Chapter 14: Chaotic Heart Forest (2) (1/2)
“Hmmph, entering the Chaotic Heart Forest? What can that trash hope to accomplish?”
In the outskirts of the forest, jeering conversations began again.
Another disciple voiced another thought: “In the last examination, Senior Xu made it to level five of the forest. Now that he has reached Heaven’s Mandate and started preparing to cultivate in the Warrior Canopy stage, his cultivation and willpower are much stronger than before. I predict that he can get to the seventh level.”
***
The stages for cultivators are as follows: Palace Foundation, Palace Expansion, Physique Acc.u.mulation, Provisional Palace, Inner Longevity, Heaven’s Mandate, Warrior Canopy, Purified Rebirth, Heaven’s Primal, and Soul Creation.
Once one has reached the unbeatable stage and receives the Heaven’s Will, one will be dubbed an Immortal Emperor.
There were no immortals in this world, so one might ask, why was there an emperor for immortals? Why does this t.i.tle exist? It was because of a saying — my fate is mine alone, it's not up to the heavens to decide.
The Heaven’s Will serves as a shackle and encompa.s.ses and traps all living beings. Once a cultivator reaches the pinnacle, their goal is to control the Heaven’s Will so that they will finally be freed from this prison.
This was why one will be called an Immortal Emperor once they obtain the Heaven’s Will. However, no one truly knows if true immortality was possible; this remains a mystery to this day.
Each generation only has one Heaven’s Will, so each generation can only have one Immortal Emperor.
***
The Chaotic Heart Forest was where the Nine Saint Demon Gate judged a disciple’s innate talents, affinity for cultivation, and willpower. Here, the most important quality was one’s willpower.
The forest consists of fourteen levels. From an outside perspective, there were no discernable differences between this and a normal forest. However, this seemingly normal forest was created by the Nine Saint Virtuous Paragon.
Intruders would be shown realistic illusions. Even the ones that possessed mystical eyes could not see through the technique unless they were stronger than the Nine Saint Virtuous Paragon. Otherwise, the technique would become reality for all who steps inside.
For example, one could find themselves trapped in a sea of fire. Their body would feel as if it was actually trapped and the mind would clearly feel pain. The higher the level, the stronger the illusion would be.
Of course, you could still use cultivation techniques to mitigate the pain and merit laws to prevent the fire from reaching your body. The only thing was that you couldn't escape the forest using any movement techniques.
“Idiotic little boy, hurry up and enter!” Outside of the forest, Xu Hui contemptuously smirked at Li Qiye. He believed that with his current abilities, it would be no problem to enter the eighth level.
Li Qiye looked at the forest and slightly grinned. That year, the old chicken created the Chaotic Heart Forest himself; it was indeed a good location to test one's willpower.
“Me?” Li Qiye clearly spoke: “Traversing the Chaotic Heart Forest holds no meaning to me. If I were to enter, you wouldn’t even have the chance to show your worth. You should go first so that later on, you can’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”
Li Qiye's arrogant comments made everyone s.h.i.+ver in contempt once more. Protector Mo and Nan Huairen wanted to lock up his mouth forever. Would he die if he said fewer sentences?! How could he spout lies all the time…
Protector Hua exclaimed: “Idiot!”
“You are just a piece of trash that doesn’t know what the willpower to cultivate is, yet you still run your mouth without shame.” Xu Hui couldn’t believe that a mere mortal was looking down on him and frowned: “Good, good, such strong words! I have to see how many levels you can pa.s.s.”
“How many levels? How meaningless, going through fourteen isn’t a big deal at all.” Li Qiye continued: “Which is why I’m letting you go first, so you won't be so shocked!”
Another disciple couldn’t stand it anymore and yelled out: “Do all people from the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect lie like you without any hesitation?”
Everyone knew that going through level seven of the Chaotic Heart Forest was considered a wondrous feat for the younger generation. To complete level seven, one would have to have a tenacious willpower or a high cultivation.
Even the calm Grand Protector Yu He couldn’t help but shake his head. Why was Li Qiye the prime disciple of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect? Going through fourteen levels? Was it that easy? Even he couldn't pa.s.s all fourteen levels at his current level.
“Fourteen levels?” Xu Hui exploded into laughter: “If you can pa.s.s all fourteen levels, I will call you 'Father'!”