Ch.6 The Spirit Phase Complete (2)

Feng Jiang was panicking internally; he knew that death was looming right above him. If his hypothesis failed, his mind space would collapse, and he would surely die. Feng Jiang was unwilling to accept his fate after just getting this opportunity to cultivate.

Feng Jiang looked at his soul origin, which was shining in milky white light and was as pure as diamonds. But it wasn't his soul's origin that could save his life. Feng Jiang turned to face the Tai-chi symbol that was fitted right in the middle of his soul's origin. Last time, this power was manipulated by the being that saved his life from the orb.

Feng Jiang didn't have the chance to observe the power back then, but now that he was sitting in front of it, he knew that his conjecture was right. The Tai-Chi symbol was made of the essences of his birth treasures. The crimson-red sword and the heavenly, ethereal book

The book symbolized Feng Jiang's sharp mind, intellect, and wit. While the crimson power symbolized Feng Jiang's power of destruction, killing, and authority. One represented 'wisdom, the other 'power', but under the influence of that man's power, these two repelling and contradicting powers were now in balance, the ying and the yang to each other.

Feng Jiang's motive for coming here was to use his soul power to make Tai Chi heal him. If the book represented his wisdom, it also represents his spirit, so it should be capable of healing his chaotic mind. But the problem that would remain would be the chaotic power of emotions and sins; if they weren't disposed of or suppressed properly, they would ravage Feng Jiang's mind once again.

Feng Jiang decided to use both the power of the book and the sword to suppress the raging river of emotions while using the book to stabilize his mind. Feng Jiang controlled his soul, removed the Tai-Chi from its place, and placed it below himself as a floating mat. Feng Jiang sat down on it and started to direct his remaining mind power into the blue color power in the Tai-Chi.

As if a beast had been released, the Tai-Chi symbol started to spin in place. The Tai-Chi symbol was replaced by a pair of dragons chasing each other's tails. The dragons opened their mouths, and the chaotic power that was in Feng Jiang's mind started to flow out of him and into the red dragon's mouth. while the blue dragon opened its mouth to spew out a golden blue light that entered Feng Jiang's mind and created an unbreakable wall to protect Feng Jiang's mind from further invasion. Feng Jiang let this cycle continue for what seemed to be hours.

After a while, the dragons stopped spinning, and Feng Jiang was awoken by a sudden jolt of power rushing into his mind. Feng Jiang was kicked out of his own soul by the dragons; the dragons transformed back into the Tai-Chi symbol and placed themselves into his soul origin. Feng Jiang felt relieved, as he thought that his plan would fail.

He observed his mind's state and discovered that, except for some damage that couldn't be healed in such a short amount of time, he was perfectly healed. Though this kind of damage would stay as a trauma in Feng Jiang's mind, it would no longer put his life in danger. Feng Jiang's mind was cleared of all emotions and was no longer hampering his emotional stability.

Feng Jiang was aware of the fact that even with the healing powers help, this incident would permanently damage Feng Jiang's ability to perceive emotions. His emotions would be dampened forever; not even Nirvana could fix him.

Feng Jiang let out a sigh of relief and then, after resting for a while, looked up at the orb and said, "Continue the trial." Feng Jiang's words seem to have ruined the orb's mood. He had been gloating for the past few hours, thinking Feng Jiang was fated to die. Who would have thought he would have survived? The orb unwillingly started the trial.

Feng Jiang was no longer burdened by his past life's sins; his torture would no longer be as intense as before, and each trial would only last for hours instead of days. He entered the 15th hell, the Hell of Dismemberment, where tomb raiders will have their bodies repeatedly torn into pieces. Feng Jiang knew that he had only committed this sin four times in his life. He expected his torture to last for 2 days or so, but instead it only lasted for 4 hours before he was free to go.

Feng Jiang now knew that one life meant one hour in hell. Feng Jiang moved onto the 16th hell, the Hell of the Mountain of Fire, where thieves, robbers, and the corrupt will be repeatedly thrown into the fiery pits of an active volcano. Feng Jiang stayed there for 240 hours, or 10 days. Feng Jiang's soul had become milky white in color and was shaped like a piece of perfectly cut jade.

Feng Jiang moved onto the 17th hell, the Hell of Mills, where those who have misused their power to oppress the weak will repeatedly be crushed in a stone mill. Feng Jiang stayed here for 200 hours. Staying here made Feng Jiang's soul translucent and shine with lust.

Finally, Feng Jiang entered the last hell, the 18th hell of saws, where those who have engaged in unethical or unfair business practices or exploited loopholes in the legal system will be repeatedly sawn in half by demons with saws. Feng Jiang spent 48 hours here. Feng Jiang finally finished his trial and refined his soul, free of all evil and blemishes. Feng Jiang's soul was now similar to those who had passed the nirvanic tribulation and had become experts of the god realm. Actually, Feng Jiang's soul might even surpass theirs in purity.

