They locked eyes for a moment before quickly looking away.
"Stay close. This trial is no small feat. Without my help, you’ll have a very hard time passing," Bingxin said, returning to Lin Xuan’s side.
This trial was called Phoenix Nirvana. The name sounded incredibly impressive, and it made Lin Xuan feel as though they could be incinerated at any moment.
"Is it that difficult?" Lin Xuan asked doubtfully.
According to the memories from the Phoenix Soul, the trial wasn’t just difficult—it was very difficult. Yet, that Phoenix had managed to pass. It had been grueling, yes, but it had still succeeded. ’Will it really be a problem for me?’
"It’s not that the trial itself is so difficult," Bingxin explained. "It’s just difficult for *you*. In fact, anyone who isn’t a Phoenix would find it almost impossible to last ten days. If you stay with me, I can help you endure and get through it."
"If you do that, wouldn’t it be the same as me not taking the trial at all?" Lin Xuan asked. "Besides, can you handle the burden of two people, Bingxin? From my understanding, if you have to support me, the drain on you would be immense. It’d be like enduring two Void Spirit Level trials. That’s simply impossible to withstand!"
The trials weren’t designed to be cheated. If you tried to help someone else through, you would have to bear double the burden. The difficulty would be insane.
"But if I don’t, you’ll never make it through..." Just as Bingxin was about to say more, Lin Xuan shook his head, cutting her off.
"Bingxin, I want to pass this with my own strength, not by relying on someone else. Even if I fail, I’ll accept the outcome. Besides, the Heart of the Fire Phoenix is meant for you. Even if I survive to the final trial, the Heart of the Fire Phoenix won’t be mine," Lin Xuan said with a smile. "So please, let me try on my own!"
Bingxin was taken aback for a moment. She didn’t press the issue, but smiled instead. "In that case, be extra careful. If you really can’t endure it, throw out the Stone Slab to leave. Don’t push yourself too hard."
She had always seen Lin Xuan as a younger brother who needed her protection. ’Perhaps it’s time I take a proper look at him,’ she thought. She wanted to see up close just how far his power had truly progressed!
Soon after, more members of the Demon Race passed the third trial and arrived at the fourth. Their numbers were pitifully small now, with only a few from the Demon Race remaining. The rest had either failed or died.
Most of those who survived were true members of the Phoenix Race, or were Mutated Phoenixes. It was truly difficult for outsiders to pass the trials here. This was a completely targeted trial; those without a Fire Attribute Physique simply couldn’t withstand it. And even if they did have a Fire Attribute Physique, it couldn’t compare to a Phoenix’s resistance to fire.
Before everyone had even fully entered, magma had already begun erupting from numerous volcanoes. Like a tidal wave, it surged down from the craters, completely engulfing them in an instant.
Heat!
An absolutely scorching heat washed over them, far more intense than in the Magma Cultivation Chamber. If his Cultivation was still the same as before, he would have been instantly annihilated, with not even a speck of ash remaining!
AAAAAHHH!
A bloodcurdling scream came from the distance. Lin Xuan looked up and saw that a member of the Demon Race had been swallowed by the terrifyingly hot magma. Their body was rapidly melting away—a horrifying sight.
Finally, the person managed to throw out their Stone Slab and was instantly teleported away. But by then, half of their body had already melted. Even if they managed to live, they would only have half a life left.
Lin Xuan, however, was quite stable. The rich Phoenix Essence Blood within him enabled him to withstand the terrifying magma and endure the initial assault.
This initial wave of magma wasn’t the truly terrifying part; it was just the beginning. The temperature and difficulty scaled with one’s Cultivation. Therefore, if Bingxin had chosen to protect Lin Xuan, she would have had to endure double the damage—both at the Void Spirit Level!
The fourth trial was mandatory for everyone; all participants had to pass it to proceed to the next stage.
’This magma...’
As time went on, the magma grew hotter. More importantly, it began to seep relentlessly into their bodies. No matter how they tried to block it, there was no stopping its infiltration.
The scorching magma rapidly seeped inward, merging with their meridians and bloodlines, and then began burning them from the inside out! This was leagues beyond the Magma Cultivation Chamber.
If not for his greatly enhanced Physique and the extremely high concentration of Phoenix Essence Blood in his body, he would have long since been unable to hold on. He already felt immense discomfort. The magma was roiling madly inside him, growing in volume, as if it wanted to make his body explode.
He looked at his surroundings. Bingxin and the others were also enduring the terrifying magma invasion. Their bodies began to turn red, and then with a WHOOSH, flames erupted from within them.
This was definitely not a Flame they cast themselves, but one that erupted from the magma within! Lin Xuan felt it too—a scorching Flame surged from inside him and began to madly burn his skin, his internal organs, and even his meridians!
Heat. Absolute heat!
Lin Xuan’s skin began to blacken—a clear sign he was being charred to a crisp. More critically, his internal organs and meridians were being incinerated with the same ferocity. Just like his skin, they were rapidly being burned to charcoal.
’Hold on!’
Lin Xuan directed his Phoenix Essence Blood to shield his meridians and internal organs, protecting the most vital parts of his body. It was all he could do to protect even that much.
The rest of his body was being relentlessly burned by the magma, and he could smell his own flesh scorching. This was the ultimate test of this trial: regardless of one’s power, no one could block the magma’s invasion. Instead, it initiated a complete tempering of the body.
Vast quantities of magma flowed in, intent on melting the body completely. Only by successfully defending one’s internal organs and meridians could one pass the trial. The rest of the body had to endure the most excruciating agony.
Lin Xuan’s expression was blank. This wasn’t the first time he had encountered such a scene, so he could still withstand the pain. All he could do now was endure, desperately holding on to the most important parts of his body while the rest was constantly being incinerated. This pain was an immense torment, but this was precisely the purpose of the trial—Phoenix Nirvana!
The most fundamental test of Phoenix Nirvana was physical rebirth! By protecting the body’s vital core and surviving this ordeal, one would welcome the birth of a far stronger Physique!