Every thirty years, the day Kunlun opened its gates finally arrived.
Thirty years—that is, half a Jiazi cycle.
The Kunlun Taiqing Sect had inherited the fortune of "Gold in the Sea" when it was founded, so it usually opened its gates in the Jiazi Year or Yichou Year, then held an additional opening in the Jiawu Year or Yiwei Year. In other words, twice every Jiazi cycle.
There was too much to explain about this, so I'll leave it aside for now.
But for the ancients, whose average lifespan was no more than fifty, it meant that most people had only one or two chances in their lifetime to join Kunlun.
Of course, someone as gifted as Qiu Changtian, who could make it up the Kunlun Heavenly Stairway on a day when the gates were closed, could join the Taiqing Sect whenever he wanted.
Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian rode their swords down, circling the Kunlun Sky Pillar.
The steps of the Kunlun Heavenly Stairway wound upward around the Kunlun Sky Pillar, one loop after another. Countless mortals clung to them like ants, struggling to climb.
"I heard Senior Brother climbed the mountain on a day when the gates were closed?" Xu Yinglian asked, glancing sideways at him with a cool expression.
"That's right." Qiu Changtian nodded.
"Would Senior Brother tell me what's so extraordinary about this road to heaven?" Xu Yinglian asked, pointing below.
Xu Yinglian possessed the cultivation talent known as the "Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart." The Xu Family of Tiannan had carefully nurtured her, then sent her to Kunlun under the personal escort of Xu Changqing, a senior brother at the Foundation Establishment Realm. She had never had to climb the Heavenly Stairway.
To give an example from later generations, she was like a student admitted to university without taking the entrance exam, asking someone, "What was the college entrance exam like?" At heart, it was still a kind of showing off.
Qiu Changtian seemed not to notice. He merely smiled and replied:
"The Kunlun Heavenly Stairway has a hundred thousand Heavenly Steps. That's no figure of speech—there really are a hundred thousand steps."
"If a mortal can finish the climb in a single day and night, they'll be permitted to join the Kunlun Taiqing Sect."
"Based on the order in which they complete the climb, they're divided into inner and outer disciples. Inner disciples can attend the disciple-selection assembly and take a master; outer disciples can only teach themselves the Qi Refining Technique."
"Also, if you want to cultivate our sect's supreme Nine Heavens Pure Micro Entrance True Words, you must become a disciple of the Ziwei Sect Master."
"Our master takes only seven disciples in each generation, and only the first disciple is an accepted disciple. They can attend the Scripture Hall at Yuxu Palace to hear the lectures. The rest can only learn from the first disciple."
"Hm?" Xu Yinglian interrupted. "If the first disciple of this generation was already decided in advance to be you, Senior Brother, why am I also allowed to attend the Scripture Hall?"
"Because your Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart is one of the greatest cultivation talents in the world," Qiu Changtian said with a smile. "Geniuses always make people break with convention."
Geniuses always made people break with convention... Xu Yinglian turned the words over in her mind. Then she saw her senior brother lower his swordlight, and hurried to follow.
On the mountain path below, a mortal boy sat on the steps, his hands shielding his face, not saying a word.
His companion tugged at his sleeve, earnestly urging him:
"Don't stop to rest. Come on, keep going with me."
The boy only shook his head, refusing to get up.
"The mountain path goes on forever. It's exhausting. Let me rest a little longer."
The two descended in spiraling swordlight. Qiu Changtian said coldly:
"He's been tempted by an Outer Heavenly Demon and has grown lazy and dispirited. You go on ahead. Leave him be."
The boy's expression shifted several times at his words, but his will was weak, and he truly didn't want to go on. He lowered his head and said nothing more.
His companion gritted his teeth, then had no choice but to leave him behind and continue onward.
Qiu Changtian raised his swordlight again and said to Xu Yinglian:
"Climbing the Heavenly Stairway is no easy feat. The higher you go, the closer you get to the heavens. Mortals have no immortal arts to protect their bodies, so even the slightest thought of growing weary and stopping is magnified by the Outer Heavenly Demons. Those whose resolve to seek the Dao is weak will find it nearly impossible to start again once they stop to rest."
