Mocking Heaven Sect

Then Zhao Yishi, a Sky-Piercing Giant, waved at Chen Qiu and the others as though greeting them before striding toward the white vortex nearby. Before Zhao Yishi, that white vortex was like a tiny pebble.

Zhao Yishi stepped into it, and amid an utterly discordant, bizarre sensation, vanished from where he stood.

"Zhao Yishi?"

Chen Qiu could not help shaking his head with a chuckle. "Not a bad name. It carries the meaning of being unrivaled in one's lifetime."

It just seemed to lack a touch of dominance and possess a touch too much caution. Who knew whether that was an act?

"Pink Traits" were exceedingly rare. They were an especially unique kind of trait, and most of them possessed the effect of limitless growth. As long as one lived long enough, the trait would inevitably grow stronger and stronger.

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The corners of the mouths of several Heavenward Sect disciples standing nearby twitched wildly, but none of them spoke. Years ago, while traveling abroad, their sect master had discovered Zhao Yishi, who possessed the Pink Trait "Sky-Piercing Giant," and immediately kidnapped him back to the sect, taking him as a true disciple.

They had placed their hopes on Zhao Yishi leading the sect back to its former glory!

They had even bestowed upon him the name "Zhao Batian."

Later, after Zhao Yishi had gradually grown stronger, he forcibly changed his own name. He felt that Zhao Batian was too overbearing a name and could easily affect his fortune, so he changed it to Zhao Yishi, meaning that since a person had only one life, caution should come first.

It could be said that Zhao Yishi had now become the hope of the entire Heavenward Sect. Over the years, Heavenward Sect had truly poured all its resources into nurturing him.

"It's good that he went in, good that he went in."

"This child has been diligently cultivating in the back mountain this whole time. He must have made a breakthrough."

High in the sky, a divine sense that roamed a thousand miles looked down below and let out a satisfied sigh. This divine sense resembled a cloud of mist, yet anyone who approached could feel the terrifying aura it emitted.

It belonged to none other than a Golden Core powerhouse.

The owner of this divine sense was Heavenward Sect's Supreme Elder, responsible for protecting Zhao Yishi along the way. Zhao Yishi might be somewhat inclined to avoid battle, but his strength was there for all to see. In this secret realm, surely no one could take his life.

Still, Zhao Yishi was now nearly Heavenward Sect's sole hope. A Golden Core cultivator naturally had to protect him, lest he be assassinated midway by another sect.

Three or four similar Golden Core divine senses floated nearby as well.

All of them were there to protect some monstrous prodigy below.

There were unspoken rules among the various factions. Unless it was a crisis of sect annihilation or a decisive battle over a lineage, Golden Core cultivators were not permitted to attack low-level cultivators from other factions. Otherwise, if everyone slaughtered each other without restraint, no faction would have any seedlings left to grow—only a group of old men.

The continuation of a legacy primarily depended on the newcomers.

Golden Core protectors existed to prevent unexpected situations. If another faction that also possessed a Golden Core cultivator tried to kill one's own monstrous prodigy, they would step in to stop them, without taking lives.

If the attacker's faction had no Golden Core cultivator behind it, then they would simply be killed.

But it was impossible to appear and save them whenever danger arose. True monstrous prodigies had to grow through slaughter and on the brink of life and death. Thus, even with Golden Core protectors, many monstrous prodigies died accidentally every year.

Of course, a monstrous prodigy who died was no longer a monstrous prodigy.

It merely meant that their faction's investment had all gone down the drain.

As for those truly blessed monstrous prodigies with immense fortune, every time they returned from the brink of death, they would reap tremendous rewards.

Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon did not linger outside for long either. They likewise stepped into the white vortex beside the nearby stream. After a flash of white light before their eyes, the first sight that greeted them when their vision returned was a vast expanse of magnificent ruins.

Beneath their feet lay barren, desolate ground. Not far away stood a small hill covered in all manner of grand and colossal buildings. Many of the buildings were hundreds of zhang tall, making one feel incomparably small.

However, these buildings had clearly been abandoned for a long time. Creeping ivy wound across the walls, which were blanketed in moss. Not a trace of human habitation could be seen. In the dim light, dust floated through the air, giving the place an utterly desolate air.

This was the Minor World within the secret realm.

Everyone who had entered the secret realm before them now stood frozen in place. This was one of the secret realm's rules: before the entrance closed, cultivators entering the secret realm were bound in place by the power of the Heavenly Dao and could not move.

In this state, they could not attack, nor could they be harmed even if attacked.

It was a protected state.

Only once the secret realm entrance closed would this Heavenly Dao binding disappear.

