213: Chapter 213 Ten Days of Heart Refinement

The next day, before dawn had fully broken, Ye Tian quietly left his Immortal Cave.

He deliberately changed into the most ordinary Disciple uniform, making himself look like a common Disciple who had only recently entered the inner sect, trying to keep as low a profile as possible.

After all, he had been in the spotlight too much lately and really didn't want to attract any more trouble.

The Illusory Heart Cave was located in a particularly secluded mountain hollow in the back mountains, where usually not even a ghost could be seen.

The cave entrance was blocked by a layer of light, and next to it was a small pavilion where a white-haired old deacon sat, dozing off while holding an old book.

Ye Tian walked over, gave a respectful salute, and handed over the token given by his Revered Master: "Disciple Ye Tian, by order of Elder Tianshu, has come to Cultivate in the Illusory Heart Cave for ten days."

The old deacon glanced at the token, sized him up a few times, and said slowly, "Oh? It's you, kid... I heard you caused quite a stir in the Secret Realm a while back?"

"Go on in. Do you have an idea of what the situation is like inside?"

"If you can't hold on, come out quickly. Don't try to force it."

"In that place, if you aren't careful, your Divine Soul will surely be extinguished. It's no laughing matter."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and performed a hand seal. The light screen at the cave entrance immediately rippled, revealing an opening large enough for a person to pass through.

"Thank you for the warning, Elder. This Disciple understands."

Ye Tian nodded and slipped inside.

Just as he stepped into the light screen, his vision blurred suddenly, as if he had abruptly changed locations.

Outside, it was still a bright early morning valley, but inside, it instantly darkened—not pitch black, but a hazy, indistinct gloom.

A thin mist floated in the air, feeling chilly as he inhaled it.

Most strangely, his head immediately felt a bit dizzy, and his ears began to buzz.

"Is this the Illusory Heart Cave? It really is eerie."

Ye Tian steadied himself and silently circulated the Star Qi Induction Art, which slightly eased the dizziness.

He walked inward carefully. The passage curved and descended, the stone walls on both sides were very slippery, and there were carvings on them that made one's head spin if stared at for too long.

The further he went, the mist seemed to thicken, and the buzzing sounds gradually became clearer.

"Ye... Brother Ye... save... save me..."

A tearful, somewhat familiar voice suddenly rang in his ear, sounding incredibly real.

Ye Tian's footsteps paused, and his heart felt a sharp tug.

This voice... is it Su Wan?

But he immediately realized that Su Wan was safe in the herb garden. How could she possibly be here?

It's an illusion!

He quickly focused his mind and ignored the voice.

But the crying continued, and the mist churned, actually condensing into a "Su Wan" wearing herb garden servant clothes, her face covered in blood and a short blade plunged into her chest. She was reaching out to him, her eyes full of despair.

"It's fake!"

Ye Tian grew anxious and let out a low growl. His gaze turned sharp as he stopped looking at the illusion and continued walking forward.

Finally, under his firm resolve, the figure and the crying slowly faded and dissipated.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a slightly more spacious stone chamber appeared ahead.

The mist was thinner here, but the pressure weighing on his heart was even heavier.

Ye Tian felt like he had to exert effort just to breathe.

"This will do."

He found a flat spot and sat down cross-legged.

He wasn't in a hurry to take the heart-clearing soul-stabilizing pill; he wanted to try enduring it on his own first.

Closing his eyes, he began to circulate the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra.

As soon as the Cultivation Technique started, the surrounding mist began to wrap around him in strands.

Unlike absorbing Spiritual Qi outside, once this mist entered his body, it rushed straight for his forehead, stinging his Divine Sense. At the same time, all sorts of messy, uncontrollable thoughts began to surface.

There was the embarrassing memory of falling and getting a bruised face while practicing as a child, the frustration of being mocked by other boys in the clan, and the hand-trembling he felt the first time he killed and saw blood...

These negative emotions and memories were amplified several times over, madly assaulting his mind.

Cold sweat began to bead on Ye Tian's forehead, and his body trembled slightly.

He gritted his teeth and desperately activated the Heart Sutra, following the instructions to sort through these intrusive thoughts bit by bit, keeping the useful insights and discarding the negative parts.

This process was more exhausting than fighting someone; his mental energy was being consumed rapidly.

He didn't know how long had passed before he managed to barely weather this first wave of impact. He let out a long breath and opened his eyes, feeling extremely tired.

"Good grief, it's already this troublesome just after entering."

Ye Tian wiped away his sweat, feeling even more wary of Yun Zhiying's pervasive dream-based methods.

At the same time, he was more certain that the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra was the perfect counter for such underhanded tricks; it was just that his previous practice had been too unrefined.