"Outer Heavenly Demons?" Xu Yinglian asked in disbelief. "Even within the borders of our Kunlun Taiqing Sect, people can be affected by Outer Heavenly Demons?"
"Cultivation brings three calamities and nine tribulations. There's no escaping them, wherever you are." Qiu Changtian shook his head. "To reach the path to immortality in a mortal body, you need great perseverance and a great vow."
The two continued soaring upward. The higher the mountain path climbed, the fewer people remained in motion, and the more had stopped.
Just as Qiu Changtian had said, on the Heavenly Stairway, the moment you stopped to rest, you let go of your resolve to cultivate.
Trying to get up and continue was as hard as scaling the heavens.
Xu Yinglian seemed eager to give it a try, as if she wanted to descend and compete with these seekers of immortality on the Heavenly Stairway. Qiu Changtian smiled and said:
"Junior Sister's Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart is highly resistant to the Outer Heavenly Demons. Even if their magic confuses you, you can see through it quickly. That's why Master allowed you to skip the entrance trial. The Kunlun Heavenly Stairway would be no challenge to you."
"I see." Hearing her senior brother say this, Xu Yinglian let go of her competitive urge and sighed. "Then what about your 'Clear Dao Heart,' Senior Brother?"
Qiu Changtian only smiled without answering.
Your Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart is merely resistant to the intrusion of inner demons.
My Clear Dao Heart makes me completely immune to their intrusion.
Which one is better? Need I say more?
But if he said that aloud, it would greatly raise their synchronization value—yet his haughty junior sister would surely fall out with him.
So Qiu Changtian merely changed the subject and pointed below.
"Speaking of which, there are several exceptionally gifted disciples among this year's climbers."
"The one currently in the lead is called Guan Zhan. They say he comes from the Guan Family of Longyou."
"The Guan Family of Longyou?" Xu Yinglian furrowed her brow. "Aren't they a family of Sword Immortals, generation after generation, all disciples of the Shangqing Sect of Mount Shu? Why did they send a boy to abandon his old path and join Kunlun?"
"I don't know either." Qiu Changtian shook his head. "But Guan Zhan has an exceptionally strong Root Bone. As soon as the gates opened, he charged ahead and left everyone else behind. He's slowed down now, so I imagine he's running out of steam, but his lead is still hard to shake.
"Normally, he'd be the first disciple of this generation," Xu Yinglian said with a cold, mocking laugh. "Too bad he ran into you, Senior Brother."
"Did he only run into me?" Qiu Changtian said with an amused laugh. "Don't forget, Junior Sister, you also entered before him. If he chooses to become a disciple of the Sect Master, he can only rank third at best."
"Mm." Xu Yinglian nodded. The thought of having a junior disciple beneath her lifted her spirits a little.
"The one in second place is Yan Zhitui of the White Deer Cave Academy of Jiangzhou." Qiu Changtian pointed to someone behind them and continued, "The three great ancient sects were the Chan Sect, the Jie Sect, and the Ren Sect. The Ren Sect has survived to this day, with Confucianism inheriting its legacy."
"Yan Zhitui comes from the Yan Family of Langya, Qingzhou. His family has been steeped in books for generations. Yet this generation's heir didn't sit for the imperial examinations and become an official. Instead, he traveled a thousand miles to Kunlun to seek a master. Quite an odd choice."
Xu Yinglian pondered for a moment, then said:
"What are you trying to say, Senior Brother? That Kunlun's fortune is flourishing, drawing the heirs of aristocratic clans to join us?"
"No." Looking at his adorable junior sister, Qiu Changtian couldn't resist teasing her. "This generation is full of talented people. Junior Sister, you'd better cultivate diligently, or your junior brothers and sisters will surpass you."
"That's absolutely impossible!" Xu Yinglian cried in a fury, gritting her teeth.
Before you continue