Chapter 337: The Fifth Vine Leaf World

Dongbo Xueying raised his head, gazing around as he took a deep breath. At this moment, the malicious and resentful aura diffusing from the Blood War Arena brought him immense delight.

After the battle, a sense of relief washed over him, and boundless fatigue surged into his mind.

This feeling of relaxation and weariness caused Dongbo Xueying to involuntarily grin. Kneeling down, he caressed the cold surface of the Blood War Arena, feeling its icy touch as he whispered, “I won. What is the Blood War Arena to me? I still won. I’ve passed the fourth vine-leaf world already, and now only the final fifth vine-leaf world remains. Jing Qiu, wait for me—I will come back!”

Then, he abruptly stood up, patting the Starstone Cloudfire Spear in his hand. This long spear had accompanied him all the way to the present.

“We keep advancing—just keep going forward,” Dongbo Xueying smiled, then strode out of the Blood War Arena. The spatial barrier surrounding the arena had already vanished, and following the entrance passage, he soon exited the arena building.

Whoosh.

Emerging from the magnificent Blood War Arena structure, Dongbo Xueying immediately soared into the sky, continuing to fly upward along the main trunk of the Skyward Vine.

Around him stretched an endless dark starry sky, with countless distant stars.

Silence reigned.

Staring at the desolate landscape, Xueying Dongbo chuckled mid-flight. As the agony from the Venomous Ying’s poison grew unbearable, he retrieved an obsidian gourd and gulped down a draught of antidote.

…

Flying continuously, another long eight days passed.

Dongbo Xueying flew to nearly the very top of this space. Looking upward, he saw an invisible spatial membrane—clearly, above it lay another space. The main trunk of the Skyward Vine continued upward, piercing through the spatial membrane into a higher layer of space.

“As long as I pass through the fifth vine-leaf world, I can follow the Skyward Vine into a higher space, becoming a guardian disciple of Hongshishan, obtaining many things I desire—even treasures coveted by the great divine gods themselves.” Dongbo Xueying looked forward to that day. “Of course, only one final obstacle remains.”

Dongbo Xueying’s gaze fell upon a huge vine leaf nearby.

This was the fifth vine leaf.

Above it was completely empty, nothing at all—only the leaf itself existed.

“The Xia Clan’s transcendent,” a green-haired woman named Xi Wei materialized on the main trunk of the Skyward Vine beside Dongbo Xueying. Xi Wei gazed at Dongbo Xueying, her eyes filled with anticipation. “Congratulations on reaching the fifth vine leaf. The fifth vine leaf seems to be the simplest of all the vine leaves, yet also the most difficult. It varies from person to person.”

Dongbo Xueying nodded.

“You only need to land on the fifth vine leaf. Once your body touches it, you will hear nothing, see nothing, and sense nothing at all… Your task is simply to survive for three years on the fifth vine leaf.”

“If you survive, you win, and you will become a guardian disciple of my Hongshishan.”

“If you fail to survive, your soul and consciousness will collapse, and you will die.”

Xi Wei looked at him. “Do you understand?”

“I do,” Dongbo Xueying nodded. With intelligence from the Xia Clan and information provided by Chen Jiu, he naturally understood the situation of the fifth vine-leaf world. This was the only world among all the vine-leaf worlds where no combat was required. It seemed the simplest, yet according to intelligence, it was considered extremely difficult. Back in the Divine Realm, many gifted transcendent beings had been stopped at the fifth vine-leaf world, their souls and consciousnesses collapsing and dying there.

“You may go,” Xi Wei said, her eyes filled with anticipation. It had been far too long—since the master’s death, no guardian disciple had been born.

Dongbo Xueying first took a swig of the antidote from his black gourd, then without hesitation, dove downward toward the fifth vine-leaf world.

Xi Wei also gazed downward, murmuring softly, “Among them, Dongbo Xueying has the highest talent and potential. But compared to the other three, Dongbo Xueying is still too young, with relatively less trials experienced. I wonder if he can pass this fifth vine-leaf world. I hope this genius transcendent doesn’t fall here.”

She wished to help, but lacked the authority.

Everything was decreed by the Holy Master—it must follow the established rules.

