A person’s innate desires are neither good nor evil in themselves, but they must be governed, measured, and tempered.

Indulging innate desires often leads to dire consequences.

Take hunger, for example.

Hunger instinctively drives people to seek sustenance. Some choose to steal from others, some deceive to reap benefits without effort, while others choose to labor and toil.

Hunger is not inherently evil, but plunder is a wicked act. Yet, tilling the soil and sowing seeds becomes a glorious and righteous path born from hunger.

Humans are born with both divine and demonic natures. They instinctively yearn for beauty and also possess a natural destructive impulse.

A single thought can shift the balance, turning good into evil and swapping the positions of gods and demons.

Therefore, a cage is needed to confine innate desires, preventing them from exceeding their bounds.

Taming these desires is the process of cultivating the mind.

It is said that one must still the restless ape, tether the wild horse, subdue the dragon and tiger upon an empty mountain.

The Daoist sect purifies the mind, the Confucian school establishes rites, the Buddhist order upholds precepts, the Legalist faction enacts laws, and the military strategists set decrees… all essentially create a cage of morality to imprison the “evil self.”

Jiang Wang recognized himself and did not shy away from his innate desires.

He admitted to moments of wicked thoughts arising, but they were ultimately restrained by morality and character.

He had witnessed the darkness of this world and understood the complexities of human nature, but he could still say with sincerity, “A single thought blossoms into flowers.”

And so, in this seemingly endless darkness, flowers truly bloomed.

The blossoms spread far and wide, and the darkness steadily retreated.

This was the first spring after the eternal night.

Flowers bloomed across the fields, and the darkness stopped at the edge of the sky.

Then, that familiar voice sounded.

“The Heart-Questioning Tribulation is extinguished.”

“Frost-covered hair, spring grass sprouts.”

Is there still spring after the eternal night, but by then, is youth already gone, and frost covers the hair when the spring grass grows?

A faint doubt flashed through his mind.

Jiang Wang was stunned for a moment before realizing he had just passed the Heart-Questioning Tribulation.

This tribulation was different from the previous ones. It seemed to pose no real threat, yet it was more terrifying than any before. It had occurred imperceptibly. Jiang Wang had willingly entered the tribulation, but while within it, he remained unaware.

Before, whether it was the Flying Snow Tribulation or the Overturning Sea Tribulation, no matter how difficult, he at least knew he was in a tribulation and should strive to cope. But the Heart-Questioning Tribulation was completely imperceptible, leaving one to die without knowing how.

Jiang Wang’s ability to pass through this tribulation unscathed was largely due to luck.

Firstly, he had already experienced a test of his Dao heart at the Ruins of the Withering Glory Courtyard, giving him some resistance to similar “heart-questioning” trials.

More importantly, Jiang Wang’s Dao heart was at its purest, most pristine, and most invulnerable at this moment.

Just before entering the tribulation, all of his negativity had been drawn out by Zhuang Chengqian, giving birth to a heart demon.

And this meant that the heart demon of his dark side had just been eliminated by Zhuang Chengqian.

At this moment, Jiang Wang’s Dao heart could be described as clear as glass, making him more fearless of “heart-questioning” than ever before!

It was purely coincidental that Zhuang Chengqian’s attack on Jiang Wang helped him safely pass this tribulation.

Amidst a field of flowers, Jiang Wang could clearly feel the severed source of his soul rapidly being replenished.

The feeling of lack deep within his soul finally dissipated. This sense of satisfaction, both physical and mental, was intoxicating.

Just as spring grass grows and spring flowers bloom after the eternal night, “flowers” were also blooming within his soul.

It was a vigorous and powerful growth, making his soul more resilient and robust.

If the previous tribulations had increased the quantity of his soul power, the Heart-Questioning Tribulation had improved the quality.

Using Soul-Concealing Serpents to visually represent it, he could still release around three thousand of them, but each serpent was ten times stronger than before.

