Zhou Leng thought to himself that he had been through this before, and said, "Disciple is ready."

"Good."

Master Wu looked at Zhou Leng with a newfound approval. Although his talent did not match the previous two, his dedication to the Martial Arts was a rare quality.

The cosmos is brimming with geniuses, yet those with a steadfast heart towards Martial Arts are few. Often, they reach a certain level of power only to decay and fall, becoming a mere sigh in the universe.

"Follow me."

Master Wu walked over, tapping Zhou Leng's shoulder with his dragon-headed cane.

The two disappeared within the Innate Pavilion.

A flash before Zhou Leng's eyes, and he looked around.

Blood-red clouds rolled in the sky; fierce winds howled from all sides; the earth was covered in blood.

The ground was littered with countless bones.

In the distance, mountains undulated, covered with strange grasses.

Master Wu said, "Bitter Purgatory consists of the Nine Sufferings. The further you advance, the deeper the pain. Since you've experienced the Chaos God's Ode, the will test in this Bitter Purgatory will be replaced by the Ode."

"Thank you, Master." Zhou Leng did not expect to have additional gains upon entering the Bitter Purgatory.

"No releasing True Qi, no dodging. Remove your coat, including shoes and hat, and proceed forward. I will follow behind. If you cannot rise or give up, the trial ends."

Zhou Leng looked ahead, removed his coat, clad only in shorts, and barefoot, started to walk forward.

After a few steps, he felt a slight discomfort underfoot.

"The first suffering, Sand Blades. However... given your Giant Body of Wonders, and reaching your current limit on the Flying Moon Map, the sand blades can't do anything to you."

Zhou Leng looked down and saw that the sand on the ground indeed differed, appearing as countless tiny curved blades.

He walked briskly, and soon, a faint green mist rose ahead.

"The second suffering, Erosion Mist. Hmm... seems it can't affect you either." Master Wu suddenly looked intently at Zhou Leng's back.

He suddenly realized Zhou Leng might actually pass the Bitter Purgatory.

Since the establishment and decline of the Ancient River Sect, over millions of years, under the Innate level, fewer than ten have passed the Bitter Purgatory.

If he truly became an Inner Sect disciple through the Bitter Purgatory, like Song Juesi, he would gain a sect position.

Moreover, passing the Bitter Purgatory itself brings sect rewards.

Zhou Leng walked into the Erosion Mist; the sand blades were still there, and on his skin's surface, how to describe it...

The light caress of sand and dust.

Looking closely, the green mist fell upon him, unable to harm the dual strength of the Giant Body of Wonders and the Dwarf's Steel Skin.

At this moment, a peculiar sound emanated from the sky.

"The third suffering, Chaos God's Ode."

Thud... Thud... Thud thud thud...

The familiar first notes of the Chaos God's Ode began to play.

Slowly, Zhou Leng's body parts resonated with the Ode.

The last time, it was unbearable for him.

But now, he felt nothing but comfort, just comfort.

A large amount of Divine Text spun in his brain, faster and faster.

The Chaos God's Ode was like a Divine Text accelerator, continuously enhancing understanding of the Divine Text.

Master Wu watched Zhou Leng pass through the Chaos God's Ode without a change in his expression, pondering.

"Perhaps this boy truly has a special Divine Text talent and could become a Divine Rune Master in the future."

Zhou Leng felt the first three sufferings were a bit weak, so he quickened his pace.

After a long walk, the sand blades beneath his feet turned into white ice-like sand blades, the temperature plummeted, and the poisonous mist remained.

"The fourth suffering, Cold Thoughts."

"This suffering is unique, as it erodes both body and will simultaneously and intensifies with time."

Zhou Leng asked, "Should I accelerate, then?"

"But some sufferings intensify as you speed up."

"I'll try."

With that, Zhou Leng took large strides, speeding up into a run.

After a while, Master Wu's eye twitched.

