Time flowed quietly. Before her eyes, the long steps stretched endlessly. From walking to climbing, it was all in the bend of the knees.
From climbing to crawling...
Crawling and crawling, a month and a half passed in the blink of an eye. Tu Kongkong came to a halt, once again falling into a deep sleep on the sword steps leading to the Immortal Sword Pool.
Even with her extraordinary talent, being the descendant of a demon immortal, having a half-demon body, and a single spirit root, she still collapsed before the Immortal Sword Pool.
It inevitably reminded Xu Xian of a remark Wen Qingxue had once casually mentioned to him before he climbed the steps.
"The geniuses of the world are like schools of carp before the Immortal Sword Pool. Even those with monstrous talent find every step a struggle."
But it was not surprising. Otherwise, in the nine thousand years of the Wendao Sword Sect's heritage, from Jiang Wanyin to Xu Xian, how could only six people have pulled out an immortal sword?
Any one of them could suppress an entire era. The weight of that truth was fully displayed at this moment.
In that high tower of the 【Half-Step Human Realm】 in the Central Plains, Li Qingshan had once been hailed as the most talented human sword cultivator after Ye Xianyu.
Yet even he was still one step away from the Immortal Sword Pool back then.
Today, Tu Kongkong had crawled until she was exhausted, reaching only this far.
Xu Xian sighed softly. Silently, following the method taught by the little book spirit, he altered the laws within the Sword Mound.
The applied gravity decreased invisibly.
Along with this, Tu Kongkong woke up once more.
The little girl seemed to sense something. She looked up at the sky with a low gaze, but she did not overthink it.
She was already far too tired. In her dazed state, she could not even distinguish between reality and illusion.
She assumed the sudden release of pressure was merely a physical hallucination.
Gritting her teeth, she continued to crawl upward, one step at a time, agonizingly slow.
Xu Xian sighed.
"This is as much as I can help you. The rest depends on you."
There is a limit to all things, and a scale to measure them.
He could help.
But he could not provide charcoal in a snowstorm. He could only add flowers to the embroidery. The path still had to be walked by her alone. He could not simply deliver the prize to her feet.
The path of cultivation is long. It is never achieved overnight, and there is no such thing as smooth sailing.
New life is born from desolation.
Light is glimpsed through hardship.
This is the normal state of cultivation.
Cultivating immortality.
It is not just body refining, qi refining, and foundation establishment.
It is not just core formation, nascent soul, and soul transformation.
There is body integration, great ascension, and tribulation transcendence...
When the heavenly tribulation descends, no one can take the punishment for you.
And what lies above tribulation transcendence?
There is the Immortal Realm.
For a mortal to become an immortal, there are three tribulations: the Red Dust Tribulation, the Heart Demon Tribulation, and the Lightning Tribulation. Missing one means failing to become an immortal. Erring in one means perishing in the mortal world.
No one can help you with these. You must face them yourself.
On this path of seeking the Dao, Xu Xian always believed that running fast or moving steadily was not as important as walking the longest distance.
Making a sudden splash is certainly impressive, but steady accumulation leading to a breakthrough is the true path.
Fortunately.
Tu Kongkong did not disappoint Xu Xian's expectations. After the gravity was moderately lowered, she finally crawled onto the Immortal Sword Pool.
She stood before those eighty-seven immortal swords.
At the Sword Gate, a flash of golden light swept across in an instant, bathing the entire mountain in gold.
Li Qingshan held his wine gourd mid-air, Ye Xianyu looked up, and far away on the opposite mountain peak, the old man guarding the mound suddenly stood up.
Their gazes converged simultaneously upon the Sky Gate.
"Gold!"
"It is gold..."
Ye Xianyu curled her lips, thinking that she was lucky she had not bet, so she had not lost.
Li Qingshan smiled bitterly, thinking, Great, another little junior martial aunt is coming.
Although it was expected, his heart was somewhat conflicted.
He was both happy and troubled.
The old man on the distant mountain rubbed his eyes and, after confirming it several times, excitedly struck the ancient bell.
"Dong!"
"Dong!"
"Dong!"
