Saint's Trial

Everyone craned their necks, faces alight with anticipation, waiting for Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Tongtian Cult Master to appear and set up the trials for accepting disciples.

Li Qingxu couldn't help his heart racing, a mix of hope and nerves.

After all, successfully becoming a disciple of a Saint was practically leaping through the dragon's gate—from then on, you'd hold a life-saving talisman, free to roam the Primordial World with bold confidence, and even Di Jun or Donghuang Taiyi wouldn't dare strike you down.

But unexpectedly, the two Saints showed no intention of appearing. Only a resonant voice rang out from the peak of Kunlun Mountain:

"Those who reach the summit may enter my gate."

The voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an absolute will that brooked no doubt, rumbling through heaven and earth with lingering echoes.

As these words fell, the previously clamorous mountain base plunged into an eerie silence.

Countless cultivators exchanged bewildered glances, faces etched with shock and confusion. Some even dug at their ears, wondering if they'd misheard.

"That's... that's it?"

"Just reach the summit? Doesn't that mean... we all have a chance to become a Saint's disciple?!"

A few simple-minded cultivators, or those swept up by the sheer surprise, flushed with ecstatic red, unable to hold back exclamations as unrealistic fantasies flickered in their eyes.

In their view, though Kunlun Mountain towered into the clouds, vast and immeasurable, as long as one had reached the Human Immortal Realm and could ride clouds or control the wind, flying up was just a matter of time. This trial seemed practically nonexistent.

"Fools! Since when does a free lunch fall from the sky?"

Another cultivator sneered, retorting:

"A Saint taking disciples wouldn't be such child's play. This path up the mountain likely hides unimaginable mysteries and dangers beyond our grasp."

With over ten billion people here, even Tongtian Saint, who preached teaching without discrimination, couldn't take that many disciples.

And the simpler the trial seemed, the harsher the requirements probably were.

"Forget all that—since the Saint's golden words have spoken, saying reaching the top means entry, what are we waiting for? Grabbing the first chance can't be wrong!"

Some impatient cultivators, or those confident in their Escape Light techniques, could no longer hold back.

They surged their mana, either launching into Escape Light or casting cloud-riding arts, shooting up from the ground, aiming straight for the mist-wreathed peak!

But then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

No matter how they pushed their divine abilities, they could only rise about three zhang off the ground.

Beyond that height, a vast, overwhelming force suppressed them, sending them tumbling back down uncontrollably.

"It seems the Saint wants us to climb Kunlun Mountain on foot, to test the firmness of our resolve,"

someone said with sudden realization, and nearby cultivators nodded in agreement.

But Li Qingxu frowned slightly, feeling the trial couldn't be as simple as just scaling Kunlun Mountain with physical strength alone.

After all, every being present was at least at the Human Immortal Realm, with formidable physical power, and some were even born with divine strength. Given enough time, climbing Kunlun Mountain was hardly a challenge.

Watching the frontmost cultivators already starting up the mountain along various large and small paths, Li Qingxu, though still unclear on the Saint's true intent, could only take it step by step, joining the crowd in the climb.

The paths to Kunlun's summit branched in all directions, so even with ten billion cultivators climbing together, there was no congestion.

Li Qingxu walked the mountain path alongside the others, feeling no pressure or obstacles.

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The other cultivators strolled leisurely, admiring Kunlun's scenery while discussing what came next—whether to join the Chan Sect or the Jie Sect after reaching the summit.

But this relaxed, joyful state lasted only a few short days.

After three days, some cultivators with weaker, acquired roots began to show signs of strain.

Their steps grew heavy, and an invisible pressure settled on them, increasing over time.

This mountain path seemed to manifest the Laws of Heaven and Earth, reflecting each climber's own "Root," "Comprehension," and "Dao Foundation."

Those with deep roots, extraordinary comprehension, and a Dao Foundation aligned with the great Dao of heaven and earth walked it as if gliding—though unable to fly, they moved like fish in water or birds in the sky, following some inner "track," and felt far less pressure.

They could even draw some nourishment from the thickening Dao resonance around them, their steps light.

But those with shallow roots, dull comprehension, or a mixed Dao Foundation at odds with heaven and earth found it like rowing against the current, each step a struggle.

They felt the whole world subtly rejecting them, hindering their advance.

A sense of "discomfort" and "stagnation" rooted in their very existence filled their bodies. Every step was a fight against the entire heaven and earth, and even the slight unevenness of the stone steps became an insurmountable obstacle.

"How can this be!"

"Didn't Tongtian Saint say the Jie Sect teaches without discrimination, that anyone sincerely seeking the Dao can enter?"

"Why set up such a trial now, shutting us out?"

Some beings with acquired roots cried out in grief to the heavens.

They were still at the base of Kunlun Mountain, already struggling to move, and reaching the summit had become an impossible dream.

Li Qingxu, possessing the Innate Five Elements Root, felt no pressure at all for now.

Hearing these laments, he could only sigh inwardly—they were still too naive.

Tongtian Cult Master might preach teaching without discrimination, but in Li Qingxu's past-life memories, the Jie Sect's Four Direct Disciples, Four Inner Disciples, and Seven Attendant Immortals were all beings with top-tier Innate Roots.

Still, the same saying holds: in the Primordial World, three parts rely on effort, seven on luck, and the remaining ninety all depend on one's roots and foundation.

Searching for gold in a gold mine is far simpler than sifting for it in sand.

Thus, Tongtian Cult Master likewise favored disciples with exceptional roots and deep blessings, though he did not reject those born with fur and horns, or from eggs and moisture.

The cultivators of Houtian roots gritted their teeth and persisted for a time, unwilling to give up this chance to become a Saint's disciple and soar to the heavens.

But as they climbed higher, the pressure grew ever more intense, until one by one they could hold on no longer and collapsed to the ground. Some, stubbornly clenching their resolve, had their physical bodies crushed by the pressure and exploded on the spot into showers of blood.

At such a sight, many cultivators began to waver in their hearts.

Though the chance to become a Saint's disciple was precious, death rendered all things void—living was more important than anything else.

In the following days, cultivators kept falling from exhaustion, and many others, knowing they could never reach the summit, chose to leave.

"The Great Dao is impartial, yet also utterly selfish."

"This path reflects one's true nature; it cannot be forced. Your roots and fate were already sealed the moment you took your first step, determining how far you could go."

At the very front of the mountain path, a middle-aged man in a yellow Daoist robe, his face bearing a trace of sorrow, his aura deep as the ocean, sighed.

Back when Dao Ancestor Hongjun preached to the Myriad Spirits of the Primordial World at Purple Xiao Palace, it seemed open to all beings, but in truth, only those at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm or above, capable of crossing Chaos, were qualified to step through the palace gates and listen to the supreme Dharma.

Before opportunity, all appeared equal, yet the threshold had long stood in silence.