253: Chapter 252 We're right here, luring you into our trap.

"Second."

"The killing intent on this chessboard is endless."

"As long as the Formation core is still running, those Law pieces can be reborn infinitely."

"Your spiritual energy is limited, while the energy of this heaven and earth is infinite."

"Playing chess according to its rules is equivalent to using your own flesh and blood to fill a bottomless pit that can never be filled."

"Therefore, the only way to break the situation is not to prove how well you can fight within this framework, nor to prove how smart you are."

Su Lin turned around and looked at the ruins of the stone tablet.

"Instead, it is to tell the one who set the rules: 'I'm not playing with you anymore.'"

The Loose Cultivators and Elders of various Sects present were all shocked into silence by these words.

In the cultivation world, from Qi Refining to Mahayana, everyone taught them to conform to the Heavenly Dao, to comprehend Laws, and to seek the path of longevity under the rules of heaven and earth.

But today, this man in green told them: Rules are meant to be broken.

"Junior has learned!"

Mo Chen took a deep breath. He suddenly closed his eyes and actually sat cross-legged on the ruins.

An extremely pure Sword Intent soared from his body. His cultivation, which had been stagnant against a barrier, actually made a crisp cracking sound at this moment!

He had an Epiphany!

Not just him, Heavenly Calculation Granny looked at the compass in her hand and suddenly gave a bitter smile, her hands exerting force.

"Crack!"

The top-grade compass that had accompanied her for a thousand years was crushed by her own hands.

"Calculating heaven and earth, yet failing to calculate oneself."

"Fellow Daoist Su is right. If I am willing to be a pawn, this compass is my shackle!"

Looking at these Cultivators who finally had some realization, Su Lin nodded slightly and said no more.

Just then, at the end of the abyss, the void that was originally blocked by the chessboard began to undergo drastic changes as the chessboard completely collapsed.

No mist, no illusions, no fancy light and shadow.

There was only a door.

A huge door, cast entirely from dark red bronze.

There were no carvings of Yao Beasts on the door, nor any divine script Formations, only two ancient, heavy characters that looked as if they were cast in blood:

[Shedding the Mortal]!

The moment this door appeared, an indescribable, terrifying heatwave leaked directly from the gap.

That wasn't an ordinary fire temperature, but a pure high temperature that could directly burn the Divine Soul and evaporate blood and Qi!

"So hot..."

Chu Weiwei instinctively took half a step back, fine beads of sweat instantly seeping from her forehead.

She was horrified to find that her spiritual energy showed signs of boiling and evaporating under this high temperature!

"This third trial..."

Su Lin looked at the giant [Shedding the Mortal] door, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"No Heart Demons, no illusions, abandoning all fancy tests."

"This is the purest furnace for the Physical Body and Dao foundation."

...

Meanwhile.

On the surface of the Black Sea, countless miles away from the Ethereal Immortal Mansion.

At the edge of the Sky Rift Valley, the void twisted for a moment.

Three figures emerged silently.

Leading them was the Late Stage Tribulation Transcendence powerhouse from the auction, Old Ancestor Cang Ming.

Beside him stood the Corpse Cultivator freak wrapped in bandages, and a burly old man wearing an unknown ancient beast skin, exuding a primal aura.

Any one of these three was an old monster who could walk sideways in the Lower Realm.

At this moment, they did not enter the immortal mansion but stood on the sea, staring intently at the giant light and shadow vortex at the entrance.

"Old monster, are you sure they've already broken the second trial?"

The beast-skinned old man's voice was like muffled thunder, causing the Black Sea below to surge with waves.

"My perception cannot be wrong."

Old Ancestor Cang Ming took a puff of his dry tobacco, exhaling thick smoke; his kind face was now filled with sinister greed.

"Just now, the aura of the [Heaven and Earth Killing Tribulation Formation]'s core completely disappeared."

"The methods of that young man named Su Lin are even more overbearing than I imagined."

"Jie jie jie..."

The bandaged freak let out a night-owl-like strange laugh. "Good smash! The more overbearing he is, the faster he clears the way. Once he clears the obstacles inside for us and gets the core of the Immortal Realm..."

"We will be right here, inviting the tiger into the trap."

Old Ancestor Cang Ming took over the conversation, a flash of ruthlessness in his cloudy eyes.

"The rules of this immortal mansion exclude the Tribulation Transcendence Stage from entering. Inside, we can't exert our strength and are restricted by ancient Laws."

