Because Tung flower country distance from the distance to Wujie, plus back on the journey there are sleep bamboo this has no spiritual force of ordinary people, so the company decided to take a ride of flight - birds, kind of beast animals, cage-reared on Mount Spirit, a height between five to ten meters, can fly in the air for a long time.
The wings of the bird fly swiftly; it reached Tian Shui City in less than half a cup of tea's time.
Tian Shui City was at the foot of Mount Wujie, where the most powerful and strong family in the spirit realm was Lily Family. When the wings of birds swept past from the sky, it pierced through layer upon layer of clouds and still could see Lily Family's eighty-one stories of ascending to heaven.
Standing in the very center of Tian Shui City, the building is carved with countless auspicious cloud patterns that are lifelike, as if they are about to burst through the wall at any moment. Each eave corner is hung with a bronze bell that tinkles gently in the wind, emitting a clear and ethereal sound.
It is faintly visible that there are countless mysterious formations and restrictions around the ascending to heaven tower, only open for the annual Spring Water Festival. The time is seven days, a total of eighty-one levels. Anyone can sign up and participate, and the person who passes through the most levels will receive a significant prize prepared by Lily Family.
And the person who passes through to the last level will receive the ultimate prize.
On the back of the wings, He Ting Shuang sat straight, the long sword resting on his lap. Calculating the time, he smiled at Wu Zhu Yan and said, "You've come at just the right time. It turns out that this year's Spring Water Festival is in two weeks, and by then Tian Shui City will be bustling."
Su Lingyi sighed and said, "I don't know if anyone will be able to pass through to the last level this year. It's been hundreds of years, but we still don't know what the ultimate prize is."
Wu Zhu Yan used her hand to support her chin, a little surprised: "No one has ever been able to pass through to the last level?"
"No," He Ting Shuang and Su Lingyi shook their heads together, their eyes filled with yearning and reverence: "The highest record so far is the seventy-sixth level reached by the Sword Emperor a hundred years ago. At that time, the Sword Emperor was only sixteen, a true youth genius, unparalleled in splendor!"
Chu Yi had been silent all along, just tightly grasping his sword, his expression was unclear.
Bai Lu Yun gave a half-hearted roll of her eyes in the dark, leaning her head against his shoulder, her voice somewhat coquettish: "Ziye brother, I believe you will definitely become the first person to finish the Ascension Building."
Chu Yi answered lowly.
Wu Zhu Yan didn't respond to them, just fell into a reverie.
In that year when she turned sixteen, she had indeed arrived in Tian Shui City for the first time, just in time for the annual Spring Water Festival.
Hearing that there was a mysterious prize, under her goading, Master Brother quickly cut out twelve spirit stones from the account as registration fees for her and Second Sister. He seriously warned them that these twelve spirit stones were half a month's food expenses for their clan and they must earn back the initial investment.
Not only that, he bit his teeth and pulled out his own savings to place a bet for each of them, totaling two spirit stones. That was money he had been saving to buy the new storybooks for the next month.
Seeing Master Brother stake his dignity, Wu Zhu Yan also took it more seriously. She worked through the night to give Qianman a thorough cleaning, sharpening it to an edge that would cut through anything, and polished it to a shine. She even selected the most beautiful gem sword brooch to hang from it.
Oh, by the way, "Qianman" was her precious sword.
At first, many people disliked the name, but after she became a Sword Emperor, everyone said it was a good name.
On the day the Ascending to Heaven Building was opened, Wu Zhu Yan stood alone with her sword and killed her way up to the seventy-sixth floor. Here she met Brother of Little Sister, Bai Li Zhi, the first prodigy of Lily Family.
At that time, this talent in the swordsmanship art was showing signs of going madly religious. Upon meeting her, without even saying a word, he attacked her fiercely, fighting until the heavens and earth seemed dark, revealing his murderous intent. Even the several great powers of the cultivation world who were watching from outside the Ascension to Heaven Building couldn't remain seated any longer.
Bai Li Zhi's situation was very dangerous. After controlling him, Wu Zhu Yan did not hesitate, but bundled him up together and left the Ascending to Heaven Building. After all, when she reached the sixtyth level or so, she didn't see anyone else. It should count as a win.
