Displaying His Strength

"The Human Sect has been established, and Xuandu is already my disciple. The succession has been decided."

"My Dao is one of serenity and inaction. One disciple is enough."

"This human's destiny does not lie with me."

Taiqing Laozi's calm voice rang out. He had no intention of taking Li Qingxu as his disciple.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate nodded. He had only asked casually.

His fingers unconsciously stroked his long beard, his gaze profound as he seemed to be deducing and observing something.

"An ordinary human's meager foundation is an established fate."

"Yet he crossed countless miles to reach Kunlun Mountain and passed two trials in succession. That does seem to accord somewhat with the signs of Heaven's Will at work."

"The Chan Sect's Dao begins with following Heaven and responding to people, and expounding the Heavenly Principles. If Heaven's Will truly brought him here, then giving him a chance to enter the sect would be acceptable."

Tongtian Cult Master laughed heartily, expressing a view entirely different from Primordial Heavenly Venerate's.

"Senior Brother, that sounds far too bound by fate."

"In my view, this young man has accomplished the impossible despite his humble beginnings, breaking through the limits of his foundation. He is clearly going against Heaven."

Primordial Heavenly Venerate smiled faintly at his words, his tone profound.

"Junior Brother, is going against Heaven not also a way of following the Heavenly Dao?"

Tongtian Cult Master pressed on. "So, Senior Brother, you intend to take him as your disciple?"

Primordial Heavenly Venerate pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head. "When taking disciples, I would rather have none than settle for less. Whether he can enter the Chan Sect still depends on whether his fortune is deep enough."

In Primordial Heavenly Venerate's view, although Li Qingxu's appearance had surprised him, his Earth Immortal mid-stage cultivation and foundation as an ordinary Innate Being still fell short of the standard he held for Chan Sect disciples.

If his fortune was deep, it might make up for his inadequate foundation. If his blessings were shallow, then even a steadfast Dao Heart would not make him fit for a great undertaking.

"By Senior Brother's reasoning, how can we tell whether his fortune is deep?"

A hint of curiosity flashed in Tongtian Cult Master's eyes.

Fortune was an intangible thing, unlike destiny, which left signs that could be traced.

"One test will tell us."

Primordial Heavenly Venerate smiled faintly and stroked his beard without another word, though his gaze had already settled on the mountain path.

Li Qingxu continued climbing step by step, unaware that he had already drawn the attention of the Three Pure Ones.

As he drew closer to the summit, he began to feel a faint, almost imperceptible pressure pressing down on him.

Li Qingxu thought, This is bad.

After all, every cultivator who had felt pressure before had already been eliminated.

With his foundation as an ordinary Innate Being, he might not be able to hold on until he reached the summit.

But after his initial unease, Li Qingxu quickly regained his composure.

In my past-life memories, the Interception Sect had ten thousand immortals come to pay homage, and countless disciples. It's impossible that every one of them had a top-tier Innate Being Foundation like Duobao Daoist and Golden Spirit Holy Mother. I definitely have a chance of reaching the summit!

Li Qingxu silently encouraged himself while secretly circulating his divine power to resist the invisible pressure bearing down on him.

Suddenly, the winds and clouds churned around him. A giant eagle thousands of zhang long tore through the clouds and plunged down from the sky.

The eagle was pitch-black, its powerful body covered in feathers that gleamed with the cold sheen of metal. A pair of talons like Heavenly Blades reached for him, as if to tear him apart.

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"Kunlun Mountain is the Dao Field of the Three Pure Ones. How could such a vicious creature be here?"

As Li Qingxu watched the murderous eagle, alarm bells rang in his mind even as his thoughts raced.

A sage taking disciples was a major event concerning the entire Prehistoric World. Even the notoriously reckless Twelve Ancestral Witches, Di Jun, and Donghuang Taiyi would not dare interfere in the slightest.

That left only one possibility: the eagle's attack was also part of the sage's test.

Boom!

Two blazing crimson flames appeared in Li Qingxu's palms, radiating a terrifying aura that made even the surrounding space twist.

Every movement on Kunlun Mountain must now be within the sages' awareness.

So he planned to reveal all his trump cards and kill the eagle decisively, drawing the sages' attention and increasing his chances of becoming one of their disciples.

"Burn everything to ash!"

Li Qingxu swept his hand outward. The two balls of True Sun Fire burst forth, rising like twin fire dragons and lunging at the diving eagle from either side.

"True Sun Fire?"

At the Peak of Kunlun Mountain, the Three Pure Ones' expressions shifted slightly, and their hearts stirred. They had not expected a mere human like Li Qingxu to wield such a powerful divine ability.

The True Sun Fire ranked among the top three of the Top Ten Exotic Fires of the Primordial Era. Cultivated to its utmost, it could burn the sky, boil the seas, and destroy all things. It was far more powerful than Golden Crow Divine Fire and Samadhi True Fire.

"This young man really is no ordinary person."

A hint of admiration appeared in Primordial Heavenly Venerate's eyes for the first time as he smiled faintly.

"To wield such a divine ability as a human is truly extraordinary."

Tongtian Cult Master nodded in agreement, also seeing Li Qingxu in a new light.

To master such a powerful divine ability required great fortune, immense perseverance, and exceptional comprehension. Without them, one could not grasp it even with a master's personal instruction.

And Li Qingxu had only reached the meager cultivation of an Earth Immortal mid-stage. For him to wield such a divine ability was practically inconceivable.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate had already begun considering taking Li Qingxu as a disciple and teaching him personally. Yet the sage's thoughts remained inscrutable, and he still wanted to see whether the young man could offer another unexpected surprise.

At Primordial Heavenly Venerate's thought, the eagle halfway up Kunlun Mountain, on the verge of being swallowed by the True Sun Fire, suddenly changed its course and slipped past the two "fire dragons."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

After dodging the True Sun Fire, the eagle beat its enormous wings, which blotted out the sky. Countless sharp feathers shot out like arrows.

The feathers formed a dense, endless barrage, numbering in the thousands and covering the entire area where Li Qingxu stood like a torrential downpour.

Every feather was razor-sharp, strong enough to pierce mountains and cut through anything.

Facing the fierce attack, Li Qingxu remained calm, showing no sign of nervousness.

A flash of red light gleamed in his palm, and a crimson sword appeared in his hand.

The sword looked as though it had been forged from the rosy clouds on the horizon, with magnificent Daoist patterns within its blade.

Its light was restrained, but Innate Dao Patterns could be seen winding along it like dragons. It was none other than the High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—the Chixiao Sword!

Divine power surged into the blade.

"Slash!"

With a single word, Li Qingxu swung the Chixiao Sword through the air toward the eagle.

The sword blazed with light, releasing a sword aura thousands of zhang long, as solid as if it were real.

Everything in its path was swept away. The countless feathers were instantly obliterated by its overwhelming force, and even the eagle circling overhead was cleaved in two by a single strike, dissolving into Dao Patterns that scattered between heaven and earth.