461: Chapter 461 Challenging the Mirror Image, Overcoming Oneself!

He didn't recite any Heart-Cleansing Incantations, nor did he meditate to reach a State of Emptiness.

His way of breaking the deadlock was still just as simple, crude, and unreasonable.

Lu Li suddenly took half a step back, his right arm drawing back like a powerful bow pulled to full tension.

Ten million Yuanxiang Particles roared within his body, shaking the heavens and earth, as his chaotic blood and Qi gathered on his right fist like a vast ocean, emitting a terrifying pressure capable of collapsing the world.

"Ten million Primal Elephants, shatter for me!"

He threw a punch! There were no bells and whistles, only extreme power and an absolutely sober, even somewhat arrogant Dao Heart!

Boom— Bang!

The force of the punch slammed heavily into the surface of the ancient mirror of heart-questioning, which had existed for untold eons and represented the supreme trial of the Heart Demon.

Accompanied by an ear-splitting, heaven-shaking explosion, that ancient bronze mirror—reputed to be able to withstand the attack of a Golden Immortal—actually let out a shrill wail under Lu Li's unreasonable punch filled with endless chaotic violence.

Shocking cracks spread frantically from the point of impact like a spiderweb.

Immediately after, the hundred-zhang-tall mirror surface completely collapsed, turning into flying shards of bronze and glass that shimmered with strange light, clattering to the ground!

At the moment the mirror shattered, Lu Li even faintly heard a short scream filled with disbelief and grievance.

It seemed the Heart Demon hidden within the mirror had been directly given a physical exorcism by his overbearing punch; the Heart Demon was likely dazed by this kid's bandit logic right up until the moment of its death.

A deathly silence returned to the hall, with only the bronze fragments making a faint humming sound on the floor.

“...”

A mechanical voice hidden within the Void Realm fell into a long, profound silence.

A full dozens of breaths passed without it saying a single word, as if the control center had suffered a severe crash and logic error.

Since its creation, it had seen those who used great willpower to forcibly restrain their desires to emerge, and those who severed their seven emotions and six desires to emerge, but it had never freaking seen someone clear the trial by physically blowing up the ancient mirror of heart-questioning—a precious treasure of the Immortal Palace—just because they felt the lack of a struggle to snatch the treasure was too boring! Had this kid's Dao Heart leveled up the wrong branch of the tech tree?

"Hey? Why have you gone quiet? Is the Immortal Palace so poor it can't afford to give out rewards?" Lu Li patted the dust off his hands and urged impatiently.

Seemingly awakened by Lu Li's urging, a voice finally rang out again, though this time, it was filled with a weary helplessness and an unmaskable sense of frustration.

"...Third trial, the Formation eye of the ancient mirror of heart-questioning is destroyed... Judged as: Forced passage."

"Dao Heart Evaluation: ...Abnormal yet firm. Reward issued: One Flawless Dao Fruit."

As the voice fell, a crack opened above the hall, and a strange fruit the size of a longan, emitting a clear, water-like white light and even flowing with a hint of Innate Great Dao rhythm on its surface, slowly drifted down.

This was a Flawless Dao Fruit! Those who consume this fruit can cleanse the haze of their Divine Soul, ensuring their heart remains forever clear and flawless, immune to all evils and free from Heart Demons.

Even more Heaven-Defying was that it could greatly enhance a cultivator's Comprehension Ability regarding the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth; it was a treasure for enlightenment that countless Grand Unity Golden Immortals dreamed of!

"Hehe, at least you're sensible. Thanks!"

Lu Li snatched the priceless Flawless Dao Fruit. Instead of eating it immediately, he mimicked the manner of an adult, placing it under his nose to take a deep breath of that intoxicating fragrance of Dao rhythm.

Then, with a face full of pride, he swaggered over the fragments of the ancient mirror, walking with large strides toward the deep passage leading to the fourth trial.

"The first trial trained the Physical Body, the second trained the Primordial Spirit, and the third just gave away a Dao fruit.

This Bronze Immortal Palace is quite the philanthropist! Next, what other fun activities are there? It'd be best if there were a few sturdy sandbags for me to hammer, and I can see which corner that trash Su Changkong is hiding in, shivering with fear!"

The youth's voice echoed in the deep passage, carrying a chilling bandit-like Aura as he continued to approach the deepest part of the Bronze Immortal Palace.

The center of the hall was vast and deathly silent, with only the faint 'crackle' of the deep blue Everburning Lamps on the bronze walls. In the exact center of the empty hall, an ancient bronze mirror three zhang tall and smooth as water floated quietly.

Complex and obscure ancient god and demon patterns were carved around the mirror's edge, with faint glimmers of light flowing through them.

As Lu Li stepped inside, the mirror surface that had been silent for countless ages rippled violently.

Then, from within the swaying ripples, a figure identical to Lu Li slowly stepped out.

The same elegant green robes, the same handsome face, the same seemingly lazy yet sharp demeanor, and even the hint of craftiness at the bottom of those clear eyes were copied without the slightest discrepancy.

What surprised Lu Li even more was that the Aura of the ten million Yuanxiang Particles within the other's body—emitting the neighs of Dragon Elephants and surging like a vast ocean—was also perfectly synchronized with his own, without a single difference!

"Fourth Trial: Defeat yourself. Your mirror image possesses all of your cultivation, techniques, and combat experience."

An emotionless mechanical voice, cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, rang out once more above the empty hall, its echoes bouncing off the bronze walls.

Lu Li crossed his arms, slightly tilting his refined chin as he looked at this 'self' that was like looking into a mirror. He raised an eyebrow in surprise and thought to himself, 'A complete copy? Even the supreme techniques passed down by my old man are the same? The Formation core of this Bronze Immortal Palace does have some tricks up its sleeve.'

Boom!

The moment the thought arose in Lu Li's mind, before his internal voice had even faded, the mirror image had already attacked without any warning!

There was no testing the waters, nor any useless chatter.

The mirror image took a step forward, and the bronze floor beneath its feet instantly cracked into a spiderweb pattern.

It was the same heaven-shaking Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength, the same overbearingly peerless Heavenly God Fist! A dazzling, holy white light erupted from the mirror image's right fist, and a phantom of an ancient divine elephant—emitting an Aura that suppressed Hell and dominated all things—rose behind it, charging toward Lu Li's face with a terrifying Aura that could tear through the sky.

Before the punch even arrived, the terrifying Fist Intent, enough to crush an ordinary Heavenly Immortal into a bloody mist, caused the surrounding air to let out piercing sonic booms.

"Good timing! I was just worried no one could take a few of my punches!"

Not only was there no fear in Lu Li's eyes, but a blazing Battle Intent was ignited instead.

He didn't dodge or evade; the ten million Yuanxiang Particles in his body woke up simultaneously, letting out a roar that shook the nine heavens.