Crimson Firmament Mountain stood amidst Cloud Ridge in the Southern Territory. The main peak rose over a thousand zhang, its body blood-red, resembling from afar a giant sword thrust upside down into the firmament.
Legend had it that in ancient times, Crimson Firmament True Person had shattered the void with a sword right here and ascended, the sword Qi staining the mountain rocks and failing to fade even after a hundred years.
Li Xuan stood before the mountain gate, tilting his head back to gaze upward.
The stone steps wound like a dragon, leading straight into the depths of the clouds and mist. Ancient pines twisted on both sides, white cranes skimming past from time to time, their flapping wings stirring up trails of flowing clouds. The mountain wind was biting, yet it carried dense spiritual Qi, making it feel as though the five viscera and six bowels were being washed with every breath.
This was the bearing of a sect.
Dramatically different from the bloody and stern atmosphere of Iron Wall City, this place, though solemn, exuded a transcendent and detached coldness.
"Can you still walk?" asked Yun Qingxuan.
She had already changed back into her cyan sect attire, her long hair tied up, a Crimson Sword hanging at her waist, making her temperament appear even colder.
Li Xuan tried taking a step.
The wound on his right leg still throbbed faintly, but the Nine Revolutions Returning Yang Pill truly possessed miraculous effects.
The fractured bones had already initially reconnected, and the shattered meridians were nourished by the gentle medicinal power, restoring at least thirty percent of his mobility.
"I can."
The two of them stepped onto the stone steps.
The stone steps were three zhang wide, each tier one chi high, totaling nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps.
This was the Crimson Firmament Sect's first entrance trial—the Heaven Ascending Steps.
It seemed like mere mountain climbing, but in reality, it concealed deep mysteries.
The moment Li Xuan stepped onto the tenth tier, he felt a heaviness settle on his shoulders, as though an invisible, crushing weight had descended.
The further up they went, the heavier the pressure became. By the hundredth tier, it already felt like carrying a hundred-jin load.
Yun Qingxuan walked with an unhurried gait, evidently long accustomed to it.
Li Xuan had already heard rumors about this beforehand, so he was not surprised at this moment.
The two of them ascended in silence.
Along the way, they occasionally encountered other climbers.
There were brocade-clad youths panting for breath, muscular men sweating profusely, and white-haired elders walking with staggering steps. All of them were truth-seekers hoping to enter the sect.
Li Xuan noticed that the higher they went, the fewer people there were.
By the thousandth tier, only a dozen or so people remained around them.
The pressure had increased to three hundred jin.
Li Xuan circulated the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique, and as his blood and Qi circulated, the pressure plummeted.
This cultivation technique was originally forged and tempered on the battlefield, making it most adept at carrying heavy loads and resisting pressure.
Yun Qingxuan glanced sideways at him, a trace of astonishment flashing in her eyes.
"Your injuries haven't healed yet; there's no need to push yourself," she said.
"It's fine."
The two continued upward.
By the three thousandth tier, the pressure had reached a thousand jin!
Only a black-robed youth, a purple-robed maiden, and Li Xuan remained in the vicinity.
The black-robed youth gritted his teeth and persisted, leaving sweat stains on the stone steps with every tier he climbed.
As for the purple-robed maiden, she retrieved a jade pendant and hung it at her waist; cyan light flared, and the pressure instantly lessened.
Li Xuan still relied on his physical body to endure it hard.
Although his Blood Fiend Gang Qi was exhausted, his foundation of fifty-one points in physique was still there.
A thousand-jin crushing pressure was merely the level of ordinary seventh-layer Body Tempering Realm practitioners.
The fourth thousand tier.
The fifth thousand tier.
The sixth thousand tier.
The black-robed youth collapsed at the five thousand two hundredth tier and was carried away by two white-robed disciples. The purple-robed maiden's jade pendant shattered at the six thousand eight hundredth tier, and she stopped with a pale face.
Only Li Xuan and Yun Qingxuan remained.
At the seventh thousand tier, the pressure had reached two thousand jin.
Li Xuan's right leg wound burst open, blood seeping through the bandages.
His expression remained unchanged as he continued.
Yun Qingxuan finally spoke, "The Heaven Ascending Steps test not only the physical body, but also the will. Your injuries are too heavy; stopping is not a disgrace."
Li Xuan shook his head.
He thought of the corpses piled mountain-high beneath Iron Wall City, of Wang Meng's resolute detonation of the fire-igniting items, and of the three hundred personal guards hurling their flesh and blood against the iron cavalry with heroic martyrdom.
Two thousand jin?
Compared to those, it was far too light.
The eighth thousand tier.
The pressure was three thousand jin.
Li Xuan's bones emitted faint sounds, and a tearing pain came from his old injuries. Yet his gaze remained calm as he stepped upward, step by step.
Yun Qingxuan stopped trying to persuade him.
She merely slowed her pace, walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
The ninth thousand tier.
The pressure was five thousand jin.
Blood spilled from the corners of Li Xuan's mouth, but his footsteps did not halt.
The final nine hundred and ninety-nine steps.
Every single tier he ascended increased the pressure by a hundred jin.
By the nine thousand nine hundredth tier, the pressure had already reached ten thousand jin!
Li Xuan trembled all over, every muscle groaning, every bone protesting. Yet he still moved upward.
Blood seeped from the corners of his eyes, his ear canals, and his nostrils.
Bleeding from the seven orifices.
Yet he was still walking.
Shock finally appeared in Yun Qingxuan's eyes.
If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author instead; perhaps it just changed its name!
She had witnessed countless geniuses ascend the steps, but she had never seen someone who could climb to the summit under such severe injuries while bearing ten thousand jin of pressure.
