The Sword Mound

Early the next morning.

Wen Qingxue rose very early and waited, and waited, and waited...

Xu Xian finally arrived, looking sheepish.

His stomach was bulging, his mouth was stuffed full, and he was even carrying several spiritual buns in his arms.

"Mornin'... Xiao Wen," he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

Wen Qingxue frowned, her expression perplexed. "Little Grand-Uncle, where have you been?"

Xu Xian swallowed the food, freed a hand to pat his chest, and let out a loud burp.

"Burp—Eating. You need strength to pull a sword, don't you?"

He held out a bun. "Want one?"

Wen Qingxue instinctively took half a step back and waved her hand in refusal. "No, thank you."

Xu Xian scrunched his nose. "Suit yourself. Let’s go then."

Wen Qingxue summoned her longsword, and Xu Xian stepped onto it.

"Little Grand-Uncle, are you steady?"

"Let's go."

They lifted off from the flat ground, riding the wind like immortals, heading straight for the horizon.

The Sword Mound.

Located deep within Zhujian Peak, it was the foundation of the Wendao Sword Sect and its most mysterious and sacred location.

This Sword Mound was left behind by Li Taibai.

Exactly how many swords were inside remained unknown to this day.

Any disciple of the Wendao Sword Sect was permitted to enter the Sword Mound to claim a sword upon reaching foundation establishment.

Spirit weapons, earth weapons, heaven weapons, immortal weapons—the mound held them all. What one could obtain depended entirely on their own ability.

Legend had it that the three immortal swords within One Sword Gorge, beneath the Longevity Bridge, were obtained by the Sword Ancestor from this very Sword Mound.

The swords of the mound, regardless of grade, were all sentient. They chose only one master in their lifetime; once the owner died, the sword would be sealed and return to the Sword Mound.

For ten thousand years, disciples had entered the mountain to choose their blades. Some obtained spirit swords and remained unremarkable, while others obtained heaven swords and startled the world.

Those who obtained immortal swords, however, were few and far between.

Lin Qianqian obtaining the heaven-tier Qingshuang was already considered a top-tier achievement.

As they reached the front of the Sword Mound, Wen Qingxue landed ahead of time at a square before the mountain. Looking toward the top of the long stone staircase, she said, "Little Grand-Uncle, there is a magnetic field around the Sword Mound. We cannot use sword control. We must walk up."

Xu Xian chewed on a bun as he scanned the surroundings.

The square was small, paved with bluestone.

The long staircase stretched upward, disappearing into the clouds.

At the foot of the stairs stood a massive boulder with two words carved in cinnabar:

[Sword Mound]

Looking up the stairs, mist drifted around the mountainside, adding an air of mystery...

"Alright."

Wen Qingxue led the way while Xu Xian followed slightly behind, and they began their ascent.

One could claim a sword at foundation establishment.

In fact, only those at foundation establishment could do so.

This was the rule of the Sword Mound and a law inherent to the place itself.

If anyone above the foundation establishment stage attempted to enter by force, they would be torn apart by a storm of swords, leaving not even a skeleton behind.

The Sword Mound was like a grotto-heaven secret realm, concealing inexhaustible opportunities. People across the world had long coveted it, and the foreign races had suffered because of it for ages.

Thus, it was said that a single Sword Mound had suppressed the northern borders of Fanzhou for ten thousand years.

At this moment, there was no one else on the long staircase but the two of them.

As they walked, Wen Qingxue took the opportunity to educate Xu Xian again on the origins, rules, and laws of the Sword Mound.

She placed special emphasis on the rules for claiming a sword.

"Inside the Sword Mound, there are five sword pools," she explained. "The Spirit Sword Pool, the Earth Sword Pool, the Tianjian Pool, the Immortal Sword Pool, and the Divine Sword Pool. To claim a sword, one must climb, just as we are doing now."

"There are five layers of Sword Heavens corresponding to the five sword pools. To reach the first Sword Heaven, one must climb 99 stone steps to see the Spirit Sword Pool. Once you reach it, you can choose a sword from the pool. There are millions of swords there..."

"Going further, one must climb another 999 steps to reach the second Sword Heaven and see the Earth Sword Pool, which holds a hundred thousand earth swords..."

"The third Sword Heaven requires another 9,999 steps to reach the Tianjian Pool, which has several thousand heaven swords..."

