"This is the trial of Non-Birth!

In this second trial, no matter what you see, you must not harbor a single thought. You must not speak, open your eyes, or use your senses until your mind is completely clear.

After one incense stick has burned, those who have remained free of thought will achieve liberation!" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

As soon as De Hou finished speaking, a tall Golden Buddha Statue appeared before everyone's eyes.

The Golden Statue stood over twenty feet tall—the image of a benevolent Buddha, seated upon a lotus throne and gazing forward.

It wore a Kasaya and held relics. Amid its compassion was an air of solemn dignity, an almost otherworldly presence.

Surrounding the statue were eleven black-gold Lotus Platforms, one for each person who had passed the first trial.

No one needed to be told; these platforms were for them to sit on.

With a silent understanding, everyone present chose a Lotus Platform and sat down in a cross-legged meditative posture, just as they would for their usual cultivation.

The moment they settled onto the platforms, the black-gold lotus beneath them merged with the Golden Body Illusions enveloping them, encasing each person completely.

"Keep your eyes closed. As long as the Golden Body remains intact, you will achieve liberation!"

At De Hou's instruction, everyone closed their eyes. At the same moment, a thin stick of incense appeared on the towering Buddha statue and began to burn.

The second trial had begun!

Elder Monk De Hou had been very clear: no speaking, no opening one's eyes, and no using one's senses.

Thus, after everyone closed their eyes, everything fell into a deathly silence.

'What does it mean to be "free of thought"? Does it mean I can't have any ideas at all? Not a single notion?'

This was the question Yang An pondered after closing his eyes.

But the trial had already started. He had no choice but to suppress all his thoughts and wait quietly.

Before him was only darkness. An unknown amount of time passed; it felt as if the concept of time had been erased here, its passage completely imperceptible.

Just as Yang An was starting to grow impatient, a tiny, crimson glimmer of fire appeared in the darkness, accompanied by a sharp laugh.

"My good disciple…"

A voice, one Yang An knew all too well, suddenly rang in his ears. But before he could hear the full sentence, everything came to an abrupt halt.

Yang An now stood in a bright, white, misty space. Before him was a tree.

'That's right, it's the Tree of Flesh and Blood!'

The instant that voice had appeared, Yang An had immersed his consciousness into the Tree of Flesh and Blood without a shred of hesitation, cutting off the vision he was about to see.

'Are you kidding me?!'

'If I see that old bastard Life Crane during the second trial, I'm doomed to fail, aren't I?'

'As Life Crane's former disciple…'

'No! The point is, Life Crane was once my master. No matter when or where I see that guy, it's impossible for me not to feel something, not to have a single thought.'

'Thankfully, the Tree of Flesh and Blood can completely separate my consciousness from reality, shielding me from outside influence.'

It was a good thing Yang An had prepared for this the moment he learned the details of the second trial.

That was why, the instant he heard Life Crane's voice—before the man himself could even appear—and just before a powerful emotional surge could rise within him, he had decisively bailed.

'If I had been even a second later, I would've been eliminated on the spot!'

He might very well have been the first of the eleven to be eliminated.

'This second trial is brutal!'

'Good thing I had an ace up my sleeve.'

Letting out a sigh of relief, Yang An focused his will, and his consciousness manipulated the surrounding white mist, forming it into a thin stick of incense.

He had tested it before: within the space of the Tree of Flesh and Blood, the flow of time was perfectly synchronized with reality.

So, whenever the incense stick before him burned out, he would know it was time to leave. All he had to do was wait.

...

In Yin Huan Hall, after watching the eleven figures enveloped by their Golden Body Illusions vanish one by one, only De Hou and the guide Monk remained.

And, of course, the more than seventy unconscious people still lying on the floor.

"Amitabha!"

Elder Monk De Hou softly chanted the Buddha's name.

In the darkness beyond the candlelight, countless shadows merged into the dense smoke that had enveloped the fallen.

A few breaths later, the smoke dispersed. Inside Yin Huan Hall, the people who had been lying on the floor had vanished without a trace.

"My Buddha is merciful!"

...