great-warnovel Chapter 758 A wavering Dao heart and a restless mind!
Chapter 758 A wavering Dao heart and a restless mind!
Tu Huo's Adam's apple bobbed violently as he swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart. He bent down and raised his hand, revealing a smooth, white pill with a faint Daoist aura floating in his palm—the White Bone Pill, a sacred healing medicine. He asked in a deep voice, "Senior brother, what exactly is the first level of the Secret Realm Tower like? Why, with your cultivation and the heaven-defying power of the Great Blood Absorption Technique, did you suffer such a crushing defeat?"
Tu Hua tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the White Bone Pill, a hint of longing flashing in his eyes. His breath grew weaker and weaker, each word uttered with extreme difficulty: "First... first give me the pill... to stabilize my body... then I'll explain in detail..."
"Senior brother, please speak freely. The elixir will be served immediately."
Without hesitation, Tu Huo flicked his finger, and the White Bone Pill transformed into a stream of shimmering white light, precisely landing in Tu Huo's slightly open mouth.
The pill entered his throat and instantly transformed into a mellow and gentle medicinal power, flowing through his limbs and bones, temporarily suppressing the rampant injuries and collapsing Dao foundation. Tu Hua took a few deep breaths, his disordered breathing stabilized slightly, and his eyes became a little clearer.
He gazed at the towering, cloud-shrouded secret realm tower above him. Its ancient, imposing structure, marked by the marks of time, appeared calm and serene to ordinary people. But to him, the tower was like a lurking, ancient beast, radiating boundless terror and oppressive power. He gritted his teeth and spoke in a low, menacing voice: "You're all wrong… completely wrong…"
“The elder’s words are true. The difficulty of the Secret Realm Tower far exceeds our imagination. It is not an insurmountable chasm that we can overcome with our arrogance!” The youngest Qilin disciple couldn’t help but speak in a low voice, his tone filled with the relief of surviving a disaster: “But isn’t the first level the entry level? According to the records of our predecessors, the guardians of the first level are weak in combat and are only used to test the cultivator’s Dao heart. There is no fatal danger at all!”
"Records? The records of our predecessors are all false!"
Tu Hua suddenly let out a low roar, which aggravated his wounds, causing him to spit out another mouthful of blood. He endured the excruciating pain and said in a stern voice, "The first level of the Secret Realm Tower is indeed incredibly weak on ordinary days, but today's Secret Realm Tower has completely changed!"
"It's changed?"
Tu Huo frowned, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice, "What do you mean by that, Senior Brother? The Secret Realm Tower is formed from the innate Great Dao of the Auspicious Realm, and it has remained unchanged since ancient times. The selection competition is held once every ten billion years, and the rules have never been changed. How could it suddenly change?"
"It's all because of Jiang Wang!"
Tu Hua spoke slowly and deliberately, his tone filled with extreme resentment and unwillingness. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the tightly closed gate of the Secret Realm Tower.
"Because Jiang Wang entered the tower first to break the inherent balance of the Secret Realm Tower, it caused a change in the Great Dao within the tower. All the levels advanced, and the combat power of the guardians increased more than tenfold!"
Upon hearing this, the eight Qilin disciples trembled in unison, their faces instantly filled with horror.
"Is this true? Just because Junior Brother Jiang Wang went through the tower first, the difficulty of the Secret Realm Tower has doubled?"
"No wonder my senior brother spent three hours, was severely injured and defeated, and only managed to pass the first level. No wonder the bell tolled so weakly. It turns out that the level has undergone an anomaly!"
"So, Junior Brother Jiang Wang's three bell rings, which allowed him to pass through the seventh level, were not the ordinary seventh level at all, but rather the seventh level after the mutation!"
"If the first level after the mutation is this terrifying, just how terrifying is the seventh level after the mutation?!"