The final step.
When Li Xuan stepped onto it, his entire body lunged forward and fell.
Yun Qingxuan reached out to steady him.
At the mountain peak's platform, seas of clouds surged.
Ahead lay a massive stone mountain gate, ten zhang high and six zhang wide, with two ancient seal-script characters carved on the lintel:
Crimson Firmament.
The brushstrokes flowed like startled snakes, the sword intent formidable.
Three people stood before the gate.
The one in the center was a white-robed elder with hair and beard as white as snow, refined features, and eyes as warm as an ancient well.
On the left was a middle-aged glamorous woman in luxurious purple robes, with picturesque brows and eyes, and a graceful bearing.
On the right was a black-robed brawny man with a fierce face, cradling a heavy black sword in his arms, his aura ferocious and intimidating.
"Qingxuan greets the three elders," Yun Qingxuan said, bowing in salute.
The white-robed elder nodded, his gaze falling upon Li Xuan.
"This is the youth named Li Xuan?"
"Yes."
"The Li Xuan who defended the city alone in Iron Wall City and beheaded Wanyan Lie and Wanyan Xiong?"
"Yes."
The middle-aged glamorous woman chuckled softly. "He certainly has some backbone. Reaching the summit under ten thousand jin of pressure is rare even among inner disciples."
The black-robed brawny man snorted. "Backbone is worth crap; the martial path looks at strength. Injured like this, it's hard to say whether he can even survive three days."
Li Xuan steadied himself, wiped the blood from his face, and cupped his fists. "Junior Li Xuan greets the three elders."
Neither humble nor arrogant.
A trace of appreciation flashed in the white-robed elder's eyes.
"This old man is Bai Chen, in charge of the outer sect." He pointed at the glamorous woman and the brawny man. "This is Elder Ziyue, in charge of the inner sect Pill Department. This is Elder Heiyan, in charge of the Discipline Hall."
Li Xuan saluted once more.
Elder Bai Chen raised a hand, and a gentle force lifted Li Xuan up.
"Steward Liu sent word saying that you possess the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique and condensed Gang Qi on the Northern Territory battlefield. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"Show it to us."
Li Xuan circulated his cultivation technique. At this moment, his Gang Qi was exhausted, so he could only barely manifest it, a faint layer of blood-colored halo shimmering across the surface of his body.
Yet the gazes of all three elders narrowed simultaneously.
"It truly is Gang Qi." Elder Ziyue said thoughtfully, "Condensing Gang Qi in the Body Tempering Realm is rare in a century. It's just... why is there a wisp of Yin Fiend Qi within your Gang Qi?"
A slight ripple stirred in Li Xuan's heart.
Although the Wolf Soul Mark had already dissipated, the aura left behind when devouring the wolf soul seemed not to have been fully refined yet.
"Junior once devoured a barbarian wolf soul in the Northern Territory," he stated truthfully.
Elder Heiyan frowned. "Devouring soul power? Heretical methods."
"Fighting for one's life on the battlefield, it was a last resort," Li Xuan said.
Elder Bai Chen pondered for a moment. "If soul power enters the body and cannot be refined, it will inevitably suffer backlash. Ziyue, does your Pill Department have a solution?"
Elder Ziyue nodded. "The 'Pure Heart Jade Dew Pill' can wash away impurities of the spirit and soul, but it requires three hundred contribution points."
"Charge it to his account first." Bai Chen looked at Li Xuan. "Li Xuan, although you were recommended by Steward Liu, the rules of the sect cannot be discarded. To enter the inner sect, you must pass three trials."
"What three trials?"
"The first trial is the Heaven Ascending Steps, which you have already passed," Bai Chen said. "The second trial is testing the root bone. The third trial is a actual combat assessment."
He paused. "But your injuries are too severe; you may first enter the outer sect to recuperate. Once your injuries recover, you can take the inner sect exam then."
Li Xuan shook his head. "Junior wishes to take it now."
Elder Heiyan sneered. "Kid, putting on a brave front gets people killed."
"Junior knows what he's doing."
Bai Chen stared at him for three breaths, then nodded. "Good. Ziyue, fetch the Spirit Testing Stone."
Elder Ziyue flicked her sleeve, producing a milky-white jade stone the size of a palm, and handed it before Li Xuan.
"Grip it tightly and circulate your blood and Qi."
Li Xuan grasped the jade stone.
A warm sensation washed over him.
He circulated the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique, channeling his blood and Qi surging into the jade stone.
The jade stone abruptly lit up!
First came red light—representing abundant blood and Qi, with a blindingly piercing brightness.
Next came gray light—representing heavy killing intent, billowing like mist.
Finally, an imperceptible trace of golden light actually flared!
The expressions of all three elders changed simultaneously.
"Diamond Bone Physique?!" Elder Heiyan blurted out.
Elder Ziyue took a deep breath. "More than that... blood and Qi like mercury, killing intent solidified, bones radiating golden light. This is... the Blood Fiend Diamond Body!"
Elder Bai Chen's gaze grew profound. "The Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique refined to the third-layer perfection, coupled with the devouring of high-grade soul power, forged an anomalous physique by a fortuitous coincidence. Over the past thousand years, records show only three people who achieved this physique."
He looked at Li Xuan. "Those three all became grandmasters later on."
Silence descended upon the platform.
Even the mountain wind seemed to stall.
Li Xuan released his grip, and the light of the jade stone dissipated.
"Junior knows nothing of any anomalous physique; I merely fought on the battlefield and survived by sheer luck."
Elder Bai Chen looked deeply at him.
"The second trial is passed."
He raised a hand, pointing toward the rear of the mountain gate.
"The third trial is actual combat. Your opponent is—"
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