The courtyard, once filled with the scent of herbs, serene and elegant, was now a sea of fire.
Ye Lianzhen, Tang Qiaoqiao, Liu Qing, Su Wan…
Those figures, some gentle, some feisty, some capable.
All had met a tragic end one after another under his merciless Black Armor Iron Fist.
Then, the Chen Mansion, Yin's Cloth Shop…
Chen Jiayu, Xiao Qingge, Qing Ling…
Yin Rong, Mrs. Yin, Yin Yingying…
Everyone he had ever crossed paths with, everyone connected to him by fate.
He had slaughtered them all, one by one.
Finally, he returned to his small courtyard in the Cangyun Sect.
The courtyard was in ruins.
A young girl stood there, all alone.
It was his younger sister, Jiang Ling.
Her face was streaked with tears. Her eyes, once as clear as water, were now filled with fear, unfamiliarity, and endless sorrow.
She trembled, reaching a hand out toward the Black-armored Giant who looked like a Demon God.
"Brother... why...?"
Her fragile, choked cry was like the sharpest needle, piercing deep into the core of Jiang Che's soul!
His sanity, trapped in a dark cage, let out a final, crazed scream!
'Stop! Stop it!'
However, his body, completely controlled by the Heart of the Black Abyss, wouldn't obey!
The massive black fist, capable of destroying everything, was raised high. Filled with the will to crush all in its path, it smashed down viciously toward the last glimmer of light in his life—the girl he had sworn to protect with his very being!
At that moment, boundless despair and the agony of self-destruction, like the darkest abyss, completely engulfed Jiang Che.
'It's over...'
'It's all over...'
However, just as the giant fist was about to fall, about to touch the tips of Jiang Ling's hair!
A sudden change occurred!
In Jiang Che's Sea of Consciousness, the [Skill Proficiency Panel]—which had silently been his most loyal companion, aiding his growth ever since he'd transmigrated—suddenly began to flicker with unprecedented intensity!
Lines of crimson, blood-like warning prompts began to scroll frantically through his mind at an insane speed:
[Warning! Abnormal host mental state detected!]
[Warning! 'Heart of the Black Abyss' corrosion has exceeded the threshold! Activating mental defense mechanism!]
At the same time, Jiang Che's [True: All-Seeing Eye] was stimulated by this system fluctuation, and its Passive Effect was forcibly triggered to its absolute limit!
Along with the system's alarms, Jiang Che's vision, on the verge of being completely consumed by darkness, suddenly underwent a bizarre transformation!
The world before him seemed to have turned into a buggy game screen!
Countless subtle fluctuations appeared in the air!
It seemed as if the space before him was pieced together!
Some of the corpses outside the courtyard were even clipping through the scenery!
He looked again at his sister, Jiang Ling.
Although her face showed a terrified expression.
And tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
But deep within her eyes, there was a robotic emptiness!
This sense of discord jolted Jiang Che awake.
He remembered everything!
This wasn't real!
'All of this... is fake?'
'This is... an Illusion Realm?!'
Once this thought ignited, it spread like a wildfire, impossible to contain!
He was no longer bound by the emotions of grief and despair!
He slowly retracted his fist.
Even though the Jiang Ling before him was just an illusion.
But if he were to actually shatter it.
Jiang Che had a premonition.
Doing so would cause him to truly fall into endless ruin!
He couldn't help but reflect on the path he had walked.
Why had he come to this world?
Why had he risked his life to pursue Cultivation?
Why had he struggled time and again on the brink of life and death?
It wasn't for slaughter! It wasn't for destruction!
And it certainly wasn't to be enslaved by this power that didn't belong to him!
It was to protect!
To protect his sister's smile!
To protect his master's hopes!
To protect his friends' trust!
To protect the right of ordinary people like the Yin Family to live in peace!
"The power I seek is not one of destruction!"
"But... the power to protect!!!"
Suddenly, a sliver of enlightenment dawned in Jiang Che's heart!
And the world before him actually began to shake!
In some places, cracks even appeared in the Space, like shattering glass!
However, just as this world was about to collapse, a vast and boundless, yet cold and merciless, terrifying Mental Power descended from the heavens, crushing down on his Divine Soul!
It was as if the "god" behind this Illusion Realm was punishing the "ant" who dared to awaken!
Jiang Che felt as if his head was about to explode, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood!
That Mental Power was far too strong, like a god high above the heavens that would not tolerate any insect defying its will!
Meanwhile, the collapsing spaces closed up again, as if they had been "repaired."
But at this moment, Jiang Che smiled.
He laughed, a crazed and utterly unrestrained laugh!
The Martial Dao Will of his [True: Infinite Battle Armor] was completely ignited by this external pressure!
He roared at the formless existence, a cry that came from the depths of his soul:
"If I can't even overcome this false despair... how can I possibly talk about protecting anything real!"
He began to frantically fight back against that Mental Power!
Although the Black Armor on his body began to shatter inch by inch under the crushing Mental Power!
The pain he felt was also incredibly real, as if his very soul was being sliced by a thousand blades!
But he only grew clearer-headed, more certain that he was about to win!
Suddenly, under the extreme Insight of his [True: All-Seeing Eye], he discovered a pattern!
This Illusion Realm, though seemingly perfect, had a flaw. When it "repaired" the damaged scenery, there was always an extremely brief point of stagnation in the flow of energy!
A... "seam" in the world!
His other True Level Talent, [True: Shadowless Escape Stream], activated wildly at this moment!
He had an epiphany!
The essence of [Shadow Escape] was to temporarily "hide" oneself in the real world!
And an Illusion Realm itself was a layer of false "reality"!
So, could he perhaps...
"Escape" this false "reality"?!
Having figured all this out, Jiang Che closed his eyes and immersed his entire consciousness into resonating with his True Level Talents!
He no longer looked with his naked eye, but used his [True: All-Seeing Eye] to perceive the truth behind the Illusion Realm!
He no longer resisted with his body, but used the Martial Dao Will of his [True: Infinite Battle Armor] to fight the corrosion of the illusion's will!
"You can't trap me!"
He snapped his eyes open and, facing the seemingly empty void, activated the Active Skill of [True: Shadowless Escape Stream].
Shadow Escape!
BZZZZ—
Suddenly, the entire Illusion Realm, like a glass sphere struck by a heavy hammer, began to tremble violently, its surface covered in a spiderweb of cracks!
Jiang Che's Black-armored body also began to blur and turn transparent.
But he wasn't merging into the illusion.
Instead, it was as if he was being forcibly extracted from this "dimension"!
The sea of blood and mountain of corpses, the despairing sister before him...
Everything shattered like a broken mirror!
BOOM!
Jiang Che's vision went black, and then he was enveloped by an incredibly brilliant and warm golden light.
He was out!
He had succeeded!
Jiang Che found himself in a strange space.
Here, there was no sky and no earth.
As far as the eye could see was a vast expanse of pure, absolute white.
Looking up, there was only boundless white.
Looking down, there was only endless white.
White extended in all directions.
There was no sound, no wind, no temperature.
Even the flow of time itself seemed to have stopped here.
It seemed as though the entire world consisted of nothing but himself and this eternal, heart-stopping silence.
Jiang Che's heart stirred, but he did not feel any panic.
He knew that he had passed the third trial.
This place had to be the core inheritance ground of True Master Baiyi's Cave Mansion!
He took a step and walked forward.
He didn't know how long he walked.
In this world of pure white, a different color finally appeared!
It was a stone stele, carved entirely from some unknown black rock!
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