Mighty ones gathered like clouds above the Border Sea. Countless discussed feverishly the opening of the Holy Road this time.
Mount Duantian lay right beyond the Border Sea, which was shaped like protruding blades stabbing into the skies. Qin Yin gazed at the peaks of the mountains and took a detour around it before asking, “So Sage Duantian lived in the mountain then?”
“So said the rumors.” Li Xun nodded. The clouds above the mountain made the place look bleak and difficult to see with the naked eye. It was, however, obvious that the height of the mountain reached into the clouds. Only mighty ones of Noble level were able to vaguely make out the shape of the palace on the peak, but none dared to venture into the place itself.
Sage Duantian was one of the mighty ones listed in the Barren Sky Rankings, and his mastery of the arts was said to be boundless. Few in the vast lands of Barren State dared challenge the sage himself.
“It as said that there were disciples of Sage Duantian venturing down the mountain to go on a pilgrimage on the Holy Road, and the nearest Holy Road nearby is the Dawn Road. So we should be on the same road with them,” someone near them said.
Disciples of Sage Duantian could not enter the Holy Zhi Palace to further their studies, but they were welcomed to go on a pilgrimage on the Holy Road all the same. The Holy Zhi Palace had not stated explicitly that only those who wished to study in the Holy Zhi Palace were permitted to embark on the Holy Road.
“Someone is coming down from the mountain.” A huge warship appeared in the direction of the peak of Mount Duantian, passing right above the heads of everyone. A group exceptional figures were vaguely seen on the warship itself, like the Jiutian Gods and Goddesses looming over the mortals themselves.
“A warship of the Mortal World,” someone shouted as they took note of the mark on the ship. Mortal World, the greatest force within the area. Even when compared with the rest of the Barren State, they were still among the top class.
“This should be the Disciples of Mortal World passing through Mount Duantian and go paying their respects to Sage Duantian then.”
“Rumor has it that several figures of extremely notable talents were on their way to the Holy Road, and they too took the path of Dawn Road.” Many within the surrounding void began discussing what just took place as the warship passed by right above their heads. A beautiful girl was seen standing on the warship. Her clothes and hair waved gracefully with the wind.
Her name was Chu Shang, a figure at the lower level of the Noble Plane.
Ye Futian, who was right below the ship, would have recognized her if he had seen her onboard. She was that Mortal World disciple who had been to the Eastern Barren Territory and had even invited him to join the Mortal World.
“So even the top notable forces have made their move then,” Qin Yin murmured as she lifted her head to gaze upon the ship that had just passed right above her head. Despite being the daughter of the sage of Mount Jiuxian and possessing incredible talent, she knew well that the trip on the Holy Road would have proven difficult even for someone like her. The event gathered all the geniuses from all corners of Barren State. Despite Dawn Road only being one of the nine Holy Roads, the figures who showed up there were terrifyingly impressive nonetheless. As such, she needed to join forces with people of the five cities just for her to stand a chance at it.
“I suppose the Nantian House would choose the Dawn Road as well,” Xie Wuji quipped.
“There are many from great clans and powerful schools alike.” Qin Yin’s eyes looked into the distance. Ye Futian’s eyes sparkled hearing her words. He looked at the map before and was able to confirm that both the Mortal World and the Nantian House were in the same direction. Now that they are in the Zhongzhou Lands, would the two top-class forces which had been to the Eastern Barren Territory choose to embark on the same Holy Road?
An old city stood at the edge of the Dawn Road: Ruin City. Legend had it that the city fell many times before, and was rebuilt each time. It was a place anyone on the Dawn Road would have definitely passed by. As such, the city was an incredibly bustling one despite its name, especially when the Holy Road was opened once every three years. The city was packed like sardines during such times. People from various corners of the region would flood into the city and make their way to the Sea of Ruins at the west side of the city.
The Sea of Ruins was a place leading towards the Holy Road. Countless mighty ones gathered at the shores of the Sea of Ruins. One gaze would have been more than enough to note the presence of all proud sons and daughters of the heavens from all over Barren State.
