Constantly, there were thunderstorms striking.

Some were nailed to the Iron Pillar Mountain, bleeding to death; others were tied to copper pillars and burned to death.

Tongues were pulled out, bodies were cut into pieces and reassembled, forced by yaksha to crawl up knife mountains, endure the cold in icebergs, trampled to death by countless beasts like wild oxen...

"Boom!"

Zhao Xing lay on the ground, his limbs stretched out, and then a mountain fell from the sky, crushing him alive.

"Crack, crack, crack~~"

Chains hoisted the giant mountain up, and the yaksha looked at Zhao Xing, who was flattened like a sheet, rolled him up, and casually tossed him to a subordinate.

"How many times has it been?"

"Sir, it's been a billion times."

"Almost there, give him a soak, then take him to Master Wu Tian."

"Yes."

Zhao Xing: "..."

...

This nightmare seemed to have lasted for hundreds of years, as if experiencing eighteen layers of hell.

"Ah—"

Zhao Xing shrieked and suddenly sprang up.

Then he touched himself and found his body intact, immediately breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're awake." A gentle voice came from beside his ear.

Upon hearing the voice, Zhao Xing was suddenly startled and then began to observe his surroundings.

In the dim room, there was only an oil lamp.

Under the oil lamp sat a bald man wearing a striped vestment robe, resembling a cassock.

He was sitting cross-legged on a mat, smiling at Zhao Xing.

"Who are you?"

"Wu Tian."

The bald man introduced himself, graceful and handsome, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.

"Wu Tian?!"

Zhao Xing's eyes lit up, and the original muddled state seemed to clear up at the name Wu Tian.

Wu Tian, the very founder of the "Treasure Mountain Skill"!

He had heard Jing Yan mention that Wu Tian, due to swindling and bewitching, was captured by the strong of the Red Star Empire and imprisoned in the 'Erliang Slope' prison.

Unexpectedly, he actually got to meet him?

"There's a rumor that Wu Tian has a Great Divine Power called 'Five-Finger Mountain.' I wonder if there will be a chance to learn it." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

In his past life, he hadn't undertaken this task but had only heard about it from player friends who shared the task's method.

However, the current situation was entirely different from what he knew; after all, it was his first time meeting Wu Tian.

At this moment, Wu Tian's expression seemed to undergo some sort of change, eyes flashing as he assessed Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing was also sizing up Wu Tian.

[Name: Wu Tian]

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing was a bit stunned.

Even Emperor Level Reincarnation Realm, probe panels could still display names and realms.

Yet, using it on Wu Tian, he could only see the name, not the realm?

"Could it be he's in the God Realm? Impossible, if it were the God Realm, I wouldn't see any information, not even a name."

Zhao Xing had once, in Qing Yu Zi's palm, seen the silhouettes of five God Realm beings from afar but could get no information.

When the disparity in levels is too great, the panel's probing function fails.

"No, Wu Tian isn't God Realm, yet more than Reincarnation Realm... what's going on?"

Zhao Xing was somewhat surprised to find his panel tremble, and its probing frame spontaneously retract.

Afterward, he could see nothing more!

"Hiss..." Zhao Xing inwardly drew a cold breath.

"Why isn't the young friend speaking?" A slight smile appeared on Wu Tian's lips.

"Please forgive me, senior." Zhao Xing slowly changed his posture, knelt on the bed, and cupped his hands: "I seemed to have had a nightmare just now, not fully awake."

"All methods are but consciousness." Wu Tian began: "Everything in the world is shaped by the mind. Dreams are also outflows of the mind, motion in illusion by the mind."

Zhao Xing frowned slightly; why did Wu Tian speak so mystically?

"All laws are like dreams, illusions, shadows, echoes, dreams, transformations." Wu Tian continued. "Young friend must have recently gone through a severe tribulation, causing the heart to tremble, thus these illusionary dreams."

Zhao Xing immediately stood in respect.

Because Wu Tian was truly accurate, he really did go through a severe tribulation just now.

"Senior's words are like a divine elixir, enlightening and awakening."

Wu Tian lightly chuckled, suddenly changing the topic to something Zhao Xing couldn't comprehend: "Young friend's eyes are filled with the desire for evil techniques."

"Senior, what is the desire for evil techniques?"

"Desire arising from untainted methods is desire for good techniques." Wu Tian's voice was melodious, as if having Magic Power.

"Within the heart of desire is both desire for good techniques and desire for evil techniques."

"Desire stemming from selfish greed to become strong falls under the desire for evil techniques, often leading to cultivating evil techniques, and is prone to obsession."

"Cultivating with a good heart, the desire to become strong from benevolent thoughts, leading to righteous techniques, accumulating merit, this is desire for good techniques." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Both are desires arising in cultivation, hidden within the mind."

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said, "Why does senior say I have the desire for evil techniques?"

"Your heart for killing is too strong." Wu Tian's eyes were full of wisdom, seemingly able to see through human hearts: "You possess a rapid-forming Divine Skill, cherishing killing as a thought, am I right?"

Zhao Xing was taken aback, Wu Tian was truly formidable, merely through a few words discerned that he had cultivated the Will Divine Power "Slaughter Thought Blade"?

"Indeed, I have practiced it." Zhao Xing nodded. "And I have caused some slaughter, feeling my sins are profound."

"Could senior guide me in cultivating 'desire for good techniques'?"

He simply followed Wu Tian's words, completing the task without reservation.

Wu Tian smiled without speaking, just quietly gazing at Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing felt somewhat uneasy under his gaze.

As for how to undertake Wu Tian's task, he was completely clueless; even the Prophet's information was useless at this time, with both time and place being off.