After completing the Trial of Intention, the memory of everything he'd experienced was compressed in Feng Qi's mind, and gradually faded away. Only the insights remained.
Feng Qi could clearly feel that the cumulative influence of his negative emotions had improved a lot.
But the Heart Refinement Trial could only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.
While his sea of spiritual consciousness could still bear it, he decided to take on another Heart Refinement Trial.
His gaze now turned to the fourth trial statue.
The sealed fourth statue was instantly activated. Its eyes suddenly opened, exuding a commanding presence without anger, and just making eye contact sent a heavy, ancient aura crashing toward him.
As the gemstone on the statue's forehead flashed with light, it raised its right hand and pointed directly at Feng Qi with its index finger.
The scene in front of him shattered, darkness rushed in like a train speeding from afar, dispersing everything around him and surrounding him entirely.
In his mind, the aged voice rang out once again:
"All sins of karma, all suffering of the world, the fourth tribulation of the Eighteen Trials—The Trial of Hunger and Illness!"
The voice echoed in his mind, lingering for a long time before fading.
When the darkness cleared from his vision, Feng Qi found himself standing on a barren land.
But this time, the Heart Refinement Trial did not block his memory—he was fully aware he was undergoing a trial.
Looking around, the land was cracked and dry, barren as far as the eye could see. All he could see were withered grasses and yellow soil. In the distance, there were figures, all hunched over, skin and bones.
They were unkempt, their faces numb.
Turning his gaze to another side, he saw many figures gnawing on the dead remains of trees, scrambling for bark to eat. Some even sat on the ground, gnawing slowly on tree roots.
Everything before him confirmed that this place was in the midst of a great famine.
Right then, a wave of intense hunger hit him.
Looking down at himself, he realized he looked no different from the other refugees. He reeked of filth, his clothes were tattered, and his chest was so thin his ribs were clearly visible.
The feeling was unbearable—his stomach churned, gastric acid surged, and an overwhelming urge to eat started to erode his mind.
But he resisted the urge.
Since it was a Trial, it obviously required him to face desire and suffering head-on.
If he gave in to desire, he would never be able to pass the Trial of Hunger and Illness.
So, he sat down cross-legged and quietly endured the intense feedback his body was sending to his brain.
In a previous sacrifice-line, due to his physical condition, he had gone without food for a long time. Because of that, he was confident about this trial.
But desire was like darkness—it kept creeping into his thoughts, trying to compel him to act on instinct.
This was a battle against instinct.
As he slowly calmed his agitated mind and opened his eyes again, the scene had changed—countless dishes piled up before him.
A fat man with a wide face was holding out a chunk of meat toward him.
He could clearly see the steam rising from the roasted meat, and smell its rich aroma drilling into his brain.
His soothed body became restless again. His stomach growled in protest.
He took a deep breath but didn't close his eyes. He stared straight at the temptation, letting the fragrance drift past the tip of his nose.
The fat man put down the roast meat, picked up a wine jug and cup, and walked over laughing. Right in front of Feng Qi, he poured wine into the cup. The stream of wine fell smoothly, its aroma filling the air. A few drops splashed onto Feng Qi's lips, pushing the temptation to a new height.
He instinctively opened his mouth—but quickly clamped it shut.
He was familiar with hunger, but the kind in the Heart Refinement Trial had obviously been amplified drastically.
This hunger reached into the soul. Every second of resistance was a battle with instinct.
As time passed, the food in front of him changed constantly, the temptation escalating. He saw exquisite delicacies he'd never seen in real life. These softly glowing dishes turned into mental demons, luring him to lunge forward and devour them.
His body began to tremble. Desire swelled rapidly within.
He kept fighting the temptation.
The fuel for that desire didn't stop. The physical allure slowly turned into psychological temptation.
Endless scenes of feasting flashed through his mind.
He was like a starving man lost in a desert, and these images were like drops of water falling into his mouth, instantly triggering a burning thirst and need to devour.
Even when he shut his eyes, the images remained.
They became like inner demons during cultivation, forming karmic devil hands trying to drag him into the sea of desire.
But Feng Qi didn't move.
No matter how overpowering the desire grew, his mind remained steady.
He didn't know how strong his willpower truly was, but now he was testing its limits.
Even as hunger gnawed away at his body, he managed to hold on to a sliver of clarity.
This trial—he was going to pass it!
With absolute confidence, his will became sharper through the grinding torment.
At that moment, Feng Qi suddenly felt himself reaching a profound and mysterious state.
Heart-command like a mountain, suppressing the physical body.
He had completely regained control over his body. It was a strange sensation—he'd become the true master of this physical vessel.
To put it simply, no matter how addictive something was, he could quit it instantly.
