Ten Thousand Years in Seclusion
Chapter 27:This Sect’s Stuff Is Unreliable

Chapter 27: Chapter 27:This Sect’s Stuff Is Unreliable

"The rules are simple."

The voice came from above. Everyone looked up to see a figure in deep indigo striding down the white-jade staircase. At first, he was only a blurry speck in the distance. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the final steps and reached the foot of the staircase, his features becoming clear.

He was a middle-aged cultivator, dressed in the same Falling Cloud Sect robes as the other elders. The only difference was the emblem embroidered over his chest: a regular hexagon with a dark-gold star at its center.

The mountain wind swept up the hem of his robe, while the Falling Cloud Sect’s green-jade Elder Token hanging from his waist flashed with a cold gleam.

Qi Tian’s eyes narrowed slightly—it was the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator he had encountered earlier this morning outside Yuelai Inn.

But the man showed no sign of recognizing him. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed him when they passed each other earlier in the morning.

Someone in the crowd with sharp eyes immediately noticed the dark-gold star within the hexagonal emblem and exclaimed,

"A one-star Formation Master!"

"It’s Elder Li!"

Low murmurs spread through the crowd of examinees.

There were quite a few elders in the Falling Cloud Sect, but only one of them was also a Formation Master.

Elder Wei stepped forward and cupped his fists toward Elder Li.

"Elder Li, I’ll leave the rest to you."

Elder Li gave a slight nod, looked at the crowd, and slowly spoke.

"The test for the Heaven-Ascending Stairway is simple. You have half a shichen. Climb as high as you can."

A wave of quiet discussion immediately swept through the crowd. They had known that the Falling Cloud Sect’s second disciple-selection test was the Heaven-Ascending Stairway, but none of them had known what the test actually involved. Now, they all craned their necks and listened intently.

Elder Li continued,

"The Heaven-Ascending Stairway contains the Myriad-Jun Formation. With every step you take upward, the gravitational force and spiritual pressure imposed upon you by the formation will grow heavier. Every three hundred and thirty-three steps constitute one stage. With each stage, the pressure will increase sharply."

"Those who reach the second stage may become inner disciples." Elder Li’s voice carried clearly across the crowd. "Those who enter the third stage may be chosen by the elders as personal disciples."

The moment he finished speaking, a young man in the crowd could not help but call out,

"Then what if... someone reaches the top?"

At this, the corners of Elder Li’s mouth lifted slightly.

"Anyone who reaches the top may enter our Falling Cloud Sect’s Scripture Repository and choose any one low-grade Profound-tier cultivation technique."

The announcement caused an uproar across the square.

A Profound-tier cultivation technique!

For these Qi Condensation cultivators, most of whom came from ordinary backgrounds, such a thing was an opportunity they could only dream of. Burning desire immediately flared in countless eyes. Even their breathing quickened, as though they could hardly wait to rush onto the Heaven-Ascending Stairway.

A low-grade Profound-tier cultivation technique?

What use would that be?

Qi Tian was completely unimpressed.

If the reward were spirit stones instead, he might actually consider climbing all the way to the top.

Elder Li continued, "If you can’t climb any farther, sit down where you are and cultivate. The Myriad-Jun Formation is beneficial to cultivation. When the shichen is up, someone will come up and bring you back."

He paused, swept his gaze across the crowd, and added, "Each round is limited to fifty people."

By the time Pei Yi heard this, he had already opened the register and begun dividing them into groups according to their token numbers.

"Do I really not have to take the test?" Qi Tian heard Lin Ye—the country boy surrounded by the elders—ask awkwardly. He had already heard the elders calling his name earlier.

Elder Wei waved a hand, his voice booming like a great bell. "You’ve already secured a place as a personal disciple. Just watch."

"A personal disciple?" Elder Li was taken aback. He had clearly not yet been informed. "What personal disciple?"

Elder Liu said calmly from the side, "A Heavenly Spiritual Root."

"A Heavenly Spiritual Root?!" Elder Li’s pupils contracted. He abruptly turned toward Lin Ye, unable to hide his shock.

Lin Ye gritted his teeth as though he had made up his mind. He cupped his fists and said, "I... I want to give it a try. Please, Elders, let me."

The elders were stunned for a moment. Then the short, stout elder burst into laughter and slapped his broad, fan-like hand against his thigh.

"Good! If you want to go, then go. It will benefit your cultivation, and it won’t do you any harm!"

The other elders nodded as well.

"Then go." Elder Li gave a slight nod, his gaze still lingering on Lin Ye with a trace of astonishment.

Lin Ye looked as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hurriedly slipped out from among the elders and joined the front of the crowd.

Seeing this, Pei Yi put him in the first group.

As for Qi Tian, still holding the wooden token marked 936, he was naturally placed in the final group. He stood alone at the back of the crowd, his expression calm, as though all the commotion around him had nothing to do with him.

Elder Li withdrew his gaze. Seeing that the first group of fifty had finished forming up, he took a deep breath and called out in a deep voice,

"First group—"

"Begin climbing the Heaven-Ascending Stairway!"

The first group of fifty stepped onto the white-jade staircase, their footsteps overlapping in a noisy rhythm.

The fifty were a mixed bunch. Some wore fine silk and jade ornaments, while others were dressed in coarse cloth.

For the first hundred or so steps, everyone found it easy. The pressure from the staircase was still light, like a spring breeze brushing against their faces. Some even charged ahead without slowing down, jogging up the jade steps with their robes fluttering and confidence high.

Below, Qi Tian looked up at them and shook his head slightly.

