yǒu le nà xiē shén mì de shēn yǐng dài lù ， liǎng dào fēn hún jiē xià lái dōu zài méi yù dào bèi sī liè de shì jiàn 。
有了那些神秘的身影带路，两道分魂接下来都再没遇到被撕裂的事件。
With the mysterious figures leading the way, the two split souls no longer encountered any incidents of being torn apart.
bìng qiě zài shān lù shàng xíng jìng de sù dù yě kuài le shù bèi ， zhōu wéi jǐng xiàng fēi sù xiàng hòu lüè guò 。
并且在山路上行径的速度也快了数倍，周围景象飞速向后略过。
And their speed on the mountain path increased several times over. The scenery around them flashed by rapidly.
wéi yī ràng lǐ fán gǎn dào yí huò de shì ， míng míng zì jǐ zuì chū chū xiàn de dì diǎn ， jiù shì dù è zōng shān jiǎo 。
唯一让李凡感到疑惑的是，明明自己最初出现的地点，就是渡厄宗山脚。
The only thing that puzzled Li Fan was that he had initially appeared at the foot of Duyao Sect's mountain. He hadn't ascended much, yet the descent seemed just as long and endless as the ascent.
gēn běn méi yǒu xiàng shàng pān dēng duō shǎo ， dàn xià shān de dào lù jiù gēn shàng shān yī yàng màn cháng 。
根本没有向上攀登多少，但下山的道路就跟上山一样漫长。
After an indeterminate amount of time, both split souls were suddenly enveloped in a flower of light, and those hazy figures vanished.
méi yǒu zhōng diǎn yì bān 。
没有终点一般。
As they looked around, their surroundings remained identical: a small courtyard with white walls and a half-closed red wooden door. The walls were stained with patches of green and red, the latter seeming like blood, while the former was moss growing out of cracks in the wall.
bù zhī guò le duō jiǔ 。
不知过了多久。
Li Fan's main body watched this scene playing out identically in his mind, feeling somewhat perplexed.
liǎng dào fēn hún yǎn qián jù shì yī huā ， guǒ xié zhe tā men de nà xiē mó hú shēn yǐng xiāo shī bú jiàn 。
两道分魂眼前俱是一花，裹挟着他们的那些模糊身影消失不见。
"Two Duyao Sects? What’s going on?"
ěr biān qīng jìng de tóng shí ， tā men cháo zhe zuǒ yòu wàng qù 。
耳边清静的同时，他们朝着左右望去。
Without much thought, he controlled the two split souls to push open the red wooden door and step into the courtyard. The door made no creaking sound despite its age, instead adding an eerie sense of unreality.
shēn biān de jǐng xiàng yī mú yī yàng ： bái sè wéi qiáng de xiǎo yuàn ， bàn yǎn zhe de hóng sè mù mén 。 qiáng shàng qīng hóng bān bān diǎn diǎn ， hóng sè de shì fǎng fú shì xuè 。 zhì yú nà qīng sè ， zé shì qiáng tǐ de liè xì zhōng shēng chū de qīng tái 。
身边的景象一模一样：白色围墙的小院，半掩着的红色木门。墙上青红斑斑点点，红色的是仿佛是血。至于那青色，则是墙体的裂隙中生出的青苔。
The moment they stepped into the courtyard, Li Fan felt a pair of hands grab his ankles tightly.
lǐ fán běn tǐ chù ， kàn zhe nǎo hǎi zhōng wán quán yí zhì de huà miàn ， yǒu xiē shén sè mò míng 。
李凡本体处，看着脑海中完全一致的画面，有些神色莫名。
This happened at both locations.
