Xiang Nan looked towards the sky. There was a beautiful world in the sky. In that world, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Everyone had a satisfied smile on their faces.
The sea of fire below the mountain was a world of sorrow. The people there were burned and tormented by the blazing fire all day long.
In the darkness, a voice appeared.
"A path to heaven. After you set foot on it, you chose to live in a happy world. From now on, there will be no worries."
"A path to the sea. After you descend, you chose to suffer for the rest of your life. From now on, you will not be able to escape."
Two light steps appeared on top of the mountain, one leading to the sky and the other to the sea of fire.
Xiang Nan raised his head to look. He looked forward to the life in the sky. He lowered his head to look. He was afraid of the torment in the sea of fire.
However, there was an underground cave in the sea of flames. Countless martial artists pounced on it and used their bodies to block the underground cave, blocking the sea of flames.
However, this cave was still only one corner away. As long as Xiang Nan jumped down and blocked the last corner with his body, the sea of flames would be extinguished.
But in this way, not only would he not be able to step into the sky again, he would also sacrifice himself.
"Remember, all of this is an illusion."
Xiang Nan's head suddenly started to ache violently. A voice from his memory sounded in his mind.
"Yes, this is all an illusion! The miserable world at the foot of the mountain is fake. It wants to confuse me and make me give up my heart of martial arts!"
"I remember now! I am undergoing the test of Senior Bai Wuya! This time, I must find my own martial dao. I must not go wrong again."
Xiang Nan gritted his teeth and stepped onto the path to the sky.
"That's fake. Everything below is fake." Xiang Nan continued to warn himself as he walked up.
However, he couldn't help but look down. Every time he looked down, he would always be able to see the various forms of life.
He saw women crying bitterly in the sea of flames. He saw the unrewarded youth die in regret. He saw martial artists desperately using their flesh and blood to block the sea of flames.
As he looked, he gritted his teeth and continued to walk upwards.
When he had reached the edge of the sky, he was only a step away from the beautiful world above him. He could even hear the laughter of the people in the heavenly world, and the laughter was close to his ears.
However, he could no longer hear the wailing of the world below him. He was getting further and further away from suffering, and was only a step away from being completely isolated.
"So what if it's an illusion? But now that I've seen the world below, can I deceive myself into not seeing it?"
"The world in the sky is indeed beautiful. Could it be that the people of Dawn at the foot of the mountain should suffer as they should?"
"Could it be that just because all of this is fake, I can feel at ease?"
Xiang Nan gritted his teeth and slapped his face fiercely. He said angrily, "I can't do it! I really can't do it!"
With that, he directly jumped down from the path of the heavens and threw himself into the sea of flames without hesitation.
Hu
Xiang Nan took a deep breath and woke up. He discovered that the Martial Tower was still the same as the Martial Tower, and Bai Wuya was still the same as Bai Wuya.
However, the three teacups on the wooden table in front of him were already empty.
Xiang Nan lowered his head and remained silent. He knew that he had lost.
"Why did you make such a choice?" Bai Wuya asked Xiang Nan curiously, "Even if you knew it was fake, you still couldn't pass this test."
"Senior, this junior is incompetent. This junior has nothing to say." Xiang Nan stood up and bowed to Bai Wuya.
Then he turned around and said, "Dream butterfly, let's go."
Meng Die also sighed and said, "Forget it, if you can't pass, then you can't. This twelfth floor is too difficult and you don't have to blame yourself too much."
As he spoke, Xiang Nan found Meng Die and Yuan Meng and was about to leave.
At this moment, Bai Wuya's laughter came from behind him.
"Senior." Xiang Nan turned around and bowed respectfully, "This junior has disappointed you."
Bai Wuya smiled, "I didn't say you lost."
"Ah?" Everyone was stunned.
Xiang Nan found it even more inconceivable. He asked, "You gave me three tests, and I lost all three of them. Could it be that I didn't lose?"
"Why do you think you've lost?" Bai Wuya asked.
Xiang Nan hurriedly said, "You gave me three paths of martial dao, but I didn't choose one in the end. Isn't that betraying my own dao heart?"
Bai Wuya laughed loudly, "What is the Dao Heart? The Dao Heart is everyone's persistence. Every martial artist has their own Dao Heart, and it is different."
"If someone tries to enter the Dao with evil intentions, then if he continues to inherit evil intentions, then he will not lose his Dao Heart."
"If someone tries to enter the Dao through bitterness, then if he is greedy for pleasure, then he will give up his Dao Heart."
"The Dao Heart is to have a clear conscience."
"Xiang Nan." Bai Wuya stood up and walked to Xiang Nan's side, saying, "You think the three paths of martial arts I gave you are the right path, but you are wrong."
"As I said, the path of martial dao is full of tribulations and temptations. The word martial dao is the obsession in your heart."
"Do you think that the baby of the first illusion is your training, the old man of the second illusion is your training, and the sea of fire of the third illusion is your training?"
"But you're all wrong. The three trials I gave you, the three paths of martial arts, are your training."
Bai Wuya patted Xiang Nan's shoulder and said, "When you face a fork in the road and you only need to take half a step to the right to reach the peak of martial arts, can you resist this temptation and give up saving the baby and giving up your nature?"
"When you step up the mountain, you can reach the peak. Are you willing to give up that old man and your loyalty and filial piety for this?"
"When you step into the heavens, you will be able to step into the peak of martial arts. Are you willing to give up your life and your righteousness for this?"
"Those three paths of martial arts are my temptation?" Xiang Nan sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Yes." Bai Wuya put his hands behind his back and said, "Your Dao Heart is based on kindness. If you can give up your kindness in order to achieve your martial arts, then your Dao Heart will be unstable."
"In millions of years, you are the first and only person who can pass the Dao Heart Trial."
"Even if you knew that you were in an illusion, you still didn't betray your Dao Heart."
"What? You mean …" Xiang Nan hurriedly turned to look at Meng Die and said, "Before, Meng Die reminded me that it was all an illusion. Could it be that you arranged it?"
"Hallucinations?" Meng Die pointed at her nose strangely and said, "I haven't said anything."
Bai Wuya laughed, "That's right, that was also arranged by me."
"Ah … I see." Only then did Xiang Nan wake up as if he had just woken up from a dream and suddenly understood Bai Wuya's intentions.
Bai Wuya smiled slightly and said, "Congratulations, Xiang Nan. You have already passed the twelfth floor of the Martial Tower."
"Wow!" Meng Die and Yuan Meng exchanged glances and cheered happily.
Bai Wuya looked at Xiang Nan seriously and said, "I give you a piece of advice. A martial artist should be based on martial dao, and what is the basis of martial dao?"
"The original intent of martial arts was to protect, save, defend, and strengthen oneself."
"If you give up all of this for the sake of martial arts, it will be the greatest blasphemy against the word martial arts. You must not put the cart before the horse."
"Now." Bai Wuya placed his index finger between Xiang Nan's eyebrows and said, "I will tailor-made a martial skill for you. It is unique in the world and specifically targeted at you."
