226: Eight Disasters

Golden light descended, and the Armored God-General manifested, standing behind Qin Jin. His majesty permeated all directions, and on his face, which was identical to Qin Jin's, a sacred Divine Intent subtly arose, inspiring solemnity in those who beheld him.

The battle armor covering Divine Intent's body had undergone astonishing changes through successive upgrades; the former python head had truly transformed into a dragon. If any mental probe were to attack, it would be impossible to see Divine Intent's true form; only a pair of dragon eyes, reflected in the mental world, would be visible, intercepting external forces.

Around Divine Intent, the power halos evolved from Qin Jin's own cultivation shimmered faintly.

Divine Intent appeared at the checkpoint.

The moment Divine Intent appeared, the oppressive feeling sweeping through him drastically decreased, seemingly satisfying the checkpoint's requirements. But at the same time, the vast Eight-Armed Divine Figure standing in front bowed its head and glanced over.

The next moment, a mental suppression surged forth, just like with the other participants. A miniature, lifelike Eight-Armed Divine Figure materialized in the void, standing at a distance, targeting Qin Jin alone.

Each of the eight arms held a different weapon. Immediately after its appearance, before it even reached him, one arm waved, and a fierce gale roared and swirled within the area where Qin Jin stood.

This gale had no effect on his physical body, undoubtedly a purely mental attack. When it swept around Divine Intent, it stirred up layers of ripples.

Within the entire area, many participants had already entered the checkpoint. Now, Divine Intent faced the trial.

"Body, strength, speed, intent."

Muttering to himself, Qin Jin stepped forward, facing the gale.

Behind him, Divine Intent's divine might flowed, like an ancient god descending, protecting him. As the gale attacked, he remained unmoving.

As the small Eight-Armed Divine Figure stood alone, other arms waved, and other techniques were unleashed.

One arm held a bladed weapon and struck down, and a dark, dust-laden lightning bolt emerged from the void, striking down from above.

As the lightning descended, a dragon shadow swam upwards around Divine Intent, actively meeting it. The moment the two made contact, the dragon shadow opened its mouth and swallowed the dark lightning bolt whole.

One arm held a long spear, and as it advanced, a nearly blood-red flame rose beneath Qin Jin's Divine Intent, scorching it.

But as the flame rose, fire ignited in Divine Intent's eyes. Faintly, within Divine Intent's eyes, the scene of a furnace flickered, and the blood-red flame was drawn into the furnace, rapidly refining and evolving.

Then, a flood surged, as if to wash away Divine Intent, but Divine Intent remained steadfast, like a whale in the sea, unmoved by external forces.

Eight arms, representing eight calamities!

Eight types of mental trials, manifested as natural elements, targeting Divine Intent.

In Mitian Dojo, he had nearly completed the final tempering of his Divine Intent. This kind of checkpoint with a fixed upper limit naturally couldn't stop him. The eight calamities descended, then were intercepted by Divine Intent and turned into nothingness. He strode through the Star Sea, unmoving as a mountain.

Around him.

Many participants cast their gazes over, and upon seeing Qin Jin calmly passing the trial, their expressions turned serious.

Within the Miracle Corridor, everyone was a competitor, an opponent. Qin Jin's relaxed performance undoubtedly made people take notice.

He continued forward.

All eight calamities were unleashed and intercepted. After the last calamity was shattered, Qin Jin had already reached the end of the checkpoint.

Before him, only the miniature Eight-Armed Divine Figure itself remained. At a glance, its eight arms had progressively broken off as each calamity was blocked, and it was now an armless figure.

The moment Qin Jin's gaze fell upon it, the Eight-Armed Divine Figure standing in the Star Sea behind him seemed to raise its eyes and look at Qin Jin. A flash of light appeared in its eyes, and a stream of light leaped across the Star Sea, falling around the armless God-Man.

In an instant.

Everything around seemed to be isolated. Within the entire space, only Qin Jin and this armless God-Man remained. Under his observation, aurora glowed around the armless God-Man, rapidly evolving.

In an instant.

Its figure seemed to grow vast, subtly transforming from a human shape into the form of a divine bird. Its figure was somewhat blurry, as if the evolution wasn't entirely clear, and flames flowed around it. As Qin Jin observed, his heart stirred, and he thought to himself: "Golden Crow?"

The bird-like creature evolving before him had three legs and wings of flowing fire. Although a closer look revealed many differences, like a crude imitation, the creature that came to Qin Jin's mind for comparison was indeed the Golden Crow.

