Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Even as he spoke, before He Yuanzhi could react and stop him, Chen Jindong swiftly stuffed the Fuyu Mountain Cinnabar Grass into his mouth and chewed it down.

Then he sat cross-legged on the ground, reached out to the void’s qi, and triggered the Dream Tribulation directly.

Chen Jindong had already thought it through. His greatest concern at this moment was his master, He Yuanzhi. As long as He Yuanzhi didn’t suspect him and was willing to protect him, then neither Marshal Zhong Pinglan nor the Brightnight Sect’s Zheng Zhuxi and that infuriating young man could do a thing to him.

Since he couldn’t let Divine Physician Zeng’s diagnosis reassure his master, the next best thing was to break through on the spot. That way, at least until he emerged from the Dream Tribulation, his master would be firmly on his side no matter what.

Once he entered the Dharma Realm, the Soul Displaced Sickness would presumably be resolved anyway. He would have no reason to fear Divine Physician Zeng’s diagnosis, and no need for one.

The only problem was that without seclusion and without cultivating the proper state of mind, facing the Dream Tribulation would be dangerous. But it was necessary.

In this situation, he had no other choice.

When has life ever offered a sure thing?

In that case, he would face it head on!

Watching his disciple choose to risk the tribulation rather than accept someone else’s suspicion, He Yuanzhi’s gaze froze. He felt an instinctive pang of guilt and, unavoidably, a flicker of doubt.

Could Jindong actually have a problem?

This reaction is a bit extreme...

He Yuanzhi didn’t think he had done anything wrong. He let his suspicion of Chen Jindong sit quietly while he turned a dark gaze on Marshal Zhong, Zheng Zhuxi, and Ding Songyan—one that said clearly: If Jindong succeeds in entering the Dharma Realm, we can let this go. But if he loses himself in the Dream Tribulation because of this, I will make you pay.

Zhong Pinglan hadn’t expected Chen Jindong to make such a drastic move. He was at a momentary loss.

Before Zheng Zhuxi could form a coherent thought, she noticed her junior brother quietly maneuvering his horse behind her, apparently ducking his head low as well.

The Great Dream of Three Thousand Years... It clicked for Zheng Zhuxi at once.

She suspected her junior brother had been counting on Chen Jindong to break through on the spot.

Zheng Zhuxi straightened unconsciously and shifted her position, deliberately blocking He Yuanzhi’s line of sight.

Behind her, Ding Songyan’s lowered head had quietly begun to change—his face sharpening, his eyes shifting, blue-black scales appearing across his skin.

An instant later, every trace of this vanished. Ding Songyan returned to his normal appearance.

This was the Celestial Heart imprint’s concealment at work.

Although the Huangliang True Qi that Ding Songyan had produced through his Great Dream of Three Thousand Years could only coexist with his Presence-Absence Myriad Forms Qi and could not be paired with any other true qi, the Celestial Heart imprint was a foreign element. It existed in his sea of consciousness without needing to be maintained, and would naturally take effect whenever the Presence-Absence Myriad Forms Qi flowed through it—compatible with any martial art.

Ding Songyan raised his head casually and used the Celestial Heart imprint to split his consciousness in two.

...

Inside a filthy prison lined with instruments of torture.

Chen Jindong surveyed the surroundings with a cold expression, then let out a derisive laugh.

”So you are my Dream Tribulation. I thought I could just put you to sleep directly.

”You coward. You gutless rat. Where are you hiding?

”Say something! If you have what it takes, speak up! Aren’t you always so bold when you’re sneaking around committing your crimes?”

...

By the roadside on the official road.

Chen Jindong sat with his eyes half-closed and let out a sneer.

”You committed all those wrongs and couldn’t face them. Living in fear day and night of being discovered and thrown in prison—that is what split me out of you.

”I am the perfect version of you—unafraid of law, unafraid of hardship, committing evil without a moment’s guilt. Without me, with your timid nature, how could you have reached the perfected Great Proliferation Realm in under four years? How could you have sensed the void’s qi so easily?”

Divine Physician Zeng, standing nearby, listened with equal parts delight and shock.

This is genuine Soul Displaced Sickness!