The Sword in the Stone, the Branch in the Mountain

In this world, Martial Practitioner are bound by martial arts schools, and Cultivator are no exception.

The organizations behind Cultivator are categorized, each with its own factions and rules.

The forces are mutually restraining and interdependent, forming a complex web that cannot be explained in just a few words.

But among them, the most powerful and with the widest reach Soaring Tower.

The name is derived from the phrase "soaring straight up ninety thousand miles."

On the surface, they are pavilions scattered throughout the land, but in reality, they serve as the largest buffer between Cultivator and mortals.

Several Martial Practitioner were ordered to investigate the reason for the recent unusual migration of the beast herds; they were outer disciples of the Soaring Tower.

The leader was Zhao Ping, in his early thirties, with a stocky build, and he was the leader of this group.

The two young men following behind him, one surnamed Liu and the other surnamed Sun, were both recruited in the last two years.

Following the tracks of migrating animals, the group crossed a mountain ridge.

A gust of wind blew in from the opposite direction, carrying a strong smell of Blood Qi.

Zhao Ping paused, raising his hand to signal the two people behind him to stop.

The three held their breath for a moment, then followed the stench of the wind, pushed aside the bushes blocking their path, and what they saw was extremely shocking!

In the ravine lay a huge, headless tiger carcass, its appearance grotesque and terrifying.

It has been dead for some time, but its ferocious aura remains, suppressing even the chirping of birds for miles around.

"How come this tiger is so big... Is it some kind of spirit?" Little Liu squatted in the distance, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.

Zhao Ping ignored him.

He crouched down and carefully examined the cut on the tiger's neck, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Was it cut with a knife?

It doesn't seem like it.

Cleaved by an axe?

It doesn't seem like it.

The cut surface was so smooth it looked like it had been polished; even the sharpest knife couldn't cut a mark like that.

I've worked at Soaring Tower for eight years and seen many strange things, but I've never seen a wound like this before.

Xiao Sun leaned over for a look and gasped:

"What kind of weapon did that use to do that?"

Zhao Ping didn't answer, his gaze fixed a few steps away.

There was a tree branch stuck there, about half a person's height and as thick as a thumb.

It stood straight in the soil, with several dark red marks on it.

Xiao Liu also spotted the thing and reached out to pull it out before him.

The branch didn't budge. He put even more effort into it, his face turning red, but the branch seemed to have grown into the ground.

"Brother Zhao, come here." Xiao Liu stepped aside.

Zhao Ping gripped the branch and lifted it upwards.

It didn't move.

He strained even harder, his veins bulging from his neck to his temples, but the branch remained unmoved.

Pulling up weeds and tree roots, even if you can't pull them out, at least they'll wobble.

But this thing seemed to be welded to the ground, without even the slightest tremor.

Zhao Ping released his grip, stared at the dark red streaks on the branch, and suddenly realized something.

"This... is blood!"

Xiao Sun was taken aback. "Blood? What does that mean?"

Xiao Liu also came over, and the two of them looked at the tree branch together.

Zhao Ping didn't answer, his gaze fixed on the dark red streaks.

Following his gaze, Xiao Sun felt a dryness in his throat and swallowed.

"Wait a minute, Brother Zhao, you don't mean... someone used this little twig to cut off that beast's head?"

Before he could finish speaking, he shook his head.

"No, no, absolutely not!"

Xiao Liu shook his head beside him, "Even Cultivator at the Celestial Being Realm wouldn't dare say they could cut down a Tiger Spirit with a tree branch. Besides, the cut would be as smooth as a mirror; even a knife or axe couldn't do that. How could a tree branch possibly do it?"

Zhao Ping remained silent.

He also thought it impossible. But the facts were right in front of him: there was indeed blood on the branch.

He squatted down and tried to pull it out again, but he couldn't.

I tried again, but it still didn't budge.

That's it, I've given up hope.

He straightened up, glanced at the sky, and said in a deep voice, "Report it. This is beyond our control."

Due to the gravity of the situation, and the fact that Cultivator from the Soaring Tower were already patrolling the area, reinforcements arrived that very night.

Zhao Ping looked at the newcomer, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately bowed and clasped his hands in greeting:

"Old Chen."