The crowd spoke in succession, their voices filled with trembling. The slight resentment and secret rivalry they had felt towards Jiang Wang earlier had completely vanished, leaving only a profound sense of awe and horror.
Tu Hua took a long time to catch his breath before he could finally speak. He slowly recounted his harrowing experience inside the tower, his voice filled with lingering fear: "When I entered the tower, there was nothing unusual at first. The first level was shrouded in mist, exactly as described in the records. I even secretly underestimated it, thinking that the elders were exaggerating and that this tower challenge would be a piece of cake."
"But when I took my third step, the clouds and mist suddenly surged, the sky and earth changed color, and the originally gentle Dao phantom instantly faded away, replaced by an ancient ferocious beast phantom clad in jet-black armor and wielding a heaven-splitting claw!" A Qilin disciple couldn't help but interject, "An ancient ferocious beast phantom? How could such a guardian being be born on the first level? In the past, the first level was just a humanoid phantom formed from basic Dao essence, without any killing power!"
"If I had known the reason, I wouldn't have ended up like this!"
Tu Hua grunted and continued, "The moment that ferocious beast phantom appeared, I felt a terrifying pressure that crushed my soul, far exceeding the limits I could withstand. I was shocked and immediately activated my innate divine power, the Great Blood Absorption Technique, to protect myself!"
"I originally thought that the Great Bloodsucking Technique was incredibly powerful. As long as I wasn't instantly killed, I could absorb the enemy's combat power, sustain myself through battle, and wear down the gatekeeper. This was my greatest confidence and the source of my arrogance!"
"But those ferocious beast's claws tore through the laws of the Great Dao, ignoring all blood-sucking backlash!"
Tu Hua's voice suddenly rose, filled with despair, "I took the initiative to attack the opponent, and my divine power landed on the ferocious beast. Not only did I fail to absorb any power, but my own Dao power was forcibly stripped away and devoured by the opponent!"
"What?! The Great Bloodsucking Technique failed, and instead, the gatekeeper devoured my Dao power?"
Tu Huo's pupils shrank drastically, and he exclaimed in shock, "How is this possible? The Great Blood Absorption Technique is the top secret technique of my Qilin Clan. It has never been defeated among those of the same level. It can both attack and defend, and it can devour all laws. How could it be countered in the opposite way!"
"That's the suppression of the Great Dao after the Secret Realm Tower's mutation!"
Tu Hua gritted his teeth, his tone extremely bitter, "The rules of the Great Dao within the tower have all changed, and my secret techniques and supernatural powers have been imprisoned layer by layer, with their power less than 30% of what it used to be, while the combat power of the guardian beasts has surged to a level comparable to a half-step Great Power!"
"Half-step Great Power!" The disciples of Qilin felt a chill run through their bodies, their scalps tingled, and their faces turned deathly pale.
They are all top geniuses in the Auspicious Realm, with remarkable cultivation, but there is still an insurmountable gap between them and the half-step Great Power realm. Ordinary cultivators might not be able to reach even a fraction of that level even after billions of years of arduous cultivation.
"If the guardian of the first level is already at the level of a half-step Great Power, then what terrifying beings must be at the second, third... and all the way to the seventh level?"
"Junior Brother Jiang Wang actually managed to pass through the seventh level and leave the tower safely, causing the bell to ring three times. Just what terrifying level has his true cultivation reached!"
As Tu Hua listened to the crowd's discussion, his face drained of color, his eyes filled with humiliation and resentment. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, and his wounds reopened, with blood seeping out: "I fought that ferocious beast for three hours, and was completely crushed and beaten. Every time we clashed, my flesh was torn apart by its claws. My Great Blood Absorption Technique completely failed, and I couldn't draw any power to heal my wounds. My own Dao power was also constantly being devoured and exhausted."
"The space inside the tower imprisoned the medicinal power of all pills. The dozens of high-level healing pills and Dao-restoring pills I carried with me were all rendered ineffective and useless. I could only endure the endless injuries."