“ liǎng gè dù è zōng ？ zěn me huí shì ？”
“两个渡厄宗？怎么回事？”
But when he looked down, there was nothing to be seen. However, the chilling sensation from deep within his soul was undeniable.
méi yǒu sī kǎo tài jiǔ ， kòng zhì zhe liǎng dào fēn hún tuī kāi hóng sè mù mén ， zǒu jìn xiǎo yuàn zhī zhōng 。
没有思考太久，控制着两道分魂推开红色木门，走进小院之中。
"This time I must definitely demand compensation from Heavenly Xuan Mirror. He didn't mention this Duyao Sect being so strange."
hóng mén méi yǒu yīn wèi nián jiǔ shī xiū ér fā chū gē zhī de shēng xiǎng ， fǎn ér qiāo wú shēng xī 、 dài lái yī sī bù zhēn shí de gǎn jué 。
红门没有因为年久失修而发出咯吱的声响，反而悄无声息、带来一丝不真实的感觉。
The thought flashed through his mind as the split souls ignored the strange sensations and continued exploring deeper into the courtyard.
zǒu jìn yuàn zi lǐ de shùn jiān ， lǐ fán zhǐ gǎn dào yǒu yī shuāng shǒu měng dì zhuā zhù le zì jǐ de jiǎo huái 。
走进院子里的瞬间，李凡只感到有一双手猛地抓住了自己的脚踝。
The central hall's door remained locked, unable to be opened. Only two stone doors on either side led who knew where.
liǎng chù dì diǎn jù shì rú cǐ 。
两处地点俱是如此。
Both scenes were identical for the split souls.
rán ér dī tóu kàn shí ， què shén me dōu méi kàn dào 。 dàn yuán zì shén hún shēn chù de yīn sēn gǎn shòu ， què shì zuò bù liǎo jiǎ de 。
然而低头看时，却什么都没看到。但源自神魂深处的阴森感受，却是作不了假的。
"Interesting," Li Fan's eyes flickered.
“ zhè cì yí dìng yào hěn hěn qiāo tiān xuán jìng yī bǐ 。 tā kě gēn běn méi yǒu tí qǐ guò ， zhè dù è zōng rú cǐ guǐ yì 。”
“这次一定要狠狠敲天玄镜一笔。他可根本没有提起过，这渡厄宗如此诡异。”
He tried attacking the central hall first but found that even when it was destroyed and instantly restored, he couldn't make any lasting changes.
nǎo hǎi zhōng zhè ge niàn tou yī shǎn ér shì ， liǎng dào fēn hún bù qù guǎn shēn xià chuán lái de yì yàng gǎn ， jì xù cháo zhe yuàn luò shēn chù tàn suǒ 。
脑海中这个念头一闪而逝，两道分魂不去管身下传来的异样感，继续朝着院落深处探索。
Deciding to explore both stone doors separately, each split soul entered one of them. The scene shifted rapidly.
zhōng yāng dà diàn mén fēi jǐn suǒ ， wú fǎ dǎ kāi 。
中央大殿门扉紧锁，无法打开。
What met Li Fan’s gaze upon regaining clarity was still the same courtyard layout!
zhǐ yǒu zuǒ yòu gè yī dào shí mén ， bù zhī tōng xiàng hé chù 。
只有左右各一道石门，不知通向何处。
The two stone doors stood side by side, while the central hall's door remained locked!
liǎng dào fēn shēn suǒ chù de chǎng jǐng jù shì rú cǐ 。
两道分身所处的场景俱是如此。
"What..."
“ yǒu yì si 。” lǐ fán mù guāng shǎn dòng 。
“有意思。”李凡目光闪动。
With no way back, he had to continue exploring. After some thought, Li Fan made a decision. The split souls began splitting into four, then eight, sixteen, and so on.
xiān shì zhe cháo zhōng yāng dà diàn fā dòng gōng jī ， dàn jí biàn dà diàn bèi huǐ 、 shùn xī zhī hòu ， yòu chóng xīn huī fù yuán yàng 。
先试着朝中央大殿发动攻击，但即便大殿被毁、瞬息之后，又重新恢复原样。
Entering Duyao Sect with just one soul, after splitting into a thousand and twenty-four individuals, Li Fan found himself unable to divide further.
lǐ fán yú shì fēn bié ràng liǎng dào fēn hún ， fēn bié zǒu jìn yī zuǒ yī yòu shí mén 。
李凡于是分别让两道分魂，分别走进一左一右石门。
Looking at the stone doors beside him, he knew his initial exploration had failed.
