Don't rush me in the comments! I'm currently identifying a primordial saint.

Chapter 229 The Trial of the Qilin God: Obtain the Qilin God Statue!

The Qilin Divine Shadow hovered in mid-air, radiating a gentle golden light.

The golden light was not dazzling, but it inspired awe, as if one were facing not the divine image of a Qilin, but the purest source of auspiciousness in the world.

"You want to take my statue away?" The voice of the Qilin Divine Shadow was calm as still water, yet carried an undeniable majesty. "You must pass three tests."

Su Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he respectfully said, "Please enlighten me, Senior Qilin."

The Qilin's divine form slowly said, "The first test is to assess your character. The Qilin is a benevolent beast and cannot be obtained by an immoral person. You must answer two questions for me within the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn."

As soon as he finished speaking, two incense sticks appeared out of thin air in front of the Qilin Divine Shadow, the incense sticks lit automatically, and wisps of green smoke rose up.

Before Su Fan could react, the Qilin Divine Shadow's Heart-Questioning Game had already begun!

"My first question," the Qilin Divine Shadow stared directly at Su Fan, "is this: if you obtain my divine statue and awaken it, and then evil people wreak havoc on the world, how will you deal with it?"

Su Fan pondered for a moment, then said seriously:

"If it is a minor evil, one should persuade the person to correct their mistake; if it is a major evil, one should restrain them by force; if the evil is so great that it harms the innocent..."

"He should be executed!"

"Oh?"

A strange light flashed in the eyes of the Qilin Divine Shadow.

"The Qilin dislikes killing, are you aware of that?"

Su Fan nodded and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I know, but the Qilin is an auspicious creature and should protect the kind."

"To be merciful to the wicked is to be cruel to the good. I believe that a benevolent person is not one who does not kill, but one who kills those who deserve to be killed and saves those who deserve to be saved."

The Qilin Divine Shadow remained silent for a moment before the first incense stick burned out.

"My second question," the Qilin Divine Shadow continued, "is that if one day China were to clash with another country, and the other side also had a just cause, what would you do?"

This is a more pointed question.

Su Fan took a deep breath: "First, we must distinguish right from wrong. If China is wrong, we will correct it; if the other side is unreasonable, we will fight back. But in any case, I will do my best to prevent innocent civilians from suffering the ravages of war."

"What if it can't be avoided?"

Su Fan's eyes were firm.

"Then let's fight! Defending our homeland is the duty of every Chinese descendant."

"If others wish for the destruction of China, I will first destroy their nation!"

Su Fan's eyes revealed a fierce look.

That's what Japan is all about!

The second incense stick burned out.

Two incense sticks burned, two questions were answered, and then everything was finished.

The Qilin Divine Shadow remained silent for a long time, then suddenly let out a long sigh:

"good!"

As soon as the word was uttered, Su Fan felt a lightness throughout his body, and his divine power began to circulate inexplicably.

Then Su Fan felt all the divine power in Qilin Valley converge on him, and his strength directly broke through to the middle level of the fourth rank.

Su Fan had been busy with other things and hadn't cultivated much. He thought it would take a long time to break through to the intermediate level of the fourth rank, but he didn't expect to break through directly because of the first test.

A smile appeared on Su Fan's face.

"Thank you so much, senior!"

Qilin nodded and continued:

"You've passed the first test. You are of pure heart, know benevolence and righteousness, and know when to advance and when to retreat. Although you are a little immature, your merits outweigh your flaws."

Su Fan bowed again and said, "Thank you, senior."

The Qilin Divine Shadow nodded and continued, "However... having the willpower alone is not enough. The second test is to assess strength."

After saying that, the Qilin Divine Shadow raised its front hoof and gently stomped the ground.

"Thump—"

The entire open space shook violently.

The ground suddenly cracked open, and five figures slowly rose from the crack.

Those are five stone statues, each with a different shape!

One figure holds a sword, one grips a knife, one draws a bow, one raises a shield, and another stands empty-handed.

"These are the Five Elements Battle Puppets I created with divine power," said the Qilin Divine Shadow. "They correspond to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. You must defeat them within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"Remember, they are not inanimate objects. The five elements interact and counteract each other; if you only know brute force, you will surely be defeated."

