435: Chapter 435 The Painting Touches the Heart

"Now, what clues do you have?" Li Xuanxiao asked.

"The information in the bone slip is incomplete, but besides mentioning certification and leaving, it also vaguely points to this star map."

Ye Tian looked up at the vast, slowly rotating starlight pattern on the ceiling. "It seems the movement of the star map is related to certain states or passages of the Remnant Ruins. Furthermore..."

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "The bone slip also mentioned a term: ruins core. There was no explanation, but it feels important. It might refer to the energy core or control center of the Remnant Ruins."

"ruins core..." Li Xuanxiao also looked toward the star map. "Where do you think it is?"

"I don't know. But the information in the bone slip was triggered as the viewer approached the 'Object of Certification.'"

"Perhaps we need to carry the beads or the bone slip and search this hall, or... trigger some kind of change in the star map?" Ye Tian guessed.

"Let's try," Li Xuanxiao said decisively.

He took out the two-colored bead, held it in his hand, and slowly walked around the hall. His gaze swept over the surrounding walls and floor, while also keeping an eye on the changes in the star map above.

Ye Tian also held the bone slip and walked in another direction.

He deliberately walked toward the direction where the chaos bead's resonance was strongest.

That was deep within the hall, toward a seemingly ordinary wall.

As he approached, the two taichu seals and the chaos token in his robes began to heat up slightly again.

When Ye Tian reached a distance of about ten feet from that wall, the bone slip in his hand suddenly floated up on its own.

At the same time, the two-colored bead in Li Xuanxiao's hand also flew out of his storage ring automatically, hovering before him as the red-gold and gray-black halos accelerated their rotation.

Immediately following that, the star map on the hall's ceiling suddenly brightened several times over!

Countless starlight beams cast down, weaving together a miniature, dynamic projection of the star map on the floor in the center of the hall.

In the center of the projection was a blurred, constantly rotating point of light.

"This is..." Li Xuanxiao's pupils constricted.

Ye Tian's heart hammered wildly.

The chaos bead's longing almost burst from his body, pointing directly at that rotating point of light.

Within the information fragments from the bone slip, the part regarding the 'ruins core' also seemed to resonate.

"That might be where the 'ruins core' is located, or... the entrance leading to it," Ye Tian's voice trembled slightly.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the heat and vigilance in each other's eyes.

Finding the direction for the next step also meant that the final choice and conflict were drawing closer.

Just then, the rotating point of light suddenly shot out a beam that landed on the floor in front of them, forming two lines of characters:

"The ruins core opens; the certification begins."

"Bring the objects forward to accept the trial. Those who pass shall see the True Ruin and may decide whether to stay or leave."

As expected! The certification wasn't over! This was the true final step!

Li Xuanxiao looked at Ye Tian, his eyes flickering. "'Bring the objects forward'... does it refer to what we're holding, or specifically one item?"

"I don't know. Perhaps both are needed." Ye Tian stared at the two lines of text. "'Accept the trial'... it seems entering the ruins core won't be easy."

"What is the content of the trial?"

"The bone slip didn't mention it." Ye Tian shook his head. "But I'm afraid it won't be simple."

"And, 'may decide whether to stay or leave'..."

"Does this mean that only those who pass the trial are qualified to decide whether to leave or... obtain more?"

Li Xuanxiao tightened his grip on the bead and looked at the rotating light point entrance again.

"What do you think?" he asked Ye Tian.

Ye Tian looked at the point of light, felt the chaos bead's longing, and slowly exhaled.

"We've come this far; there's no turning back." He took a step forward. "I choose to go in."

The corner of Li Xuanxiao's mouth curled up. "Just what I was thinking."

The two no longer hesitated. Each gripping their items, they walked step by step toward the rotating point of light in the center of the hall.

After a brief moment of weightlessness, the scene before them caused both Ye Tian and Li Xuanxiao's breathing to hitch.

This was an... exceptionally "empty" space.

The size was similar to the previous hall, but the surroundings were no longer metal or stone. Instead, it was a "background" that slowly flowed and shifted through gray, white, black, and countless indescribable transitional colors.

There was no light source, but the space possessed its own faint shimmer—soft, yet unable to dispel the omnipresent sense of Chaos and nothingness.

In the exact center of the space, an object hovered.

It was a polyhedron about the size of a human head, completely transparent like the purest crystal.

However, within each of its facets, a miniature, constantly evolving scene was sealed.

Countless fragments of Laws and silhouettes of worlds were born and destroyed within it, never-ending.

