The mountain mist dispersed by half as fine spring rain fell in a dense curtain. The rain grew ever heavier, and every drop seemed to carry Sword Qi steaming up from this towering mountain!
Though it was clearly an inanimate mountain, the diffused Sword Qi made it seem as though it had come alive, like a colossal heavenly god fashioned by a craftsman, looking down upon the mortal creatures climbing its divine body.
The Sixth Mountain of Sacred Mountain resembled a mountain transformed from an immortal sword that had fallen into the mortal world.
Dense mist shrouded the mountainside, but below it, peach blossoms bloomed and the stone path lay clear. A figure in white climbed the steps alone, with difficulty.
At the foot of the mountain, the sunlit avenue had long vanished. Twilight clouds overlapped, seemingly enraged by the humiliation of having been cut apart earlier, and unleashed a torrential downpour.
Yet the cultivators gathered at the mountain's foot paid it no heed. All of them had their eyes wide open, staring at the figure on the stone path, like a white plum blossom.
"This man actually gave up the chance to become a Mountain Guardian and chose to climb the mountain for a Minor Sacred Token?!"
"What a madman. Does he dare defy the Mountain Lord like this?"
"Perhaps... this was the intention of Lin Manor's Hua Jiebing, who had just ascended to the heavens? Does Hua Jiebing believe this youth deserves a Minor Sacred Token?"
All manner of voices rose in an endless clamor. Not even the pounding rain could wash away their enthusiasm.
After Zhong Shun Chao, Ye Chong, and Luo Qingchen passed An Le, they did not choose to descend the mountain. Their hearts burned with anticipation.
An Le was climbing the mountain for the Minor Sacred Token.
Only the Mountain Lord had the qualifications to distribute Minor Sacred Tokens. There were two ways to obtain one. The first was for elders of one's Lineage to act, paying a sufficient price to obtain a Minor Sacred Token from the Mountain Lord.
The second was to catch the Mountain Lord's eye and pass the Mountain Lord's test.
Neither method was easy. The Mountain Lord's temperament was impossible to fathom, and he might not be willing to make an exchange. As for that vague matter of catching his eye, there was even less to be said.
Thus, upon learning that An Le had both the opportunity and the courage to seek a Minor Sacred Token, Zhong Shun Chao and Ye Chong were filled with admiration.
Their hearts burned, and instead of descending the mountain, they followed behind An Le and climbed with him.
After suffering the invisible blow dealt by An Le, Luo Qingchen's expression turned bitter. He had originally intended to descend the mountain, but after thinking it over, he followed Zhong Shun Chao and Ye Chong up as well.
They were climbing only to contend for that sliver of a chance. What if they performed better than the youth climbing the mountain? Perhaps... they might win the Mountain Lord's favor and obtain a Minor Sacred Token?
The rain poured down. On the washed stone path, water flowed like short waterfalls, murmuring without end.
Behind the youth in white, the three of them climbed again.
At the foot of the mountain, the gathered cultivators saw Luo Qingchen and the other two following him up without being driven away by the Mountain Lord. Their hearts began to stir.
There seemed to be no harm in climbing these mountain steps. What if... their brilliance surpassed that youth's? Perhaps they might create a fine tale of their own.
For a time, one cultivator after another drifted out from the carriages halted in the torrential rain. Holding Oil-Paper Umbrellas, they were like flowers blooming between heaven and earth, like a hundred boats racing downstream as they climbed the stone path of the green mountain.
At this moment, An Le had no time to spare for the many cultivators following behind him, hoping to ride this wave of fortune.
But even if he had noticed them, he would not have cared. Since the Mountain Lord had not stopped them, that meant he had permitted it.
The opportunity was there. If fate had tied you to it, what belonged to you could not be taken away. If it was taken, that only meant you had no fate with it.
Climbing high, the grandeur of heaven and earth spread before him; the great river flowed vast and never returned.
The water flowing down the stone path contained Sword Qi, like a rushing river barring his way.
The moment An Le took his first step, he felt Sword Qi surging from the mountain. An invisible pressure descended upon him, and his shoulders felt as though they bore an entire mountain. Every step was arduous.
