Feng Xueya continued to sit cross-legged, while Wu Yu and the other two took their leave respectfully.
The matter had been settled, and Wu Yu was starting to get excited. He was really looking forward to the challenge of the Valley of Immortal Fate!
After Wu Yu left, Feng Xueya opened his eyes and looked around the spacious hall. He mumbled to himself, "The spiritual qi spring has brought troubling times upon my Heavenly Sword Sect. Things are getting restless.
"It looks like I'll succeed or die trying.
"This path. Live or die. No other choices.
"I'm being tough on these kids. They have to face such challenges despite their youth.
"Of my disciples, the one most like me is Night Wish for Snow. The most unruly is Yang Qing. The most unfettered is Mo Shishu. The one who respects me the most is Yanli. And the one that intrigues me most is this Wu Yu!
"Big trouble is imminent, and I hope they can all safely pass this hurdle. Of course, it'll be great if they can become stronger."
......
"Tomorrow you will enter the Valley of Immortal Fate, but you don’t understand it at all." Having just exited Heavenly Peak, Su Yanli did not let him leave.
"Let's all go to Junior Brother's Heaven's Equal Peak. We can prepare him tonight. After all, the Valley of Immortal Fate is a big thing." Although Mo Shishu was the happy-go-lucky type, he was responsible enough when the occasion called for it.
Wu Yu also wanted to clarify things, so he brought them to Great Sage Palace.
"Keke, I say, Junior Brother. You really don't know how to enjoy life. With a quota of more than 100 servants, you actually chose all males? Just look at my Wind Flower Snow Moon Peak. They're all beauties, and I'm enjoying each day to my heart's content." Mo Shishu fanned himself with his fan as he strode into the Great Sage Palace.
"Junior Brother is different from you. Don't be a bad influence," Su Yanli scolded.
"Haha."
Wu Yu could only laugh. The two actually had a great relationship, but not a romantic one. It could only be called a genuine relationship between sworn siblings. It was a rare thing. They were not like Zhao Changtian and Yi Qingfeng, who fought desperately over Lan Shuiyue.
"Enough, stop bickering."
Su Yanli sat primly and began to speak. "The Valley of Immortal Fate is a misty and mysterious place. It's completely covered in grey fog, so it's difficult to see anything further than 10 zhang. This is a danger in and of itself. You must remember and prepare yourself for this.
"Understood."
"Secondly, the Valley of Immortal Fate is huge and the terrain complex. There are high mountains and valleys, and even gorges. Below the gorges, there is also a lot more ground. Under the influence of the fog, it can be easy to lose your way; you can even be trapped inside with no way out."
"Understood."
Wu Yu was listening intently.
Su Yanli continued. "Thirdly, because of the frequent rain in the Valley of Immortal Fate, the damp ground is a breeding ground of many venomous creatures, such as scorpions and spiders. They are everywhere, and some are extremely venomous. They can even poison those at the Qi Condensation Realm. You must be careful of these."
If she had not spoken about it, Wu Yu would have underestimated these creatures. Once bitten, although you might not die, you would probably find it extremely inconvenient.
"The above three points are nothing much - applicable to all environments. Fourthly, you must have seen the mechanisms at the Dao Querying Pagoda. Every year, when the Valley of Immortal Fate opens, a few mechanical beasts will be let loose to interfere and stop you from acquiring immortal roots, and also to give you more experience. These mechanical beasts are specially designed for the Valley of Immortal Fate test. Many can employ dao techniques, and even the Five Affinities Giant Bear of the fourth level of the Dao Querying Pagoda is considered easy prey there.”
It looked like this challenge was no easy task.
There were many competitors, and the sect only had a limited number of immortal roots. That was why such a challenge had been utilized to choose the strongest. This would also pacify the masses, giving all the disciples a fair chance to fight.
This was very important. Otherwise, if the ordinary disciples lost their faith, the sect would crumble.
"And fifthly - this is very simple - this is a competition between disciples of the same sect. It's the biggest challenge. For example, you will definitely meet with trouble from Lan Shuiyue. You're new to the Heavenly Sword Sect, whereas Lan Shuiyue has grown up here since young and has formed relationships with a good many disciples. Many will seek to frustrate you. But because of your status, they will not do anything rash."
A total of five points. The challenges were many.
And he would go in tomorrow.
