After holding hands and walking through the mist, Tang Ruowei and Li Jinyao found themselves together on the steep cliff they had seen before.
“It doesn’t matter how curious we are now, we have no answers,” said Jinyao.
“No matter what, let’s keep moving forward, Sister Li. Maybe in the next trial, we can meet some familiar figures,” Ruowei suggested hopefully.
“But you mentioned it’s about seven hundred and fifty zhang…”
The two girls did not possess Bai Qiuran's extraordinary agility on such a nearly vertical cliff. They quickly summoned their blades and stood atop them, floating in mid-air.
“That must be the Sword Ancestor’s doing,” Ruowei noted.
“That means the first four sufferings are physical challenges, while the last four target one’s spiritual state. This trial must be one of the latter,” Jinyao speculated.
“What kind of trial is this?” Ruowei inquired, glancing around. The clouds and mist enveloped them, making it hard to see the mountaintop or the foot of the mountain.
“That’s true.” Jinyao glanced around, her curiosity piqued. “How do Earth Immortals manipulate this kind of spatial distortion? I wonder…”
“Perhaps the control over this cave is not as high as we imagine?”
Jinyao glanced around curiously, then continued, “Before I met you, I endured the trial of the ‘Suffering of Death.’ That trial sent me to the Underworld, where I encountered a massive beast made entirely of bones, possessing the power of an early stage Spirit Division Attendant. I had to exert quite a bit of effort to defeat it.”
“That must be the Sword Ancestor’s doing,” Ruowei remarked, recognizing the nature of the trial. Bai Qiuran sighed, saying, “This trial is beyond my ability… Ruowei, Miss Li, let me take on this trial first.”
Jinyao looked up and down, suddenly asking, “Ruowei, how far do you think you are from the mountaintop?”
“That must be the Sword Ancestor’s doing,” Bai Qiuran sighed again. “This trial is beyond my ability… Ruowei, Miss Li, let me take on this trial first.”
Hearing this, Ruowei squinted at the mountaintop. Using her experience from mapping, she quickly estimated the distance.
“I feel that someone capable of creating such powerful cave would not indulge in a basic pastime like soul seizing.”
“I estimate the vertical distance is about three hundred and fifty zhang,” Ruowei finally answered.
Jinyao nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Let’s first find the stele,” Ruowei proposed. The suffering of love and separation among the Eight Great Sufferings refers to the pain of parting from loved ones. Bai Qiuran secretly hoped that through this trial, she could see some remnant figures from her memories.
“Just as expected.” After interacting for a while, regardless of wisdom, strength, or inner peace, aside from their cultivation levels, Jinyao found herself in awe of Bai Qiuran’s abilities.
“How do Earth Immortals manipulate this kind of spatial distortion?” Ruowei wondered with curiosity.
“What trial is this?”
After holding hands and walking through the mist, Tang Ruowei and Li Jinyao appeared once again on that steep cliff. “But you claimed it was seven hundred and fifty zhang…” Bai Qiuran reflected.
“No matter what, let’s keep moving forward, Sister Li. Perhaps in the next trial, we might meet familiar figures,” Ruowei urged.
“Finding the stele comes first.”
Jinyao nodded in agreement.
“As expected, there is a spatial distortion,” Bai Qiuran mused, gazing at the stele.
Ruowei’s heart raced as she wondered if the trial would allow her to see lasting memories of those she missed.
“Let’s see what this trial has in store for us,” she said. Tang Ruowei looked to the mist below with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
“Shall we go?”
They settled their gaze on the stele ahead, sensing that they were not alone. The three of them stood before it, and as they approached, blue words began to flicker into view on the surface.
“Be cautious, Master!”
As the words faded, new ones appeared that reminded them of the love and separation they anticipated in this trial.
“What will we find in the next trial?”
“And yet, we stand in a distorted space,” Jinyao remarked. She looked up and noticed how the night sky decorated overhead with stars, casting a serene beauty over the entire place.
Time seemed to stand still as they took in the peaceful scenery, contrasting the trials they had already faced.
“Perhaps our journey is laying the groundwork for greater understanding,” Jinyao concluded, glancing at Ruowei, who was still measuring the distance to the mountaintop.
“Regardless of what happens, we shall move forward together.”
Together, they stepped forward, ready to face whatever challenges awaited, embracing both the pain and joy intertwined in their paths.