The only thing is, Second Sister has an obsession, and she still felt uneasy about not completing the eighty-first level.
Wu Zhu Yan originally thought of waiting until next year to participate, to fulfill Second Sister's obsession, but little did she know that she would take first place at the Annual Spiritual Lord Conference the following year, becoming the first person on the Spiritual Lord Tablet, and even being recognized as the owner by the Divine Sword.
At that time, Qianman was driven mad by rage, and slashed out a sword qi that swept across the peak of Xueming Mountain, fighting fiercely with the Divine Sword until they were on the verge of breaking.
Thinking of this, Wu Zhu Yan lowered her eyelashes.
The sunlight on her face flickered, blurring her expression.
In the instant when she perished along with the Yamen demon, the world was shattered. Her last glimpse was of Qianman's sword body shattering bit by bit along the fine cracks in its blade.
*
Since they had already arrived in Tian Shui City, it meant that the Wujie Sect was close at hand. Wu Zhu Yan suppressed her emotions and peeked outside.
The scenery was magnificent, with layered mountains towering into the sky and vast forests stretching as far as the eye could see. Mists and smokes intertwined in the mountains, moving along with the wind. Glistening palaces scattered across the mountainside, their green glazed tiles glittering brightly under the sunlight. Their high-eaved roofs and ornately carved doors were exquisitely decorated. This was truly a place where "exotic beasts and strange plants are described in detail, erecting palaces amid clear springs; refined essence is latent, opening cave dwellings in famous mountains."
Indeed, they are worthy of being one of the three thousand-year-old sects in Xilingzhou.
The wings of the bird dived, passed through the clouds at an incredible speed, and landed smoothly in front of Wu Jie Sect. Only after several people had jumped down did it collect the fluttering feathers and shrink its body, flying towards Mount Spirit to join the rest of them.
"Qi Yi will go to report the details of this trip to the sect head and elders." Qi Yu's gaze fell on He Ting Shuang: "He Xiongdi, please take this lady to test her spiritual root."
He Ting Shuang had no objections and nodded respectfully, saying, "Yes, Senior Brother."
"Here you are." Su Lingyi took out a communication stone and handed it to Wu Zhu Yan: "I have to go report to my teacher and won't be able to follow. If you can stay here, we can keep in touch. If you don't have any cultivation, please let me know before you leave. I'll send you some things when I say goodbye."
Wu Zhu Yan accepted it readily, her smile sincere: "Thank you."
Seeing this, Bai Lu Yun's eyes rolled around a circle and she hurriedly said, "This young lady did help us out. I should accompany you as well."
Hmph, she wanted to see if this extraordinary supporting character had any spiritual root. Whether she would become a threat.
Qi Yu nodded, allowing Bai Lu Yun to go, but he spoke gently, "You have been on a journey of experience down the mountain this time. Uncle Kaimyang and Yunhuo are both very worried. Remember to go see them after the business is done."
"I know," Bai Lu Yun waved her hand, her voice tinged with annoyance, "Dad and Mom are just too overprotective. If you're with me, nothing bad will happen to me."
Wu Zhu Yan's expression remained unchanged, and she followed behind He Ting Shuang and Bai Lu Yun silently.
Since she discovered that her little sister's body had been occupied, she had deliberately avoided thinking about it. Now all sorts of thoughts suddenly came flooding back to her.
Have Little Sister's parents and brother not noticed? Have the members of the sect not sensed it either?
It's so obvious, after just a little contact, it's clear that it's not her...
Throughout the journey, one could see many disciples wearing robes of the same color. The inner-disciples wore snow-colored robes, while the outer-disciples wore light blue ones. Only the collar of their robes was adorned with a pair of bright silver lines embroidered with fish patterns, which were the hallmark of the Wu Jie Sect.
Bai Lu Yun seemed to have good relationships, as she was greeted by many people along the way. She smiled on the surface but was impatient in her heart: "Really, getting good feelings from these people is useless. Why should I cultivate good relations with them and waste my time!"
"Of course, they can't compare to the male protagonist Chu Yi," the system said with a serious tone: "However, even small bugs are meat. Accumulating a little can be useful."
