Preparation

Xu Xian understood, but he still felt a bit dazed.

"What do you mean?"

The little book spirit said, "This door is connected to the sword stele of the Sword Mound. Only the one chosen by the stele as its master can resonate with the formation within the door."

"Furthermore, the restriction inside will only be lifted when you reach the eighth stage. Only then can you open this door."

"In other words, it can only be you—you at the eighth stage, holding this stone—who can open this door."

The young man understood, falling into deep thought.

"So that's how it is."

He silently tucked away the ancient jade, his eyes downcast, and turned to walk slowly out of the room.

He did not press the little book spirit for more details.

He could understand why his master had done this.

The secret hidden behind this door was likely something only the successor of the Sword Tower was qualified to know.

And only by reaching the eighth stage and drawing the four divine swords would he possess the capability to handle whatever lay beyond.

Only then would he be ready to unravel the mystery.

Whatever Master's considerations were, Xu Xian couldn't quite name them, but he knew there must be a good reason for it.

Since he hadn't met the requirements yet, he couldn't force it; this was a matter he would have to resolve himself.

At the same time.

Xu Xian realized that the secret his master was guarding must be massive and incredibly troublesome.

Sealing the Sky Gate.

Perhaps it wasn't just because of the old turtle and that Twilight Emperor; maybe there were other hidden reasons.

That was why an eighth stage successor of the Sword Mound was required.

However, for now, what Xu Xian needed to consider was how to neutralize the potential threat of the Emperor's Tomb.

At the same time, he would use this event to achieve his own goals.

He had to go to the Emperor's Tomb.

Even if he couldn't solve the problem once and for all, he had to buy time. Most importantly, he needed to seize the opportunity to build the fourth floor of the Sword Tower and step into the great ascension stage.

Then he could open this door.

He would thoroughly uncover the mysteries of Fanzhou and the secrets of the Wendao Sword Sect.

In the past.

Xu Xian always felt like he had plenty of time and was in no rush.

Now.

The appearance of the Emperor's Tomb made him sense the scent of danger. Perhaps the time left for Fanzhou and himself was running out.

He left the Ancestral Mountain and headed to the Shadow Hall.

Using his status as the Little Grand-Uncle, he entered the most core area of the Shadow Hall.

The Wendao Sword Sect intelligence database.

This place contained a compilation of all intelligence in Fanzhou.

From detailed files on the Ancestors of the Three Sects, demon immortals, and demon gods, down to the succession of new emperors in tiny mortal dynasties.

Everything was recorded and preserved here by the disciples of the Shadow Hall.

Every faction.

Every famous individual of every race was included.

Xu Xian focused on browsing the records of humans, demons, and spirits from the past century.

For example.

How many descendants a certain saint had, how many disciples and grand-disciples they possessed, who was cherished, and who was the most favored.

There were also records of the direct relatives of various sect masters, heirs to dynasties, newborn holy beasts of the demon race, variant species, and so on...

With his ability to never forget what he saw, he imprinted all this data into his mind.

This study lasted for two whole days.

During these two days, all of Fanzhou remained in a state of clamorous excitement.

Following the appearance of the floating heavenly script.

Eight ancient stone gates appeared across the continent of Fanzhou.

One stood in the Black Sand Desert, before the Blazing Fortress.

One stood in the Extreme Cold Land.

One stood upon the site of the former Demon Suppression Abyss.

One stood beside the God Moon Pool in the heart of the East Desolation.

One stood in the depths of the North Sea, outside the True Dragon Ancestral Land.

The remaining three were all located within the Central Plains.

One stood two hundred miles south of Broken Sword Mountain.

One stood in Jiangnan, and the last stood at the edge of the East Sea mist.

Each of the eight stone gates was a hundred feet high and over ten feet wide.

They seemed to have grown out of the ground overnight.

Standing tall beneath the firmament.

The tomb gates.

The gates to the Emperor's Tomb.

Over the past two days, many cultivators who were nearby had already rushed to the gates.

They waited silently for the gates to open in a hundred days.

They would then swarm inside to seize the immortal opportunities within the Emperor's Tomb.

News of the tomb gates' appearance spread across the world at lightning speed.

Whether they were humans, demons, or devils... everyone grew restless because of this.

All were eager to move.

The Three Sects were no exception.

So were the Seven Schools.

So was the Demon Abyss.

So were the Eight Sacred Lands of the North Sea.

So were the remnants of the beast tribes in the East Desolation.

The Wendao Sword Sect was naturally not surprised at all.

Within the sect.

The Personnel Hall had already compiled a list of disciples under a hundred years old and submitted it to the Sword Pavilion.

Many elders began to privately gauge the intentions of the disciples under their tutelage.

The Wendao Sword Sect had already begun preparing for this struggle for immortal opportunity. Once the time was right, they would certainly set out to compete.

In the mortal realm, there were many different opinions, and rumors were rife.

Some felt that this so-called Emperor's Tomb would devour people and that going there was a death sentence.

Others said that an emperor was surely above an immortal, and if one obtained the opportunities within, they would become the undisputed number one of their generation...

Everyone had their own theory.

Some even began to predict who would ultimately obtain the immortal opportunity and which faction would emerge as the final victor before anyone had even entered.

Naturally, the Wendao Sword Sect became the biggest dark horse in this race.

People discovered that the members of the Wendao Sword Sect's Golden Generation, who had already been the subject of much talk, were all under a hundred years old.

Every single one of them was eligible.

In the world today, who could possibly compete with them?

A seventh stage Xu Xian, a seventh stage Lu Yuan, and a sixth stage Yao Xiaoxiao...

Just these three alone were enough for the geniuses of their generation across the world to handle.

Furthermore.

The Wendao Sword Sect had more than just those three. Tu Kongkong and Xia Chu Yi, also of the Golden Generation, went without saying.

There was also Lin Qianqian, Zhang Yang...

And so on!

Among their peers, the Wendao Sword Sect never lacked geniuses.

Just thinking about it gave people a headache.

Who could stand against the Wendao Sword Sect?

Of course, there was more than one voice in the world; others held different views.

Some felt that while the Wendao Sword Sect's Golden Generation was absurdly strong, the hidden sects of the world might not lack extraordinary talents of their own.

Furthermore.

This struggle for the Emperor's Tomb was not just for the human race. There were also the demon race, spirits, demonmen, and the demons of the North Sea.

The North Sea, in particular, had always been mysterious and full of hidden power, possessing descendants of demon immortals with powerful bloodlines.

They might not necessarily be unable to clash with Xu Xian.

Even in the Demon Abyss, rumors had spread a few years ago about the birth of a Young Lord, suspected to be the descendant of the Demon Lord.

Why couldn't they fight?

At the very least, they had the advantage of numbers. After all, two fists are no match for many hands.

It wasn't as if there was no possibility of competing.

Just as Xu Xian emerged from his secluded study, he was summoned by his senior sister to the Peach Blossom Immortal Abode.

When he arrived, several of his senior brothers and sisters had already returned and had been waiting for a long time.

Xu Xian greeted them warmly.

"Senior brothers, senior sisters, you're all here."

Jiang Wanyin smiled and said, "We were just waiting for you."

Xu Xian joked, "It seems I'm late."

Jiang Wanyin waved a hand, gesturing for Xu Xian to take a seat, then said directly to the point,

"Little Eleven."

"I'm here, Senior Sister."

"You know why we called you here, right?"

Xu Xian said frankly, "Of course. It's about the Emperor's Tomb."