On that small hill, a massive mountain gate could clearly be seen. Three sharp, forceful characters were carved upon it.

"Mocking Heaven Sect."

Though the characters were already covered in dust, one could still faintly sense the razor-sharp sword intent within them.

It looked like the ruins left behind after the destruction of some sect.

Just then—

While everyone else was bound in place, Zhao Yishi, who had entered the secret realm first, seemed completely unrestricted. He rose directly to his feet and strode toward the hill, vanishing beyond the mountain gate in the blink of an eye, his destination unknown.

Many people immediately looked toward Zhao Yishi with envy. He surely possessed the trait "Seize the Initiative," allowing him to ignore the Heavenly Dao's restraints and move freely before the secret realm entrance closed.

This sect's mountain gate clearly indicated that it had once been extraordinarily prosperous. There might be countless pills, spells, spirit herbs, spirit treasures, and other items passed down from ancient times inside. Would they all belong to Zhao Yishi now?

Soon, the time it took for an incense stick to burn passed.

The secret realm entrance completely closed, and everyone was finally able to move freely. They quickly formed several small groups, gathering together while watching the surrounding people warily. Quite a few of them focused mainly on Chen Qiu, afraid that he might suddenly erupt into action.

Then a grand, hoarse voice rang out above the entire sect ruin.

"To become an Inner Disciple of Mocking Heaven Sect, one must pass four trials."

"The first trial."

"Severing Worldly Attachments."

"Upon entering the mountain gate, you shall encounter the first trial. In this trial, you must sever every care and bond tying you to the mortal world. To become a supreme sword cultivator who makes the world tremble because of you, the most important thing is to possess no weakness."

"Family, wives, and children are all your weaknesses."

"If you wish to become an Inner Disciple, sever them."

"Family, wives, and children?"

Chen Qiu's expression turned complicated and somewhat strange. "I don't have those things. Fat Dragon, do you?"

"A few incense sticks ago, I should have had half of one. Now I don't even have half left."

Fat Dragon shrugged. "What I'm worried about now is whether, if we truly pass all four trials, we'll really become some kind of Inner Disciples of this Mocking Heaven Sect. This sect hasn't received the Heavenly Dao's recognition, has it? I don't want my panel to say that I'm some Mocking Heaven Sect Inner Disciple."

"Becoming an Inner Disciple of a sect that's been destroyed for who knows how many years would be utterly screwed up."

"Besides, just from the content of this first trial, this Mocking Heaven Sect doesn't seem like any righteous sect."

"That's true."

Chen Qiu nodded seriously. That was indeed something worth paying attention to. What puzzled him, however, was why becoming an Inner Disciple of Mocking Heaven Sect only required passing four trials.

Didn't the secret realm panel say there were seven trials?

But there was no time to think about that now. He led Fat Dragon with the crowd up the mountain path toward the mountain gate, intending to see just what this so-called Mocking Heaven Sect was all about.

It sounded somewhat similar to Heavenward Sect.

Except one mocked the Heavenly Dao, while the other submitted to it.

Meanwhile, in a corner within the mountain gate.

After Zhao Yishi, free from the Heavenly Dao's restraints, rushed through the mountain gate first, he anxiously looked around for a while before turning with satisfaction toward an abandoned building in the distance that stood a hundred zhang tall.

He strode into a corner and crouched down, curling himself up.

With a solemn expression, he formed a hand seal with his right hand and whispered, "Hide."

The next moment!

Zhao Yishi's originally enormous body gradually vanished from the spot. Even divine sense sweeping over the area could not detect that a person was hiding there. Only upon colliding with it could one sense that there seemed to be a wall of air there.

A hint of smugness flashed across Zhao Yishi's face as he hid in the corner.

Only now did he feel a little safer as he surveyed the interior of the building. It appeared to be a place for cultivation, though the ground was already covered in dust, making it seem as though it had fallen into ruin long ago. He had flown into the corner atop a green lotus, leaving behind no footprints whatsoever.

His Foundation Establishment mid-grade spell, the "Invisibility Technique," had reached Great Perfection after his painstaking cultivation these past days. Unless their cultivation was several major realms higher than his, no one could hope to discover him!

Still, why was this sect's name so similar to his own sect's name? What a coincidence.

But he was certain they could not be from the same lineage. After all, this Mocking Heaven Sect was clearly a sword cultivator sect, while his Heavenward Sect was no sword cultivator sect.

Besides, given how poor his sect was, it could not afford to raise sword cultivators. Even if it had a Sword cultivator Inheritance, it would be wasted.

It would be better to sell the inheritance and buy him some demon beast meat to eat.

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