If he wanted the body to do something, it would obey. No more negotiating.
Hunger, fatigue, drowsiness… Even if his body protested, it was meaningless. Desire was no longer the driving force behind his actions.
Heart-command like a mountain—he was the one truly in control.
Though the hunger remained, Feng Qi felt incomparably calm.
Hunger was just hunger. But if he didn't want to eat, this body wouldn't take any action.
Gradually, a smile formed on his face. Then he reached out toward the food in front of him.
Now, he wanted the body to eat.
But doing so had nothing to do with bodily instinct—it was merely his order.
Once his mind had reached this level, the trial was essentially over.
Just as he expected, before his hand could touch the food, both the feast before him and the scenes of eating in his mind shattered and disappeared like mist.
The scene returned to the desolate land from the beginning.
This time, the refugees nearby were changing. Their expressions were weak and dispirited, some vomited blood, others lay swollen and barely breathing on the ground. Their bodies were covered in horrifying boils—disease was ravaging their lives.
The "hunger" of the Trial of Hunger and Illness had passed. Now came the "illness."
And his own body began to change as well.
Itching started at his feet and spread upward until it swept across his whole body. Blisters filled with blood surfaced on his skin.
Feng Qi sat down cross-legged and endured the transformation of his body.
This part of the trial had nothing to do with desire.
Though he could still control his body under the heart-command like a mountain, it didn't reduce the feedback of pain—in fact, the sensations grew even clearer.
It felt like his body was going through the tortures of the Eighteen Hells, with one disease after another.
Sometimes he coughed up blood, sometimes he trembled uncontrollably while lying on the ground, and at other times his body burned with a fever so intense it blurred his vision and made even breathing difficult.
Right now, he was like a lone boat tossed in a raging sea, ready to be drowned at any moment by the despair brought on by sickness.
But through it all, he kept a sliver of clarity in his heart. He didn't lose himself in the pain, nor did he ever think of giving up, no matter how much it spread across his body.
Finally, when the eighty-one diseases had run their course, he opened his eyes.
There was no relief or celebration in his gaze—only a tranquil calm, like still water.
In that moment, the scene in front of him began to fracture. He returned to the space where the statues of the Eighteen Trials stood.
[Bro, you're insane. You actually pulled through the fourth trial, and way smoother than the previous three! No doubt, willpower is definitely one of your strongest weapons. Honestly, your will might not be any weaker than Old Mist's. Maybe that's why you've always been able to stay true to yourself. As your old man, I'm proud.]
Faced with the narrator's praise, Feng Qi didn't feel happy at all—especially that last line, which was just asking to get smacked.
He ignored the narrator and raised his right arm.
The black mark of negative emotions on his arm continued shrinking, eventually condensing into a small black dot in his palm.
With the growth of his mental state, the influence of negative emotions weakened once more.
But now, his spiritual sea was swelling with pain. He no longer had the strength to continue facing the rest of the Eighteen Trials.
At this moment, his gaze shifted to the crystal pedestal in front of the statues.
It seemed to have some kind of mysterious power, drawing his attention. As he stared, his consciousness grew hazy.
When his vision cleared again, he found himself back on the cultivation platform.
Without hesitation, he activated his bone form.
His flesh turned into a mist of blood and gathered at his brow, and a surge of psychic force lifted his body straight off the platform.
Up above, Zhang Daowen stood with hands behind his back. When he saw Feng Qi emerge, his figure flickered and appeared right in front of him.
"Qi-shu, how do you feel?"
"The influence of negative emotions has lessened quite a bit. Thank you."
Upon hearing the thanks, a warm smile appeared on Zhang Daowen's face. Peace radiated from his expression.
"Since the Trial is complete, let's head back. Once we return to Dawn City, there's still a lot I need to discuss with you."
Feng Qi nodded immediately.
Zhang Daowen stretched out his left hand and pushed forward. Instantly, icy mist spread ahead. Within the fog, glimmers of crystalline blue light tore open the space, forming a ring-shaped spatial portal.
Once the spatial path was constructed, Zhang Daowen placed his right hand on Feng Qi's shoulder.
Together, they stepped into the portal.
Before long, they exited and returned to the barren region high above—this was the area where Dawn City was located.
Looking down, the entire scenery of Dawn City was visible at a glance.
After their return, Feng Qi and Zhang Daowen sat once again atop the statue.
At that point, Zhang Daowen began asking about more details of Feng Qi's time-traveling ability.
After hearing Feng Qi's explanation and learning the truth about his time travel, Zhang Daowen fell silent.
