Heaven Refining physique-Chapter 22: Touching the pillar

Jiang Hao really felt the pain of the spikes piercing his foot, and since it was burning hot, it was even more unbearable. He looked at his right foot, which he had just placed on the 60-meter mark.

No matter how gruesome his feet looked, he knew he could still use them. He was amazed by the reality of an illusion; after all, this was his first time inside an illusion.

He sighed and looked at the pillar again. The sudden intense pain of spikes piercing his foot had broken his concentration from the pillar, but it wouldn't stop him.

He moved again, and this time, he didn't even frown when his left foot was pierced since he was prepared.

The pain in his head also intensified, and the air he was breathing was flaming-hot right now. His whole lungs felt like they were on fire, but he still kept moving.

With every step he took, the pain increased. The spikes became thicker and hotter, and the flames from the pathway increased in height, covering his full legs by now. But he didn't flinch and kept moving.

How could mere pain make him bow? It wasn't able to do it before, and it wouldn't be able to now or in the future.

The disciples outside were all in shock right now because they thought he would back off after crossing 60 meters. But instead of stopping, he kept moving and had already reached the 80-meter mark.

Even Ming Yue had only reached 70 meters before backing off. She knew how painful it became at that point. Even though she knew that everything was illusory, she still wasn't able to move forward.

But Jiang Hao had already reached 80 meters and was still moving at the same pace as he was from the start.

She sighed internally. What strong willpower junior brother Jiang has. Even if I temper my will later, I might not be able to reach his current state.

There was only a single thought going through everyone's mind right now: Would he really reach the pillar? There was pin-drop silence in the crowd.

This test of will was created by the founder of the sect, and his strength was unmatched in his era. Nobody had ever reached the pillar, but this time, an unknown boy who was only 15 years of age might be able to do it.

If they told the other disciples of the sect who were not present here right now, they might not even believe it. In fact, they wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.

As they were thinking all these things, Jiang Hao had already crossed 90 meters. He was still moving at his usual pace, with calmness on his face.

The flames on the pathway had covered his body—he was burning alive right now. Even his lungs were burning as if he was breathing fire instead of air. The spikes had gotten so hot that they were white in color.

Jiang Hao was already numb to the pain. In his heart, everything was illusory, so it didn't deter him. He held onto his beliefs firmly. The pillar was already very close, so it would be over soon.

He kept moving and finally reached the 99-meter mark. This was the end, as the pillar was just one step away from him. He smiled, took the last step, and stood in front of the pillar. He gently lifted his right hand and placed his palm on it.

Everything vanished again. He returned to reality. All the pain and suffering disappeared from his senses. A shocking silence enveloped the whole testing area.

When he started his test, he had heard many voices—his senses were strong enough to hear them—but now, there was only pin-drop silence.

Even though he had achieved what no one had ever done before, he wasn't happy because this test also wasn't able to push him to his limits. He sighed, removed his hand from the pillar, and returned to the side of Elder Huan and Ming Yue.

"Junior Brother, you really are something. I will never be able to reach your heights of achievement."

"Senior Sister, you are just being humble right now."

Ming Yue just smiled when she heard that.

The others also came to their senses by now, but they still didn't want to believe what they had seen here. They all hated this guy, but could they even compare themselves to him?

Many disciples left in a hurry to spread this news to the inner sect. They were sure this would create a massive storm inside the sect.

The Mountain Sword Sect encourages both body and Qi cultivation. If one wants to cultivate the body, they need to have a strong will, as it is time-consuming and painful. Not many can follow through with it.

One more fact has been proven throughout the ages: a person with a strong will is far better than a genius with a weak will.

Soon, all the disciples dispersed to share the news in the sect.

In the testing area, only Huan Caiyi, Ming Yue, and Jiang Hao remained.

Huan Caiyi looked at Jiang Hao and sighed. This matter will really leave an unprecedented mark in history of this sect. Our sect already has a supreme genius, and now we have another one.

If other sects knew about this, they might become jealous and afraid of the Mountain Sword Sect. They would definitely try to eliminate Ming Yue and Jiang Hao now.

The Eastern Region is ruled by three top sects, and there is a delicate balance between them. But if one sect was set to rise, the other two would definitely join hands to suppress it.

What will come will come, I guess. All we have to do is protect them, and we have the strength to do so. Huan Caiyi looked at Jiang Hao and Ming Yue and thought internally.

"Jiang Hao, there is one more test left before you officially become part of the sect. Actually, it was supposed to be the first test when we recruit, but I don't have the item used for testing right now, so I moved it backward," Huan Caiyi said, looking at Jiang Hao.

"It is for testing the nature and grade of your spirit root. Follow me."

Jiang Hao nodded and followed her, along with Ming Yue. They climbed a little higher and reached a pavilion—a three-story building.

"Junior Brother, this is the outer sect treasury pavilion. Our sect can be divided into three areas: outer, inner, and core. Each area has its own treasury pavilion like this one.

The treasures available in the inner and core areas are far better than those in the outer sect treasury pavilion.

This is also why everyone wants to become an inner or core disciple.

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Testing is only one way to achieve that status, but there is another way: your cultivation level.

If you reach the Core Formation Realm, you will be directly promoted to the inner sect. And if you reach the Soul Sea Realm, you will become a core disciple."

Jiang Hao nodded in understanding. He had already read all the notes from Senior Hu Tian and knew how hard it was to reach the Core Formation Realm for ordinary cultivators.

It was said that only 1 in 100 cultivators in the world successfully form a core. It was one of the most difficult steps in a cultivator's journey to immortality.

While forming a core, if a cultivator doesn't have a good enough foundation and concentration, then they can only leave it to fate to succeed in forming of the core. If they are lucky, they will succeed, but if not, they will die.

Many cultivators don't even want to take that step out of fear of death. That is why strong willpower is the most important factor in the cultivation journey—because cultivation is a process of going against the Heavens itself. If you falter or hesitate even for a moment, you will be turned to ash.

Jiang Hao looked at the entrance of the building. There were two guards standing there. When they saw it was Elder Huan, they bowed respectfully.

"Bring out the Elemental Testing Stone."

The guards nodded, and one of them went inside the building. Not long after, he came back with a storage bag in his hands and took out a big transparent stone, placing it on the ground.

The stone was quite large, double the height of Jiang Hao. He was also curious about the grade and nature of his spirit root right now since he didn't have his original Earth-grade spiritual roots anymore.

Even a common-grade physique had a cultivation speed comparable to Earth-grade spiritual roots. Then wouldn't a Celestial-grade physique have a cultivation speed even better than Heaven-grade spiritual roots?

There was nothing mentioned about it in the notes he had. Maybe not much was known about Celestial-grade physiques. But he had no doubt it would definitely be better than a Heaven-grade spiritual root.

He doubted whether this elemental stone could even detect his real grade. As for his nature, he had some thoughts about it.

Whenever he refined a specific elemental-grade spirit, he felt that he gained a little affinity with that element. To verify it, he had done some tests in the past on his own.