"The fourth Sword Heaven requires 99,999 steps. If you can climb that high, you will see the Immortal Sword Pool..."

As she reached this point, a fervent longing flickered in Wen Qingxue's cool eyes, followed by a hint of regret. "Back then, I reached the third Sword Heaven. I wanted to go higher, but before I could even climb a hundred steps, I could no longer endure the sword intent of the fourth Sword Heaven. So, I took a heaven sword and returned. At the time, even when I looked up, I couldn't catch a glimpse of the Immortal Sword Pool. I've heard there are only a hundred swords in the pool of the fourth Sword Heaven, all of them peerless, famous blades... Unfortunately, very few have ever seen them."

She looked at Xu Xian with a solemn expression. "In ten thousand years, aside from the Sword Ancestor, records show only five people have ever successfully taken an immortal sword from the Immortal Sword Pool. Every one of them was an unparalleled genius of the Dao of the Sword."

"Only five?" Xu Xian repeated softly, listening intently. The fourth Sword Heaven was nearly a hundred thousand steps up.

Five wasn't actually that few.

"Do you want to know who those five are?" Wen Qingxue offered.

"Yes," Xu Xian admitted honestly.

Wen Qingxue listed them one by one. "The Sixth Ancestor, the Seventh Ancestor, the Eighth Ancestor, the Ninth Ancestor, and our Sect Master."

Xu Xian noted, "Oh? What a coincidence. They’re all my senior brothers and sisters?"

Wen Qingxue leaned in with an air of secrecy. "Actually, there is an unwritten rule in the Wendao Sword Sect that not many people know."

Xu Xian's curiosity was piqued. "Oh? What is it?"

Wen Qingxue looked toward the peak and said gravely, "Anyone who can reach the fourth Sword Heaven and return with an immortal sword from the Immortal Sword Pool is eligible to enter the Sword Ancestor's lineage and become his direct disciple."

She paused, glanced at the young man, and smiled slightly. "However, you are already his disciple, Little Grand-Uncle, so it's the same whether you get an immortal sword or not."

Xu Xian suddenly understood.

'So that's how it is. It all makes sense now.'

No wonder everything from the Fifth Senior Brother onward involved taking disciples on behalf of the master. This was the reason. It had seemed outrageous before, but now it sounded perfectly reasonable.

From that point on, Wen Qingxue stopped talking and focused on climbing the steps.

Xu Xian felt something was missing and asked, "You haven't mentioned the fifth Sword Heaven. Is it a million steps? How many swords are in the Divine Sword Pool?"

Wen Qingxue caught his gaze from the corner of her eye and shook her head.

"I don't know."

"Hmm?"

Wen Qingxue said distantly, "No one knows. No one has ever climbed that high. Perhaps you can ask the Sect Master; she might know."

Xu Xian understood. If only five people had ever reached the Immortal Sword Pool, most people wouldn't even see it, let alone the Divine Sword Pool in the final Sword Heaven.

Still, he curled his lip and complained, "Where am I supposed to ask her? I can't exactly turn back now and come back later."

"There's no need. The Sect Master is waiting for you at the top of the mountain."

Xu Xian blinked in surprise. "What? My Senior Sister is here?"

Wen Qingxue added cryptically, "Peak Master Li is here as well."

Xu Xian took another bite of his bun and grinned as he chewed. "Haha, making such a big deal out of it? Now I'm actually getting a bit nervous."

Wen Qingxue shrugged her slender shoulders and said nothing more.

Both of them instinctively quickened their pace.

The mountain was extremely high.

There were hundreds of steps on this initial path, but these were just ordinary stone steps. Since both climbers were cultivators, they felt nothing as they ascended. They reached the summit easily, without even a bead of sweat on their brows.

Was it because they weren't tired at all?

Or was the early winter mountain wind too cold?

It was hard to say.

Reaching the summit, they saw a majestic heavenly gate floating amidst the clouds. Beneath the gate stood two figures, a man and a woman, both very familiar. Xu Xian didn't rush to admire the grandeur of the gate; instead, he waved his hand and called out a greeting.

"Senior Sister!"

"Martial Nephew Qingshan, sorry to keep you waiting!"

The woman smiled warmly upon hearing him.

The young man's expression, however, darkened instantly.