yǎn qián huà miàn yī zhèn shǎn dòng 。
眼前画面一阵闪动。
"Did I take the wrong path or fall into some trap?"
dāng lǐ fán kàn qīng le zhōu zāo chǎng jǐng shí ， bù yóu yǒu xiē è rán 。
当李凡看清了周遭场景时，不由有些愕然。
"Is this Duyao Sect's test?"
yīn wèi shí mén zhī hòu ， hè rán shì gēn zhī qián yuàn luò zhōng yī mú yī yàng de jǐng xiàng ！
因为石门之后，赫然是跟之前院落中一模一样的景象！
Li Fan pondered for a moment before cutting off nearly a third of his soul. Even with the support from the Boundless Yin-Yang Technique, he felt dizzy.
yī jiù shì zuǒ yòu shí mén bìng liè ， zhōng jiān dà diàn mén fēi jǐn suǒ ！
依旧是左右石门并列，中间大殿门扉紧锁！
This third of his soul was different—it contained a large amount of extracted Five Elements power, enough to sustain multiple divisions.
“ zhè ……”
“这……”
"Go," watching his soul vanish into the void, Li Fan quickly recovered and continued checking the images sent by his split soul.
huí qù le lù yǐ jīng xiāo shī ， zhǐ yǒu jì xù xiàng qián tàn suǒ 。
回去了路已经消失，只有继续向前探索。
Just like before, his soul entered Duyao Sect. It was torn apart again, entering different courtyards.
lǐ fán zài sī cǔn piàn kè zhī hòu ， zuò chū le jué dìng 。 liǎng dào fēn hún zài yī zhèn rú dòng hòu ， yòu gè zì fēn chéng le liǎng gè gè tǐ 。
李凡在思忖片刻之后，做出了决定。两道分魂在一阵蠕动后，又各自分成了两个个体。
To his surprise, he didn't find any of his previous split souls. They seemed to have entered separate spaces.
yí gè sì gè fēn hún ， fēn bié cháo zhe bù tóng de shí mén zǒu jìn qù 。
一个四个分魂，分别朝着不同的石门走进去。
Li Fan's mind stirred as he ordered all one thousand and twenty-four split souls to self-destruct simultaneously.
huà miàn jì xù biàn huàn 。
画面继续变换。
The moment the images vanished, the soul deep within Duyao Sect remained unchanged.
bù chū suǒ liào ， rù mù suǒ jí ， réng rán shì gēn cǐ qián yī yàng de jǐng xiàng 。
不出所料，入目所及，仍然是跟此前一样的景象。
"Is perception isolated?"
lǐ fán zhòu zhe méi tóu ， jì xù fēn gē zì jǐ shén hún 。
李凡皱着眉头，继续分割自己神魂。
"Not surprising for an ancient top ten Immortal Sect."
bā dào fēn hún ， huǎn huǎn piāo rù shí mén dāng zhōng 。
八道分魂，缓缓飘入石门当中。
Not having reached a realm where he could ignore the setup here, Li Fan had no choice but to follow their rules. With the endless vitality of his soul supporting him this time, he continued forward.
shí liù 、 sān shí èr 、 liù shí sì 、 yì bǎi èr shí bā ……
十六、三十二、六十四、一百二十八……
Every time entering a courtyard, he split into two and explored separately. This process repeated for seventy-two times.
jìn rù dù è zōng tàn suǒ de bì jìng zhǐ shì lǐ fán de yī dào fēn hún ， zài fēn chū yī qiān líng èr shí sì dào gè tǐ zhī hòu ， zhōng yú zài wú lì jì xù fēn gē xià qù 。
进入渡厄宗探索的毕竟只是李凡的一道分魂，在分出一千零二十四道个体之后，终于再无力继续分割下去。
Outside Duyao Sect, the Daoist Stone in Li Fan's mind emitted unprecedentedly bright light.
kàn zhe fēn hún shēn biān de zuǒ yòu mén fēi ， lǐ fán zhī dào chū cì de tàn suǒ shì shī bài le 。
看着分魂身边的左右门扉，李凡知道初次的探索是失败了。
Countless identical scenes lined up within it.
