Chapter 416: The Power of the Spirit Platform and the True Meaning of the Divine Path

Within the Seven Kill Secret Realm, as other killing grounds ended, more starlight descended.

Xu Jin also saw more familiar faces.

The first to appear was Ning Yuchan.

Ning Yuchan's appearance was no surprise to Xu Jin—her combat strength and talent were top-tier.

Unfortunately, Ning Yuchan was far from Xu Jin, making voice transmission impossible.

Almost at the moment Xu Jin spotted Ning Yuchan, her gaze turned to him, and she waved.

As Xu Jin waved back, he suddenly placed a finger to his lips, then pointed to his head, drawing Ning Yuchan's puzzled look.

After two breaths of thought, Ning Yuchan suddenly extended two fingers toward Xu Jin.

From Xu Jin's past-life perspective, this was a "V for victory."

But Xu Jin understood: she had mastered the second layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes.

It was a touch of telepathic understanding; Xu Jin smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

Mastering the second layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes meant Ning Yuchan now had two chances for substitutional rebirth—her safety had greatly increased.

If an opportunity arises, I must remind Ning Yuchan: if her substitutional rebirth chances are used up, abandon immediately.

Merely from the third trial, Xu Jin sensed extreme peril.

The real challenge was still ahead.

The danger was still ahead.

More starlight fell; Xu Jin's gaze shifted again—he saw Ji Hongli, and Ying Ge standing midair atop her sword.

Ji Hongli passing the third trial was expected, but Ying Ge's success required a stroke of fortune.

Fortunately, Ji Hongli and Ying Ge were nearby, allowing direct soul transmission.

"Little Fish, how many layers of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes have you mastered?"

"Senior Brother, I've mastered the second layer."

"That's good—have you used your substitutional rebirth chance yet?" Xu Jin asked.

"Not yet."

"In later trials, if you use your substitutional rebirth chance, abandon immediately—don't continue," Xu Jin instructed.

"Understood, Senior Brother! Thank you, Senior Brother!" Ji Hongli looked at Xu Jin with bright eyes and answered with complete eagerness.

Xu Jin was stunned.

He had prepared to explain the reason, but Ji Hongli agreed instantly.

All the reasons he'd prepared—such as the eighth-rank Ju Xuan—went unused.

This stirred deep emotion in Xu Jin.

In his past life, he had once read on a forum that one sign of a good woman is obedience.

He never expected to encounter it here.

"I can't transmit voice to Yuchan—tell her too," Xu Jin said.

"Yes, Senior Brother, I'll tell Sister Yuchan right away."

After instructing Ji Hongli and Ning Yuchan, he must also attend to Ying Ge.

He asked—Ying Ge had only mastered the first layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes, barely missing the second, so she had only one substitutional rebirth chance.

Xu Jin gave her instructions.

As Senior Brother, Xu Jin carried immense weight in Ying Ge's eyes.

Ying Ge asked no questions and accepted immediately.

A dozen breaths later, as dozens more starlights descended, the sky shimmered again.

【The Third Trial of the Seven Kill: Massacre of the Multitude has ended. Passers: 210.】

Seeing this number, all passers wore solemn expressions.

The elimination rate was too high.

The third trial eliminated over eighty percent.

The next instant, starlight reappeared.

【The Fourth Trial of the Seven Kill is about to begin.】

【The Fourth Trial of the Seven Kill is the Demon Heart Trial. Those who pass will enter the Fifth Trial and the true Seven Kill Legacy Assessment.】

【Within one hundred breaths, step onto the star path before you. Those who successfully traverse it will pass and enter the Fifth Trial.】

As starpaths rapidly materialized, the sky's starlight transformed into a countdown.

The Fourth Trial of the Seven Kill—the Demon Heart Trial—had begun.

Xu Jin did not rush to step forward.

Demon Heart Trial—the name suggested something like the Demon Heart guardian of the Star-Picking Secret Realm.

Was it about defeating one's own demon heart?

If so, the stronger the cultivator, the stronger the demon heart—and the greater the difficulty.

But Xu Jin did not believe it was a trial of confronting demon hearts.

He suspected this fourth trial was likely tied to soul cultivation.

The first three trials tested fate, talent, and combat strength; the fourth must test soul cultivation.

"Be careful—the fourth trial likely tests something related to soul cultivation," Xu Jin transmitted to Ji Hongli, Ying Ge, Dong Zhao, and Liu Qingzhu—all within transmission range.

The next instant, Xu Jin sank his mind into the Upper Star Palace, activating the Zhenyi Star Pattern for soul defense. As a Zhenyi Stele blazed brightly within his mind, he stepped forward onto the star path.

The next moment, the starlight before him shifted.

