Taixuan Sect

Taixuan Sect.

It was an incomparably ancient power, with a hundred and eight main peaks within its bounds, each representing a powerful inheritance.

At the height of its glory, Taixuan Sect had ranked among the top hundred powers in the Eastern Wasteland. Though it had fallen into decline in recent years, it was still a vast force, with a powerful cultivator guarding its gates.

Today was the day Taixuan Sect accepted new disciples. Countless cultivators had crossed mountains and rivers to reach this place, hoping to join the great sect and receive its scriptures.

"Hey, brat. They say Zhuo Peak holds an unparalleled inheritance, no less than the Great Void Art of our Ji Family. Let's go take a look."

The lively-eyed girl in purple tugged along a boy of about fifteen, heading toward a main peak that was ancient and unadorned, and stood even lower than the surrounding subsidiary peaks.

"Stronger than the Great Void Art?"

Ye Fan was astonished.

In his view, Taixuan Sect might be powerful, but how could its inheritance compare with that of a great power like the Desolate Antiquity Ji Family? The Great Void Art was a forbidden secret technique passed down by the Void Emperor.

"Not stronger than the Great Void Art! No less than it!"

Ji Ziyue was so furious she nearly spat blood.

This brat had no filter.

If she weren't so kind, any other member of the Ji Family would have heard him belittle the Great Void Art and chopped him into eight pieces before tossing him to the dogs.

Still, for the sake of the fact that he had saved her life, she patiently explained:

"The strongest cultivation techniques in the Eastern Wasteland are the supreme Emperor Scriptures of our Ji Family, the Jiang Family, and Yaochi. As for the Dao Scripture, that ancient scripture of the Human Race has long been scattered and lost."

"Besides those, there's a scripture known as the Nine Secrets. It records only nine secret techniques, each worthy of being called an immortal art, yet it's held in the same esteem as the ancient scriptures."

"The inheritance of Zhuo Peak is one of the Nine Secrets. It can multiply a cultivator's combat power several times over... But at most, it's on a par with the Great Void Art..."

"That's terrifying."

Ye Fan was shaken to his core.

What kind of astonishing secret technique could multiply someone's combat power several times over? Why had Zhuo Peak fallen into decline despite possessing such a technique?

When he voiced his question, Ji Ziyue rolled her eyes at him.

"There's no such thing as the strongest secret technique, only the strongest cultivator."

"If practicing the strongest techniques made someone the strongest cultivator, wouldn't every member of the Ji Family be at the Great Emperor Realm?"

"Five hundred years ago, when Master of Zhuo Peak was still alive, Zhuo Peak wasn't as desolate as it is now. But after he and the Supreme Elder of Yaoguang fought and both fell, Zhuo Peak's inheritance went into hiding. That's why no one pays any attention to this main peak anymore..."

Just as Ji Ziyue was giving Ye Fan a crash course,

Fang Yang held the Snake Talisman and concealed his form. He had already reached the summit of Zhuo Peak and was looking down over the mountain, which held the Natural Dao and Nine Secrets: Jie.

"It's not time yet."

His dark eyes were deep as a pool. He understood that Zhuo Peak's inheritance had yet to awaken.

But Ye Fan had already arrived, so it surely wouldn't be long before he witnessed the Natural Dao and Nine Secrets: Jie.

With that thought, Fang Yang didn't abuse the Snake Talisman and simply descend straight onto Zhuo Peak.

Instead, he landed on one of its subsidiary peaks, found a clean stone to sit on, and silently studied the Sun Emperor Fist as he waited for Zhuo Peak's inheritance to awaken.

The moon rose and the sun set; the sun rose and the moon set.

Ye Fan concealed his Sacred Body constitution and pretended to be a person of poor aptitude, successfully joining Zhuo Peak.

Ji Ziyue, meanwhile, revealed her extraordinary talent. A Star Peak elder used Zhuo Peak's dormant inheritance and inability to teach such a promising disciple as an excuse, then dragged her to Star Peak with coaxing and cajoling.

