Lone Swan Sword Sect, Seven Xuan Tower

When six-petaled snowflakes drifted through the door, he sat watching green bamboo turn to jade branches.

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

Since the trip to the Dragon Blood Pool, Shen Yun had cultivated diligently at Bamboo Grove Lodge, ignoring the turmoil of the outside world.

Qi Refining Ninth Layer was only a stone's throw from Foundation Establishment. At this point, most people would seek out a Foundation Establishment Pill and wait until their spiritual power had been tempered to its peak before beginning their breakthrough.

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

But he had never found any clue as to how he could achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Outside the Scripture Pavilion, Tianwei Mountain.

Fang Tianyi studied Shen Yun for a moment before saying 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 intangible into the tangible.

His Five Elements Spiritual Power was inexhaustible, condensing from qi into liquid.

Any one of these could have made him unrivaled 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.

"If you wish to undertake the act of climbing to heaven, it 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. "Throughout the ages, there have been a small number of people who achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment. Their foundations were even inferior to yours; they had merely received fate's favor."

Shen Yun's eyes narrowed slightly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Could the Qi Refining Realm also have a limit? Must one rely solely on gambling over illusory destiny?"

Fang Tianyi shook his head. "The Dao has no end. So-called limits are merely boundaries drawn by man. But if you wish to go one step further at the top of a hundred-foot pole, secluded cultivation behind closed doors is no longer enough."

"Observing a Thousand Swords to Recognize the Blade—you must witness a broader world before you can see through the road ahead."

Fang Tianyi suddenly said, "I know of 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 take part in the Sword Sect's examination?"

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. Without any movement from Fang Tianyi, immeasurable pure light radiated all over his body and surged upward against the heavens.

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

The entire Shen Family sensed the terrifying disturbance, and their gazes turned toward Tianwei Mountain.

"This disturbance—it is Mister Fang!"

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

Shen Yun was enveloped in pure light and followed Fang Tianyi through the illusory gateway.

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

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

Countless Spirit Veins poured down from the vast firmament like waterfalls, like flawless jade dragons.

The sky was blue as if freshly washed. Now and then, figures flew through the air, leaving behind brilliant trailing streamers.

In the endless distance, a Hundred-Zhang Sword, silver-white from hilt to tip, hung in the air. Like a lone swan, it rose and fell within the void.

"This is the Lone Swan Sword Sect?!"

Shen Yun was shaken to the core. The magnificent sight before him seemed no longer part of the mortal world. The Shen Family and the Great Zhou Imperial Family became mere backwaters in comparison.

Fang Tianyi looked calmly at the towering pagoda a hundred zhang high not far away and said casually, "This is the Seven Xuan Tower."

The two had suddenly appeared out of thin air, like a single stone setting off 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 streams of Spiritual Pressure came howling toward them. Sharp Sword Qi filled the heavens and covered the earth, making even the air seem much thinner.

"Stand down!"

A man in black 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 like swords, broad shoulders, and a straight spine like a divine sword that would rather break than bend. The aura of one man alone overwhelmed every Sword Sect Disciple present.

"Greetings, Law Enforcement Elder!"

The 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 into someone else's territory?

Yet what happened next exceeded everyone's expectations.

The man in black clasped his fists and said respectfully, "Mister Fang has graced the Sword Sect with his presence. May I ask what brings you here?"

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

What sort of great figure could receive such treatment from the Law Enforcement Elder?

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

Forget them—even the Law Enforcement Elder could not make out the figure within the pure light.

He had once felt that aura which transcended the mortal world. Even after a hundred years, it remained deeply etched in his memory.

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

His tone was like that of a simple notification, yet the Law Enforcement Elder did not mind in the slightest. He laughed heartily. "A trivial matter. Mister Fang, please do as you wish."

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

Shen Yun nodded and immediately stepped into the Seven Xuan Tower.

Hearing this, the Law Enforcement Elder's expression sharpened. For Mister Fang to take him as a disciple, this person 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 began discussing it animatedly.

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

"Seems to be a young Heavenly Pride. I wonder which level he will reach."

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

"Fourth level? That is not very likely. Even Murong Xue, the Number One Person in the Sword Sect's Qi Refining Realm, could only reach the third level."

"..."

Every level of the Seven Xuan Tower contained an Illusion Array laid down by a Formation Master, its realism no different from the outside world.

All the disciples present had entered the Seven Xuan Tower before. To pass the First Layer, one had to defeat three demon beasts of the same realm; the difficulty was plain to see.

Those who reached the Second Layer were already dazzling geniuses. To step into the third level, one not only had to defeat five experts of the same realm, but also withstand a stronger opponent one major realm above for the time it took an incense stick to burn.

Those able to reach the third level were few enough to count on one's fingers, extraordinary prodigies whose fame resounded throughout the Sword Sect.

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

The Law Enforcement Elder's gaze was deep 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. During his several hundred years in the Sword Sect, he had only seen one person reach the sixth level.

He was now like a blazing sun hanging across the sky, enough to be called a king of one region even in the Northern Wasteland.

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