Ding!
<You have successfully protected the mortals for 24 hours>
After receiving this notification, Yuan felt the weight on his body disappear, causing him to look up.
The golden temple that had suddenly disappeared, replaced by a glowing orb of light that slowly approached Yuan’s forehead.
Yuan didn’t reject the light and allowed it to enter him, and more memories began flowing inside his mind like a gush of water at a broken dam.
However, he didn’t have the time to indulge in these memories, as the scenery had changed back to its original background.
“Congratulations on passing your third trial, Master. You have an hour to rest before we start the next trial. Do you wish to rest or continue?” Tian’er’s calm voice resounded after the trial ended.
“Yes, I want to rest. I will need all the time I can get after that trial…” Yuan immediately sat down and began cultivating with his body still soaked in sweat.
While he cultivated, a gentle breeze would blow around Yuan, magically cleaning his sweat from his body and his clothes.
An hour later, Yuan stood up and began making his way towards the next trial.
“Welcome to your fourth and final trial, Master.”
“Did I just hear ‘final’ trial?” Yuan asked for confirmation.
“That’s correct. If you pass this one, you will get to ascend to the next realm.” Tian’er responded.
“Then what are you waiting for? Let’s get this trial started!”
The scenery changed a moment later.
Yuan looked around after the scenery finished changing, and he appeared to be in some sort of empty field.
However, this empty field felt very familiar for some reason, almost as though he’d been there before.
“That place is…”
Inside the spectators’ room, both Meixiu and Chu Liuxiang covered their mouth in shock when they saw the scenery, especially when they saw the building standing right behind Yuan.
“What is my trial this time?” Yuan asked as he looked around.
It was at this moment he realized that there was a building behind him, but his face and body froze like a stone statue when he saw this building— this temple.
“This place is… impossible…”
He stared at the temple in a daze.
The temple he was staring at resembled the Six Spiritual Families’ Ancestor’ Tomb in the Jaded Garden. No, it was exactly the same.
“For the fourth trial, you will need to defeat ‘your’ demon, Master.”
Ding!
<You have started your fourth trial in the Stairway to Heaven!>
<You must defeat the demon within your body!>
<Pass the fourth trial to receive a reward!>
“I have to defeat a demon for this trial…?” Yuan frowned, feeling obnoxious about the situation.
“Aaaaaaah! Help! Yuan! Help me!”
A voice that Yuan immediately recognized suddenly resounded, and his body trembled when he heard it.
“Azure?!”
And without hesitation, he began running towards the voice.
He ran and ran… Just like when he was chasing after the demon at the Jaded Garden.
As he traveled, Yuan noticed the buildings and sceneries there resembled the Jaded Garden.
“No… This is the Jaded Garden! But how?! Did the Stairway to Heaven take this place out of my memories just for this trial?!”
After running for about half an hour, Yuan arrived at the Immortal Caves, feeling as though he was reenacting his past.
And sure enough, when he arrived at the scene, he could see a red-skinned human figure standing right in front of a beautiful young lady who had her eyes closed.
However, this beautiful young lady looked very pale, and there was a hole in her chest.
“Yuan… Are you there…? My body feels cold… Help me…”
The demon turned to look at Yuan and smiled, “Once again, you have failed to protect her.”
Hearing the demon’s mockery, Yuan immediately erupted with anger and killing intent.
“I did not have the power to personally deal with you before, but things are different now!” Yuan withdrew the Empyrean Overlord and rushed at the demon.
Whoosh!
Yuan quickly defeated the demon in a single strike— with the Demon Sealing Strike. It had ended so quickly that even Yuan was surprised by how easy it was to defeat the demon.
“Different? There’s nothing different about this. You managed to kill me, so what? Your little girlfriend is still dead. It’s the same as last time— exactly the same. Hahaha!” The demon laughed as its body disintegrated until nothing of it was left.
Yuan turned his focus onto Azure after killing the demon, but her body was nowhere to be seen.
“Azure?”
Yuan blinked his eyes in a dazed manner. However, when he reopened his eyes, his scenery had changed.
He was no longer in the Immortal Caves. Instead, he had returned to the empty field right outside the Ancestors’ Tomb.
“W-What happened? Why am I—”
“Aaaaah! Yuan! Please help me! There’s a demon here!”
Before he could collect his thoughts, Yuan heard Azure’s voice screaming for his help, and once again, he began running towards the voice, returning to the Immortal Caves half an hour later.
And sure enough, the demon was there, as well as Azure, who had a hole in her chest.
“Yuan… You broke your promise to me again for the third time…” Azure mumbled those words before collapsing onto the ground.
“Aaaaah!”
Yuan released his anger out on the demon, killing it a moment later.
However, after defeating the demon, Yuan found himself back at the Ancestors’ Tomb, almost as though he’d traveled back in time, repeating his most traumatic event over and over again.
And no matter how many times he was sent back to the Ancestors’ Tomb, Yuan would return to the Immortal Caves to witness the demon killing Azure.
Ten… twenty… fifty times…
Yuan had lost count of how many times he’d repeated this tragedy, but he did not stop, and he continued to return to the Immortal Caves, hoping that he’d be able to save her in time even once.
Unfortunately, the Stairway to Heaven did not grant him that wish, and it continued to torture Yuan’s soul in an never-ending cycle where he’s forced to watch Azure die by the demon’s hands while he was only a few moments away from being able to save her.