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He steadied his breath as he stood straight, knowing that the final part of the trial was remaining.

The darkness parted like someone lifted a veil, revealing a vast, barren landscape in front of him. Towering mountains stood tall all over the landscape as their peaks reached the sky.

At the center of it all was a giant lotus, glowing faintly in the distance. Its petals were pure white, with a golden hue as if they held the very essence of light and purity within them.

This was no illusion.

Shen Yuan instinctively knew that this was the final part of the Dao Heart trial. He could feel his connection with this lotus flower, it was the reason for his misery in various lives, and this flower made him see those illusions.

Yue Lan\'s voice echoed in his mind,

[I never expected to see this thing in a mortal world. Shen Yuan, this final trial…it will demand more than just strength or intent. It will test the very essence of your soul, be prepared.]

She didn\'t explain what the lotus was but still cautioned him.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath, his eyes remained focused on the Lotus flower. After deliberating for a second, he started walking towards the lotus flower.

Every footfall felt like it carried the weight of mountains, and the ground beneath him trembled as if resisting the intrusion of Shen Yuan in its holy place.

The closer he got to the lotus, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. His surroundings grew darker, and he could feel a biting cold wind at the back of his head.

Shen Yuan\'s heartbeat slowed, and for the first time in a while, he felt a little doubt.

\'Why do you fight so hard?\' a voice whispered in the back of his mind, ancient and distant. \'is power truly worth the sacrifice? Is the path of cultivation all you seek?\'

Shen Yuan stopped in his tracks. The question echoed deep into his soul, touching the parts that he had long buried under the pressure of growing stronger faster so he could return home.

Memories of his life before cultivation—his time spent together with his mother, his sister, Yin Yue flooded his mind. A peaceful life. A simple life. Yet why wasn\'t that enough?

But Shen Yuan clenched his fist, taking a deep breath. "My pursuit is not about power. It\'s about freedom. The freedom to choose my path, to protect those I love, and to kill those whom I hate. To live without fear of being controlled or crushed by those stronger than me, that is my pursuit."

The archaic voice seemed to him in response, and the weight pressuring down on him grew lighter as if acknowledging his answer.

He continued forward, soon reaching the base of the lotus flower. Its petals were larger than mountains as if they could bear the weight of life itself.

The giant golden flor illuminated the area around it, casting soft shadows all around. Shen Yuan could feel the immense energy being emitted from the lotus flower, it was pure and ancient.

Without thinking further, he reached out, his fingers lightly brushing the tip of the closet Petal. The moment he made contact, a surge of energy shot through him.

His mind exploded with visions—countless lives, countless possibilities, all swirling in a maelstrom of chaos. He saw himself as a ruler of worlds, as a simple farmer, as a warrior standing at the gates of Heaven, and as a lone wanderer traversing desolate lands.

Each vision presented a different path, a different life. Some were filled with glory and triumph, others with sorrow and defeat. But in every vision, one thing remained constant—his soul, unyielding, determined to carve out its own fate.

Yet the next second everything vanished from his mind, as if those visions never existed, he didn\'t even have enough time to think about them as the petals began closing around him.

Enveloping Shen Yuan in its soft, glowing petals. Everything turned silent all of a sudden, the dark eerie feeling also vanished as only peace remained.

After a moment of silence, the deep, ancient voice echoed once more,

\'You seek the path of the free, but freedom demands sacrifice. To truly walk your path, you must give up the illusions of safety, of comfort. Only then can you find your true self.\'

Shen Yuan\'s breathing slowed as he comprehended the meaning behind those words. This was it–the true trial. The illusions he had faced were not just to test his resolve, but to see if he was willing to abandon his fantasies of absolute power, false love, peaceful life, etc for something more harsh, something more real.

But before Shen Yuan could reply, the deep voice echoed again,

\'The path you have chosen is not a simple one. You can only walk forward on it, if you decide to settle down or stop moving forward, then you will lose your meaning in life and become something like you saw in your illusion. Mere shells of your former glorious self.\'

Shen Yuan took a deep breath as he finally decided upon his answer, which was already set in stone since he cleared those illusions.

"I accept," Shen Yuan said softly, but his voice filled with an unbreakable conviction, "I have already decided on my path, and I shall not waver no matter what I face. But this doesn\'t mean that I won\'t pursue other paths, I won\'t restrict myself to a single path, I will do whatever I want.\'

As soon as these words left his mouth, the ancient voice\'s deep laughter echoed,

\'Hahaha, that\'s what it means to be free. To not be shackled by anything and to do as one wishes. You have my blessings on the path of cultivation young man, you can take my Pagoda with you, it has my entire inheritance. This was the deal I made with that little girl, to find me a worthy inheritor. I am the Pagoda Bearing Monarch, remember my name, young man.\'

The voice went further away as if the Monarch was walking away. Before Shen Yuan could even say his goodbyes to him, the lotus flower surrounding him started glowing as it released Shen Yuan from inside of itself.

It started getting smaller and smaller until it was only the size of a regular lotus flower, but it\'s beauty didn\'t diminish in the slightest as it only increased.

Shen Yuan looked at it curiously, wondering what was happening with it, but before he could figure it out, the lotus rushed towards his head and entered his Sea of Consciousness. Taking root deep within it.

Shen Yuan\'s eyes widened in surprise as he couldn\'t even put up a defense in front of it before it infiltrated his Sea of Consciousness.

But before he freaked out, the lotus started releasing a small amount of energy which will be nourishing his Sea of Consciousness, making it stronger passively.

Though the effect wasn\'t apparent, in the long run, it would be massively helpful.