When he first entered the Great Wilderness, he had once seen the form of the Golden Crow amidst strange celestial phenomena, leaving an extremely deep impression on him.

"What is the origin of the final trial in this checkpoint?"

"It seems this Golden Crow's shadow, on the contrary, is an evolution of myself."

Thoughts flowed in his mind.

The "Golden Crow" shadow had already completely taken shape.

However, this evolving scene completely lacked true divine charm. The moment it took shape, a strange cry sounded, and the Golden Crow spread its wings and advanced, with a trail of fire erupting behind it, heading straight for Qin Jin.

"No matter what this is."

"Since it blocks my path, I'll just cut it down."

As the thought arose in his mind, Qin Jin's steps did not falter. Above him, Divine Intent, which had remained stationary to resist the eight calamities, moved for the first time.

An arm extended, light condensed, and a great halberd appeared!

The next moment, Divine Intent soared into the sky, meeting the Golden Crow. The two were like two brilliant suns in this isolated space. As they were about to collide, the great halberd was raised, and power from various levels manifested in Divine Intent. The great halberd struck down!

The halberd cleaved the Golden Crow.

A dazzling light erupted from the halberd's tip. When it struck the Golden Crow, it paused for a moment, then directly pierced through it. The flowing fire trembled violently, and a moment later, the power of the halberd, which had pierced its body, fully erupted. Multicolored power overflowed and burst forth from the Golden Crow's body, which was entirely engulfed in flames, and its form completely disintegrated.

Its body disintegrated into countless pieces, burning with flames, like shredded paper burning away. After the last spark of fire was extinguished in the void, it vanished.

As the Golden Crow was cut apart, Qin Jin clearly perceived a sharp glint around Divine Intent's body, as if a haze had been dispelled, and a wonderful feeling of seeing the sun after the clouds parted emerged in his heart.

"This is?"

At the same time, the main body of the Eight-Armed Divine Figure in front had vanished from Qin Jin's sight, and information flowed into his mind.

He quickly scanned through it.

"External, potential fear?"

Qin Jin thought to himself.

After the eight calamities, came one great tribulation.

To pass this checkpoint, participants needed to confront the [fear] manifested from their inner selves, face it, and shatter it.

"Indeed, it was something manifested from myself."

"Golden Crow..."

A thoughtful expression crossed Qin Jin's face: "The Golden Crow cannot be my fear. From the time I first saw the Golden Crow in the sky, one of my cultivation goals has been to visualize the Golden Crow. If I felt fear, how could I dare to have such a thought?"

"So, this might be a comprehensive evolution."

"The so-called Golden Crow probably represents the real world beyond the Great Wilderness."

Qin Jin's eyes darkened slightly.

In the past, based on the information he knew, after deducing the outside world through careful analysis, Qin Jin harbored genuine worries in his heart. After all, the power levels displayed there were extremely high, and the external environment seemed very bleak.

"The image of the Golden Crow in my heart, combined with various worries, evolved into this form under the checkpoint's inherent mystique."

Slowly exhaling, Qin Jin's gaze turned forward.

After the Golden Crow took shape, the area he was in automatically became isolated from the outside world, making it impossible for others to observe. After all, this kind of checkpoint already involved the deep secrets of the transcendent themselves.

Now.

At the place where the Golden Crow shattered, a ball of light appeared, radiating light.

This was the reward for passing the third checkpoint.

Qin Jin stepped forward, approached the light ball, and lightly touched it. The light ball vanished, completely absorbed into his mental world.

Within his mental world, images flashed by.

Peel back the outer layers, and see the true self.

The reward for this checkpoint was to allow participants to truly see the great fear within their hearts.

[Fear] is an innate human emotion. For ordinary people, there are countless things to fear. Evolvers who embark on the path of transcendence have reduced much of this, but they inevitably still have their own taboos.

"What will my great fear be?"

With this thought, Qin Jin's mental power surged, capturing the images flashing within his mental world.

Scene after scene appeared in his mind.

Qin Jin saw his younger self climbing onto the rooftop, looking through the defensive light curtain, gazing at the sky outside, at the lingering thunder above his hometown at that time.

That was when the tragic news of his parents arrived.

He saw Wen Jinglun, with a gentle expression, diligently explaining the basic entry requirements for a Martial Artist within the campus.

He saw himself standing alone before the Thunder Pool in the Star God Forbidden Zone.

Various scenes flashed through Qin Jin's mind. Rather than scenes of fear, they were nodal experiences of his growth up to the present.

Qin Jin was speechless.