It reminded her with a sense of regret, "And Bai Zhi, he is the first Swordsman of Xilingzhou, a person with status and position in the cultivation world. Such a person is also a good target for your strategies. You should work hard to increase his favorability."
Bai Lu Yun exclaimed in frustration, "Of course I know!" If it wasn't for his good looks, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to approach his cold face!
Hmph, high and cold, huh? Once she raises his favorability, she'll make him kneel before her and comfort her!
Wu Zhu Yan's eyelids twitched, and suddenly she felt that being able to hear people's hearts wasn't a good thing. She felt like her ears were a bit dirty...
In the meantime, she followed the two of them to the square in front of Wu Jie Sect's mountain gate.
Upon seeing the three of them heading towards the test spirit stone, some outer-disciples out of curiosity looked over. The test spirit stone was a piece of jade that shone brightly all over, with a faint haze flowing on its surface. Those being tested only had to place their hands on it to determine whether they had spiritual roots and whether they could embark on the path of spiritual cultivation.
Generally, each sect would widely recruit disciples at the Ascension to the Heavens Gate every three years. However, there are also special circumstances. If a few inner-disciples recommend together or if someone has extraordinary talent, the sect will also make an exception and recruit disciples at other times.
"Close your eyes, empty your mind."
Wu Zhu Yan pretended to be innocent and, under the guidance of He Ting Shuang, pressed her right hand against the test spirit stone. An odd suction force surged through her body, as if trying to extract a certain power from within her.
In the cultivation world, spiritual roots are divided into five types: wind, fire, water, earth, and wood. Single-element spiritual roots are the best, followed by double-element roots. If the elements of the spiritual roots are incompatible with each other, the difficulty of cultivation increases by a thousandfold or more.
"Zoom——"
Soon after, the test spirit stone made a soft mewing sound. At the same time, the crowd around burst into exclamations, followed by Bai Lu Yun's unrestrained laughter: "Hahaha my God! I thought this supporting character was something special. But look at her! It's the most useless five-element spiritual root!"
The system was not surprised by this result: "I told you, she's just a supporting character, it doesn't matter much. You're just too concerned about it, host."
"I can rest assured now." Bai Lu Yun finally put aside all her worries and didn't intend to put up a facade. She turned around with a relaxed expression, "This mere waste with a five-element spiritual root doesn't even deserve to be courted by me, so it's not worth my time to pay attention to her."
Wu Zhu Yan opened her eyes, unsurprisingly seeing a layer of mixed colors on the surface of the test spirit stone.
The others discussed even more enthusiastically.
"The five-element spiritual roots are suppressed by each other, which means that one will never reach the Golden Dan refining stage and their path to immortality is clear to see."
"I originally thought that the previous four-element spiritual root was enough of a waste, but I never expected this one to be even more hopeless!"
Some were dissatisfied: "When it comes to four-element spiritual roots, she wouldn't have been taken as an inner-disciple if it wasn't for her being the foster daughter of Kaiyang Master!"
Foster daughter?
Wu Zhu Yan's eyes moved slightly, noting this down.
At this moment, Ar-listen-to-frost, who was usually eloquent, fell silent for a while and finally managed to say one comforting word: "No worries, it's better than having no spiritual roots."
As the person involved, Wu Zhu Yan maintained a good attitude and even smiled at him in agreement, "Your Highness is right."
Seeing her unaffected demeanor, He Ting Shuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The head of the Disciplinary Hall, Xue Changlao, is responsible for managing various matters concerning disciples. I will take you there, but... you can only become an informal disciple at best."
The informal disciple is one who has not been officially recognized as a disciple, and is not considered a disciple of Wu Jie Sect in name.
Wu Jie Sect is a millennium-old major sect. Without the recommendation of an inner-disciple, someone like Wu Zhu Yan with a five-element spiritual root might not even be qualified to be an informal disciple.
Wu Zhu Yan didn't care at all and gave a big smile, "Being an informal disciple is already great."
Being an informal disciple is perfect for her. She didn't plan to take a disciple, so if the master found out, he would probably hit her head off.