Xu Jin suddenly found himself above a vast blue sea; the instant he landed, a colossal beast surged from the water and snapped at him. As he fled swiftly, a swarm of thunder eagles descended from the sky, blasting him with bolts of lightning.

Xu Jin activated his defenses and barely blocked the lightning—but the next instant, even larger thunder eagles struck like lightning, hammering him again.

The lightning from these giant thunder eagles carried twice the power of the previous ones—its strength was ultimate.

Xu Jin's layered defenses could not hold.

Not only did the Heavenly Gang Thunder Chain shatter, but even the Fish-Screen Golden Bell cracked apart.

A single bolt grazed him—his body blackened by a third, searing pain surged through him.

Xu Jin was horrified.

Is the Demon Heart Trial this terrifying?

Will I be forced to perish here, needing another substitutional rebirth chance just to pass?

No!

Substitutional rebirth only grants continuation—it does not guarantee passage!

Using a substitutional rebirth chance merely gives you another chance to continue the trial—it does not let you bypass it.

Under this difficulty, even using substitutional rebirth won't ensure passage.

Even if I had two, three, or five substitutional rebirth chances, they'd still be insufficient.

That giant thunder eagle was terrifyingly powerful.

Stronger than eighth-rank Ju Xuan.

Xu Jin exhausted every technique—he could not resist its lightning, and its power grew stronger with each strike.

"Where is the lifeline? Where is the way out?"

Xu Jin flew at high speed, dodging the monstrous thunder eagles' attacks.

Above, thunder eagles pursued; below, the sea beast chased—there was not a single glimmer of hope.

In despair, Xu Jin activated the Mingji Star Pattern to sense all directions, trying to find a flaw or lifeline.

This was merely the Seven Kill True Lord's legacy trial—there was no reason it should be this hopeless.

Such a powerful beast—no one, not even eighth-rank Ju Xuan, could withstand it.

It could annihilate everyone!

The next instant, Xu Jin's expression turned strange.

Through the Mingji Star Pattern's perception, he sensed no thunder eagles or monstrous beasts—only immense star force fluctuations.

This startled him sharply.

In an instant, two words surfaced—Killing Dream.

This scene mirrored his Killing Dream Star Pattern's dream state exactly.

Suddenly, Xu Jin recalled his own judgment before stepping onto the star path.

The trial was related to soul cultivation.

The next instant, Xu Jin halted abruptly and closed his eyes.

The deadly attacks, moments ago so close, did not strike. Nothing unusual occurred.

When he opened his eyes, the thunder eagles and sea beast continued their relentless assault.

"So it is!"

Realizing this, Xu Jin prepared to close his eyes and focus.

He estimated that after a period of stillness, he would surely pass this trial.

But such an opportunity was too rare.

He must test it.

Xu Jin first activated the Zhenyi Stele, to see if it could counter this masterful illusion.

After dozens of breaths, he concluded: the Zhenyi Stele was useless.

This kind of sophisticated illusion, similar to his Killing Dream, is ineffective against the Zhenyi Stele.

In the next instant, Xu Jin sank his mind into his Yuan Ling.

His mind held firm; all the Yuan Ling Taiguang contracted inward like hidden treasures, retreating deep within the Yuan Ling.

This was the strongest defensive form of every person's Yuan Ling.

When he opened his eyes, the illusion still remained, but its attacks had weakened considerably.

With the Taiguang drawn inward, the Yuan Ling offered partial defense against Killing Dream and illusion-based attacks, but could not fully block them.

In the next instant, Xu Jin's mind sank into the Chengpo Star Pattern, and instantly, the spiritual radiance born from the one hundred and eight Chengpo Star Patterns coalesced into a massive spiritual terrace, floating above his Shang Xing Palace, its light illuminating his entire body.

When he opened his eyes, the illusions had vanished entirely.

Xu Jin stood within a starlight corridor, ahead of him lay its end.

He dispersed the special spiritual terrace, and the illusions returned.

He activated the spiritual terrace, and the illusions vanished.

Xu Jin's eyes brimmed with joy.

Though he gained no great reward, he had confirmed the reliability of the special star-art spiritual terrace.

It could resist Shen Po attacks, especially illusions, with remarkable efficacy.

In the next instant, bathed in the spiritual terrace's radiance, Xu Jin took a few steps forward and stepped out of the starlight corridor.

As he stepped out, the starlight corridor dissolved into a line of characters floating before him.

【Congratulations. You have passed the Fourth Trial of the Seven Killings: Xin Mo Sha. You are now eligible to compete for the title of Disciple-in-Name of the Seven Killings True Person. Wait for the opening of the Fifth Trial.】

The starlight faded, and Xu Jin found himself in another realm.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his heart stirred.

