"We are still about three days away from the immortal sect."
Zhang Futu said as he flew.
Just as his words were uttered, they passed through the clouds. Even though they were still really far - three days was a considerable distance after all - far in the distance, Wu Yu could already see what looked like a huge pillar reaching into the heavens.
That pillar was like the Ruyi Jingu Bang. It resonated with Wu Yu deeply.
"That is the highest peak in the entire Dong Sheng Divine Continent, the Clear Sky of Shushan!" Zhang Futu said proudly.
Anyone of the Shushan Immortal Sect would naturally be proud of the Clear Sky of Shushan.
Zhang Futu's sword-energy was tilted upwards, indicating that they were still ascending. Even at this position, they were already high up in the sky.
Looking at the gigantic Clear Sky of Shushan, Wu Yu was deeply shaken. His aspirations had been completely captured by the entirety of the Clear Sky of Shushan.
As time passed, they drew nearer and nearer to the Clear Sky of Shushan and got a better look. The Clear Sky of Shushan was not a giant pillar, but a huge sword that was plunged into the ground and extended into the blue dome of the sky. It was like a finger from the earth that stood against the spine of heaven itself - cold and sinister as though it was about to rip heaven itself apart!
Because it was covered in a thick blanket of snow, it looked like an ice sword. It looked extremely precipitous.
Even so, the disciples of the four main sword ranks inhabited the Clear Sky of Shushan. They cultivated and advanced, charging onwards to their goal of the peak.
The ordinary dan disciples in the Common Sword Domain were also fighting to ascend the Clear Sky of Shushan!
Although it was still very far, his first impression had already humbled Wu Yu profoundly.
"This sword-shaped mountain must be a creation of nature itself. Otherwise, why would it have such spiritual qi? It must be the masterpiece of a god! The Heavenly Peak on the Bipo Mountain Range must have been created in the image of the Clear Sky of Shushan!"
If not for the fact that it was a heavenly land that inexplicably attracted martial cultivators, Wu Yu would not have felt an urge to immediately rush for the peak at first look.
"Shaken, aren't you? This is the sword of the gods themselves, the foremost peak in the divine continent! The dream of every martial cultivator!" Zhang Futu said.
As time passed, they neared. The Clear Sky of Shushan grew ever larger before his eyes, until finally he could not even tell its shape when they were but a day away from it. All Wu Yu could see was an endless wall, as though he had reached the end of the world. It obscured his entire vision. Everything to the west was blocked by the wall.
The Common Sword Domain surrounded the Clear Sky of Shushan.
As they neared, Wu Yu realized that the Clear Sky of Shushan was covered in nine layers of clouds that coiled around the Clear Sky of Shushan like a huge dragon. The colored clouds drifted around.
Zhang Futu pointed to the clouds and declared arrogantly, "Don't just think these clouds are pretty. They are made of endless layers of sword qi. Any outsider who wishes to invade the Clear Sky of Shushan will be torn to shreds by the Nine Deadly Colored Cloud Layers Formation before they even get close."
This was a fairly advanced formation, far, far surpassing the 10,000 Swords Formation.
"That's not all. Outside the Common Sword Domain, there is also the 99 Rank Immortal Swords Formation. This 99 layered spirit design usually lies dormant. The moment it detects invasion or demon intrusion, the design activates, and the entire Shushan Immortal Sect will be bathed in an impenetrable gold. However, throughout all these years that I've lived, I have never seen any design activated. There is no being in this world that dares to attack Shushan.
"Of course, that's as far as I know. Throughout our history, our ancestors have laid down countless formations and left behind countless hidden legacies. Perhaps only those at the Shushan immortal domain know the true might of the sect's offensive formation!"
Wu Yu was deeply moved. This Shushan Immortal Sect was truly the stuff of dreams. Even with Zhang Futu watching him as prey, it did not dampen Wu Yu's enthusiasm for this place.
Wu Yu still saw thousands of metal chains connected the Clear Sky of Shushan that were pegged in the Common Sword Domain, as though pinning down the Clear Sky of Shushan. Zhang Futu said that each chain was tied to a “godsword,” which was plunged into the ground, suppressing a demon. This meant that a portion of the Common Sword Domain was a jail that imprisoned many demons.
As for what manner of immortal treasure the godswords were, Zhang Futu did not elaborate.
After another day, they were basically within the perimeter of the Common Sword Domain. Looking out, it was an endless world of snow. All that could be seen were mountains and mountains, many times the size of the Bipo Mountain Range. And where the Clear Sky of Shushan was, there was no horizon. There were also other high peaks, some reaching the waist of the Clear Sky of Shushan. Of course, those were also the domain of the ordinary dan disciples.
Most marvelous was that there were floating islands in the air. It was said that there were great powers in the immortal sect that used designs to keep these islands aloft.
From that position, although one could only see the tip of the Shushan Immortal Sect iceberg, this tip was already potent with sword qi. Many disciples were using the Art of Sword Flight. An extremely rare sight at the Bipo Mountain Range, this was the most ordinary of things here.