The polyhedron hovered quietly, rotating silently, emitting a supreme aura that stood above all things.

It didn't look like a treasure; it was more like a... core, a manifestation of "Principles."

"ruins core..." Li Xuanxiao whispered, his eyes firmly drawn to the polyhedron.

He could feel that the Law fragments contained within any single facet were more profound and vast than the Way of the Sword he had cultivated for many years.

If he could comprehend even a fraction of it...

Ye Tian's feelings were entirely different.

The moment he entered this place, the chaos bead in his Sea of Consciousness stopped "throbbing" and turned into an extreme state of "tranquility" and "longing."

It was no longer restless; instead, it emitted a desire to draw near and merge.

And that polyhedron didn't feel unattainable to him; rather, it shared a sense of common origin and a calling.

Especially those facets that displayed scenes of Chaos, destruction, and rebirth.

While the two were captivated by the ruins core, that same intent rang out directly in their minds once more:

"Before the ruins core, the final certification."

"This core reflects your true hearts and paths of the Dao."

"Step forward and touch it with your hand."

"The core shall manifest the shadow of your path."

"Clearly see your own Dao, hold fast to your true heart, and you may gain initial recognition and open the door to departure."

"If you see and doubt, if you doubt and waver, if you waver and lose your way... then you shall be eternally imprisoned here, turning into Ruin Dust."

The rules were cruel.

Touching the ruins core would reflect the "Shadow of the Path" of the one who touched it.

You needed to see your own Dao clearly and firmly validate it to pass and gain the qualification to leave.

If you doubted, wavered, or even denied your own Dao, you would fail, being eternally imprisoned or even obliterated.

This "certification" did not test combat strength or Comprehension Ability; it tested the "cognition" and "conviction" regarding the path one walked.

For a Cultivator, especially a Prodigy pursuing the Great Dao, this was more perilous than any trial of force.

If the Dao Heart is lost, one falls into eternal perdition.

"Shadow of the Path..." Li Xuanxiao's eyes flickered as he looked at the transparent polyhedron, then glanced at Ye Tian beside him, suddenly sneering. "This is interesting."

"Ye Tian, what is your Dao? Is it that impure, chaotic mess, or a hodgepodge of miscellaneous studies? Do you dare let it be reflected?"

Ye Tian said indifferently, "I know my own Dao. No need for you to worry. As for you, Li Xuanxiao, is your sword truly so pure as to have no stray thoughts, and so firm as to never waver through ten thousand tribulations?"

"Is the Way of the Sword a tool, a technique, or your Dao itself? You had better think it through."

The two exchanged verbal barbs, both attacking the other's heart.

Before this trial of facing one's true heart, any sliver of hesitation could be infinitely magnified, becoming the fuse for failure.

"Who goes first?" Li Xuanxiao asked.

"Since we are cooperating, together," Ye Tian suggested, stepping forward at the same time.

He couldn't let Li Xuanxiao touch the ruins core first; if some unexpected change occurred, or if Li Xuanxiao left immediately after gaining recognition, he would be at a disadvantage.

They had to be synchronized.

Li Xuanxiao clearly held the same thought, walking almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Ye Tian toward the hovering transparent polyhedron.

The closer they got, the stronger the sense of "reflection" emitted by the ruins core became.

Finally, the two stopped one step away from the ruins core.

The polyhedron rotated quietly, its internal scenes shifting unpredictably, reflecting their somewhat blurred and distorted faces.

"Let's begin." Li Xuanxiao took a deep breath and was the first to reach out his right hand, slowly pressing it against a facet of the ruins core.

His movements were steady, his gaze sharp.

Ye Tian no longer hesitated either. He raised his left hand and pressed it against a facet on the other side of the ruins core.

The texture to his touch was not like crystal, but more like a kind of elastic "light."

The moment their palms made contact with the ruins core, it gave a violent shudder!

Immediately after, the light in the entire Chaos space suddenly dimmed, and all the flow of colors froze for an instant.

The ruins core itself erupted with a blindingly brilliant light. That light did not spread outward but contracted inward, instantly swallowing Ye Tian and Li Xuanxiao's consciousness entirely!

Ye Tian felt his "vision" being pulled upward and away, yet also infinitely inward.

He "saw" that within the transparent interior of the ruins core, starting from the points where his and Li Xuanxiao's palms touched, countless thin beams of light spread out.

The lines of light wove together, quickly forming two distinct, constantly shifting "scrolls."