63: All sides gathered, achieving instant success!

The three-month period has arrived.

At the Heart of the Eastern Barrens, the Tianqiong Mountain Range.

This place was no longer the desolate sight it had been three months ago.

Centered around the mountain range, within a hundred-mile radius, an unprecedented giant city had risen from the ground.

There were no city walls, no government offices.

Tens of millions of thatched huts and countless temporary pavilions had sprung up like mushrooms after rain, covering every inch of habitable land.

This place had become the most prosperous and crowded area in the entire Eastern Barrens.

"Candied hawthorns! Candied hawthorns coated with Ten-thousand-year-old Ice Crystals, just transported from the Northern Border!"

"Gu worms from the Southern Wilderness! Live ones! Buy one to guard your home, it's better than a dog!"

"Don't miss out! A personally signed edition of 'Swift Snow and Clear Weather Sword Technique' by Prodigy Li Piaoxue of the hidden dragon ranking! Only nine hundred and ninety-eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

Merchants from all over the Eastern Barrens shouted their wares at the top of their lungs.

The air was mixed with the charred aroma of roasted meat, the refreshing scent of Medicinal Pills, and the strange smells emitted by various unknown rare treasures.

A Body Cultivator from the Western Desert was arguing fiercely with a fisherman from the East Sea over a fist-sized, faintly glowing stone, their faces flushed.

A young girl from a small Family looked enviously at the glittering Flying Sword on a stall.

This was a Cultivator's market, a Mortal's grand gathering.

Despite the surging crowds and mixed company, no one dared to cause trouble here.

Everyone tacitly maintained a delicate peace.

Because they were all waiting.

Waiting for a legend to descend.

Ergou from Niu Family Village was also here.

The three taels of silver in his pocket had long been spent on the road.

He had made his way here by doing odd jobs and helping merchant caravans carry goods.

He had become darker and thinner, but his eyes were brighter than ever before.

Clutching the stone he had picked up, he stood still in the crowd, gazing at the sky.

Wang Teng from Tianshui City had also arrived.

He stood on the deck of his Family's merchant guild airship, dressed in white, leaning against the railing, looking down at the ant-like crowd below.

"A bunch of common folk, dreaming of seeking Immortality?"

A sneer played on his lips.

"This Immortal Sect is opened for Prodigies like me, Wang Teng. You lot are merely green leaves to set me off."

Night gradually deepened.

When a full moon broke free from the clouds and hung high in the center of the sky.

The entire world seemed to have been muted.

All the noise, all the hawking, ceased abruptly at this moment.

Millions of gazes, all at once, turned towards the full moon.

The moonlight poured down like mercury, illuminating the entire Tianqiong Mountain Range as bright as day.

Buzz—

A soft hum, as if from the primordial era, echoed in everyone's hearts.

The sky cracked open.

No, it wasn't cracking.

It was as if the deep night sky, like a scroll painting, was slowly pulled open to both sides by an invisible giant hand.

Beyond the scroll, there was no Void Realm, no stars.

But a Divine Mountain, indescribable in words!

It simply floated there silently, as if it had existed since ancient times.

On the mountain, Immortal Palaces, jade towers, and exquisite pavilions appeared faintly in the clouds and mist.

Immortal cranes circled, their cries echoing through the Nine Heavens.

Divine waterfalls hung upside down, Spiritual Qi materialized into white mist, cascading like a heavenly river.

That was not a mountain.

That was a world.

An Immortal Sacred Realm that existed only in myths and legends.

"The Divine... Divine Mountain... has manifested!"

An old Cultivator dropped his cane, trembling as he knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"Thump! Thump!"

In the crowd, tens of thousands of Mortals knelt down in unison, kowtowing frantically towards the Divine Mountain in the sky, mumbling prayers for Immortal protection.

The disdain and arrogance on Wang Teng's face had long vanished without a trace.

In its place was an uncontrollable, extreme shock and fervor.

His body trembled slightly.

This was the true work of an Immortal Family!

This was where he, Wang Teng, should go!

Just as everyone was immersed in this miraculous scene.

From the mountain gate of that Divine Mountain, a pillar of light, white as jade, descended vertically.

The light pillar stopped a hundred zhang above the ground.

Then, a staircase paved with White Jade Heavenly Ladder slowly extended from the light pillar.

One step, two steps, three steps... The staircase seemed endless, extending all the way, and finally, gently landed on the peak of the highest main peak of the Tianqiong Mountain Range.

It was like a bridge connecting the Mortal world to the Immortal Realm.

"Heavenly Ladder! It's the Ladder to Heaven!"

In the crowd, someone let out a frantic cry.

The next instant, everyone went mad.

Countless Cultivators activated their movement techniques and summoned their Magic Treasures, rushing frantically towards the main peak.

Wang Teng was the first to react. He transformed into a streak of light, rushing ahead of everyone and landing at the starting point of the White Jade Heavenly Ladder.

He looked at the staircase leading to the Immortal Realm, his eyes burning with ambition.

He wanted to be the first!

The first person to step into the Myriad Dao Divine Sect!

He took a deep breath, straightened his robes, raised his foot, and stepped onto the first step with high spirits.

