238: The Tower of Supreme

From its initial founding to the present day, countless Martial Artists with extraordinary experiences have emerged from the Martial Abyss, and Candle Kite has witnessed it all.

During her slumber, with each rise and fall of her breath, new subtle planets gradually formed within the Origin Star Sea, initially appearing illusory before slowly solidifying. If truly transcendent powerhouses observed closely,

they would discover that every planet within the Origin Star Sea is interconnected.

It seems that these planets are like independent 'units,' linked together to form a vast network.

Soon—

The Origin Star Sea fell into complete silence.

The Great Wilderness.

The Great Wilderness spans a vast area. After annexing and integrating two major Tribes, the territory of the Si Huo Tribe rapidly expanded. To the east of the Si Huo Tribe, separated by several large and small Tribes, there was a super-large Tribe located there!

Heng Jiang Kingdom.

The only small kingdom in the entire surrounding area.

Within the Great Wilderness, a kingdom is not merely a designation; it not only involves the Tribe's own scale but is also greatly connected to its Sacrificial Spirit.

The entire Heng Jiang Kingdom stands by the river. Its largest settlement, which is the 'capital,' is divided into two large areas, separated by a ceaselessly flowing river. At this moment, beyond the river, several figures stand, dressed in elaborate attire.

The leader is a middle-aged man with strange patterns etched on his face. In the center of his brow, an unknown, scale-like object is embedded, emitting a dark, faint glow under the sunlight. He holds a staff in his hand, his face devout, as he gazes at the surging river ahead.

The Great Priest of Heng Jiang Kingdom, Tang Shang.

The few people behind him are all dressed as priests. Now, with devout expressions, Tang Shang leads the way, holding his staff, bowing respectfully. As he murmurs incantations, a light flashes from the scale on his brow and enters the river.

Not long after.

The normally calm water surface suddenly churned with a massive vortex. The riverbanks on both sides surged, and from the vortex, a colossal creature emerged, revealing its true form.

It was a—giant python!

—

At a glance, its length was indeterminable, as most of its body remained in the river; only its python head and a portion of its body were exposed. Its dark, faint scales were almost like mirrors, reflecting everything around it. Below its python head, layers of golden patterns, like rings, encircled its python body.

Those were traces left by 'Votive Power.'

Hengjiang Sacrificial Spirit—Xuan Jing!

It looked quite fierce, but its python pupils were extremely pure. Its head extended over the river, its gaze fixed on the people on the shore, and a deep voice sounded.

"What is it?"

"Lord Xuan Jing."

Tang Shang bowed respectfully and said, "According to your instructions, the tribesmen sent to the Si Huo Tribe have returned.

'

"The Sacrificial Spirit of Si Huo has agreed to meet with you. Once we have communicated, we can meet."

Upon hearing this.

The python head of the Hengjiang Sacrificial Spirit extended forward, full of oppressive presence: "Did the people you sent see the Sacrificial Spirit of Si Huo in person?"

"No."

Tang Shang shook his head.

Hearing this, Xuan Jing's eyes lowered slightly.

Seeing this, Tang Shang hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Lord, you seem to attach great importance to this Si Huo Tribe and its Sacrificial Spirit."

"Although the Sacrificial Spirit of Si Huo has an impressive record, if you were to act, even the Tie Chi Spirit Guardian would not be an opponent.

You—"

The python head turned, looking at him, interrupting his subsequent words.

The dark, faint python head showed no clear expression, but as its pupils flickered, a golden parchment, about the size of two palms, appeared above the river, like a letter, suspended in mid-air.

This letter, seemingly condensed from Votive Power, had the extremely ancient characters 'Qingqiu' at its bottom.

"This is the invitation from the Ancient State of Qingqiu."

The voice of the Hengjiang Sacrificial Spirit was profound: "You have lived in this remote place for so long that you do not know, but I have been fortunate enough to hear of these ancient kingdoms' names."

"Within the Great Wilderness, those that can be called Ancient States are all great Tribes with extremely long inheritances. Within their Tribes, there might even be inheritances that existed in ancient times."

The python head rose high, looking into the distance. Its voice continued: "This Ancient State of Qingqiu has set its sights on our region, likely related to the 'Heavenly Change.' We still don't know their exact attitude. Although the Si Huo Tribe has risen abruptly, their Sacrificial Spirit is indeed remarkable. Since we are all in this area, they can be another helper."

