The First Layer
Yaan had already expected this, but Defiance really didn't seem to understand the concept of 'stealth'. Yaan wanted to quickly travel to the Boundless Dao Library Trial without anyone noticing, but Defiance Sovereign made this completely impossible.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
…
With each step he took, the world trembled. Yaan supposed he should at least be thankful that Defiance wasn't destroying any life-stars and life-planets, so he didn't push his luck by asking this obstinate man to be a bit more careful. That said…
"Defiance, if we move like this, the Sage will notice us and discern our intentions before we even arrive." Yaan pointed out.
"I'm aware, but it doesn't matter. The Sage will be watching over the trial, so we will be seen regardless. I'm curious to see if she will stop us."
Yaan glanced up as his gaze flashed briefly.
'So Defiance Sovereign is curious about mine and the Sage's relationship…or at least, he's curious to see how far the Sage will go for me. Understandable, given that she suddenly left the Primordial Alliance because of me. It's possible that Defiance is just using this as a chance to ascertain the truth…but this is unlikely. If he wanted to know, he would probably just ask, he's not the type for subtlety.'
Yaan felt like he understood Defiance Sovereign's way of doing things. He didn't know if Defiance Sovereign was the type to lie or suddenly betray people, but he did know that in this man's heart, there was only Defiance. Or at least, the Defiant Will in his heart was so overwhelming that it completely drowned out anything else. Yaan felt certain that Defiance Sovereign had such absolute confidence in himself and his abilities, that he wouldn't resort to petty trickery, because he simply didn't need to employ this sort of tactic.
Honestly, if he was going to lie, he could have conceived a much better and more convincing story than what he had told Yaan. He didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that this would be extremely risky for Yaan, because if he failed to fend off even one retribution, then Yaan would need to deal with it.
"Do you at least have some sort of plan to deal with the Sage?" Yaan asked.
"My presence alone is enough to deal with anyone in this world." Defiance Sovereign replied certainly.
Yaan didn't respond. What could he even say in response to that? This man's self-confidence was truly unparalleled.
Before long, they arrived at the so called 'Tribulation True Inheritance'. This inheritance was labelled as one of the seven Divine True Inheritances to fall into the Four Divine Star System, or so the Sage had told him. According to Defiance, the thing before him was actually far more incredible than any normal inheritance.
This trial, supposedly laid down by the Heavenly Dao itself, consisted of 3,000 layers of protection surrounding a golden key. Each layer was one mile thick, resulting in the region for 3,000 miles around the key becoming an absolute no-go zone.
When he saw the trial like this, with Defiance Sovereign standing not far away, Yaan looked at Defiance oddly.
'He says that he doesn't care about the key, but how would he tackle this trial to begin with? His foot is bigger than the entire trial! Could it be that Defiance Sovereign can't fit into the trial, but he refuses to shrink himself down…?'
One might think that divinities would be extremely rational beings, and in a sense, they were. However, their 'rationality' often came across as eccentric, because at the Divine Step, pursuing one's own dao heart was the core pillar of cultivation, and a person pursuing their own dao often appeared completely bizarre from the outside.
The golden key looked rather ordinary from where Yaan stood, but he could tell with a glance that it was inestimably ancient. It was clear that the 3,000 layers of tribulations were largely concealing the key's true aura, but aside from that, this really looked no different than any other Divine True Inheritance.
Well, there was one difference…looking at that golden key, Yaan had the distinct feeling that even attempting to obtain it would be extremely dangerous. He had seen all of the Divine True Inheritances collected by the Spirit Plane Lord back on the Spirit Plane, and whilst he hadn't seen them since reaching the Divine Step, it was obvious that the danger in this inheritance was not normal.
It was this feeling of danger, combined with the despair-inducing experiences of those who had attempted this trial in the past, and the fact that practically nobody knew the truth about this golden key, that caused this 'inheritance' to go relatively unnoticed and neglected until now.
"Defiance, how did you come to learn about this library?" Yaan suddenly asked.
The giant of a man stared at the golden key for a long time before replying.
"I was there at the end of the 1st Origin Era, when the library was dragged into the Origin and started undergoing changes."