The trial of the fifth vine-leaf world… back then, the Holy Master had considered that the transcendent beings who came to attempt it were generally at the semi-divine limit, having cultivated for at least two thousand years, reaching a point where they could advance no further before attempting it. Thus, the trial was naturally set extremely difficult.

“The first four were manageable, but this fifth one tests one’s inner self,” Xi Wei worried. “Dongbo Xueying’s inner strength is indeed high, but only compared to the majority of ordinary transcendent beings. Compared to transcendent beings like the Meishan Pavilion Master, the Sword Emperor, and Chen Jiu, he might not have much advantage.”

Cultivation of the inner self requires time.

For example, those deities who lived for millions of years… each possessed an incredibly strong inner self. Because those with fragile inner selves could not survive for long. Over the long passage of time, they would feel increasingly old, weary, and bored, even doubting their own cultivation path, ultimately leading to the collapse of their divine consciousness and death.

Therefore, those who lived the longest had inner selves—whether righteous or evil—that were firmly steadfast in their own ways.

Yet Dongbo Xueying had only lived for two hundred years.

…

Whoosh.

Dongbo Xueying dove downward, slowing as he approached the massive vine leaf, then gently landed on it with both feet.

The moment his feet touched the leaf,

Complete darkness! Utter silence!

“My vision fades, my hearing fails, and all laws and mysteries slip beyond my grasp,” Xueying Dongbo felt an ineffable desolation. The world’s sensations dissolved, leaving only the drumming of his heart and the coursing of his blood—and of course, the ever-growing torment of the Venomous Ying. It was as though he alone remained in the cosmos, all else swallowed by the void.

Dongbo Xueying sat cross-legged, silently still.

He accustomed himself to this absolute desolation.

Gradually…

Time stretched unbearably slow. Fortunately, he could gauge its passage through the pounding of his heart and the intensifying agony of the Venomous Ying. Otherwise, he’d have no way to tell how much time had slipped away.

Dongbo Xueying’s spirit was truly unyielding. Since the age of eight, he had trained ceaselessly with his spear alone, growing accustomed to solitude from childhood. By twenty-two, he had already spent six full years living in isolation within the Blackwind Divine Palace at the depths of the Blackwind Abyss. Later, the torment of the Ghost Six Grievances and the Venomous Ying plagued him for a century. Yet, prior to that, Dongbo Xueying had stubbornly delayed taking the antidote each day, pushing it to the very brink of the final moment.

Every day was a struggle against himself! Every time, he endured until the limit. Under such torment, Dongbo Xueying’s inner will had become terrifyingly strong.

Although he could sense nothing external… ordinary mortals would likely collapse into madness within a single teacup’s time, and even ordinary transcendent beings would find it hard to endure a month. This was far more agonizing than mere physical punishment. In absolute desolation, even one’s thoughts slowed, as if the entire world were a void, a nothingness.

…

Dongbo Xueying sat cross-legged within the Fifth Vine-Leaf Realm, sipping the antidote each time the torment of the Venomous Ying reached its unbearable peak.

After a year, he remained calm!

Xi Wei was utterly astonished by this tranquility, secretly observing him: “This young immortal has only cultivated for two centuries—how can his spirit be so unshakable? Even the torment of the Ghost Six Grievances and Venomous Ying can temper one’s will, but to endure an entire year in utter desolation… How could he withstand it?”

“Whoosh.” Along the main trunk of the Skyward Vine below, a figure flew upward, sticking close to the trunk—it was indeed the Meishan Pavilion Master.

The Meishan Pavilion Master flew upward, reaching a high point where he saw Dongbo Xueying already sitting cross-legged on the fifth vine leaf. He couldn’t help but express admiration: “Dongbo Xueying arrived a year earlier than me. Under the ‘Silent Death Trial’ of the fifth vine leaf, a year has passed, and his expression remains calm. Truly remarkable.”

Generally, as one’s inner emotions fluctuated, their expressions would change.

Yet Dongbo Xueying’s face remained calm, indicating that the year-long death trial had little effect on him.

“Congratulations,” Xi Wei, the green-haired woman, said calmly to the Meishan Pavilion Master. “This is the final fifth vine leaf.”