“Xi Bing’s fate is unknown. Unknown means dead.”
Lu Xiumei didn’t give Tian Yi a good look.
“Don’t discuss this anymore. I’ll set off immediately to return to the sect and bring the Twelve Peak Masters here.”
Tian Yi saw that Peak Master Lu was firm.
He exchanged a glance with Li Er and helplessly pressed his forehead.
“In that case, we’ll first venture deep into the desert and leave markers along the way.”
Tian Yi neither agreed nor disagreed with Lu Xiumei.
The Void Spirit Body was a once-in-a-millennium encounter, so it was safer to return to the sect quickly.
The three cupped their hands and parted ways, turning into streaks of light as they each flew off.
After two days and two nights of travel, Lian Chengxue arrived at the location of the Sword Sect, Qianyuan Que Land.
To be precise, it was Qingshan Town at the foot of the mountain outside.
The mountains here were green, unlike the exposed gray rock of Wu Town.
The nearly vertical slopes were covered in evergreen trees.
The mountain coiled like a fortress, with only a few ramps leading in.
To the north of Qingshan Town was a staircase road that stretched endlessly, blurry in the distance.
At its midpoint, a sword could be seen sticking out diagonally.
Lian Chengxue asked the people of Qingshan Town about the Sword Sect, and the townspeople introduced it with a sense of pride.
The old woman selling fans by the roadside tugged at Lian Chengxue, looked around, and whispered.
“Miss, you don’t know? The Sword Sect is about to recruit handymen and outer disciples. Many people have come to town to prepare.”
“How do they usually recruit?”
Lian Chengxue asked.
“Who knows? It’s different every year. An immortal’s thoughts—this old woman dares not guess.”
“How about a fan?”
Knowing she couldn’t get any more useful information, Lian Chengxue laid out a copper coin.
“Sure!”
After bidding farewell to the old woman, Lian Chengxue asked a few more people, but the clues provided were scarce.
There was even someone who tried to molest her.
Fortunately, perhaps because recruitment was imminent, there was a prohibition in place against harming others.
The temptation of immortality was too great; all the resting places in town were full.
Groups had set up camp on the outskirts.
Fortunately, she had the Immortal Tomb, so she didn’t have to crowd with others.
Well, she didn’t need a place to stay, but the Sword Sect had limited recruitment slots.
Many people were already at the Qi Refining stage, or even Foundation Establishment.
As a mere mortal, what could she compete with?
Lian Chengxue didn’t consider herself afraid—she had once stood out among millions.
But in the end, this was a world where power rested in oneself, and the strong were revered.
It was said that the Sword Sect’s assessments often changed.
Perhaps this time it wouldn’t rely solely on strength… but the possibility was slim.
Lian Chengxue cupped her face.
‘Sigh, forget it. This is all wishful thinking. I might as well go buy a sword tomorrow and practice, then go to bed early.’
Three days passed.
When she learned that a sword cost five taels of silver, Lian Chengxue decisively abandoned the idea of buying one.
Instead, she bought ten fragrant baked flatbreads to munch on.
As she was munching, she suddenly heard a faint hum, like a zither or guzheng, which instantly lightened one’s heart.
“The Sword Sect’s immortal has arrived!” someone shouted.
Before anyone knew it, someone cried out in surprise.
The once lively Qingshan Town fell silent in an instant.
Everyone’s gaze shot toward the sky.
From above, a sword was descending.
The humming grew clearer, no longer a single sound, but continuous, like an impassioned war song.
Shiiing, the sword pierced the stone slab, and the music fell silent.
A pale streak of light cut across the sky, extremely dazzling even in daylight.
It carried a suffocating pressure as it slowly descended onto the sword’s hilt.
Because her eyesight was very good, Lian Chengxue watched from afar.
She didn’t join the crowd huddling together, firstly afraid of wandering hands, secondly worried that the Immortal Tomb might be sensed by the Sword Sect people.
“The Sword Sect’s recruitment begins now! First trial: Test the Sword! Those who grip the sword’s hilt advance to the next trial!”
The newcomer had a beautiful beard, a silver hairpin securing his crown, thick eyebrows and large eyes, with a commanding aura.
Then he rose again, turned into a streak of light, and vanished, not giving anyone a chance to react.
A few seconds later, someone finally reacted.
They immediately strode toward the sword hilt and grabbed it.
But this was a test of heart.
If they lacked courage, how could they dare to step onto the path of immortality?
The humming reappeared, and the blurriness disappeared.
Watching those who had touched the sword hilt ascend the endless staircase, more people surged forward.
“First to touch the sword passes! Charge!”
The shouts rose wave after wave, and the whole Qingshan Town boiled over.
Those with some cultivation ran the fastest, cursing as they rushed to the front.
