Floating Mountains

Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng led the way, with the others following closely behind. The dense dark clouds brought a sense of oppression even heavier than the hurricane. Sheltered by their elders, the disciples had it easiest. They looked up at the spatial rift above, their hearts filled with both dread and anticipation. The dark clouds appeared calm on the surface, but within churned chaotic energies. Since even the hurricanes could be swallowed by them, the ferocity of these turbulent currents was easy to imagine. To force their way through the dark clouds, they had to judge the optimal moment with absolute precision. Battle-hardened veterans like Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng were not deterred in the slightest. Whoosh! Whoosh! The hurricanes howled. The cultivators hovered before the rift, reining in their auras and poising themselves for action. Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng swept their gazes across the dark clouds, their eyes locking almost simultaneously onto a circular, weakened section. A hurricane happened to slam into the neighboring clouds, drawing the turbulent currents toward itself and causing the circular opening to widen. The window of opportunity was fleeting. "Strike!" The shout rang out in everyone's ears at once. No longer concealing their strength, the Nascent Soul cultivators attacked in unison. Instantly, streaks of treasure light surged toward the dark clouds in a dazzling array of brilliant colors. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, bells, cauldrons, mirrors, pagodas… Every conceivable variety of magic treasure was brought to bear. Nor did the demon kings hold back their innate divine abilities. Some even revealed their true demon forms to bolster their might, their roars echoing without end. Every streak of treasure light exuded a formidable aura. Blended together without the slightest discord, they united into a massive, multicolored arrowhead that drove straight into the rift! Boom! The dark clouds roiled. Treasure light spilled in all directions. Even the chaotic tempest raging between sky and sea could not mask such immense commotion and violent tremors. Without question, the disturbance would alert Xuantian Palace. At the center of the circular opening, a gap was forcefully torn through the already thin clouds, only to begin closing at breakneck speed. Without a moment's hesitation, the cultivators shielded themselves with their magic treasures and plunged into the dark clouds! *** At that very moment. At another section of the rift. Tong Lingyu was leading the cultivators of Xuantian Palace through a passage woven between the dark clouds. Delving into the depths of the cloud mass, the scenery differed slightly from the outside. Turbulent currents crackled with lightning, brimming with a destructive aura that struck terror into the heart. However, their position was far safer than where the others were. The cultivators of Xuantian Palace appeared quite relaxed, bearing none of the grim tension seen on Old Man Hunmo and his allies. By this point, Qin Sang could make out part of what lay inside the Sacred Ground. This so-called Sacred Ground was actually an exceedingly vast, somber void. The entire expanse was cavernous and empty, dominated by darkness. There was no distinct sky or earth, only a pitch-black, boundless void. The only things present were floating mountains drifting through the empty space. They were like solitary islands adrift in the void. The undulating silhouettes of peaks glimpsed from outside earlier had merely been reflections of one of these floating mountains, not representative of the rest. These floating mountains had clearly been torn away from land. Some were entire mountain ranges; others still possessed rivers, lakes, and seas that had yet to dry up, their slopes lush and verdant with luxuriant foliage. Yet even the mountains blanketed in dense forest that seemed most vibrant with life were completely silent within, exuding a heavy desolation. Each floating mountain was a dead miniature world, together forming the complete Sacred Ground. Notably, the scenery upon these floating mountains was not entirely natural. Most bore signs of artificial construction. There were not only pavilions and towers, but also numerous places where strange phenomena frequently appeared, giving off peculiar ripples that clearly signified the presence of spiritual arrays and restrictions. The mountains stood imposing and majestic, and every secret realm within them was spectacular. Even where structures had collapsed and fallen into ruin, an indelible primeval grandeur remained, leaving onlookers in awe. One could only imagine how magnificent and awe-inspiring this place must have been in its prime! No wonder Xuantian Palace believed it to be the ruins of an ancient immortal sect. No present-day sect possessed such boundless scale and ambition. Qin Sang's gaze swept across one floating mountain after another, gradually peering deeper into the Sacred Ground. The deeper one looked, the sparser the mountains became, visible in the distance only as tiny specks before being swallowed completely by darkness. Right then, Qin Sang heard Liuli's voice transmission. "The Body Cleansing Pool is over there." Following her guidance, Qin Sang located the floating mountain where the Body Cleansing Pool lay. As expected, it was situated deep within the Sacred Ground; very few mountains lay beyond it. Just then, Hall Master Jiang spoke up, providing a detailed introduction. Combining this with what he had learned earlier, Qin Sang gathered that several of the floating mountains served as trial grounds for disciples. From early Foundation Establishment onward, each cultivation realm had a corresponding location, up to the Ice Wind Cave for the late Golden Core stage, the Nine-Tiered Platform for early Nascent Soul, and the Body Cleansing Pool. The benefits gained from these trials varied, and they were not suitable for everyone. Liuli, for instance, had little interest in the Nine-Tiered Platform. Naturally, the difficulty of these trials was immense; the mere qualifications required to enter eliminated the vast majority of cultivators. Beyond that, certain floating mountains yielded rare treasures. The Kanchen Pearls came from such places, harvested collectively by Xuantian Palace and stored in the treasury for disciples of the various branches to exchange for. Xuantian Palace was intimately familiar with the Sacred Ground. Tong Lingyu assigned duties with practiced ease, directing everyone to go about their respective tasks upon entry. Having finally waited for the day the Sacred Ground opened, the members of Xuantian Palace were beaming with joy. Laughter and cheerful voices filled the air. Suddenly, the smile on Tong Lingyu's face vanished, and her expression changed drastically. Almost at the exact same moment, the other Nascent Soul cultivators sensed it as well. Exchanging glances, they all accelerated, rushing out of the dark clouds as fast as they could. The disciples still had smiles on their faces, but seeing the abnormal behavior of their grandmasters, they looked utterly bewildered, having no idea what had happened. They only felt the atmosphere turn stiflingly solemn in an instant, breeding an ominous foreboding that left their hearts unsettled. Whoosh! Flying out from the expanse of dark clouds, the Nascent Soul cultivators looked in the same direction in unison. The void was far from empty. Fragments of ancient restrictions and turbulent currents drifted everywhere between the floating mountains, invisible ripples surging from time to time in places where even Nascent Soul cultivators would feel endangered. Following the edge of the dark clouds and looking past streams of chaotic energy, their gazes discovered strange lights flashing across the surface of the distant clouds, clearly marking an abnormality. The tremors and various phenomena there indicated that others were barging into the Sacred Ground—and in no small numbers! Seeing this, the cultivators of Xuantian Palace blanched. The Sacred Ground had been exposed! Xuantian Palace possessed an ancient legacy and had weathered several internal conflicts; one could not say such an event was entirely unprecedented. After all, no matter how strict the security measures, loopholes existed, and accidents could happen. Yet Xuantian Palace had never lost the Sacred Ground. In all their years of cultivation, this was the first time they had encountered such a situation, and with so many intruders at that. Outside, hindered by the storm belt, the range of their spiritual sense had been restricted, preventing them from detecting the intruders in time. Now, it was already too late to stop them. "Chirp, chirp..." A flurry of urgent bird cries sounded from within the passage. A blast of fierce wind rushed forth. Everyone hurriedly stepped aside, clearing a path. Pulled by the Chongming birds, the ornate carriage entered the Sacred Ground. The Palace Master, too, had been disturbed.