Chapter 74: The Second Trial—Pride, Stubbornness, and Mutual Wounds

“Same to you...”
“That opportunity will be mine alone!”
Phoenix Nest spat out this harsh statement, then, without hesitation, sliced open his palm.
He let his blood seep into the barrier.
Once the blood entered, it took a moment for the barrier to react.
“I knew it, I knew it, you...”
Phoenix Nest had never tested this before, merely guessed his blood could open the barrier.
Seeing the barrier respond proved him right, and naturally, he was delighted.
He was about to turn and look at Ling Tian—he had to show off a little, after all.
Even though Xiao Ling’er’s blood was of a higher grade, he had acted first, which was worth boasting about.
But as he turned to look at Ling Tian, he suddenly noticed that the opening had already appeared before the two of them. Xiao Ling’er had entered, and Ling Tian was halfway inside.
“You’re insane!”
Ling Tian left this light remark, then entered the barrier.
That sentence made Phoenix Nest feel utterly miserable.
His face darkened instantly; he wanted to speak, but Ling Tian’s hand was already inside. The frustration welled up within him, making him uncomfortable.
“What are you standing there for? Get inside!”
Liu Ruo Yi, seeing Phoenix Nest frozen in place, spoke with exasperation.
With that, she went in first.
Phoenix Nest saw this, forced a sheepish smile, and then followed.
Inside, Ling Tian was nowhere to be seen. Only the three-colored stairway remained.
Before Ling Tian, the same three-colored stairs stretched ahead.
“So this must be the trial,”
Ling Tian stroked his chin, thoughtful.
To him, the three colors represented three different tests.
Xiao Ling’er stepped forward, but Ling Tian stretched out his arm to block her.
“I’ll try first.”
His cultivation was slightly higher than Xiao Ling’er’s, and he possessed more means of survival.
In such a situation, it would be inappropriate to let a woman go first.
“Hm?”
The moment he stepped onto the stairs, Ling Tian felt his body suddenly weighted down—ten times the pressure of his own cultivation.
Stepping onto the second stair, the pressure doubled—twenty times!
There were ten steps in total, so by the tenth, it would be a hundredfold pressure.
He had to admit, the trial was somewhat brute-force.
Ling Tian returned and shared his theory with Xiao Ling’er.
“Should I...”
Ling Tian wanted to help Xiao Ling’er through the first stage, but before he finished, she cut him off, her eyes resolute:
“My constitution is not weak; I can make it myself!”
“That’s good!”
Ling Tian paused, then nodded in approval.
He was gratified by her determination.
He couldn’t always be by her side; she needed to learn to stand on her own.
To rely on herself.
A hundredfold pressure posed some difficulty for Ling Tian.
But only some—his vital energy surged like a rainbow, and relying on his body’s strength, he passed the first stage with ease.
Upon reaching the platform of the two-colored stairs, nothing changed.
It seemed obvious that both needed to clear the stage to move on.
He watched Xiao Ling’er purse her lips, beads of sweat forming on her brow, struggling fiercely.

Ling Tian ultimately refrained from helping; she could make it herself.
“Take a pill and recover a bit...”
Swaying, Xiao Ling’er passed the first trial, nearly collapsing, but Ling Tian caught her.
He produced a pill to restore her strength.
“I made it!”
Though her face was pale, Xiao Ling’er was in high spirits, radiant as she gazed at Ling Tian, her smile blooming like a flower.
When Ling Tian responded, she took the pill to recover.
But then, a wave of dizziness swept over her.
In the haze, a cold, ethereal voice rang out:
“You need not attract my attention with such means. I have long cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness and will not develop feelings for you.”
Ling Tian opened his eyes, a new memory forming in his mind. He sat up, looking at Xiao Ling’er in her red dress.
“Phoenix Yan, I have told you, you are my tribulation of love, so naturally, I must follow you.”
The memory in his mind prompted Ling Tian to react instantly.
“Hmph!”
Phoenix Yan snorted, hugged her sword, and strode away.
“Why does it feel like I’ve forgotten something?”
Ling Tian’s expression was distant, as if something in his mind lurked just out of reach.
Watching Phoenix Yan walk farther away, Ling Tian, bald and clad in monk’s robes, followed after her.
Phoenix Yan belonged to the Phoenix clan; Ling Tian was of the Buddhist sect. Their meeting gave Ling Tian a sense of destiny.
He always stayed by Phoenix Yan’s side, hoping she would be moved, not realizing that his own heart had already stirred.
At first, Ling Tian only sought to resolve his tribulation of love. But as he focused all his attention on this woman, he found her truly interesting.
She would threaten him, saying if he dared follow her, she’d kill him.
But when they passed through the land of extreme cold, and he was near collapse, she would claim she hoped he’d freeze, yet secretly channel her spiritual power to warm him.
When beggars came pleading, she would wrinkle her nose in disgust, but still take out a generous sum and place it in their hands.
When she saw the elderly cared for, and people with food to eat, she would brighten with a radiant smile.
Though she spoke of ruthlessness, she was touched by the seven emotions and six desires.
Lately, however, her expressions grew fewer.
Ling Tian knew her power was increasing, her understanding of her technique deepening, and her emotions fading.
Ling Tian kept by her side, perhaps because he had grown accustomed to her presence.
“I say, aren’t you annoying? Such trivial things, do you really need to carry them?”
Ling Tian tried to help Phoenix Yan with her belongings, but she scolded him without a kind word.
“I know, I know.”
Ling Tian smiled, showing no anger, taking the items for himself.
“You...”
Phoenix Yan fell silent, saying nothing more.
“Monk, my tooth aches...”
Phoenix Yan frowned, clutching her left cheek.
“This is medicine for toothache.”
Without hesitation, Ling Tian took out the toothache medicine he kept close to his heart and handed it to her.
Phoenix Yan accepted it habitually, swallowed it, while Ling Tian nagged beside her:
“I’ve told you, sweets taste nice, but you shouldn’t eat so many...”
“You’re such a nag.”
Phoenix Yan replied indifferently.
“Fair maiden, may I sit with you two?”
A man in jade robes, his face handsome as carved jade, sat beside them.
“Where are you two headed?”

