Saintly Trial

Everyone waited eagerly, their faces alight with excitement as they anticipated the arrival of Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Tongtian Cult Master to announce the test for accepting disciples.

Li Qingxu couldn't help feeling his heart race. He was both eager and nervous.

After all, successfully becoming a disciple of a Saint was practically like leaping over the Dragon Gate. It meant gaining a talisman that could keep him safe, allowing him to roam the Primordial World without fear. Even Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi wouldn't dare kill him.

Unexpectedly, however, neither Saint showed any intention of appearing. Only a deep, resonant voice rang out from the summit of Kunlun Mountain:

"Those who reach the summit may join my sect."

The voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an unquestionable will. It reverberated through heaven and earth, its echoes lingering without end.

As soon as the words were spoken, the foot of the mountain, which had been bustling with noise, fell into an eerie silence.

Countless cultivators stared at one another, their faces full of shock and confusion. Some even dug at their ears, wondering if they'd heard wrong.

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

"We just have to reach the summit? D-does that mean we all have a chance to become disciples of a Saint?!"

Some cultivators were simple-minded, while others were so overwhelmed by the sudden prospect that their faces flushed with joy. They couldn't help whispering excitedly, their eyes already alight with unrealistic fantasies.

They thought that Kunlun Mountain, though it towered into the clouds and seemed immeasurably vast, could still be climbed by anyone with Human Immortal Realm cultivation who could ride the clouds and wind. It would merely take some time. The test seemed like a formality.

"Fools! Do you think good fortune falls from the sky like that?"

A cultivator immediately sneered and retorted:

"Would a Saint be so flippant about accepting disciples? The path up the mountain is surely hiding mysteries and dangers beyond anything we can imagine."

There were more than ten billion of them. Even Tongtian Cult Master, who was said to accept all without prejudice, couldn't possibly take so many disciples.

And the simpler a test seemed, the higher its actual requirements were likely to be.

"Who cares? The Saint has spoken. He said that reaching the summit is enough to join his sect, so what are we waiting for? There's no harm in getting a head start!"

Some cultivators were too impatient to wait, while others were confident in their escape techniques. They could no longer hold back.

They set their magical power surging, some summoning Escape Light, others using cloud-riding techniques. They shot off the ground, ready to charge straight toward the cloud-wreathed summit!

But then something strange happened.

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

The moment they went any higher, they were suppressed by a vast, boundless force and fell back down, unable to control themselves.

"It seems the Saint wants us to climb Kunlun Mountain on foot, to test whether our resolve is firm enough."

Someone spoke with sudden understanding, and the cultivators beside him nodded in agreement.

Li Qingxu, however, furrowed his brow. He felt certain that the test couldn't be as simple as using physical strength to climb to the summit of Kunlun Mountain.

After all, every living being present had at least reached the Human Immortal Realm, and their bodies were likewise strong. Some races were naturally endowed with great strength. Given enough time, climbing Kunlun Mountain would be no challenge.

The cultivators at the head of the crowd had already begun climbing along the mountain's many winding trails. Though Li Qingxu couldn't yet figure out what the Saint truly intended, he had no choice but to take things as they came. He joined the crowd and began the climb.

The paths to the summit of Kunlun Mountain branched in every direction. Even with ten billion cultivators climbing at once, they weren't congested.

Li Qingxu walked along the mountain trail with the other cultivators, feeling no pressure or resistance at all.

Other cultivators also strolled at their leisure, admiring the scenery of Kunlun Mountain as they discussed what they would do after reaching the summit, such as whether to join the Chan Sect or the Interception Sect.

But this relaxed, pleasant state lasted only a few days.

Three days later, the first signs of trouble appeared among cultivators with acquired roots and weaker cultivation.

Their steps were no longer light. An invisible pressure began to weigh on them, and it continued to grow stronger as time passed.

The mountain path seemed to have become a manifestation of the laws of the Primordial Heaven and Earth, reflecting each climber's "roots," "comprehension," and "Dao Foundation."

Those with deep roots, extraordinary comprehension, and a Dao Foundation more attuned to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth found that, though they could not fly, they moved along the path like fish in water or birds in the sky. They seemed to follow some inner "course," and the pressure they faced was naturally much lighter.

They could even draw a little nourishment from the increasingly rich Dao resonance around them, their steps remaining light.

But those with shallow roots, dull comprehension, or a mixed and impure Dao Foundation at odds with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth found themselves struggling against the current, barely able to take a step.

They felt as though the entire world was subtly rejecting them, hindering their progress.

A sense of "discomfort" and "stagnation," rooted in the very nature of their existence, filled their bodies. Every step felt like a struggle against the whole world. Even the slight unevenness of the stone steps beneath their feet became an insurmountable obstacle.

"How could this be?!"

"Didn't Saint Tongtian say that the Interception Sect accepts all without prejudice, and that anyone sincerely devoted to the Dao could become his disciple?"

"Why has he set such a test now, turning us away?"

Beings with acquired roots cried out to the heavens in despair.

They were already struggling to walk while still near the foot of Kunlun Mountain. Reaching the summit had become an impossible dream.

Li Qingxu had Innate Five Elements Root and hadn't felt any pressure so far.

Hearing them, Li Qingxu could only sigh. They were still too young.

Though Tongtian Cult Master accepted all without prejudice, he knew from his memories of his previous life that the Four Direct Disciples, the Four Inner Disciples, and the Seven Attendant Immortals of the Interception Sect all possessed top-tier innate roots.

It came down to this: in the Primordial World, three parts depended on effort, seven on luck, and the remaining ninety on one's roots.

It was far easier to find gold in a gold mine than in the sand.

So Tongtian Cult Master likewise favored disciples with exceptional roots and deep fortune. He simply didn't reject Beasts with fur and horns or the Oviparous and Moisture-born.

The cultivators with acquired roots gritted their teeth and struggled onward for a while, unwilling to give up the chance to become a Saint's disciple and rise to greatness.

But the farther they climbed, the stronger the pressure became. Eventually, they could no longer endure it and collapsed to the ground. Some gritted their teeth and persisted, only for their bodies to fail under the pressure and burst apart in a rain of blood.

The sight made many cultivators reconsider.

The chance to become a Saint's disciple was precious, but death would end everything. Being alive mattered more than anything.

Over the following days, more and more cultivators collapsed, while many others realized they had no hope of reaching the summit and chose to leave.

"The Great Dao is impartial, yet also partial."

"This path reflects your true nature. You cannot force your way forward. Your roots and karmic ties determined how far you could go from the moment you took your first step."

At the very front of the mountain path, a middle-aged man in a yellow Daoist robe sighed. A trace of sorrow showed on his face, and his aura was as deep as the sea.

When Dao Ancestor Hongjun had preached to the Myriad Spirits of the Primordial World at Purple Cloud Palace, it had seemed as if his teachings were open to all. In truth, only those who had reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm or higher and could cross Chaos were qualified to enter the palace and hear the supreme teachings.

Opportunities seemed equal to all, but the threshold had already been set in silence.