It was indeed the corpse of Jiao Xiuyuan.
After three months had passed, it gradually revealed something unusual.
Unlike normal flesh and blood, it looked more like withered wood, presenting a yellowish color.
Li Fan kicked it, and the sound was exactly like kicking on wood.
At this moment, a voice came from behind Li Fan.
“This is just a puppet, not the real body. It’s Jiao Xiuyuan’s usual method. Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to be surprised,” said the voice.
Li Fan turned around and saw that the speaker was also a Qi Condensation stage cultivator.
He immediately cupped his hands, “Thank you for the guidance. Is the fellow Daoist also a member of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?”
The person nodded, “Yes, I am Chen An. I’ve been a member of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance for over thirty years.”
“I’m Li Fan. From what the fellow Daoist said, it seems you are quite familiar with Jiao Xiuyuan?”
Chen An smiled, “Familiar is not the right word. But, you know some things after living here for so long.”
“Take Jiao Xiuyuan, for example. He opened a grocery store called Thousand Mile Hall on the island, selling everything. It is said he has official connections with the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, and occasionally he can sell some good stuff.”
“In addition, he often does some intelligence business. However, this guy never takes risks himself; he always uses puppets to pave the way.”
Li Fan nodded after hearing this, “Greedy for money and afraid of death, I see.”
Chen An laughed heartily, “Fellow Daoist summarized it perfectly! ‘Greedy for money and afraid of death’ describes Jiao Xiuyuan very accurately!”
After the laughter, Chen An suddenly said, “When we were transcribing the techniques in the book pavilion before, I saw others transcribing for a while and then taking a break when tired. They would transcribe again after recharging. Only you, fellow Daoist, didn’t rest for three months. I truly admire that!”
“But I wonder, fellow Daoist, what’s the profound meaning behind your actions? If we only consider the speed of transcription, after all, when you stopped due to physical and mental exhaustion later on, you were certainly slower than those who took frequent breaks.”
“I don’t know if you can enlighten me on this,” Chen An asked respectfully.
Li Fan contemplated for a moment before speaking, “I dare not claim a profound meaning; it’s just a gut feeling.”
“Regarding what Qin Tang said about the first trial being about ‘focus,’ to be focused means having undivided attention. Not being disturbed by any external factors can be called true focus. Is physical and mental fatigue also an external factor? If you stop because of it, doesn’t that mean you’re no longer ‘focused’?”
“It’s just a humble opinion; you can take it as you wish,” Li Fan humbly said.
Chen An seemed lost in thought upon hearing this.
Li Fan didn’t say anything further and returned to the room to rest.
The next day, Qin Tang did not appear again.
No one dared to run around, and they just patiently waited inside the building.
On the third day, early in the morning, Qin Tang appeared in front of everyone while staggering and drinking wine.
“Good wine, good wine!”
After burping, he squinted at the group of cultivators.
“Today, we start the second trial!”
“This time, I will test your courage!”
“On the path of immortality, there are countless hardships and challenges. Do you have the courage to face them all?”
Qin Tang smiled faintly.
The crowd felt a momentary dizziness and suddenly found themselves by the seashore.
Their own cultivation realm was sealed, and they became no different from an ordinary person.
However, Qin Tang was nowhere to be seen.
Only his voice came from afar.
“I’ll wait for you on the other side of the sea. Use your courage to cross this vast ocean!”
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other.
Some brave individuals walked to the edge of the sea and took a step forward.
The sea instantly froze into ice and safely held the person.
The person was overjoyed and continued to walk forward, quickly disappearing from the sight of the others.
The remaining people, seeing someone take the lead, hurriedly walked into the sea.
Li Fan noticed Baili Chen doing the same and followed into the sea.
However, Sikong Yi remained by the shore, not moving.
Li Fan didn’t pay further attention and focused on traversing the sea.
The water under his feet solidified into ice, but there was no trace of the others in his field of vision.
On the vast sea, he was left alone in an instant.
Li Fan remained composed, steadily moving forward step by step.
The sun rose and set above him, and he lost track of how much time had passed.
The scenery Li Fan saw remained unchanged.
It seemed like this vast sea had no end.
Even though Li Fan knew the solution in advance, various feelings of powerlessness and hesitation arose within him.
At this moment, Li Fan could feel the thickness of the ice beneath his feet gradually decreasing.
Taking a deep breath, he dispelled the doubts in his heart.
He continued resolutely moving forward.
The ice beneath his feet solidified again.
This second trial was testing “courage.”
It was not only testing the courage to face external circumstances but also the courage to face one’s own inner fears.
On the vast sea, after walking for a long time, he still hadn’t seen the opposite shore.
Would doubts arise in your heart, wondering if you had lost your way? Would anxiety creep in, questioning whether this vast sea had an end? Would fear start to take over, robbing you of the courage to move forward?
Or would you give up and stop moving forward?
Li Fan walked step by step, questioning his own heart.
Even after hundreds of years of reincarnation, he had never experienced anything like this.
Temporarily putting aside all external matters, he contemplated while walking.
This journey across the ice was like the path of immortality.
The road ahead was boundless, and the endpoint was not visible.
Halfway through, looking around, he couldn’t be certain if he had lost his direction.
From start to finish, he was alone, with nothing to rely on.
Time passed, and it seemed like he would walk like this forever.
Endlessly.
…
Even so, could you still firmly hold on to your faith and never lose the courage to move forward?
Even though you knew that this trial would eventually end.
But Li Fan had wavered in his heart as well.
Because this journey across the sea seemed to last forever.
A year, two years…
Decades passed.
Li Fan’s hair turned gray, his body hunched over, and he still didn’t stop his steps.
Until his body became too old and he could no longer walk.
He collapsed weakly on the surface of the sea.
His vision became blurry, and before losing consciousness, Li Fan seemed to see it.
On the coast not far ahead, Qin Tang, dressed in white, stood there in solitude.
He raised his wine gourd towards Li Fan and took a sip, smiling.
…
Opening his eyes, Li Fan found that he and the other cultivators were still in that building.
However, a long time had passed compared to the memories, and many people looked dazed.
After a long time, they regained their clarity.
“Crossing the Nine Nether River is easy, but crossing the sea within one’s heart is difficult.”
“The second trial of courage has ended.”
“Two days from now, early in the morning, we will proceed to the final trial.”
After saying this, Qin Tang, with his ever-present wine gourd, shook his head and left.