Feng Jiang found himself back in the domain, and in the blink of an eye, he gave the orb a smirk, displaying his arrogance and confidence in himself. The orb didn't bother with Feng Jiang and released its power once again, collapsing the domain and absorbing it back into itself. Feng Jiang saw that the orb was back to its full strength. Feng Jiang now knew that the reason why the orb was lost to the old man despite being a peak treasure was that it wasn't at its full power. Feng Jiang thought of all the possibilities of why the orb didn't collapse the domain to reach its full power back then and hypothesized that the orb couldn't protect Feng Jiang from the void if it were to collapse the domain, and if by any chance Feng Jiang died outside of the trial because of the orb, it would receive a backlash from the heaven sealing scroll's power.

Feng Jiang saw a screen pop out in front of him.

Congratulations, Feng Jiang! You have once again passed the trial of the spirit. During its duration, you activated two passive powers: indomitable will' and mystic creator comprehension.

Feng Jiang realized that this was the same level of comprehension as his parents. The realm of the mystic creator is the realm that his parents achieved. According to ancient tomes, one of the requirements to reach the pinnacle of cultivation and to surpass the realm of the mystic creator was to reach mystic creator-level comprehension. Feng Jiang had achieved this by spending a few years in hell. To compare, to reach such a realm, a person had to reach the mystic creator realm, create their own grotto heaven, and get it recognized by the universe's will.

Feng Jiang was happy beyond belief, but this was all internal; he still maintained a stoic expression. Feng Jiang continued and said to the orb, Continue to the next trial. The orb flew and came right in front of Feng Jiang's face, and a voice entered his mind: "It has already begun." The orb entered Feng Jiang's soul and forcefully brought Feng Jiang's consciousness into a new imaginary world that was created by the orb.

Feng Jiang was once again brought into the body of a young man around the age of 21. He was very well built and very handsome. The world he was in had no men except him; it was only the world of women. Feng Jiang knew that this was a trial of lust. He began thinking of ways to pass this trial as soon as possible. He quickly remembered reading a book in his father's library named The 'Art of Strategy and Internal War." It was a book written by his father, the god of war, Zhan Jiang (4); it was about the ways of sowing inner discord in your enemies and how to defeat your own internal enemies. One of the topics it hit on was the seven cardinal desires.

According to the book, chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility are called the 7 heavenly virtues, the exact opposite of the 7 cardinal sins. If anyone were to practice these seven things, they could discard the seven sins.

Chastity overcomes the sin of lust. Everyone could use more chastity in a world that is constantly displaying sexual images. The virtue of chastity can help calm our lustful desire for sexual acts and restrain our wandering eyes. Feng Jiang lived in a world filled with lust for 80 years. He was approached by women of all ages, most pushing their sexual desires and teasing him to get him to cooperate with them. But Feng Jiang held onto his chastity, he never gave into the temptation of lust, even when surrounded by women who were willing to do anything for him.

To Feng Jiang, all people were skeletons, no matter their gender. All are equal in his eyes; a beautiful woman is nothing but a prettier skeleton. Feng Jiang was not interested in the desires of a woman's flesh. After living for a long time, Feng Jiang died naturally without losing himself to lust. The trial ended, and the world in front of him faded from existence and was replaced by another.

Charity overcomes the sin of greed. Our lives can be filled with a yearning for material goods. Material objects can block our vision, and stop us from giving to the poor. This means not only do we give what we have in excess," but we also surrender all of our time, money, and spiritual gifts to those in need. Feng Jiang was brought into the world of merchants, where money was power. He was born as a treasure hunter with abnormal luck; he could find treasures just by walking down the street. Feng Jiang built himself a cave and stored all the treasures he found in his day-to-day life there. He lived all alone in a modest house.

He never spent extravagantly unless needed, and finally, on his deathbed, Feng Jiang announced to the world that he hid his treasures in a cave near the mountain that was next to his house. He had left many seals on the treasures. If anyone wanted to get them, he must be pure of heart and be ready to give up half of them to those in need. Feng Jiang once again died a natural death without falling for the sin of greed, instead giving it all away to a chosen one and those who needed it.

Temperance overcomes the sin of gluttony. Gluttony wants us to give into our self-gratification for eating and drinking, among other things. Temperance is our ability to control ourselves and our desires. We may fall into the trap of self-indulgence, but during these times we can call upon the virtue of moderation.

Feng Jiang was born into a body that was given a magical lamp that was capable of granting any wish in the world and could fulfill all his indulgent desires. Feng Jiang once again buried that treasure and only opened it once every year for 60 years, always asking for the betterment of society and never splurging on himself. He died a natural death, burying the secret of the treasure with him. He had transformed the world into a paradise; if this secret was revealed, the world would go into chaos again. Unwilling to see that happen, Feng Jiang decided it was better to take it with him.

Kindness overcomes the sin of envy. Our love for someone should be without bias or spite. God blesses each of us in different ways. Envy will cause a rift in your relationship with God and others. Look upon your life with positivity rather than counting the ways God "hasn't" blessed you.

Feng Jiang was born into the body of a prince, and his mother was ready to do anything to get him the throne; even killing his brother, the crowned prince, wasn't out of the question. Feng Jiang knew that sometimes kindness was better than envy; instead of thirsting for the throne, he helped his brother secure it and never gave into envy. Feng Jiang once again showed kindness to those who were luckier than him by never undermining them and snatching it from them.

