The trial concluded, and both the hawk demons and pigeons were collected by the Bodhisattva of Fragrant Elephants. Among them, two hawk demons wept particularly bitterly, accusing humans of being cunning and untrustworthy.

The Bodhisattva of Fragrant Elephants had no choice but to console the two hawk demons, explaining that they had encountered an extreme case and that not all humans thought like those two, urging them not to generalize this incident to all of humanity.

Jiang Li felt confident that his wisdom in the first two trials had surely earned him the favor of Manjushri Bodhisattva's legacy.

Bai Hongtu was equally assured that his innate understanding of human nature demonstrated in the trials would win him the legacy of mind connection.

"Such legacies are within our grasp," they both thought, brimming with pride.

"The third trial begins now. Life is beset with eight sufferings: birth, aging, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, enduring hatred, unfulfilled desires, and the inability to let go. Next, all of you will forget everything and experience these eight sufferings in a dream."

A cultivator inquired, "How will right and wrong be judged?"

The Bodhisattva of Fragrant Elephants, with prayer beads in hand and eyes closed in prayer, smiled serenely, "In the face of life's eight sufferings, there is no right or wrong. This trial is merely to see how each of you copes with these sufferings."

She bowed toward the sky, "I call upon the legacy of the Sleeping Arhat to cast the spell."

Responding to the Bodhisattva's call, the Secret Realm of All Beings manifested a thin apparition of the Sleeping Arhat in the air, a bare-chested figure lying on his side, his face indistinct.

As the apparition of the Sleeping Arhat's chest rose and fell, the cultivators began to feel drowsy, one by one falling into a dream.

***

Yuan Wuxing slowly awoke, his mind a fog, sensing he had forgotten something vital.

"Where am I?"

He found himself unable to stretch out his limbs, as if trapped within a cocoon.

Yet the cocoon was comfortable, with a warm aura nourishing his body.

"Innate energy?" A term popped into Yuan Wuxing's mind, one he himself didn't understand.

"I remember innate energy is produced by women when nurturing life..."

Thinking made Yuan Wuxing tired, and he drifted back to sleep, only to awaken after an unknown period.

"Wah—"

Yuan Wuxing burst into tears as he was born, the innate energy dissipating without a trace as he reached out with his tiny hands, unable to grasp it.

The murky energy of the mortal world enveloped him, making him feel uncomfortable and causing him to cry loudly.

As he grew, he adapted to the mortal energy and forgot the wonderful experience of being a fetus.

In this world, immortals were revered, a realm beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.

Born into a wealthy family, Yuan Wuxing wanted for nothing, yet he was not content.

"I've heard of cultivators who transcend the mundane world; I want to cultivate."

For some reason, Yuan Wuxing yearned for cultivation, perhaps because his needs were met, or maybe he enjoyed the feeling of becoming stronger, or it could have been something else entirely.

An immortal disciple tested Yuan Wuxing's spiritual roots and rejected him without mercy, "Five-element spiritual roots, the dregs of spiritual roots. Allowing you to cultivate would be a waste of spiritual energy. Be gone."

The immortal disciple threw Yuan Wuxing down the mountain, closed the door, and refused to see anyone else.

Undeterred, Yuan Wuxing sought other immortals, but the response was the same:

Five-element spiritual roots are unworthy of cultivation.

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Even cultivators gossiped behind his back, "No wonder your parents named you Yuan Wuxing; they must have known at birth that you were nothing but a waste with five-element spiritual roots."

Enraged, Yuan Wuxing confronted the mocking cultivator, who, with a flick of his sleeve, left Yuan Wuxing severely injured and to fend for himself.

Upon learning of this, Yuan Wuxing's elderly parents braved the rain to carry him down the mountain and sought the best doctor to save his life.

Yuan Wuxing's parents caught a chill from the rain and passed away, leaving him in deep regret for not spending more time with them in his pursuit of immortality.

Yuan Wuxing inherited the family fortune and, with a natural talent for business, multiplied the wealth several times over the years, becoming a renowned tycoon.

When immortals learned of this, they came down the mountain and told Yuan Wuxing that if he was willing to disperse his wealth and accumulate merit, they could ensure he would begin cultivating.

"With my talent, how far can I go on the path of cultivation?"

"With five-element spiritual roots, the lowest of the low, even if you start cultivating, you'll likely only reach the third level of Qi Refining in your lifetime, and advancing further would be difficult."

Yuan Wuxing faced a dilemma; he was unwilling to give up his fortune and equally reluctant to become a low-level cultivator.

In the end, he chose to keep his wealth and forgo cultivation.

He couldn't let go of a lifetime of riches.

Decades passed, and Yuan Wuxing fell gravely ill, incurable even by immortals.

Tormented by illness for ten years, exhausted in body and spirit, he survived, but at the cost of losing his senses, living a life worse than death.

Now old and feeble, he wished to continue managing his business but lacked the strength and clarity of thought, making many poor decisions and suffering great losses.

Yuan Wuxing knew it was because he had aged and become senile, unable to compare to his younger self.

The Yuan family's success was all thanks to the wise decisions he had made in his youth.

But now he was old and had no authority.

The decrepit Yuan Wuxing could not deter those coveting his family's wealth.

Fearing the loss of their assets to outsiders, the Yuan family members sidelined him and divided the wealth amongst themselves.

In the end, Yuan Wuxing was left penniless.

Blind and destitute, he wandered the streets, living in a daze, waiting for death.

"I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. Perhaps that's for the best," Yuan Wuxing thought, mocking himself.

As his end drew near, his consciousness grew increasingly dim.

With nothing left, his senses gone, and his mind clouded, Yuan Wuxing curled up, his fetal form merging with his current state.

Five-element spiritual roots, metal, wood, water, fire, earth, cultivation... The words that had troubled him all his life now circled in his mind, leading to reflection and sudden insight.

Elements, colors, elements, colors...

A nascent five-colored divine light appeared on Yuan Wuxing's fingertips, and with a gentle swipe, the material in the area vanished.

This swipe of five-colored divine light seemed to drain all of Yuan Wuxing's life force, and he passed away.

Passersby were astonished to see the ragged old man's body transform into a five-colored rainbow light and disappear.

Witnessing this, they knelt in reverence.

***

The Bodhisattva of Fragrant Elephants looked up as the legacy of the Peacock Majestic King stirred, seemingly favoring a particular candidate.

Following the Peacock Majestic King's legacy's movement, the Bodhisattva gazed at Yuan Wuxing, her face showing surprise: "In the eight sufferings of life, Yuan Wuxing's performance was mediocre in the first seven, but in the face of death, he felt no pain. Instead, he achieved great enlightenment, comprehending the nascent form of the five-colored divine light, and ultimately ascended in a rainbow transformation. Well done, well done."

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