A quarter of an hour later...
Xu Xian’s face was twisted in a grimace, his eyes bloodshot. With one hand covering his mouth and the other braced against the wall, he stumbled through the Sword Gate.
Li Qingshan, Wen Qingxue, and Ye Xianyu watched him go, suppressed laughter trembling in their chests.
Li Qingshan clicked his tongue. "He can really eat, can't he?"
Ye Xianyu commented, "Little Wen, you’re far too wicked."
Wen Qingxue replied with a straight face, "He really didn't ask."
Ye Xianyu gazed toward the gate and asked, "Do you think he can pull out an immortal sword?"
Li Qingshan stroked his chin, analyzing the situation seriously. "Although Xu Xian looks like he doesn't have his act together, his talent and heart are both extraordinary. He's a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius. I don't think it will be much of a problem."
Ye Xianyu looked at Wen Qingxue. "Little Wen, what do you think?"
Wen Qingxue shook her head suddenly. "I don't know."
Ye Xianyu gave a slight smile and narrowed her eyes. "In that case, Xiaoshan, how about we place a bet?"
Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. "You still haven't paid me the million merit points you lost last time."
Ye Xianyu ignored him and continued, "Two million merit points. We bet on whether your Little Grand-Uncle can pull out an immortal sword. If he does, you win. If he doesn't, I win. If you win, I'll pay you three million all at once. If you lose, you only owe me one million."
Li Qingshan refused immediately. "No bet."
Ye Xianyu acted as if she hadn't heard a word. "Then it’s settled."
Li Qingshan glared at her. "Ye Xianyu, that's enough!"
"Are you shouting at me?"
"I am not."
"Are we betting or not?"
"No."
"You're being mean to me."
"Fine, I give up..."
"Betting?"
"The last time."
"Deal."
Wen Qingxue stood to the side, listening to their bickering. She silently glanced at the five-figure merit points balance in her dao jade, lowered her eyes, and whispered to herself, "They’re so rich."
Seeing Li Qingshan agree, Ye Xianyu was overjoyed. She turned a beaming smile toward Wen Qingxue. "Little Xue, do you want in?"
"I have no money," Wen Qingxue said bluntly.
Ye Xianyu said nonchalantly, "It's fine. We can just bet fifty thousand merit points."
Wen Qingxue’s body stiffened. She stared at Ye Xianyu in disbelief. "Sect Master, how do you know I have exactly fifty thousand merit points?"
"Heh heh, take a guess."
Wen Qingxue: "..."
On the other side.
After stepping through the Sword Gate, Xu Xian successfully entered the Sword Mound.
He saw a vast expanse of white clouds beneath a brilliant azure sky. The path he had come from was gone; the gate had vanished. Beneath his feet was a sprawling stone platform that felt like a pavilion in the sky, floating amidst a sea of clouds.
At the end of his vision, a set of stone stairs stretched upward, disappearing into the mist.
Looking up, he could feel sword intent surging through the clouds.
Xu Xian suppressed the discomfort in his stomach as he felt the laws of this new world shifting. He began to observe his surroundings, muttering, "Is that the first Sword Heaven?"
The first Sword Heaven consisted of ninety-nine steps.
Since the founding of the Wendao Sword Sect, no one had ever returned from it empty-handed. The Spirit Sword Pool was considered the baseline guarantee.
Xu Xian didn't linger. He crossed the cloud-sea platform and stepped onto the stairs.
The moment his foot touched the stone, he felt his body grow significantly heavier. His shoulders slumped naturally under the pressure. However, after only a moment, Xu Xian took his second step, beginning his ascent against the gravity.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
With every step upward, the gravity increased. The progression was extremely gradual, yet it forced the climber's body to adapt constantly, every second of the way.
Xu Xian wasn't surprised by this. He had done his homework before entering the Sword Gate.
In the small world behind the gate, one's cultivation was restricted. It could only be used for internal circulation within the body and could not be projected outward. Flying was impossible. Protecting oneself with qi was also impossible.
To climb this long staircase, one had to rely solely on physical fitness and willpower.
This was one of the reasons why the Wendao Sword Sect repeatedly emphasized that the body refining stage must not rely on external forces to achieve a breakthrough. Obtaining a sword from the Sword Mound made the body refining phase crucial.
As long as one practiced the body refining manuals honestly, the first Sword Heaven was within easy reach.
The second Sword Heaven above it wasn't much of a problem either; most people could make it if they gritted their teeth.
As for the third Sword Heaven... the climber needed not only talent but also perseverance and willpower far beyond that of ordinary people.
However, Xu Xian was climbing in absolute agony. It wasn't because of the weight—it was because he was so full he felt like his stomach was going to explode. And that sensation of being overstuffed was only intensifying as time passed.
Spirit Ration Pills were essentially the cultivation world's version of ultra-compressed rations. Those who knew, knew.
He cursed under his breath as he climbed.
"So wicked. Every single one of them is wicked."
"They did this on purpose. They definitely did this on purpose."
Soon, Xu Xian reached the top of the first Sword Heaven and arrived at the Spirit Sword Pool.
Slowly raising his gaze, he saw a boundless space within the sea of clouds. Here, countless swords drifted in a dense, shimmering crowd.
Spirit swords possessed spirit; they radiated glows of red, white, blue, and green. A million spirit swords, each with a different form.
Long, short, heavy, broad...
Some stood suspended in the air, some drifted with the wind, some were plunged into the pool, and others lingered above the clouds.
A pool? Calling it a pool was an understatement. This was a sea of swords.
To Xu Xian, there seemed to be far more than a million. Among them, there were even chipped and broken swords.
It was common knowledge that every disciple of the Wendao Sword Sect possessed a life-bound sword. These swords recognized only one master in their lifetime. If the master died, the sword would fly back to the sect and reseal itself in the Sword Mound to await a new owner.
These life-bound swords were all obtained from the Sword Mound. In the cultivation world of Fanzhou, this was a legendary tradition that people loved to discuss.
Xu Xian thought to himself that every broken sword he saw likely hid a poignant and heroic story. One sword for one life; one life in service to the sword. Once the contract was forged, the sword would never abandon the master as long as they lived.
Xu Xian's arrival caused the quiet sea of spirit swords to grow restless. As he drew closer, countless blades began to vibrate frantically. Some of the more dominant ones even whistled through the air from a distance, positioning themselves to hover expectantly by his side.
They greeted him fervently, providing an intense response as if they were welcoming their king.
A million swords buzzed in unison within the pool. If an ordinary person had witnessed such a scene, they would have been shocked beyond belief.
The sword chooses the master, and the master seeks the sword. It was a mutual selection. In the Sword Mound, reaching a pool didn't mean you could simply take whichever sword you wanted. You had to gain the sword’s recognition. Only when a sword responded to you could you take it away.
This process usually required touching the blade and using one's heart to resonate with it to see if there was a connection.
But for a million swords to respond proactively, competing to show themselves off? Such a thing had happened before, but usually only with a handful of swords. For all of them to react at once was unheard of.
Xu Xian stood dazed. He realized no one had mentioned this possibility to him.
"Are they always this enthusiastic?"
"Am I really this popular?"
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