The Sword Gate shone gold. Someone had ascended the Immortal Sword Pool. The ancient bell of Zhujian Peak tolled three times, signaling that an immortal sword had emerged within the sect.
Disciples in the mountains and patriarchs in the pavilions all looked toward the sound, first identifying which peak the bell was tolling from, then counting the number of tolls.
Finally, they confirmed that an immortal sword had emerged.
"It is the bell of Zhujian Peak."
"Three tolls. Someone has pulled out an immortal sword again..."
"Who could it be?"
"Xia Chu Yi, or Tu Kongkong..."
"Heaven blesses Wendao, haha!"
Some were enlightened, some were ignorant, some were surprised, some were envious, and others looked on with eyes full of kindness and gratification.
After seventeen years, the bell tolled again on Zhujian Peak, meaning that after the Little Grand-Uncle, the Wendao Sword Sect had produced another peerless sword dao genius.
Naturally, more than one person had pulled out an immortal sword, and it was not the first time they had seen it, but for two swords to emerge within a century was a first in the history of the Wendao Sword Sect.
The same scene was playing out once again.
The elders of the sect arrived like streaks of light, and the patriarchs in the mountains emerged from seclusion. The scene was exactly like when Xu Xian had ascended the pavilion twelve years ago.
Below the mountain, a large crowd soon gathered and headed upward.
Before the Sword Gate stood three figures: Xu Xian in the middle, Li Qingshan to his left, and Ye Xianyu to his right. Together they watched the Sky Gate, waiting for the person to return.
Ye Xianyu asked, "How old... is she?"
Li Qingshan replied, "Twelve, I think."
Ye Xianyu glanced at Xu Xian, her eyes narrowing slightly as she said meaningfully, "When you were twelve, you had just entered the sect. From this perspective, this disciple of yours is even more outstanding than you."
Xu Xian's expression relaxed as he said calmly, "The student surpasses the master."
"True. At least it proves your initial decision was correct," Ye Xianyu acknowledged.
Li Qingshan remained silent. Xu Xian also remained silent.
After a while.
Behind them, several familiar figures landed one after another: the white-clothed Jiang Wanyin, the white-haired Lin Fengmian, and Lei Yunche in his black armor...
Then.
Peak Master Han Yi of Zhujian Peak, Elder Qian of Falling Cloud Peak, Zhou Zheng of Tianjian Peak... they all arrived.
Before the majestic Sky Gate, the crowd was bustling, their voices rising like waves.
They commented and chatted with laughter. When an immortal sword emerged, the entire sect should celebrate.
An hour later.
Amid everyone's anticipation, a little girl walked gingerly out of that Sky Gate, carrying a sword on her back.
Seeing the crowd before the gate, the little girl was clearly startled. She was shy and timid, her face unable to hide her nervousness.
Feeling the countless gazes upon her, she gripped the hem of her clothes warily, not daring to take a step forward.
Her large, watery eyes surreptitiously scanned the crowd, as if searching for someone.
Only when she saw the young man and that familiar smile did a look of relief appear on her face.
Then, ignoring everyone's gaze, she jogged toward Xu Xian.
Finally reaching the young man, she looked up slightly and said with a beaming smile, "Master, I'm back."
With the sect's strongest gathered before her, her eyes held only Xu Xian.
Her nervousness vanished, though she remained weak, yet she could not hide the pride and joy in her eyes.
At the very least, she had done what she promised her master.
Xu Xian said with relief, "You did well."
Lin Fengmian scrutinized the little girl and asked kindly, "Does your sword have a name?"
Tu Kongkong glanced at the old man, then turned her gaze to Xu Xian, saying nothing.
"Your Martial Uncle is asking you a question."
Tu Kongkong let out an "oh" and asked tentatively, "Can I give it a name myself?"
Ye Xianyu smiled slightly. "Of course!"
Xu Xian nodded in silent agreement.
Tu Kongkong thought for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said seriously, "Void."
"Hmm?"
"Let it be called Void. Is that all right?"
Xu Xian nodded and said warmly, "Very well!"
Wendao has a sword, and its name is Void.
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