone chamber, the chaotic-hued "key" still floated quietly, as if coldly watching the group's struggles from the sidelines.

Just then, Qin Feng moved.

He still wore that futuristic silver-gray uniform, looking utterly out of place in this stone chamber filled with ancient, oppressive atmosphere. He did not look at the squad members trapped in their inner demons, nor at the "key," but walked straight toward the nearest statue—a scholar holding a scroll.

A ghostly light flickered in the scholar statue's eyes, and a more condensed, overwhelming Spiritual Force targeted at Qin Feng crashed down! That force contained an infinite thirst for knowledge, a persistent pursuit of truth, and... the loneliness and confusion that inevitably accompany the path of seeking knowledge.

This Spiritual Impact was enough to make any scholar of firm will instantly lose himself.

Yet Qin Feng merely raised his eyelids and glanced at the statue indifferently.

No clash of energy, no eruption of aura.

The ghostly light in the scholar statue's eyes, like a snuffed candle, suddenly dimmed. Its originally slightly forward-leaning posture, as if about to interrogate, froze rigidly, then, ever so slightly, drew back a little; the hand holding the scroll also seemed to lower its angle somewhat.

It was as if... a teacher who had been brimming with momentum, ready to question a student, was suddenly given such a look by the other that he felt his confidence deflate, instinctively reined in his aura, and even unconsciously took half a step back.

Immediately after, Qin Feng walked toward the second statue, the warrior.

The warrior statue emanated a brutal will woven from iron-bloodedness, slaughter, protection, and destruction!

Qin Feng's gaze swept over it.

The ghostly light in the warrior statue's eyes went out, and the raised stone arm, as if about to strike down, lowered almost imperceptibly.

The third, the dancer statue, exuded an atmosphere of enchantment, indulgence, and degradation...

Where his gaze reached, the ghostly light dimmed, the dancing pose restrained itself.

The fourth, the monk statue, radiated compassion, transcendence, yet with a hidden persistence...

Just like that, unhurriedly, he "looked" at the statues one by one.

Each time his gaze swept over a statue, its "momentum" would deflate like a popped balloon, the ghostly light in its eyes extinguished, and its aggressive posture quietly restrained itself, becoming... peaceful, even carrying a hint of imperceptible "docility"?

When Qin Feng finished "looking" at the ninth statue and stood again in the center of the stone chamber, the Spiritual Pressure that had pressed on everyone's hearts like nine great mountains had already vanished into thin air!

In the stone chamber, only nine statues stood quietly, as if they were merely ordinary sculptures, and... a group of Exploration Squad members who looked like they had just been pulled out of water, drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath, their eyes still holding traces of fear and bewilderment.

The inner demons... were gone?

Just like that... it was over?

The squad members exchanged glances, unable to believe it. They looked at the figure standing in the center of the stone chamber, back straight, their hearts filled with the relief of surviving a disaster, and an even deeper awe.

Xia Wan also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the soul-tearing force suddenly vanish. She steadied herself and looked toward Qin Feng.

She saw Qin Feng walk up to the Stone Platform where the "key" floated, but he did not immediately take that chaotic-hued crystal.

He extended a finger and lightly tapped the edge of the Stone Platform, producing a crisp knocking sound.

Then he raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the dome of the stone chamber, looking toward some unseen existence, and in a tone tinged with a hint of helplessness, yet as if he had seen through everything, he said calmly:

"The Trial has been trialed, and I've given you a way out."

"If you keep putting on airs, it gets boring."

"Come down."

His voice echoed through the empty stone chamber.

Given... a way out?

A way out for whom?

Just as everyone was bewildered—

In the center of the stone chamber, the chaotic-hued "key" that had been floating quietly suddenly trembled slightly.

Immediately after, its chaotic outer shell flaked off piece by piece like an eggshell, revealing the core within—it was not a crystal at all, but a constantly shifting mass of light, composed of countless tiny runes, emanating a gentle yet vast aura!

A luminous figure of "Jing Yi," similar to the one that had appeared on the Altar before but more solid and clearer, slowly emerged from that mass of light and landed upon the Stone Platform.

This time, his features were no longer blurred, revealing a face that was gentle, handsome, bearing the vicissitudes of years yet not appearing old. He looked at Qin Feng, and for the first time, clearly visible, complex emotions surfaced in those ancient, unfathomable eyes—helplessness, relief, and a hint of... awkwardness at being seen through?

He gave Qin Feng a slight bow, performing an ancient courtesy, and his voice no longer merely echoed in consciousness but sounded in reality, carrying a wry smile:

"Your Excellency… truly has discerning eyes."

"It is Jing Yi, my apologies for the discourtesy."

The entire hall fell deathly silent.

All the exploration team members, Xia Wan included, gaped wide as they watched "Jing Yi" bowing to Qin Feng, their minds completely crashing.

So… this Third Trial, these nine stone statues, this "Questioning the True Heart"… were all personally orchestrated by this Guardian Spirit "Jing Yi"? And Mr. Qin Feng, instead of choosing to brute-force his way through, instead of taking that fake "key," he directly… saw through the other's "spectral theatrics," and even gave the other a dignified "step down"?

And "Jing Yi" actually just went along with that "step"… and came down?!

This… this Trial can actually be passed like this?!