"Furthermore—"

At this point, its pupils flickered with a hint of longing: "If the Sacrificial Spirit of Si Huo is truly the rumored Dragon Kind, then he can be of great help to me."

"Our relationship with the Si Huo Tribe must not go wrong."

A look of contemplation flashed in its eyes: "Have the tribesmen quickly communicate the meeting place and time. The guests from the Ancient State of Qingqiu will arrive soon. We must meet before then."

"I understand."

Tang Shang solemnly replied.

As he bowed and responded, the python head submerged. Its dark, faint back scales were particularly conspicuous in the river but quickly sank into the depths, disappearing without a trace.

Myriad Phenomena Star System, Crystal Branch Star.

Qin Jin stepped into the Gate of Supreme Trial.

A sensation of teleportation came from all around him, and to Qin Jin's surprise, he did not directly enter another space but stepped onto a void.

At a glance, everything around him was void, with nothing existing.

But the moment he appeared, everything in this void began to generate rapidly.

In Qin Jin's line of sight, different spatial images appeared before him. The images were initially empty, then began to generate creations: massive, terrifying monsters, uniquely shaped buildings with unknown functions, and even unknown beings in human form, cloaked.

As everything generated, the void where Qin Jin was located also changed.

Starting with Qin Jin, the entire space seemed to 'stand up.' From where he stood, three crystal staircases emerged, leading upwards, extending to a certain height. Then, the previously displayed spatial images contracted,

transforming into different giant symbolic patterns, connecting with the crystal staircases.

Subsequently.

From these three symbols upwards, new crystal staircases generated, continuing to extend, and new spatial images contracted, changing into symbolic patterns.

It looked like.

this was constructing three 'pathways.'

In some places, 'crystal bridges' appeared between the symbols, connecting them, indicating that it was not limited to one pathway, but rather that routes could be changed in certain specific areas.

Extending all the way upwards, reaching the highest point, the three pathways converged into one, uniting at the topmost symbol.

Starting with Qin Jin, a tower-shaped tree diagram appeared in this void!

Except for the three patterns on the first layer, the symbolic patterns above were obscured by mist during their generation, making their content unreadable. Perhaps the mist would only dissipate as one ascended the stairs and approached them.

Qin Jin stood in place. He was extremely astute, and upon witnessing this process, he had already realized.

"This Supreme Trial is completely newly generated."

"So—"

"The specific trial content and format for each evolver who triggers the Supreme Trial in this Jingyu Academy's trial ground are different."

"After all, this is not just a trial ground for Martial Artists."

"Considering the environment of Crystal Branch Star, this trial ground might even have received the attention of the 'Crystal Lord of Precepts.'"

Thoughts flashed through his mind.

The tower-shaped tree diagram before him was undoubtedly the content of his trial.

He slowly exhaled, a serious expression appearing on Qin Jin's face. He took a step forward, ascending the crystal staircase.

The moment he stepped onto the staircase.

Pressure surged forth. On the staircase, crystal runes formed one by one, rushing towards Qin Jin.

This process of continuously ascending the stairs was also a form of trial.

The three symbolic patterns on the first layer were all different. The left route displayed a 'clashing swords' pattern, the right displayed a well wrapped in crystals, while the central pattern was quite eerie, featuring only an eye with a triangular pupil, seemingly staring straight ahead.

Clearly, different patterns represented different trial contents within.

Qin Jin made his choice very quickly.

The direction of the staircase he stepped onto pointed directly to the central pattern.

The clashing swords on the left seemed to be a battle scene, the well on the right had a gentle feeling, more like a recovery scene, but only the central pupil was the most unknown, its function unclear.

Unknown meant terrifying.

But equally, unknown also meant the greatest rewards.

Since he had entered this trial ground, Qin Jin naturally aimed for the greatest rewards, thus directly choosing the central pattern, which theoretically had the highest potential.

The crystal staircase was exquisite, and as he ascended step by step, the pressure also continuously increased.

As he reached the top of the staircase, about to touch the pattern, it seemed to transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, from flat to 3D. The symbolic pattern stood up, rapidly expanding, and at the end of the crystal staircase, it transformed into an ancient, rustic door. As Qin Jin reached out and pushed the door open, the space changed accordingly.

A blood moon hung in the sky.

The blood moon hung high, and the entire space was extremely desolate. Qin Jin looked up at the blood moon, only to see an eye open within the blood moon, gazing at him.

The two stared at each other.

At this instant, a beam of light shot out from within the blood moon, rapidly enveloping Qin Jin's entire body from top to bottom.