“Get out of the way! You mortals think you’re worthy to compete with me?”
“I touched it! I touched it! I’ve become an immortal! I’ve made it!”
“…”
The frantic stampede finally occurred.
Screams were drowned in excited shouts.
After touching the sword, many who shouted “I’ve become an immortal” were not few.
Lian Chengxue continued munching her flatbread.
Although she felt eager, as a modern person, she didn’t have the frenzied obsession with immortality that led to a scramble.
She supposed this was also part of the screening.
After all, the sword was right there; touching it early or late was the same.
It was time to fill her water bag.
Better to prepare more dry rations.
For a mortal like her, the next trial—the Heavenly Staircase—didn’t allow fasting, so she needed to prepare more.
Hiding the Immortal Tomb in the secret compartment of a box, Lian Chengxue tore a piece from her magnificent white robe and put it in as well.
In the end, she pawned it for three copper coins.
Just as night fell, many people with the same idea as her began to emerge.
She waited until the third watch, and after making sure no one else came to touch the sword hilt, Lian Chengxue happily went.
The sword was a good sword—it could pierce the stone floor like tofu, sinking to the hilt.
But without the immortal’s descent earlier, this sword looked no different from an ordinary one.
Lian Chengxue grasped the sword hilt and released it.
There was no special feeling, except that her field of vision seemed to switch from 360p to 4K.
The first step of the Heavenly Staircase became more real.
A plump, fair ankle peeked out from under her skirt.
Lian Chengxue hesitated repeatedly, then stepped onto it.
Looking back, the scene of Qingshan Town became blurry.
The stairs were very wide from front to back.
She measured with her foot—her foot was about size 37, and three could fit side by side.
There were at least tens of thousands of such wide steps.
Cultivating immortality was indeed not easy.
After assessing her mental state, taking advantage of the cool night, Lian Chengxue began to climb step by step.
One human touch along the way was that on some steps, there were small thatched pavilions on both sides for people to relieve themselves.
Everything else was pure torment.
Seeing that dawn was approaching, Lian Chengxue found a clean step, adjusted the back of her skirt, and sat down heavily.
She bent her knees, crossed her hands, and rested her head on them to take a short break.
The only advantage of coming late was that no one would come to bother her.
After resting briefly until the next day’s noon, Lian Chengxue wiped the sweat from her forehead, gritted her teeth, and climbed another step.
She was still wearing the northern clothes she had bought in Wu Town.
The southern May was swelteringly hot.
Even hiding under the shade of trees that hung over the sides of the stairs, her armpits, back, even her whole body were sweating uncontrollably.
When she thought that she couldn’t bathe tonight, she almost felt like dying.
She had taken some measures—she had rolled up her sleeves and pant legs to the joints.
But the real killer was her chest.
She had been walking with it sticking out for too long, sticky and stifling, leaving her breathless.
But no, absolutely not… It concerned her dignity—no matter what, she could not loosen the overlap of her collar!
Torn by conflicting emotions and realizing her stamina was failing, Lian Chengxue grasped a tree trunk, stuck out her tongue without regard for her image, and panted greedily.
Regarding the second trial, she had started much later than others.
Although the Sword Sect people hadn’t given any hints or stated any restrictions, this couldn’t go on.
She had to do something.
Cultivation was definitely not something that could be achieved by sheer brute force.
There must be some detail she hadn’t noticed, some detail she had overlooked.
Where was it?
What was it?
The seemingly endless staircase, the rocks and trees on both sides, the thatched pavilions for convenience…
No, it wasn’t.
None of these were special.
There must be something else!
Her spiritual platform overloaded.
Lian Chengxue’s mind raced.
After thinking through all her observations from the beginning three times, she thought of it.
It was the sword—the sword stuck in the ground!
Not the one she had to touch for the first trial, but the sword she had seen blurry from the start, the one stuck diagonally halfway up the mountain.
Where was that sword?
Had she overlooked it?
Or hadn’t she reached it yet?
No, she had fallen into a dead end again.
It wasn’t that simple.
Frowning deeply, Lian Chengxue began to analyze from a different angle.
She had seen that sword—blurry, hard to see clearly.
Why was it blurry?
What was special about that sword?
So special that once someone saw it, the trial would be unnecessary?
Lian Chengxue used absolute deduction.
A possible reasoning began to take shape in her mind.
This was a trap, an open scheme.
Only by touching the sword hilt could one enter the next trial.
If you didn’t touch it, you couldn’t proceed.
By touching it, you fell into the Sword Sect’s design.
There was never a Heavenly Staircase.
From beginning to end, she was just a person who had touched a sword!
Boom!
As she clarified her own location, Lian Chengxue felt her spiritual platform clear, and the surroundings suddenly transformed.
Her faint urge to relieve herself disappeared.
