Firmament Sword

Gu Jianfeng, the Sect Leader of the Shaking Light Sect, said, ”Time is almost up, but many people still haven’t entered. Should we extend it a little? Give these young people a chance?”

”There’s no need. Anyone who can’t even get through the gate won’t stand a chance even if they do get in,” Xiang Wentian said.

”Exactly. They’re too weak. Going in would just be sending them to their deaths,” Xushan said coldly, withdrawing his power.

The other powerful figures also withdrew their control over the power one after another. With a WHOOSH, the Light Gate on the cliff vanished in an instant.

The large crowd of young disciples still packed around the entrance immediately broke into a chorus of wails.

”Please, open it again!”

”We demand to be let in!”

”This is unfair! We strongly demand you open it again!”

”If people hadn’t been blocking the way, we would’ve gotten in long ago!”

”The ones blocking the gate were all Great Sect Disciples! It’s outrageous!”

”This is blatant discrimination against us disciples from smaller sects!”

The group of indignant youths clamored loudly, only to be berated and sent away by the higher-ups from their respective sects.

”Haven’t you made enough of a spectacle of yourselves? If you were capable, you would have charged right in like that Merak Disciple just did!”

”Without strength, where do you expect to find fairness?”

”Now hurry up and get lost!”

At the foot of the cliff, a group of crestfallen sect higher-ups berated their disciples. Meanwhile, Xushan and the others had already departed quietly. For them, all that was left to do was wait.

...

The moment Xu Luo and the others entered the space, they were stunned by the sight before them.

A magnificent and beautiful landscape of mountains and rivers appeared before their eyes.

Giant peaks soared into the clouds, great rivers roared and surged, and a boundless prairie stretched out before them. In the sky hung a massive red sun, radiating scorching light.

”This... Is this another world?”

”Heavens, what is this place? How is it just like the world outside?”

”No, it’s different. Did you notice? That red sun looks different from the real one!”

”But the river water is real!”

”The prairie is real, too!”

”And the ancient trees on the mountains are all real!”

”This is an unknown, mysterious space! There must be great opportunities here!”

Everyone was incredibly excited, including the young man from the Kaiyang Sect whom Xu Luo had just kicked in. He, too, was staring blankly at the scene before him.

This mysterious space was enormous, nothing like the secret pocket dimension created by a Great Divine Technique that they had imagined beforehand.

This was clearly a world from another plane!

A group of people from the Jade Balance Sect gathered together and purposefully set off in a single direction.

They were the ones who knew the most about this Small World.

Xu Luo saw Xu Qing among the Jade Balance Sect’s group, surrounded by people like a princess.

Xushan probably hadn’t told his niece about his agreement with Xu Luo, so Xu Qing showed no intention of meeting with him and left directly.

Lianyi and Ji Bingyu remained where they were, waiting for Xu Luo.

Lin Luoxue and Nangong Yu Yan had also already left with a group of Dubhe disciples. After entering this Small World, all other matters were set aside. Finding Spirit Medicines and various treasures was the most important thing.

Jiang Tianhai said to Huangfu Shishi beside him, ”Junior Sister, let’s go too. What’s the point of staying here?”

Huangfu Shishi frowned slightly. ”You go on ahead. Don’t worry about me.”

”How could I do that? When we came in, I already promised the Sect Leader I would take good care of you,” Jiang Tianhai said with a sincere expression.

Just then, the young man Xu Luo had kicked in walked over to Jiang Tianhai’s side, a frustrated look on his face. ”I couldn’t stop that guy. His strength seems to be greater than mine!”

In front of Huangfu Shishi, Jiang Tianhai couldn’t say much, so he shot the young man a look.

Unfortunately, the young man didn’t get the hint. He pointed at Xu Luo, who was filing in with Phoenix and the others, and said, ”Look, he got in!”

Jiang Tianhai wished he could slap this clueless fool to death. He cursed inwardly, ’Useless trash!’

Huangfu Shishi glanced at Jiang Tianhai, her delicate brows furrowing. ”You asked Senior Brother Hai to block the gate?”

The tall, brawny young man finally realized he might have misspoken. He chuckled sheepishly. ”Of course not! Junior Sister, don’t overthink it. How could disciples from a great super-sect like ours do something like that?”

Jiang Tianhai chimed in with an awkward laugh, ”That’s right, Junior Sister. You’re overthinking things.”

Huangfu Shishi frowned. She wanted to say something, but ultimately held her tongue. ’Xu Luo is already in huge trouble. I don’t want to add to his problems.’

”Let’s go,” Huangfu Shishi said faintly, fighting the urge to go see Xu Luo.

”Alright, let’s set off now!” Jiang Tianhai was overjoyed, thinking that his junior sister had finally accepted him. His face broke into a radiant smile.

”AHH!” A bloodcurdling scream came from not far away.

At the same time, a large crowd of people came running madly from that direction, with someone shouting, ”Run! There’s an incredibly strong Spirit Beast!”

HISSS!

A giant python as thick as a water barrel, its inky scales glinting, revealed a section of its body in the tall grass.

