Chapter 60

Amidst the exquisite carved railings and jade steps, pavilions stand in rows, grand halls are everywhere, arched bridges connect them, and the colors are as splendid as rainbows, making the scene breathtakingly beautiful.

Moreover, at the foot of the mountain, the water flows with a gurgling sound, and the rocks are scattered, giving the entire sect an indescribable beauty. The sound of the bell echoes from time to time, soothing the mind and making people feel very peaceful.

This place is the mountain gate of the Ziyao Sect! The profound Dao here is worthy of its thousands of years of continuation.

The spiritual energy here is also extremely dense. Even at the edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains, the concentration of spiritual energy surpasses that of the spirit mountains of the three families and four sects of the Great Wu Empire. Once one enters the Ten Thousand Mountains, the concentration increases several times, especially within the Seven Mountains. The density of spiritual energy is so high that ordinary people can extend their lifespan and even increase their cultivation without deliberate practice by breathing in this spiritual energy from birth.

At this moment, among the seven giant peaks in the middle, a figure suddenly shot up from the third peak and instantly appeared in front of the purple spacecraft, hovering motionless.

Seeing this, everyone's expressions turned serious, and their pupils contracted.

They could see clearly that this figure moved as fast as lightning. The flight was not due to flying techniques or the use of a life-bound spirit tool; it was clearly only possible for someone at the Inquiry Realm or higher. This meant that the person in front of them had at least the strength of the early Inquiry Realm. For the people on the purple spacecraft, this was the first time they had seen such a person. After all, the highest level of the three families and four sects of the Great Wu Empire was only at the peak of the Out-of-Body Realm.

Hua Xiajiu, with a serious expression, looked at the person but could not see his face clearly. He could only see that the person was wearing a purple robe, was tall and robust, yet had a refined air about him.

As the figure's movements slowed, Zhao Jinghong had already bowed deeply and said respectfully, "Greetings, Senior Ren! Your junior has not failed in his mission and has brought Xian'er—"

Swish!

Before Zhao Jinghong could finish his words, the person took a step forward and instantly appeared on the spacecraft, standing in front of Xian'er, staring at her intently. Everyone could hear his breathing become somewhat rapid.

"You—your name is Xian'er! I—I am your father! For seventeen years, you have suffered. From now on, your father will never let you suffer again." The middle-aged man in the purple robe, after saying this with great emotion, embraced Xian'er. She bit her lip tightly, saying nothing, with tears welling up in her eyes.

The middle-aged man in the purple robe, after all, had a profound realm. After a few breaths, he suppressed his excitement, took a deep breath, and turned to Zhao Jinghong, saying, "Jinghong! You have done well. Take these people to the entrance cliff first! This high-grade spirit sword is a reward for you. If you have any matters in the future, come find me!"

After saying this, without waiting for Zhao Jinghong to respond, he casually threw a white flying sword, waved his sleeve, and without any visible action, took Xian'er off the purple spacecraft and flew towards the third giant mountain.

"Thank you, Senior Ren, for the reward!" Zhao Jinghong caught the flying sword and bowed deeply towards the back of the middle-aged man in the purple robe, his joy evident. Although the flying sword was precious, he only glanced at it briefly before putting it into his storage bag. As an inner disciple of the Ziyao Sect, he had two high-grade spirit tools, and what he cared more about was the last sentence from Senior Ren.

Zhao Jinghong did not dare to waste time. He piloted the spacecraft and brought everyone to the outer area of the seven giant peaks, landing on a platform halfway up a very steep stone mountain. The platform was several acres in size, facing the seven giant peaks shrouded in mist, with a deep, bottomless abyss in between.

Everyone, with a mix of joy and tension, got off the spacecraft one by one.

There were already more than three hundred people on the platform, divided into six groups, each sitting in meditation. At the front of the platform, six middle-aged men were gathered, whispering to each other.

When the spacecraft carrying Hua Xiajiu and the others landed, it startled everyone on the platform, who all opened their eyes and looked at Hua Xiajiu and the others. Hua Xiajiu's soul perception swept over the platform, discovering that all three hundred people were at the Spirit Condensation Realm, clearly selected from other countries like the Great Wu Empire.

"Junior Zhao! You came from the Great Wu Empire and are the last to arrive. Did something happen on the way?" A middle-aged man with a gaunt face and sunken eyes suddenly turned and said, with an impatient look.

Hua Xiajiu looked in the direction of the voice and saw that five people were looking at the crowd.

In addition to the middle-aged man who had spoken, the other five were a beautiful woman in a rainbow-colored robe with a good figure, and four middle-aged men in black robes with different builds.

These six people, like Zhao Jinghong, had powerful auras, clearly all at the Out-of-Body Realm!

"Zhao has some important matters to attend to, so I am a bit late. Please bear with me." Zhao Jinghong glanced at the middle-aged man who had spoken, his gaze sweeping over the other four, and said calmly.

"Hmph! Important matters? What could be more important than the once-every-five-years entrance selection? We have been waiting for you for half a day. Even if that were the case, isn't it a bit too casual for Junior Zhao to say it so lightly?" The middle-aged man was clearly very dissatisfied with Zhao Jinghong's attitude and snorted.

Zhao Jinghong, upon hearing this, looked at the middle-aged man with a half-smile and said, "This time, when I went to the Great Wu Empire, Senior Ren of the Five Elements Hall asked me to do a personal favor on the way, so I was delayed." Facing the middle-aged man's aggressive attitude, Zhao Jinghong remained calm and responded slowly.

"Senior Ren of the Five Elements Hall!" The middle-aged man's face changed slightly, and his aura immediately subsided.

"Alright, alright, no need to argue as soon as you meet. Since it was delayed because of a favor for Senior Ren, it's only right for us disciples to wait for half a day. Hmm! Since the disciples from the Great Wu Empire have arrived, let's begin!" The beautiful woman quickly intervened, her face now smiling.

The others, seeing this, all rose into the air, facing the direction of the seven giant peaks. They each revealed a blood-red token emitting a pale red light, which floated in front of them.

As soon as the seven tokens appeared, they began to respond to each other, flickering as if they were alive.

"Go!"

The seven people, with a light command, pointed their right hands forward, and the seven tokens turned into seven red beams, shooting forward and suddenly stopping in the air above the abyss. In the next moment, the red beams connected, forming a circle about two meters in diameter, and the red light intensified, shooting a two-meter-wide beam of red light straight down.

Buzzing—

The red light shot out and, upon reaching the abyss at the same level as the platform where everyone was standing, seemed to touch something, creating ripples in the air. The red light split into eight beams, one of which shot towards the platform where everyone was standing, while the other seven extended towards the seven giant peaks.

As the red light passed, a black iron chain appeared, following the red light.

After a few breaths, everyone looked and saw that a black iron chain extended from the platform to a hundred meters away, then split into seven equally thick chains, extending into the clouds. They could faintly see that the ends of the chains were at the halfway points of the seven mist-shrouded giant peaks.

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