Mortal: From a Chaotic Star Sea to a True Immortal

Wei Fang couldn't help but want to step forward and lend a hand.

But he hadn't forgotten what the jade slip had said about not being greedy.

Those words he was told to remember were still etched in his mind.

Throughout history, countless wonders of nature have existed. Yet, how many people have lost their lives because of them?

Since he could acquire a treasure without any risk, Wei Fang convinced himself to be content.

And he secretly made up his mind that once he got out, he would go to Little Huan Island to find the Gold-Eating Insects!

Reluctantly watching the four illusory images of celestial beasts being pulled back into the jade box one by one, Wei Fang staggered away from this sorrowful place.

On the way to the fourth pavilion, Wei Fang used his divine sense to scan the ring in his hand.

The result surprised him greatly.

Through his investigation, he discovered that this treasure was actually made of Soul Nourishing Wood and Illusion Stone!

The Illusionary Void Stone isn't exactly a rare item, but in the cultivation world, it's extremely difficult to refine any treasures from it other than using it to make storage bags.

Because it contains spatial laws, its properties are extremely active and unstable.

Even storage bags can shatter instantly if accidentally caught in the crossfire of a magical battle.

In particular, this ring also has a defensive function.

In the cultivation world, there has never been any magical artifact made from Illusionary Void Stone.

"The fact that three Illusionary Void Stones are inlaid on it is truly... an exquisite work of art! It seems this treasure is quite valuable."

He could clearly sense that there were three different spaces within the ring using his divine sense. Each clearly had its own purpose, which he needed to explore gradually.

Wei carefully placed the ring on his index finger before entering the fourth pavilion.

Upon closer inspection, a person was sitting upright in the chair. But upon closer examination, it turned out to be a puppet.

"This is... a mechanical puppet? No, this should be an ancient puppet."

He picked up the jade slip on the table and began to read it. Wei Fang had gradually become accustomed to the way the master of this place did things.

The jade slip mentions that the owner of this place was playing chess with a friend when he suddenly left midway through the game.

Those who come here must finish this game of chess before they can proceed to the next level.

Regardless of whether you win, draw, or lose in the final game, you will gain different insights.

……

Wei Fang felt a little numb after reading the jade slip. Ever since he embarked on the path of cultivation, he had either been in seclusion to cultivate diligently or was constantly on the go in order to improve his cultivation.

Where does one find the leisure to learn this so-called art of chess?

Isn't this making things difficult for honest people?

"Having been obsessed with this art for over 200 years, I'm not even 100 years old in total. What can I possibly do to compete with this senior? I might as well just throw the stones and admit defeat."

Wei Fang gave a few wry smiles and then sat down to play the black pieces.

He picked up a stone, about to throw it, when he suddenly felt a restriction pressing down on him. Instantly, it felt as if the space around him was squeezing him so tightly that he couldn't breathe.

The hand that was lowering down began to tremble, it was very difficult!

"This is... the formation has been activated? Oh no, I can't stand up!" Wei Fang was terrified.

But after a while, they found nothing else had happened besides their bodies being restrained.

My heart, which had been hanging in suspense for so long, finally felt much more at ease.

Wei Fangqiang mustered his energy and used his spiritual power to throw the black piece onto the chessboard.

After all that, I felt a sense of relief, though my back was covered in cold sweat.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that although the true essence within my body had decreased slightly due to the inexplicable pressure earlier, it had become more condensed!

This is incredible! The effect achieved in just a short time is equivalent to one or two months of arduous training!

Wei Fang's expression changed; he went from casually preparing to playing chess seriously!

The man and his puppet then began a game of chess in the jade pavilion.

During this time, Wei Fang often spent a long time making each move, and now he was soaked in sweat.

What made things even worse for him was this predicament.

The legendary scenario of randomly placing a piece and turning the tide didn't happen to him. As the number of white pieces on the board increased, it was clear that defeat was inevitable.

Wei Fang threw the black stone in his hand into the jar and leaned back.

He murmured, "I'm tired. Let's destroy it."

At this moment, the silent puppet uttered a strange and incomprehensible voice: "White...wins!...Black...loses...the test...begins..."

Wei Fang jumped up and looked around. "Why did it suddenly make a sound? This puppet is very strange. Could it be that I have to fight it? Judging from its material, it is not easy to deal with."

Before I could figure it out, I saw all the white pieces on the chessboard shine brightly, each one like a star in the sky.

Ripples of mist swept over us, quickly covering the pavilion.

A series of booming, resounding sounds also swept in.

"Something's wrong! This is..."

Before Wei Fang could even sit down, his vision changed, and he was instantly plunged into some profound illusion.

A moment of silence fell, save for the puppet still uttering something: "The trial...seven days...is over..."

……

Wei Fang opened his eyes and was about to stand up when he found himself back in his cave in Tianxing City.

"This, I'm...forming my core? Oh no!"

After examining his inner self, Wei Fang discovered that the liquid spiritual energy, which had shown signs of solidification, had become agitated and unstable. The golden core, which had only partially solidified and was in its nascent stage, was now covered with faint cracks and was about to dissipate.

Wei Fang hurriedly tried to meditate and return to oneness, but he still couldn't stop it in the slightest and could only watch as his golden elixir dissipated.

"No!!!"

The failure to form the Golden Core, coupled with the chaos of spiritual energy within his body, severely damaged Wei Fang's vitality, and he was on the verge of falling from his cultivation level and suffering a qi deviation.

At this moment, Wei Fang was in agony, but he bit his tongue, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and uttered, "Break!"

The scenery before him instantly turned into fragments and vanished, and then everything went black before Wei Fang's eyes again.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself on a vast ocean, with a cultivator in blue robes in the distance.

It had wings on its back and held a long spear in its hand.

At this moment, he looked at me with icy eyes and said, "How did you know that I possess the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul-Nourishing Wood? The news that I possess the Void Heaven Cauldron must not be known to anyone. It seems that I will have to ask you to take your leave first."

Without waiting for Wei Fang's reply, he lunged forward and attacked him.

Wei Fang tried everything he could but was still no match for this person, and in the end, he could only shout in despair, "Han Li!!!"

He was stabbed to death and fell into the sea.

The icy seawater gave him a final moment of clarity, and Wei Fang gritted his teeth and shattered the illusion.

He then repeatedly appeared at various stages of cultivation, sometimes being hunted down by Foundation Establishment cultivators while cultivating on Yuanhua Island, sometimes being casually killed by passing cultivators while gathering herbs on a deserted island, and so on.

As the illusions changed time and again, Wei Fang went from being panicked at the beginning to now being able to handle things more easily by staying true to himself.

"So this is the test of failure? It was truly perilous. But I've gotten used to it pretty much. Since it's a test, it should be over soon."

……