Yun Miao stepped onto the Dengtianti but did not see Huaxin, who had gone up earlier, nor did she spot Tan Xiaobai and the others who followed.
She looked up; the endless jade stairs stretched upward, disappearing into the depths of the clouds and mist. Looking down, it was the same—endless jade stairs plunged downward into the fog.
It felt as if she had returned to the primordial chaos of the legendary universe, where the world was round as an egg, filled inside with boundless mist, without heaven or earth.
In this cramped world, only she and the green Dengtianti existed.
Strange, where was the illusion of the Wenxin Formation? Why hadn’t she seen anything? Was it still further ahead?
Yun Miao glanced around and, seeing nothing else, cheerfully strode forward as if on a spring outing.
She wondered what kind of illusion the game had prepared for players.
If it was one of those vulgar illusions filled with debauchery and nightly revelry, she would definitely savor—…ahem, thoroughly scorn the game developers!
At first, she walked briskly, but soon realized something was off.
It wasn’t that anything strange happened on the Dengtianti—on the contrary, no matter how far she walked, the scenery remained completely unchanged.
Half an hour… an hour… two hours…
Expressionless, Yun Miao stared ahead at the seemingly endless Dengtianti, feeling as if the game was toying with her.
Wasn’t she playing a full-immersion cultivation game, not a mountain climbing simulator?
Though all the full-immersion games on the market now strive for realism, at the end of the day, it was still just a game. Climbing stairs for two hours without reaching the top was just too much!
Out of patience, Yun Miao logged out in frustration to search the game forum for solutions, only to find many other players also complaining about the Xuantian Sect’s Dengtianti and its absurd mechanics.
The length of the Dengtianti was tied to the character’s Linggen Potential—the higher the Linggen Potential, the shorter the Dengtianti.
Even players with a full 100 points in Linggen Potential still needed at least three hours to clear it at the fastest.
One player with only 30 Linggen Potential even posted a tearful complaint, saying it took them three whole days just to barely clear it!
Yun Miao, with only 10 Linggen Potential:
Gritting her teeth, Yun Miao put on her full-immersion helmet and soon returned to the Dengtianti shrouded in mist.
This time, instead of looking up, she turned and looked down at the endless jade steps beneath her.
Though she still hadn’t figured out where the game’s pay-to-win channels were, she was convinced this must be a scheme to force players to spend money.
But paying was out of the question. As a poor university student, a true “zero-spender” of this era, not spending money was her bottom line!
So she took a deep breath and decisively leaped downward.
What the hell, Xuantian Sect, she quit!
She’d die right now, record a video of herself being forced to jump off, post it to the forum to denounce the game’s inhumanity, then reload and join the Magic Cult, storm back into Xuantian Sect, and turn this damned Dengtianti into a latrine!
***
In the Great Hall atop the main peak of Xuantian Sect, the Sect Master, the various Peak Masters, and the Elders sat atop the high dais.
In the center of the open space below stood a massive bronze mirror several zhang tall.
The enormous mirror’s surface was divided by invisible power into over a thousand small, independent images.
All those who had come to take part in the disciple recruitment this time—over a thousand people—were displayed on it.
The images were so numerous and complex that looking with the naked eye would cause dizziness and confusion.
Fortunately, everyone present was at least at the Nascent Soul stage, their divine senses powerful. Every detail in the over a thousand images on the Fugui Mirror was laid bare before them.
The cramped and lonely environment was already a severe test of one’s mental state.
Coupled with the illusions conjured by the Wenxin Formation, it was enough to draw out the deepest emotions in a person’s heart.
At this moment, within the Fugui Mirror, some wept, some laughed, some paled and retreated, some reached out greedily…
All kinds of reactions, each unique. Yet the attention of the crowd focused on only a few individuals.
Qian Peak Lord Qian Duoduo:
“Red hair tie, braided pigtails, ill-fitting blue robe—that must be the girl Yan’er mentioned, the one who beat Tian Laokou, right? Indeed, she’s got striking features and an extraordinary air.”
Steward Hall Elder Ge Yan: “I told you not to call me Yan’er!”
Dan Peak Lord Tian Laokou: “It was just a few meat buns, I don’t even care. Qian Bighead, you’re getting more long-winded every day.”
Qian Duoduo: “Heh, who in Xuantian Sect doesn’t know your character, Tian Laokou? You say you don’t care, but deep down you’re probably crying, aren’t you?”
Jian Peak Lord Che Ruojin:
“It’s just a shame her Linggen Potential is so poor. No, ‘poor’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
“With that kind of potential… even if she had a Heavenly Spiritual Root, her rate of absorbing spiritual energy might not match that of an ordinary mixed root.”
Qian Duoduo: “I still think she’s a good seedling. For us talisman makers, the key is that flash of inspiration that forms a talisman.”
“This girl can enlighten others in just a few words—she’s a rare talent of insight. Just for that, I’d be willing to take her as a disciple and give it a try.”
Tian Laokou: “Being insightful doesn’t guarantee talent for talisman-making. I think she could join my peak. Even if she’s not gifted at alchemy, I could teach her to cultivate spiritual herbs.”
“Diligence can make up for lack of talent—working the land, she’ll never go hungry. As for talismans or artifact refining, if she’s interested, she can study them on the side.”
Ge Yan: “Don’t think I’ll give in just because you’re my seniors. I’ve already set my sights on her as my disciple, so why are you all fighting over her?”
