"Jared seized that brief opening.
His form flashed, his speed climbing again as he shot toward the exit at the far end of the chamber."
"The soul-beasts saw it and gave chase with a crazed intensity.
The soul-beasts at the Top Level of Level Seven moved with terrifying speed, clinging close behind him and launching attack after attack, trying to tangle him up before he could break free."
"Jared fled ahead of them with everything he had.
Behind him, the soul-beasts refused to fall back. Black spirit assaults kept crashing into the golden radiance, and every impact sent pain tearing through his soul until it was almost more than it could bear."
"His speed began to drop.
The golden radiance dimmed further and further. Just as the soul-beasts were about to overtake him, Jared finally saw the exit at the end of the chamber."
"A faint white glow waited there.
In that endless dark, it was the only thing that looked like a way out, guiding him forward."
"A hard, final glint crossed Jared's eyes.
He burned the last thread of his spiritual power, turned into the violet streak at its absolute limit, tore through the soul-beasts closing in behind him, and plunged headfirst into the exit."
"Behind him, the soul-beasts let out unwilling howls, their voices sharp enough to scrape through the void.
But the chamber's ward blocked them. They could not chase him through the exit. They could only roar inside the chamber, thrashing as they watched Jared escape."
"After breaking through the Second Trial, Jared's soul hovered in the void, shaking violently.
The violet radiance had dimmed to its lowest point, and the Aureate Codex's golden radiance had turned faint as well. His soul had been worn down so badly it looked as if it might collapse at any moment."
"Jared could only stop and rest for the time being.
He had not expected that inside this trial, even the Aureate Codex would come so close to failing."
“Jared, have you ever considered that all these trials might be fake?” Aldric suddenly said.
Jared went still. “Fake?”
“The Aureate Codex is the First Patriarch's relic. Even several Golden Immortals couldn't do anything to it. So why would it start buckling here under attacks from True Immortal Realm soul-beasts?”
Aldric asked it plainly.
"Once Jared followed that line, it did fit.
Venerable Starwick had brought many Golden Immortals with him, and even together, they had failed to break through the Aureate Codex's sheltering grace."
So why had the attacks of these True Immortal Realm soul-beasts made the Aureate Codex's sheltering grace weaker and weaker?
"Could every trial here be fake?
Could everything in front of him be nothing more than an illusion?"
"Jared said nothing more.
He slowly closed his eyes and let himself sink into emptiness."
"With only his soul remaining, he could not use illusion nascence.
He could not see through whether he was still trapped inside an illusion. All he could do was rely on time and slowly comprehend it."
"Jared's soul hovered in the void at the exit of the Second Trial.
The violet radiance around him had gone dim, and the golden radiance flickered in and out, never fully steady."
"All around him stretched empty space.
There was no world, no direction, only endless gray-white mist drifting slowly around him, wrapping him inside it."
"This was the buffer ground between the Second and Third Trials.
It existed as a place to recover, a gap meant to give challengers one breath before they continued on."
"The Aureate Codex's golden radiance was recovering little by little.
The remaining medicinal power of the soul-restorative draught was being absorbed bit by bit, and Jared's soul slowly warmed again. Even so, he did not hurry forward."
"Aldric's words kept echoing through his mind again and again.
“These trials are all fake.”"
Fake.
"He closed his eyes.
The stabbing pain rising from the depths of his soul kept him clear, but it also left the question hanging sharper than before."
"Venerable Starwick had joined forces with several Golden Immortals and activated the ancient Soul-Refining Grand Array.
Even that had failed to damage the Aureate Codex in the slightest."


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