Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 524 The Strong Prey on the Weak! Illusion!

Upon hearing this, the clamoring rogue cultivators immediately fell silent, their faces turning ashen, yet they dared not utter another word.

Several early Foundation Establishment cultivators tried to argue, but after being coldly glanced at by the black-robed elder, they immediately shrank back and slunk away to the back of the crowd.

Chen Fan watched this scene with an expressionless face.

The cultivation world has always been like this: the strong prey on the weak, and the powerful bully the weak. Those rogue cultivators who practice Qi Refining think that by paying spirit stones they can get a fair chance, but they don't know that in this cultivation world, fairness itself is the most luxurious thing.

Three low-grade spirit stones were hard-earned money for them, but for the Shangyun Sect, they were nothing more than scraps of silver to give away to beggars.

What sects need is never fairness, but rather strong individuals who can bring glory to the sect in the state-level competition.

Those rogue cultivators with low cultivation levels had no chance from the very beginning.

The commotion quickly subsided.

Although the resentful rogue cultivators were full of grievances, they dared not retaliate under the pressure of the Core Formation Elder and could only turn around and leave the Questioning Platform in a huff.

A few stubborn individuals stood by the platform and refused to leave, but were unceremoniously asked to leave by the disciples in charge.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, nearly a hundred people had left the Asking Heaven Platform.

The remaining approximately 150 to 160 people, the lowest level of whom was at least at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Just then, a clear and melodious crane cry came from the horizon.

Everyone looked up and saw a snow-white crane flapping its wings and flying towards the top of Luoyun Mountain.

Standing on the crane's back was an elderly man with white hair, dressed in a moon-white Taoist robe. He had a youthful face despite his white hair, and his features were thin but his eyes were bright and piercing, revealing a sense of having seen through the vicissitudes of life.

The crane circled once above the Asking Heaven Platform before slowly descending.

The white-haired old man gracefully descended from the crane's back and landed on the stone platform in front of the statue of the founder of the sect. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire area, and the place immediately fell silent.

This person was none other than the only Nascent Soul ancestor of the Shangyun Sect, Master Feihe.

Master Feihe looked to be around seventy or eighty years old, but his aura as a Nascent Soul cultivator was genuine.

However, if one senses it carefully, one can perceive that although the aura is stable, it faintly reveals a sense of decay, like an old tree with a lush exterior but whose roots have begun to rot.

Chen Fan glanced at it once and then looked away.

In the early stages of the Nascent Soul realm, one's lifespan is nearing its end, with a maximum lifespan of no more than a hundred years.

Such a Nascent Soul cultivator's combat power has been greatly reduced; in a real fight, he might not even be as good as some Core Formation cultivators at the Great Perfection stage.

However, in this desolate land, a Nascent Soul is still a Nascent Soul. Even a toothless tiger is enough to intimidate a pack of wolves.

Master Feihe spoke, his voice aged yet full of vigor:

"Fellow Daoists, it is an honor for this old Daoist to have you come from afar. Today, we will conduct an internal selection process to choose only ten people to represent the Shangyun Sect in the Desolate State Grand Competition. The selection process consists of two stages. The first stage is the Illusionary Realm Test of the Heart."

With a flick of his sleeve, pale golden array patterns suddenly lit up the ground in the center of the Astronomical Platform.

The array patterns spread outwards like living things, covering the entire platform in the blink of an eye.

"This is the Heart-Testing Illusion Array, passed down through my Shangyun Sect. It tests your character and your Dao heart. Within the illusion, you will confront your inner obsessions and demons. Those who can escape the illusion within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn will pass. If you are still trapped in the illusion after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you will be eliminated."

Master Feihe's voice rang clearly in everyone's ears: "Remember, in the realm of illusion, everything is both false and real. What you see may not be true, and what you feel may not be false. Guard your true self, and you will be able to break through the illusion."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and cast a spell.

Suddenly, the array patterns on the Asking Heaven Platform lit up with a dazzling golden light, enveloping all 150-plus people.

Chen Fan felt a blur before his eyes, and the scenery around him underwent a dramatic change.

The Asking Heaven Platform has disappeared.

Elder Li has disappeared.

The stone statue of the founder of the school has also disappeared.

In its place stood a dark and dilapidated woodshed.

The woodshed was piled high with chopped firewood, and in the corner stood a low table with an oil lamp on it, its wick flickering with a tiny flame. Outside, the north wind howled, making the paper windowpanes rustle.

Chen Fan looked down at his hands.

Those were a pair of withered, calloused hands.

He wasn't wearing a gray-blue cloth robe, but a faded blue eunuch's robe with frayed cuffs and several indelible oil stains on the hem.

Imperial Horse Stables.

He recognized this place.

This is where he used to raise horses.

The fire in the stove was burning brightly, and the water in the pot was bubbling and steaming.

Chen Fan sat in front of the stove, feeling the long-lost warmth of a mortal body.

There was no spiritual power, no divine consciousness, no golden bowl, nothing at all.

He was just an eighty-year-old eunuch, sitting in the kitchen boiling water, waiting for dawn to feed the horses.

The curtain was lifted from the outside, and a gust of cold wind blew in.

The one who came in was a young eunuch, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair and delicate features, and a hint of timid restraint in his eyes.

He held a golden bowl in his hands, its surface engraved with intricate patterns, gleaming softly in the dim light.

"Eunuch Chen, this is a gift from Princess Yuanping." The young eunuch handed over the golden bowl.

Chen Fan looked at the golden bowl but did not reach out to take it.

He stared at the bowl for a long time.

The young eunuch seemed a little bewildered and called out again, "Eunuch Chen?"

Chen Fan finally spoke.

His voice was hoarse and dry, like that of a real octogenarian: "Our family... won't answer."

The young eunuch was stunned.

"This bowl," Chen Fan said slowly, "is a path for us. On this path, many people will die, and many inhuman things will die too. We will meet a silly girl who will cook for us, talk to us, and then... she will die in front of us."

He paused, his cloudy old eyes devoid of tears, revealing only a deep, unfathomable calm.

"We won't accept this bowl."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scene before his eyes suddenly froze.

The eunuch, the golden bowl, the woodshed, and the fire in the stove all froze into a still painting.

Then, the image shattered like a broken mirror, dissipating into countless fragments.

Chen Fan found himself standing in a vast, white space.

There was no solid ground beneath my feet, no sky above my head, and endless white all around.

He was still wearing that grayish-blue cloth robe, his hands were no longer calloused, his dantian was full of spiritual energy, and his mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation was intact.

Is that all?

Chen Fan's heart stirred slightly.

This Heart-Questioning Illusion Array tests one's character; the illusion will draw out the cultivator's deepest obsessions.

For most people, obsession is a mental demon, an obstacle that must be fought against.

But Chen Fan is different; his obsession has never been an obstacle, but rather the driving force that propels him forward.

He knew that Tianxiangzi was dead.

He knew that resurrecting her required the Mirror of Reincarnation.

He knew how difficult this road was.

But he never regretted accepting that golden bowl.

Since he has no regrets, the illusion can do nothing to him.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the white space, and light from the outside world shone through.

Chen Fan stepped out, and the scene before him became clear again.

Asking Heaven Terrace.

He remained standing in the same spot, as if he had never moved.