Sword Gate Demonic Ruins

The old Qi refiner's words left the hundred or so Upper Court disciples in the quiet chamber staring at one another. "Only one person obtained the true inheritance. But who among us received the old gentleman's true inheritance?"

Although they were all fellow disciples, every one of them had a competitive streak. The old Qi refiner had said that only one person had obtained his true inheritance without revealing who it was, naturally giving rise to all sorts of speculation. Everyone assumed they were the one who had received it.

"Isn't it simple to find out who received the true inheritance?"

A dashing female disciple suddenly suggested, "Let's compete using the Thunderclap Sword Art. Whoever's Thunderclap Sword Art can overwhelm all the others is naturally the one who obtained the true inheritance!"

"That's a good idea!"

The Upper Court disciples in the quiet chamber were eager to try. Disciples immediately began facing off in pairs. None used any other arts, Totem Pillars, or soul weapons; instead, they competed with the Thunderclap Sword Art.

In an instant, lightning flashed and thunderbolts roared throughout the quiet chamber. Sword qi like crashing thunder burst forth with the might of thunderbolts. Some of these Upper Court disciples were indeed extraordinarily talented. They performed the Thunderclap Sword Art with their bare hands, visualizing thunder in their minds as rolling thunder echoed. Before long, they knocked down their opponents. However, the power was not great, and no serious injuries were inflicted!

Since they were competing against fellow disciples, they naturally held back instead of giving it their all.

While everyone else fought fiercely, Zhong Yue continued practicing his Thunderclap Sword Art in the corner, taking no part in the competition.

His Thunderclap Sword Art appeared increasingly clumsy. The crashing thunder visualized by his mental power twisted and writhed awkwardly, yet amid that clumsiness, an ancient air gradually began to emerge—simple and majestic, like thunder splitting a green pine or a sudden clap of thunder falling over an empty mountain!

His Thunderclap Sword qi sometimes resembled a thunder tree, radiating lightning in every direction, and sometimes was nothing more than a single bare sword light!

When mental power was highly concentrated, it could take shape during visualization. Visualizing a flood dragon allowed one to transform it into a flood dragon, and visualizing thunder allowed one to unleash the might of thunder.

However, the thunder visualized by Zhong Yue was truly nowhere near as dazzling or attractive as that of the other Upper Court disciples. It utterly lacked the Thunderclap Sword Art's dazzling colors, so naturally it attracted no attention.

After a long while, the victors among the Upper Court disciples had been decided. Only the dashing female disciple and a male disciple remained locked in combat. Both their mental powers had reached the stage of taking form. With a single thought, lightning burst forth; their mental power could even produce lightning from empty space!

The two moved rapidly through the quiet chamber, swift as crashing thunder. All kinds of Thunderclap Sword Art techniques unfolded. Zizizizi—lightning flashed and thunder boomed, with thunderbolts like swords striking toward the other. It was an astonishing sight!

Before long, thunderous radiance suddenly rose beneath the female disciple's feet, actually lifting her body more than four feet into the air. She moved through the air and, raising her hand, thrust a ray of thunderous sword light into the male disciple's chest.

The male disciple had never imagined that she could be lifted by lightning as though she were about to fly through the sky. Caught off guard, he was blasted until his chest was blackened and every strand of hair stood on end before he crashed to the ground.

"Senior Sister Ting, I concede!"

The male disciple was frank enough. Coughing black smoke and clutching his chest, he showed his admiration and said, "Senior Sister, your skill is indeed a level higher. You can actually control lightning and fly through the air. No wonder Elder Pu said that only one person had obtained his true inheritance!"

"Are you hurt, Junior Brother?"

The female disciple landed and smiled. "I only controlled the lightning for a short time. I could fly merely ten zhang before falling, and I couldn't fly very high, either. Compared with the thunder-riding flight Elder Pu mentioned, traveling a thousand li on thunder, I'm still a hundred thousand and eight thousand li away."

The Upper Court disciples came forward, laughing one after another. "Senior Sister Ting has obtained Elder Pu's true inheritance—that's beyond doubt. In the future, once Senior Sister Ting becomes a Qi refiner, riding thunder through the air and traveling a thousand li on thunder will naturally be within her grasp!"