During this time, Ye Fan got into a conflict with Star Peak disciples after barbecuing on Zhuo Peak. Wave after wave of cultivators came to cause trouble.

In the end, when faced with Star Peak disciples led by Dao Palace Realm cultivators, even the easygoing Li Ruoyu grew a little angry. He handed Ye Fan Zhuo Peak's treasured Zhuo Bow, using it to drive off the intruders.

Ye Fan drew the bow and nocked an arrow. Of the nine black crows on Zhuo Peak, one transformed into an arrow, radiating an abyssal, ocean-deep aura as it locked onto the distant Star Peak disciples.

The Star Peak disciples faced a deadly threat and scattered like birds and beasts. The warning of death circled incessantly in their hearts.

"The Zhuo Bow's divine spirit?"

Fang Yang opened his Dharma Eye. Primordial Sacred Light in his eyes pierced through the Void. He paid no mind to the conflict that followed, instead focusing on the eight crows remaining on Zhuo Peak.

Zhuo Peak was no ordinary place. Compared to the dazzling Star Peak, this main peak, which kept a low profile and revealed nothing of itself, seemed more like the true foundation of Taixuan Sect.

Not every weapon had the qualifications to give birth to a divine spirit.

"The founding patriarch who established Zhuo Peak must have been at least a Saint. It wouldn't be surprising if he'd even been a Great Saint."

During this time, Fang Yang had used the Bodhi Leaf to study Zhuo Peak, but his gains had been meager.

The whole mountain seemed no different from an ordinary one. The energy of heaven and earth flowed as one, leaving no opening through which to discern the inheritance hidden within.

Only now, as the Zhuo Bow reappeared in the world and the crow's divine spirit transformed into an arrow, did he sense the faintest traces of the Natural Dao's resonance.

Fang Yang seized this fleeting opportunity, plunging into the Dao intent within Zhuo Peak. It was as if he had become a stone inside the mountain, arriving in another world.

A mountain seen is not a mountain.

A mountain seen is still a mountain.

The essentials of the Natural Dao opened their doors to Fang Yang, and he devoured them ravenously.

Though he hadn't glimpsed even the slightest trace of the Nine Secrets: Jie, the Natural Dao itself had evolved from it and could increase the chances of triggering the Nine Secrets: Jie.

So Fang Yang felt no disappointment. He seized the opportunity and devoted himself to studying this part of the Natural Dao.

Meanwhile, with the arrival of the Star Peak elder, Ye Fan ultimately didn't shoot the arrow from the Zhuo Bow.

"Senior, has Zhuo Peak's inheritance finally come to light?"

Ye Fan held the Zhuo Bow and asked.

The bow was far too extraordinary. Its surface looked as if it had been eaten through by insects, yet it contained boundless divine power. Even with Ye Fan's current cultivation, holding it had sent Dao Palace Realm cultivators fleeing in every direction. That alone spoke volumes.

Now that Zhuo Peak's treasure had appeared, would its long-dormant inheritance appear as well? Perhaps Li Ruoyu had simply hidden it without telling anyone.

"Not quite yet."

Li Ruoyu took the Zhuo Bow from Ye Fan and went to the Nine-Step Heavenly Staircase atop Zhuo Peak, where he placed the treasure.

In an instant, flames surged up, engulfing the ancient, unadorned bow.

Divine Law Chains appeared on the jade steps, flickering in and out of sight. No one could tell what sort of change had taken place.

"According to the old tales, the Zhuo Bow is the key to opening Zhuo Peak's inheritance. I don't know if that's true."

Li Ruoyu watched as the bow burned in the flames until it merged with the jade steps. Not the slightest stir rose in his heart.

Zhuo Peak had been silent for far too long.

Even some ordinary Star Peak disciples dared to come to its doorstep and bully its disciples.

He had guarded Zhuo Peak for so many years. Faced with arrogant juniors who showed no respect for their elders, how could he truly be as calm as he seemed? He was merely a little more composed than most.