📖 Chapter 1048 - The Trial Begins!

06 Aug, 2023

Outside the sphere of light, the hunched old man stared calmly at the countless cultivators all around him on the thirty-nine great desolate beasts.

“You all should know that just because you have a past life doesn’t mean you’ll be able to obtain enlightenment. Everything will depend on your own potential and comprehensive abilities. The reverend can only help magnify your potential in order to improve your chances of receiving enlightenment in the trial.

“Thus, success or failure ultimately depends on yourselves. This old man will open the trial land in a little bit. Inside the trial land, the flow of time is different from the outside world. Ten days inside the trial are a mere incense stick’s worth of time out here.

“This is the first time that the reverend is executing such a grand technique for the sake of granting you juniors good fortune. Thus… please cherish this opportunity. I hope that you can gain enlightenment of your past lives and increase your own power. And one more thing… the rules of past trials will still apply here. Only those in the Planet Realm may participate in the trial!” As the old man’s words echoed in everyone’s ears, most of the present cultivators’ expressions changed.

Obviously, this trial was completely different from what they had been expecting. This was also a huge departure from all the previous trials, meaning that to a certain extent, all their advance preparations were completely in vain.

Even so, the meaning behind the old man’s words was utterly shocking. Everyone’s breathing hastened, and their hearts pounded with eagerness.

Only a few people seemed unsurprised, their expressions placid save for their shining eyes. Obviously, these people had all obtained some information about this trial in advance. Nevertheless, their hearts were filled with anticipation.

Suddenly, the seventeenth of the Seven Spirits Dao flew out of the crowd. Cupping his fists and bowing toward the old man, he quickly spoke.

“Senior, as cultivators, although fortune is important, so is competition. There should be at least a hundred thousand people participating in this trial. If that’s the case, although we can see who has more past lives… to a certain extent, the spirit of competition won’t exist!”

“He’s right. Senior, this junior has similar doubts. If a hundred thousand people participate in the trial together, there will inevitably be friction between us. Are we allowed to try and interfere with each others’ enlightenment?”

“Each of us will be given the opportunity to gain enlightenment of our past lives. In that case… can this opportunity be passed on to others?” One after another, cultivators who had known about the trial in advance flew out and asked their own questions.

Each of these people had excellent cultivation bases, and their words were full of ambition. Obviously, the purpose behind their questions was to maximize their gains. They wanted to be clear on the exact rules before the trial started.

In fact, these questions had also occurred to Wang Baole previously. Now, seeing people step out and ask them, he immediately looked at the old man outside the sphere of light.

“All beings are equal, and opportunities are the same. Isn’t it fine for success and failure to depend wholly on yourself? Do you really have to compete to snatch each others’ opportunities?” The old man outside the sphere of light spoke slowly after a moment of silence.

“Senior, we cultivators cultivate by defying the heavens. If we only followed the rules all the time, how can we live glorious lives?”

“The so-called equality of all beings is only superficial. If I am outstanding, put in more effort, and fight for greater advantages, then why should I be equal to someone who is not outstanding, puts in no effort, and doesn’t fight for advantages?”

“Senior, please give us your permission. Let all opportunities in this trial be up for grabs. Only then… will it be fair!” Multiple people stepped forward to respond to the old man. There was the seventeenth of the Seven Spirits Dao, the seventh Dao Child of the Nine Provinces Dao, the ninth disciple of Divine Emperor Kiga, and others.

Although Wang Baole didn’t speak up, he actually agreed with them. He stared at the old man outside the light sphere in silence.

The old man also fell silent. In the end, he turned his head to look at Reverend Heaven-Learned inside the sphere of light and slightly bowed his head. He was obviously waiting for the reverend’s decision.

A profound light flickered through Reverend Heaven-Learned’s eyes. He closed his eyes for a few moments before his aged voice echoed out.

“I don’t want anything in return, I only wish to grant blessings to all living beings… but I suppose I did fail to consider your competitive spirit. Very well… Enlightenment of your past lives requires the light of guidance, and every participant will receive some. The brighter your light of guidance, the greater the power of guidance will be, and the higher your success rate will become!”