“ shì zǒu cuò le fāng xiàng ， jìn rù le xiàn jǐng zhī zhōng 。 hái shì ……”
“是走错了方向，进入了陷阱之中。还是……”
"Fortunately, these extremely similar scenes have reduced the processing burden. Otherwise..."
“ dù è zōng de kǎo yàn ？”
“渡厄宗的考验？”
Li Fan knew this was his limit. Splitting once more would still be bearable for his soul, but his main body would force him to cut off all sensory images, risking an overloaded mind.
lǐ fán chén yín piàn kè ， yòu qiē gē xià zì jǐ de jìn hū sān fēn zhī yī de shén hún 。
李凡沉吟片刻，又切割下自己的近乎三分之一的神魂。
Now, only a faint trace remained of those split souls.
jí biàn yǒu zhe wú jí yíng xū fǎ bǔ chōng ， lǐ fán yě gǎn dào yī zhèn xuàn yūn 。
即便有着无极盈虚法补充，李凡也感到一阵眩晕。
Almost invisible emptiness.
zhè sān fēn zhī yī shén hún gēn cǐ qián jiǎn dān de fēn hún bù yí yàng de shì ， tā qí nèi hái guǒ xié zhe dà liàng bèi chōu diào chū lái de wǔ xíng zhī lì 。
这三分之一神魂跟此前简单的分魂不一样的是，他其内还裹挟着大量被抽调出来的五行之力。
Without any power attached, even a common person's strike could dissipate them.
zú gòu zhī chí zhè shén hún wán chéng duō cì fēn gē 。
足够支持这神魂完成多次分割。
But they continued moving towards their respective entrances as instructed by Li Fan’s main body.
“ qù ba 。” kàn zhe shén hún xiāo shī zài xū wú jiàn xì lǐ ， lǐ fán yī biān jǐn kuài huī fù shāng shì ， yī biān jì xù chá kàn shén hún chuán lái de huà miàn 。
“去吧。”看着神魂消失在虚无间隙里，李凡一边尽快恢复伤势，一边继续查看神魂传来的画面。
More scenes emerged simultaneously, causing his thoughts to pause briefly.
gēn cǐ qián de zāo yù yī yàng ， hěn kuài shén hún jiù jìn rù dù è zōng zhōng 。
跟此前的遭遇一样，很快神魂就进入渡厄宗中。
Then...
zài cì bèi shén mì shēn yǐng sī liè ， jìn rù shàng xià bù tóng de xiǎo yuàn lǐ 。
再次被神秘身影撕裂，进入上下不同的小院里。
As if countless split souls were projecting downwards and converging into one point, the world spun around before they merged back together.
ràng lǐ fán yǒu xiē yì wài de shì ， què bìng méi yǒu zhǎo dào xiān qián jìn rù de nà xiē fēn hún 。
让李凡有些意外的是，却并没有找到先前进入的那些分魂。
After some time adjusting to a single scene, Li Fan squinted, surveying his surroundings. The courtyard he had seen many times remained, but there were no stone doors on either side of the wall.
sì hū jìn rù de shì gè zì bù tóng de kōng jiān 。
似乎进入的是各自不同的空间。
Looking at the central hall, Li Fan pondered deeply as he stepped forward and gently pushed open the door.
lǐ fán xīn zhōng yī dòng ， ràng nà yuán xiān yī qiān líng èr shí sì gè fēn hún qí qí zì bào 。
李凡心中一动，让那原先一千零二十四个分魂齐齐自爆。
In the darkness, a black dot appeared, absorbing all surrounding light before rapidly expelling it in a thousandfold burst. Scene after scene unfolded swiftly before his eyes.
gǎn yìng huà miàn xiāo shī de tóng shí ， shēn chù dù è zōng de shén hún què méi yǒu gǎn dào rèn hé de biàn huàn 。
感应画面消失的同时，深处渡厄宗的神魂却没有感到任何的变换。
"Tragedy is coming—both calamity and opportunity."
