40: Trial of the Wind and Soul Transformation

The moment Xiao Chen stepped into the azure light gate, he felt as if he had passed through a curtain of water, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

It was no longer a sea of colorful clouds, but an boundless azure world. The sky was light azure, with wisps of flowing clouds. The ground was an azure grassland, and as a gentle breeze swept through, the grass undulated like waves. The air was filled with a rich and pure wind-attributed energy, nimble and free.

“Is this… the Wind Trial Space?” Xiao Chen looked around, his soul perception spreading out, and found that this space seemed to have no boundaries, nor any signs of life, only pure wind.

“Challenger, welcome to the Wind Trial,” a ethereal and clear voice, like a whisper of wind, echoed through the space. “Wind is formless and shapeless, yet omnipresent. A wind-attributed soul should be as free, nimble, and swift as the wind.”

“Your trial is to ‘capture the True Meaning of Wind’.”

As soon as the voice fell, the scene before Xiao Chen’s eyes changed again. The grassland disappeared, replaced by a violent azure storm! Countless tiny wind blades, wind vortices, and wind pillars raged wildly in the space, emitting piercing howls!

Every gust of wind contained powerful soul energy and fragments of the Law of Wind!

“Capture the True Meaning of Wind?” Xiao Chen frowned slightly. This sounded very abstract. Did it mean he had to comprehend the profundities of wind? Or did he have to absorb this wind-attributed energy?

He tried to use his soul perception to touch a wind blade.

“Swoosh!”

The wind blade instantly pierced through his soul perception, bringing a sharp pain! The law fragments contained within that wind blade were extremely sharp, directly tearing his mental tendrils!

“What domineering wind!” Xiao Chen’s heart tightened. This trial was indeed not simple!

He calmed down and carefully observed the trajectory of the storm. He found that although these winds were violent, they were not chaotic, but followed some mysterious laws as they flowed, rotated, collided, and dissipated.

“The True Meaning of Wind… Is it change? Is it speed? Is it freedom? Or… penetration?” Xiao Chen fell into deep thought. He recalled the descriptions of soul attributes in the miscellaneous records of the soul; wind-attributed souls often represented keen perception, swift reactions, and precise control over energy flow.

“Perhaps, I don’t need to ‘capture’ it, but rather to ‘integrate’ into it?” A flash of insight struck Xiao Chen. Wind is formless; forcibly capturing it would only provoke its resistance. Only by integrating into the wind and moving with it could he truly understand the essence of wind.

With this thought, Xiao Chen no longer tried to use his soul power to resist or capture the wind blades. Instead, he relaxed his mind, spreading his soul perception like mercury, gently integrating into the surrounding storm.

Initially, the violent wind blades still tore at his perception, causing intense pain. But he gritted his teeth and persisted, constantly adjusting the frequency and rhythm of his soul fluctuations, attempting to synchronize with the wind’s rhythm.

Once, twice, ten times… a hundred times… Xiao Chen’s soul power became more condensed and resilient through repeated tearing and restructuring. His perception of wind-attributed energy also became increasingly clear. Gradually, he felt as if he had transformed into a wisp of wind, no longer an enemy of the storm, but a part of it.

His soul perception was no longer torn, but instead, like a swimming fish, freely traversed through the storm! He could even clearly “see” the law patterns flowing within each wind blade, and feel the breathing and pulsation of the wind energy!

“So that’s how it is…” Xiao Chen understood in his heart, “The True Meaning of Wind lies in ‘conforming’ and ‘guiding’. Conforming to the momentum of heaven and earth, guiding the flow of energy. Rather than forcibly controlling it.”

The moment he fully comprehended, the entire storm space suddenly stilled! All the violent wind blades, wind vortices, and wind pillars froze in mid-air, as if time had stopped.

Immediately after, all the wind-attributed energy, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, converged towards Xiao Chen’s soul! The pure essence of the Wind Soul seamlessly integrated into his Sea of Consciousness!

“Ding! Absorbing the essence of the Wind Soul! Soul Strength +100!”

“Ding! Absorbing the essence of the Wind Soul! Soul Strength +100!”