“Reverend is wise!” As soon as his words rang out, the Chosen who had spoken previously all cupped their fists and bowed.

“However, there is one more thing!” The one who spoke this time wasn’t the reverend, but the old man outside the sphere of light. Sweeping his gaze across the crowd, he spoke slowly.

“The reverend doesn’t like seeing blood on his birthday. Thus, for this trial… anyone who kills another will pay with their lives!”

As soon as they heard these words, everyone’s expressions changed. Some frowned, some sighed in relief, and some forcibly restrained their killing intent.

‘This is completely different from any trials I’ve experienced before…’ Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. As he listened to the words of the old man outside the sphere of light, he couldn’t help but think back to the other trials he’d experienced. If everything that the old man said was true, then this trial was indeed a blessing to all living beings.

Wang Baole couldn’t figure out the other party’s intentions. After all, from the time he arrived until now, it could be said that he had only been receiving gifts.

Be it the previous threads of law or the current trial, although there were some dangers, the benefits far outweighed the risks.

And that wasn’t even taking into account the fact that once he was enlightened to his tenth life, he would obtain the qualification to open the Book of Heaven’s Mandate and view an image of his future. All of this made Wang Baole become filled with respect for Reverend Heaven-Learned. He couldn’t help but bow his head in approval.

The others were also like this, bowing their heads one after another. At that moment, the hunched old man outside the sphere of light suddenly seemed to grow in stature. His voice boomed like heavenly thunder as it instantly reverberated in everyone’s ears.

“Ten days, ten lives. Past Life Trial, open!”

As soon as his words rang out, he raised his right hand and waved it violently. In an instant, rumbling sounds echoed out from the crater beneath the sphere of light, and a huge amount of fog rose from within. Soon, an enormous swirling vortex appeared in the sky.

“What are you all standing around for? Go in!” The hunched old man’s words echoed faintly in everyone’s minds, and figures immediately rushed out from the backs of the thirty-nine great desolate beasts. Among them, the ninth disciple of Divine Emperor Kiga was the fastest, becoming the first one to disappear into the churning vortex.

The seventh Dao Child of the Nine Provinces Dao and the seventeenth of the Seven Spirits Sect were also among the fastest to reach the vortex. Most of the other Chosen, like the little fatty, quickly followed, disappearing into the vortex one by one.

The black-clad Xing Jingzi, carrying his big sword and exuding an ice-cold baleful aura, was among them. Xu Yinling and the others also quickly followed.

Seeing that more than a hundred thousand people had entered the vortex in this short period of time, Xie Haiyang’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.

“Sect Uncle, shall we be off as well?”

Wang Baole touched his storage pouch, which contained the bead that Reverend Heaven-Learned had gifted him. His eyes shone, and after hearing Xie Haiyang’s words, he nodded. The two of them went straight to the vortex, disappearing inside in an instant.

As soon as he entered the vortex, Wang Baole found that he couldn’t sense Xie Haiyang anymore. Moreover, he himself was suddenly dragged away by a vast and irresistible force, as if he was going through teleportation.

Fortunately, the whole process didn’t take long. A moment later, Wang Baole’s body and divine sense returned to normal, and he found that he was in a clearing inside an area of boundless fog.

The clearing was only thirty meters wide. Past that was billowing fog that completely blocked off his divine sense. Wang Baole tried stepping into it and discovered that it didn’t block his body at all.

However, without divine sense or visibility, he had no way to find his bearings within the fog.

Thus, Wang Baole didn’t continue walking into the fog, quickly retreating back to his thirty-meter-wide clearing. He also noticed that there was a faint white light covering his body.

After sensing it for a while, Wang Baole’s expression changed. He noticed that within the white light was a trace of an aura that made his divine soul feel safe and warm.

“The light of guidance?”

As soon as Wang Baole murmured under his breath, a majestic voice suddenly reverberated in the minds of the countless cultivators in the land of fog.

“First day, first life!”