Senior Sister Ting also revealed a delighted expression. She suddenly looked toward Zhong Yue in the corner and saw that he was still practicing the Thunderclap Sword Art. Yet his Thunderclap Sword Art had become even stranger. Compared with the version Elder Pu had taught them, it was already utterly unrecognizable. She could not help frowning and thought, Such a strange Thunderclap Sword Art obviously cannot be the true inheritance. It seems the person Elder Pu mentioned really is me.

"Junior Brother Zhong Yue of the Zhongshan Clan!"

Senior Sister Ting stepped forward and smiled openly. "I'm Ting Lanyue of the Dating Clan. I entered the Upper Court a year before you. Junior Brother Zhong Yue, would you like to compete with me? Perhaps you're the one who received Elder Pu's true inheritance!"

Zhong Yue shook his head and smiled. "Senior Sister Ting, I've only been in the Upper Court for four or five days. How could I possibly be your opponent?"

"That's true."

Ting Lanyue did not press him. She smiled and said, "My fellow disciples and I plan to enter the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins to temper ourselves and fight the demon race, improving the power of our Thunderclap Sword Art. I wonder if Junior Brother would be interested in coming with us?"

"The Sword Gate Demonic Ruins?"

"Junior Brother, you don't know about the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins?"

Ting Lanyue realized and said, "That's right. You've only just entered the Upper Court, so you don't know some of Sword Gate's secrets. Back then, our Sword Gate forebears protected the Human race's barbarian tribes and migrated all the way to the Great Wilderness. At that time, the Great Wilderness was a demonic domain, with demons living throughout it and monsters rampaging everywhere. Through untold hardship, our Sword Gate forebears opened up the Great Wilderness for our Human race's tribes to multiply and survive, while the demons within the Great Wilderness were suppressed in Sword Gate's Demonic Ruins. The strange demon you encountered during your examination in Azure Sky Hall was one of the weakest demon heads in the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins."

Another Upper Court disciple laughed. "There are countless demon heads in the Demonic Ruins, most of them weak ones like strange demons and spider demons. They're just right for us Upper Court disciples to use as practice. We've only just been taught the Thunderclap Sword Art and must undergo actual combat to improve its power. Through battle, we can also comprehend the true profound meaning of the Thunderclap Sword Art."

"Senior Brother He is right!"

The many Upper Court disciples were vigorous and full of life as they laughed. "But Senior Brother He left out one thing. Killing demon heads in the Demonic Ruins earns sect rewards, which can be exchanged for treasures such as Feather Spirit Pills, Totem Pillars, and soul weapons!"

"Feather Spirit Pills? Totem Pillars? Soul weapons?"

Zhong Yue was deeply tempted. Totem Pillars were quite useful for cultivation and combat, while soul weapons were weapons of war that could greatly increase one's battle power. As for Feather Spirit Pills, they were even more crucial to him!

He cultivated the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization, which consumed too much energy. He needed more Feather Spirit Pills to continue cultivating!

He had already used up all his Feather Spirit Pills. He had to obtain more; otherwise, forcing himself to cultivate would hollow out his body, leaving him with a loss greater than the gain!

Zhong Yue hesitated and asked, "I'm not Elder Pu's disciple. Can I enter the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins as well?"

A female disciple said, "Any Upper Court disciple can enter the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins, but only once a month. Besides, there are countless demon heads in the Demonic Ruins, with demon tribes everywhere. It's only safe with plenty of people. This time, Senior Sister Ting and Senior Brother He are here. Senior Sister Ting obtained Elder Pu's true inheritance, and Senior Brother He is only a hair's breadth behind her. Nothing can possibly go wrong!"

Hearing this, Ting Lanyue smiled faintly and said, "Fighting the demon race will also greatly benefit your comprehension of the true inheritance of the Thunderclap Sword Art."

Zhong Yue nodded and smiled. "Sorry for the trouble, Senior Sister Ting and Senior Brother He."

That Senior Brother He was the Upper Court disciple who had lost to Ting Lanyue by one move. He came from the Bihe Tribe and took He as his surname, his name being He Chengchuan. His talent was also extremely high. Among the hundred or so Upper Court disciples under Elder Pu, he was among the very best. He was cheerful and talkative.

Zhong Yue climbed Sword Gate Mountain together with the hundred or so disciples. The mountain grew steeper and steeper, with clouds drifting beside them, making it seem as though they were walking upon the clouds.

