Ten Directions Sword Master

Chapter 76 Qingcheng Under Heaven

However, before making the large-scale exchange, there is one more thing that requires the supreme power of the Nebula Palace.

Lu Li took out the Seven Aperture Exquisite Sword Heart he had obtained from the white ape in the Crimson Fire Secret Realm, intending to see if it would be repurchased.

If the Nebula Hall is interested, it will provide an introduction, saving the trouble of searching through ancient books and asking people randomly for fear of revealing secrets.

"The Seven-Aperture Exquisite Sword Heart, rotating through the seven orifices, comprehends all techniques, and is mastered without a teacher — it must be held under the chin and cannot be opened. It can only be refined after forty-nine days."

"After refining, the heart has seven orifices—it can perceive the situation in advance, and the difference in cultivation level and internal energy flow among people of the same realm will no longer be hidden; it can transcend thought and act before intention; it can conceal its aura and return to nothingness to avoid being detected; it can deduce and complete, and restore martial arts; it can break through the mystery and ignore illusions and inner demons."

"When one has an epiphany, the seven orifices will emit a faint chirping sound, like the cry of a monkey in the deep mountains, and a white ape figure will appear, practicing moves in the dantian and recording the gains of the epiphany."

"With the monkey in your heart, all laws will naturally arise; the seven orifices will revolve, all will be at your disposal — sold for merit — 30,000."

Lu Li stood there in front of the Nebula Hall, almost missing the exchange time.

What is the concept of 30,000 merits? Based on the pricing of the Nebula Palace, the estimated value of a low-grade treasure weapon should be between 3,000 and 4,000.

If the exchange of treasure weapons were allowed, one Seven-Aperture Exquisite Sword Heart could almost be exchanged for ten of them in one go.

The key point is that it doesn't directly increase combat power; the stronger the user, the more useful it becomes.

As expected of the most valuable treasure in the Crimson Fire Secret Realm, it may even surpass the innate Qi.

For him, this would elevate his already extraordinary swordsmanship talent to another level.

He especially valued the ability to ignore illusions and inner demons.

It was carefully placed in the main hall. The fact that it could not speak for forty-nine days during the refining process meant that the compass world would be useless this time.

"Two Great Rejuvenation Pills, please; one Blood Burning Pill, which can stimulate blood and qi and raise one's cultivation level by a small amount within half an hour; one Thunderclap Talisman, equivalent to a half-step Refining Spirit strike, which can be aimed at and fall at will; and one Fish-Dragon Pendant, which can block fatal damage and takes three strikes from a Refining Spirit strike or a Foundation Establishment Perfection strike to shatter."

Lu Li exchanged items quickly, mentally reviewing all the desired items many times, just waiting for the day when he had enough merit points.

After a series of exchanges, the merit points that I thought were plentiful immediately plummeted to 170.

But then he thought of the exquisite heart with seven orifices containing a full thirty thousand merits lying in the Nebula Hall, and he was no longer worried.

After a quarter of an hour, the main hall receded into the distance, and the world changed color, seemingly surrounded by green mountains and cliffs, with overlapping peaks and lush forests.

"The heavens and earth collapsed, the Tao declined and the demons grew. In this degenerate age, spiritual energy gradually withered. The once blessed lands and grottoes have all become desolate tombs, and the once immortal pavilions have all turned into broken walls and ruins."

"Demons seized the opportunity, possessing corpses and resurrecting souls, devouring spirits and refining evil, feeding on human blood and flesh, and forging souls into banners. Righteous immortals either went into seclusion or suffered divine punishment. Within the nine provinces, demonic flames boiled, and the daytime was as dark as night."

"The few remaining righteous sects have opened their gates, seeking a chosen one to reignite the great calamity and save the world from collapse. — Main quest: Pass the sect entrance exam to become a Qingcheng disciple. Reward: 500 merit points. Limited to one month. Failure to complete the quest will result in expiration."