"But outside, on this endless Black Sea..."

Old Ancestor Cang Ming suddenly stabbed his tobacco pipe into the void.

"Buzz!!!"

A giant transparent net, invisible to the naked eye and woven from pure Space Law and Void Mithril, instantly spread out around the entrance!

[Tai Xu Absolute Net]!

This was a top-tier trapping Formation jointly created by the three Tribulation Transcendence old monsters over a thousand years.

It had no offensive power; its only function was to 'seal' and 'extract'.

"Once caught in the net, whether you are Mahayana Stage or half-step Tribulation Transcendence, the spiritual energy in your body will be instantly drained, and you won't even be able to tear through space, becoming like meat on a cutting board!"

"Su Lin, oh Su Lin, do you really think my favors are so easy to take?"

Old Ancestor Cang Ming looked at the giant net gradually fading into the void, a cold smile curling on his lips.

"No matter how high your Formation attainment or how strong your combat power, after going through a series of life-and-death battles inside, you will surely be at your wit's end when you come out."

"I won't fight you to the death; I'll just collect the net here."

"Your life, your immortal gold, and the opportunities in the immortal mansion..."

"I want them all!"

"So hot..."

Chu Weiwei stood before the dark red bronze giant door engraved with the words [Shedding the Mortal], unable to help but take another half step back.

This was already her third time retreating.

She was proficient in pharmacology and poison arts, and her Physique was naturally inclined towards the feminine and soft. At this moment, even though the door had not yet opened, just the wisp of heat leaking from the gap made her feel like her body was boiling.

That wasn't the temperature of mortal fire, nor the scorching of the earth's core magma.

It was Pure Yang Qi enough to refine all Impurities, spiritual energy, and even Laws in the world into liquid!

"This door... it's burning hot."

Su Hongling was the first to go up and touch the door.

Her hands, which could even tear apart half-step Tribulation Transcendence Stage Yao Beasts, actually made a "sizzle" sound like roasting meat the moment they touched the bronze door knocker.

She pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted.

"Damn it! I've cultivated a Mahayana Stage Physical Body, what material is this door made of?!"

Su Hongling complained while shaking her hand and grimacing.

"It's not a matter of material."

Su Lin stood three zhang away from the door, his gaze deep as he stared at the two words "Shedding the Mortal" that seemed cast in blood.

"This is a furnace."

"The first trial, questioning the heart, was to eliminate the delusions and obsessions in the Divine Soul."

"The second trial, the killing Formation, was to eliminate the fear and humiliation in the Dao Heart."

"And this third trial, Shedding the Mortal..."

Su Lin took a deep breath; the originally thin air inhaled into his lungs felt like swallowing a mouthful of scalding sand, scraping his throat.

"There are no Heart Demons here, no illusions, and no fancy Formation traps."

"It is the most primitive, most unreasonable Great Furnace of Heaven and Earth."

"To pass through, you must put your mortal bodies and turbid bones, which have been cultivated in the Lower Realm for hundreds or thousands of years, along with all that miscellaneous spiritual energy, Devilish Qi, and poison techniques, into it and burn them once."

"Burn away the dross and leave the true gold. Those who can't endure it will directly turn into a wisp of ash, with nothing left."

Hearing Su Lin's words, everyone's heart skipped a beat.

No tricks, just straight to the hard stuff.

This kind of simplest and most brutal test is often the most fatal.

Because you can't use clever tricks; you can only use your life to resist.

"Revered Master."

Mu Qingxue stepped forward.

She was still in her white robe, but at this moment, the Ten-thousand-year Mystic Ice Qi around her, which could freeze space, was actually melting at a visible speed, dissipating into the air as wisps of white smoke.

She didn't directly take Su Lin's hand as usual but stopped half a foot away.

"The Laws here extremely reject cold things. If I forcibly activate a protective ice shield, it will only be treated as fuel by this Pure Yang Qi, burning even brighter."

A rare look of gravity appeared on Mu Qingxue's cold face.

"Next, we can't use spiritual energy for defense."

"We can only rely on our physical bodies to endure."

"Can't use spiritual energy for defense? Won't we be roasted alive then?"

Luo Ximei's brows furrowed tightly.

The Devilish Qi in her body was naturally inclined towards the sinister and evil. She could barely suppress it outside just now, but standing before this door, she felt the True Immortal Origin and Devilish Qi in her body rubbing against each other frantically, as if they would explode in the next second.

