Sixth Star Cave.
Lin Yuan appeared.
"Walk to the other side, and you’ll pass," read the stone slab nearby, explaining how to get through this Star Cave.
Lin Yuan glanced around.
"The other side?"
He looked up.
The "other side" was about ten steps away.
Throughout these ten steps stood several dozen testers, scattered about.
Some were standing still, some deep in thought, some hesitating, and others seemingly lost.
"This Star Cave's test is about the soul, not just a simple soul attack," Lin Yuan mused.
The testers within ten steps appeared calm, not showing any signs of suffering from an attack.
After observing a while and finding nothing wrong, Lin Yuan took a step towards the "other side."
In an instant, the scene changed.
Lin Yuan was now sitting atop a luxurious skyscraper, watching the world through expansive glass windows.
Spaceships and battleships landed, and mighty star fortresses loomed like suns and moons beyond the planet.
"I'm the wealthiest magnate in the Crimson Leviathan Star Domain? My wealth can buy an entire star system? I do business with other star domains and even alien races?" Memories surged into his mind, revealing his current scenario.
"Master, the sixth-level resource planet you purchased a month ago is now fully acquired. It’s rich in precious minerals and brings twenty-three trillion Universe Coins annually."
"Master, last year’s interest from the Central Bank amounted to one hundred and twenty trillion Universe Coins."
"Master, this year's dividend from the Universe Galaxy Company is eighty-three trillion Universe Coins."
He was surrounded by intelligent robots, constantly reporting various incomes.
The currency, instead of the Civilization Coins used by the Human Federation, was the higher-level Universe Coins, which could be used across many territories.
Their conversion rate was one to ten thousand; ten thousand Civilization Coins equaled one Universe Coin.
"So wealthy," Lin Yuan exclaimed, seeing his account filled with endless zeros.
"But... it’s all an illusion," he sighed, as the scene shattered back to the Sixth Star Cave.
"I see, each step brings a different illusion?"
Lin Yuan pondered.
He had taken the first step, and every step forward revealed another illusion.
While the illusions weren't dangerous, they were extremely tempting, making you want to linger and experience them longer.
Staying engrossed inside an illusion for even a second could equate to days passing in the real world.
Though the illusions weren’t life-threatening, staying in this Star Cave for over a month meant automatic elimination.
"Continue."
Lin Yuan thought for a moment, then took the second step.
The environment changed again.
Now, he was in a magnificent palace, surrounded by stunning beauties.
These women were enchanting, their every movement captivating, now humbly serving him.
"First step was wealth, second step beauty?" Lin Yuan mused.
Everything in the illusions felt real, from the skin's touch to incense fragrance.
"Great king," whispered a blue-eyed beauty, tracing her fingers across Lin Yuan's chest, her breath warm against his ear.
"Great king," another beauty murmured, touching his abdomen, her eyes filled with desire.
Surrounded by beauties who, outside the illusion, would be followed by billions of fans, Lin Yuan remained unfazed.
"Time for business," he withdrew from an embrace, broke the illusion by sheer will, and returned to the Sixth Star Cave.
"Already a minute gone?" Lin Yuan checked the time, amused by the illusions' deviousness.
While in the beauty illusion, even if someone indulged for seconds, time outside sped up significantly.
The touch and feel within that illusion felt almost as genuine as the real world.
Lin Yuan continued stepping forward, encountering various illusions of power, status, and strength.
The Sixth Star Cave held illusions that felt incredibly real, targeting each tester's desires and emotions.
For Lin Yuan, it was too simple.
He had experienced all these desires before.
Unlike other testers under a hundred years old inside the cave, he had traversed worlds thrice, his true age nearing three hundred.
He had once possessed wealth, beauty, and status.
In a mysterious layer of the Seven Star Cave world, twelve figures noticed Lin Yuan passing through the Sixth Star Cave with astonishing speed.
"How is he so fast?"
"The illusions seem to have no effect on him?"
"Impossible, a twenty-year-old with such a state of mind?"
Nine of the twelve figures exchanged glances.
Although the test of the Sixth Star Cave wasn't difficult, passing through without the illusions affecting someone like Lin Yuan was rare.
Others before him typically spent hours, or even half a day, across those ten steps, which was normal for these observers.
The top three figures observed Lin Yuan silently.
"The path of evolution is treacherous. If one stops due to temptations, no matter the talent, progress will be limited," thought Gu Ze, satisfied with Lin Yuan.
