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Chen Qingyuan had faced the ultimate challenges of various realms and fought his way to this point.
Upon reaching the thirteenth floor, it was no longer about the tempering of one's cultivation foundation, but the Dao Heart.
"Water?"
Chen Qingyuan gazed at the boundless expanse of water before him, resembling a vast sea.
Looking down, he could see the murky currents, their depths unknown.
Looking up, he could not tell where the water came from, nor where it flowed to.
Chen Qingyuan stepped onto the water's surface, moving forward a step, his toes creating a ripple. It started as a small circle, slowly spreading outwards, then calmed down.
"A calm heart is like still water; there seems to be some connection here with the Dao Heart."
After some investigation, Chen Qingyuan had a hypothesis.
Then, he sat cross-legged on the surface of the water and began to meditate.
With eyes closed, his heart was undisturbed.
The previously turbulent waters also became calm, the murkiness slowly fading, making the boundless waters a bit clearer.
Just as Chen Qingyuan felt he could pass this level, his consciousness was pulled into a strange space.
It was an illusion, yet it felt incredibly real.
Within the illusion, Chen Qingyuan became a beggar, living day by day on alms, often despised and beaten, his life full of suffering. The sensation was so vivid that Chen Qingyuan's physical body trembled slightly.
As his inner peace wavered, the boundless waters stirred into waves, and the sky darkened.
Soon, Chen Qingyuan adapted to the life of a beggar, enduring hardships, and years later, died of a plague.
His consciousness did not return to his body but proceeded to another illusion.
In this new vision, he was a prince of a common dynasty, exhausting all his efforts in the struggle for power.
In the end, he was defeated by a blood-related brother, confined to a place without a single maid or servant, living in solitude for decades until he died of old age.
Thus, Chen Qingyuan experienced over a dozen lifetimes, some good, some bad, with many reflections.
Power, beauty, fame—none could sway Chen Qingyuan's heart.
Even countless top-grade Spirit Stones were the same.
Outside the ancient tower, Zhao Yichuan was astonished, "Isn't this young fellow the most fond of money? Why is his state of mind not affected in the slightest?"
"Even if he knows it's an illusion, the laws within the ancient tower strike at the heart directly; it's impossible to remain unmoved."
Lin Changsheng was also quite puzzled, developing a greater interest in Chen Qingyuan.
"Could it have all been an act?" Zhao Yichuan had investigated all of Chen Qingyuan's affairs and knew well that Chen Qingyuan treasured wealth, often using various so-called legitimate means to acquire Spirit Stones: "If it was an act, how could it have been from such a young age? That shouldn't be possible, right?"
"For him, wealth is not important; what matters is what he does after obtaining it."
Lin Changsheng thought of an answer.
"Mm."
Zhao Yichuan agreed with this view, nodding slowly.
Inside the thirteenth floor's boundless waters, they became clear to the bottom, the surface calm, rarely rippling.
But the tempering was not yet over.
An unknown force infiltrated deep into Chen Qingyuan's heart, creating a unique illusion.
Chen Qingyuan seemed to return to the Mystic Azure Sect, living comfortably with his sect family, in harmony and joy.
Suddenly, one day, the Demon's Lair erupted, and the Flow Star Domain was covered by demonic energy overnight, countless creatures demonized, with heavy casualties. The Mystic Azure Sect could not avoid it either, with many disciples either reduced to skeletons or turned into demons.
For a moment, the world was dark, and wails echoed from every corner.
Chen Qingyuan fought alongside his sect against the enemy, slaying countless demon heads.
However, there were too many demonized powerhouses; the Mystic Azure Sect couldn't hold out.
Chen Qingyuan watched as one Senior Brother after another died tragically, the Senior Sister who had cherished him from childhood became a plaything for the demons, and the sect's disciples turned into puppets.
In the end, Sect Master Lin Changsheng and the Protecting Sect Elder Dong Wenjun also met a miserable fate, and the Mystic Azure Sect became ruins in the blink of an eye.
Chen Qingyuan seemed to be ignored by the demons, not attacked. He looked at the corpses in the ruins, his heart torn, tears uncontrollably sliding down, his face pale, his body trembling weakly.
"No…"
Chen Qingyuan wanted to stop it all, but it was in vain; he could only stand there and scream heart-wrenchingly.
In an instant, Chen Qingyuan's consciousness returned to his body, his eyes suddenly opening, tears streaming down, his body drenched in cold sweat, the boundless waters beneath him once again murky, rippling with thousands of waves.
Fortunately, Chen Qingyuan eventually saw through the illusion, knowing it was all false, and did not lose his mind. Otherwise, he would have been expelled by the tower's law by now.
It took Chen Qingyuan a long time to calm his emotions, and the water surface gradually stilled.
After he was ready, Chen Qingyuan sat down to meditate again.
The new round of illusions still related to the Mystic Azure Sect, inexplicably besieged by various sects, triggering a terribly fierce war.
Many from the Mystic Azure Sect died, and Chen Qingyuan could only watch, helpless to do anything.
After multiple illusions and tempering, Chen Qingyuan's state of mind improved significantly, able to sense that everything before him was false.
However, Chen Qingyuan's heart still ached unbearably.
The Mystic Azure Sect was his home, and everyone in the sect was his family. Now, he had to watch his family die, his heart torn, overwhelmed with grief.
After awakening, Chen Qingyuan still couldn't reach the highest level of state of mind, unable to pass the level, and had to continue enduring the tempering.
So it went on for a full three years.
While it was three years in normal time, Chen Qingyuan felt as if he had lived through thousands, even tens of thousands of years, his eyes gaining a hint of vicissitude.
After spending so much time, Chen Qingyuan finally passed the test of the Dao Heart.
A wooden door appeared before Chen Qingyuan, signifying that he could enter the fourteenth floor.
Chen Qingyuan looked somewhat haggard at the moment, needing some time to recover, and did not intend to push open the wooden door immediately.
"Come out!"
At that moment, a voice reached Chen Qingyuan's ears.
Before Chen Qingyuan could prepare, a gentle force brought him out of the ancient tower.
Whoosh—
When Chen Qingyuan opened his eyes again, he was outside the ancient tower.
Zhao Yichuan, Lin Changsheng, Song Ningyan.
Seeing these three people, Chen Qingyuan finally believed that this place was no longer an illusion, his body stiffly bowing in a salute: "Predecessors."
"You've been inside for four years, and you've gained a lot. You need to take some time to recuperate."
Chen Qingyuan had spent one year on the previous twelve floors, and three years on the thirteenth floor.
Zhao Yichuan, worried that the two might have problems, forcibly removed them from the ancient tower; otherwise, they could easily lose themselves.
Song Ningyan's condition was very bad, her eyes lifeless, unlike Chen Qingyuan who still maintained his sanity, her mind relatively clear. Seeing this, Song Ningyan must have stumbled on the thirteenth floor and had not yet recovered.
"Can we enter again in the future?"
Chen Qingyuan turned his head to look at the ancient tower etched with the marks of time, and asked softly.