Jiang Wang had no time to carefully experience his own transformation, nor did he have any inclination to observe the changes in the Red Makeup Mirror. After successfully passing the tribulation, he immediately left the mirror world and returned to the Sky Piercing Palace.

He intended to seize the opportunity before Zhuang Chengqian passed the Heart-Questioning Tribulation to erase his foundation in the Sky Piercing Palace and join the battle between the Sword Spirit of Everlasting Yearning and the Nether Candle, completely annihilating the Nether Candle!

This was the key to victory!

“Spring flowers bloom, autumn moon shines…”

A gentle and soft female voice sang.

The song was so pleasant, the voice so familiar.

Zhuang Chengqian sat casually on the ground, tilting his head slightly as he gazed quietly ahead.

Ahead was the only light in this endless darkness.

There stood a graceful figure in a white dress, with black hair cascading down her back.

She stood beside a weeping willow, seemingly unable to withstand the evening breeze.

Yet, her voice was captivating, making one feel intoxicated, as if in a dream.

Ignoring the Flying Snow Tribulation for now, Jiang Wang had clearly instructed Xiang Qian to supervise when his soul entered the mirror world for the second time.

Based on the known information, Zhuang Chengqian did not know Jiang Wang’s experiences in the mirror world, but he clearly knew two things. First, entering the mirror world was dangerous. Second, each time he emerged, Jiang Wang’s soul power would grow. From this, he could infer that the mirror world was related to the soul and might involve some kind of test targeting the soul.

Therefore, when he was pulled into the mirror world, he immediately used soul protection techniques to fortify his spirit.

But the Heart-Questioning Tribulation did not attack him. Instead, it acted as a mirror, reflecting his true self and revealing his deepest and most hidden regrets.

It seemed he had also fallen for it.

At this moment, watching that figure and listening to that song, he was entranced.

Who in this world has no regrets?

Who has not suffered, who has not had moments of sorrow?

Even the current True Person, a hero of his generation, cannot avoid having moments of introspection late at night, finding it difficult to look back.

“Spring flowers bloom, autumn moon shines. A touch of snow, so hard to bear. It is yearning that comes.”

The woman sang.

She sang—

“Bright light falls, reflected in the mirror. A hundred years of life and death, three lifetimes of mistakes. Who laughs at me?”

Her voice carried sweetness, sorrow, affection, and longing.

Zhuang Chengqian was momentarily stunned.

How many years had it been since he last heard this love song?

In his life, he did not regret betraying the Yong Kingdom and establishing himself. He did not regret breaking the secret agreements, disrupting the order of the Western Border, and introducing the influence of the Daoist sect. He did not regret all the exploitations, schemes, exchanges, and sacrifices.

From an unknown soldier, he had grown step by step into an invincible general. From a general, he had crossed the greatest threshold and become an emperor.

Some things had to be relinquished, and some choices had to be made.

At the time, the situation in the Western Border was one of encirclement by powerful forces. All resources had been divided up, and to obtain even a small amount required snatching it from others’ bowls. Establishing a new nation was extremely difficult.

Any misstep would have prevented him from establishing the Zhuang Kingdom.

He had walked this path with unwavering determination.

But there was only one thing, only one person, for whom he truly felt remorse.

He could not deny it, nor could he avoid facing it.

That person was before him.

That song was in his ears.

“Wanxi…” he murmured.

The more beautifully the woman sang, the more entranced he became.

The darkness deepened and grew heavier.

This ultimate dark mirror world seemed to assimilate Zhuang Chengqian into it.

Zhuang Chengqian’s feet disappeared first, dissolving into the darkness. Then his torso, then his arms.

He was gradually merging into this darkness.

The darkness slowly climbed upwards, reaching his neck, then his lower lip.

Finally.

Zhuang Chengqian opened his mouth.

“In this world, who can be without remorse? To overturn this body in the sea of suffering.”

He slowly savored these words.

Then he stood up.

Most of his body had already been dissolved.

But as he attempted to stand,

His torso, his feet, all reappeared.

It was as if he… had pulled himself back from the ultimate darkness of the mirror world!