The qi and blood of his Body Tempering first realm, already perfected, surged through him at this moment, yet it could not suppress the Sword Qi in the water. His body swayed, and he was faintly in danger of being washed away.
After struggling across around ten steps, he already found it exhausting. His speed was exceptionally slow.
But An Le was not anxious. His determined gaze pierced through the rain curtain, fixed upon the next stone step. Feeling the Sword Qi and pressure, he mobilized the muscles in his legs and stepped onto the next stair.
Zhong Shun Chao and Ye Chong followed behind An Le, their expressions strange.
"Why is he so slow?"
"The Sword Qi Pressure at the mountain's foot has only just begun to surge, yet he finds the very start so difficult. He came to contend for a Minor Sacred Token like this?"
The two looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion. They did not look down on him, merely felt somewhat astonished.
From one spot, one could see the whole leopard; from a single leaf, one knew deep autumn had arrived.
Though they could not see through him, they could still guess that the youth climbing the mountain was perhaps not very highly cultivated.
"Body Tempering first realm, and his spiritual refinement has only just entered Embryonic Breathing. Nothing more."
Luo Qingchen spoke with his hands behind his back, his scholar's robe fluttering. Sword Qi coiled around him, keeping wind and rain from touching his body.
Zhong Shun Chao and Ye Chong were instantly dumbfounded. The many cultivators following nearby beneath umbrellas were likewise filled with shock.
His cultivation was so low... yet he had refused to become a Mountain Guardian and still wanted to gamble for a Minor Sacred Token. Had he gone mad?
Was he not overestimating himself?
Through the rain curtain, the cultivators watched the youth's stubborn, staggering back as he climbed. For a time, they were speechless.
Still, no one mocked him. After all, the youth had caught the Mountain Lord's eye and could have entered Sacred Mountain, yet he had refused.
They had no right to laugh at the courage with which he sought a Minor Sacred Token and pursued the path of cultivation.
Yet the hearts of the cultivators burned even hotter, because this meant their odds of riding this wave of fortune and obtaining a Minor Sacred Token had grown greater.
Rainwater roared as it washed over everything. The cultivators remained silent and continued climbing.
Luo Qingchen stared at An Le's back. Having suffered one blow after another, the confident smile had already vanished from his face. After watching for a long while, he let out a breath and cautiously stepped past An Le.
Nothing changed.
Then Luo Qingchen broke through wind and rain with his hands behind his back, drifting ethereally up the steps.
Zhong Shun Chao and Ye Chong likewise did not choose to follow behind An Le's slow, faltering steps. They passed that streak of white in the rain and climbed upward.
The rain poured down. Heaven would not wait for anyone.
One cultivator after another passed An Le, climbing the rain-slick steps against the flowing water toward the green mountain.
Without realizing it, An Le fell behind.
But he was not the last. Behind him was another figure, graceful beneath an oil-paper umbrella. She wore plain garments and rainbow-hued robes, with a veil covering her face so that her features could not be seen.
The girl followed behind An Le, watching quietly. When she saw the bamboo sword at his waist, her eyes narrowed slightly before she continued observing the youth's faltering climb.
She wanted to see what gave this youth the right to contend for a Minor Sacred Token.
An Le climbed step by step, and the pressure grew ever greater. Every raindrop contained Sword Qi, seeking to nail him to the mountain stairs.
He could not spare a thought for anyone else. His only thought was to climb. The rain, mixed with the biting chill of early spring, battered his qi and blood until it could no longer circulate. Like shackles covering his body, it made every move a struggle, leaving him caught between advance and retreat.
He had chosen this situation himself, and he did not regret it.
His mind visualized the Sword Waterfall Diagram. The countless spring raindrops falling from the sky seemed to transform into countless streaks of Sword Qi, like a cascading waterfall, like the Milky Way.
At this moment, it unexpectedly matched the scene in the Sword Waterfall Diagram without prior consultation.
Without hesitation, An Le used all the Time Qi he had absorbed today to empower the Sword Waterfall Diagram, increasing his Time Qi from four wisps to eleven.