"Not only can't we use spiritual energy for defense."

Su Lin reached out and slowly unbuttoned his collar, revealing his firm collarbone.

"Any Magic Treasures or Talismans will become a burden here."

"Can't use spiritual energy."

"Can't use Magic Treasures."

"In this cultivation world, a high-level Cultivator who is used to using spiritual energy for protection and Magic Treasures to block disasters, once they lose these dependencies, they are like a tiger with its teeth pulled or a turtle with its shell stripped, leaving only the most primitive and fragile flesh and blood."

"Don't believe it?"

Su Lin looked at the doubt in his disciples' eyes and didn't explain much.

He casually took out a top-grade Flying Sword from his storage ring, didn't even inject spiritual energy, and simply threw it towards the dark red bronze giant door.

"Clang."

The Flying Sword hit the door with a crisp sound.

However, the moment the blade touched the bronze door.

That top-grade Flying Sword, mixed with Ten-thousand-year Profound Iron and incredibly sturdy, actually began to turn red and soften at a visible speed.

In just two breaths, the sword blade was like a candle thrown into the core of the sun, directly vaporizing.

In the air, there wasn't even a hint of the smell of vaporized metal, only that pure, extreme high temperature.

*Gulp.*

The group of Loose Cultivators behind, who had originally thought of following Su Lin to pick up scraps, swallowed hard in unison and retreated frantically with pale faces, only stopping when they reached the edge of the chains.

"This... who can withstand this!"

"A top-grade Flying Sword couldn't even last three breaths before it was gone. If our physical bodies go in, we probably won't even be able to scream before vaporizing!"

Su Lin ignored the commotion behind him, turned around, and swept his serious gaze over the disciples in front of him.

"See that?"

"The Law here is tempering."

"It will treat everything that doesn't belong to your Physical Body's Origin—whether it's the spirituality of Magic Treasures, mixed spiritual energy, or external protection—as Impurities and burn them away."

"So, take all your dharma robes with automatic defense Formations, storage rings, and various bits and pieces, and put them all into the depths of your Sea of Consciousness."

"Disperse your Protective Aura."

"Lock your pores; do not let the external Pure Yang Qi enter your Meridians through your breath."

"From now on, treat yourselves as Mortal Martial Artists without any cultivation. Use your bones to carry it, use your skin and flesh to resist it."

Chu Weiwei's small face was now completely bloodless.

At this moment, she could even feel the Poison Core in her Dantian heating up slightly, as if it would be detonated by this external Pure Yang Qi at any time.

"Revered Master... Weiwei's legs are a bit weak..."

She bit her bloodless lower lip, her voice carrying a rare weakness.

Su Lin interrupted her mercilessly.

He stepped forward and directly reached out, grabbing Chu Weiwei's slender wrist.

It was extremely hot to the touch.

Chu Weiwei's originally cool body temperature had now soared to a terrifying level, and a layer of faint purple sweat even seeped out of her skin. That was the medicinal power she used to maintain the balance of her Poison Body, being forced out of her body by the high temperature.

"Focus your mind!!"

Su Lin shouted!

Luo Ximei's situation was not much better.

The True Immortal Origin and Devilish Qi in her body were already in a delicate dynamic balance. Now that the external environment had changed abruptly, the long-suppressed Devilish Qi wanted to break out of her body to fight against this Pure Yang Qi.

"Ugh..."

She hugged her shoulders tightly, her fingers sinking deep into her flesh, trying to use physical pain to divert the sense of tearing in her Meridians that was about to go out of control.

Her long black and white hair was now stuck to her cheeks and neck by sweat, and her originally seductive face showed a painful distortion.

"Fifth sister, don't hold your breath, breathe!"

Although Su Hongling had been burned just now, she was, after all, a pure Mahayana Stage Body Cultivator, and her adaptability was the strongest among everyone.

She He strode over to Luo Ximei's side, He put his arm around her waist, Forcibly straightening her slightly hunched body。

"Press the Devilish Qi firmly into your Dantian, don't let a single bit leak out! Swallow it like a stone!"

"I don't need you to teach me..."

Luo Ximei gritted her teeth and pushed Su Hongling away, but her body swayed uncontrollably, and in the end, she had to lean part of her weight on Su Hongling's solid shoulder.

"Revered Master, the door hasn't opened yet."

Mu Qingxue's voice came, "We can't use spiritual energy, so how is this door going to be opened?"