Feng Qi knew exactly what was on his mind, so he spoke up:
"Teach me as much of the cultivation technique you've developed as you can. I'll take it back to the next timeline and pass it on to your other self. That way, your growth in that timeline will far surpass what you've achieved in this one—including your lifespan."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Daowen nodded.
Under the blood moon, Zhang Daowen began teaching Feng Qi the cultivation technique he created—Ice God.
Since his main timeline body couldn't cultivate, Feng Qi focused entirely on memorizing everything Zhang Daowen taught.
But this method of learning, without hands-on practice, wasn't very efficient.
To make things harder, the little guy's technique was incredibly complex.
The human cultivation theories Feng Qi had studied—like meridians, acupuncture points, and so on—were completely inapplicable to this cultivation method.
It was like starting from scratch with a whole new system.
With Little Black still fighting Suction Cup and possibly arriving at any moment, Feng Qi could only push himself to absorb as much as he could.
Zhang Daowen clearly realized the difficulty as well.
So when explaining the technique, he broke Ice God down into three stages.
First, he laid out the core framework—describing the structure and foundation of the technique.
The benefit of this approach was that even if Feng Qi only remembered part of it, it would still be useful to pass along to the next timeline's Zhang Daowen. That version would only need to flesh out the structure from there.
If they had followed a typical step-by-step learning method—teaching the front part of the technique first—then the next timeline's version of the little guy might've easily hit a growth bottleneck.
After all, without experiencing the process of developing the technique, jumping straight into a fully-formed method would leave him stuck if the technique suddenly cut off mid-way. And without the foundational knowledge, continuing to develop it would be several levels more difficult.
Time passed. Feng Qi didn't know how long.
Throughout the entire process, he stayed completely focused on the little guy's explanation of the technique's principles. Whenever something was unclear, he asked immediately.
Because when it came to cultivation techniques, there was no room for mistakes.
If the version he brought back had any problems, the level of human cultivation science at that point would make it nearly impossible to fix the hidden risks in the method.
That kind of correction would take research accumulated across multiple timelines—like with the Flesh Sacrifice technique.
A flawed cultivation method could even cause the little guy to die young.
So during the memorization process, Feng Qi constantly reviewed and rehearsed everything to ensure total accuracy.
Thankfully, with his improved memory, his recall speed had greatly increased.
Finally, he memorized all three parts of the cultivation method completely.
Once the learning was done, Zhang Daowen flew high into the air, scanning the direction of Star City's ruins.
After a long while, he returned to Feng Qi's side.
"Little Black and Suction Cup are still fighting. We still have time."
"What's next?" Feng Qi asked right away.
But Zhang Daowen didn't answer the question. Instead, he just smiled and shook his head. The wind stirred his white hair, and his gaze was calm.
"Qi-shu, activate your Blood Source form."
"Why?" Feng Qi asked, surprised.
"I'm old. I can't keep leading the human race forward anymore… So before I go, I want to give you one last push, to open up a path ahead for you."
After a brief moment of confusion, Feng Qi suddenly understood what Zhang Daowen was planning to do.
Before he could speak, Zhang Daowen said first:
"Qi-shu, you've never been one to hesitate."
Finally, Feng Qi gave in. He activated his Blood Source form.
His heart beat faster, muscle tissue surged across his body, and a dark green flame enveloped him. His height soared.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a towering blood-colored giant.
Zhang Daowen walked up calmly and placed his right hand on Feng Qi's chest.
At that moment, Feng Qi felt a flood of rich blood energy rushing into him.
His Blood Source form greedily absorbed it, converting it into Blood Source power.
His body grew even larger. Fierce devil horns emerged on his forehead.
The dark green flames around him roared to life, and overwhelming power surged through his body—like he could never run out of strength.
But the little guy before him visibly aged with every passing second.
Zhang Daowen lifted Feng Qi into the air, making sure the growth of his massive form wouldn't damage the statue below.
When Feng Qi's height reached twenty meters, a thunderous boom came from above.
A hellish gate forged of blazing flames slowly tore open the sky, and a grotesque claw reached out, grabbing the gate's edge.
Then came a terrifying, colossal figure, gradually emerging from the other side of the gate.
The Dark God had sensed the missing power—and now it was crossing the void to arrive.
Just like in the previous timeline, the Dark God was trying to take back the power it had lost from Feng Qi.
At that moment, Zhang Daowen withdrew his right hand. Then he pressed against Feng Qi's chest and pushed him away with a wave of icy mist, sending him flying far into the distance. Zhang Daowen turned and fixed his gaze on the Dark God.
Roar!
The Dark God, having broken free from the blazing spatial gate, let out a furious howl toward the figure blocking its path.
