Chapter 51: Entering the Mountains
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
The next morning arrived, cloaked in ambiguity, as if neither clear nor cloudy.
Disciples of the Immortal Sects began their trek into the mountains, navigating the ancient woods that seemed to swallow daylight itself. Their destination lay ahead, where a radiant glow promised the allure of an ancient relic. The Qiling Mountain Range sprawled vast and untamed, with the relic nestled toward its northern heart. As they advanced, the oppressive killing Qi grew more palpable, stifling their spiritual essence with every step.
Initially, some disciples at the Mystic Enlightenment Stage soared through the air, their movements light and ethereal. Yet, mere moments after entering the mountains, they hastily descended, their expressions marred by unease.
“The circulation of spiritual Qi feels… obstructed,” one muttered, sensing the abrupt sluggishness in their internal flow. The efficiency of absorbing Qi had plummeted by nearly half.
Wen Zheng Xin and Ban Yang Shu, their faces clouded with severity, began to grasp why this relic, untouched for millennia, had remained unexplored.
At the rear of the Heavenly Script Academy contingent, Bai Ru Long appeared visibly unsettled. With Ji You stationed in Beisha Town to guard their flank, Bai Ru Long found himself uncertain about who deserved his protection.
[Ji You may only be at the peak of the Lower Three Stages, but Ban Yang Shu is at the upper Mystic Enlightenment Stage, and our leader, Wen Zheng Xin, is in the Dao Fusion Stage. By all logic, staying with them should inspire confidence,] he thought. Yet unease lingered.
Ban Yang Shu, too, felt a curious discomfort. Despite standing beside Wen Zheng Xin, the security he had felt during the street battle alongside Ji You was absent. The deeper they ventured into the mountains and the more constrained the spiritual Qi became, the stronger this feeling grew.
Before long, a white mist, interspersed with streaks of black killing Qi, began to drift ominously through the forest. Beyond the visible disciples of their sects, silhouettes of others — whether fellow sect members or descendants of prestigious clans — faded into the haze. All the while, the relic’s entrance lay two mountain peaks away.
High above the Qiling Mountain Range, flying swords belonging to the disciples of the Seven Great Immortal Sects circled in formation. These disciples avoided the perilous Qi below, choosing instead to observe in silence, poised to act at the critical moment.
A sword cultivator from the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, holding a heavy blade, conversed with a former acquaintance from Spirit Sword Mountain who had similarly risen to prominence. Though clad in differing sect robes, they both exuded an aura of confidence and detachment, their pride apparent. Unlike their somber comrades traversing the mountain depths, these individuals were tasked solely with seizing the final prize, their esteemed status exempting them from initial risks.
One of the Spirit Sword Mountain disciples, growing idle, let his gaze wander. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on something within the black mist below.
“Look,” he murmured. Others followed his line of sight, their interest piqued.
One by one, dozens of disciples turned their focus to the same point. Amidst the dense blackness, two faint white figures pressed forward.
The figures were unmistakably human, advancing into a sea of malignant beings. Leading the charge was a lone figure wielding a three-foot iron sword. Each strike carved a path like the breaking dawn, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. Clearing the immediate area, the sword-wielder swapped his blade for a powerful bow, drawing an arrow with precision and firing it ahead. Upon completing his shot, he resumed the blade, his strikes never ceasing.
Behind him, the second figure diligently retrieved spent arrows, ensuring no resources were wasted. The pair’s rhythm was unyielding, but their actions soon drew the attention of even more malignant beings. The swelling tide began to encircle them at the barren outskirts of the Red Mountain Mine entrance.
Though the sword continued to dance, its movements grew visibly strained. Swarms of creatures poured in, sealing the path ahead entirely. Watching from above, a disciple of Spirit Sword Mountain sighed regretfully.
“Such mastery of the sword,” he remarked, “yet even they won’t make it further.”
No matter the skill, all blades falter when denied space to maneuver.
Suddenly, a radiant burst of spiritual light erupted, dispelling the dark tide momentarily. Five swords, their edges gleaming with raw power, swept forward along the ground, cutting through a span of ten feet. The leading swordsman gripped his blade with both hands and spun like a whirlwind, clearing a circle around him.
The Spirit Sword Mountain disciples stood in stunned silence, their disbelief evident. “Such swordsmanship… I have never seen its like.”
Ji You seized the reprieve to summon a cache of spiritual stones from his Green Jade Gourd, shattering them with his blade to replenish his depleted Qi. The night prior, he had devoted himself to cultivating his spiritual senses, refining techniques for swift activation. Now, wielding twin blades while commanding five flying swords simultaneously posed no difficulty. Yet against these unending hordes, the relentless drain on his Qi remained a formidable challenge.
Without a spiritual essence core, his recovery relied entirely on the Qi flow through his body’s meridians, an exchange made faster by his peculiar constitution. Even so, he found himself struggling to keep pace, relying heavily on the replenishment provided by the stones.
Gradually, the light of the spiritual stones dimmed, and Ji You exhaled, feeling reinvigorated. Nearby, Yuan Chen, watching the waves of creatures surge closer, felt panic clawing at his heart. Desperately scanning for options, his eyes fell upon a radiant spirit hairpin among the stones.
“Heavens above,” he exclaimed. “Is that carved from a spirit core? With that, we could fight for days on end!”
Ji You followed Yuan Chen’s gaze and froze. “So that’s why she only had two left… She told me she’d lost it.”
“What?” Yuan Chen blurted, baffled as Ji You chuckled faintly despite their peril. Ji You tucked the hairpin back into the gourd.
“It’s a gift from a young lady,” he explained. “I won’t use it.”
“What?” Yuan Chen’s expression twisted in disbelief. Before he could argue further, Ji You summoned his swords, unleashing a tidal wave of sword intent that surged like a storm. Caught off-guard, Yuan Chen found himself yanked forward by a tightened rope at his waist.
He stared in wide-eyed shock as Ji You charged ahead, fiercer than ever, as if spurred by some forbidden elixir.
Deep within the Red Mountain Mine, the trapped survivors finally took notice. From atop the high walls, they watched, stunned, as the relentless swordsman carved a path through the throngs of darkness. For seven days, they had been besieged, their cries for help ignored by the sect disciples who flew overhead, blind to their plight.
Never had they imagined that someone would fight their way directly to them.