Chen Yuanshan, a seventh-level elder of Soaring Tower, has been stationed in Qingzhou Prefecture for thirty years and rarely leaves the mountain.

The fact that it alarmed him indicates that this matter is no longer as simple as it seems.

As Chen Yuanshan listened to Zhao Ping and the others recount their discoveries in detail, his gaze fell on the tree branch that was stuck straight into the ground a few steps away, and a hint of interest flashed in his eyes.

"Such a strange thing?" He stepped forward. "I'll give it a try."

He thought that only Cultivator could kill the Tiger Spirit.

It's perfectly normal that the outer disciples couldn't lift it.

If I did it myself, it wouldn't take long.

No need...

"Um?"

Chen Yuanshan lifted the branch with one hand, and it didn't budge.

Several Martial Practitioner were watching behind him; he couldn't afford to lose face.

He secretly increased his strength, his True Qi sinking into his arm, causing the veins to bulge slightly.

Still no movement.

"Hiss--"

This time, I dare not be so arrogant.

Clench both hands, unify waist and stance, unleash full True Qi, and suddenly lift upwards.

It remained completely still.

The feeling wasn't like pulling up a tree branch stuck in the ground, but more like lifting a mountain.

Right.

It's like an entire mountain pressing down on it.

Chen Yuanshan released his grip, glanced back at the tiger's corpse, then at the dried bloodstains on the tree branch, his brows furrowing.

The guess is similar to Zhao Ping's group—someone used this branch to kill the Tiger Spirit and then stuck it here.

All of these explanations make sense.

The problem is, why can't I pull it out?

Since I can't do it myself, I have to call in reinforcements.

Less than two hours after the message was sent out, a figure swept in from the horizon, landing on the ground without even raising a speck of dust.

Zhao Ping's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.

Ninth Heaven Realm!

The elder of the Ninth Heaven Realm of Soaring Tower, surnamed Bai, is known as Bai Lao.

In the entire Qingzhou Prefecture over the past century, only three people have reached the Ninth Heaven Realm, and the one before us is one of them.

"Teacher," Chen Yuanshan greeted the person respectfully, pointing to the tree branch, "This is what the letter mentioned."

Bai Lao strolled over, glanced at the tiger's corpse, and sighed inwardly, "What a huge beast!"

His gaze then fell on the unremarkable branch, and his tone was lecturing.

"I always tell you to cultivate more, but instead, you're traveling around, claiming it's to find fortuitous opportunity. Look, even something like this requires your master to handle it personally. I've traveled hundreds of miles to get here."

As he spoke, he reached out and grasped the branch with a relaxed expression.

Then, the smile on his face froze.

Wrong!

Bai Lao didn't rush to try again. Instead, he composed himself and asked about the details of what had happened.

I listened to every single detail, from how the tiger carcass was discovered to the bloodstains on the tree branches and the appearance of the cuts.

He then gripped the branch again, unleashing his full True Qi.

It can't be pulled out.

Cultivator from the Ninth Heaven Realm, with all their might, could raze a small town of a thousand people to the ground within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

But at this moment, they couldn't even pull out a branch stuck in the ground.

A joke so ridiculous that no one would believe it if told to others is right in front of me.

Bai Lao released his grip and remained silent for a long time.

"Someone even more powerful than the Ninth Heaven Realm..." Zhao Ping stood behind, watching this scene unfold, a thought flashing through his mind, "Celestial Person?"

But how could there be Celestial Person in this place?

Wrong.

Animal migration, the tiger carcass, the tree branch—these are all highly likely related to that "Celestial Person"!

Bai Lao had obviously thought of that too, and immediately turned around and asked, "What's the closest place to here?"

"Willow Creek Town, Azure Maple Ferry, Sunset Glow Ravine."

"Go and investigate. Investigate these three places carefully."

After giving his instructions, Bai Lao turned around and silently stared at the tree branch.

A Celestial Person was hidden nearby!

(P. S.: I've revised the last part of chapter 540 to better align with my intended vision. Actually, I didn't aim to depict the feeling of a god falling to earth, but rather a sense of sublimation, transformation, and ascension to godhood. I wonder if I can pull it off.)