130: Only by understanding one's own mind and nature can one proceed.

The moment they passed through the light net, the cold and heavy aura from outside was completely cut off.

A fresh, almost unreal, fragrance of grass and trees assailed Su Lin, and the rich life essence invigorated him.

The scene before their eyes formed an extreme contrast to the dead silence at the bottom of the Sky Rift Valley.

A clear stream meandered, and the grassy banks were covered with exotic flowers, emitting a soft glow.

Several birds with gorgeous wings flitted through the forest, making crisp chirping sounds.

The sky was not the gloomy gray of outside the valley, but a warm sapphire blue, with a soft light source hanging high above, illuminating the entire space with warmth and brightness.

"What kind of a hellish place is this?"

Luo Ximei's voice carried undisguised disgust.

She let go of Su Lin's hand, and Devilish Qi automatically protected her, repelling the overly clean life essence.

"These flowers, plants, and trees, and those birds, their vitality is too vigorous, so vigorous that it feels wrong."

She frowned, her Great Perfection of Body Integration Divine Sense sweeping across the entire valley.

"There isn't a single trace of Devilish Qi here, not even ordinary Yin Sha Qi; it's as clean as a blank sheet of paper."

Su Lin didn't speak; he bent down and picked a blooming blue flower from the ground.

The petals felt real, and the fragrant scent indeed emanated from the pistil.

He rubbed it with his fingertips, and a wisp of pure wood-elemental Spiritual Qi diffused from it.

"Everything here is real," Su Lin concluded.

"Being real is even stranger."

Luo Ximei walked to his side, her tone cold, "The fallen land of an ancient demon god, even if it's not filled with monstrous Devilish Qi, should be a desolate place teeming with resentment and chaotic Laws.

How can it be this scene of birdsong and fragrant flowers? Revered Master, I think there's a trick here."

The wariness in her eyes deepened, "This place is like a meticulously arranged trap, using the most beautiful facade to lure prey into lowering their guard."

Su Lin stood up and gave her an approving look. The Heart Demon, though affecting her Heart-Nature, had not diminished her vigilance.

"You're right."

He spoke calmly, "Too much perfection is itself the biggest flaw; we must be careful."

When Luo Ximei saw her Revered Master affirm her viewpoint, her discomfort lessened, replaced by a sense of being acknowledged.

She took Su Lin's hand again, this time holding it even tighter.

"Don't worry, Revered Master, no matter what schemes or tricks are here, I will crush them all."

The two slowly walked forward along a path paved with white jade beside the stream.

This path was very long, as if without end.

The surrounding scenery remained unchanged: the same blooming flowers and green grass, the same clear stream and birdsong.

This monotonous perfection began to induce a sense of irritation.

After an unknown period of walking, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

At the end of the path was a wide, circular plaza.

The ground of the plaza was also paved with white jade, smooth as a mirror.

And in the very center of the plaza stood an enormous black stone tablet.

The stone tablet was a hundred zhang tall, entirely black, with no patterns on its surface, completely out of place in this vibrant world.

As the two walked to the stone tablet, they could finally see the front of it, where several lines of large characters were inscribed in an ancient script.

Su Lin was not unfamiliar with this script; it was the divine script commonly used during the God-Demon era.

"All myriad illusions on the path ahead arise from the Heart.

Between illusion and reality, only the true self is seen."

"To break illusions with force only strengthens the deluded thoughts.

To clarify the Heart-Nature is the only way to pass."

After reading, Su Lin fell into contemplation.

Luo Ximei, however, let out a disdainful chuckle: "The path of the original Heart? Just a pretense.

My original Heart is to obtain Revered Master and keep you by my side forever.

This, I have never wavered from, so why the need for a test?"

In her opinion, such a test of Heart-Nature was tailor-made for those Righteous Path Cultivators with unstable Dao Hearts; for a Devil Cultivator like her, who acts as she pleases, it was utterly meaningless.

"Don't be careless," Su Lin reminded her, "Tests that directly affect the mind are often more dangerous than direct confrontation.

It says, 'to break illusions with force only strengthens the deluded thoughts,' meaning very clearly that once we attack the illusions, it will only make them stronger, and we might even be trapped in them forever."

"So what?" Luo Ximei's face showed absolute confidence, "As long as Revered Master is by my side, even if the sky falls, I can push it back up.

Mere illusions, what can they do to me?"

She reached out and caressed Su Lin's cheek, "Revered Master, you don't have to do anything; just stay close to me.

If some ignorant thing dares to bother you, I will personally tear it apart."

Su Lin looked at the undisguised madness and possessiveness in her eyes and sighed softly.

This first trial, a test for others, was probably a potent medicine for Luo Ximei at this moment.

That Heart Demon was precisely the embodiment of her deluded thoughts.

This path would likely reflect her deepest obsessions and fears without reservation.

"Stay close to me." Su Lin held her hand back, his tone calm but unyielding.

Luo Ximei paused slightly, then a smile of satisfaction appeared on her face.

"Okay, Ximei will listen to Revered Master."

She obediently leaned against him, putting most of her weight on Su Lin, her posture intimate.

The two bypassed the stone tablet, and a new white jade path appeared before them, extending into a hazy mist in the distance.

The moment they stepped onto this path, the world of birdsong and fragrant flowers behind them vanished.

Everything around them was replaced by endless gray mist.

These mists were cold and damp, blocking Divine Sense probing and swallowing all sound.

Only their clear footsteps and breathing remained in the world.

"Playing tricks," Luo Ximei snorted coldly, her Devilish Qi slightly surging, pushing away the encroaching mist.

Just then, the mist ahead began to churn.

A scene slowly unfolded before the two of them.

It was a dark, damp cave, where several young Cultivators dressed in other Sect's attire surrounded a frail girl curled up in a corner.

The girl was in rags, her face covered in mud; it was Luo Ximei from a hundred years ago, before she had entered Su Lin's tutelage, her cultivation low.

"Daring to steal our Sect's Spirit Medicine, you're truly seeking death!" The leading male Cultivator kicked the girl.

The girl let out a painful grunt, but she desperately protected the inconspicuous herb in her arms, her eyes filled with stubborn hatred.

"Beat her to death!"

"Scratch her face!"

Foul language was endless, and punches and kicks rained down like drops.

In reality, Luo Ximei's face instantly turned cold.

She watched as that unbearable memory was replayed, killing intent surging in her eyes.

"A bunch of trash I long ago ground to dust."

She was about to wave her hand to dispel this boring illusion, but the scene formed by the mist changed again.

A white-robed figure slowly walked in from outside the cave.

It was Su Lin from back then.