Disciplinary Hall Elder Shui Yaoguang: “Her aptitude is too poor. In the future, her cultivation will surely be slow. Forcing her into the inner sect as a disciple may not be in her best interest.”
Ge Yan: “I promised to take her as my disciple, so I can’t go back on my word. I’ll take good care of her.”
Sect Master Chang Suifeng: “That girl hasn’t even passed the Dengtianti yet. Isn’t it a bit early for you all to be arguing? Even if she passes, she still gets to choose where she goes. It’s not up to you.”
At those words, everyone fell silent and turned to observe the others.
Qi Peak Lord Yang Yan: “In my opinion, these three young people in black, yellow, and gray have the best Linggen Potential in this batch.”
Everyone looked over. The girl in black stood on the Dengtianti, eyes cold, slashing her blade forward. The milky-white mist was cut apart like drifting willow fluff.
The boy in apricot-yellow stared dazedly ahead at the mist, as if seeing and hearing something unbearable, his smile growing more and more bitter.
The boy in gray was taller than the other two, already close to a young man. He held a rusty long sword, the tip pointed straight at his own chest.
The three of them were clearly trapped in illusions. Though the crowd in the Great Hall couldn’t see what those illusions were, they were certain these must be the deepest pains in the hearts of the three.
If their will faltered even a little, they would be deceived by the illusion and give up the climb.
Fortunately, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all three broke free, their gazes resolute as they continued upward.
Tian Laokou: “That girl in black with the sword is good friends with Yun Miao. When we were betting earlier, she and the other two even glared at me in secret. She’s loyal to her friends.”
Qian Duoduo: “She just has too much killing intent. I wonder what she saw in the illusion to make her so filled with hatred.”
“That one in yellow looks much more even-tempered—and, most importantly, has good taste in clothes.”
Tian Laokou rolled his eyes: “Good taste? Like your own reek of copper?”
Qian Duoduo: “What’s wrong with smelling of money? You wish you had some!”
Che Ruojin: “I’ll take that boy in gray with the sword.”
“Huh?”
Sect Master Chang stroked his beard in doubt: “That girl who beat Tian Laokou has been walking for so long… hasn’t she stopped at all?”
Tian Laokou protested: “Don’t call her ‘the girl who beat me’—she has a name, Yun Miao!”
No one paid Tian Laokou any mind. The crowd’s attention returned to Yun Miao.
Ge Yan said confidently, “No need to watch. I’ve been keeping an eye on her. The Sect Master is right—she’s never paused, not even once.”
Everyone was shocked.
“She’s never paused? She’s been walking for so long and still hasn’t seen an illusion?”
“Impossible! Anyone with distracting thoughts who enters the Dengtianti is ensnared by the Wenxin Formation, seeing in the mist what they most desire or fear.”
“Even for us, if we walked in, we’d have to face it—there are no exceptions!”
“There are only two possibilities. Either her willpower is unbreakable, far beyond ordinary people, and she sees through the illusion the moment it appears.”
“Or… her mind is so clear and free of distractions that she never encounters an illusion and passes through unhindered!”
“Impossible! She’s just a mortal, a girl in her teens. At that age, their minds are always full of stray thoughts. How could she be free of them?”
“Nothing’s impossible. I heard that ten years ago, the Abbot of Huiming Temple took in a last disciple who was born with the Golden Buddha Bone.”
“As a child, he mastered all sorts of Buddhist scriptures, and when he walked through the Heart-cleansing Pool in Huiming Temple, it was as if no one was there—he passed through without pause.”
“Now he’s honored as the Buddha Child of Huiming Temple.”
“The Heart-cleansing Pool and the Wenxin Formation are similar in effect. If the Buddha Child could pass through so easily, it’s possible someone could do the same in the Wenxin Formation.”
“You’re talking about the Buddha Child. Since the last naturally-born Buddha Bone passed away, Huiming Temple waited thirty thousand years for another. But this girl is just an ordinary mortal…”
“I know it’s unlikely, but we can’t deny the possibility…”
While the crowd was deep in discussion, the blue-robed girl in the mirror suddenly stopped.
“She stopped—did she finally see an illusion?”
“To get this far before being trapped by the illusion, her mental fortitude is already one in ten thousand.”
“Indeed, it’s just a shame her aptitude is so poor…”
The crowd, who had just been saying it was impossible, now looked at the blue-robed girl with appreciation. But before they could voice their regret—
The girl in blue in the mirror suddenly turned, facing the way she had come, and leapt without hesitation!
Everyone: ?!!!
“She just jumped off?!”
“Hurry, hurry, go catch her!”
“The Dengtianti can only be opened or closed; it can’t be interfered with midway.”
“So shut the Dengtianti now?”
“No, that wouldn’t be fair to the others!”
“What’ll happen if she falls?”
“No idea! Usually, those who give up under the illusion’s influence are teleported out. In all the years of the Xuantian Sect Disciple Recruitment Ceremony, no one who was still lucid has ever jumped off!”
***
Sect Master Chang Suifeng sat up straight: “No need to worry. She can’t die from the fall. Did you all forget the Dengtianti is a circle?”
The crowd fell silent in surprise. Only then did they recall that what the disciples saw, and what the Fugui Mirror showed, was only a part of the Dengtianti.
The real Dengtianti was a circle, perhaps inspired by the ‘Wu Ji Universe—endless cycle.’
Tian Laokou slapped his forehead.
“That’s right! How could I forget? This girl’s actions are so unconventional, she really startled me for a moment… Wait! Doesn’t that mean if she jumps down, she’ll end up falling up?!”