As he stepped ihe se distorted, and he felt as though a storm had tossed him. He closed his eyes. After a long time, the weightless sensation faded. When he opened his eyes, he saw only pitch-bck darkness.

  Suddenly, two narrow lines of golden light appeared in the darkness before him. They slowly opened like a pair of narrowed eyes... No, they were eyes! Gigantic golden eyes embedded ich-bck space. The eyes of the Phoenix!

  "Wele, human. You are the first challenger without the phoenix bloodlio ehese trial grounds in a thousand years." A dignified, clearly feminine voice echoed in his mind.

  Yun Wuji gazed at the golden eyes and smiled. "Hello, Spirit of the Phoenix. I am here to take the trial."

  "Very well, as the first person without the phoenix bloodline in a thousand years, I hope you break this long silence... Are you ready?"

  "Yes, I start anytime," Yun Wuji nodded.

  "Very good. The trial has three stages: First, Purgatory Fme Demon; sed, Arrows of the Phoenix; third, Corruption of the Heart's Fme. If you wish to forfeit during the trial, shout, and I'll immediately remove you from the trial grounds. F yourself to tinue could result ih. I wish you success." The golden eyes slowly vanished into the pitch-bck darkness as the Spirit of the Phoenix's voice faded.

  The world spun around Yun Wuji once again. Moments ter, the darkness disappeared, and he found himself in a deep red field.

  The grouh his feet was a deep red, resembling red-hot steel, uneven and littered with boulders. Crimson mountains yered the ndscape, looking ready to spew fmes. The sky above was also deep red.

  Embers scattered across the fire-red ground, some just iall, others over teers high. Pools of bubbling red va dotted the area, creating a terrifying se of a va purgatory.

  The air was scorg hot, with temperatures reag terrifyis.

  He walked slowly ahead, ued by the high temperature. Then, suddenly, the red va intensified, ing violently and growing fiercer by the moment. The pool overflowed, and a rge k of va broke loose with a deafening sound. A massive, fming figure emerged from the va and nded in front of Yun Wuji with an ear-shattering boom.

  This fme giant stood y-ers tall, its entire body engulfed in red-hot fmes. Ferocious eyes gleamed oher side of its head, while teer-long horns of fire adors fiery , with a golden mark shiniween them.

  Yun Wuji looked up at the t giant and remarked, "I hate looking up to others."

  The Purgatory Fme Demon roared loudly, its eyes fixated on Yun Wuji. Below its eyes, a massive mouth unleashed a dozen oversized fireballs as it charged toward him.

  Yun Wuji stood his ground, unmoving. As the fireballs approached, they were sliced into four pieces by an invisible force before exploding in pce.

  He g the charging Fme Demon, and the moment his eyes locked onto it, it was as if Yun Wuji's gaze became like swords. The demon's body split i pieces before it could react.

  Boom

  With a loud bang, the pieces fell to the ground.

  At that moment, the sery before him suddenly distorted. Everything spun in a blur, and when it finally stabilized, the red nd, voloes, and pools of va were gone. In their pce was an expanse of nothingness, a ft wilderness with no uerrain in sight.

  "Sed stage of the trial: Arrows of the Phoenix," annouhe voice of the Phoenix.

  Yun Wuji looked up and saw the scarlet-colored sky filled with tless red phoenixes, each about six feet long and enveloped in scarlet fmes. Following the phoenixes' cry, the swarm aimed at his location and swiftly desded like meteors.

  Bang!

  Just as the bzing phoenix was about to hit him, he teleported to the other side. The red phoenix crashed into the ground, creating a massive fireball that filled the sky with a rain of fire.

  The terrifying phoenix fmes could have gravely injured someone in the Emperor Profound Realm instantly. Fortunately, they couldn't touch him, and even if they did, they would only scratch him at most.