"Your level is considered poor, so you only see the surface. But if you were at my level and you looked again, you would realize that even the cleanest patch of land has destructive spirit designs. Everywhere, sword shadows and sword qi fly. This is the world of the sword!"
Indeed, Wu Yu did not see as much as he did. Even so, Wu Yu could feel the fearsome sword qi all around him. This was like a forest of the sword, and he roamed within its influence.
Looking out at the endless expanse of snow, he could make out many palaces and pagodas, and more sword-shaped construction that stuck out of the white horizon.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Thousands of disciples were flying around on their swords. Here, Wu Yu felt extremely unremarkable. His level was much lower than a majority of those here.
Even someone of Zhang Futu's Huang sword rank seemed normal here. He was much more low profile now as he took Wu Yu along with him.
Wu Yu would never have dreamed that this day would come, where he would go to the peak of cultivation in the divine continent. All that he saw dazzled him. He was even more shaken than when he had first reached the Bipo Mountain Range.
All that could be said was that this was what the Sky Palace looked like for mortals.
Vast and endless, and forever limited to seeing a fraction of what it truly was, unless one climbed the Clear Sky of Shushan.
"Follow me to the Green Glass Sword Palace. It is one of the 99 sword palaces, and Futu Hall is within Green Glass Sword Palace. We are under the jurisdiction of the Green Glass Sword Palace."
The palace master was a disciple of the Xuan sword rank.
Sword halls, sword palaces, ordinary dan disciples, four main sword ranks.... The Shushan Immortal Sect was indeed strict about hierarchy. It was run as coldly and clinically as the ice on which it was built. There was a cloying atmosphere of murder in the air, which kept the new arrival Wu Yu constantly on his guard.
For the Common Sword Domain, the closer one was to the Clear Sky of Shushan, the closer to the core one was. Green Glass Sword Palace was one of the twenty-odd sword palaces in the outermost ring. In terms of spiritual qi, it was naturally considered low-tier, and on the edge of the Common Sword Domain. Once you entered the Common Sword Domain, you were in the territory of the Green Glass Sword Palace. Even so, the spiritual qi here formed white immortal mist that warmed you when you breathed it in. It was at least a hundred times more dense than the spiritual qi at the Bipo Mountain Range.
Such was heaven on earth.
They passed through a frosted valley and saw an enormous pair of green swords ahead. They were forged of green bronze and protruded out of the ground. Each was more than 100 zhang tall, and about one fourth of the blade was buried in the ground. Huge metal chains hung from the sword handles, which extended all the way to the waist of the Clear Sky of Shushan. Wu Yu knew that these were two of the godswords that Zhang Futu had mentioned. Below them must be demons.
And these two godswords formed a huge door to the Shushan Immortal Sect!
Of course, it was also the door to the Green Glass Sword Palace.
From afar, they could see about 30 martial cultivators in green armor between the swords. They all wielded spiritual immortal treasures and stood unmoving against the wind and snow. They had to be the guards of Green Glass Sword Palace.
"Zhang Futu."
A well-built man in the group spoke. He was their leader, and he spotted Zhang Futu immediately.
"Cang Mang, same as usual." Zhang Futu quickly reached them, Wu Yu in tow.
These 30 were all in the Jindan Dao Realm, and all of them were turning inquisitive gazes at Wu Yu. Their piercing gazes and chilly demeanor made Wu Yu feel threatened.
"Welcome back. But who is this? The one you brought out was not this person, isn't that so?" the martial cultivator called Cang Mang asked.
Zhang Futu did not bat an eyelid as he replied, "The disciple I brought out was unfortunately killed by a demon. He has passed on. This one is a rare talent I found in the extreme east. I took him as a disciple and brought him back to Shushan Immortal Sect."
Half disbelieving, Cang Mang said, "How did your disciple get killed by a demon? Must have been a strong demon to kill your disciple before you."
Zhang Futu said, "Not so. My mistake, allowing the demon to face him alone."
This meant that perhaps within the Shushan Immortal Sect, Zhang Futu could not kill wantonly. That was why he had brought an unsatisfactory disciple out?
"I could not care less about that. But are you sure that this disciple, not even at the Jindan Dao Realm, is qualified to join our sect? In order to enter the immortal sect, one normally has to pass the sect's test," Cang Mang said dubiously.
"Huang sword rank disciples have the authority to accept outsiders into the sect as disciples, although only up to four. He is a tenth tier Qi Condensation cultivator, and as far as I know, he is not yet 20 years of age," Zhang Futu said calmly.
"Not even 20? That's not bad at all." Cang Mang nodded. He had been sizing Wu Yu up with his dissecting gaze.
Night Wishes for Snow was an eighth tier Qi Condensation cultivator, although he had been cultivating for more than 50 years. Huang Cheng was in his 30s and was at the Jindan Dao Realm. And at least in Futu Hall, he had been considered the most talented. For ordinary dan disciples below 20 years of age, they were often at the eighth tier of Qi Condensation.
"Alright, go on in."
Cang Mang nodded assent.