With a single thought, he entered Embryonic Breathing. His mind explored his entire body, his breathing gentle and even as a thin stream.
The Innate Swordsman Dao Fruit seemed to awaken at this moment, like a greedy sponge absorbing the Sword Qi mixed within the chilly spring rain.
The Talent of the Ages Dao Fruit trembled lightly.
An Le's mind grew stronger through visualization. Within his Niwan Palace, a sword floated quietly, while wisps of Sword Qi arose around it, seeming to weave themselves into a pool of swords.
Before his eyes appeared scenes from the years he had once observed.
A youth forged the five animals beneath a flying waterfall.
Light flashed in An Le's eyes. He raised his head to the heavens, where the torrential rain poured like a waterfall. He wanted to use the cascading rain to temper his body.
The girl behind him suddenly widened her bright eyes beneath the veil.
For the youth standing on the stone steps had actually begun practicing the Five Animals Body Forging.
Tiger Form, Bear Form, Ape Form, Deer Form, Bird Form... Within the space of a single stone step, he performed the Five Animals Body Forging!
The shackles that had sealed the youth's body were blown apart. Qi and blood boiled beneath his skin, while Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy arrived as though a spring breeze had come overnight. Mixed with the Sword Qi in the rain, it blended bit by bit with his qi and blood, flooding into his limbs and bones, seeping into his skeleton!
At this moment, An Le entered the second realm of Body Tempering, casting a Sword Qi spirit bone!
Spiritual refinement and body tempering proceeded at once—Embryonic Breathing condensed a sword pool, while Sword Qi cast a spirit bone!
What kind of talent was this?!
The umbrella-bearing girl behind An Le looked on in astonishment.
Had it been an ordinary first-realm Body Tempering cultivator, they would have been like a tender mountain flower, their waist snapped by this sword rain of the green mountain.
Yet this youth went upstream against the current, drawing Sword Qi to cast a spirit bone and observing sword rain to gather a sword pool!
What spirit!
No wonder he had the confidence to gamble for a Minor Sacred Token.
On the mountain path, heaven and earth suddenly fell silent.
An Le opened his eyes, a smile on his lips. Having stepped into the second realm of Body Tempering and shattered the shackles, even the Sword Qi flowing through the mountain steps became gentle, and the unseen pressure felt like a spring breeze.
He lifted his foot and stepped onto the next stone stair.
Then, step by step, he moved as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water, no longer hindered in the slightest.
Luo Qingchen had climbed two hundred and eighty steps and could no longer maintain his elegance. Rainwater soaked his face and Scholar's Robe.
He raised his foot, yet no matter what he did, he could not place it upon the next step.
Sword Qi surged forth, and the pressure was as heavy as a mountain.
Above the three-hundredth step, the Ink-Colored Azure Blade embedded in a peach tree gave a clear, crisp sword cry. It was cheering, it was leaping with joy.
Yet Luo Qingchen could only gaze at it from afar, unable to reach it.
Rain slid from the corners of his eyes, carrying his unwillingness with it.
Zhong Shun Chao and Ye Chong were the same. They sighed, knowing that the Minor Sacred Token had no fate with them.
Oil-Paper Umbrellas lay scattered chaotically across the mountain path. One cultivator after another had lost their easy composure, each encountering shackles and obstacles they could not break through.
Some had twisted expressions, some gave up struggling, and some sighed in lament...
Sure enough, riding another's wave of fortune was not so easy.
Suddenly.
Clear footsteps sounded, splashing rainwater apart in a steady, unhurried rhythm.
Do not heed the sound of leaves struck through the forest; why not whistle and chant as you stroll onward?
The youth in white, who had originally fallen to the very back, came climbing the steps calmly, a Tattered Bamboo Sword tucked at his waist.
There was no longer the slightest difficulty or obstruction.
He passed one cultivator after another who stood halted upon the stone path.
He passed Zhong Shun Chao and Ye Chong.
He passed Luo Qingchen, whose raised foot could not fall.
He climbed three hundred steps and arrived beneath the peach tree, and even the green mountain seemed to turn charming because of him.
Before all eyes, An Le extended his hand and grasped Ink Pool.
He pulled it free as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
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