Immortal Soaring Blade

Everyone, welcome to 2021!  2020 has been an absolutely horrid year for many people on many levels, and I think many (most? all?) of us are glad to leave it behind.  With that said, I wanted to give everyone a preview for some of the things that are coming up in the coming few months for Wuxiaworld.

Front-End Site Redesign - This one has been a long time coming!  Historically, we've focused more on incremental changes and feature build-out rather than overhauling the site itself, but for quite a few months now...

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The square was originally silent, but this was like throwing a rock into a calm pool of water. Ripples spread, creating a chain reaction that triggered a loud commotion.

The originally organized group scattered and everyone began to talk, their voices washing over each other.

“What is this? What kind of situation is this? Are we not part of the sect?” Zhao Jiuge, Luo Xie, and Wang Baiwan were all standing together when they heard the middle-aged man’s words. Luo Xie was the first to be unable to hold it in and began to shout impatiently.

For the first time, the talkative Wang Baiwan was very calm, as if he had long known about this.

Although Zhao Jiuge had some doubts and was shocked, he was still calm. He was certain the middle-aged man had more to say. Even if he hadn’t entered the sect, no matter what test or requirement there was, Zhao Jiuge was confident in his ability to pass them. This was the self-confidence brought by strength.

The surroundings were in chaos.

“What the hell is going on? What does this mean?” a young girl wearing a pink jade muttered with doubt.

A youth wearing a silk robe frowned and grumbled angrily, “Isn’t this messing with people? What kind of nonsense is this?” 

“It’s over, it's over. I just knew it would not be so easy. There is even a test. I’m finished.”

“I was happy for nothing, I thought I had officially entered the sect.”

“That’s right, there is even an inner and outer sect. Just being able to enter the sect is good enough for me.”

At this moment, all kinds of questions and complaints erupted from the square.

“Hmph, these are the rules to enter the top sects. They have been in place for thousands of years. How can country bumpkins like you all understand? The requirements have already been loosened. Back during the heyday of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, the entry test was extremely difficult, yet many geniuses from all over the Huaxia Dynasty came to enter the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.”

A cold snort echoed.

A man with an aura no less domineering than Bai Zimo’s had a sarcastic expression filled with disdain as he looked at the bumpkins around him.

Zhao Jiuge just coldly looked at everything without a word and looked very calm. He decided to go with the mentality of adapting to the situation. After all, even if he spoke, nothing would be solved.

A cold intent came from the indifferent middle-aged man standing before the building. It spread out with him as the center and filled the area. It was an invisible ripple that swept past everyone.

There was a sense of prickly pain that penetrated to the bone.

It was as if you forgot to wear clothes during the winter. Not only was it cold, there was a powerful sense of pressure on your body as well.

A snort and a glance.

Zhao Jiuge’s eyes were bright. Although he felt pressure, it was not as strong as it was for others. The reason for that was his Sanskrit Divine Body. This was his first time sensing cultivation above the Foundation Realm since Bo Re! Although the elder named Yang was unfathomable, his aura was not directly against Zhao Jiuge, so he didn’t get a feel.

The entire square suddenly became quiet; even the young masters from good families closed their mouths as well. They didn’t dare to speak a word, in fear of angering the middle-aged man.

“If you don’t want to be disqualified, then all of you shut up. I am the only one who needs to speak. There is no need for you to talk back. I’ll only speak once, and if you didn’t listen, then I won’t say it a second time. The following words will be about the entrance trial, so all of you listen carefully.”

One of the middle-aged men shouted. His words were simple and clear.

He was also wearing a black robe. He had a strong body and his face was slightly tanned. His face showed no expression, yet he gave off an imposing aura. His whole body was like a heavy sword that gave off a cold intent mixed with sword energy. Anyone’s heart would tremble just from looking at him.

“If you want to enter my Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, it will depend on your own ability. When we take you all there, there will be two trials. They are not difficult, but not many will pass. Once you’re all there, you will understand.”

The black-robed, middle-aged man didn’t waste time speaking nonsense. From the beginning, he had been cold and imposing.

“Hehe, what instructor Zhou said is right. A trial is nothing but a test of perseverance and courage. If you can’t even pass that, then there is no need to talk about cultivating. My name is Li, and you can call me Instructor Li. This one here is instructor Wang. If you’re lucky enough to pass the trial, the three of us will be responsible for teaching you outer sect disciples.”

Instructor Li had a smile and looked like he was very easy to get along with. Compared to Instructor Zhou’s indifference, Instructor Li was much better. The three middle-aged instructors all wore black robes and had small swords embroidered on their cuffs.

So it turned out that the color of the robes in the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect was used to distinguish between disciple and instructors. Zhao Jiuge wondered what kind of place the inner sect was.

He looked up at the sky at a 45 degree angle and let out a gentle sigh. His eyes were filled with determination. No matter the obstacle, nothing was going to stop him from moving forward. He thought about that cold and noble figure, causing his lips to become tightly pursed. 