The current cold thoughts were already extremely cold, yet Zhou Leng was beginning to sweat from exertion.

Not long after, the sound of clanging arose.

Out of nowhere, transparent weapons appeared all around, attacking at a speed Zhou Leng could not evade.

"The fifth suffering, Illusory Weapons."

Blades, spears, swords, halberds...

The weapons that struck only slightly hindered Zhou Leng's movements.

But soon, a three-meter-long giant crossbow arrow came crashing in, and Zhou Leng quickly blocked it.

Bam...

Zhou Leng's arm was hit by the arrowhead, flesh indented, leaving a clear meat pit.

The skin remained unbroken.

Master Wu said, "You may use Qi Manipulation for healing, but do not release defensive Qi."

Zhou Leng circulated his Qi Blood, the powerful Qi Blood micro-repairing, making the meat pit quickly vanish.

Crash...

A transparent falling rock flew in, a block with sides exceeding three meters, weighing over 50 tons, flying at high speed.

It was like a six-axle truck loaded with cargo, crashing head-on.

Zhou Leng could only block, not evade or use clever force, forcibly catching it with his hands.

Zhou Leng's whole body was knocked into the air.

The rock fell, Zhou Leng's arms went numb.

Zhou Leng endured all kinds of siege weapons, continuing to run.

The scene changed before him, a gust of wind blew.

Swoosh swoosh...

A dense barrage of breaking wind sounds attacked.

"The sixth suffering, Wind Blades."

Invisible wind blades swept across, splitting Zhou Leng's skin into one-centimeter-deep wounds.

In a moment, endless wind blades swept over.

Every second, over ten wounds opened on Zhou Leng's body.

The blossom of pain unfurled in the myriad of wounds.

Zhou Leng showed no expression, continuing forward.

Master Wu nodded.

A few more steps, and the sound of the Chaos God's Ode in the sky suddenly changed.

Upon the first note, the second note appeared.

Zhou Leng, having long experienced this, silently kept moving forward.

A mountain lay ahead.

Zhou Leng ran up the hill, but after just three steps, a long spear pierced through the air, with a thud, penetrating through Zhou's abdomen and flying out from his back.

The intense pain spread throughout his body.

Zhou Leng staggered, looking at the two-finger-wide bloody hole in his abdomen, using Qi manipulation to stop the bleeding.

"The seventh torment, Hill Spear. From now on, put away your disdain."

Thud...

A second long spear appeared, piercing through Zhou Leng's left shoulder, creating a new big hole.

No matter how strong Zhou Leng's body was, in front of the long spear, it was like paper.

Zhou Leng's expression became grave.

The damage caused by this seventh torment alone exceeded the sum of the previous six torments.

Thud...

Zhou Leng ran at high speed, with spears flying towards him incessantly.

Abdomen, shoulder, chest, cheek, leg, hip, palm…

Aside from the dantian, heart, lungs, brain, and leg bones, Zhou Leng found new holes appearing one after another on other parts of his body.

Before long, Zhou Leng's arms hung down, swaying like willow branches.

His arms, pierced with more than ten large holes, were completely rendered useless.

With the skin's protection gone, powers like Erosion Mist and wind blades began to ravage his body.

In just a moment, Zhou Leng was a bloody mess, his whole skin seemingly stripped away, revealing flesh and bone.

From beginning to end, Zhou Leng did not scream even once.

Master Wu watched Zhou Leng in surprise, his eyes full of doubt.

"How is it possible... a child from a primitive civilization, how can he endure such intense pain?"

"This kind of pain cannot be alleviated by Martial Arts Will or a strong body alone, how is he doing it?"

While Master Wu was puzzled, a gigantic heart suddenly appeared in the sky, stretching for a thousand miles.

The heart emitted an indescribable pressure, enveloping the entire Bitter Purgatory.

That power, like a scorching fire with weight, pressed down.

