501: Chapter 501 Inner Sect Assessment

【 Year 5, with the support of the xuantian treasure mirror, you cultivated your main body for five hundred years and finally stepped into the Middle Stage Void Refining. 】

【 Year 10, 】

【 Your Clone in the Wuji Immortal Sect suppressed its cultivation to the Early Golden Core Stage. 】

【 These past few years have been surprisingly peaceful. 】

【 Zhao Gongming seems to have forgotten your existence and has not caused any trouble since. 】

【 That is the benefit of a large Sect—as long as no one is watching you, life is quite comfortable. 】

【 The Yu Siblings, Ximen Huan, Chen Biao, and Murong Zhaozhao come to find you for drinks and chats every few days. 】

【 The Yu Siblings' cultivation reached the "Early Golden Core Stage" long ago, and they entered the inner Sect last year. 】

【 I heard that Fairy Xi He's recruitment of a husband is still ongoing. 】

【 She has already defeated over six hundred people in a row and is still fighting. 】

【 Just hearing about it makes you feel tired—this Young Miss is truly formidable and truly patient. 】

【 Today, the inner Sect assessment finally began. 】

【 The assessment has only two stages— 】

【 The first stage: Sword Casting Pool, to obtain a life-bound Flying Sword. 】

【 The second stage: Sword Stele Forest, to break through it. 】

【 You must pass both stages to enter the inner Sect. 】

【 It sounds simple, but these two stages are life-threatening. 】

【 The first stage: Sword Casting Pool. 】

【 It is not you choosing a sword; it is the sword choosing you. 】

【 Constantly venture deep into the Sword Casting Pool to find a sword willing to acknowledge you as its master, and use your Divine Soul to resonate with it. 】

【 If you resonate, the sword is yours. 】

【 If you fail to resonate—the best outcome is damage to your Divine Soul, the worst is Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering on the spot. 】

【 The second stage: Sword Stele Forest. 】

【 It is a valley filled with sword steles. 】

【 Every stele is engraved with the Sword Intent left behind by a sword Dao Senior. 】

【 You must walk into it, endure the pressure of those Sword Intents, and find your Opportunity step by step. 】

【 If you endure it, you pass. 】

【 If you cannot endure it—the Sword Intent enters your body, and there will be nothing left of your corpse. 】

【 Of course, you can also quit halfway. 】

【 As long as you return the way you came, your life can be saved, and you can try again next year. 】

【 But those who quit will be left with a scar in their heart. 】

【 That scar will tell you: You are not good enough, you could not endure it, you gave up. 】

【 From then on, your sword Dao cultivation will not be able to make any progress. 】

【 There are thousands of people participating in this assessment, all of them at the Golden Core Realm. 】

【 When you arrived at the place, you finally understood what "seeing is believing" means. 】

【 The Sword Casting Pool is completely different from what you imagined. 】

【 You originally thought it was a pool of water with a few swords stuck in it. 】

【 But looking out—you cannot see the edge at all. 】

【 If you look from further away, it is an ocean made of Flying Swords. 】

【 Countless Flying Swords, dense and overwhelming. 】

【 Some are stuck in the ground, some are slanted into the soil, some are half-buried in the sand, and some are suspended in mid-air, rotating slowly. 】

【 There are long ones, short ones, wide ones, narrow ones; green, purple, gold, and silver; some with cold light on the blade, some with flames burning on the blade, and some wrapped in lightning. 】

【 At the edge of the Sword Casting Pool, the Flying Swords are still sparse. 】

【 The further in you go, the denser they become. 】

【 Towards the end, the swords are almost touching, layer upon layer, with not even a place to step. 】

【 Mid-air is even more spectacular—all kinds of Flying Swords are suspended at different heights, as if someone had scattered them and they just froze there. 】

【 What is even more exaggerated is that these Flying Swords were not forged by people. 】

【 They are natural. 】

【 Using the power of Heaven and Earth as a furnace and Sword Intent as fire, they naturally condensed over time. 】

【 It is said that deep within the ley lines of the Wuji Immortal Sect, there is an immortal sword. 】

【 All the swords in this Sword Casting Pool are Sword Intent Clones condensed over the years from the Sword Intent emitted by that immortal sword. 】

