The Law Enforcement Hall.

Unlike the other halls, this one was built entirely of black stone, giving it a solemn and imposing air.

The atmosphere inside was grim and oppressive, like a giant, crouching beast ready to devour anyone who entered.

The Law Enforcement Hall was responsible for handling all unlawful acts by Sect Disciples internally and preventing any transgressions by Black Mountain Cultivators externally.

The hall maintained six patrol teams, each led by a Foundation Establishment Elder, and its members were all selected for their outstanding combat prowess.

Among the Five Halls of the Qingfeng Sect, the Law Enforcement Hall held the most authority and was the most feared.

The position of Sect Leader had almost always been filled by someone from the Law Enforcement Hall.

That was, until this generation, when Wei Dao appeared out of nowhere to break the tradition, winning the contest for leadership and assuming the position of Sect Leader of the Qingfeng Sect.

On a high platform in a side hall, three Foundation Establishment Cultivators gazed at a Water Mirror before them. It displayed a flight of a hundred steps, with two Sect Disciples standing obediently at the very bottom.

"Hall Master, there’s no need for you to personally attend to such a small matter. You could have just left it to us. The Heart Inquiry Path rarely fails any disciples; it’s mostly just a formality." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Ma Ming followed behind an old man, his body slightly bowed.

The old man was tall, with thick eyebrows and wide eyes. His features were severe, and even his smile carried a faint, intimidating pressure.

"True Disciples are the future of the Sect. I long ago proposed to the Elder Council that future resource allocation should be based on the number of steps a disciple takes on the Heart Inquiry Path. Unfortunately, the Sect Leader rejected it."

This was Liang Yu, Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, a cultivator with Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, and the grand-disciple of the Core Formation Ancestor, Master Yangg.

During the last election for the Sect Leader of the Qingfeng Sect, Liang Yu had been the most popular candidate, with overwhelming support.

But at the last moment, Ancestor Ge, who rarely spoke or concerned himself with mundane affairs, suddenly declared his preference for Wei Dao. Meanwhile, Ancestor Yangg remained noncommittal.

And so, Liang Yu, who had held a decisive advantage in the Elder Council, lost to Wei Dao, a man with far less seniority than himself.

In terms of power and influence, however, he was still among the most prominent figures in the Sect.

But in recent years, with Ancestor Yangg’s lifespan dwindling and Sect Leader Wei Dao’s authority growing by the day, Liang Yu’s faction had begun to feel as if they were weathering a storm.

Ma Ming’s expression turned awkward. He himself had only managed about twenty steps on the Heart Inquiry Path, which was not an impressive performance.

The other old man immediately chimed in, "Senior Brother, your foresight is beyond compare. If you were the one sitting in that position, the Sect’s development would surely be far more prosperous..."

"Do not speak of this again! Wei Dao has managed the Sect well, and his achievements over these years are plain for all to see. In that regard, I am his inferior."

Liang Yu had been in charge of Law Enforcement for decades. When he put on a stern face, he radiated authority without even being angry.

"Junior Brother Zhang, I have advised you many times to broaden your perspective. What benefit is there to your cultivation in obsessing over and fighting for a little bit of power?"

But seeing Junior Brother Zhang’s head of white hair and the clear signs of aging on him—a man not much younger than himself, yet only at the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment realm—Liang Yu couldn’t bring himself to say more. He tapped the Water Mirror.

"Let the second stage of the trial begin."

In the Water Mirror, the hundred steps began to glow. Starlight descended from above, forming an enclosed space around them.

It was the Mid-Grade Magical Treasure, the Heart Inquiry Celestial Ladder.

"Junior Brother Bai, I’ll go on ahead. Take your time figuring it out!"

Xiong Baishan winked at Bai Zichen, let out two boisterous laughs, and strode onto the first step.

Bai Zichen had made inquiries. The Heart Inquiry Celestial Ladder was a Magical Treasure passed down through generations of the Law Enforcement Hall. It could illuminate the depths of one’s mind and purify their spiritual altar, judging a cultivator’s disposition by the number of steps they could take upon it.

As long as one took ten steps, they would pass the second stage.

Since the inception of the True Inheritance Trial, very few disciples had ever been eliminated by the Heart Inquiry Celestial Ladder.

Bai Zichen believed his own heart for the Dao was second to none. Seeing that Xiong Baishan had already ascended seven or eight steps, he resolutely took his first.