"I see, so you actually recognise it…" Yaan murmured, before looking away from Defiance Sovereign on his right, and turning to the empty space to his left.
"Sage, are you going to get in our way?"
Defiance Sovereign narrowed his eyes slightly when Yaan spoke to what appeared to be empty space.
It was empty space. Yaan couldn't actually detect the Sage's presence in this area at all, but he knew that she was probably watching. He put on an air of calmness as silence descended upon the region, and he continued staring to the left with an expression filled with certainty.
A minute passed by silently, but Yaan didn't so much as move. He didn't believe that Defiance Sovereign would lie about the Sage being interested in this trial, but if she really wasn't interested, then Defiance would lose all credibility. If the Sage did not show herself soon, Yaan wouldn't take a single step into this trial.
Fortunately, he didn't need to wait for much longer.
Space distorted before his eyes and a black vortex suddenly appeared before them. After a few moments, the vortex stabilised and a small figure stepped through, before the vortex closed behind her.
"Do as you wish." The Sage spoke plainly, looking at Yaan and ignoring Defiance Sovereign entirely.
"You won't get in my way?" Defiance Sovereign asked, his gaze piercing into her intently.
"I will not." The Sage glanced at Defiance Sovereign and replied.
"Good. Defiance, let's get started." Yaan nodded to the Sage once, before returning his attention to the trial.
Nobody said much, despite everyone feeling suspicious of the others. The Primordial Sage and Defiance Sovereign were two of the people in this world whom Yaan was the most wary of, so he would take any chance to further blur their understanding of his abilities. He supposed that the other two might feel similarly, but there was no way to be certain.
Defiance Sovereign had already fused 3,000 strands of his Defiant Will into Yaan's wooden sword, so there was nothing left to do other than tackling the trial. Yaan stared at the trial silently for a while, attempting to analyse it from the outside before stepping in.
'I see, so the 3,000 layers are not in any set order, it's impossible to predict which tribulation you will face until you enter the layer. Since it's like that, I really can't prepare for this…let's enter the first layer and see what happens.'
His major concern was that Defiance Sovereign might be using this trial to make an attempt on his life with Heavenly Retribution. This was quite unlikely given Defiance Sovereign's personality, but Yaan couldn't dismiss the possibility.
He took his first step into the first of the 3,000 layers with this in mind. Even if this was a trap and Defiance Sovereign planned to use this trial against him, Yaan was prepared to face this trap.
Yaan's figure distorted as he stepped past the trial's boundary and entered the first of the 3,000 layers. Nothing could be seen clearly which differentiated each layer from the next and from the outside world, but a powerful aura made it clear to any divinity where the boundaries started and ended.
Defiance Sovereign watched Yaan carefully, paying close attention since he would soon be faced with Heavenly Tribulation and Retribution based upon the dao within this layer. He was watching Yaan…but also the Sage. She said that she wouldn't interfere, but Defiance considered the Primordial Sage's word as worthless.
'She really isn't interfering…' Defiance and Yaan both thought.
Even though he had just entered the Boundless Dao Library, Yaan didn't feel the least bit tense. Instead, he almost felt like laughing.
"I predicted that the trials were in a completely random order aside from the final space-time trial, but that would suggest that this is a coincidence, which seems a bit unlikely…"
Yaan looked around, seeing through the deceit of this first layer with ease, as if the obstacles before him weren't even there. He proceeded to walk through this mile long fake world created by the Heavenly Dao to insnare him.
"Starting with the dao of illusions? Heavenly Dao, why even bother with this one?"
Just as he reached the end, Yaan stopped and glanced back. After thinking it through for a moment, he took out the wooden sword and slashed out a single time.
The illusory world trembled, then completely broke down and exploded upwards, instantly leaving the trial and shooting into the outside world.
"Based on this Heavenly Tribulation, it seems that Defiance Sovereign was telling the truth - the Heavenly Dao seriously doesn't want anyone to reach that key. Well then, let's give Defiance what he asked for…I wonder if that guy can really survive 3,000 Heavenly Tribulations and Retributions? It would be great if he died here."