Her whole body was not sweating.
She hadn’t even touched her water bag or dry flatbread.
The mental fatigue from the long trek seemed never to have existed.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Lian Chengxue looked at the scene before her and instantly understood all the design.
Vast and magnificent stone pillars intertwined, with a giant sword suspended above them, forming a screen wall.
This was the true entrance of the Sword Sect.
In front of this entrance was a long table.
On the other side sat four people.
On this side of the table, right at Lian Chengxue’s feet, was the sword stuck into the ground.
There was no Heavenly Staircase at all?
From Qingshan Town to the entrance was less than ten steps: the first step, then the platform with the sword stuck in it, the second step, and finally the entrance.
Those who had touched the sword hilt but not realized the truth of the Heavenly Staircase were simply standing below the steps, frozen like statues.
“Hey, wake up. Someone passed the trial. The first one.”
“Who? The one at Foundation Establishment?”
“No, a mortal. Look.”
The old man at the far left of the long table looked at Lian Chengxue and smiled, while alerting the young girl beside him.
The girl had her hair in two buns, with white hair tips accenting her small round face.
The rest of her hair was still black, falling naturally.
Hearing the call, she looked up curiously.
Lian Chengxue saw that her eyebrows were unusual, like two dense ink spots.
“Oh my, a mortal indeed!” the girl exclaimed in surprise.
Her form flickered and she appeared beside Lian Chengxue, reaching out a finger to poke her waist.
“And a woman? Her chest is really big.”
Automatically ignoring certain parts, an unbearable ticklish sensation came.
Lian Chengxue didn’t dare dodge and could only force a smile.
“Lady Immortal, please stop.”
“Oh.”
The girl pursed her lips and withdrew her hand.
Lian Chengxue hadn’t expected her to actually listen, and for a moment she didn’t know how to react, so she just kept smiling.
“Don’t call me ‘immortal.’ It’s disgusting. I have a name: Mu Qing, got it? I’m Mu Qing, the Ninth Sword Disciple of the Sword Sect.”
“Understood, Mu… immortal.”
After thinking, Lian Chengxue decided to continue playing up this innate mortal fear, so she didn’t change her address and still called her ‘immortal.’
“You’re still calling me immortal? Didn’t I say not to? If you do it again, I’ll kick you out of Qingshan Town!”
Hearing Lian Chengxue knowingly defy her order, Mu Qing immediately blew up.
She stomped her feet, her fair, round little face turning red, her cheeks puffing up angrily like a Kirby doll, making one want to pinch them.
Her face was really round.
One could start a “Mu Qing Round Face” club on Tieba.
Lian Chengxue laughed from the heart.
‘Mm, I definitely don’t want to see Mu Qing hopping in anger.’
“Stop laughing! I’ll say it one last time.”
Mu Qing stepped half a step closer, tilted up her round face, grabbed Lian Chengxue’s collar, and said fiercely.
“You big-chested, no-brain woman! Don’t call me ‘immortal’ anymore!”
“Alright, then what should I call you?”
Lian Chengxue said calmly.
She was the first to pass the two trials; the Sword Sect wouldn’t abandon her over a little willfulness.
Besides, the people at the long table were clearly holding back laughter.
Look at that old man—his face wrinkled like an old chrysanthemum.
It was a wonder he could keep a straight face.
“Sword Disciple Mu, Hall Master Mu—whatever you like.”
Mu Qing released Lian Chengxue’s collar, her voice rising at the end.
Seeing this, Lian Chengxue didn’t dare to step on another landmine.
She adjusted her collar and became respectful.
“Understood, Hall Master Mu.”
“That’s more like it. Hey, what’s your name?”
Her change of mood was written all over her face.
Mu Qing poked Lian Chengxue again.
“This commoner’s surname is Liancheng, given name Xue, like the snow of heaven. Hall Master Mu may call me… Xiao Xue.”
“Xiao Xue?”
“Mhm.”
Lian Chengxue nodded.
“Do you want to be my first and last disciple?”
‘Such a good deal?’
Lian Chengxue was about to agree.
Mu Qing turned back and said fiercely, “None of you are allowed to compete with me!”
“Hahaha, we won’t compete with you, won’t compete.”
The old man finally couldn’t hold back.
The other two also chimed in with laughter.
“Laugh? Laugh your ass off! The Sword Sect’s image is ruined by you shameless old folks!”
Mu Qing threw out another curse, then turned back with a complete change of attitude, looking at Lian Chengxue with eager eyes.
“Xiao Xue, just agree, okay? Being my disciple is great. I’ll cherish you and not love anyone else.”
“…”
Lian Chengxue, who had intended to agree, suddenly hesitated upon seeing this.
‘This is a problem child. Can she really lead me in cultivation?’