The bamboo raft drifted swiftly on the water, green waterweeds unfurling with the ripples. The water level gradually rose, soon obscuring everyone's vision.
The lake, towering like a mountain, blocked the sun, resembling a tsunami that seemed on the verge of engulfing their reed boats in the next moment.
"What... what is happening? When will we reach Jiange!"
A young man beside Sun Tong asked timidly. Rivers were scarce in the Great Zhou dynasty, and he had rarely seen large bodies of water in his life, making him terrified.
Sun Tong smiled and said,
"Junior Brother Shi, do not panic. This is merely an illusion cast by the powerful experts within Jiange. Once the waves gently submerge us, we will reach the foot of Jiange's mountain."
The young man's expression improved slightly upon hearing this. As the water level continued to surge, many reed boats were rapidly swallowed by the lake.
Xu Mu narrowed his eyes, his divine sense cautiously probing the formation of this lake, daring not to exert any energy.
As the group ventured deeper, it felt as if they were truly being swallowed into the depths of the water, causing Xu Mu's face to suddenly turn pale.
Before long, the enveloping water vanished, and before them appeared a mountain that did not seem tall, but was incredibly deep.
This mountain, viewed from top to bottom, resembled an overripe persimmon, plump and immense. Its width was vast, and it was divided into many layers, winding and branching, covered with plank walkways leading in all directions.
In terms of shape, this mountain bore no resemblance to Jiange. However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that this plump mountain, from top to bottom, shimmered with sharp white light.
Like wild chrysanthemums hidden amongst the mountain grass, each point of white light was a sword.
The swords collected in Jiange were naturally renowned. Based on the swords visible on the surface, there were at least a thousand swords here, with one encountered almost every ten steps.
Each sword emanated a chilling gleam and a proud killing intent, fragmenting the sunlight that fell upon them.
"This is Jiange!"
The cultivators leaped from their boats. After gazing at Jiange for a moment, they all exclaimed in astonishment. Most of them were visiting Jiange for the first time and had never seen so many precious swords in their lives.
The man and woman who had accompanied Sun Tong were no different.
Beneath the pavilion, Su Ling'er's beautiful face was pale. Leaning her pear-shaped hip against a wooden pillar, her eyes stared at the sword mountain with shock.
The young man surnamed Shi had a higher cultivation than Su Ling'er, so he bore less pressure, but he still dared not look at the mountain for too long, lest his eyes be blinded by the sword intent.
Sun Tong, on the other hand, stared at the sword mountain with excitement, clenching his fists and saying with suppressed emotion,
"Jiange has only just opened, and so many people are already ascending. We must hurry!"
Saying this, Sun Tong turned to his junior brother and sister and instructed,
"Later, you two will stay at the outermost and lowest part of Jiange. Be absolutely sure not to go deeper. The deeper you go, the stronger the sword intent you will have to bear."
"If you must come in and witness the grandeur of the nine immortal swords, that is fine, but be absolutely sure not to attempt to tame them yourselves. You are both new to the Third Realm; a single mistake could get you killed by the sword souls!"
"Don't worry, Senior Brother."
Su Ling'er and the junior brother surnamed Shi quickly nodded in agreement. They had a clear understanding of their own abilities. Apart from trying their luck at the outermost periphery of Jiange to see if they could find a suitable sword, the newly forged nine immortal swords, especially the world-shaking New Sun, were certainly beyond their reach.
"There are many paths up the mountain, and different paths lead to different immortal swords." Sun Tong turned to look at Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu, cupping his hands politely and saying, "If Baiyu has not been taken, it will undoubtedly still be in the eastern sector at the center of Jiange, close to the New Sun's location. We will all take the main path."
"May I ask if the two of you... are prepared?"
Sun Tong paused midway, realizing something was amiss.
He noticed that Xu Mu, who had been wearing a black hat, had a trace of gravity and panic in his eyes, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Could he also be intimidated by Jiange's sword intent?
But how was this possible? Weren't these two geniuses capable of dealing with Nalan Muchuo?
"The illusion is merely the surface of this formation."
Xu Mu rubbed his temples, closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh to calm his nerves before his breathing gradually returned to normal. He said in a low voice,
"That formation connects the mountain and the water. It is Jiange's mountain-protecting formation. If activated, even Domain Lords of the Fifth Realm would meet their end. I touched upon it too deeply just now, and was somewhat affected."
Zuo Mingqiu raised an eyebrow at this. It was not surprising for Jiange, a first-rate sect of the Great Zhou, to possess such a mountain-protecting formation. However, he had not expected the formation's scale to be so vast.
From the lakeside to the depths of the mountain, this was at least the size of five Southern Palace clan mountain gates!
Xu Mu clicked his tongue, glanced at Sun Tong, then smiled slightly and stood up straight, saying,
"I'm a bit seasick, my apologies."
"Since we are taking the same path, please trouble Daoist Sun Tong to lead the way."
Sun Tong blinked in surprise, then nodded without further comment. He drew the sword from his waist and walked into the crowd ahead.
Xu Mu followed behind Sun Tong, simultaneously transmitting a message to Zuo Mingqiu: "I have sensed it. The teleportation formation is at the end of this path."
Zuo Mingqiu followed closely behind Xu Mu.
