Chapter 18: Chapter 18

It was the corpse of Jiao Xiuyuan.

Now that three months had passed, it gradually showed some unusual signs.

Unlike normal flesh and blood, it looked like dry wood, showing a yellowish color.

Li Fan kicked it with his foot, and the sound was exactly like kicking on wood.

At this time, a voice came from behind Li Fan.

"This is just a puppet, not his real body. It's Jiao Xiuyuan's usual trick. You don't have to be surprised."

Li Fan turned his head and saw that the speaker was also a Qi Refining cultivator.

He immediately bowed his hand: "Thank you for your guidance. Are you also from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?"

The man nodded: "Yes, I am Chen An. I have joined the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance for more than thirty years."

"I am Li Fan. Listening to your words, it seems that you are quite familiar with Jiao Xiuyuan?"

Chen An smiled: "I can't say that I'm familiar. But well, living on the island for so long, I know some things that I should know."

"Take this Jiao Xiuyuan for example. He opened a grocery store called Qianli Hall on the island, selling everything. It is said that he has some connections with the official of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, and occasionally he can sell some good things."

"Besides, he also often does some information business. But this kid never risks his life, he always uses puppets to pave the way."

Li Fan nodded slowly: "Greedy and cowardly, I see."

Chen An laughed loudly: "You summed it up very well! Greedy and cowardly are the best words to describe Jiao Xiuyuan!"

After laughing, Chen An suddenly said: "When you were copying cultivation methods in the book pavilion before, I saw that others were copying for a while, and when they were tired, they rested for a while. Then they copied again after regaining their strength. Only you didn't rest for three months. I admire you very much!"

"But I don't know what your intention is? If you just talk about copying speed, you must have been slower than those who rested frequently because of your physical and mental exhaustion."

"Can you enlighten me?" Chen An bowed and asked.

Li Fan pondered for a moment before opening his mouth: "I don't dare to say that I have any intention, it's just my intuition."

"Qin Tang said that the first test was focus."

"Focus means having no distractions. Only by not being disturbed by any external things can one be called focused. Is physical and mental exhaustion also an external disturbance? If you stop because of it, are you no longer focused?"

"Just a humble opinion, you can just listen to it."

Li Fan said modestly.

Chen An nodded thoughtfully.

Li Fan didn't say anything more and went back to his room to rest.

The next day, Qin Tang didn't show up as expected.

The people didn't dare to run around either, they just waited patiently in the building.

Early the next morning, Qin Tang staggered in front of everyone while drinking wine.

"Good wine, good wine!"

He burped and squinted at the cultivators.

"Today, we start the second test!"

"This time, I want to test your courage!"

"The immortal path is long and there are countless difficulties and hardships. Do you have the courage to face them all?"

Qin Tang smiled slightly.

The people only felt a blur in front of them, and in an instant they left the pavilion and appeared on the beach.

And their own spiritual power and realm were sealed, becoming no different from ordinary people.

Qin Tang was nowhere to be seen.

Only his voice came from afar.

"I'm waiting for you on the other side of the sea. Use your courage to cross this sea!"

The people looked at each other.

Some bold ones walked to the beach and stepped out.

The seawater instantly froze into ice and caught them firmly.

They were overjoyed and kept walking forward. They soon disappeared from everyone's sight.

The remaining people saw someone take the lead and rushed into the sea impatiently.

Li Fan glanced at Baili Chen who did the same and followed him into the sea.

Only Sikong Yi still stayed on the beach and didn't move.

Li Fan didn't pay attention anymore. He just calmed his mind and slowly stepped onto the sea surface.

The water under his feet froze into ice, but he couldn't see anyone else in his sight.

On the vast sea, there was only himself left in an instant.

Li Fan's face was calm and he walked forward step by step.

The sun rose and set above his head. He didn't know how long it had been.

The scenery he saw was always the same.

This sea seemed to have no end.

Even though Li Fan already knew the answer, he still felt a lot of helplessness and hesitation in his heart.

At this time, he could feel that the thickness of the ice under his feet was gradually decreasing.

He took a deep breath and drove away the doubts in his heart.

He continued to walk resolutely towards the front.

The ice under his feet became thick again.

This second level was a test of "courage".

It was not only a test of courage to face external things, but also a test of courage to face one's own heart.

On the vast sea, he walked for a long time and didn't see the opposite coast.

Would you doubt yourself, whether you have lost your direction?

Would you be anxious, whether this sea has an end?

Would you be afraid and lose the courage to move forward?

Or would you give up and stop moving?

Li Fan walked step by step, questioning his own heart.

Even after hundreds of years of reincarnation, he had never been like this before.

He temporarily put aside all external things and just thought while walking.

This crossing of the frozen sea was like the immortal path.

The road ahead was vague and there was no end in sight.

Halfway through, he looked around and couldn't tell if he had lost his direction.

From beginning to end, he was alone, with nothing to rely on.

Time passed and it seemed to go on forever.

There was no end.

...

Even so, could he still hold on to his belief and never lose the courage to move forward?

Even though he knew that this test would eventually stop.

But Li Fan also wavered in his heart.

Because this crossing of the sea journey was too long.

One year, two years...

Decades passed.

Li Fan's hair turned gray, his body became hunched, and he never stopped moving forward.

Until his body was too old to walk.

He fell weakly on the sea surface.

His vision became blurred. Before he lost consciousness, Li Fan seemed to see it.

On the coast not far away, Qin Tang in a white robe stood there alone.

He raised his wine gourd to Li Fan and smiled as he drank it.

...

He opened his eyes and found that he and the other cultivators were still in that building.

Only a long time had passed since his memory, and many people looked confused.

It took them a long time to recover their clarity.

"It is easy to cross the river of nine netherworlds, but hard to cross the sea of one's heart."

"The second level, the test of courage, is over."

"The day after tomorrow, we will have the final test."

After saying that, Qin Tang took his wine gourd that never left him and left with a shaking head.