Patience overcomes the sin of anger. When he was confronted by angry crowds who wanted to torture and kill him, he prayed for them. How often do we become upset and consumed by trivial matters? Control your anger and resentment and cultivate patience through this virtue.

Feng Jiang was born into the body of a poor man who was always trifled with. Feng Jiang knew that he could beat the young master who bullied him, but he also knew that he would be targeted by the young master's ancestors and hunted down until he died. Feng Jiang trained his patience; he always ran away from the young man, not because he was a coward but because he knew when to retreat. 10 years later, Feng Jiang came back to defeat the young master with his own power; he never fell into the sin of anger.

Humility overcomes the sin of pride. God humbles the proud and exalts the humble! Pride is the devil's sin. By being modest, we can turn outward and lift up those around us. Feng Jiang was born into the royal family and was crowned king at a young age due to the passing of his exalted father. He was worshipped by all his citizens by birth, and he was named the son of God by many.

But he never went down the dark path of pride. Yes, arrogance was very important; it was carved into Feng Jiang's bones because he had lived his 888 lives as a proud man, even in death. But pride can become foolishness' in an instant. As it turns out, he was right; his ministers had conspired against him by making him overconfident so they could turn public opinion against him and slay him under the charge of treason, but he never gave into pride and always listened to those who were under him. He was loved by his people and died a peaceful death surrounded by those who loved him for his humility.

Diligence overcomes the sin of sloth. The virtue of diligence aids us in fulfilling our duties and cultivating a strong work ethic. Sloth draws us in to be lazy in all aspects of our lives, both physical and spiritual. We should develop our talents and gifts rather than keep them wrapped up in sloth.

Feng Jiang was born into the body of an untalented cultivator. He was born with primal spiritual roots; he was talented in the way of the earth. Feng Jiang had no resources growing up because his parents weren't rich enough to subsidize his cultivation. A normal person would have given up hope and started to laze around, but Feng Jiang was diligent and dedicated; he wished to cultivate. Feng Jiang lived for a thousand years; at the end, he died because his talent bound him to the golden core realm. Feng Jiang reached a realm that was thought to be impossible with just primal realm roots due to his hard work and dedication towards an objective.

Feng Jiang had discarded the seven cardinal sins by living his life following the seven heavenly virtues. He was not affected by his cardinal desires and never once gave up hope in the face of adversity.

The orb flew out of Feng Jiang's soul, and Feng Jiang once again found himself staring at a screen.

[Congratulations, Feng Jiang, You have exceeded my expectations by passing the hardest of the three phases. The next phase targets the mind, but due to your passive skill and indomitable will, the trial may not test you to its full potential. But if you allow me to, for a short period of time, I can break and suppress your will to bring it back to its original state. You can always ask me to stop suppressing it by giving up in the middle of the round. It's your decision to continue or not; if you press 'Yes, you will continue to the next round. YES/NO]

Feng Jiang had nothing to lose and clicked yes without hesitation. After that screen disappeared, another one popped up.

[You have chosen to continue the trial. Now, decide whether you wish to continue the trial with the indomitable will's passive power or not. Press yes if you don't want me to suppress it. YES/NO]

If it had been before the trial ended, Feng Jiang would have definitely chosen to continue with this power, but now he knew that every trial was not just a test for him but also an opportunity. When Feng Jiang passed the first trial, he had gained the passive power of comprehension. This time, clearing the second trial gave him the power of indomitable will' (5) and mystic creator comprehension'. Each trial powers up his so-called passive skills. He assumed this power was given to him by the contract between him and the orb, but the orb didn't possess the power to take it back because he earned it through the power of the scroll. It was now his power, and only with his permission was it possible to temporarily take it away.

Feng Jiang, without hesitation, chose the no option; if his passive power made the trial too easy, then the rewards wouldn't be as great as they would have been.

[You have chosen to suppress your power. You have achieved the active power of 'infinite tempering' as a reward for your bravery. You have also received the passive power of 'infinite comprehension' by passing the third trial.]

Suddenly, Feng Jiang saw that the originally empty void was filled with clouds, and thunder was roaring as if ready to strike anytime. Feng Jiang felt his mind getting clouded and his body becoming heavier.

[Notice, that the power of 'infinite comprehension' had drawn the wrath of the heavens. To save you, I request your permission to temporarily seal away this passive power; otherwise, you would have to face this tribulation with just your mortal consciousness. Click yes to agree to the sealing or no to face the tribulation. The chance of survival is zero. YES/NO]

Feng Jiang instantly chose yes, and the clouds cleared up. His mind was still foggy but still as clear as before he received the power of 'infinite comprehension'. Feng Jiang looked up at the orb and said, I am ready for the next trial.

The orb shook and released its power once again into the empty void.

(A.N.--> You guys must have seen a lot of (n) beside a lot of the words; those are for my explanations, but I am too lazy to do that right now; I will do them in the next chapter, or I may edit this and put it here someday.)