The green-haired woman Xi Wei also had her own inclinations. Although the Plum Mountain Master had also successfully arrived at the Fifth Vine Leaf World and had a relatively high chance of passing the ‘Deadly Trial’ due to his long cultivation period, Xi Wei still favored Dongbo Xueying more, for he possessed higher innate talent and potential. As for the Plum Mountain Master? If it had been the era when the Supreme Sovereign was still alive, he would have merely been an ordinary guardian disciple, while Dongbo Xueying was someone worthy of great cultivation and nurturing.
She briefly explained the rules to the Plum Mountain Master, who then dove swiftly toward the Fifth Vine Leaf and descended cross-legged to sit.
…
Time passed day by day.
In utter solitude, Dongbo Xueying found himself growing increasingly restless. Though he could estimate that barely over two years had passed based on the cycles of the Black Venom’s assaults and his own heartbeat, this absolute isolation… felt even more excruciating than the century he’d endured under the venom’s torment. Back then, despite the agony inflicted by the Black Venom, at least he could still bask in sunlight, feel the caress of the wind, gaze upon the starry night sky, savor steaming hot dumplings, and walk side by side with Jing Qiu…
But now there was only emptiness!
“It’s almost time. It’s already been two and a half years, very close to three,” Dongbo Xueying thought silently. His facial expression could no longer remain calm, sometimes furrowing his brows, sometimes showing a hint of ferocity.
“The trial of the Fifth Vine Leaf World is also known as the ‘Deadly Trial.'”
“Especially at the very moment when the three years are complete… if one survives that instant, they live. If not, they die.”
Dongbo Xueying thought grimly to himself.
…
Xi Wei watched from afar, calculating the time herself: “The three years are nearly complete. In the final instant, do not let it collapse at the last hurdle.”
On the immense Fifth Vine Leaf.
Dongbo Xueying’s face showed ferocity and anger, clearly on the verge of madness, but he forced himself to restrain, not allowing himself to recklessly attack the surroundings.
“Buzz!”
Suddenly, a ripple descended.
Dongbo Xueying’s expression suddenly became incredibly calm.
“It’s here,” Xi Wei stared intently.
…
“Buzz.” A wave enveloped his soul consciousness. Dongbo Xueying instantly understood: “The final moment has come. I must endure.”
His soul consciousness was dragged directly into a phantom world.
This phantom world, known in intelligence reports as the ‘Instantaneous World,’ might feel like a long passage of time within, yet in the outside world, it was merely an instant! Within this phantom world, one’s memories would be obscured, and one would no longer know their original identity or strength. Everything would be forgotten! Without memories, one would seem to begin a new life.
In this world…
From birth to old age and death, if one could not struggle free of the Instantaneous World, their soul would also disintegrate within this illusionary realm.
Thus, the Deadly Trial, besides the three-year isolation, also included the final ‘Instantaneous World’ as another deadly challenge.
After three years of absolute solitude, even if some extraordinary beings could endure, their mental state would already be affected. In such a condition, their soul consciousness dragged into the phantom world, it would not be easy to awaken themselves before death.
…
This world had emperors high above, noble aristocrats, and countless cities.
Dongbo Xueying was an orphan in a poor mountain village, living by chopping firewood and hunting.
“Ahh, help, help!” A woman cried out in the mountains.
Dongbo Xueying, wearing animal hide, carried wild pheasants and rabbits on his shoulder. His ears twitched, and he immediately rushed over, shouting, “Xiaobai, follow me.” Beside him ran a snow-white hunting dog.
Man and dog moved swiftly through the mountains, soon spotting a woman in the weeds. Her leg was broken, and her clothes were torn to shreds.
“Save me, save me,” the woman cried out upon seeing someone.
But Dongbo Xueying stared dumbly at her, gazing at the exposed white skin from her torn clothes, almost entranced. All his life he had lived in this poor village; the prettiest girl was ‘Erya’ at the village head, but compared to this woman… she was incomparable. Her skin was delicate like jade, beautiful beyond words… as if a fairy descended from the heavens.
“What are you staring at?” the woman said in embarrassment, noticing her many torn places.
“Oh, oh,” Dongbo Xueying clumsily rushed over to help.
“Ahh.”
“Your leg is broken.”
“I can’t move. Carry me. Don’t worry, I’ll thank you. I’ll build you a big house and help you find a pretty girl.”
“Okay, okay.” Though Dongbo Xueying was shy and excited, he still carried the girl on his back.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Xueying.”
“You’re surnamed Xue? That’s rare.”
“I don’t know. I’m an orphan. Everyone in the village calls me Xueying, so I just go by Xueying.”
“Oh… By the way, how do I get out of the mountains? I fell from a cliff.”
“Wow, a cliff? Over ten miles high. How did you survive?”
“I had a talisman. You wouldn’t understand! Anyway, I survived. How do I get out of the mountains and into the city?”
“That’s complicated. The mountains are vast, with no roads. You have to cross mountain after mountain, with tigers, leopards, and wolves…”
“Just tell me how to get out, don’t talk so much.”
“I’ve never left the mountains. I don’t know.”
“You’ve never left? You’ve never gone out in all your life?”
“No.”