…The system’s notification sounds rang out frantically! Xiao Chen’s soul strength surged at an astonishing speed!

“Spirit Realm Early Stage (100/10000)… (300/10000)… (500/10000)…”

When the last trace of wind-attributed energy was completely absorbed, Xiao Chen’s soul strength actually directly increased to [Spirit Realm Early Stage (1500/10000)]! A total increase of fourteen hundred points! This was equivalent to the effect of several months of his usual diligent cultivation!

Not only that, he felt as if his soul had been cleansed, becoming lighter and more agile! His perception of energy and precision in control also improved by a notch! He even vaguely touched upon a trace of the Law of Wind!

“Challenger, congratulations on passing the Wind Trial,” the ethereal voice sounded again, with a hint of approval, “You have initially comprehended the True Meaning of Wind, and your soul’s compatibility with the wind attribute has reached perfection. I bestow upon you the ‘Wind Spirit Heart’ imprint, which will aid you in comprehending the Law of Wind in the future.”

An azure wind pattern imprint appeared out of thin air on Xiao Chen’s glabella, flashed once, and then disappeared. Xiao Chen could feel that this imprint contained a seed of the Law of Wind, which would be of great benefit to his future cultivation.

“Trial over, teleporting to the Hall of Inheritance.”

With a flash of azure light, Xiao Chen disappeared from this wind space.

The next moment, he appeared in a magnificent, colorful grand hall. The hall’s dome was high and distant, constructed from colorful crystals, emitting a soft glow. In the center of the hall, nine light orbs of various colors floated, each radiating powerful soul fluctuations and different law auras.

Evidently, these nine light orbs were the ultimate inheritances of the Illusory Spirit Palace!

At this moment, several people were already standing in the hall.

The Sloppy Old Man was smiling at him, seemingly having already passed the trial. Hai Bodong, Ya Fei, Mo Chen, and Xiao Yan also appeared in the hall one after another. They all looked tired, but their eyes were filled with excitement, clearly having passed their respective trials.

Mad Lion, the Old Woman of the Black Emperor Sect, Ge Ye, Xie Biyan, and the two lone Dou Lings also appeared successively. However, their condition was noticeably much worse; their aura was weak, and they bore injuries, clearly indicating that the process of passing the trial was extremely difficult.

All twelve of them had passed the third stage! But their conditions were vastly different.

“Heh heh, little fellow, not bad, you passed the Wind Trial so quickly,” the Sloppy Old Man said to Xiao Chen with a smile, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He had initially thought he was the first to pass.

Xiao Chen humbly replied, “You flatter me, Senior, it was just luck.”

Hai Bodong and the others were both surprised and delighted to see Xiao Chen full of vitality and vigor. They knew very well the terror of that trial, and for Xiao Chen to pass so easily, his strength had probably improved significantly.

Xiao Yan even ran to Xiao Chen’s side and whispered, “Big Brother Xiao, are you alright? I almost got burned to death by the sea of fire just now…”

Xiao Chen patted his shoulder: “It’s alright, we all passed.”

Just then, the nine light orbs in the center of the hall suddenly shone brightly! The ethereal voice sounded again, echoing throughout the entire hall:

“Congratulations to all of you for passing the three trials and reaching the Hall of Inheritance.”

“The nine great inheritance light orbs correspond to the ultimate mysteries of nine soul attributes. Each person may choose one light orb to receive the inheritance anointing.”

“Warning: The process of inheritance anointing is extremely perilous. Those with insufficient soul strength or incompatible attributes risk their souls scattering! Choose with caution!”

“Once the inheritance begins, the hall will be sealed until everyone completes the inheritance or… perishes!”

As the voice fell, the entrance to the hall quietly disappeared, and the entire space was enveloped by a powerful barrier.

The final moment had arrived!

Nine inheritance light orbs, twelve people! This meant that at least three people would not be able to obtain an inheritance! And the inheritance process itself was full of danger!

Everyone’s gazes instantly became fervent and wary! The atmosphere within the hall suddenly became extremely tense!