“ gé jué le gǎn zhī me 。”
“隔绝了感知么。”
"If we can successfully pass this trial, we shall be eternally unharmed..."
“ bù kuì wèi shàng gǔ shí dà xiān zōng 。”
“不愧为上古十大仙宗。”
"In an endless sea of possibilities, there does exist that chance."
hái méi yǒu dá dào néng gòu wú shì zhè lǐ bù zhì shǒu duàn de jìng jiè ， lǐ fán zhǐ dé àn zhào tā men de yóu xì guī zé jìn xíng tàn suǒ 。
还没有达到能够无视这里布置手段的境界，李凡只得按照他们的游戏规则进行探索。
"One must seek life amidst death."
zhè yī cì ， yǒu zhe shēng shēng bù xī de shén hún lì liàng zhī chí ， lǐ fán yī lù qián xíng 。
这一次，有着生生不息的神魂力量支持，李凡一路前行。
"Indeed, if Xuan Huang could survive the great calamity, we too could harness its power to transcend."
měi jìn rù yī cì xiǎo yuàn ， dōu fēn chū liǎng gè gè tǐ 、 fēn bié jìn xíng tàn suǒ 。
每进入一次小院，都分出两个个体、分别进行探索。
"So, let's start acting."
rú cǐ ， yī gòng chí xù le qī shí èr cì 。
如此，一共持续了七十二次。
...
dù è zōng wài ， lǐ fán shí hǎi zhōng de huà dào shí ， fā chū qián suǒ wèi yǒu de míng mèi guāng huá 。
渡厄宗外，李凡识海中的化道石，发出前所未有的明媚光华。
In the darkness, countless identical figures seemed to rapidly converse.
wú shù yī mú yī yàng de chǎng jǐng ， fēn liè zài huà dào shí zhōng 。
无数一模一样的场景，分列在化道石中。
As the scenes progressed, Li Fan was surprised to find all these figures transforming into his previously seen paper figures—those densely packed puppets filling the sky!
“ xìng hǎo zhè jí qí xiāng sì de jǐng xiàng ， jiǎn qīng le chǔ lǐ fù dān 。 fǒu zé ……”
“幸好这极其相似的景象，减轻了处理负担。否则……”
Li Fan's mind trembled as he tried to look further. Suddenly, the surrounding dark space began to shake violently.
lǐ fán zhī dào zhè yǐ jīng shì zì jǐ de jí xiàn le 。
李凡知道这已经是自己的极限了。
All the ethereal images vanished.
zài fēn liè yī cì ， shén hún hái néng zhī chēng 。
再分裂一次，神魂还能支撑。
When Li Fan could see again...
With the mysterious figures leading the way, the two split souls no longer encountered any incidents of being torn apart.
And their speed on the mountain path increased several times over. The scenery around them flashed by rapidly.
The only thing that puzzled Li Fan was that he had initially appeared at the foot of Duyao Sect's mountain. He hadn't ascended much, yet the descent seemed just as long and endless as the ascent.
After an indeterminate amount of time, both split souls were suddenly enveloped in a flower of light, and those hazy figures vanished.
As they looked around, their surroundings remained identical: a small courtyard with white walls and a half-closed red wooden door. The walls were stained with patches of green and red, the latter seeming like blood, while the former was moss growing out of cracks in the wall.
Li Fan's main body watched this scene playing out identically in his mind, feeling somewhat perplexed.
"Two Duyao Sects? What’s going on?"
Without much thought, he controlled the two split souls to push open the red wooden door and step into the courtyard. The door made no creaking sound despite its age, instead adding an eerie sense of unreality.
The moment they stepped into the courtyard, Li Fan felt a pair of hands grab his ankles tightly.
This happened at both locations.
But when he looked down, there was nothing to be seen. However, the chilling sensation from deep within his soul was undeniable.