As soon as the words were spoken, the five stone statues opened their eyes simultaneously.

Five beams of light of different colors shot out from their eyes: gold-white, wood-green, water-black, fire-red, and earth-yellow.

The incense and candles were lit again.

"start."

At the command of the Qilin Divine Shadow, the five battle puppets moved.

The sword-wielding Golden Element War Puppet was the first to attack, its sword flashing like lightning as it aimed straight for Su Fan's throat.

The sword strike was incredibly fierce, carrying a metallic sharpness that cut through the air wherever it passed.

Su Fan dodged to the side, and with a wave of his hand, the Golden Cudgel appeared in his hand. He then swept the Golden Cudgel horizontally, but unexpectedly, it was steadily blocked by the Earth Element War Puppet holding up its shield.

"clang!"

The sound of metal clashing was deafening.

The Earth-type War Puppet's defense was extremely strong; Su Fan's full-force strike only left a faint white mark on the shield.

At the same time, the wooden war puppet holding the bow had already drawn its bowstring taut, and a blue arrow pierced through the air.

The arrow was not a physical object, but rather a pure condensation of wood-attribute energy, its flight trajectory unpredictable.

Su Fan swung his staff and shattered the arrow, but felt a numbness in his arm.

The life force contained within the arrow was actually eroding his divine power!

Su Fan pondered the words of the Qilin Divine Shadow, his mind racing.

"The five elements counteract each other... Wood overcomes Earth, but Metal overcomes Wood. I am the Golden Cudgel, which is of the Metal element, so I should be able to restrain the Wood element battle puppet."

Thinking of this, Su Fan flashed away, dodging the flames suddenly spewed out by the fire-elemental battle puppet, and rushed straight at the wood-elemental battle puppet.

However, at this moment, the empty-handed water-based battle puppet made its move. It formed hand seals, and a black water curtain appeared in front of Su Fan.

The water curtain was incredibly flexible; when the Golden Cudgel struck it, it was as if it had sunk into a quagmire, with most of its force being dissipated.

Upon seeing this, Su Fan immediately activated his divine power, and the golden cudgel shone brightly.

"Following the laws of Heaven and Earth!"

Su Fan unleashed his supernatural power, his body swelled to three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and his golden cudgel grew larger accordingly.

This time, he didn't smash into the water curtain, but instead slammed into the ground.

"boom--"

The earth cracked, and soil and rocks flew everywhere.

The ground beneath the Earth Elemental War Puppet's feet suddenly collapsed, causing it to sway and revealing a momentary opening in its raised shield.

It's now!

Su Fan seized the opportunity, and his golden cudgel, like a poisonous dragon emerging from its cave, pierced through the shield's opening and slammed heavily into the chest of the earth elemental war puppet.

"Snap!"

Countless fine cracks appeared on the chest of the Earth Elemental War Puppet, and its movements immediately became sluggish.

The five elemental battle puppets are interconnected; if one puppet is damaged, the other four will become even more frenzied.

Meanwhile, the Earth Puppet's injuries were rapidly healing.

Then, the five puppets continued to attack Su Fan.

Su Fan was overwhelmed by the attacks of the five puppets and soon suffered several wounds.

Among them, the water-based war puppet is the most troublesome!

"We can't keep dragging this out."

Su Fan's mind raced.

"The five elements generate and restrain each other... Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, and Earth generates Metal. They work together perfectly, and I must break this cycle."

His gaze swept over the five puppets, finally settling on the Metal Element War Puppet.

"Metal generates water, therefore, as long as the metal-element battle puppet exists, the power of the water-element battle puppet will be inexhaustible. Break the metal element first!"

However, the Metal Puppet has the strongest attack and is not weak in defense. How easy would it be to defeat it under the protection of four puppets?

Su Fan gritted his teeth and chose to take a risky step.

He deliberately created an opening, allowing the water-elemental war puppet's water hoses to entangle his right leg, giving the metal-elemental war puppet an opportunity to attack him.

