Chapter 70

The scope of Canglan City is vast, with its black walls stretching like a giant black dragon, enclosing this shallow valley basin at the western entrance of the Canglan Longxia Gorge.

Within the city, there are mountains and rivers, and the Canglan Academy is built on the Fulong Mountain in the northern part of the city.

Fulong Mountain is not particularly high, rising about a thousand meters from the ground, but it gives an indescribable sense of grandeur and majesty, making it the highest mountain in Canglan City, occupying nearly one-fifth of the city's area.

Looking up, one can see the clouds gathering halfway up the mountain, never dispersing, shrouding the buildings at the summit in a mist that prevents the common people in the city from seeing them. When Chen Xun and his group first arrived at Canglan City, standing on a distant ridge, they could not see the shape of Fulong Mountain at all.

On the way, Chen Xun was alertly observing Su Ling and the hook-nosed steward who lagged behind, but when they reached the foot of Fulong Mountain, he was immediately stunned by the sight of Fulong Mountain.

Although Fulong Mountain is only a thousand meters high, in the vast and desolate western wilderness of Cangmang, it cannot be considered a famous mountain. However, Fulong Mountain, entirely made of green stone, has been completely transformed by the Su family into a massive altar that pierces the clouds, truly a sight that stirs the heart.

The body of Fulong Mountain has been carved into a huge cone, and then steps have been cut into the mountain.

Chen Xun looked up and saw the green stone steps, like a coiling green dragon, spiraling up layer by layer.

Although it is only a thousand meters high, the green stone steps spiral up, extending into the clouds, giving an infinite sense of depth.

He thought that the Fulong Technique that Su Tang had passed on to him was probably named after this mountain, or perhaps this mountain was named after the Fulong Technique...

The square at the foot of the mountain is several miles deep, extremely wide on all sides, and even if two or three hundred thousand people gathered, it would not feel crowded.

The ground is paved with light gray adamantine rock, with numerous ornate pillars standing tall, carved with cloud patterns and animal shapes, exquisitely beautiful.

Besides the new disciples of the Xuwu Weifu, the new disciples of the other three Ling and five Weifu were also gathered at the foot of the mountain, nearly a thousand people, but they only occupied a corner of the square.

All wearing sky-blue robes and brown waistbands, the more than a thousand new disciples standing on the square at the foot of Fulong Mountain exuded an impressive aura.

The Canglan Academy's grand ceremony for new disciples, held every three years, is a rare grand event in the city. The square at the foot of the mountain was already crowded with people, who were gathered around, commenting on the academy's new disciples who were about to enter.

Seeing Zuoqiu, Zongya, and others waving to them from the crowd, Chen Xun felt reassured. Even if the road ahead was difficult, there was nothing to fear.

Soon, several crane calls echoed from deep within the clouds, their sounds distant. Then, the black bell at the mountain's peak rang, seemingly in response to the crane calls.

The clouds that shrouded the summit of Fulong Mountain suddenly began to roll, as if an invisible giant hand was pulling a curtain, pushing the clouds to both sides, forming two enormous cloud gates on either side of the mountain's peak, which remained unscattered.

"The Heavenly Gates are open..."

Chen Xun and the other new disciples were still stunned by the cloud phenomenon, but the crowd had already burst into cheers.

This was not surprising.

The Canglan Academy recruits a new batch of disciples every three years, and the people living in Canglan City have long regarded the grand ceremony as a major event every three years.

Seeing the clouds that shrouded the mountain's peak disperse, revealing the entire thousand-meter-high summit that had been flattened, with numerous grand pavilions and halls built on the flattened summit platform, Chen Xun could hardly suppress his shock:

This is the Canglan Academy!

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The crane calls echoed, and soon, nine figures, emitting five-colored rays of light, appeared from the clouds atop the northern mountains. Some of them were standing on clouds, others riding cranes or eagles, slowly and steadily flying from the distant clouds to the mountain's peak.

