Chapter Thirty-Six: The Tempering of the Mind

“Haha, interesting! Third brother, your eldest son’s temperament is completely different from yours!” In the Primal Chaos Space, Lin Meng clapped and laughed loudly. The person Qin Si wanted to spasm over was none other than his father, Qin Yu. The Ten Thousand Sovereign Mountain was entirely Qin Yu’s creation.

“Let him experience some setbacks and learn a lesson—it’s not a bad thing!” Qin Yu replied with a bitter smile, his only response to Qin Si’s performance.

Over ten thousand clones—this was even more excessive than the spirit ox clones Qin Si had seen before. Each clone was formidable, almost all at the Lower Divine realm, and without using a top-tier Primal Chaos spirit treasure, Qin Si truly had no confidence in destroying them all in a single blow.

“What’s wrong? Haha, are you thinking of admitting defeat?” Thousands upon thousands of clones laughed in unison, creating a spectacular display of momentum.

“Sigh, I suppose there’s no other way.” Qin Si shook his head repeatedly. The Fire Source Spirit Pearl hovered above him; one of the Eight Great Source Spirit Pearls of the Universe, it possessed both defensive and offensive capabilities.

Suddenly, flames erupted all across the land. These were advanced Ethereal Karma Fires—when the clones, possessing only Lower Divine strength, touched the flames, they were instantly burned to nothing, not even a trace remaining.

“Primal Chaos spirit treasures are indeed useful!” Qin Si curled his lips in a smile, put away the Fire Source Spirit Pearl, and strode forward. With his character, if he could solve something simply, he would never resort to complexity.

“I admit, you’re powerful, but if you think this alone defeats me, you’re truly disappointing!” In the open space, the same number of clones appeared again, speaking to Qin Si in chorus.

“Sigh, what a nuisance—why can’t you let me save some energy?” Qin Si shook his head gently. The flames just now were powerful, incinerating all the clones. But Qin Si knew, if that fellow hid his true self, he could have evaded the flames. In this place, Qin Si’s divine sense couldn’t extend, nor could he find the original body.

“Don’t delude yourself. If you can’t defeat me, you’ll never leave here!” The thousands of clones laughed again. “I admit you’re formidable, your flames are strong, but I can resurrect my clones infinitely. Destroying them does nothing to help you escape, haha!”

“Noisy!”

Qin Si shook his head once more. The Fire Source Spirit Pearl suddenly expanded, and in an instant, the entire space was engulfed in Ethereal Karma Fire, including the ground. The powerful flames quickly burned the space into emptiness.

A crisp sound echoed—crack! A jade stone shattered and fell. The open space vanished, replaced by a grand palace before Qin Si’s eyes.

The Ethereal Karma Fire had burned away the entire space, so no matter where the guardian hid, there was no escape. This brute-force method, aside from someone like Qin Si with a top-tier Primal Chaos spirit treasure, was impossible for anyone else to use.

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“Let’s take a break. It doesn’t seem too difficult—after half a day, I’ve already passed fifteen levels!” In another space, beside a forest, Qin Shuang swung his arms and lay on the ground. After clearing the first level, he had rushed through fifteen more before stopping. The guardians of these fifteen levels were mostly Celestial Immortals, with few Golden Immortals, posing little challenge to Qin Shuang.

The Ten Thousand Sovereign Mountain was rich in spiritual energy, and Qin Shuang hadn’t consumed much immortal power in the first fifteen levels. After lying down for less than half an hour, he had fully recovered. Gazing at the beautiful forest ahead, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Ten thousand levels, ten thousand guardians—the number sounded daunting, but judging from the earlier stages, there weren’t many experts among the guardians. Perhaps only at the end would truly threatening opponents appear. The earlier levels were child’s play—if Qin Shuang could use his immortal sense, he would have cleared at least a hundred by now.

There were many forests within the Ten Thousand Sovereign Mountain, though the mazes within them were much simpler. This forest was beautiful; in the sixth gate, Qin Shuang had also encountered a forest, but it was far more terrifying—filled with ferocious beasts, guardians hiding among them, controlling the beasts to attack him.