Divine Intent is the embodiment of a Martial Artist's will. Only by facing great fear can one find and mend the final flaws in their will.

This great fear might change due to personal experiences and growth.

"So..."

"My great fear, the matter deeply hidden in my heart right now."

"Is that I'm afraid... I'm not strong enough."

"This is an underlying obsession in my heart. Having lost something in childhood, and then having witnessed and experienced too much after truly embarking on the transcendent path, truly understanding the depths, such a thought would arise from within."

The next moment.

The restrictions in the surrounding area were lifted, and all connections with the outside world were restored. Qin Jin looked around. He was already in the Level 4 area. In the surrounding Star Sea were large and small light clusters emitting purple light.

He looked back.

In the checkpoint area, many people were still clearing the trial. At a glance, the white-clothed woman's figure was gone, whether she had already passed the checkpoint and delved deeper, or was experiencing the final step of this checkpoint, isolated from the outside world.

"Continue deeper."

Turning around, Qin Jin prepared to continue forward.

But... just then, a slight tremor appeared in the Spirit Ruins... Qin Jin entered the Miracle Corridor.

Candle Kite, commanding the sailing boat, continued her voyage. A peculiar planet could already be seen through the porthole.

Crystal Branch Star.

At a glance, this planet, whose volume could be described as vast, was exceptionally dazzling in the Star Sea. From its appearance, the entire planet resembled a gem suspended in the Star Sea, its surface enveloped by sharply angled crystals, forming the outermost layer.

At a glance, countless facets existed.

Outside Crystal Branch Star, thousands of large spaceports, built against the planet, all appeared to be constructed from a special crystal, similar in material to the crystals adhering to the planet's surface. After initial identity verification, because Qin Jin, the nominal captain of the starship, had not appeared, the sailing boat docked at the spaceport.

Inside the cockpit.

Candle Kite floated out, looking through the porthole at the massive planet below.

"Crystal Branch Star."

She murmured softly, a torrent of data flashing in her eyes as relevant information levels appeared.

"Level 10 life planet, Gaia Planet."

"Giving birth to a Star God..."

"Precept Crystal Lord · Aoyan."

...The moment the Spirit Ruins trembled, Qin Jin sensed it, quickly confirming the source.

[heaven-reaching platform]

This truly heaven-bestowed object was usually in a dormant state, but any unusual movement undoubtedly indicated something important. It was the first time Qin Jin had seen it stirring in the Star Sea.

"Is there something heaven-reaching platform needs in this Level 4 area?"

"If heaven-reaching platform needs it, then that must be..."

His eyes lit up slightly. Following the Spirit Ruins' tremor, Qin Jin did not go directly to the Level 5 area but instead hurried to explore this place.

Not long after he left.

The white-clothed woman passed the trial and entered the Level 4 area.

Her gaze shifted. Upon not seeing Qin Jin's figure, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. She then quickly headed towards the checkpoint leading to the Level 5 area... Following the tremor, the entire Level 4 area was immeasurably wider than during the [internal test]. The number of light clusters inside had increased, and some changes had appeared. On some constantly surging purple light clusters, [markers] composed of light had appeared, seemingly describing the trials and rewards within.

He delved deeper. When the heaven-reaching platform's tremor reached its peak, Qin Jin stopped.

Ahead was a large light cluster, and above it, symbols representing [danger] within the Federation flickered.

This indicated that the trial contained within this light cluster itself held danger.

Qin Jin's eyes lowered slightly, and he immediately prepared to touch the light cluster.

Just as he approached.

Not far away, power fluctuations emanated, and a figure rapidly approached.

"Someone else has their eye on this trial light cluster?"

A thought flashed through his mind. There was no ripple on Qin Jin's calm face. His domain activated at this moment, and his hand, held like a knife, surged with power as he struck his hand-knife in the direction the figure was approaching from.

Power fluctuations!

In an instant, a vast blade of condensed power swept forth.

A moment later.

The approaching figure retreated even faster, its aura fading into the distance.

Around, many people observed this scene, and no one else approached.

In the Miracle Corridor, where participants could not communicate, combat was the most direct method, requiring no flowery words.

Precisely because of this... as long as one displayed combat power, many troubles could be avoided, allowing one to focus on reaping rewards from the light clusters.

He raised his hand to touch the light cluster. In Qin Jin's vision, everything around him changed in an instant. The Star Sea vanished, replaced by a dark room. Everything in the room was ancient and dilapidated. The door was open, and although there was no wind, it kept opening and closing, emitting dull thuds.

Beyond the door.

Was a corridor that stretched as far as the eye could see.