Chapter 82: Trial of Courage
Chapter 82 – Trial of Courage
It was that Jiao Xiuyuan’s corpse.
Now that three months have passed, it is gradually revealing an unusual place.
Not like normal flesh and blood, instead seems to be like dead wood in general, showing the color of withered yellow.
Li Fan kicked with his foot, the sound was exactly the same as kicking on wood.
Just then, a voice came from behind Li Fan.
“This is just a puppet, not a real body. It’s this Jiao Xiuyuan’s usual tactic now, there’s no need to be surprised, fellow Daoist.”
Li Fan turned his head, only to see that the one who spoke was also a Qi Refining Stage cultivator.
Immediately, he arched his hand, “Thank you for pointing it out, fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist is also a member of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?”
The man nodded, “Not bad, my name is Chen An, I have joined the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance for more than thirty years.”
“My name is Li Fan. From what you said, it seems that you are quite familiar with this Jiao Xiuyuan?”
Chen An smiled, “Familiarity is not something I can talk about. But well, after living on the island for so long, I still know some of the things I should know.”
“Take this Jiao Xiuyuan for example, he has opened a grocery store called Thousand Miles Hall on the island, selling everything. It’s said that he has the official Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance behind him, so he can occasionally sell some good stuff.”
“On top of that, it also often does some intelligence business. It’s just that this kid never takes risks with his body, and always uses puppets to open up the way.”
Li Fan sniffed and slowly nodded his head, “Greedy for money and afraid of death, so that’s how it is.”
Chen An laughed out loud, “Fellow Daoist summarized it extremely well! The four words “greedy for money and afraid of death” couldn’t be more appropriate to describe Jiao Xiuyuan!”
After laughing, Chen An suddenly said, “Previously, when I was copying the techniques in that book pavilion, I saw others copying for a while and then resting when they were tired. After refreshing their energy, they would transcribe again. Only you, Taoist friend, do not rest for three months. I admire that!”
“But I wonder, what is the deeper meaning of this move of fellow Daoist? If we just talk about the speed of transcription, you, Taoist friend, later on, because of your physical and mental exhaustion, you are definitely not able to compare to those who rest from time to time.”
“I wonder if I know if you can shed light on this for me?” Chen An bowed and asked for guidance.
Li Fan pondered for a moment before speaking, “I dare not say the deeper meaning, it’s just a hunch in my heart.”
“Then what Qin Tang said about the first test is specialized.”
“The one who specializes, has no distractions in his mind. Not being disturbed by any external objects can be called the most specialized. Is physical and mental fatigue also an external object that disturbs? If one stops because of it, is one no longer ‘specialized’?”
“Just a bit of humble opinion, just listen to it, fellow Daoist.”
Li Fan said modestly.
Chen An sniffed and pondered.
Li Fan also stopped talking and returned to the house to rest.
The next day, that Qin Tang really didn’t show up again.
The crowd didn’t dare to run around and just waited patiently inside the building.
Early in the morning of the third day, Qin Tang staggered in front of the crowd while drinking wine.
“Good wine, good wine!”
Burping, he narrowed his eyes and surveyed the crowd of cultivators.
“Today, the second test begins!”
“This time, I’m going to test your courage!”
“The Immortal Road is long, there are countless hardships, do you have the courage to face them one by one?”
Qin Tang smiled faintly.
The crowd only felt a blur before their eyes, and in an instant, they had left the pavilion and appeared on the seashore.
And all of their own mana realms were blocked, becoming no different from mortals.
Qin Tang was nowhere to be seen.
Only his voice came from far away.
“I’ll wait for you on the other side of the sea. Use your courage and cross this sea!”
The crowd looked at each other in disbelief.
There were bold people who walked to the seashore and stepped out with one foot.
The seawater instantly condensed into ice, catching the man steadily.
That person was overjoyed and kept walking forward, soon disappearing from the sight of the crowd.
The rest of the crowd, seeing that they were preceded by someone, also walked into the sea impatiently.
Li Fan caught a glimpse and Baili Dust did the same, following into the sea.
It was only that Sikong Yi who remained on the seashore, slow to make a move.
Li Fan also stopped paying attention and just collected his mind and slowly stepped into the sea.
The water under his feet turned into ice, but there was no trace of the rest of the people in his vision.
Above the vast ocean, in an instant, he was left alone. Li Fan’s face was as normal, walking forward step by step.
The sun rose and the moon set overhead, and he didn’t know how long had passed.
The scenery that Li Fan saw, however, remained the same.
This sea seemed to have no end.
Even though Li Fan already knew the answer in advance, he still couldn’t help but feel all kinds of powerlessness and hesitation rising in his heart.
At this time, Li Fan could feel the thickness of the ice under his feet gradually decreasing.
Taking a deep breath, Li Fan expelled the doubts and fears in his heart.
Continuing resolutely, he walked towards the front.
The ice under his feet became thick again.
This second level is a test of courage.
Not only to test the courage to face external objects, but also to test the courage to face their own hearts.
Above the vast ocean, walked for a long time, did not see the opposite coast.
Will you be skeptical that you have lost your way?
Are you anxious about whether the sea has an end?
Will you be frightened and lose the courage to move forward?
Or give up on yourself and stop moving forward?
Li Fan walked step by step, also torturing his own heart.
Even after hundreds of years of reincarnation, he had never been like this before.
Temporarily putting down everything outside of his body, he was just thinking as he kept walking.
This condensation of ice across the sea was just like the path of the Immortal Way.
The road ahead is so vast that you can’t see the end.
Halfway through the journey, looking around, but also can not be sure whether they have lost their way.
From beginning to end, I was alone, with nothing to rely on.
Time passes, it seems to go on forever.
There was no end to it.
……
Even so, is it possible to stand firm in one’s heart and never lose the courage to move forward?
Even knowing that the ordeal will eventually stop.
But Li Fan had also wavered inwardly.
Because, this journey across the sea had been too long.
One year, two years ……
Decades had passed.
Li Fan’s hair became white, his body became stooped, and he never stopped moving forward.
Until his body could no longer walk because it was too old.
Only then did he fall helplessly to the surface of the sea.
His vision became blurred, and before his consciousness disappeared, Li Fan seemed to see.
On the coast not far ahead, Qin Tang stood there in a white dress, alone.
Raising his wine gourd high in a gesture towards Li Fan, Qin Tang smiled and took a sip.
……
Opening his eyes, Li Fan realized that he, as well as a group of cultivators, were still in that building.
It was just that a long time had passed from memory, and many of them looked confused for a while.
It was only after a long time that they regained clarity.
“It’s easy to step on the river of the nine ghosts, but it’s difficult to cross the sea of the heart.”
“This second level, the Trial of Courage, is over.”
“Early in the morning of the day after tomorrow, we’ll conduct the final test.”
After saying that, Qin Tang left with his wine gourd that never left his body, shaking his head.
Thank you to book friends 20170818114219336, Qian Qian Qian Mighty, and Obsessive String Sheng for their bounties.
Thank you for the monthly tickets and recommendation tickets sent by the brothers.
(End of chapter)