Zhou Leng felt his spirit and body being crushed by a substantive force, a nameless panic rising in his heart.

At that instant, it felt as if everything about himself was wrong, everything was humble, everything was sinful, everything was inferior…

That invisible power, like a supreme divine spirit or an embodiment of authority and law, negated Zhou Leng from all aspects.

Zhou Leng, his body already severely injured, his legs buckled, and he fell to the ground.

"The eighth torment, Divine Might."

Master Wu sighed softly.

"None who are struck down by Divine Might can stand again."

"Because this is the power of the Void God. A heart of a peak Void God is far superior to the sun."

"This level of spiritual pressure, let alone a child, even a Grandmaster would fall into endless terror if careless..."

Zhou Leng first knelt, then stood up, moving quickly under the intense Divine Might.

"Hmm?"

Master Wu found it hard to believe.

What right does a disciple below Innate level have to resist Divine Might?

The Three Sons of Ancient River could, but they were personally guided by the Sect Leader, having consumed countless Stellar Treasures, and undergone multiple trials.

What right does a disciple of a primitive civilization have?

The Divine Might, like tangible waves, crashed onto the heavens and earth.

Zhou Leng kept striding forward.

His body swayed, his steps staggered, his eyes glazed, his head bowed, his spirit on the verge of collapse.

Still, he continued forward.

Master Wu quietly followed behind Zhou Leng.

The heart of Divine Might in the sky kept exuding intense pressure, never ceasing.

The Chaos God's Ode began its third note.

In the Ancient Dwarf King's Treasure, Zhou Leng only heard the second note.

Zhou Leng walked onto the burning ground.

"The ninth torment, Red Lotus."

After speaking, Master Wu let out a soft sigh, the Red Lotus Karmic Fire not only burns the body but also scorches the spirit.

Though the Red Lotus Karmic Fire here wasn't as powerful as the real one, it was still enough to incinerate Zhou Leng's body and Martial Arts Will.

Master Wu prepared himself, ready to end the Bitter Purgatory the moment Zhou Leng couldn't hold on.

Zhou Leng took a step into the waist-deep Red Lotus Karmic Fire.

Sizzle…

The tongues of fire, like a swarm of snakes, licked all the wounds on his body, the wounds blackened, cracking open.

From the neck down, Zhou Leng was pitch black and his body cracked all over.

Zhou Leng's steps became increasingly slow, his body's swaying became more pronounced.

Master Wu waited quietly, waiting for the moment the Red Lotus Karmic Fire severely injured Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng did not stop.

Staggering forward, through all sufferings, heading towards the sea of fire.

Body moving like a soulless shell, advancing, advancing, constantly advancing.

Until he passed through the last flame, still moving forward.

All nine torments were dispersed, the flames disappearing.

"You… have passed through Bitter Purgatory." Master Wu stated.

Yet Zhou Leng seemed not to hear, his body continuing to move forward, forward.

Master Wu's figure flashed, appearing before Zhou Leng, looking at him.

Zhou Leng lowered his head, eyes closed, completely unconscious.

His body still moving forward.

His Martial Arts Will burning.

"Impressive..."

Master Wu let out a long sigh, waving the dragon-headed cane, the sky cracked open, and a drop of sparkling star-lit liquid descended, falling onto Zhou Leng's head.

Master Wu held the cane horizontally, blocking Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng limply collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

The brilliant starlight spread rapidly within Zhou Leng's body.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Leng was enveloped in rich starlight.

Starlight merged with flesh and blood, reconstructing the body at a visible speed.

How powerful was the brilliant star-lit liquid, using less than one percent of its strength, it restored Zhou Leng to his original state, even stronger than before.

As the starlight contracted, just as it was about to fly away, suddenly, a new starlight emerged from Zhou Leng's body.

The new starlight, like a greedy diner, voraciously devoured the star-lit liquid.

In the end, only half of the star-lit liquid escaped, the other half consumed by the new starlight from the body.

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