Upon hearing these words, Ye Fan responded, "Although I may be a bit slow, I understand your intentions, Senior. If you had wanted to kill me, you would have done so already. Why wait until now? We are in the Outer Realm, and you could have killed me at any time, but you didn’t. Therefore, I firmly believe you will not kill me. Besides, what good would killing me do? I don’t believe my life is valuable enough to be taken by your hands!"
Ye Fan was conversing with the ancient voice, which declared, "You are from the Holy Clan, and I am from the Evil Clan. Our clans share an irreconcilable hatred, so it is only right and proper that I kill you!"
"You overstate things, Senior," Ye Fan countered. "I am not the same as the Holy Clan of the past, and you are not the same as the Evil Clan of the past. Why don’t we sit down and talk peacefully?"
The old voice replied, "Very well. Let’s see what tricks you have up your sleeve. But it won’t be easy to meet me. I’ve set up numerous trials in your path. Only if you can pass these trials will you be able to meet me. If you cannot, then please, turn back."
"I won’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean I will see you!" the voice added gravely.
Ye Fan nodded. "I understand, Senior. When do we begin?"
"It has already begun!"
Ye Fan looked up and realized the withered trees around him were moving, their positions shifting with blinding speed.
"In that case," Ye Fan said coldly, "I’ll just destroy these trees." He reasoned that these trees were the nodes of the Array; if he destroyed just one, a flaw would be exposed. He charged forward to attack, but instead of felling the trees, they transformed into venomous snakes that lunged and coiled around him.
"What a terrifying Array!" Even the well-traveled Ye Fan was shocked. The transformation of the trees was truly frightening.
He began swinging his sword, severing the venomous snakes. To his dismay, they simply reassembled after being cut, making them impossible to eliminate.
What should I do? If this continues, I won’t even get past his first trial, let alone meet him!
At that moment, Ye Fan was overcome with frustration. A profound sense of powerlessness began to torture him, so he decided to change his approach. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, standing as motionless as a mountain, even as the endless venomous snakes swarmed and bit at him.
And just as he suspected, something changed. The venomous snakes passed right through his body, leaving him unharmed, as if they existed in different worlds.
The voice spoke again. "Impressive. It’s no small feat to see through my illusion. By figuring it out so quickly, you have passed the first trial. But that was only the first of six trials. I hope you don’t die too soon!"
Ye Fan replied at once, "I’m not afraid, Senior. Bring it on!"
The next moment, he found himself standing in a graveyard. The rows of tombstones exuded an aura of desolation and terror, so potent it felt as if his very soul was trembling.
"These are the graves of my clansmen who were killed by your Holy Clan in the past. This is just one section, containing those who were slaughtered while trying to escape.
"They should never have died. As cruel as my Evil Clan may have been, that was the sin of the Evil Emperor alone. These innocent clansmen should not have been forced to bear it!
"Your test for this trial is to survive them. If you can emerge alive, you will not have to face the remaining trials.
"Think carefully. If you cannot make it out alive, you will die here. If you regret this now, I will send you away. We can pretend we never met," the old voice said to Ye Fan.
The graveyard was desolate, but Ye Fan knew the tombstones were anything but simple. The greater the peace, the greater the terror. Nevertheless, he declared, "Senior, the word ’fear’ does not exist in my vocabulary. Please, make your move. If I die, then I die. It’s no great loss. At least I’ll know my life wasn’t lived in vain!"
Ye Fan seemed to let everything go, detached from worldly concerns. The ancient voice fell silent, and in that moment, all his escape routes were sealed. He stood alone in the silent, gloomy graveyard, as if the darkness and terror were about to devour him.
Ye Fan kept his composure, instead putting himself on absolute high alert, ready to detect the slightest disturbance. This was the ultimate trial this great power had set for him, and also a trial for himself. Only by passing it could he hope to turn the tide. Otherwise, all would be for naught.
Thirty minutes passed with no activity, making Ye Fan wonder if there was something wrong with the trial. It made no sense for there to be such a long delay without anything happening.
Then, a weeping sound echoed from the depths of the gloom, and a chill ran down Ye Fan’s spine.
Ye Fan gathered his courage and approached, discovering a figure crouching in a dark corner.
"Friend, do you need help?" he asked.
When the figure turned, he saw that her eyes were hollow sockets; her eyeballs had been gouged out. She began to walk toward Ye Fan, giving him a genuine fright.
Then, the graves began to stir. Figures crawled out from the earth—some were headless corpses, others were missing hands or feet, and some had the same hollow eyes. Not a single one of them was whole. Ye Fan never imagined their fates could have been so tragic.
"You are from the Holy Clan!" Instantly, the figures swarmed Ye Fan, surrounding him completely.
An ordinary person would have been scared to death, but Ye Fan’s will was strong. Even now, he remained perfectly calm.
"The Holy Clan turned us into this! They were brutal and merciless! Even after death, they tormented us, preventing our souls from reincarnating."
"You will pay with your life!" they all shrieked, preparing to attack.
Ye Fan searched for a way to resolve this. He spoke up, "Seniors, I know you detest the Holy Clan. You wish you could tear them to pieces and inflict every imaginable suffering upon them!"
"That’s right! Do you dare to bear it for them?" one of them demanded.
Ye Fan remained silent.
"You don’t dare!"
"You’re afraid!"
"Boy, you came here looking for death! We will tear you to shreds!" the spirits snarled.
Ye Fan replied, "Seniors, it would not be difficult for you to kill a person, nor would it be difficult for you to kill me. But I came here today with a different purpose."
"What purpose?" they asked.
Ye Fan countered, "Let me ask you all a question. If I die, will your hearts be soothed? Will your hatred be resolved?"
"Of course not! Our hatred for the Holy Clan can never be resolved!" they retorted.
"Exactly," Ye Fan said. "Since it cannot be resolved, why add to the sorrow? Killing me will only deepen your hatred. You will remain trapped in this darkness forever, enduring endless torture.
"I came here today to help you find release from your suffering, to ensure no more pain is added to your burden. That is my principle!"
He spoke with absolute sincerity, his attitude earnest.
"You are not worthy!"
"That’s right! We will not accept your pity!"
"We only want you to experience this same agonizing torture!"
One after another, the resentful souls shrieked at Ye Fan. The situation was spiraling out of control.