"Now I get it…" Xie Zhaolin's mind suddenly cleared. "This isn't just some simple spatial loop, it's an incredibly clever Heart Mirror maze!
Every door… it's like a mirror reflecting my inner world. Opening one doesn't move me through space, it moves me through my own mental projection!
The stone chambers behind the doors aren't real. They're illusions projected from my own expectations and understanding of the entrance to the Destruction Chamber!
Because my subconscious assumes that an entrance should lead to a stone chamber, every time I open a door, I see the same scene. This maze isn't trapping my body, it's trapping my mind!"
And the key to breaking it lay in the subtle energy differences on the door's carvings. Those differences might correspond to different inner pathways or emotional frequencies.
Xie Zhaolin slowly opened her eyes and looked at the sixth door before her. This time, she didn't try to brute-force every door. She pressed her palm gently against the surface, not pushing, but carefully guiding a thin, refined thread of divine sense into the subtle energy currents within the carvings.
She tried to align that thread of divine sense with the frequency of her current state of mind, seeking a resonance that could reveal a flaw in the door.
Hum…
A barely audible resonance echoed as if from the depths of her soul.
The grotesque carvings on the giant black door began to shift. The metallic black sheen faded, and the patterns of demons and twisted souls started reorganizing!
After several breaths, the warped imagery stabilized. The giant door had vanished entirely. In its place was a black stone wall that reflected nothing, and at its center swirled a narrow, dim vortex, just large enough for a single person to pass through. That was the real entrance to the Destruction Chamber.
Xie Zhaolin stared at the dark vortex, her expression grim rather than relieved.
The Heart Mirror maze had only been the first trial.
Inside the true Destruction Chamber, the most core and dangerous test of Youji Shàngrén's legacy awaited her. She inhaled deeply, adjusted her state to peak condition, and without hesitation, stepped into the dark vortex. Her figure was swallowed by darkness in an instant.
Behind her, the black stone wall and vortex slowly dissolved, transforming back into the appearance of a seemingly ordinary giant door.
As soon as she stepped into the vortex, Xie Zhaolin felt the world spin wildly around her. Once she regained her balance, the scenery had completely changed. She now stood atop a circular stone platform that resembled a battle arena.
The platform was made of a dark gray, solid rock, carved with countless slash and axe marks. Around it stretched bottomless black void, with only a few ghostly green flames hovering above, casting dim and eerie light.
The entire space was silent, suffused with a chilling, murderous aura.
"Intruder…"
A cold, hollow, utterly emotionless voice rang out from the void, echoing directly in Xie Zhaolin's sea of consciousness.
"Since you've broken through the Heart Mirror, you are qualified to face my inheritance trial. I, Youji, have spent my life learning, not the path of annihilation, but the way of Puppet Mastery."
The words were calm, matter-of-fact, yet sent a shock through her heart.
Puppet mastery?
This was completely different from the Silent Path rumored outside!
Youji Shàngrén had hidden his true core legacy so deeply!
"A puppeteer's creation isn't a dead object. It's an extension of will, an arm of the Primordial Soul, and an undying weapon of battle. To master supreme puppet technique, five trials must be passed. Break the puppet, discern the subtle, control the mind, imbue the spirit, dominate.
Pass, and you receive my inheritance. Fail, and you die."
Xie Zhaolin gritted her teeth. Of course, inheritance trials wouldn't be easy. She hadn't heard of any legacy where failing a trial meant instant death.
This inheritance was truly formidable.
As the words faded, the platform's surface flickered with light!
Three humanoid puppets, barely five feet tall and made of coarse black iron, appeared from thin air. The spiritual fluctuations radiating from them were extremely weak, barely equivalent to an early Qi Refining stage cultivator.
"First trial: Break the puppet."
The old voice sounded again.
"These three iron soldiers are basic combat puppets. Defeat them."
The instructions sounded deceptively simple.
Xie Zhaolin's eyes narrowed, cautious. She moved, performing her Misty Step, and appeared instantly in front of one iron soldier. Liuyun Ribbon flicked casually!
Snap!
A crisp sound rang out as the iron soldier flew backward several meters, crashing heavily onto the stone platform. But unexpectedly, it didn't collapse. Fine cracks appeared across its body, and it staggered to its feet, red light glowing faintly in its eye sockets, charging again fearlessly.
Meanwhile, the other two soldiers approached from both sides. Clumsy in movement but relentless in attack.
Xie Zhaolin frowned slightly, Liuyun Ribbon sweeping again, easily flinging the two iron soldiers away. Yet they got up again, joining the fight anew.
And worse…
At the platform's edge, light flickered again. Three more identical iron soldiers appeared! The number increased.
Xie Zhaolin realized the first trial's terror instantly. These basic puppets were weak individually, but had incredible defense, tireless persistence, and no fear of death. Most importantly, their numbers kept growing over time. Without an efficient way to destroy them, she'd eventually be buried under an endless sea of puppets. She had to find their weakness!
While weaving through the attacks of six iron soldiers, she observed carefully. Their structure seemed simple, but the joints were incredibly sturdy, and their cores appeared hidden beneath thick chest plates. Relying on brute force was too slow and too exhausting.
Suddenly, a spark lit in her mind, recalling the moment she first encountered the Soul-Eroding Yin Puppet.
Back then, she had relied on a unique perspective of baleful qi to spot the energy nodes and weak points!
"Let's see…"
Xie Zhaolin focused, quietly activating her Xuanyin Foundation Technique. A surge of pure yinsha entered her eyes, and a faint eerie glow flashed deep within her pupils.
The world shifted before her.
The void of the platform remained, but the six iron soldiers attacking her frantically now appeared differently under the baleful qi perspective!
They were no longer simple black iron constructs, but composed of countless fine energy threads emitting faint spiritual light. Among these threads, several nodes glowed brighter, feeding the puppets with energy and issuing commands. The rest of the threads were dim, only for support and conduction.
"Just as I thought!" Xie Zhaolin realized.
These bright nodes were the energy cores and command centers of the basic puppets, their fatal weak points!
Destroy the nodes, and the puppets would collapse instantly!
Spotting an iron soldier swinging a punch, she stopped dodging, joining her right index and middle fingers together, condensing a highly compressed thread of yinsha.
Swoosh!
She precisely struck an almost invisible, pulsing energy node inside the iron soldier's right shoulder joint.
Ssshh!
A faint sound, like a balloon popping, rang out.
The iron soldier's fist froze mid-swing, the red light in its eye sockets extinguished, and its body collapsed like bones emptied from a corpse, scattering into useless parts.