Trial of the Illusion

The Taoist system of the Sanyi Temple was basically clear in Liu Jin's mind. The first layer was the Fire Nourishing Scripture, which absorbed the essence of the sun and moon to nourish the fire star; the second layer was the Essence Fire, which used the fire star to enter the body to temper and refine the body; the third layer was differentiated according to aptitude, with body refinement, fire training, and dragon transformation, each taking what they needed.

The fourth level is Divine Fire, an advancement of Samadhi, which integrates the strengths of various schools; above Divine Fire, Samadhi is unified, and each depends on their own destiny. A complete, replicable, low-threshold but high-limit Daoist system, starting from gathering a ray of moonlight and ending with the attainment of Samadhi True Fire, was finally built by him from scratch.

He wrote the framework of the entire system on the last page of his cultivation notes, and then wrote a sentence in small print next to it: "This Samadhi is not that Samadhi. I apologize to the Zhuge family. I think the Prime Minister's spirit in heaven will approve of this act of saving the world."

After writing this sentence, he closed his notebook, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the flickering oil lamp for a while. If one day the number of disciples at the Sanyi Temple exceeded that of the Zhuge family, he planned to personally visit the Zhuge family and have a cup of tea with Zhuge Ming, repaying the favors he owed several times over.

The Sanyi Temple is scheduled to open its doors to accept disciples on the first day of the ninth lunar month.

The night before, Zhao Fengnian washed the stone steps at the entrance of the courtyard three times with well water, even cleaning the moss from the cracks in the stones.

Mingxin rearranged the prayer cushions in the main hall according to the five elements, placing a small dish of osmanthus cake and a cup of tea in front of each cushion. Zhao Fengnian remarked that the arrangement resembled hosting a dinner party, to which Mingxin replied earnestly, "It is indeed a dinner party."

Liu Jin handed the Illusion Moon Mirror to Mingxin, then moved a bamboo chair and sat at the entrance of the main hall. His Taiyin gauze robe shimmered faintly with silver light under the moonlight.

Mingxin took the mirror and weighed it in his hand. He had been eyeing this mirror for days, and today he could finally use it himself. He asked Liu Jin how many trials should be set up on the way up the mountain. Liu Jin said three.

The first test is one's character. Mingxin stood at the entrance of the mountain path, pointed the Illusion Moon Mirror at the way he came, and gently shook it. The moonlight flowed like mercury, spreading all the way up the winding stone steps.

He didn't create terrifying illusions, nor did he conjure up gold and silver treasures. He simply showed everyone who stepped onto the stone steps what they most wanted to do. It wasn't about seeing the result, but the process. Those who wanted to cultivate themselves would see themselves meditating day and night, eating the simplest meals, and standing in the cold wind; those who wanted fame would see themselves standing on a high platform receiving cheers from thousands; those who wanted wealth would see themselves possessing mountains of gold and silver, surrounded by servants.

The illusion offers no judgment or guidance; it simply reflects everyone's true inner thoughts. Those with kind hearts see the satisfied smiles of themselves after helping others, while those with malicious intentions see the hideous face of themselves when bullying the weak.

The illusion itself is neither frightening nor alluring; it is merely a mirror reflecting what each person carries in their heart before ascending the mountain. If someone is frightened by their own illusion and turns to run away, it means they lack even the courage to face their own inner self, and their ascent is merely a waste of time.

If someone sees their own greedy, ferocious, and vain self in the illusion and remains unmoved, continuing to stride forward, then they are also unqualified. Those with impure hearts have unstable foundations in the path, and the deeper they cultivate, the more they harm others.

The second test was of willpower. Mingxin turned the Illusion Moon Mirror over, and the dark red lotus pattern on the back of the mirror lit up. Suddenly, thick fog rolled in from the pine forest on both sides of the mountain path. The fog did not obscure the view, but it made the stone steps ahead become steeper and steeper.

It wasn't that the path actually became steeper; it was that as you walked, your legs felt like lead, your breathing became rapid, and every step required a tremendous effort. Scattered thorns were also present on the stone steps, making your feet ache when you stepped on them. Several seekers who had climbed halfway up sat down by the roadside, panting heavily. After sitting for a while, they felt their strength returning and wanted to continue climbing, but when they stood up, they found their legs were still trembling.

The fatigue and pain in the illusion are real, not physically real, but perceptually real. At its most advanced level, Laoshan illusion art blurs the lines between reality and illusion, imbuing the illusion with a sense of reality.

Their bodies weren't actually injured, and their feet weren't truly pierced by thorns, but the pain signals their brains received were exactly the same as when they were actually injured. Some people gritted their teeth and moved up step by step, their clothes soaked with sweat and their vision blurred by tears, but they didn't stop.

Some people collapsed, lying on the ground panting for a while, then rolled over and crawled up using both hands and feet. The stone steps they climbed left streaks of sweat, which shimmered with a faint golden light in the morning sun.

Those who sat by the roadside shaking their heads in despair turned and went down the mountain. Those who climbed to the very end, almost exhausted, but finally saw the green tiles and white walls of the courtyard gate, collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. After they finished panting, they found that all their fatigue and pain had vanished in an instant.

The third test was self-love. Mingxin raised the Illusion Moon Mirror high, its light shining on the last ten stone steps at the courtyard gate. Suddenly, a figure appeared at the end of the steps—a hideous demon.

With a blue face and fangs, its body shrouded in dark red demonic energy, and a size twice the size of an ordinary strong man, the monster left deep marks with a light scratch on the stone slab. It blocked the only way to the courtyard gate, its pair of eerie green eyes coldly staring at every approaching seeker of the Dao.

Beside the stone steps stood a stone tablet with the inscription: "This demon is invincible. Those who retreat may safely descend the mountain; those who charge forward will bear the consequences."

The monsters in the illusion do not attack on their own initiative, but every seeker of the Dao instinctively senses one thing: this is not an illusion, nor is it a real monster, but something that exists between reality and illusion.

Combined with the oppressive feeling created by the Illusion Moon Mirror, it makes everyone who stands in front of it believe from the bottom of their hearts: this level is real, this demon is real, and rushing in will really lead to death.

The test wasn't about whether they could win, but whether they could truly understand themselves. The aura emanating from the demon was clearly discernible; it was stronger than them, far stronger. This aura wasn't a false pressure created by illusion, but rather a genuine demon general's pressure extracted by Liu Jin from the remains of the Black Mountain Demon, amplified by the Illusion Moon Mirror and enveloping the end of the stone steps.

Only those who truly calm their minds and sense this oppressive aura can accurately assess the difference in strength between themselves and their enemy. Those who force their way in demonstrate that they cannot even perceive the aura of a demon, let alone their own limits. Those who do not cherish themselves cannot distinguish between courage and suicide, and after cultivating their skills, they will not value the lives of others.

If they dare to charge head-on against a phantom demon they can't defeat today, they'll dare to charge head-on against a drought demon tomorrow. Zuo Ruotong once said that the common problem among the senior brothers of the Sanyi Sect who suffered broken meridians when they tried to break through to the second level was that they all said, "I think I can hold on."