"Immortals of the Su family!"

The crowd erupted into enthusiastic and even frenzied cheers, with many people involuntarily kneeling and bowing to the nine figures who had landed on the mountain's peak...

The cheers from the crowd continued, with many people involuntarily kneeling and worshipping.

Seeing the Heavenly Gates open and the nine figures descend from the sky, Chen Xun was also stunned, as were the other new disciples, who were all wide-eyed and speechless.

Chen Xun thought that the Su family's grand ceremony was perhaps intended to shock and leave a lasting and mysterious impression on the new disciples.

Although they were several kilometers away, Chen Xun could still feel the strong aura of the nine figures.

It was not particularly fierce, but it was deeply intimidating, and people with weak wills would be left with an indelible impression, likely never daring to have any rebellious thoughts against the Su family.

These nine figures, appearing at the grand ceremony for the new disciples, were probably important figures from the three Ling and six Weifu, with auras so strong that it was difficult to even look up to them.

The current head of the Xuwu Weifu, Su Junyuan, had been in seclusion for over ten years and was not involved in worldly affairs, so he was not among the nine figures.

As the deputy in charge of external affairs of the Xuwu Weifu, Su Qingfeng had not been seen by Chen Xun since he entered Canglan City; he did not know if the other deputy, the legendary Fourth Master Su Quan, was among the nine figures.

Zong Ling, Nanxi, Qianlan, and others were completely stunned by the scene before them; Gujianfeng took a long time to recover from his shock and quietly asked Chen Xun, "Xun, if Wuyang and Heishan could use the Black Rock Peak to build an altar in the future, could they surpass this mountain?"

Chen Xun smiled, thinking that it was good that Gu Jianfeng had such ambition.

The scenes Chen Xun had seen were far more magnificent than this, and his spirit was as firm as a rock. Not to mention the Su family, even the higher-level Tianhou noble families and Yunzhou sects would find it difficult to leave an indelible impression on him.

However, Chen Xun secretly felt that it was quite difficult for Gu Jianfeng's resolve not to be shaken by the scene before them, and he smiled and said to him, "Perhaps."

"Quiet!" A steward saw that Gu Jianfeng and Chen Xun were still whispering at this moment, completely lacking the solemnity they should have, and sternly glared at them, demanding that they maintain silence.

At this moment, a deep and resonant voice, like a black bell, echoed from the mountain's peak:

"Ascend the Heavenly Stairs!"

This voice seemed to directly reach everyone's ears, and even Chen Xun, with his firm spirit, felt a slight chill:

Ascend the Heavenly Stairs, are these spiraling green stone steps the Heavenly Stairs of Canglan?

Chen Xun did not know what ascending the Heavenly Stairs meant. Seeing the stewards and new disciples ahead of him step onto the green stone steps, he also followed and ascended Fulong Mountain.

Stepping onto the green stone steps of Fulong Mountain was truly stepping into the Canglan Academy, from then on, in the land of Canglan, they would be above others, above even immortals; calling it ascending the Heavenly Stairs was appropriate.

The crowd watching also showed a fervent and envious look, but Chen Xun's mind was calm.

He did not know what mystical symbols or arrays were carved on Fulong Mountain, but as soon as he took his first step onto the green stone steps, it felt like stepping into a lake, with an invisible pressure binding his entire body.

Chen Xun was not unfamiliar with this feeling; the Nine Nether Savage Soul Banner of Wuyang could also release an invisible force field after devouring beast souls.

Although Zong Ling and Nanxi hesitated, they were not panicked; only Gu Jianfeng and Qianlan, who did not understand, looked at Chen Xun.

Chen Xun pressed down on Gu Jianfeng and Qianlan, saying, "It should be a test for entering the academy!"

Seeing that the other new disciples did not find this situation unusual, Chen Xun realized that the stewards of the other courtyards had probably already told the other new disciples about the tests they would face today, deliberately leaving them out, perhaps to see them make a fool of themselves.

