406: Chapter 406 Trials and Tribulations

Mu Zun walked to the edge of the pool and looked down at the deep black surface of the water.

The water was as calm as a mirror, reflecting his figure.

He could feel that this pool contained an extremely terrifying power.

That power was ancient and profound, carrying a supreme majesty that suppressed all eternity.

"The Yin God's Legacy..."

Mu Zun murmured.

He stepped forward and set foot on the surface of the water.

The moment his foot touched the water—

Buzz!

The pool vibrated violently, and countless runes rose from the bottom, interweaving in the air to form a massive net of light!

The net of light enveloped the entire pool, emitting a terrifying pressure!

This was the protective Restriction left by the Yin God, specifically designed to test the inheritor.

But Mu Zun could feel that this was more than just a layer of Restriction.

This was... a series of trials.

The first trial: Questioning the Heart.

Within the net of light, countless images emerged.

Those were memory fragments of Mu Zun's past and present lives, forcibly extracted by the light net and turned into phantoms, attempting to erode his mind.

There were scenes of You Xianya's betrayal, scenes of the Mu Family being exterminated, and scenes of his difficult survival on the Heavenly Spirit Continent...

Every image carried a strong emotional impact, trying to make him sink into them, unable to extricate himself.

However—

Mu Zun's expression remained unchanged.

He didn't even spare those images a second glance.

"Illusions are born from the heart; if the heart remains unmoved, the illusions will shatter themselves."

He said indifferently.

As his voice fell, those phantoms instantly crumbled!

The light net vibrated violently, as if resisting, but eventually, it slowly dissipated.

The first trial was passed.

A faint black light membrane appeared on the surface of the pool.

Mu Zun stepped forward onto the light membrane.

The light membrane sank slightly but did not break.

The second trial: Questioning Power.

A terrifying gravity transmitted from the light membrane, pressing down on Mu Zun!

This gravity was no ordinary gravity, but 'Nether Gravity' containing the Yin God's Law, enough to crush an ordinary Quasi-Emperor into meat paste!

Mu Zun still looked calm and continued to walk forward.

With every step he took, the gravity increased.

Ten steps, a hundred steps, a thousand steps...

When Mu Zun reached the center of the pool, the gravity had reached a terrifying level, enough to crush stars!

However—

Mu Zun still walked with leisure, as if that gravity simply did not exist.

The Chaos Body is immune to all dharmas.

No matter how strong the gravity was, it could not escape the scope of Law.

The second trial was passed.

The black light membrane disappeared, and countless small whirlpools appeared on the surface of the pool.

Every whirlpool emitted a different aura.

There was the scorching heat of fire, the biting cold of ice, the violent rage of lightning, and the sharp edge of wind blades...

This was the third trial: Questioning Dharma.

The Yin God had sealed the thirty-six Laws he had comprehended into the pool, turning them into thirty-six whirlpools.

The inheritor needed to find the correct path to the bottom of the pool from these whirlpools.

Once a wrong step was taken, they would suffer the attack of the corresponding Law.

Mu Zun stood in the center of the pool, his gaze sweeping over those thirty-six whirlpools.

His Double Pupils slightly opened and closed, and Chaos Qi flowed within his eyes.

"The thirty-sixth one."

He said indifferently, stepping into one of the whirlpools.

Inside the whirlpool was a void.

No fire, no ice, no lightning, and no Law attacks.

Only a dark path leading to the bottom of the pool.

The third trial was passed.

Mu Zun followed the path and continued downward.

The further down he went, the thicker the surrounding Yin Qi became, almost condensing into a solid form.

The air was filled with an ancient and vicissitudinous aura, as if telling stories of endless years.

The fourth trial: Questioning the Heart (Part 2).

This time, it was no longer about extracting memory fragments, but directly reflecting the deepest obsession in Mu Zun's heart.

It was a sea of blood.

Within the sea of blood, countless figures were struggling and wailing.

Those figures were all people who had died at Mu Zun's hands.

You Xianya, Qi San, Bai Shuo, Savage Dragon, Dharma Bright...

Their faces were distorted, their eyes full of resentment, stretching out pale arms, trying to drag Mu Zun into the sea of blood.