【 To pass the assessment, you must continue to venture deep and find a sword that perfectly resonates with your Divine Soul. 】

【 Then take it and enter the Sword Stele Forest. 】

【 You stood at the edge of the Sword Casting Pool, looking at this ocean of swords, suddenly feeling a bit expectant. 】

【 You wonder what kind of sword is waiting for you. 】

【 As you were examining the Sword Casting Pool, a familiar figure walked up to you. 】

【 "This Junior Brother, do you still remember me?" 】

【 You turned your head and smiled—it was Zhong Yi. 】

【 The person who invited you to travel together at the entrance of the Taichu Secret Realm. 】

【 "Of course I remember, Senior Brother Zhong Yi, I didn't expect such a coincidence." 】

【 Zhong Yi smiled and nodded: "Junior Brother went from the Early Stage Foundation Establishment to Golden Core in just a few years, congratulations." 】

【 You waved your hand: "Senior Brother is laughing at me, it was all piled up by exchanging contribution points for Medicinal Pill. I have the Realm, but my strength is not very good." 】

【 This is not entirely a lie. 】

【 You did indeed use those contribution points to exchange for cultivation resources. 】

【 Of course, you did this on purpose—to avoid "Breakthrough" too quickly and arouse suspicion. 】

【 However, many Disciples with poor Aptitude do indeed do this. 】

【 The benefit of doing this is that the Realm rises quickly, but the disadvantage is also obvious—the Foundation within the same Realm is unstable, and if you really fight, you may not be a match for those who walked step by step. 】

【 Therefore, true Prodigies rarely rely on Medicinal Pill to force a Breakthrough. 】

【 They would rather be slower to build a solid Foundation. 】

【 Slow in one step, slow in every step? 】

【 No. 】

【 They tread firmly on every step so that they can go further. 】

【 After all, if the Foundation is not solid enough, it becomes harder to have a Breakthrough later on. 】

【 Of course, you do not have this hidden danger. 】

【 Zhong Yi did not ask too much, but kindly reminded you: "The Sword Intent in this Sword Casting Pool specifically targets the Divine Soul. Junior Brother, be extra careful. If you really cannot hold on and cannot find a compatible sword, just quit. It will not be too late to try again next year when your Foundation is solid." 】

【 His words were honest. 】

【 Many people do this—if they cannot hold on, they quit; it is not shameful. 】

【 You nodded: "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother." 】

【 Zhong Yi took a deep breath, looked towards the depths of the Sword Casting Pool, with a hint of longing in his eyes: 】

【 "I heard that those Mahayana Old Ancestors were all able to walk to the center of the Sword Casting Pool when they were young. I wonder what the scenery is like there." 】

【 "With our Aptitude, I am afraid we cannot go very deep." 】

【 "Is there such a saying?" you asked. 】

【 "Of course," Zhong Yi explained, "This Sword Casting Pool is not only for finding swords but also for stimulating talent and potential. The higher the talent, the deeper one can go. The deeper one goes and the longer one stays, the greater the Opportunity." 】

【 You nodded and asked casually: "How do you know all this?" 】

【 Zhong Yi glanced at you and smiled: "You are not from the Wuji Continent, are you? You must have been recommended by another Family?" 】

【 You nodded and admitted it. 】

【 A look of realization appeared on his face, and then he straightened his expression, his tone unconsciously carrying a bit of pride: 】

【 "Our Zhong Family's Old Ancestor is an Elder of the Wuji Immortal Sect. There is a book in our clan called 'Chronicles of the Sect's Origin', and the first thing every clan Disciple does upon entering the Dao is to memorize it." 】

【 He paused and looked into the distance. 】

【 "According to the Sect Chronicles, a long, long time ago, this continent was still a wasteland." 】

【 "At that time, this continent had no name, no living beings, no Sects, nothing at all. There were only endless wilderness and raging Chaos Qi." 】

【 "Later, a person came." 】

【 Zhong Yi's voice lowered, filled with respect: 】

【 "No one knows where he came from, and no one knows his name, only that he called himself Wuji." 】

【 "He discovered that this continent had a natural affinity for understanding sword Dao. Cultivating sword Dao here yields twice the result with half the effort. So he stayed and founded a Sect." 】

【 "That was the beginning of the Wuji Immortal Sect, and later generations called him—Venerable Wuji." 】