Then, its massive head rose high, a pair of scarlet eyes locked onto the crowd. Protruding from its mouth were two human feet...

Seeing this, many people’s hearts turned cold, a chill running down their spines. It was simply too terrifying. They had just entered this Small World, and it had already given them a brutal welcome, a stark warning: this place is dangerous!

”Kill it!”

A young disciple roared, unwilling to watch the giant python devour one of his own, and bravely charged forward.

Sword Qi crisscrossed the air with astonishing power. The one who charged was actually a Tier Nine Sword Venerable!

As if provoked, the giant python opened its cavernous mouth at the charging man. Its scarlet tongue shot out, striking at the young Tier Nine Sword Venerable!

”Watch out!” someone yelled a warning.

The young Tier Nine Sword Venerable sneered, viciously slashing his sword at the python’s long, scarlet tongue.

”CLANG!”

With a sharp crack, the sword in the young Tier Nine Sword Venerable’s hand snapped in two!

Before he could react, the python struck like lightning and swallowed the young Tier Nine Sword Venerable in a single gulp.

”Heavens, is its tongue made of steel?”

”That thing swallowed a Tier Nine Sword Venerable! It’s terrifying!”

”Run!”

”Get out of here!”

The crowd descended into chaos. The vast majority of the young people had never witnessed such a scene and were scared out of their wits.

Who wouldn’t be terrified of a horrifying giant python that could swallow a Tier Nine Sword Venerable?

Yaya gripped Xu Luo’s hand tightly, her face filled with terror. She let out a wail and burst into tears.

”Waaaah, Yaya doesn’t want to stay here! Yaya wants to go home!”

”Don’t be scared, Yaya. Big Brother is here. It’s okay.” Xu Luo gently patted Yaya’s head to comfort her. At the same time, his eyes narrowed slightly. He thought to himself, ’Xushan really wasn’t exaggerating. This Small World is terrifying!’

”I found a treasure medicine!”

”Holy crap, what level of treasure medicine is this? How can it run?”

”After it! Don’t let it get away! This is a real treasure medicine!”

”The Spirit Medicines outside are absolute garbage compared to this!”

”If we take this kind of treasure medicine, we could definitely advance by a whole major realm! Catch it!”

Not far away, another group of people was shouting and clamoring as they chased after something.

Ahead of them, an old ginseng root was running for its life, stunning countless people.

’So... this is the Small World left behind by an Ancient Great Sect. A place where crisis and opportunity coexist,’ Xu Luo thought as he watched the scene unfold. Then, he glanced at Phoenix and said, ”Let’s get going, too.”

Phoenix nodded and followed by Xu Luo’s side.

Sun Wu and the other young disciples from the Grand Elder’s faction stood with twitching lips and awkward expressions, unsure whether to follow or not.

Xu Luo turned his head, glanced at them, and said, ”Come with us.”

The group breathed a sigh of relief. Sun Wu forced himself to say, ”Even though we’ve had our conflicts, we’re all from the same sect. We should stick together. We’ll be stronger that way.”

No one else said anything. They all understood that in a place like this, unity was essential, but having extraordinary strength was even more so. Otherwise, they would just end up like that brave young Tier Nine Sword Venerable, swallowed by the giant python.

Although he had an agreement with Xushan, Xu Luo didn’t head in the same direction as Xu Qing and her group. The three Star Souls within his body were guiding him somewhere else.

The giant eagle perched on Phoenix’s shoulder stared at the python, practically drooling. It grumbled, ”If I were just a bit stronger, I could’ve torn it to shreds. Its gallbladder must be super nutritious!”

Master Mao popped out of Xu Luo’s pocket and taunted Sister Ying, ”I’m afraid if you went up there, you’d be the one getting eaten!”

Sister Ying rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond to Master Mao’s sarcastic comment.

It was only then that the group of Merak Disciples realized the miniature eagle on Phoenix’s shoulder was actually a talking High-tier Spirit Beast, and they couldn’t help but marvel at it.

Sun Wu and the others followed behind, somewhat dejected. They now understood just how vast the gap was between them and Xu Luo. They couldn’t help but feel ashamed and frightened when they thought about how they had opposed him at the beginning.

’It’s a good thing he didn’t stoop to our level...’

”Where are we going?” Phoenix asked Xu Luo softly.

Xu Luo shook his head slightly. ”I don’t know either. My intuition is telling me there’s something good over there.”

He said this to Phoenix as he pointed toward a large mountain in the distance.

”Maybe there’s a tomb from an Ancient Great Sect on that mountain!” a female Merak Disciple said.

”We’d actually be much safer if we stayed with the main group,” another disciple suggested.

Just then, a glint flashed in Xu Luo’s eyes. He looked at the empty air beside him and said coolly, ”You’ve been following me for a while now. Do you plan to keep it up?”

Everyone was slightly taken aback, not understanding what Xu Luo was doing.

The air distorted, and a person in black slowly appeared before them, wearing a wide-brimmed bamboo hat that obscured their face.

The black-clad person’s voice was just as icy. ”Xu Luo, your time has come!”