“But I need to go home.”
“Oh… I’ll ask the village chief. Don’t worry, I’ll help you. By the way, what’s your name?”
“Just call me… Fairy.”
“Fairy?”
…
Xueying took care of the woman. When her leg healed, he obtained a map from the village chief and began walking with her.
“Xueying, getting out of the mountains is really hard. You shouldn’t go. Go back, find a girl, and raise children here. Even if you’re the best hunter in the village, you might die on the way.”
“Thank you, Village Chief. I still want to see the outside.”
Xueying walked with the girl called ‘Fairy.’
Surprisingly, the girl herself was quite skilled in swordplay, though compared to the hunter ‘Xueying’s’ knife skills, she was still somewhat inferior. Along the way, Xueying protected her through many dangers, killing many beasts in the forest. During this time, Xueying was even poisoned and injured but endured. During these days, the two relied on each other, gradually developing feelings. Xueying learned Fairy’s real name was ‘Xu Ling.’
After three months of arduous travel, they finally survived the mountains and reached a magnificent city, entering a luxurious mansion—the Xu residence.
That was Fairy’s home.
“Little sister.”
“Sister Ling.”
The Xu family was overjoyed, but soon they were furious.
“What, a poor mountain boy? You want to marry him? Are you crazy?”
“I will marry him.”
“Your marriage has already been decided by your mother and me. Guards, seize that poor boy.”
Xueying resisted with a chopping knife, but in one exchange, he was defeated by a guard and thrown into the dungeon. No matter how much Fairy screamed and cried, it was useless.
“He saved my life. He brought me out of the mountains with great hardship. Father, Mother, you can’t do this.”
“Because he saved you, we didn’t kill him. If you don’t obey, he will die.”
Time passed day by day.
Xueying was locked in the dungeon.
“Give him this poison gradually in his food each day. In half a year, he will naturally die of illness.”
“Yes, Clan Leader.”
…
“You must marry. If you don’t, that poor boy will die! Marry him, and the next day I will release the boy and give him a large sum of money.”
“I… okay.”
…
“The Third Miss is getting married today.”
“Wow, so lively.”
In the dungeon, Xueying heard the conversation outside and became somewhat frenzied. When the guard brought food, he desperately knocked him out, grabbed the key, and escaped from the private prison.
Outside was bustling.
In Xu Ling’s chamber, she sat on the bed in a red wedding gown.
“Ling’er,” the ragged Xueying rushed in.
“How did you get here?” the maids cried out.
“Brother Xueying,” Xu Ling in her wedding dress looked at Xueying, her eyes red.
Soon, chaos erupted around them.
“The groom is here to fetch the bride.”
“What’s going on here?”
“Quick, seize this wild boy.”
A fight broke out in the courtyard.
The simple mountain boy, when enraged, proved quite a handful, seemingly gaining a sudden surge in strength.
“Why haven’t you captured him yet? Get in there!” The Xu Clan leader ordered, and more skilled fighters rushed forward, including two wielding long spears.
Whoosh!
When the spears thrust toward him.
Xueying desperately leaned back, narrowly dodging, the spear passing just in front of his chest. As he watched the spearhead whizz past, his eyes widened.
Suddenly, he felt that the spear was so familiar.
Compared to the knife in his hand, the spear felt more familiar.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed the spear, exerting force. The spear shaft vibrated, skillfully knocking the opponent’s hand aside.
Whoosh! With the spear in hand, Xueying naturally executed a very refined spear technique. The spear moved like a dragon, freely darting and weaving. In an instant, the surrounding guards were all knocked down.
“Why are you all so useless?” the Xu Clan leader cried in frustration.
Boom!
The heavens and earth began to tremble.
With a sweep of the spear, a thousand enemies were swept away. The wall ahead collapsed entirely, and even an area over a kilometer behind the wall was devastated by an invisible shockwave, as if collapsing, causing massive casualties.
Everyone stared at Xueying in shock.
This… this was simply not human.
Xu Ling, in her red wedding gown, looked at Xueying in disbelief.
Xueying slowly floated into the air. He caressed the spear in his hand, then looked at the distant Xu Ling. Her appearance was identical to Yu Jingqiu’s. This phantom world was actually a projection based on many images within his heart, making it even harder for the dragged-in extraordinary being to ‘awaken.’
“The Instantaneous World is ultimately just an illusion.”
“The spear.”
Xueying caressed the spear. “Still the most familiar spear. It finally helped me awaken.”
Boom! Boom! Boom! ~~~
The entire phantom world began to collapse, and Dongbo Xueying’s soul consciousness began to return.
…
Dongbo Xueying opened his eyes.
He saw the vast, immense vine leaf, and beyond it, the majestic, towering main vine of Liantian. Further away, he saw the boundless dark starry sky.
Everything was so silent, so familiar.
Although it felt familiar, it seemed as if everything had changed!
“The world hasn’t changed, I have,” Dongbo Xueying smiled as he stood up. “And I, will change the world.”
“Jingqiu, I succeeded.”
“The five worlds of Liantian Vine, I have conquered them all!”
Dongbo Xueying looked upward, his heart surging. He knew that everything was about to begin a great transformation.
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