As Su Fan expected, the Golden Element War Puppet seized the opportunity and thrust its sword towards Su Fan's heart.

It's now!

Su Fan neither dodged nor evaded, letting the longsword pierce through him.

Just as the golden sword was about to touch his chest, he grabbed the blade with his left hand and swung his golden cudgel with all his might in his right.

"Smash it!"

The golden cudgel slammed solidly into the head of the Golden Element War Puppet.

This attack contained all of Su Fan's divine power, and even employed the divine abilities of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven—

One force can overcome all laws!

"boom--"

The head of the Jinxing War Puppet exploded, and its body turned into rubble scattered all over the ground.

But Su Fan also paid a price.

Although he managed to grab the golden sword, the tip still pierced three inches into his chest, and blood instantly stained his clothes.

To make matters worse, the water hose took the opportunity to wrap around Su Fan's entire body, binding him tightly.

The remaining four puppets seized the opportunity and launched a frenzied attack on Su Fan.

The fire-elemental war puppet spewed out crimson flames, the wood-elemental war puppet continuously fired arrows, and the earth-elemental war puppet raised its giant shield and slammed it down.

The water-based battle puppet did its best to maintain the restraint, preventing Su Fan from breaking free.

In that critical moment, Su Fan's mind became unusually calm.

"The metal element has been broken, creating a gap in the five-element cycle. What happens next..."

Su Fan looked at the water-based battle puppet.

"Earth overcomes Water. But I don't have a contract with any Chinese deities related to the Earth element. So I'll use Fire—Water overcomes Fire, but strong Fire can counteract Water!"

With a thought, Su Fan sent the Soul-Hooking Brush flying out from his sleeve.

"go!"

The Soul-Hooking Brush transformed into a black line and shot towards the Water-type War Puppet.

Just as the water-based battle puppet was about to defend itself, Su Fan suddenly took out the Supreme Lord Laozi's alchemy furnace.

"The Samadhi Fire, capable of scorching the heavens and boiling the seas!"

The lid of the Bagua Furnace was opened, and crimson flames surged out.

This is no ordinary flame, but the Samadhi True Fire used by Laozi (the Supreme Lord Lao) for refining elixirs. It is specifically designed to subdue evil spirits and can also burn away energy.

The flames instantly engulfed the water-based war puppet.

The Water-type War Puppet used all its water-attribute energy to resist, but the Samadhi True Fire was too domineering, and the water vapor was quickly evaporated.

Three breaths later, the water-based battle puppet transformed into a pool of boiling water, seeped into the ground, and disappeared.

After defeating two puppets, the remaining three puppets' offensive stalled.

The cycle of the five elements has been completely disrupted, and their coordination has shown obvious flaws.

Su Fan seized the opportunity, broke free from the remaining water hose, and swung his golden cudgel repeatedly.

"Bang bang bang!"

The Wood Element War Puppet, Fire Element War Puppet, and Earth Element War Puppet were smashed one after another.

When the last earth elemental war puppet fell, the incense and candles had only burned halfway.

Su Fan knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

He was bleeding profusely from the sword wound in his chest, and had multiple burns and arrow wounds on his body.

But Su Fan's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Second level passed!

The Qilin Divine Shadow watched all this quietly, a hint of admiration flashing in its eyes.

"You won by inflicting injury, remained calm in the face of danger, understood the five elements' interactions, and knew the art of choosing and discarding," the Qilin Divine Shadow said slowly. "You have passed the second test as well."

After saying that, the Qilin Divine Shadow waved its hand, and faint starlight fell on Su Fan's head, instantly healing Su Fan's injuries.

Su Fan stood up, clasped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you, senior."

"No need to thank me in time."

The Qilin Divine Shadow's tone suddenly turned serious: "The first two trials are just a prelude. The third trial... is the real test."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Qilin Divine Shadow raised its front hoof and stomped on the ground again.

This time, the entire Qilin Valley was shaken.

Snow avalanches from the mountain peaks on both sides of the valley, creating a deafening roar.

The clouds in the sky were churning, and the faint sound of thunder could be heard.

In the center of the open space, the Qilin statue began to glow.