Zhong Yue looked downward and felt a wave of dizziness. The mountains below appeared much smaller, while the Upper Court looked no bigger than a palm.

Before long, the mountain was no longer so perilous, and the road grew wider. When they reached the middle of Sword Gate Mountain, they saw layer upon layer of palaces in this strange mountain. Great halls stood majestically, like Lingzhi Mushrooms growing from tree stumps!

Zhong Yue had gathered Lingzhi Mushrooms in the mountains before. They grew on tree stumps, spreading outward in round, platform-like caps. The halls on Sword Gate Mountain had been built upon the round, Lingzhi-like platforms of one cliff after another, with bottomless abysses beneath and clouds and mist swirling around them!

"Those country bumpkins of Sword Gate certainly made this place magnificent."

The Kindling Child observed the surroundings through Zhong Yue's eyes and could not help praising it repeatedly. "The Qi refiners who built this place back then probably had strength close to that of gods and demons!"

The disciples climbed onto a round, Lingzhi-like platform. In front of the great hall sat an old man dressed in white with white hair. Beside him, a chain as thick as a thigh was fastened to a pillar. On the other side sat another white-haired, white-robed old man, with another iron chain fastened to the pillar beside him.

The other ends of the two iron chains connected to the air. Zhong Yue narrowed his eyes and saw that the air was empty, yet the two chains hung high there as though they had something tied to them.

He Chengchuan stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Elders, we intend to enter the Demonic Ruins to eliminate demons and temper ourselves. We ask that the two of you grant us some accommodation."

One of the white-haired, white-robed elders nodded and said, "Look into the mirror in front of the hall."

Everyone came to the bronze mirror before the hall. The mirror was enormous, standing four or five zhang tall. Zhong Yue was extremely curious. He Chengchuan lowered his voice beside him and said, "Junior Brother Zhong, this bronze mirror is an extraordinary treasure, a fine soul weapon. As long as you stand before it and look, it will leave your image in the mirror. If you kill demons in the Demonic Ruins, it will record the number killed and your merits. The more merits you earn, the more sect rewards you can exchange for!"

Zhong Yue stepped forward and looked into the mirror. His own image appeared within it. Text appeared beside the images of the others, recording when they had entered the Demonic Ruins, the number of demon heads they had killed, and their merits. His own section, however, remained completely blank.

"The treatment in Sword Gate's Upper Court and Lower Court really is different. Cultivation in the Lower Court is dull, but life in the Upper Court is colorful."

Zhong Yue could not help sighing inwardly. He had lived in the Lower Court for five or six years, enduring a harsh and difficult life while cultivating in utter boredom. Only after arriving in the Upper Court had life gradually become exciting.

The two white-robed elders raised their hands and each seized an iron chain fastened to a stone pillar before the great hall. They pulled hard. Creak, creak—the sound of doors opening rang out. As the chains were dragged, a Sword Gate slowly appeared in the air!

That portal seemed to have been formed by splitting a sword's body down the middle. The iron chains were connected to the two halves of the portal. Since the sword's entire body was colorless, the portal could not easily be seen.

Now, the two elders pulled the Sword Gate open. Light poured from within. Although the space before the portal seemed empty, the light immediately revealed a flight of stairs extending from the Sword Gate all the way to the round platform.

Pale-black demonic qi spilled from the Sword Gate. Strange sounds like ghosts wailing and wolves howling came from within, making one shudder with fear.

Ting Lanyue and He Chengchuan entered the Sword Gate first. Zhong Yue and the others followed in an orderly stream, entering the Demonic Ruins.

Zhong Yue raised his head and looked around. The sky above the Demonic Ruins was gloomy, with leaden clouds packed densely together. It seemed even the clouds were terribly heavy, and everything appeared dim and murky.

The distant mountains looked extremely sinister as well, jagged like interlocking teeth and grim as a forest.

Pale-black demonic qi formed fierce winds that sent boulders the size of millstones tumbling through the air. It was immensely dangerous.

"There are little female cows from the Human race!"

Suddenly, strange laughter came from far away. A vast, dark mass of demons came charging over. An entire tribe of strange demons had clearly discovered Zhong Yue and the other Upper Court disciples entering the Demonic Ruins!

The strange demons surged forward, howling grotesquely. "Kill the males, pickle them, and dry them in the sun for later! Capture the females and use them for crossbreeding. Make their bellies big and propagate the next generation of our race!"