Zong Ling and Nanxi, who had enlightened their savage souls to the peak of the fifth level of bone tempering, and Qianlan, who practiced witchcraft and was born with a spiritual sword heart, were more than capable of handling the current situation. For Gu Jianfeng, who had already advanced to the seventh level of blood replacement, it was a piece of cake.

Chen Xun slowly followed behind the others, stepping up the stairs.

After climbing about three hundred steps of the Heavenly Stairs, they reached a slightly larger platform, and Chen Xun felt that the pressure on his body was about a thousand pounds.

However, for all the new disciples who had passed the trials and been strictly selected through other means, a thousand pounds of pressure was not much. Chen Xun turned around and saw that all the new disciples had easily climbed to the first platform of the Heavenly Stairs.

Some of the academy's black-robed disciples had already gathered here. Seeing that everyone had climbed to the platform, they all looked somewhat disappointed:

"Strange, this year, not even a few weaklings were eliminated from the first level of the Heavenly Stairs?"

"Those who were recommended to the academy through connections, how could they not prepare in advance? The first level of the Heavenly Stairs only has a thousand pounds of pressure, which is too easy. Let's see if anyone can directly pass the fifth level and enter the inner courtyard of the academy to become a purple-robed disciple..."

Chen Xun looked up at the mountain's peak and saw that there was indeed a platform every three hundred steps of the Heavenly Stairs. He knew that as he ascended the green stone stairs, the pressure on his body would increase step by step.

He did not know how much the pressure would increase by the time he reached the fifth level of the Heavenly Stairs, but it was enough to directly select new disciples for the inner courtyard of the academy.

Chen Xun followed the others, slowly ascending. When he reached the second platform of the Heavenly Stairs, the pressure on his body had increased to about two thousand pounds, nearly doubling. When he reached the third platform, the pressure had doubled again, exceeding four thousand pounds.

The deep layers of his muscles and skin were compressed by the immense force, but Chen Xun felt an indescribable comfort, as if he had taken a spiritual pill, with all his pores opening up.

At this point, although they were still at the foot of Fulong Mountain, the mystic qi and spiritual energy were already quite abundant, and their nature was gentle, seeping into the deep layers of his muscles and skin through the fine pores, nourishing his flesh and blood, purifying his body, and even gradually removing impurities from his internal organs, which were then excreted through sweat.

Chen Xun secretly felt that the Heavenly Stairs of Fulong Mountain were truly extraordinary, and climbing the stairs was more enjoyable than taking spiritual medicine.

However, Zong Ling, Nanxi, and others had already reached their limit, struggling to take each step, with large beads of sweat appearing on their foreheads.

Of the more than a thousand new disciples, nearly half had strength comparable to Zong Ling and Nanxi, and they stopped at the third platform of the Heavenly Stairs, no longer forcing themselves to climb higher. Instead, they took out pills from their pockets, either sitting cross-legged or practicing martial arts, knowing that this was a rare opportunity to seize every moment for cultivation.

Zong Ling and Nanxi, who were at the peak of the fifth level of bone tempering, might be able to advance to the sixth level of muscle and strength tempering by taking pills and refining their energy. They took out the remaining Yuan-gathering ointment and swallowed it, practicing the Great Peng Fist...

Seeing Zong Ling and Nanxi quickly immerse themselves in the subtle realm of body and mind, Chen Xun felt secretly pleased and continued to climb the stairs.

However, when he took the first step on the fourth level of the Heavenly Stairs, in addition to the immense pressure that seemed to crush his muscles and skin from the deepest layers, an extremely terrifying aura also emanated from deep within the mountain, directly suppressing everyone's spirit.

Immediately, more than a hundred new disciples, unable to withstand this terrifying aura, fell back to the third platform of the Heavenly Stairs, their faces pale. No one had expected that the difficulty of the fourth level of the Heavenly Stairs would far exceed their imagination.