After taking a break, he took out a jade bottle and poured out a chilly heart-clearing soul-stabilizing pill to swallow.

The medicine traveled through his body instantly and finally merged into his Sea of Consciousness.

His Divine Soul immediately felt much more comfortable, and his mind cleared significantly.

"Good medicine!"

Ye Tian's spirits lifted. Not wanting to waste it, he immediately immersed himself in cultivation.

With the help of the Medicinal Pill this time, dealing with the pouncing illusions and intrusive thoughts became much easier.

He even began to try and actively "grasp" the strange power within the mist, wanting to understand exactly how it influenced one's mind.

"Fear... is mostly due to not understanding, and... not being firm enough oneself."

"Desire... can push a person forward, but can also make them fall into a pit."

"Memory... can be a treasure, but can also become a rope that binds one's hands and feet."

He pondered as he endured.

He gained a more solid understanding of some previously unclear points in the Heart Sutra.

For instance, "The heart is as still as ice, the spirit is silent without sound." Before, he only thought it was a state of being, but now he vaguely grasped the essence: one must see clearly in their heart to remain unaffected by illusions that blur the line between reality and falsehood.

Time flew by during his cultivation.

Ye Tian became completely absorbed in this state of mental struggle.

When hungry, he swallowed a Fasting Pill; when thirsty, he drank some water, and then continued.

By the third day, he had fully adapted to the environment at the edge of the stone chamber.

So, he stood up and walked deeper into the cave.

The further in he went, the more distorted the place appeared, and the light became unstable.

Various flashy patterns began to appear on the stone walls.

One moment, mountains of gold and silver dazzled his eyes, tempting him to reach out.

The next, mountains of blades and seas of fire forced him to want to retreat.

Then, the tragic sight of his closest relatives in danger would appear, attacking the deepest vulnerabilities in his heart.

Ye Tian walked in step by step, while deathly guarding his own heart.

On the seventh day, Ye Tian reached the center of a large cavern.

The mental pressure here had reached its peak, and the illusions were as vivid as physical objects.

He had to take a second heart-clearing soul-stabilizing pill to barely maintain his footing.

Here, he encountered the most brutal test.

The illusions no longer just amplified memories and emotions, but began to directly strike at the things he feared and cared about most.

He "saw" flames soaring from the herb garden, "Su Wan" lying in a pool of blood, and several people from the Blood Blade Sect sneering as they wiped blood from their blades.

"Kid, you've got some nerve, stealing from my Blood Blade Sect!"

He "saw" Hou Xiaojie's cultivation being crippled and him being thrown out of the sect gates, his once lively eyes turned to ash.

He "saw" Ye Ruyi and Chen Xue lying in pools of blood, with Lin Batian's hideous face laughing wildly: "Ye Tian! Your women all died because of you!"

Most heart-wrenching of all was "seeing" his father lying in bed, coughing, holding his hand and saying: "Tian'er, your father can't make it, it's because I'm useless..."

That scene overlapped with the memory of his father falling ill from overwork.

Every illusion was terrifyingly real, vowing to crush his will.

Ye Tian nearly broke down several times, biting his lip until it bled.

But he endured throughout, the words of the Heart Sutra ringing repeatedly in his mind: "All illusions in the world come from the heart."

"If you can control your own heart, the fake can become real, and the real can be seen as fake."

"My heart is for me to decide!"

He told himself over and over, turning all his fear, resentment, and anger into the strength to guard his mind.

In this confrontation where he was pushed to his limits, his understanding of the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra also improved rapidly.

Many things he previously couldn't figure out suddenly clicked.

On the tenth day, just as the effects of the last heart-clearing soul-stabilizing pill were about to wear off, Ye Tian slowly opened his eyes.

At this moment, he was in the deepest part of the cave, and those bizarre illusions were still trying to influence him.

But his gaze was as still as water, without the slightest ripple.

With a slight thought, the illusory forces that were constantly trying to erode him seemed to hit a barrier, no longer able to easily disturb his mind as before.

"The real and the fake are mixed together; it all depends on what the heart thinks... so that's how it is."

Ye Tian murmured to himself, a look of relief appearing on his face.

Although his cultivation hadn't increased, he felt his mind had become much stronger, having already reached the second Realm of Divine Sense.

The Mustard Seed Realm!

And because his Dragon Elephant Art had reached the sixth layer of Great Perfection, his Physical Body was also far stronger than a typical True Martial Realm practitioner.

What he lacked now was only the accumulation of true yuan and a Breakthrough in Realm.

But such things could not be rushed!

Ye Tian thought of Yun Zhiying, that peerlessly beautiful woman.

But Ye Tian knew that such beautiful women were often the most terrifying.

Of course, now that his Divine Sense had broken through again, even if he encountered that woman again, it would be impossible for him to be as pathetic as last time.