BOOM!
A thunderball the size of a millstone slammed viciously into Miao Mingshen's back.
Pfft.
Miao Mingshen's entire body convulsed, and he vomited a mouthful of fresh blood. His already pale complexion turned even more ghastly. He immediately rallied his strength, activating an Immortal Dao killer move. In the next instant he vanished from the spot, reappearing several thousand steps ahead.
But even here, lightning crackled all around and fierce beasts soared through the air. The situation had reached its absolute worst.
"I never imagined I, Miao Mingshen, would die here!" His face was a mask of despair.
Wasn't Paradise's True Inheritance supposed to be gentle? How could it be so lethal?
These questions no longer mattered. The Immortal Essence in Miao Mingshen's Immortal Aperture had run dry. Though most of his Immortal Gu were still with him, he was a spent arrow — that last escape had been his final struggle.
Bestial roars nearly pierced his eardrums as the Primordial Thunder Phoenix dove toward him once more.
He looked around. Of the eight Gu Immortals who had come, only Miao Mingshen himself remained. He had held out the longest; the others had all fallen one after another.
"If I had known, I would never have come to explore Paradise's True Inheritance. I haven't even laid eyes on the Azure Dragon Whale, and now I'm going to die. Heh heh heh — Ren Xiuping will laugh his head off when he hears about this afterward." Miao Mingshen's heart was filled with regret and helplessness.
In life, the road ahead is pitch black. Who can see to the end? Could even Star Constellation, the Wisdom Dao Immortal Venerable, see to the very end?
"Come, then." Miao Mingshen let out a sigh, squared his chest, and faced the Thunder Phoenix's claws with calm acceptance.
A burst of searing pain — then the deepest darkness.
"Am I dead already..." Miao Mingshen drifted in a daze.
At that moment, a voice suddenly reached him: "Lord Miao Mingshen, wake up. Wake up quickly!"
Miao Mingshen opened his eyes.
Before him stood Fairy Flower Butterfly with a look of concern, and beside her were Ghost Seven Elder, Bee General, Tu Toutuo, and the others. Even Chu Ying, who had been the first to fall, was there.
All of them wore smiles on their lips.
"You all... what is going on?" Miao Mingshen's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait — was that some kind of test?"
"Immortal Friend Miao sees clearly. That is the conclusion we reached as well," Tu Toutuo answered with a hearty laugh.
"I didn't expect that before we even caught sight of the Azure Dragon Whale, the first trial would come upon us. But this trial was far too dangerous." Miao Mingshen shook his head repeatedly, his heart still racing with lingering fear. As he spoke, he inspected his own injuries.
In the next moment, he froze.
Every injury on his body had vanished without a trace. The damage to his Gu insects had completely disappeared, and even his depleted Immortal Essence reserves had been fully restored.
"This?!" Miao Mingshen snapped his head up. "Was everything just now an illusion?"
"That's exactly right."
"Paradise Immortal Venerable's handiwork is truly formidable. We were trapped in the scenario without the slightest awareness, and only grasped the truth at the very moment of death."
"Think about it — for the one who created the Reincarnation Battlefield, designing this layer of testing would have been no difficulty at all."
"Historical records state that to bring the then-Eighth Transformation powerhouse War Demon to heel, Paradise Immortal Venerable created Immortal Dao killer moves of this nature. The Reincarnation Battlefield was the crowning achievement of that technique. Over all these years, who can say how many Gu Immortal powerhouses it has cultivated for the Ten Great Sects of Central Continent!"
Miao Mingshen caught his breath, his mind growing clearer by the moment: "I suppose this too is part of Paradise Immortal Venerable's guidance. After all, once one has experienced death, everything else becomes easier to see clearly."
"My Lord speaks the truth. The feeling at the moment of death — it is seared into one's memory," Bee General said with emotion.
"At the same time, this also serves to measure a person's combat level. Immortal Friend Miao, I have to say I'm impressed. We all watched your performance in the illusion perfectly clearly — you held out longer than any of us," Tong Hua said with a smile.
Miao Mingshen felt both pleased and troubled.
Pleased, because his performance had greatly enhanced his standing in the group. Troubled, because the vast majority of his methods had been completely exposed. After all, in a life-or-death struggle, who could hold anything back?
Miao Mingshen suddenly thought of Fang Yuan, and shifted his gaze: "Immortal Friend Chu Ying, here I was grieving for you in sorrow and anger, and it turns out you were the one who had it easiest of all of us."
His words carried hidden meaning.
Fang Yuan let out a long sigh, wearing an expression of guilty helplessness: "To be honest, the moment death came upon me, I felt utterly wretched. I cursed my terrible luck in my heart — why of all things did the Primordial Thunder Phoenix have to fixate on me? When I woke up, I was so dazed it took me a long while to collect myself."
With the Attitude Gu, his performance was naturally sincere and convincing. Miao Mingshen stared intently at Fang Yuan, and seeing his genuine expression, the suspicion that had just begun to stir in his heart largely dissipated.
"Then where exactly are we now?" Miao Mingshen surveyed their surroundings. They stood on a small, deserted island, surrounded by vast azure waters stretching to the horizon.
Schools of fish could be seen beneath the surface, whitecaps dotted the sea, a gentle sea breeze blew, and white seabirds cried out — some circling high above, others skimming low over the water.
"We were about to ask you. When we woke up, we were already here, and we have no idea which direction to go next," Tong Hua said.
Miao Mingshen nodded: "Everyone, please wait a moment."