"Side quest: Slay ten demonic cultivators, and you can enter the Ancestral Hall for a day of quiet cultivation."

Immortals! A brand new world of compasses!

Hearing that cold and grand voice, Lu Li's eyes twitched; this compass was of a very high world level.

It won't lose to the Floating Island World, and might even be stronger!

This is the fifth compass world he has visited, and the power level can be roughly determined from the background information.

Just listening to this content, he began to suspect that he had been transported to the Middle Ages, or even earlier.

That era when immortals and Buddhas manifested their power, and great beings were everywhere.

You can get a glimpse of this from the main questline. It's just a matter of passing the test, like when you are first teleported to the floating island world. All you need to do is collect ten fish.

That's because these seemingly simple tasks all harbor deadly threats.

"The sect leader has decreed that since you have come to the mountain gate, you possess a destiny for immortality, and I will grant you a chance—"

The Yin Pool behind the mountain is plagued by demonic energy and teems with corpses and demons—to become a disciple of this sect, one's swordsmanship cannot be weak. The three who slay the corpses and demons and accumulate the most Yin virtue can become disciples of Qingcheng.

A middle-aged Taoist priest hovered in mid-air, his aura as deep and boundless as the sea, calmly recounting the rules of the assessment.

Lu Li then realized that the Nebula Compass had actually teleported him to a large public area, where dozens of people were standing on a wide platform halfway up the mountain.

Everyone listened intently to the Taoist priest's words, and no one was surprised by his sudden appearance.

It was as if someone had always been standing in that spot, and it had never changed.

Perfected Spirit Refinement? It seems to be more than that; could it be the Dharma Body?

Lu Li looked up and observed that everyone was doing similar things, so it wasn't particularly noticeable.

Compared to Zhai Baishi, who appeared before the Crimson Fire Secret Realm, the Taoist's aura was not as astonishing and powerful, but it was ancient and natural, blending into the world, and every move he made had more Taoist charm.

Judging from his limited insight, he should be even more powerful than Zhai Baishi, which would be even more terrifying.

For a mere newcomer to enter the sect's assessment, a Dharma Body Grandmaster is mobilized. What level of power must the experts in this Qingcheng Sect possess?

Could there really be immortals?

The middle-aged Taoist priest tossed out a palm leaf, which grew to the size of several acres, allowing all the candidates participating in the assessment to board it.

With a flick of his finger, he flew into the clouds and instantly arrived at the Yin Pool behind the mountain.

"Entering and exiting the azure sky, with the skills of immortals!"

"What a treasure! I wonder when I'll be able to refine such a magical artifact once I become a disciple of Qingcheng!"

"Hmph! A country bumpkin like you dares to dream of entering a celestial realm? This is nothing more than a flying artifact that every inner disciple of Qingcheng has; what kind of magic treasure is it!"

The examiners on the palm leaf started talking amongst themselves, which helped Lu Li recover from his shock.

Let's call this compass world the Qingcheng World for now. Every moment, every single thing is assaulting his senses.

He was certain that no real-world Grandmaster could possess such a flying artifact, nor could they achieve the same level of performance through other means.

The key point is that this is only the standard magic weapon for inner disciples.

Then, going further up, what kind of extraordinary magical powers, like moving mountains and filling seas, must the elders and sect leaders possess?

Moreover, the dozens of examinees were not all young people like Lu Li; men and women, young and old, monks, Taoists and laymen, all sorts of people were mixed together.

He even saw a dwarf three feet tall, a cripple lying on the ground, crawling on his hands and knees.

"If the test isn't about slaying corpse demons, how did these obviously disabled people get in? Could there be some hidden trickery in the Qingcheng Sect's assessment?"

There are too many unknowns in the Qingcheng world. It is a world that is clearly still in the mythological era. As soon as Lu Li entered, he was immediately subjected to the sect entrance examination, without being given time to familiarize himself with it.

"Go down. The assessment may be terminated at any time. After I select three disciples, the rest will be sent down the mountain and will not be allowed to enter Qingcheng again."