In Qin Jin's mind, information from the trial ground arose, which he quickly browsed.

[You are noticed by the Blood Moon. According to the level of importance, you have gained the 'Burning' characteristic.]

[You are noticed by the Blood Moon. According to the level of importance, you have acquired the Blood Moon Mark.]

[You are noticed by the Blood Moon. According to the level of importance, you need to bear the Blood Moon's pressure.]

As the information flashed by.

Qin Jin clearly sensed a gentle, peculiar power surging in within the trial ground, and his own power began to boil.

He raised his palm, and his power surged out. Compared to his usual power, there was a clear change now. Within his power, there was a 'burning' sensation. This change was not limited to his palm, but would attach itself to any technique Qin Jin used, being an essential change in his power.

As thoughts flowed, that gentle, peculiar power went deeper. Qin Jin's mind cleared, and his Divine Intent manifested behind him. On the surface of his Divine Intent, a blood moon was gradually forming, and a sense of protection slowly emerged.

At the same time.

Unbeknownst to him, the blood moon in the sky actually fell from the sky, rapidly approaching Qin Jin.

"What a mysterious feeling."

Qin Jin murmured to himself.

That peculiar power merged and guided, causing changes in himself. To make an analogy, the current Qin Jin was

equivalent to a painting, with new brushstrokes falling, perfecting and changing the artistic conception of the painting.

"Is this change permanent, or is it only limited to this trial ground?"

"The latter possibility should be greater."

Qin Jin whispered in his heart.

This trial ground had existed in Jingyu Academy for a long time, open to both internal and external participants, and was already fully perfected.

Moreover.

Power has its own autonomy. His own power had once resisted 'psionic energy.' When this peculiar power integrated, Qin Jin did not sense his own power resisting, which was also why he did not intercept it and let it happen.

The changes were still ongoing.

As his power boiled, the blood moon completely fell, directly suspending behind Qin Jin. As it approached,

a feeling like falling into an ice cellar came, the circulation of his power significantly slowed, and Qin Jin himself felt suppressed.

"Are there also negative effects?"

"The gains in this trial ground are both good and bad, not everything is a positive aspect?"

The blood moon hung behind him.

The surrounding space changed rapidly. In a breath, Qin Jin had already left the Blood Moon space and stepped onto the crystal staircase again.

Looking back, the three symbolic patterns behind him had dimmed.

And above the staircase, the patterns on the second layer had changed. The mist covering them quickly dissipated, revealing the patterns within.

Qin Jin stood in place.

His own power changes were still ongoing. He adapted to the suppression brought by the blood moon behind him. As his power surged within his body, it continuously impacted the blood moon. During this process, the suppressive power stopped increasing and gradually ceased.

With a slight thought, within the Spirit Ruins, the Cave Heaven was activated, and the Enlightenment Treasure Art was unleashed!

The green lotus swayed, Qin Jin's mind was clear, and he perceived and observed everything about himself.

If before it was just a feeling in his heart, now it was even clearer: that peculiar power was indeed a catalyst, causing Qin Jin's power to transform, as if undergoing some kind of engraving.

The blood moon behind him, seemingly falling from the sky, was ultimately caused by Qin Jin himself; it was a negative effect that followed after his own power transformed.

Through continuous observation, Qin Jin's heart gradually gained understanding.

"Could this Supreme Tower be related to this direction?"

He was no longer the novice who had just embarked on the Martial Path, knowing nothing. His accumulated knowledge and experience were already sufficient to answer many questions.

After a Martial Artist completes nine transformations, he can create a Martial Saint Law and forge a Martial Saint Body.

Forging a body with law!

This is an extremely crucial step. Forging a Martial Saint Body will bring an unimaginable and astonishing boost to a Martial Artist,

but at the same time, if not careful, the Martial Saint Body could also have flaws, hidden dangers, and even cause Martial Artists to undergo some special changes because of the Martial Saint Body, such as preferences, etc.

Every Martial Saint is distinctly different.

This is why, during the process of establishing the law and forging the body, some changes in power might have positive effects, or they might produce negative effects.

Now, with the blood moon's negative pressure behind him, coupled with the transformation of his own power, how similar is this to the Martial Saint path?

The only difference is that when Qin Jin truly meets the requirements, everything will be led by himself, whereas now it is completed with the help and guidance of this trial ground.

Thinking of this, Qin Jin fully realized.

His Supreme Trial, this Supreme Tower, was clearly helping him simulate the Martial Saint path in advance!