"Mu Zun... you killed us... you will die a horrible death..."

"Come down and join us... come down..."

"You can't escape... you can't escape..."

The voices were shrill, like the curses of ghosts from the Nine Netherworlds.

Mu Zun looked down at those faces.

His gaze remained calm, without a single ripple.

"I wasn't afraid of you when you were alive."

He said indifferently.

"Dead, you are even less worthy."

As his voice fell, he raised his foot and stomped down heavily!

Boom!

The sea of blood exploded, and countless figures were instantly annihilated!

The fourth trial was passed.

The path continued to extend downward.

The fifth trial: Questioning the Dao.

On both sides of the path, countless dao patterns emerged.

Every dao pattern represented a type of Great Dao Law.

Yin and Yang, Five Elements, Life and Death, Time and Space...

The inheritor needed to select the correct dao pattern from among them to continue forward.

Mu Zun didn't even look at those dao patterns and directly walked forward.

When those dao patterns touched the Chaos Qi around him, they seemed to find their home and actively merged into it.

Chaos is the source of all Daos.

All Laws originate from Chaos.

The fifth trial was passed.

The sixth trial: Questioning the Sword.

At the end of the path, a sword appeared.

The sword was pitch black, its body covered in ancient runes, emitting an incredibly sharp Sword Intent.

This Sword Intent was left behind by the Yin God during his life, containing his lifelong insights into the Dao of the Sword.

The inheritor needed to take this sword strike to continue forward.

"Buzz—"

The black sword vibrated, and a sword light shot out!

The sword light was silent, yet it seemed capable of severing time and space and destroying all things!

Mu Zun raised his hand, his fingers held together like a sword.

A wisp of Chaos Sword Intent shot from his fingertip, colliding with the black sword's light!

Sizzle—

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a slight sound of dissolution.

Before the Chaos Sword Intent, the black sword's light was like snow meeting fire, instantly annihilated.

The black sword vibrated a few times and finally quieted down, as if submitting to Mu Zun.

The sixth trial was passed.

The seventh trial: Questioning the Formation.

The path disappeared, replaced by a massive Formation.

The Formation was composed of countless runes, layered upon each other, incredibly complex.

The inheritor needed to crack this Formation to continue forward.

Mu Zun stood in the center of the Formation, his gaze sweeping over those runes.

His Double Pupils slightly opened and closed, and Chaos Qi flowed within his eyes.

"Break."

He raised his hand and pointed out with one finger.

Chaos Qi shot into the core of the Formation, and the runes instantly became chaotic!

Boom!

The Formation exploded violently!

The seventh trial was passed.

The eighth trial: Questioning Fate.

After the Formation shattered, Mu Zun found himself standing in a Void Realm.

In the void, a massive mirror was suspended.

Within the mirror, his figure was reflected.

But that figure was not his current self, but his future self.

The future Mu Zun stood atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, surrounded by endless Chaos Qi, his eyes as cold as ice.

Beneath his feet were countless skeletons.

There were Archaic Fierce Beast, Foreign Race Powerhouses, Human Race Emperors, and even... members of the Qin Imperial Clan.

"This is your future." A voice came from the mirror, ancient, cold, and carrying a hint of mockery.

"You will continue to slaughter, continue to grow stronger, and eventually... be all alone."

"No family, no friends, no followers."

"Only yourself."

Mu Zun looked at himself in the mirror, his expression still calm.

"So what?"

He said indifferently.

"I Cultivate the Dao not for fame or fortune, not for sentiment or justice, but only to become stronger."

"Solitude is the destiny of the strong."

As his voice fell, the mirror exploded!

The eighth trial was passed.

The void dissipated, and Mu Zun found himself standing at the bottom of the pool.

Before him was a figure sitting cross-legged.

The figure was dressed in a black robe, with an ancient face and eyes slightly closed, as if in a deep sleep.

It was the Yin God.

But Mu Zun could feel that this figure was not a corpse, but a remnant consciousness.

"You have come."

The Yin God opened his eyes and looked at Mu Zun.

His gaze was profound, as if he could see through everything.

"To pass the eight trials and come before me, you are the first."

