It was Jiao Xiuyuan's corpse.
After three months, it had gradually begun to reveal something unusual.
Unlike normal flesh and blood, it resembled withered wood, taking on a yellowish hue.
Li Fan nudged it with his foot. The sound was identical to kicking a tree log.
Just then, a voice came from behind Li Fan.
"That's just a puppet, not his true body. It's one of Jiao Xiuyuan's usual methods. There's no need to be surprised, Fellow Daoist."
Li Fan turned. The speaker was also a Qi Refinement cultivator.
He immediately cupped his hands in salute. "Thank you for the guidance, Fellow Daoist. Are you also a member of the Myriad Immortals Alliance?"
The man nodded. "Indeed. I am Chen An. I've been with the Alliance for over thirty years now."
"I am Li Fan. From your words, it seems you are quite familiar with this Jiao Xiuyuan?"
Chen An chuckled. "Familiar wouldn't be the right word. But after living on this island for so long, one comes to know certain things.
"Take Jiao Xiuyuan, for example. He runs a general store on the island called Thousand Li Hall that sells just about everything. Rumor has it that he has connections with the official Myriad Immortals Alliance channels, so occasionally he even manages to sell some genuinely good items.
"Beyond that, he frequently deals in information. But the man never risks his own skin. He always uses puppets to handle his business."
Li Fan listened, then slowly nodded. "Greedy for wealth and fearful of death, I see."
Chen An laughed heartily. "An excellent summary, Fellow Daoist! That phrase describes Jiao Xiuyuan perfectly!"
After his laughter subsided, Chen An suddenly said, "Back when we were copying techniques in the archive, I noticed everyone else would write for a while, rest when tired, recuperate their energy, then continue. You were the only one who worked for three months without pause. I found that quite admirable!
"Yet I wonder, what was the deeper meaning behind your actions? In terms of pure copying speed, your fatigue must have eventually made you slower than those who rested periodically.
"Might you enlighten me, Fellow Daoist?" Chen An bowed slightly as he inquired.
Li Fan pondered for a moment before speaking. "I wouldn't call it deeper meaning. Just a personal intuition, really.
"Qin Tang said the first trial was about focus.
"Focus means an undivided mind. To achieve ultimate focus, one must remain undisturbed by any external factors. Isn't physical and mental fatigue also an external disturbance? If you stop because of it, does that not mean you've lost your focus?
"Anyway, this is just a foolish thought of mine. Take it for what it's worth." Li Fan said modestly.
Upon hearing this, Chen An fell into thoughtful silence.
Li Fan said no more and returned to his room to rest.
The next day, Qin Tang indeed did not appear.
No one dared to wander off, patiently waiting within the building instead.
Early on the third day, Qin Tang staggered before the group, drinking from a gourd.
"Fine wine, truly fine wine!" He let out a hearty belch, then squinted at the assembled cultivators.
"Today, we begin the second trial!
"This time, I shall test your courage!
"The path of immortality is long and fraught with countless hardships and trials. Do you possess the courage to face each one?" Qin Tang smiled faintly.
The cultivators felt their vision blur. In an instant, they had been transported from the pavilion to the seashore.
Their cultivation and power were sealed, rendering them no different from mortals.
Qin Tang, however, was nowhere to be seen.
Only his voice echoed from afar. "I await you on the other shore. Use your courage to cross this sea!"
The crowd exchanged uneasy glances.
One bold soul stepped forward, planting his foot upon the water's surface.
The water instantly solidified into ice, bearing his weight steadily.
Elated, he strode forward and soon vanished from sight.
Seeing someone take the initiative, the rest grew impatient and surged into the sea.
Li Fan noticed Baili Chen among them, following the crowd. Yet Sikong Yi remained motionless on the shore.
Li Fan paid them no further mind, steadying his thoughts as he stepped onto the water.
Ice formed beneath his feet, but the others had already disappeared from view.
On the vast, empty sea, he stood utterly alone.
With a calm expression, Li Fan walked onward, step by step.
The sun rose, and the moon fell, again and again.
How long had it been?
The scenery never changed.
This sea seemed endless.
Even knowing the answer in advance, Li Fan felt tendrils of doubt and powerlessness creeping into his heart.
It was then that he noticed the ice beneath his feet growing thinner.
He took a deep breath, forcing back the unease.
He walked on, resolute.
The ice thickened once more.
This second trial tested “courage,” not only courage against external threats, but the courage to face one’s own inner self.
On that boundless sea, after walking so long with no shore in sight...
Would doubts arise, making you question if you’re going the right way?
Would anxiety grow, leading you to wonder if this sea would ever end?
Would fear take hold, sapping your will to go on?
Or would you simply give up?
With every step, Li Fan questioned his own heart.
Even after numerous lifetimes, he had never experienced anything like this.
Setting aside all worldly concerns, he walked and pondered.
This journey across the frozen waves was like the path of cultivation itself, an endless road vanishing into the mist.
Halfway through, you’d look around, uncertain if you’d already lost your way.
From start to finish, you walked it alone, with nothing and no one to lean on.
Time flowed, and it seemed you might have to keep walking forever, never seeing the end.
Even so... could you hold fast to your conviction?
Could you never lose the courage to keep moving forward?
Even knowing this trial would eventually end, Li Fan’s resolve wavered.
This journey across the sea lasted far too long.
One year, two years...
Decades passed.
Li Fan’s hair turned grey, and his body grew bent with age, yet he never stopped moving forward.
Until at last, his body grew too frail to take another step.
He collapsed weakly onto the ice.
As his vision dimmed and consciousness faded, Li Fan thought he saw something:
On a shore not far ahead, Qin Tang stood alone in white robes.
Raising a gourd in salute, he smiled and took a long drink.
***
Li Fan opened his eyes.
He and the other cultivators were back inside the building.
A long time seemed to have passed. Many of the cultivators wore dazed, bewildered expressions.
Only after a long while did clarity return to their eyes.
“Treading the River of Nine Hells is simple. Crossing the sea within one’s own heart is the true trial.[1]
“The second trial, the Trial of Courage, is concluded.
“The day after tomorrow, at dawn, we shall hold the final test.”
With that, Qin Tang, his ever-present wine gourd in hand, swayed slightly as he turned and departed.
1. 九幽之河 (Jiǔ Yōu zhī Hé) basically refers to the river of the underworld, equivalent to the River Styx ☜