96: Chapter 96 Heart Refining Array

The moment the bone key appeared, it flew back into Chen Moxuan's hand.

As he gazed at it, a line of information appeared.

[Key of Inheritance: The holder may proceed to the summit of Poyun Peak to enter the Land of Inheritance.]

"The summit of Poyun Peak?"

Chen Moxuan muttered, looking up at the cloud-shrouded peak.

His Spiritual Sense surged out like a tidal wave, reaching the summit in an instant.

It was a vast, snow-white world where biting cold air, wrapped in thick clouds, rushed toward him.

Right in the center of this silver, deathly silent world, a towering stone statue stood, piercing the sky.

What was remarkable was that the surrounding ice and snow strangely passed right through the statue; not a single speck of frost could cling to it, as if the statue did not exist in this world at all.

And at the base of the statue, there was a keyhole that perfectly matched the key in his hand.

Chen Moxuan immediately understood that this statue was likely the entrance to the Land of Inheritance.

He withdrew his Spiritual Sense, channeled the Power of Heaven and Earth, transformed into a streak of light, and shot straight toward the summit.

Soon, he arrived in that frozen world.

Only upon arriving directly in this space could Chen Moxuan deeply feel how extremely low the temperature was.

Frost-laden mist swirled in the air, and every breath he took felt like shards of ice piercing into his lungs.

The biting gale swept past like blades; even with the warmest clothing, one could hardly endure it without the Protective Aura generated by cultivation at the Tiangang Realm.

Sustaining the Protective Aura not only required precise control of True Qi but also tested a Martial Artist's endurance.

Fighting against exotic beasts in such harsh conditions was even more difficult than ascending to heaven.

If Xiang Tian's killing move hadn't completely enraged the Snow Shadow Tiger, causing this overlord of the snowfields to launch a beast tide...

...he and Zhong Haoran would still be fighting under the siege of the beast tide, battling their way to the mountainside and drawing the Snow Shadow Tiger away from its lair.

In this environment, the Snow Shadow Tiger's combat power was even stronger.

According to the original design of the Secret Realm trial, Poyun Peak was meant to be the ultimate stage carefully prepared for the fourth day.

By then, Genius trial-takers from all over would gather, using their combined strength to break the surging beast tide into smaller parts, and then use wheel tactics to wear it down.

Only then would there be a slim chance of hunting the Snow Shadow Tiger.

But because those two workaholics, Xiang Tian and Zhong Haoran, ventured deep on their own, and then Chen Moxuan, this illogical bug, appeared out of nowhere...

...it was only the second day since the Secret Realm opened, and Poyun Peak, which used to roar with beasts, now had only a few remaining beasts shivering in the wind and snow.

Of course, the reason Xiang Tian and Zhong Haoran ventured deep alone was inseparable from Chen Moxuan suddenly charging to the first place.

"Hoo."

Chen Moxuan exhaled a breath of hot air. The True Qi within his body surged through his Meridians, instantly transforming into the fire element.

Compared to relying solely on a Protective Aura to isolate oneself from the outside and resist the bitter cold, this method of warding off cold by driving the principle of elemental counter-restraint was undoubtedly more efficient at saving True Qi.

However, those who could do this were either specialized Martial Artists who cultivated fire-element Breathing Methods, or they had to be like Chen Moxuan—a Great Master of all elements.

Chen Moxuan walked forward slowly; with every step he took, the accumulated snow beneath his feet crackled.

He looked up and examined the stone statue carefully.

This stone statue seemed to have the ability to interfere with Spiritual Sense detection.

Previously, when he probed with his Spiritual Sense, he could only capture a blurry outline, but viewing it up close now, a majestic pressure rushed toward him.

The man on the stone statue stood as straight as a pine, his sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes exuding a dignity that pierced through time.

In his gaze, which looked straight into the firmament, there was both the arrogance of looking down upon all living things and a hidden persistence in questioning the Heavenly Dao.

With just one glance, Chen Moxuan could sense that the person represented by this stone statue must be someone who feared neither heaven nor earth, and respected neither gods nor Buddhas.

"I didn't expect it to be this supreme expert..."

Supreme Martial Experts had only appeared five times in the thousands of years of martial arts history, and all of them were figures recorded in historical texts.

The face on this stone statue was identical to the portrait in the biography Chen Moxuan had previously seen in the Library Pavilion of Henghuo Martial Arts School.