A certain peak on the Mysterious Heaven Mountain Range.

Night fell. The cold deep in the mountains was strong. Coupled with the darkness and uncertainty, the few hundred people all looked around with curiosity and a little fear.

Zhao Jiuge also saw the scene just now, but, fortunately, he already experienced flying when Elder Yang sent him to the capital city. At least he wasn’t frightened to the point of his face turning white like many others.

When he was first pulled into the sky by Elder Yang, aside from feeling like his heart was suspended in the air, there was only panic. Now that he had experienced it once, he had the courage to open his eyes and force his heart to calm down as he looked at his surroundings.

He saw the lights from the dozens of flying swords around them forming a rainbow. It was as beautiful and elegant as a roll of silk. He felt the breeze and the nervousness and fear in his heart gradually get drowned out by excitement. He fantasized about when he would reach the Spirit Core Realm and how cool he would look when flying through the air.

As he thought about that scene, his mouth unconsciously curved up and he smiled. When he no longer felt nervous about flying in the sky, he became curious. As he looked around at the rest of the people who were participating in the trial, Zhao Jiuge laughed in his heart.

He saw that their faces were even white or filled with fear. They all looked extremely pitiful.

However, there were still many extraordinary youths, like Bai Zimo or Wang Baiwan, who were just fine, as if this wasn’t the first time they were experiencing it. It was easy to tell the difference between those that came from strong families and those who came from ordinary families.

He didn’t just observe the reactions of others, he also looked at the geography around him. He only saw a mountain range with endless mountains. Now that he had reached the Spirit Transformation Realm, his eyesight was also a lot stronger than before. He could only see a layer of green drowning out the mountain range.

The trees were like a green ocean, and the tall and short trees looked like waves going up and down.

Some of the mountain peaks were covered by the fog created by the coldness of night. The night breeze would blow away some fog, exposing a bit of the steep peaks. There was this feeling of looking at a half-masked face.

Endless peaks—this was merely the peripheral. Zhao Jiuge really wanted to see what the Mysterious Heaven Peak of the sect was like. How many spirit herbs and spirit beasts were inside this vast mountain range? Spiritual energy was floating everywhere in the air, even on the grass and trees.

The spiritual energy here was much more abundant than outside. He wasn’t even cultivating the Sanskrit Heart Sutra, yet could feel his spirit force slowly growing. Although it was extremely slow, the spiritual energy here shocked Zhao Jiuge. No wonder the disciples cultivated by these holy lands were different. If you lost at the starting point, how could you walk further than others?

At this moment, beside a mountain.

More than a few hundred disciples stood there in several rows. The three black-robed instructors and dozens of Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect disciples were standing before the crowd.

Behind the instructors and the disciples was a cliff, and beyond the cliff was darkness. Even with the cultivation of everyone who hadn’t entered the sect, they could not clearly see into the darkness.

A wave of the cold wind from deep within the mountain blew by.

It caused everyone’s robes to flutter. Not only did it bring a wave of bitter chill, but also a fear of the unknown.

Ding, ding, ding...

An inexplicable sound suddenly echoed. This startled everyone here, whose hearts were already on the edge like drawn bowstrings. Those who were a bit timid jumped a bit. After all, they were still just teenagers and felt some fear toward this unknown place.

After hearing the sound, they found that there was an iron chain behind the cliff. Originally, it was too dark to see, but the wind had caused it to shake, and only then did everyone notice it.

The chain was as thick as one’s fist. It was made of an unknown metal that gave off no light but gave off a heavy feeling. From Zhao Jiuge’s view, it was unlike iron used by mortals, and it contained some spirit force fluctuations. However, he didn’t know its name.

The cold wind continued to blow, and this chain continued to make a lot of noise.

As the wind below, only part of the iron chain could be seen from the edge of the cliff, and once it got further away, the chain slowly became invisible, as if it had disappeared into the night. While everyone was wondering about this chain, a cold voice echoed.

“The first test, the Chain of Immortal Dao Seeking.”

These cold words were like the cold wind from deep within the mountains. They chilled one’s heart as there was no warmth in those words at all.

Instructor Zhou pointed at the chain before him and said with an expressionless face, “If you can successfully walk past this chain, you can enter the second trial. When you pass all the trials, you can enter the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.

“The chain is made of the precious Hidden Light Metal and was created by the ancestor of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, Master Mysterious Heaven. It is used to select new disciples and has been used for thousands of years. As for whether you can reach my Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, it will depend on your own fate.”

Before his words finished, dozens of flying swords flew into the sky and created colorful rays of light. They were very bright, but, like fireworks, they only dazzled for a moment before disappearing.

And this time, these flying swords didn’t take the hundreds of people. They left them on the mountain peak. As the cold winds blew, the hundreds of people left there all stared at each other, completely dumbfounded.

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