Lone Swan Sword Sect, Seven Xuan Tower

When six-petaled snowflakes drifted through the door, he sat and watched Green Bamboo turn into jade branches.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed in silence.

After the trip to the Dragon Blood Pool, Shen Yun devoted himself to cultivation at Bamboo Grove Lodge, ignoring the disputes of the Outside World.

The Qi Refining Ninth Layer was only a step away from Foundation Establishment. At this point, most people would search for a Foundation Establishment Pill and wait until their spiritual power had been tempered to the Peak before attempting a breakthrough.

Naturally, Shen Yun would not use a Foundation Establishment Pill to break through. With his current foundation, even Earth Dao Foundation Establishment would be as easy as turning over his hand.

But he still had no clue how to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Outside the Scripture Pavilion on Tianwei Mountain.

Fang Tianyi studied Shen Yun for a moment, then said calmly, "With your foundation, you have a fifty percent chance of achieving Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment."

Shen Yun's expression did not change. Seemingly enlightened, he said, "I can sense that there is still a road ahead, but I cannot see where it lies."

The Five Elements Primordial Chaos Body had reached Minor Achievement, and his blood qi was Pure Yang.

His Divine Sense had been tempered a thousand times over, turning the illusory into the tangible.

His Five Elements Spiritual Power flowed without end, condensing from qi into liquid.

Any one of these could have made him dominant in the Qi Refining Realm. Achieving Earth Dao Foundation Establishment would not have been difficult, yet he had only a fifty percent chance at Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

"To attempt an ascent to heaven is no different from building a tower in midair. In truth, your foundation is already deep enough."

Fang Tianyi raised his eyes to the sky and sighed. "Since ancient times, a small handful of people have achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment. Their foundations were even inferior to yours; they were simply favored by fate."

Shen Yun's eyes narrowed slightly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Could it be that the Qi Refining Realm also has a limit? Must one rely on fighting for some illusory fate?"

Fang Tianyi shook his head. "The Dao has no end. So-called limits are merely boundaries imposed by man. But if you wish to take another step from the top of a hundred-foot pole, secluded cultivation alone will no longer suffice."

"Only after observing a thousand swords can one recognize the blade. You must witness a broader heaven and earth before you can see through the road ahead."

Fang Tianyi suddenly said, "There is a place that should be of some help to you."

Hearing this, Shen Yun asked directly, "Where?"

Fang Tianyi said faintly, "Lone Swan Sword Sect, Seven Xuan Tower."

Shen Yun was slightly startled. "Master, do you mean for me to participate in the Sword Sect's assessment?"

Fang Tianyi considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "With your talent, there is no need to waste time on such things. I will take you there."

Shen Yun was still curious when, without any visible movement from Fang Tianyi, boundless clear light radiated from all over his body and surged skyward against the current.

With a boom, a towering aura blanketed the entire Tianwei Mountain. The clear light seemed to pierce through the distance of space, turning into a gateway leading to the unknown.

The entire Shen Family felt the terrifying disturbance, and countless gazes turned toward Tianwei Mountain.

"This disturbance... it is Mister Fang!"

Within the Secret Realm at the deepest part of Misty Peak, Shen Changkong cast out his gaze.

Shen Yun was enveloped in clear light as he followed Fang Tianyi through the illusory gateway.

One step, two steps... until, after a hundred steps, the clear light gradually faded, and everything before his eyes changed dramatically.

As far as the eye could see, countless Immortal Palaces stood in rows, grand and magnificent, as though they rested above the clouds, wreathed in immortal mist.

Countless spirit veins poured down from the ten-thousand-zhang heavens like waterfalls, like immaculate jade dragons.

The sky was a washed blue. From time to time, figures flew overhead, leaving behind trails of brilliant light.

In the endless distance, a hundred-zhang treasure sword, silver-white from hilt to tip, hung in the air like a lone swan, rising and falling in the void.

"This is the Lone Swan Sword Sect?!"

Shen Yun was deeply shaken. The magnificent sight before him no longer seemed to belong to the mortal world. Compared to it, the Shen Family and the Great Zhou Imperial Family were nothing more than backwater villages.