At Lin Yuan's age, his straightforward passage through the Sixth Star Cave showed a firm heart towards the path of evolution.
This resolve would minimize future distractions.
"Remarkable, at such a young age."
"Indeed. At his age, we struggled to suppress desires ourselves."
"This Lin Yuan, only twenty?"
Until now, the quickest to pass the Sixth Star Cave was Chiwen Silver Spirit.
Even so, she took over an hour to complete those ten steps.
Lin Yuan, at his pace, needed merely four or five more minutes to finish.
Silver Spirit had her speed due to having grown up under a sixth-step Falling Star teacher's protection, enjoying privileges beyond ordinary citizens' reach, making her path through the illusions easier.
For Lin Yuan, his background was modest, from an ordinary family on Azure Wave Star, yet his performance appeared exceptional.
Lin Yuan took the tenth step, reaching the "other side," thus completing the test.
"Love?"
He recalled the last illusion, which tested "love."
In the broad sense, it wasn't just romantic but also parental, familial love.
"No matter the emotion—love, hate, or otherwise—they are elements on the path of life evolution, to be enjoyed but not indulged," Lin Yuan thought swiftly.
Owning the Gate of Myriad Realms meant traversing countless worlds, assuming endless identities.
Succumbing to emotional attachment with each would end in madness and demonic possession.
"Are they?" He glanced back.
Some testers stood still, deep in their illusions, either unwilling to wake or adjusting their mindset post-illusion.
"The Seventh Star Cave."
Lin Yuan vanished from the Sixth Star Cave with another step.
Seventh Star Cave.
Lin Yuan appeared.
"What is this?" His eyes widened.
Unlike any of the previous six caves, this one was mind-boggling.
A massive mountain floated in the cosmic starry sky.
Lin Yuan, stationed atop, couldn't grasp its entirety, but its sheer grandeur was palpable.
"A mountain in the universe?" He was stunned, sensing the mountain's authenticity beyond virtual manipulation.
"And those statues?" He scanned the peak.
Every distance held a stone statue.
Unlike the Fourth Star Cave's sculptures, these varied—some like 'Sky Roc' spreading wings, others like a 'woman' holding the flame of life.
Each statue bore unique forms.
"The test of this Star Cave?" Lin Yuan found the familiar stone slab and read:
"This Star Cave contains 136 statues, each embodying an evolutionary path."
"Observe a statue, comprehend the evolutionary path within, then touch it to pass."
"Hint: The path that suits you is best. Don't aim for unreachable statues."
"One hundred and thirty-six statues?"
"One hundred and thirty-six evolutionary paths?" Lin Yuan paused.
He noticed over a hundred statues on the mountaintop, varying in size.
The tallest exceeded ten meters, with only sixteen of such size, while others were two to three meters.
Lin Yuan approached the nearest statue—a Sky Roc spreading wings, nearly three meters high.
"Impeccably realistic," Lin Yuan marveled, engrossing his mind immediately.
He sensed it as living, every feather vibrating.
"Wind, the wind of heaven and earth," Lin Yuan felt.
The Sky Roc seemed the embodiment of cosmic wind, with a flap to traverse hundreds, thousands of miles.
"Soar ten thousand miles with the wind."
[Your heaven-defying comprehension realizes the Sky Roc statue's 'Sky Wind' evolutionary path.]
"Finally, the Seventh Star Cave."
Within the mysterious space, the twelve figures eagerly watched Lin Yuan.
Based on Lin Yuan's Sixth and Fourth Star Cave performances, he ranked just below the top three—more so, he sometimes surpassed them.
The figures knew the Fourth Star Cave tested comprehension but wasn't as specific as the Seventh.
The Seventh Star Cave's 136 statues represented varied evolutionary paths, essentially symbolizing 136 distinct directional futures.
If a tester could comprehend an evolutionary path without written guidance, it meant suitability for that path.
The Seventh Cave revealed all testers' potential and aptitude, aiding future guidance.
"Hope he chooses one of those statues," Gu Ze contemplated, hoping for Lin Yuan to resonate with paths similar to his own.
While Lin Yuan's current path involved yin-yang extremes, it didn't bind him to only those paths.
Unexplored yet more suitable paths might exist.
If such a path emerged, Gu Ze could guide Lin Yuan to alter his evolutionary path.
In human civilization, before reaching six steps, one could switch evolutionary paths at a cost.
Like Loulan Hel in the 'Thunder Rain' Star Field, he had changed paths through countless flesh restorations.
(End of the Chapter)