At the rear of their group were Sun Tong's junior brother and sister. The young man surnamed Shi, looking at Xu Mu's retreating back, chuckled stealthily and said,
"So even a genius on the Profound Rankings gets seasick. It seems he's not much better than me, don't you think, Junior Sister?"
Su Ling'er's gaze towards Xu Mu also turned cold, even frigid.
A Profound Rankings genius gets seasick?
"Senior Brother, you are still too naive."
Su Ling'er shook her head. She had approached Xu Mu so enthusiastically, only to be met with his distance.
She had initially thought Xu Mu was a genius from some obscure powerful force and that a bit of arrogance was understandable. But she had not expected Xu Mu's performance under the pressure of the sword mountain to be worse than hers and Junior Brother Shi's.
This forced her to doubt Xu Mu's true identity.
"The Profound Rankings are a list of the young talents in the entire Great Zhou. Nalan Muchuo even ranks third on it." Su Ling'er shook her head, realizing she should have known Xu Mu and his companion were merely putting on an act.
To utter such preposterous words, and for others to believe them! Su Ling'er gritted her teeth, feeling immensely humiliated.
"I must teach this brat a lesson!"
...
Xu Mu, walking ahead, was unaware of Su Ling'er's thoughts behind him.
He followed Sun Tong, stepping onto the plank walkways that ascended the sword mountain. Every so often, a side path would branch out to the left and right. On these numerous side paths, countless cultivators had already begun attempting to retrieve their desired swords.
However, as they walked, two sticks of incense had passed. Xu Mu had seen over a hundred swords, and before each sword, a large number of cultivators were queuing to try and claim it, yet not a single one had succeeded.
"It seems retrieving a sword is indeed not easy."
Xu Mu couldn't help but sigh.
Sun Tong, walking ahead, heard this and nodded, saying,
"Indeed. As long as you have the ability to take a sword from the sword mountain, Jiange will not charge a single coin. It seems like a losing business, but over the years, how many people have truly benefited from the sword mountain?"
"Most people, unable to gain the sword's approval, can only spend a large sum to purchase one from Jiange, but even then, not many can afford it..."
Sun Tong spoke endlessly, his steps slowing slightly to ease his nervousness.
They had already endured the mountain's sword pressure for a considerable distance, and they were not far from the location where Jiange kept its true immortal swords.
At this moment, there were still many cultivators on the plank walkways, most of them powerful, geniuses from the Profound Rankings.
Sun Tong saw them and inexplicably began to feel nervous. He knew that even though he was considered outstanding within his sect, his talent was far inferior to these Profound Rankings geniuses.
Even with acquired effort, it would be difficult for him to gain an advantage in retrieving a sword.
With so many people, seemingly all aiming for the New Sun, if they couldn't get the New Sun, how many would compete with him for Baiyu? Would he be able to win then? What if Baiyu fell into someone else's hands?
Thinking of this, Sun Tong's face turned ashen.
Xu Mu observed Sun Tong's slow and unsteady steps, instantly guessing what was happening.
He quickly moved forward, his steps large and powerful. As he brushed past Sun Tong, he casually smiled and said,
"There are more people in Jiange than I imagined. It seems today will be a fierce battle."
"But no matter how they fight, the ultimate victor will undoubtedly be me."
Sun Tong was stunned and stopped. Zuo Mingqiu walked past him silently, seemingly indifferent to Xu Mu's words.
He couldn't help but ask,
"Even if you are a more powerful genius than Nalan Muchuo, how can you be sure this sword is yours? The Seventh Prince of the Great Zhou has brought a large entourage, and I've seen many inheritors from other top forces along the way. Some of them have even made it onto the Earth Rankings!"
"With such a formidable presence, I doubt even the Chief Supreme from the Ten Thousand Clans Alliance of the Hundred Tribes would dare to claim the New Sun with absolute certainty!"
Xu Mu did not stop walking but continued to ask, "Indeed, the princes of the Great Zhou, the geniuses of the Profound and Earth Rankings, even the Supreme of the Ten Thousand Clans Alliance dare not claim absolute certainty. Then who dares to say they can definitively obtain the New Sun?"
"And since no one dares to say they are absolutely certain, it proves that every genius who has come to Jiange has a chance. So why not believe that the one who laughs last will be me?"
Sun Tong was stunned once more.
Everyone has a chance, so why not simply believe that he himself will be the one to laugh last?
Under such immense pressure, to still possess such a mindset, how firm must his Dao heart be!
Sun Tong pondered this question, then suddenly reacted as if struck by lightning, standing still. He then burst into three loud laughs, disregarding the astonished gazes of those around him, and quickly accelerated into the plank walkways.
"You are right, I understand!"
"No matter who competes with me for Baiyu, regardless of their talent, since no one can definitively claim Baiyu, then I still have a chance. I should believe I can win Baiyu, instead of stopping before I even begin due to fear of failure!"
Sun Tong's steps became firmer with each stride, and the slope of the mountain gradually leveled out, indicating he was nearing the summit.
However, when there were less than a hundred meters left to the true summit, Sun Tong's steps suddenly halted.
He looked ahead at Xu Mu, who had been walking steadily upwards. With a grateful bow, he then turned into the side plank walkway.
Baiyu was within.
...