Charging recklessly from the start and holding nothing back—they would soon run out of strength.

Sure enough.

Around the two-hundredth step, those who had charged ahead the hardest began to slow down. The ease they had shown at first was completely gone. Their faces flushed red, sweat beading on their skin and dripping from their chins onto the white-jade steps, leaving dark, damp marks.

They panted heavily, their legs feeling as though they were filled with lead. Before long, they were being overtaken one after another by those who had started at a steady pace.

Finally, a richly dressed young man stumbled. One knee slammed heavily onto the stone step with a dull thud.

His face flushed crimson, veins bulging at his temples as he desperately fought against the pressure that had suddenly grown heavier. He held on for a while, but in the end, he could take no more. He slumped down onto the steps and could no longer get back up.

There was also a thin man in plain cloth who gritted his teeth and forced himself up another dozen or so steps. His face went from red to ashen. His throat bobbed, and he suddenly retched up a mouthful of sour fluid before collapsing where he stood, sprawled helplessly across the cold jade steps.

More and more people began choosing to sit down on the jade steps.

Some sat down without hesitation, crossing their legs and closing their eyes to meditate right where they were. Cultivating under the spiritual pressure of the Myriad-Jun Formation was much faster than cultivating normally.

Others were only a few steps short of the three-hundred-and-thirty-third step. One leg was already raised, hanging in midair, yet no matter how hard they tried, they simply could not bring it down. They were unwilling to give up—once they made it past the three-hundred-and-thirty-third step, they would become inner disciples. But that single step was as heavy as a thousand jun. In the end, they could not make it.

With no choice, they slumped down onto the steps.

Only eleven people managed to make it past the three-hundred-and-thirty-third step.

Lin Ye had not been in any hurry, so he was the last of the eleven. He steadied his breathing, raised his foot, and stepped onto the three-hundred-and-thirty-fourth step—the second stage.

His body sank slightly.

The pressure suddenly increased by a great deal, like stepping from a gentle stream straight into a rushing river, the weight bearing heavily down on his shoulders. But... it was still within what he could endure.

He pressed his lips together and continued upward.

Three hundred and fiftieth step.

Four hundredth step.

He had already passed five examinees whose legs were trembling.

Four hundred and fiftieth step.

He passed another three who had already sat down to cultivate. Their faces were deathly pale, their legs crossed and eyes closed. They had clearly reached their limits and no longer had the strength to climb any higher.

At this height, the mountain wind was fierce and the sea of clouds churned below. Those on the steps beneath looked up, but from below, Lin Ye’s figure was already difficult to make out clearly through the white expanse of clouds.

Of course, the elders and Qi Tian were exceptions.

The eyesight of Foundation Establishment cultivators was far beyond that of Qi Condensation cultivators.

Qi Tian watched as Lin Ye passed the last two remaining examinees at the six-hundredth step.

Lin Ye continued upward.

Six hundred and fiftieth step. Six hundred and eightieth step. Seven hundredth step...

He finally stopped at the seven-hundred-and-eighteenth step.

It was not because he had exhausted himself. Rather, Elder Li’s voice happened to ring out across the entire mountain at that very moment.

"Half a shichen is up—"

Qi Tian looked up at the figure and estimated in his mind. If there had been no time limit, the boy should have been able to climb another fifty steps or so.

More than a dozen Falling Cloud Sect disciples had already been waiting at the foot of the staircase. The moment they heard the signal, they immediately flew onto the Heaven-Ascending Stairway, darting between the jade steps like swallows.

They grabbed the examinees who had collapsed on the steps by the backs of their collars and carried them down one after another as though they were picking up chicks. After setting one down, they immediately turned and rushed back up for the next.

Naturally, those who had climbed higher had an advantage—they had been able to cultivate for a little longer.

The Falling Cloud Sect disciples busily moved up and down the staircase, figures constantly rising and falling along the jade steps.

Lin Ye did not wait for anyone to come and carry him down. Hearing that the time limit was up, he simply turned around and walked down from more than seven hundred steps on his own.

His expression remained calm and his breathing steady, with only a thin sheen of sweat at his temples.

The elders looked up at him, their eyes filled with approval.

The second, third, and fourth groups followed.

Of the two hundred people in total, only forty-two eventually made it past the three-hundred-and-thirty-third step and entered the second stage, earning the qualification to become inner disciples.

But apart from Lin Ye, the highest anyone reached was only the six-hundred-and-twenty-sixth step—nearly a hundred steps short of Lin Ye.

Finally, it was time for the fifth group—the last group.

By then, it was already You Shi. The sun had begun to slant westward. The sunlight was still bright, but it had lost the scorching intensity of midday, and a coolness had entered the mountain breeze.

Only thirty-nine people remained in this group, standing sparsely before the staircase.

Elder Li called out in a deep voice,

"Fifth group, go!"

Qi Tian took the lead. He had just raised one foot toward the first step when—

"Everyone stop! Wait!"

Elder Li suddenly shouted, a trace of panic in his voice.

Qi Tian pulled his foot back and looked toward Elder Li in confusion.

Elder Li hurried to the foot of the jade staircase, crouched down, and placed his palm against the cold surface of the first step. His brows drew tightly together.

"There’s something wrong with the Heaven-Ascending Stairway. Step back for now."

Qi Tian froze.

Looking carefully, he finally noticed that the spiritual light that had been continuously flowing across every step moments ago had completely receded.

The entire white-jade staircase had gone dim.

The corner of Qi Tian’s mouth twitched slightly.

Damn it. Broken again?

Is everything in this Falling Cloud Sect this unreliable?