Trial of the Illusion

That monster blocked the entrance for an entire day. Someone stood before it for a long time, clenching their teeth and fists several times, but finally let go, turned, and went down the mountain. Their steps were heavy as they turned, their face showing resentment, but no bitterness.

Some people sensed the danger from afar and simply retreated, glancing back once more at the bend in the mountain path before continuing down. A few others, unwilling to give up, tried to take a detour. One climbed over a steep slope, getting scratched all over by thorns, while another crawled through a dry well, getting covered in mud. In the end, they all returned to their starting point in the forest, realizing they couldn't escape it, and silently turned and descended the mountain.

There was a half-open wooden door by the courtyard wall. The door was unlocked and had an inconspicuous straw marker hanging on it, its position perfectly partially obscured by a clump of wild roses. People who had retreated from the demon would most likely find it while wandering in the woods. They didn't need to confront the demon directly; as long as they were patient enough, they could find their way into the courtyard.

There were also one or two unlucky souls who never found the door. They wandered around the mountain path for a long time, but in the end, they didn't push open the half-closed wooden board and silently turned around and went down the mountain.

The three children were still chattering as they entered the courtyard. The older boy said the monster was really powerful; it glared at him as soon as he took half a step back.

The little girl said the monster's claws were longer than her arm, but she felt that as long as she didn't provoke it, nothing would happen.

The little one added from the side that his brother led him around for a long time before they finally found the wooden door, which had a small, pretty straw bird on it.

After being blocked by the monster, they retreated a short distance along the same path, and after circling halfway through the forest, they saw the wooden door behind the wild roses.

The deer entered through the wooden gate. It stopped as soon as it saw the monster in the distance, standing there for a long time, its ears twitching as if listening for any sounds in the wind. Then it lowered its head, pressed its nose against the ground, and slowly walked along the base of the courtyard wall, following the scent of wild roses until it found the slightly ajar wooden gate. It gently nudged the gate open with its head and, with its slender legs, stepped unhurriedly into the courtyard.

The crow flew in. It circled twice in the air, and upon seeing the demon, it flapped its wings and flew upwards for several dozen feet, tentatively leaping over the courtyard wall without any hindrance. It landed on the wall, triumphantly shaking off the dust from its wings, and cried out in a shrill voice, "Greetings, Daoist Master!"

As the only seeker with the advantage of flight, it passed the test in the easiest way. However, it stood on the courtyard wall for a long time before flying down, obviously observing for a while to make sure there was no danger before landing.

Liu Jin has lived in the Sanyi Temple for many years, but he has never set any rules. The rules of the Sanyi Sect were set by Zuo Ruotong, and he has followed them for many years without ever asking why.

As his cultivation deepened and his knowledge broadened, he gradually understood the principles behind those rules. Those who do not cherish themselves are most prone to going astray in cultivating the Threefold Reversal of Life, because they will mistake "desperation" for "progress" and "endurance" for "courage," unable to distinguish between perseverance and courting death.

Those who lack a sense of proportion will not be able to distinguish between good and evil even after they have mastered their skills and descended the mountain. Today they may kill an evil person out of righteous indignation, and tomorrow they may kill an innocent person because they dislike someone.

After passing the three trials, the illusions on the mountain path completely vanished. Morning light shone on the stone steps, making the dewdrops on the pine needles sparkle. Ultimately, only six seekers entered the gates of the Sanyi Temple.

The first to enter were three children: two boys and a girl, from a nearby village.

The oldest boy was about eleven or twelve years old, with dark skin and calluses on his palms from farm work. He had scraped his knees while climbing the stone steps in the second level. After the illusion dissipated, the wounds on his knees disappeared, but he still limped slightly. His body no longer hurt, and his memories remained.

The girl was about eight or nine years old, the younger sister, with two braids tied with two red ribbons at the ends.

The youngest boy was only five or six years old. He came with his older brothers and sisters. In the illusion, his brother held his hand the whole time and carried him on his back when they reached the steepest part.

Next to enter was a fawn. It trotted up the mountain path, its four hooves making a crisp clattering sound on the stone steps.

After running into the courtyard, it stopped in a daze, tilted its head to look at Liu Jin sitting at the entrance of the main hall, then looked at Ming Xin standing in the courtyard, and then walked unhurriedly to the vegetable garden in the corner of the courtyard, and lowered its head to smell the seedlings that Zhao Fengnian had just watered.

It didn't eat, it just sniffed it, then raised its head and blinked twice at Zhao Fengnian. The water ladle in Zhao Fengnian's hand clattered into the bucket.

This is a real deer, without human form or speech. It just happened to have swallowed a wisp of the essence of the sun and moon somewhere and gained sentience. It came here based on its instincts when it sensed that the Sanyi Temple was recruiting disciples.

It couldn't speak, nor could it bow, but it genuinely completed all three trials. Mingxin observed it for a long time and confirmed that what it saw in the illusion of the first trial was its own reflection quietly grazing under the moonlight, without any aggression or greed.

A crow flew in. It was much smarter than the deer. After passing through the three checkpoints, it flew to the courtyard wall and called out in a hoarse voice to the people in the courtyard, "Greetings, Daoist Master."

It spoke, though its voice sounded like sandpaper scraping against a stone slab, but its pronunciation was clear and articulate, clearly indicating that it had practiced diligently. Zhao Fengnian looked up at the crow, leaning closer to examine it. The crow also tilted its head to look at him, its black bean-like eyes gleaming with cleverness.

The old man was the last to arrive. When he climbed the last stone step, his forehead was covered in sweat, his gray hair was soaked and stuck to his temples, his gray tunic was washed white, and there was still mud on his knees from the mountain path.

But when he stood before the demon, his aura was more stable than that of all the seekers before him. It wasn't the unfathomable stability of a cultivator, but rather a simple, rhythmic quality accumulated from years of consistently doing the same thing.

He sensed the demon's aura from afar, but instead of forcing himself to endure it, he turned around and slowly circled along the base of the courtyard wall. He found the half-open wooden door without much trouble.

Upon entering the courtyard, he first bowed towards the main hall. The gesture wasn't perfect, but his attitude was more sincere than any standard gesture. Zhao Fengnian went up to him and asked about his name and background. The old man said his surname was Chen, he didn't have a given name, and the villagers all called him Old Chen. He lived in an alley in the east of Jinhua City.

When I was young, I learned some breathing exercises from a wandering Taoist priest for a few days. It was the most basic breathing method and not very useful, but I practiced it for decades without stopping. Because of this foundation, I am healthier than my peers and rarely suffer from headaches or fevers.

A few days ago, I saw a notice at the entrance of the City God Temple and felt it was fate. I left home before dawn and walked all the way to the Sanyi Temple.