The middle-aged Taoist priest blew a breath, and dozens of examinees landed safely near the Yin Pool. Bei Ye then turned around and headed towards the mountain gate.

"I've been an examiner for three months now, which has caused the production of Dragon Tiger Pills in the alchemy room to be delayed. I'll have to talk to the chief senior brother about it when I see him and ask him to replace me. So-called chosen ones aren't so easy to find."

"I've used my Qi Observation Technique to examine this group. Only three or four of them have a faint trace of fortune above their heads. Reaching the stage of Refining Emptiness and Merging with the Dao, and condensing a Dharma Body, is already the pinnacle—it's absolutely impossible for them to break through to the Human Immortal realm within ten years like those monstrous geniuses. Moreover, what our Chief Senior Brother is looking for are immortal seeds capable of breaking through limitations and possessing the potential of a Celestial Immortal. It's truly difficult!"

Thinking of the battle between good and evil thirty years from now, the middle-aged Taoist priest was filled with sorrow.

Last time, the righteous sword immortals almost lost everything, but fortunately, the chief senior brother turned the tide and won three matches by himself, and even destroyed three cave heavens.

In recent years, the demonic path has grown powerful, and several new demon gods have emerged. I'm afraid the righteous path won't even be able to protect the last few blessed lands.

"It's strange, there's actually one person among these examinees whose fate is chaotic and uncertain, a mere mortal swordsman with internal energy—oh well, we won't accept him into our sect anyway, no need to waste the energy trying to deduce it. Since the collapse of the heavens and the earth, haven't there been enough strange events!"

The middle-aged Taoist priest landed in the temple, sat down cross-legged, and opened his mouth to spew out a stream of true fire, which continuously burned around the alchemy furnace several feet high in front of him.

Forty or fifty people scattered, landing evenly around the shady pool.

The dense shade blocked out the sun, the air was damp, and a chilly feeling crept into the body.

Lu Li didn't rush forward; he wanted to see what the others would do.

This is equivalent to the ancient times of immortals and Buddhas in the real world. My meager martial arts skills would probably be wiped out with a single breath if I encountered a powerful figure.

Only by gathering as much intelligence as possible can one have a better chance of survival.

At this moment, he was very glad that he had decisively sold the Taiyin Sujin and exchanged it for a lot of good things.

Otherwise, this time in Qingcheng World will be truly difficult.

But at the same time, along with the rapidly beating heart, there was also a hint of suppressed excitement.

Only by experiencing such a compass world, comparable to the era of immortals and Buddhas, can one gain enough.

Only then can we break free from the limitations of our time, escape the pursuit of the river of time, and challenge the highest realm.

He even sought to understand the reasons behind the dramatic changes in the real world since the Middle Ages, the shift in the Great Dao, and why he was chosen by the Nebula Compass.

"Young brother, what is your name? I am Wu Lianfeng, one of the Three Heroes of Shu. I have reached the end of my martial arts journey and have come to the Immortal Sect to try my luck."

Wu Lianfeng, who took the initiative to approach and greet him, was tall, with a restrained aura and long, deep breaths, clearly a martial arts master.

"Bai Wuming, you haven't made a name for yourself, Brother Wu, you must have never heard of me."

Lu Li's mind stirred; many of the examiners could tell at a glance that he possessed considerable internal strength.

The person in front of me is probably around the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, but I don't know how skilled he is in martial arts.

"Hey, what use is a reputation in the martial arts world once you've joined Qingcheng?"

Wu Lianfeng waved his hand warmly and affectionately.

"If you ask me, the disciples of Qingcheng are none other than those of us who have achieved mastery of martial arts. How can anyone else compete with us?"

"I've heard that the Corpse Demon is impervious to swords and spears, practically wearing iron armor. Brother Bai, would you be interested in joining forces? We have quite a few martial artists among us; I've already met several renowned swordsmen from Sichuan. If we're too slow, the spot will be snatched up by someone else."

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