“Challenger, how do you find my forest? Isn’t it beautiful?” A sweet voice came from behind Qin Shuang, far more pleasant than the voices of the previous fifteen guardians.

“You’re the guardian this time?” Turning around, Qin Shuang stood stunned. Before him floated a girl half a meter tall, her back adorned with rainbow-colored wings. She looked no older than seven or eight, adorably innocent—someone one could hardly bear to harm.

“Yes, I am the guardian here!” The fairy-like girl nodded.

“What must I do to pass this level?” Suddenly, Qin Shuang felt a headache. Facing such a cute little girl, he couldn’t possibly use the same approach as before—slashing his way through.

“Kill me, and you’ll be automatically transported to the next level!” The fairy’s voice was still sweet, but it only made Qin Shuang’s headache worse. Kill her? He simply couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Isn’t there another way? Maybe you could let me pass?” Qin Shuang could only pray, unwilling to harm her no matter what.

“I can’t kill myself. If I could, you’d pass, but I cannot do it myself.” The fairy’s face drooped, her words only deepening Qin Shuang’s pain. Such a cute girl taking her own life to let him succeed—he could never forgive himself.

“What’s your name?”

“I have no name. My task is to guard this level, and let challengers kill me to move on.”

“Who set up this Ten Thousand Sovereign Mountain? Can’t you leave?” A flicker of anger stirred in Qin Shuang’s heart—the creator of this mountain left an extremely bad impression. Of course, he, like Qin Si, had no idea it was his own father’s handiwork.

“My master is a very powerful person—once you pass the mountain and win the final prize of Shanhaitian, you’ll soon meet him. Come, don’t hesitate, kill me, and proceed to the next level!”

“No, impossible. I won’t kill you, even if it means failing. That damned master of yours—when I meet him, I’ll flay him alive!” Qin Shuang shouted furiously, waving his hand. A gust of wind struck the ground, leaving a pit in the forest grass.

Within the Primal Chaos Space, Qin Yu could only smile bitterly. After being threatened with muscle cramps by his eldest son, now his youngest threatened to flay him. Qin Yu suddenly felt he’d failed as a father—their lives had been too peaceful, which did them no good. In his youth, Qin Yu had survived between life and death; faced with such obvious illusions, he would have simply killed whoever stood before him.

“Speak softly—my master is very powerful. If he hears you, you’re doomed!” The fairy’s face suddenly turned pale, as if something terrifying had occurred, making Qin Shuang’s heart ache again.

“Don’t worry, no matter how strong your master is, I won’t let him hurt you like this!” Qin Shuang stepped forward, gently stroking the girl’s hair, his eyes filled with infinite tenderness—almost as if he were her father.

“Ah~~~~~” Qin Shuang suddenly let out a scream of agony. The moment he touched the girl, a needle-like pain pierced deep into his soul. The intense pain knocked him to the ground, clutching his head and howling.

“Haha, I’ve controlled your soul! I can kill you now—no one will ever look down on me again! I’ll be the first guardian to kill a challenger!” The fairy transformed—her adorable face became hideous, her little hands waving frantically. A thin silver thread connected her to Qin Shuang’s head, stabbing at his soul like a sword.

“Why?” With the last remnants of his consciousness, Qin Shuang shouted at the girl. He couldn’t understand how someone so pitiful and adorable could change so suddenly.

“Only by killing a challenger can a guardian be granted true life by the master, and become a real person of the Ten Thousand Sovereign Mountain. I want to be human, and you’re my only way. In fact, I should thank you for letting me achieve this!” The little girl clapped, the silver thread stirring Qin Shuang’s soul even faster, the stabbing pain nearly erasing his consciousness.

In the daze, deep within Qin Shuang’s soul, a shadow began to form the simplest hand seals of the Three Souls Nine Refinements technique. The seals quickened, the pain diminished, and the silver thread was gradually absorbed by his soul. Outside, the girl’s face shifted from excitement to fear.

“No!” A sharp scream echoed through the forest. When the sound faded, the forest vanished. Regaining his clarity, Qin Shuang’s face was no longer smiling, but cold and merciless.