He crouched, scooped up a handful of soil, and activated the spiritual terrace's radiance to illuminate his entire body—the soil remained, undeniably real.

He scanned all around: distant mountains curled in mist, green and serene, white clouds drifted lazily, and far beyond, he saw towering trees.

His mind stirred slightly, and the seven cosmic law stars of the Candou Terrace rotated simultaneously; faintly, he sensed the presence of other celestial wills.

This realm was real!

This was another function he had recently discovered in the seven cosmic law stars of the Candou Terrace.

Perhaps due to their extreme power, these stars could stir the celestial wills of other star realms.

But in the next instant, Xu Jin's gaze sharpened.

As the seven cosmic law stars of the Candou Terrace rotated, he suddenly sensed five immense celestial wills.

No—such overwhelming energy could not be celestial will, nor could it be law force. It resembled primordial world essence.

But Xu Jin had already refined primordial world essence before.

This energy did not resemble primordial world essence at all.

Suddenly, a realization struck him.

Divine Dao True Intent!

These five energies must be the Divine Dao True Intent the Imperial Tutor had mentioned would appear within the Seven Killings Secret Realm.

Only Divine Dao True Intent could manifest such overwhelming power fluctuations.

Yet though Xu Jin sensed the Divine Dao True Intent, these five were extremely distant, as if shielded by countless barriers.

Moreover, he himself could not move.

He could not reach them yet.

Xu Jin also understood: these Divine Dao True Intentions could never be simply picked up.

So there was no rush.

Yet Xu Jin had one question.

Only by activating the cosmic law stars of the Candou Terrace could he sense these five Divine Dao True Intentions.

What about others?

Could others sense the presence of the Divine Dao True Intentions?

At this thought, Xu Jin deactivated the Candou Terrace and ceased activating the seven cosmic law stars—the five Divine Dao True Intentions vanished instantly.

Then he fully activated his Shen Po cultivation and star force, yet no matter how hard he strained, he could no longer sense those five Divine Dao True Intentions.

If so, Xu Jin surmised others could not sense them either.

But it was hard to say.

After all, his cultivation was only fifth-rank; sixth, seventh, or even eighth-rank cultivators might possess abilities he did not know.

In the next instant, Xu Jin reactivated the cosmic law stars, sensed the five Divine Dao True Intentions again, and memorized their directions.

Then he sat cross-legged, resting and waiting.

Whether from the starlight hints or his own research, both proved he had truly entered the native star realm of the Seven Killings Secret Realm.

According to prior hints, the victor of the Fifth Trial could become a Disciple-in-Name of the Seven Killings True Person.

What followed would surely be true bloodshed.

In the Third and Fourth Trials, some must have used their substitute-death chances.

In the Fifth Trial, many elites would die for real.

As he pondered, a flash of starlight appeared in the distance, and suddenly, a glow descended.

It was a corpse.

No wounds, yet utterly lifeless—exactly like those who died under his Killing Dream state.

This person failed the Fourth Trial, exhausted his substitute-death chance, and died inside—now his corpse had been ejected.

Xu Jin recognized him: a sixth-rank from Zhen'e Star Hall.

Several more streaks of starlight shot upward, toward the heavens.

Xu Jin understood: these were those who failed the Fourth Trial, used their elimination chance, and chose to leave rather than continue.

Xu Jin waited a full half-hour, as more starlight streaked out and more corpses fell, until finally one stepped forward.

Eighth-rank!

It was Ye Feng, the peerless eighth-rank prodigy of Cangming Star Hall.

Seeing Xu Jin, Ye Feng was somewhat surprised, but said nothing, merely scanned the surroundings before sitting cross-legged to recover.

Clearly, the Fourth Trial had drained him severely.

Watching Ye Feng's actions, Xu Jin exhaled in relief.

Ye Feng had not glanced toward any of the five directions, nor had he continuously observed or sensed—apparently, this eighth-rank Ye Feng had not perceived the Divine Dao True Intentions.

Half a minute later, another immense aura appeared.

It was Ju Xuan of the Jin Zhu Clan, an eighth-rank who had passed the trial.

Seeing two others already present, Ju Xuan was slightly surprised, but thought nothing of it.

Yet in the next instant, the eighth-rank Ju Xuan shuddered violently, his body jerking as he snapped his head toward a direction, his expression instantly alight with fervor.

Moments later, his aura surged violently; his star tower flickered faintly behind him as he turned toward another direction—his face now brimmed with excitement, suppressed yet trembling with joy.

Like a child who spots a hundred coins on the road, immediately stomping on them, thrilled yet terrified someone else might see.

Xu Jin, who had been watching Ju Xuan closely, sighed deeply.

The Divine Dao True Intentions could not be hidden from an eighth-rank's perception!

Ju Xuan had found them.

(End of Chapter)