It was no longer the gentle golden light of before, but a dazzling five-colored radiance, with blue, red, yellow, white, and black colors flowing and corresponding to the five elements.

The voice of the Qilin Divine Shadow echoed throughout the valley.

"The final challenge: face my illusory image."

As soon as he finished speaking, the multicolored light on the statue of the Qilin deity shot into the sky and condensed into a real phantom of a Qilin in the air.

This phantom was more solid than the divine figure, its size as large as a giant elephant, with the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, the forehead of a wolf, and the hooves of a horse. It was covered in multicolored scales, and its single horn shone with brilliant golden light.

What's most striking is those eyes!

His left eye was like the sun, and his right eye was like the moon; the sun and moon shone together!

"roar--"

The phantom of the Qilin let out a long roar.

Su Fan felt a constant roar in his mind, as if thousands of bells and drums were ringing at the same time.

The Qilin Divine Shadow explained:

"This is my auspicious sound. It can cleanse the soul and shatter the spirit. If you have flaws in your character or are weak in your will, your soul will surely be scattered."

Upon hearing this, Su Fan felt a chill run down his spine.

He gritted his teeth, steadied his mind, and channeled his divine power to protect his sea of ​​consciousness.

But the auspicious sounds were all-pervasive, and his defenses were penetrated layer by layer like paper.

Illusions began to appear in Su Fan's mind.

He saw himself standing atop a high mountain, with the vast rivers and mountains stretching out beneath his feet.

Countless people knelt on the ground, shouting, "Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!!"

Power, status, glory...

A seductive voice echoed in my heart.

"Sink into the illusion! Here, you are the emperor, holding the power of life and death over anyone!"

Su Fan's heart pounded wildly after hearing this.

This feeling of being in control is truly intoxicating.

But Su Fan quickly regained his senses.

Su Fan murmured, "No, it's not 'Long live the Emperor,' but..."

"Long live the people!!!"

As Su Fan finished speaking, the illusion vanished.

The auspicious sounds also suddenly stopped.

The phantom of the Qilin looked down at Su Fan, its eyes, like the sun and moon, filled with complex emotions.

After a long silence, He slowly spoke: "The three trials have been passed."

The four characters are like heavenly music.

Su Fan felt a sudden sense of relief and almost collapsed to the ground.

The three trials, especially the final one that challenged his soul, had taken a heavy toll on his mental energy.

The phantom of the Qilin began to shrink, eventually transforming into a stream of multicolored light that flowed into the Qilin deity statue below.

The Qilin deity statue's light dimmed and returned to calm, but Su Fan could sense that he could now store the Qilin deity statue in his system space.

The Qilin's divine shadow floated in front of Su Fan, its tone much gentler:

"You've passed the three tests: your character, your strength, and your willpower. Now, you are qualified to take my statue away."

Su Fan clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you very much, senior!"

The form of the Qilin Divine Shadow began to fade:

"My mission is complete. Return with the statue of the Qilin deity. The Northern Frontier needs you, and so does China..."

The last few words were almost inaudible.

The Qilin's divine shadow completely dissipated, and the open space returned to calm, leaving only the statue of the Qilin deity standing silently.

Su Fan walked up to the statue of the Qilin deity and put it into his system space.

The five sacred beasts have finally gathered!

Su Fan let out a long sigh and looked back at the way he had come.

It's time to go back!

Thinking about it, Su Fan walked outside.

Outside Hidden Dragon Valley, Wang Meng and his three companions were still waiting anxiously.

Seeing Su Fan emerge safely with a look of joy on his face, the four immediately understood that they had succeeded!

"Mr. Su, did you get the Qilin statue?" Wang Meng asked excitedly.

Su Fan nodded: "Got it. We'll return to the Northern Frontier immediately."

"yes!"

Wang Meng and the other three answered excitedly and loudly.

Then, they quickly returned along the same route.

Su Fan gazed towards the direction of the northern frontier.

With the statue of the Qilin deity in hand, the five sacred beasts gather together.

Next, it's time to awaken the Qilin deity statue and completely eliminate the evil calamity.