The sixth prince of the Heavenly Abyss royal clan, Ye Long, looked at the two, more precisely at Phoenix Yan, and asked.
“We have no destination, merely wandering.”
Phoenix Yan shook her head, her voice distant.
“Just as well, my spirit boat is nearby. We can travel together!”
Ye Long’s face lit up with joy as he extended the invitation.
Ling Tian, easygoing, thought it would save some effort; if their relationship couldn’t withstand such trials, then it had little meaning.
“In that case, we’ll trouble you, friend.”
Phoenix Yan heard Ling Tian’s swift agreement and a complex look flashed across her face. After a brief pause, she nodded:
“Of course.”
After dinner, the three boarded Ye Long’s spirit boat.
At night, Ye Long and Ling Tian discussed the Dao at the bow.
A voice came from the guardian; Ye Long learned Phoenix Yan was on the side deck and asked:
“Friend, let me speak plainly: a beautiful lady, and a gentleman pursues her. I have fallen for Phoenix Yan at first sight—may I court her?”
Phoenix Yan, standing on the side deck, heard Ye Long’s words and paused, listening intently.
She was curious how Ling Tian would respond—this monk spoke of his tribulation every day; how would he answer now?
“Why not?”
Ling Tian’s thinking was straightforward—he had pursued Phoenix Yan so long without winning her heart; perhaps he simply wasn’t suitable.
If fate decrees, it will be; if not, do not force it.
Since they had no formal relationship, why not allow it?
Yet after saying this, why did his heart ache so?
“So, what you say and what you truly feel are so different?”
Phoenix Yan pursed her lips, her face pale, murmured to herself, and left in a daze.
The next day, passing an auction, Ye Long spent ten million spirit stones to buy a glass phoenix hairpin.
He turned, before the crowd, and presented it to Phoenix Yan.
Ling Tian paid it no mind; he knew Phoenix Yan disliked such scenes, even hated them.
“A perfect match!”
“So beautiful, truly beautiful!”
The crowd’s voices rose. Ling Tian watched, incredulously, as Phoenix Yan placed the hairpin in her hair.
After the surprise came the sense of loss.
He wandered out of the auction hall, soul lost.
Phoenix Yan watched Ling Tian’s dejected back, wanted to chase after him, but remembering his words the night before, abandoned the idea.
He said it was fine—then I’ll make you regret it!
She, who had cast aside the seven emotions and six desires, now felt hatred in her heart!
On the tenth day, Phoenix Yan’s toothache returned. Ling Tian hurried to retrieve his pain medicine from his chest, only for Phoenix Yan, her face frosty, to knock it from his hands.
“Monk! Your medicine isn’t as effective as Ye Long’s!”
Phoenix Yan pressed her lips together, restraining the surging emotions within, as she uttered these words.
Ling Tian, picking up the medicine, froze, his eyes lost. He had hoped he would be at peace—why was it not so?
Watching the two together only intensified his heartache.
Unbeknownst to anyone, at midnight, Phoenix Yan tossed sleeplessly in bed from her toothache.
Several times she wanted to ask Ling Tian for pain medicine, but recalling his words, she held herself back.
After all this, Ling Tian became a drunkard. One night, in a haze near death, he saw Ye Long.
Beside Ye Long was a woman, smiling sweetly, and soon the two entered a room and did what lovers do.
Ling Tian’s heart blazed with fury.
“Scoundrel! I cannot let Phoenix Yan become his Dao companion!”