A heavy force pressed down on his shoulders, and his legs felt as if they were filled with lead. Every step he took sent a wave of fatigue through his body. After a few steps, he even felt the pain of tearing muscles.

Only by standing still could the pain be alleviated. Taking another step was a fate worse than death.

Bai Zichen gritted his teeth, sweat trickling down his forehead. ’So it starts with a test of the physical body.’

’If I can’t even endure this superficial pain, then there’s no point in trying to climb the Heart Inquiry Celestial Ladder any further.’

As he stepped onto the next tier, a dazzling array of delicacies, luxurious mansions, beautiful concubines, and servants flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. He had become the prince of a kingdom, born into a position of reverence, living a decadent life of fine clothes, fast horses, and lakes of wine with forests of meat.

Whatever rare treasures or exotic beauties he desired would be delivered to his chambers the very next day.

’Mere worldly possessions can’t compare to the pursuit of eternal life. It’s looking down on me too much.’

Bai Zichen watched with a cold detachment, like a mere passerby. The surrounding scenery shattered like glass and dissipated into fragments. He then took several more steps upward.

The scene changed again. This time, his mortal relatives and clan friends appeared, tugging at his hands and begging him to return home for a reunion.

Bai Ling, dressed in a semi-translucent silk dress, her cheeks glowing like pearls and her spring-like eyes rippling like a clear spring, looked all the more alluring. She murmured, "Brother Chenn," and beckoned to him.

Bai Zichen paid them no heed, only pausing for a moment and letting out a long sigh as he passed his uncle, Bai Jiu’an.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already on the thirtieth step.

Xiong Baishan, who had started first, was now one step behind him, his expression shifting uncertainly on the twenty-seventh step of the Celestial Ladder, unable to advance.

Bai Zichen looked up. There were still seventy steps to the top of the Heart Inquiry Celestial Ladder, and the last few seemed to have merged with the starlight, looking remote and unattainable.

’I’ve already passed the trial. Now let’s see how far I can go... I heard the highest record in the last century was fifty-five steps, set by Sect Leader Wei Dao.’

Composing himself, he stepped onto the thirty-first step.

The world spun. Decades passed in an instant, and Bai Zichen was now over sixty years old.

He had been severely injured in one of the Sect’s pioneering wars and had spent more than a decade recuperating. His foundation was damaged, and it took him several times longer than usual to reach Qi Refining Great Perfection.

At the age of forty, he finally gathered enough contribution points to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill and attempt his breakthrough. However, he failed at the physical tempering stage. An old, hidden injury had flared up at the critical moment, stopping him in his tracks at the very first hurdle.

His cultivation regressed by two realms, dropping back to the Eighth-Layer Qi Refining.

But he was not discouraged. After ten years of arduous cultivation, he once again reached Qi Refining Perfection. This time, he only had a single Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object to aid him. Due to insufficient Magical Power and uncleared Erysipelas, he failed once more.

The backlash from this failed Foundation Establishment attempt was even more severe, nearly costing him his life.

When he emerged from his secluded chamber, his hair was silver and his skin was wrinkled. He looked as if he had aged twenty years in an instant, and his cultivation had fallen to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

This time, it took him a full fifteen years to re-cultivate. At the age of sixty-five, Bai Zichen stood at the realm of Qi Refining Great Perfection for the third time.

"Senior Brother Bai, give it up! How could you possibly reach Foundation Establishment at your age? If you fail again, you’ll die for sure!"

"That’s right, Senior Brother Bai. Why not request to leave the Sect? You could return to your Clan, take a few wives and concubines, and have children. With your Qi Refining Perfection cultivation, you still have decades of a good life ahead of you."

Sixty-five years old, two failed Foundation Establishment attempts, Qi Blood Deficiency, declining Magical Power...

Everything pointed to one conclusion: another forced attempt at Foundation Establishment would be a dead end.

"The path of the Great Dao is never what one wishes it to be. I only seek to have no regrets in my heart."

Bai Zichen rejected the well-intentioned advice of his fellow disciples. With no Foundation Establishment Pill and no Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, he entered a secluded chamber to begin a life-or-death retreat.

A month later, a towering Spiritual Qi vortex formed, and a Foundation Establishment Cultivator slowly walked out of the secluded chamber.

Bai Zichen opened his eyes, a sharp glint flowing within them. After living through those virtual decades, he found that he had unknowingly reached the fiftieth step of the Celestial Ladder.