It was none other than the Fighting Emperor, Qitian Stone.

A Supreme Martial Expert was a term used to describe someone who stood at the pinnacle of Martial Artists in their era, with strength that surpassed everyone in the world.

And every Supreme Martial Expert was given an exclusive title due to their unique experiences.

Qitian Stone was the last Supreme Martial Expert of the Human Race, and also the most controversial Supreme Martial Expert in human history.

During the Third Great War of Ten Thousand Races, he fought over a hundred top experts of alien races single-handedly, almost single-handedly settling the War of Ten Thousand Races.

However, the fuse that ignited the Third Great War of Ten Thousand Races was also because his actions were too radical, pushing the Human Race to the forefront of danger.

Therefore, in the evaluations of later generations, voices of praise and criticism were always intertwined.

And after the Third Great War of Ten Thousand Races ended, Qitian Stone's whereabouts were not mentioned in the books.

It was only known that five days later, when someone found him, Qitian Stone was sitting cross-legged on a mountain peak, his body dead and his Dao dissipated.

Now it seemed that the place where Qitian Stone passed away was the Spirit Gathering Secret Realm.

And before he perished, he had left his own Legacy in this Secret Realm.

Chen Moxuan gripped the bone key and slowly inserted it into the keyhole at the base of the stone statue.

The moment the key fit into the slot, he gave his wrist a slight turn, rotating the lock.

In the next instant, Chen Moxuan felt the world spinning, his consciousness seemingly swept into a turbulent vortex.

"This is... Otherworldly Attraction?!"

Chen Moxuan's pupils constricted; the familiar sensation of spacetime distortion made his heart beat violently.

This feeling was exactly the same as when he had traveled to other worlds twice before.

When he subconsciously blinked, the scene around him had completely changed.

Everywhere he looked, there was cracked earth and mottled weapons, and an Aura of desolation and killing intent rushed toward him.

The setting sun was like blood, staining the entire wasteland into a scarlet battlefield.

In the distance, a figure stood proudly in the center of the ruins, with broad shoulders and sharp, distinct contours plated with a cold, hard light under the blood-colored setting sun.

He wore tattered battle armor, his robes flapping in the wind, and his right hand tightly gripped a mottled, rusty staff.

Just by looking at it, Chen Moxuan felt a suffocating pressure.

That gaze seemed to span the long river of time, carrying the arrogance of looking down on all living things and the vicissitudes of having been through a hundred battles.

Besides the Fighting Emperor, Qitian Stone, who had once single-handedly pacified the Ten Thousand Races, there was no one else who could possess such an Aura in this place.

But there was no doubt that the real Qitian Stone had long since turned into dust in the long river of history.

The figure standing before him, although retaining the charm of Qitian Stone, was likely a phantom left behind by the Supreme Martial Expert using heaven-defying means, carrying fragments of past glory.

Qitian Stone cast a deep gaze toward him.

In an instant, Chen Moxuan felt that the operation of his entire cultivation was restrained by an invisible force.

This single glance seemed to dismantle and analyze his Meridians, Cultivation Technique, and even his soul.

"You are very interesting." Qitian Stone's voice was deep, like a great bell.

Every word was wrapped in the pressure of Heaven and Earth, causing this wasteland to tremble at his words.

"My criteria for choosing a successor do not depend on background, potential, nor even Reincarnation or Karma; I only look at the Dao Heart."

"Arrogant person who treats the body as a seed, if you can hold fast to your original heart within the Heart Refining Array and hold on until the end, you may take my Legacy."

Before the words faded, the rusty staff in Qitian Stone's hand smashed into the ground with a boom.

In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, and the weapons scattered across the wasteland simultaneously let out a shrill wail.

Before Chen Moxuan could respond, the wailing sound instantly invaded his ears.

He felt his consciousness gradually blurring, the scene around him twisting and deforming, and in a trance, he fell into a long, boundless dream.

In the haze, a faint call came to his ears, as if penetrating from the other side of a distant spacetime.

"Chen Moxuan..."

"Chen Moxuan!"

The voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of anger.

A piece of chalk accurately hit Chen Moxuan on the forehead, leaving a white mark.

Chen Moxuan looked up abruptly, only to see a middle-aged man with a balding head.

"Teacher Ma?"