  Scree~~

  The phoenix cry resounded again, and this time nine phoenix silhouettes bolted down like fming arrows. Wuji maintained his tactid teleported to another location, easily evading the attack.

  Scree~~

  Scree~~

  Scree~~

  Numerous phoenix cries overpped chaotically, their sharp calls seeming to almost tear open the sky.

  The number of phoenixes tio increase each time: 9, 18, 55, 180... But Wuji maintained his tactic, telep to other pces. Sometimes they aimed at different spots to block his escape, but he always dealt with them with ease.

  "This is taking too long. When will this finish?" Holy, the trial was far too easy for him. In fact, it was b at this point. "Or should I just destroy them?"

  Just as he was sidering whether to destroy the phoenix arrows, they transformed into fmes that gradually burned out, signaling the end of the sed trial.

  At that moment, the se in front of him began to distort and grow increasingly obscure. Everything turned pitch-bck before him. Soon after, a pair of golden eyes opened in the darkness, and the voice of the phoenix spirit echoed in his mind.

  "That surprised me! To think someone could be s. You're only at the Sky Profound Realm, yet your battle strength is nearly on par with the Sn Profound Realm."

  "..." Yun Wuji stood silently, watg the golden eyes without answering.

  "You passed the previous two stages with unpreted speed. Although your strength baffles me, the third trial, Corruption of the Heart's Fme, tests the heart rather than battle prowess. It's the hardest trial to pass. Over tless years, only three huwenty-nine challengers have passed the first two trials. But those who passed the third trial amount to only seven."

  "However, you don't o be too nervous. Although the third trial doesn't involve fighting, if you are resolute in your pursuit of power, you may have a ce to pass easily."

  "Start the third trial," Yun Wuji said calmly. Choosing to undergo the Phoenix trial, he was naturally fident in passing all the trials.

  "As you wish... I wish you success."

  The phoenix spirit's eyes disappeared, and the pitch-bck world began to distort once more.

  Within the darkness, Yun Wuji felt his sciousness gradually blur. He opened his eyes alertly, but the heaviness in his mind was irresistible. His vision and awareness faded until his mind stilled pletely.

  When Yun Wuji regained sciousness, he found himself in a small house, his body reverted to that of a twelve-year-old. The door creaked open, and an old maered. Wuji fixed his gaze on the old man, his eyes turning red as tears streamed down his face. Though he knew deep down it was an illusion, he couldn't resist g out.

  "Master!"

  "You kid, why are y?" Yun Gu approached him and asked kindly.

  "Master!" Yun Wuji hugged his master while g.

  The third trial intensify emotions to the point where the person undergoing it loses their sense of reality, even if they know everything is an illusion. Just like now, Yun Wuji knows clearly that this is nothing but an illusion, but he still couldn't resist its effects.

  "I'm sorry, Master. I should have tried harder. I shouldn't have run away a you alone."

  "What are you talking about? Did you hit your head?" The old man hugged Yun Wuji and asked, ed.

  "I am sorry, I am really sorry." Yun Wuji didn't answer he kept apologizing.

  Suddenly, Yun Gu's hands cmped around Yun Wuji's throat, squeezing tightly and choking him. Wuji struggled to breathe but made no attempt to resist. He apologized once again before closing his eyes.

  The se dissolved and vanished, returning Yun Wuji to darkness. He opened his eyes to find the two giant, goldearing directly at him.

  "Damn! That was very unpleasant. I didn't expect to be so mentally weak," he chuckled self-depregly.

  "Why didn't you fight back even though you have the power to do so? " the Phoenix spirit asked him.

  "Simply because I didn't want to. I knew from the very beginning that everything was fake. Perhaps to alleviate my sense of guilt, I chose not to resist," he said, shaking his head.

  "Since I failed, I guess I should go now."

  "No, it's not your time to leave yet. gratutions, human. In tless years, you're the eighth to choose giving up strength over hurting your loved one's illusion. You've earhe Phoenix's gift."