Fang Tianyi remained calm. Looking at the towering hundred-zhang pagoda not far away, he said casually, "This is the Seven Xuan Tower."

The two had suddenly appeared out of thin air, like a single stone stirring up thousand-layer waves.

The Sword Sect Disciples outside the Seven Xuan Tower immediately surrounded them, their sword intent surging like raging tides.

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass into the Sword Sect!"

Dozens of spiritual pressures came whistling in. Sharp sword qi filled the sky and covered the earth, thinning even the air.

"Stand down!"

A Black-Clad Man arrived in an instant. Only after he appeared did his voice reach them; he was so fast that the naked eye could not catch him.

The man appeared middle-aged, with brows and eyes as sharp as swords. His shoulders were broad, and his straight back was like a divine sword that would sooner break than bend. The aura of one man alone suppressed all the Sword Sect Disciples.

"Greetings, Law Enforcement Elder!"

The many disciples immediately bowed in salute, their eyes filled with incomparable reverence.

Shen Yun looked at Fang Tianyi somewhat strangely. Was it really all right to make such a grand entrance on someone else's territory?

Yet what happened next exceeded everyone's expectations.

The Black-Clad Man clasped his hands and said respectfully, "Mister Fang has honored the Sword Sect with his presence. May I ask what brings you here?"

The Sword Sect Disciples were stunned. They tried to make out the visitor's appearance, but his figure was shrouded in faint clear light, impossible to see clearly.

What sort of great figure could make the Law Enforcement Elder treat him with such courtesy?

The crowd exchanged glances, yet not a single person knew what was going on.

Not even the Law Enforcement Elder could perceive the figure within the clear light.

He had once felt that transcendent aura. Even after a hundred years, the memory remained deeply etched in his mind.

Fang Tianyi said blandly, "I am borrowing your Seven Xuan Tower."

Though he spoke as if merely informing him, the Law Enforcement Elder did not mind in the slightest. He laughed heartily. "A trivial matter. Mister Fang, please make yourself at home."

Fang Tianyi looked at Shen Yun and said calmly, "Go in. Your master will wait for you here."

Shen Yun nodded, then stepped into the Seven Xuan Tower.

Hearing this, the Law Enforcement Elder's expression sharpened. For Mister Fang to accept this person as a disciple, he must be a Peerless Heavenly Talent.

The Sword Sect Disciples did not leave either. Their eyes remained fixed on the Seven Xuan Tower as they discussed it among themselves.

"Each level of the Seven Xuan Tower is an ascent to heaven, and the opponents differ according to one's realm. The Tower Stele is now showing red, so this person is a Qi Refining cultivator."

"Looks like a young prodigy. I wonder which level he can reach."

"Even the Law Enforcement Elder values him so highly. His talent must be exceptional; he should be able to reach the fourth level."

"The fourth level? That is unlikely, isn't it? Even Murong Xue, the Number One Person in Qi Refining of the Sword Sect, could only reach the third level."

"..."

Every level of the Seven Xuan Tower contained an illusion array laid down by a Formation Master, with realism no different from the Outside World.

All the disciples present had entered the Seven Xuan Tower before. To pass the first level, one had to defeat three demon beasts of the Same Realm, making the difficulty clear.

Those who reached the second level were already astonishingly gifted figures. To step into the third level, one not only had to defeat five experts of the Same Realm, but also withstand a single incense stick's worth of time against an expert one major realm higher.

Those capable of reaching the third level were already few enough to count on one's fingers, renowned geniuses even within the Sword Sect.

As for the fourth level, it was almost never seen. Only those few legendary figures had reached it.

The Law Enforcement Elder's gaze was profound as he stared at the Seven Xuan Tower before him.

"For Mister Fang to accept a disciple, this person should be able to reach the fifth level. As for the sixth level..."

He rejected the thought in his heart. In his hundreds of years at the Sword Sect, he had seen only one person reach the sixth level.

That person was now like a great sun crossing the sky, enough to be called a King in the Northern Wasteland.

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