Song Changsheng’s aura suddenly became chaotic. Zhan Tianxia lifted his gaze to glance over, his brow furrowing slightly, but he took no further action.

"Looks like another one is about to be eliminated. I wonder whose junior that is," Dai Zichen remarked nonchalantly. He had also been keeping a close eye on the Golden Crow Sect disciples within the Array and had noticed the change in Song Changsheng’s aura.

While the Heart Inquiry Array was designed to temper one’s Mental Realm, the length of time a person could endure within it also served as an indirect measure of their aptitude.

Those present were either Major Sect Disciples or disciples of Purple Mansion Cultivators. With very few exceptions, their aptitude was quite high, and nearly all had already broken through the first layer of the Illusion Realm.

But upon reaching the second layer, the realism and bewildering nature of the Illusion Realm skyrocketed. If the first layer was one part real and nine parts false, then the second was half real and half false. To this point, five or six people had already been eliminated.

Dai Zichen observed for a while. Aside from Xia Qingxue, he hadn’t found any disciples with particularly outstanding talent. This included the disciples from the Celestial Vein Sect present this time, whose aptitude could only be considered average.

Of course, this didn’t mean the Celestial Vein Sect was inferior to the Golden Crow Sect. What sect didn’t have a few geniuses kept under wraps, unknown to the outside world?

Even the Song Clan, besides the prominent Song Changsheng, also had Song Qingxing in reserve.

With an old-guard power like the Celestial Vein Sect, you never know how many trump cards they’re hiding. Sometimes, what you see is only what they want you to see. Only a fool would believe otherwise.

Old Ghost Bai was also staring into the Array, his triangular eyes fixed on the proceedings. But unlike Dai Zichen, his attention was focused entirely on the Golden Crow Sect disciple named Xia Qingxue.

According to the Elder in charge of intelligence for the Celestial Vein Sect, it was as if this person had materialized out of thin air.

Ten years ago, at the age of ten, she made her first appearance at the Golden Crow Sect. She revealed an extraordinary talent and was immediately accepted as a Direct Disciple by one of the sect’s Golden Core Masters.

As their old rivals, the Celestial Vein Sect naturally took this very seriously. After all, anyone accepted as a Direct Disciple by a Golden Core Master was guaranteed to reach the Purple Mansion realm at a minimum. They immediately activated their intelligence network to gather information on Xia Qingxue.

But no matter what methods they used, they couldn’t find a single bit of information about Xia Qingxue. On the contrary, they lost several intelligence agents in the process.

In the decade since, intelligence on her has remained pitifully scarce. Her aptitude, Spirit Root, Cultivation Technique, fighting style—all were complete unknowns. It was a total embarrassment for the Celestial Vein Sect’s intelligence department.

The more the Golden Crow Sect concealed her, the more the Celestial Vein Sect wanted to uncover the truth. So, when they heard Xia Qingxue would be descending the mountain for this occasion, the Sect dispatched him to size her up.

From what he could tell so far, her aptitude was indeed outstanding. It was possible she had a Celestial Spirit Root, or maybe even some kind of special constitution, but he couldn’t discern anything more than that.

’If only I could find a way to make her reveal her hand,’ Old Ghost Bai thought, his eyes narrowing. But when he glanced at Dai Zichen beside him, he dismissed the thought. That man was shadowing her constantly, giving him no opportunity.

’If this fails, I’ll have to resort to the second plan.’ As he looked at Xia Qingxue, a sinister glint flashed in the depths of Old Ghost Bai’s eyes...

In the Illusion Realm, Song Changsheng’s raised fist trembled. He stared at his father’s murderer before him, a voice echoing endlessly in his mind: "Don’t resist, or he’ll kill you. You’ve had the good fortune to be reborn. Do you want it to end just like this?"

"He killed my father! This is a blood feud!" Song Changsheng declared, his eyes crimson.

But the voice quickly replied, "He is not your father. Your name is Chen Feng. ’Song Changsheng’ is just your name in this life. Your real parents are on Blue Star. Don’t you want to go back to them?"

A thunderclap suddenly went off in Song Changsheng’s mind. He hadn’t heard the name "Chen Feng" in over twenty years. That was his name in his previous life.

Back on Blue Star, his greatest wish had been to find his birth parents. After coming to this world, a large part of his motivation to cultivate diligently stemmed from this desire. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He wanted to become strong enough to return to his homeland.

Song Changsheng was shaken. His raised arm began to lower slowly, and his clenched fist gradually relaxed.

"Yes, just like that," the voice continued. "You must survive. Song Luyan is just an insignificant person. You have to cultivate with all your might and return to that world you’ve longed for day and night."

The bewitching voice rang in Song Changsheng’s ears, causing his Dao Heart to gradually waver.

Just then, an extreme bitterness shot straight to the crown of Song Changsheng’s head. It felt as if he had swallowed a large bowl of bile, and the sensation instantly made him shudder, his consciousness returning to a brief moment of clarity.

"Chen Feng, cease your impudence! Kneel before him, kiss the tops of his shoes, and beg for his forgiveness," that same cajoling voice sounded in Song Changsheng’s mind once more.

"Forgive my ass!" Song Changsheng’s eyes flew wide with rage. Without hesitation, he raised his fist and smashed it into the demonic old man’s face, knocking him to the ground in a single blow.

Song Changsheng shot forward, straddled the old man’s body, and his fists fell like rain as he roared, "My name is Song Changsheng! Chen Feng is already dead, he died twenty-five years ago!

"The blood feud for my father’s murder is irreconcilable! That’s true in this Illusion Realm, and it will be true in reality!"

As Song Changsheng beat the demonic old man to death, the environment around him began to change drastically. His consciousness blurred, and he finally entered a new Illusion Realm...