"In the end, my foundation was on the verge of collapse, and my soul was teetering on the brink of destruction. If I had held on for just a moment longer, I would have been completely annihilated. In desperation, I had no choice but to give up the challenge and was forcibly ejected from the Secret Realm Tower, which saved me from the loss of my life."
After saying this, Tu Hua was completely exhausted. His head slumped heavily, his breath was so weak that he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand, and his whole body was filled with a strong sense of decay and defeat. The entire place was silent. The eight Qilin disciples looked at each other, none of them daring to speak. Their previous arrogance, conceit, and disregard for the elder's instructions had now turned into endless shame and fear.
After a long while, a Qilin disciple finally spoke, trembling: "So, if it weren't for Junior Brother Jiang Wang's sudden change in the tower, Senior Brother would have been able to easily pass through several levels today. It was all because of Junior Brother Jiang Wang that Senior Brother suffered such a severe injury?"
"presumptuous!"
Upon hearing this, Tu Huo sternly rebuked the disciple, turning to look at him with a serious expression, "Stop talking nonsense! The anomaly in the Secret Realm Tower is a change in the heavenly secrets of the Great Dao, what does it have to do with Junior Brother Jiang Wang?"
"Junior Brother Jiang Wang was the first to break through the tower, and with his own strength, he broke through seven levels in a row, which caused three bells to ring and illuminated the auspicious realm. This is the ultimate glory for all of us who are candidates."
"It is we mere mortals who are arrogant and conceited, underestimating the dangers of the Secret Realm Tower and belittling the great principles of the world. How can we take our anger out on others?" The disciple, rebuked, immediately looked ashamed, lowered his head, and dared not utter another word in rebuttal: "Junior brother knows he was wrong."
Upon hearing this, Tu Hua struggled to turn his eyes to look at Tu Huo, his voice hoarse and weak: "You don't need to defend him... I know in my heart that this matter is indeed not Jiang Wang's fault... It was because I was too arrogant and conceited, thinking that my talent was superior to my peers, and ignored the elders' warnings, that I ended up like this."
"But I am still unwilling to accept this!"
He suddenly raised his eyes, a strong obsession flashing in them. "We are both candidate seeds, but Jiang Wang was able to break through the tower against the odds and pass through seven levels unscathed, while I couldn't even hold the first level after the mutation and was seriously injured and on the verge of death. The difference is like heaven and earth. How can I be willing to accept this!"
Tu Huo sighed softly, his expression complex, and slowly said, "Senior brother has unparalleled talent and has never slacked off in his arduous cultivation for hundreds of millions of years. However, things are unpredictable and the Secret Realm Tower has undergone an anomaly that is beyond human control."
"It was only through this incident that I truly understood the meaning behind the elder's instructions."
Another Qilin disciple spoke softly, his tone full of awe, "The Secret Realm Tower Trial is never a competition of talent and foundation, but a test of temperament, Dao heart, and on-the-spot adaptability. The slightest arrogance will lead to utter ruin."
"I had been hoping to pass the fourth level and become famous in the Auspicious Realm, but now it seems I was just a frog in a well, looking at the sky from the bottom of the well. How ridiculous."
"After the mutation, the first floor of the Secret Realm Tower is guarded by a half-step Great Power. If we were to enter the tower, we would probably not last more than ten rounds before being severely injured and defeated like our senior brother, or even dying inside the tower."
Everyone nodded, their arrogance vanished, replaced by awe and caution. No one dared to utter a single word about easily conquering the tower and making a name for themselves.
Just as everyone was silent and sighing, a light and peaceful voice slowly drifted from under the shade of the trees beside the Secret Realm Tower, neither too loud nor too soft, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"If one is defeated at the first level, one will feel resentful, blame others and the heavens, become restless in one's Dao heart, and be entangled in obsessions. With such a mindset, no matter how high one's talent is, even if one cultivates for hundreds of millions of years, one will ultimately find it difficult to reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao."
