The old voice sounded again, and the icy tone now carried a hint of astonishment that it could no longer hide.
With the words, the second stone door engraved with the character "微 (wēi)" slowly opened at the far end of the pure white space.
Xie Zhaolin exhaled a long breath and wiped the sweat from her temple. The two consecutive high-intensity trials had left her slightly weary, yet her heart burned with even greater excitement. This inheritance from Youji Shàngrén was indeed extraordinary!
She adjusted her breathing, her gaze firm as she looked at the newly opened stone door. Three more challenges awaited her beyond it, even harder tests that would push her further. Stepping through the door, the scene before her shifted once more.
This time, Xie Zhaolin found herself in an utterly bizarre space. There was no up or down, no left or right. The surroundings were boundless, chaotic void. Within the void, countless streams of multicolored energy crisscrossed like veins, forming an immense, three-dimensional, intricate network.
Each energy flow radiated a completely different aura: some scorching and violent, some icy and lethal. They collided, merged, and repelled one another, creating a chaotic yet strangely rhythmic energy field. The entire space resembled a colossal living neural network, or perhaps the internal control hub of a super puppet!
"Third trial: Control the Mind."
The old voice reverberated directly through Xie Zhaolin's sea of consciousness again, but this time, it seemed to merge with the surroundings, carrying a peculiar resonance and rhythm.
"This place is a microcosm of the Ten Thousand Puppet Heart Network. The energy streams within simulate the core spiritual veins of thousands of puppets."
The voice paused briefly, then continued,
"Your trial: simultaneously guide the five core spiritual veins—Red Flame, Black Ice, Flowing Wind, Thick Earth, and Shocking Thunder—through the Thousand Mechanism Maze ahead, and finally converge them into the central spiritual pivot."
At that moment, not far in front of her, five energy flows of entirely different colors suddenly lit up within the massive network!
The five spiritual veins' attributes were completely opposed, generating fierce mutual repulsion and conflict. Further ahead, a complex barrier made of countless tiny energy whirlpools constantly shifting—the "Thousand Mechanism Maze"—blocked their path.
Beyond the barrier, a gentle yet steady light flickered slowly.
"The requirements," the voice's tone grew grave, "the five veins must advance as one. Their speed, intensity, and stability must remain perfectly synchronized. As you pass through the maze, you must adjust the five veins' wave frequencies in real time to perfectly match the maze's changes. No deviation is allowed."
"During this process, the five veins must not touch, disperse, or deviate from their intended paths in the slightest."
"Time limit: one shíchen (two hours). Any mistake, or exceeding the time, and you fail, dead!"
Xie Zhaolin drew in a sharp breath.
The difficulty of this third trial had multiplied exponentially!
Not only did she have to divide her focus into five, controlling five completely opposed energy flows at once, she had to maintain absolute synchronization among them!
This trial wasn't just about the strength of her divine sense or precision control—it demanded a profound understanding of energy itself, multi-threaded processing under extreme conditions, and an almost instinctive ability to anticipate and coordinate!
It was an inhuman requirement.
Yet, the arrow was on the string. She had no choice but to act.
Just as Xie Zhaolin tensed, ready to face this near-impossible challenge, she sensed something unusual.
After the second trial, "Micro Discernment," her divine sense had been drained, sending waves of fatigue and stabbing pain through her consciousness. But now, inside this bizarre Ten Thousand Puppet Heart Network space, a gentle, pure energy quietly nourished her sea of consciousness!
It didn't pour directly in. Instead, it was like a silent spring rain, perfectly attuned to the fluctuations of her Primordial Soul, rapidly repairing the previous wear. Within just a few breaths, her exhausted sea of consciousness, strained from extreme focus and rapid operation, recovered to an unprecedentedly full and clear state!
Her divine sense was even stronger than before entering the second trial!
"This space…" Xie Zhaolin's heart stirred as she realized the reason.
The Ten Thousand Puppet Heart Network itself seemed to possess a strange restorative effect for the Primordial Soul, ensuring challengers could face the coming trials in peak condition!
Relief flooded through her.
If she had faced the "Control the Mind" trial in her previous exhausted state, she wouldn't have even a ten percent chance of success.
Now, restored to her peak, she finally had a fighting chance!
She inhaled deeply, no longer hesitating, and sat cross-legged in the energy network, slowly closing her eyes and sinking her entire mind into her sea of consciousness. Her divine sense split into five strands, carefully reaching toward the five restless core spiritual veins. The instant she made contact—
Boom!
Five completely different, yet equally violent, energy surges viciously recoiled against her!
Scorching heat, piercing cold, sharpness, weight, and sheer brutality… five extreme sensations assaulted her senses and Primordial Soul simultaneously!
Xie Zhaolin trembled violently, her face turning pale as paper, a trace of blood seeping from her mouth!
Too strong! Too chaotic!
The energy intensity of these five veins far exceeded her imagination!
And their mutual repulsion made controlling them simultaneously and keeping them in sync a despair-inducing challenge!
"Stay steady… must stay steady!" she gritted her teeth, a glint of ferocity flashing in her eyes.
The unyielding will forged through past trials in her previous life now took effect. She forced down the surging qi and the trembling of her soul, beginning with immense patience and precision to slowly calm and organize the five violent energy flows.
The process was painfully slow and perilous.
Her divine sense was hyper-focused, handling five entirely different streams of information at once. She had to sense the temperature changes of the Red Flame vein, adjust the cold output of the Black Ice vein, balance the speed of Flowing Wind, stabilize the pressure of Thick Earth, and channel the wild electric energy of Shocking Thunder…
All while maintaining absolute synchronization among them!
Even the slightest deviation in speed or intensity could trigger a chain reaction, collapsing the entire system!
Time ticked by as the incense slowly burned.
Veins bulged on her forehead, her entire body drenched in sweat, trembling slightly. Sustaining such an extreme state taxed her divine sense, spiritual energy, and even willpower beyond anything she'd ever endured. Yet, just as Xie Zhaolin thought the situation was stabilizing and prepared to guide the five veins forward, an unexpected surge struck!
The five veins, seemingly calmed and organized, suddenly erupted violently as if they had a will of their own!
The fragile balance she had painstakingly established shattered in an instant!
The five chaotic energies no longer recoiled against her, but collided like wild stallions, triggering a destructive storm across the energy network!
Xie Zhaolin was slammed as if by a heavy blow, spitting a mouthful of blood, her face turning ashen!
The mental link between her and the five veins violently shook, nearly severing completely!
If the link broke… failure was certain, death inevitable!
She forced her mind to stabilize, attempting to regain control, but the five runaway energies were too violent. The conflicts intensified, the entire energy network twisted and flashed uncontrollably. Collapse was imminent!
At the critical moment—
Hum!