Wu Yu ordered his thoughts, remembering these tricky points.
At this time, Su Yanli continued, "The above five points are not that frightening, to me. The terrifying one is the sixth point, which is also the last point."
"What is it?" Seeing Su Yanli's face turn grave, Wu Yu pricked up his ears.
Su Yanli said, "Because of this point, I was gravely wounded last year when I retrieved my immortal root. It took a long time for me to recover. You were still sealed at that point, so you do not know."
"It was quite serious too," Mo Shishu added.
"What is it?"
Su Yanli recalled for a moment. "Demons. Of course, they are demons that have already been repressed and conquered. They are usually kept in the Spirit Banishment Tower. When the Valley of Immortal Fate is opened, they will release one or two, perhaps even three or four, to become the ultimate test for the disciples."
"Demons?"
Wu Yu was very familiar with demons. Wan Qing was a snake demon, and she had eaten many a human in Capital Wu. The Immortal Protector's existence was precisely to banish demons.
Who would have thought that the Heavenly Sword Sect had also captured and tamed demons? They had to be the type who would not dare to cause mischief again.
"Why do this?" Wu Yu asked. He felt that where demons were involved, the danger was great. As far as he knew, demons were aggressive by nature, and the mortal enemies of martial cultivators. All demons held hatred for martial cultivators. If not for martial cultivators, they could roam freely through the mortal world.
Su Yanli said, "This involves the training of our disciples. Truthfully, a majority of our disciples are closeted in the Bipo Mountain Ranges daily. They seldom go out to actually slay demons. Yet slaying demons is the mission and duty of us martial cultivators. In order to have some experience when we go out in the future and encounter wild demons, we must be prepared. That is why they unleash demons. All disciples who wish to acquire immortal roots must first experience the fear that demons can inspire. Only by encountering and fighting more demons, even killing more demons, can we truly acquire demon slaying abilities. Eventually, when we face real demons, we will be able to fight them with courage."
When people spoke of the Valley of Immortal Fate, they feared the demons the most.
"These are not some young demons that don't even have demon essence. These are difficult to deal with," Su Yanli warned him.
Wan Qing counted as a young demon. The Ape Demon during the entrance exam also counted as one.
Young demons that had just evolved were not much different from mortal martial arts practitioners.
It was the old demons who had been cultivating for hundreds, even thousands, of years that were truly terrifying.
"I have committed these six points to memory."
Wu Yu was familiar with demons.
Beasts turning into demons was the preliminary transformation, when they gained sentience and became demons. As for shapeshifting, this was a more uncertain business. Some could shapeshift the moment they gained sentience, while others could not, even after centuries. It had to do with the demon types.
It was said that the weaker the bloodline of the beast, the easier it was to shapeshift.
Some could shapeshift even before they possessed demon essence, while others could only do so after.
Wan Qing was one who could shapeshift into a human before she had gained her demon essence.
Typically, demons needed a century of cultivation to gain their demon essence, fashioning a demon essence core similar to a spiritual source.
Of course, some demons with a powerful bloodline could obtain their demon essence in merely a few decades.
The strength of a demon was therefore generally measured in terms of years.
Demons of more than a century old were considered adult demons.
These demons absorbed day and night, and the spiritual qi in the environment. Every 100 years, they could form a demon essence core. After 1,000 years, they would have 10 demon essence cores and be considered 1,000-year old demons. If they could form a yaodan, which was even more terrifying. They could then compete with Jindan Immortals.
Forget 1,000-year old demons, even 100-year adult demons were difficult enough to deal with.
Of course, 100-year adult demons and 1,000-year old demons were just labels for demon strength, rather than explicit description of their age. Some demons were not even considered 100-Year adult demons after a millennium, unable to produce even demon essence. Other demons could do so in a matter of a decade.
In order to create a yaodan, a thousand years might not be enough. One needed luck as well.
The 100-year adult demons that were released into the Valley of Immortal Fate might have 500 years of cultivation, an even longer time than Feng Xueya himself.
Demons, compared to martial cultivators, were of inferior talent, but they had the edge with their longevity. As long as they were not killed, they all had a few hundred years of life.
After understanding all he could about demons, the sky was already beginning to lighten. Wu Yu packed his things and prepared to leave.
Onward to the Valley of Immortal Fate!