As soon as the words were spoken, all the Qilin disciples trembled and turned to look in unison.
Beneath the shade of the bluestone trees, a tall and upright young man dressed in plain clothes stood with his hands behind his back. He had handsome features and a calm demeanor. There was no fierce pressure around him, but he had an air of composure that looked down on the mortal world and understood the great Dao.
It was Jiang Wang, who had already finished his tower challenge and was waiting for everyone to test him.
No one knows how long Jiang Wang stood there, but he heard all the words of panic, sighs, and regrets that everyone had just uttered.
Tu Hua turned his head with difficulty, his gaze fixed on Jiang Wang, his eyes filled with a mixture of humiliation, jealousy, awe, and resentment. His voice was hoarse and low: "Jiang Wang... when did you get here?"
Jiang Wang stepped forward slowly, his steps unhurried, each step seemingly in harmony with the great Dao of Heaven and Earth. He spoke calmly, "I have been here since you were ejected from the tower gate and landed with a mournful cry."
Upon hearing this, Tu Hua's face instantly turned bright red, and extreme shame swept over him. His most wretched and pathetic state had been seen by his peer, shattering his proud self-esteem.
"You're here to laugh at me?"
Tu Hua gritted his teeth and asked, his tone carrying a hint of obsessive ferocity.
Jiang Wang shook his head slightly, his gaze calm and unwavering, and fell on the heavily injured and dying Tu Hua. He slowly said, "Before you entered the tower, you were full of arrogance, looked down on the Great Dao, disregarded the elders' instructions, and thought that the Secret Realm Tower was not worth mentioning. This shows that your Dao heart was not firm and your mind was restless."
"After entering the tower, if you encounter a strange challenge and are no match for the guards, you will fight hard but be defeated. Instead of reflecting on your own actions, you will harbor resentment and be obsessed with winning or losing. This shows that you have a narrow mind and a shallow heart."
"Why should I laugh at you? Your defeat today is not due to your cultivation or talent, nor to the anomaly within the tower, but to your own shortcomings." Each word was clear and calm, yet each one was piercing, striking at the crux of Tu Hua's problem.
Tu Hua's pupils trembled violently, his blood surged, and he almost fainted again. He stared intently at Jiang Wang and roared in a deep voice, "I was defeated by myself? I have cultivated for 950 million years, proving the Dao with strength. My talent is unparalleled among my peers in the Auspicious Realm. How could I have ever been defeated by myself!"
"If you hadn't gone through the tower first, causing the Secret Realm Tower to change and increase the difficulty tenfold, how could I have been defeated? I should have easily passed the fifth or sixth floor, far surpassing my peers. It's all because of you!" Upon hearing this, the Qilin disciples' expressions immediately tightened, and they all looked at Jiang Wang. No one dared to interrupt, and the atmosphere instantly became heavy and oppressive.
Jiang Wang's expression remained unchanged, still calm and composed, and he spoke softly: "The Secret Realm Tower has existed since ancient times, undergoing a trial every ten billion years, inheriting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and conforming to the secrets of Heaven and Earth."
"We cultivators rely on our own Dao heart, our own cultivation level, and our own foundation to conquer the tower, rather than on the inherent rules or ordinary difficulty."
"My ability to break through seven floors and safely exit the tower, despite the tower's internal changes and the difficulty increasing tenfold, which prompted the three tolling of the bell, is due to my own skill."
"You encountered a challenge and were defeated because of your own lack of foundation, weak Dao heart, and insufficient adaptability. What does it have to do with me?"
Tu Hua's chest heaved violently, his breathing erratic, his face flushed red. He retorted sharply, "If you hadn't gone through the tower first, there wouldn't have been any anomalies inside! With the difficulty unchanged, I could have easily cleared it and made a name for myself! Do you dare say this has nothing to do with you?" (End of Chapter)