The other elders nodded and said to the middle-aged-looking elder in the center, "Elder Luo, let us begin."
The man in the center was Luo Xiaming, the peak master of Sword-Wiping Peak. Among the peak masters, he looked particularly young.
He answered, formed a Dao Hand Seal, and a small cauldron appeared out of thin air, suspended in midair.
Three other Foundation Establishment Realm elders each held a talisman, Elder Xu Ziqing among them.
The three channeled their Spiritual Power, activating the seal script on the talismans in a flash of spiritual light.
"Humm-"
The patterns carved into the small cauldron lit up one after another: flowers, grasses, trees, birds, beasts, insects, and fish, all vivid and lifelike.
The small cauldron slowly descended into the center of the platform atop the peak.
"Disciples participating in Sword Polishing will be transported into the Grotto-Heaven Realm once the talismans in their hands activate."
"The talismans are bound to you. If you suffer grave, life-threatening injuries in the secret realm, or someone takes your Spirit-Pattern Jade Token, you will automatically be transported out."
"After one day, the twenty-two disciples who remain inside will advance to the dueling stage."
"If fewer than twenty-two remain, the eliminated disciples with the highest previously recorded Spirit Mark scores will fill the vacancies."
"The other rules have already been explained, so I will not repeat them."
He swept his wide sleeve. "Begin."
As his words fell, the talismans in the participating Sword Polishing disciples' hands lit up one after another.
Then their figures flickered, turning into streams of spiritual light that poured into the small cauldron.
Deep in a forest within the Minor Grotto-Heaven Realm.
"This is rather like that time in Silent Valley..."
With that thought, Song Yan took out the map they had all been