"This time I must definitely demand compensation from Heavenly Xuan Mirror. He didn't mention this Duyao Sect being so strange."
The thought flashed through his mind as the split souls ignored the strange sensations and continued exploring deeper into the courtyard.
The central hall's door remained locked, unable to be opened. Only two stone doors on either side led who knew where.
Both scenes were identical for the split souls.
"Interesting," Li Fan's eyes flickered.
He tried attacking the central hall first but found that even when it was destroyed and instantly restored, he couldn't make any lasting changes.
Deciding to explore both stone doors separately, each split soul entered one of them. The scene shifted rapidly.
What met Li Fan’s gaze upon regaining clarity was still the same courtyard layout!
The two stone doors stood side by side, while the central hall's door remained locked!
"What..."
With no way back, he had to continue exploring. After some thought, Li Fan made a decision. The split souls began splitting into four, then eight, sixteen, and so on.
Entering Duyao Sect with just one soul, after splitting into a thousand and twenty-four individuals, Li Fan found himself unable to divide further.
Looking at the stone doors beside him, he knew his initial exploration had failed.
"Did I take the wrong path or fall into some trap?"
"Is this Duyao Sect's test?"
Li Fan pondered for a moment before cutting off nearly a third of his soul. Even with the support from the Boundless Yin-Yang Technique, he felt dizzy.
This third of his soul was different—it contained a large amount of extracted Five Elements power, enough to sustain multiple divisions.
"Go," watching his soul vanish into the void, Li Fan quickly recovered and continued checking the images sent by his split soul.
Just like before, his soul entered Duyao Sect. It was torn apart again, entering different courtyards.
To his surprise, he didn't find any of his previous split souls. They seemed to have entered separate spaces.
Li Fan's mind stirred as he ordered all one thousand and twenty-four split souls to self-destruct simultaneously.
The moment the images vanished, the soul deep within Duyao Sect remained unchanged.
"Is perception isolated?"
"Not surprising for an ancient top ten Immortal Sect."
Not having reached a realm where he could ignore the setup here, Li Fan had no choice but to follow their rules. With the endless vitality of his soul supporting him this time, he continued forward.
Every time entering a courtyard, he split into two and explored separately. This process repeated for seventy-two times.
Outside Duyao Sect, the Daoist Stone in Li Fan's mind emitted unprecedentedly bright light.
Countless identical scenes lined up within it.
"Fortunately, these extremely similar scenes have reduced the processing burden. Otherwise..."
Li Fan knew this was his limit. Splitting once more would still be bearable for his soul, but his main body would force him to cut off all sensory images, risking an overloaded mind.
Now, only a faint trace remained of those split souls.
Almost invisible emptiness.
Without any power attached, even a common person's strike could dissipate them.
But they continued moving towards their respective entrances as instructed by Li Fan’s main body.
More scenes emerged simultaneously, causing his thoughts to pause briefly.
Then...
As if countless split souls were projecting downwards and converging into one point, the world spun around before they merged back together.
After some time adjusting to a single scene, Li Fan squinted, surveying his surroundings. The courtyard he had seen many times remained, but there were no stone doors on either side of the wall.
Looking at the central hall, Li Fan pondered deeply as he stepped forward and gently pushed open the door.
In the darkness, a black dot appeared, absorbing all surrounding light before rapidly expelling it in a thousandfold burst. Scene after scene unfolded swiftly before his eyes.
"Tragedy is coming—both calamity and opportunity."
"If we can successfully pass this trial, we shall be eternally unharmed..."
"In an endless sea of possibilities, there does exist that chance."
"One must seek life amidst death."
"Indeed, if Xuan Huang could survive the great calamity, we too could harness its power to transcend."
"So, let's start acting."
...
In the darkness, countless identical figures seemed to rapidly converse.
As the scenes progressed, Li Fan was surprised to find all these figures transforming into his previously seen paper figures—those densely packed puppets filling the sky!
Li Fan's mind trembled as he tried to look further. Suddenly, the surrounding dark space began to shake violently.
All the ethereal images vanished.
When Li Fan could see again...