Buzz!

An indescribably terrifying pressure instantly descended upon his Divine Soul!

The arrogance on Wang Teng's face instantly froze.

His body suddenly sank, his knees weakened, and he almost knelt down on the spot.

"What... what's going on?"

His face instantly turned pale.

He felt as if he was carrying a mountain.

Every extra breath felt like his Divine Soul was being torn apart by a thousand cuts.

He gritted his teeth, exerting all his strength, and lifted his second foot.

"Boom!"

The pressure suddenly increased tenfold!

In Wang Teng's Sea of Consciousness, it was as if thunder exploded.

Countless distracting thoughts and Heart Demons surged frantically from the deepest part of his heart.

"You're just a frog in a well from Tianshui City!"

"Why do you deserve to enter the Immortal Sect?"

"Go back! This place doesn't belong to you!"

"Pfft!"

Wang Teng suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his body like a kite with a broken string, directly flung off the Heavenly Ladder and landed awkwardly on the ground.

The entire scene was dead silent.

Everyone was stunned by this sight and stopped in their tracks.

They stared blankly at the disheveled Wang Teng, then at the still sacred and flawless White Jade Heavenly Ladder, their eyes filled with fear and confusion.

Just then, a dark, thin figure squeezed out from a corner of the crowd.

It was Ergou.

He looked at the towering Heavenly Ladder, his eyes devoid of fear, only an unyielding determination.

He remembered his parents' dying wishes, the pitying glances of the villagers, and the hardships of traveling and sleeping rough.

He didn't want to go back to the past.

He walked to the Heavenly Ladder, took a deep breath, then, mimicking Wang Teng, lifted his foot and stepped onto it.

Buzz—

The same terrifying pressure descended upon him.

His body trembled violently, his legs heavy as if filled with lead.

Voices also echoed in his mind.

"You're just a country bumpkin, go back."

"The Immortal Sect is not where you belong."

Ergou's face turned beet red.

He gritted his teeth, and a stubborn light burst forth from his clear eyes.

"I... won't go back!"

He roared with all his might.

Then, he lifted his second foot.

Steadily, he placed it on the second step.

The pressure was still immense.

But he stood firm.

He didn't stop, lifting his third foot, his fourth foot... His steps were slow and difficult, each one seemingly draining all his life.

But he did not stop, not even for a single step.

The crowd erupted again.

"He... he went up!"

"A Mortal! He actually went up!"

Everyone understood.

This Heavenly Ladder tested not cultivation or talent.

It tested the heart!

A heart that was unyielding, indomitable, and sought the Dao!

"I'll go!"

"Me too!"

Countless young people, inspired by Ergou's figure, once again surged towards the Heavenly Ladder.

Some were flung back after one step, some foamed at the mouth after ten steps, and some collapsed unconscious after a hundred steps, their Divine Souls crumbling.

The white jade steps seemed to become a mirror, reflecting the myriad states of all beings... Before the mountain gate of Myriad Dao Divine Mountain.

All the high-ranking officials of the Sect were gathered here.

Transmission Elder Shi Potian, artifact hall elder Tie Kuang, Elder Shen Qingyan of the Alchemy Hall, Enforcement Elder Feng Qingyang.

The newly appointed Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao, Inner Sect Grand Elder Zhao Lingyue, and the eight hall mentors.

Qingyun Branch Master Yun Tianqing, Tianlang Branch Master Lin Canghai.

And the five Personal Disciples of Chu Xuanjin.

They stood in the clouds, overlooking the grand and cruel assessment below, their expressions varied.

"This move by the Sect Master is truly... unfathomable."

Yun Tianqing looked at the tens of thousands of Dao seekers struggling on the Heavenly Ladder, filled with emotion.

"This heart questioning heavenly ladder is more direct and effective than any Formation," Shi Potian stroked his long beard, a satisfied expression appearing on his stern face.

"Look at that little fatty!" Wang Duojin pointed at a chubby young man climbing the Heavenly Ladder, his eyes shining. "He's selling Medicinal Pills while climbing! This is a talent! He must be recruited into my Myriad Dao Merchant Guild!"

Su Linger didn't speak; she merely watched quietly, a hint of compassion, which she herself hadn't noticed, flashing in her cold eyes.

Ye Chenfeng's gaze fell on the dark, thin young man, Ergou.

He saw a familiar, stubborn quality in that young man.

Very much like himself back then.

Zhao Wuyou remained silent, he just watched, his golden eyes seemingly able to penetrate people's hearts.

Zhao Wuji was also here.

He had changed into an ordinary green robe, respectfully standing behind Su Linger as a Named Disciple.

He looked at the heaven-reaching staircase below, at the Immortal scene on the Divine Mountain, and his heart no longer held any pride of a Mortal emperor.

He knew what a heaven-sent Immortal destiny his status as a Named Disciple was.

"Everyone."

Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao stretched, then stepped forward.

"The show's over."

"Let's get to work."

He gave everyone a cynical smile.

"Get ready to welcome the first batch of Disciples of our Myriad Dao Divine Sect."

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PS: Something's not right, twelve parts out of ten are not right.