Mu Zun said indifferently: "The trials are not over yet."

"Correct." The Yin God nodded. "There is still the ninth."

"The ninth trial: Questioning the Original Heart."

He stood up and walked to Mu Zun.

"I ask you, why do you Cultivate the Dao?"

Mu Zun was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"To become stronger."

"And after becoming stronger?" the Yin God pressed.

"To protect what I want to protect, and destroy what I want to destroy," Mu Zun said indifferently.

The Yin God looked into his eyes and was silent for a long time.

"Your Dao Heart is very pure."

He finally said.

"A pure Dao of Slaughter, a pure Dao of becoming stronger."

"Such a Dao Heart is the easiest to fall into Qi Deviation, and also the easiest to... reach the absolute peak."

He turned and looked at the void above the pool.

"In my life, I also constantly pursued becoming stronger."

"But in the end, I realized that becoming stronger is not the goal, but the means."

"The true goal is to protect."

"To protect the people I want to protect, and the world I want to protect."

He looked at Mu Zun, a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes.

"You and I are very much alike."

"But also different."

Mu Zun did not speak.

The Yin God continued: "You may take my Legacy."

"But I hope you can remember the words I said today."

"Becoming stronger is for the sake of protecting."

"Not for the sake of destruction."

Mu Zun was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I have remembered."

The Yin God nodded and pointed with one finger.

A black light sank into Mu Zun's brow.

Countless pieces of information emerged in Mu Zun's mind.

Those were the Yin God's lifelong cultivation insights, Cultivation Techniques, Divine Abilities, and his understanding of the Great Dao.

"Thank you."

Mu Zun bowed.

The Yin God smiled slightly, and his figure began to become illusory.

"Go."

He said indifferently.

"The road ahead is still very long."

As his voice fell, his figure completely dissipated.

Mu Zun stood in place for a long time.

Then, he turned and walked toward the surface of the pool.

By the side of the pool.

Xuan Hua and Xuan Duo were waiting anxiously.

"Sister, why hasn't Young Master Qin come out yet?" Xuan Duo asked nervously.

"Wait a bit longer." Although Xuan Hua was also anxious, she still comforted her sister. "Young Master Qin is so strong, he will surely be fine."

Just then—

Splash!

The pool water exploded, and a white-robed figure flew out from within, landing steadily on the shore.

"Young Master Qin!" The sisters were overjoyed and hurried to meet him.

"I am fine," Mu Zun said indifferently.

He turned and looked at the pool.

The water had returned to calm, but the blurred figure at the bottom had disappeared.

"Did you get the Legacy?" Xuan Hua asked cautiously.

Mu Zun nodded.

"That's great!" Xuan Duo jumped up happily.

Nether Abyss also walked over, cupping his hands. "Congratulations to Senior Qin for obtaining the Legacy!"

Mu Zun glanced at him: "This time, thank you."

Nether Abyss hurriedly waved his hands: "I wouldn't dare! This Junior only did what was necessary."

Mu Zun nodded and said no more.

He looked at Youxuan and Dream.

The two were pale and their auras were weak; clearly, their injuries were not light.

"Do you still want to fight for it?"

Chief of the Xuanyou Clan and Chief of the Jiuyou Python Clan shook their heads simultaneously.

"We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare," Chief of the Xuanyou Clan said hurriedly.

Mu Zun withdrew his gaze and led the Xuan sisters toward the exit.

Nether Abyss quickly led the Yinming Clan members to follow.

Chief of the Xuanyou Clan and Chief of the Jiuyou Python Clan looked at each other, both seeing the bitterness in the other's eyes.

They took their clansmen and left the underground space dejectedly.

Outside the Legacy site.

Mu Zun stood in the valley, looking at the ancient stone gate.

The stone gate was slowly closing, making a dull rumbling sound.

"Young Master Qin, where are we going next?" Xuan Hua asked.

"Back to the Yinming Clan first," Mu Zun said indifferently. "There are still some matters to handle."

"Yes." Xuan Hua nodded.

Nether Abyss quickly stepped forward: "Senior Qin, please follow me."

The group walked toward the Yinming Clan territory.