Chapter Seventy-Seven: Entering Shu with Sword

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“Just shout... call for someone!”

“Call for someone? You go!”

Qin Feng signaled to Old Daoist Qiu Hu, who immediately scurried over to the riverbank and shouted at the top of his lungs, “We come to pay our respects to the mountain. May an immortal send someone down to receive us.”

No sooner had his words faded than, from the immortal mist of rainbow clouds above, a dazzling silver light flashed, accompanied by a sharp sonic boom. In a moment, a figure in white stood atop a massive flying sword, shooting forth from the rainbow mist.

The figure grew larger as it approached, until, with a loud “boom,” the enormous broadsword slammed into the ground at an angle. The young man in white standing on the sword tossed his hair with an air of elegance and leapt nimbly to the ground.

Qin Feng was left speechless.

He had seen sword-riding before, but never such a theatrical display. This was the first time he’d witnessed such an ostentatious performance.

Sensing the newcomer’s cultivation, Qin Feng realized he was no more than an eighth-tier mortal-forging expert—neither tall nor handsome, though the prominent green mole on his left cheek was quite noticeable. The young man obviously took Qin Feng and Old Qiu for country bumpkins come to seek entry to the sect, and deliberately performed this flashy sword-landing maneuver to impress them with his immortal aura. Qin Feng couldn’t help but look down on him for it.

Yet, Old Qiu was thoroughly impressed.

He hurried forward, bowed deeply to the young cultivator with the green mole, and then, with great ceremony, produced a low-grade spirit stone, offering it with both hands.

“Immortal sir, a small token, please accept it,” Old Qiu said, his face wreathed in flattery, nodding and bowing.

From a distance, Qin Feng’s brows knit together.

To his surprise, the young man with the green mole accepted it as a matter of course, his face immediately lighting up with a broad smile. He nodded approvingly, “Good, you’re perceptive. Go on up!”

Then he turned his gaze toward Qin Feng.

The meaning was clear—it was Qin Feng’s turn.

Watching Old Qiu climb happily onto the broadsword and take a seat at the sword’s tail, Qin Feng felt deeply uncomfortable. A single low-grade spirit stone was nothing to him, but for such a thing to occur at the gates of Mount Shu Sword Sect immediately soured his opinion of the place.

“This is outright robbery. Coming to pay respects at an immortal mountain—how did it turn into bribery? If someone had no spirit stones, would they be denied the path to immortality?”

Of course, these were only thoughts in his mind. Since he’d come to Mount Shu Sword Sect, no matter the outcome, he would have to go up and see for himself.

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Helplessly, he realized there was only one way up.

No need to make trouble with the people of Mount Shu Sword Sect over a single low-grade spirit stone.

Handing over the stone, Qin Feng leapt onto the young man’s broadsword.

The youth weighed the stone in his hand with satisfaction, cast a mocking glance at Qin Feng’s back, then hopped onto the sword himself. With a spell, the flying sword soared into the air once more.

As the sword rose higher, the view grew broader.

Qin Feng sighed inwardly. The life of a sword immortal truly was enviable—an eighth-tier cultivator could already soar through the sky, while he, a body cultivator of the same rank, was like a landlocked frog, forever bound to the ground.

When the sword reached a certain height, it veered and, with a burst of speed, shot straight into the immortal rainbow mist.

Inside the mist, visibility shrank to a scant few meters.

Old Qiu sat meekly at the sword’s tail, hardly daring to breathe. Curiosity piqued, Qin Feng shifted closer to him.

But just as he took a step, the youth at the sword’s tip turned around with a stern expression and scolded, “Sit still. Don’t move around. If you disturb the sword’s course and trigger the Rainbow Mist Formation, you won’t even know how you died. Hmph!”

With that, he ignored Qin Feng and concentrated on controlling the sword.

Qin Feng was momentarily stunned.

Fortunately, Old Qiu quietly explained things at the sword’s tail, and Qin Feng finally understood what was happening.

It turned out that they were now within the sect’s outer protective array—the Rainbow Mist Sea Formation—a massive formation spanning several hundred miles and enveloping all the outer mountains of Mount Shu Sword Sect.

This formation had existed since the sect’s founding, a colossal array passed down for thousands of years. Legend had it that it was laid by the sect’s ancestor, who had invited several great cultivators of the Heavenly Martial stage to work together. When fully activated, it was powerful enough to withstand several attacks from late-stage Heavenly Martial experts without breaking.

Not only did it protect Mount Shu Sword Sect from attack, it also concealed the mountain gate. After all, most immortal sects preferred to hide their gates in secluded paradises, making it easier to cultivate in peace, undisturbed by worldly powers or the occasional trespasser.

“In a little while, you’ll see our mountain gate.”

Sure enough, after flying for a while longer, the surrounding mist began to thin, and Qin Feng’s vision suddenly widened.

But the scene before his eyes left his expression frozen in awe.

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“This place is truly beautiful!”

Even one as well-traveled as Qin Feng couldn’t help but praise it aloud.

Though it wasn’t Old Qiu’s first time here, he was still slack-jawed, stunned by the breathtaking scenery. The young man with the green mole glanced back at their reactions, his face full of pride.

He’d escorted countless visitors, and every one of them wore this same expression when they first saw the mountain.

Thinking back to his own first time, his eyes had been just as wide, utterly convinced he’d entered a paradise beyond the mortal world.

Astonishment. Admiration.

For before them lay Mount Shu Sword Sect—a true earthly paradise.

Waterfalls tumbled down from great heights, forming streams that flowed through the sky, creating yet another waterfall river. The seven-colored glow of the setting sun painted the heavens, arching a broad rainbow across the sky.

But these wonders were nothing compared to what lay ahead—the most marvelous, the most awe-inspiring sight:

Mount Shu Sword Sect—one mountain, ten peaks!

Why ten peaks? Because there was a central mountain, one inverted peak, and nine suspended peaks—all nine floating upright around the single inverted peak, arrayed with the logic of the world’s own laws, forming a configuration of nine and nine returning to one. Between the peaks were hanging steps, like stairways to immortality amid the mist.

Each of the nine floating peaks presented unique landscapes—some blanketed with wildflowers and ancient trees, lush and vibrant; some densely packed with elegant pavilions and tall towers, orderly and harmonious; others bristling with countless swords, resembling a graveyard of ten thousand blades, evoking reverence.

When Qin Feng turned his gaze to the inverted peak atop the main mountain, he saw a vast platform, with magnificent buildings arranged in harmony. At the center of the great square below the pavilions stood a colossal stone Immortal-Slaying Sword, its face inscribed with dense sword verses, each one clearly visible. The square teemed with cultivators in white robes, flying swords on their backs, training diligently, striving ceaselessly in pursuit of the perfect immortal path.

Strange stones and marvelous trees, the fragrance of flowers and the songs of birds, cascading waterfalls and a grave of swords—profound, beautiful, lush, and mysterious—this truly was a mortal paradise, a heaven on earth.

This was the greatest righteous force in the Kingdom of Cloud’s Dawn—

Mount Shu Sword Sect!