A violent gust of wind surged forward, whipping Zhang Daowen's robes and long white hair into the air. Yet he still stood with one hand behind his back, calmly staring down the Dark God, his expression utterly composed.
Seeing this, Feng Qi felt a bitter ache in his chest.
He understood that this was Zhang Daowen's final gift to him.
But this gift… would likely cost him his life.
Just then, Zhang Daowen's voice turned into a wisp of thought that entered Feng Qi's mind. That aged voice slowly echoed:
"Qi-shu, I've always wondered… were you only using me to ensure the survival of human civilization? I actually figured out a long time ago that I'm a Domain creature. It wasn't hard to guess. After all, my body structure is nothing like a human's."
Feng Qi wanted to reply, but he didn't know what to say.
Because the truth was, from the beginning, he had indeed raised Zhang Daowen with the intention of using him.
But over time, as he trained him, genuine feelings grew between them.
"Though… in the end, it doesn't matter. I used to be confused about it, but now I see things clearly. I've always felt your care for me. To me, I am human. I'm the child you raised with your own hands, Qi-shu."
As the words ended, Zhang Daowen took a step forward in midair toward the charging Dark God.
In an instant, the temperature dropped drastically. The fierce cold wind swept through the land, driving back the dark miasma. Ice crystals and snowflakes began to fall from the sky. The world turned completely white.
The appearance of the Ice and Snow Domain Field even made the Dark God tremble. Its charge noticeably slowed.
"Qi-shu, I once practiced a supreme technique day and night. I wanted to show it to you, to make you proud… But you died too early and never got to see it. This time, make sure you're watching."
As his voice fell, Zhang Daowen took another step forward.
The range of the Ice and Snow Domain Field instantly expanded several times over. Snow filled the sky, nearly obscuring all vision. In that moment, Zhang Daowen looked like a god descending upon the world, forcing even nature itself to submit.
His will had become nature's command.
When he took the third step, the snow and wind inside the Domain Field gathered. A colossal divine body of ice and snow began to form, towering over a thousand meters high. A crushing divine pressure filled the air.
Right now, Zhang Daowen was like a deity incarnate.
Every step he took seemed to trample upon the masses, his rising might even forcing the Dark God to grow wary.
"Qi-shu, this move… was born from the blade technique you once taught me."
As he spoke, the snow and wind converged in the ice giant's right hand, slowly forming a massive ice blade.
Sensing Zhang Daowen's rising momentum, the Dark God suddenly realized something was wrong. Its vicious expression turned into fear. It began to retreat, trying to rip open the space and escape this frozen hell.
But within the Ice and Snow Domain Field, there was only one true god—Zhang Daowen.
Even space itself bowed to his will. The Dark God's power couldn't tear it open.
Far to the north of the desolate land, inside a palace atop the clouds—
A figure shrouded in golden light suddenly stood up from his throne, alertness in his eyes.
A figure beside him spoke up in surprise:
"Divine Lord, is that Zhang Daowen's aura? Should we go check it out?"
"Don't mess with him. That guy doesn't have much time left, but if he really goes all out… I'm not sure I could beat him."
To the west, deep in a shadowy forest—
A massive sky-piercing python suddenly raised its head, staring toward the east. Its cold, vertical pupils gleamed with a sinister light.
It lowered its gaze to its severed tail, anger flashing in its eyes. But when it looked eastward again, that fury was quickly overtaken by fear…
To the east of the Star City ruins, on a white plain—
A figure wearing a strange mask stood quietly, gazing toward the direction of Dawn City. A flicker of astonishment passed through his eyes:
"That old man… he's doing it again. Still just as terrifying."
...
The sheer disturbance caused by Zhang Daowen's actions drew attention from nearly every power near the Star City ruins—the desolate land.
But none of them dared to make a move. Not a single force even considered approaching to watch the fight.
Because he was Zhang Daowen.
The only guardian god of the human race.
The source of terror that kept them from ever laying claim to this land.
Even old and fading, his sharpness still cut deep—and no one dared to test it.
...
Outside Dawn City, as Zhang Daowen slowly raised the frigid ice blade, the Dark God—completely locked onto by his aura—lost all will to fight. Its heart was already consumed by fear.
To the Dark God, Zhang Daowen now looked like the grim reaper, harvesting lives. Death itself loomed from his figure.
The Extreme Cold Domain Field continued to spread outward.
Only Feng Qi, wrapped in the mist Zhang Daowen had cast, remained unaffected by it.
Then Zhang Daowen's hoarse voice echoed in Feng Qi's mind. The snowstorm grew wilder, nearly blinding his sight. Through the swirling snow, he could barely make out a flash of blue light, slicing straight ahead like a blade through the heavens.
"Qi-shu… in the next timeline… I'll see you again."