The opening of the Holy Road had always been the grandest of all events to take place in the Barren State. It was a given that such an event would cause quite a stir.
Ye Futian was able to see the sea of people before his eyes as soon as he got there, and he felt rather shocked. The number of people gathered there easily exceeded 100 thousand. Furthermore, given that the Dawn Road had yet to be opened, there were definitely more who were still on their way there.
“Dawn Road lies right beyond the Sea of Ruins. Once we journey through Dawn Road, we will have reached the Holy Zhi Palace.” Someone peered at the Sea of Ruins with heated eyes. All nine Holy Roads led right to the Holy Zhi Palace. So long as they were able to make it through, they would arrive on the very sacred grounds of the contemporary Barren State.
Other than them, geniuses from all nine Holy Roads, the best of the best generation of youths Barren State had to offer, would have gathered before the Holy Zhi Palace. The imagination of such a scene would have made the heart of anyone dance.
All hoped that they would have become one of those who stood among these geniuses, appearing on the most brilliant stage to be found in the world.
“There are no rules on the trip to the Holy Road, and the harshest rule of it all lies precisely in the fact that there are no rules.”
Some among them sighed. It was known to all that the trip to the Holy Road yielded the highest number of brutal casualties among all the pilgrimages one could have taken. Many aforementioned proud sons and daughters perished on the Holy Roads.
There was to be no acknowledgment of generations on the Holy Roads, and it was an ‘anything goes’ type of game for everybody. All kinds of demons and monsters would have appeared, and there was simply no telling what one would encounter on their journey next.
Groowwwlll! A dragon howl was heard in the heavens, and the Responding Dragon was seen descending from above. Its impressive bearing overpowered all below.
“Mighty ones from Nantian House are here.” Countless pairs of eyes gazed upon the dragon descending from the heavens. Nantian House was the top force to be found within the region of Zhongzhou City, and one with powers shadowing all.
A terrifying force beyond measure indeed.
Many leaped forward to bow and pay their respects. All of whom who did so were younger generations of the Nantian House’s forces.
Ye Futian took a look at the Responding Dragon in the void and found it to be the same dragon encountered in the Eastern Barren Territory. He also saw the carriage being pulled behind the dragon, and a silhouette emerged from within. It was a familiar face—Nan Feng. Nan Feng was of Upper Arcana Plane back then. Two years had since passed, and he was a Noble Plane figure now.
Futian was reminded of the words Nan Feng and Nan Yu spoke to him about. He was back in the Eastern Barren Territory back then, and he was utterly incapable of imagining what Nantian House was like. Now that he was in Barren State, he finally got to know what kind of a force the Nantian House was.
In the void faraway, a lineup of mighty ones appeared shining ever so brightly. They flew past right above the heads of the crowd below, paying no heed to anything.
Everyone present knew that only members of the topmost forces dared pull a stunt like that as it was an act that would easily offend many otherwise. Those who were of the likes of Nantian House needed not to fear over offending anyone. They were capable and powerful enough to disregard such notions of respect.
“People of the Xia Clan are here.” Many leaped into the air again to go pay their respects. The Xia Clan, the largest clan within the Ruin City. They were a fearsome bunch, and the master of the clan was known to be of an imperceptible plane. Furthermore, an exceptionally talented younger generation appeared among the clan. A man named Xia Hou was of level seven Noble Plane. He could end up becoming the brightest star of all venturing on Dawn Road.
Lingtian Sword Will descended from the skies far away after a while. A row of figures was seen descending onto the crowd riding on their swords, glittering with great brilliance. Many in the crowd cheered for the members of the Sword Saint Villa.
A sword saint appeared in the Sword Saint Villa a few years ago. While the villa had its less than glorious days, an incredibly fearsome old man appeared within their ranks in this generation; a super mighty one who was listed on the Barren Sky Rankings.
Many exceptional figures among the younger generations appeared as well, including Yan Jiu [1]. The reason why he was called this was because he was ranked the ninth among his peers. No one dared look down on such a name, as Yan Jiu was noted to be the heir to the sword saint, and one could take command of the Sword Saint Villa in days to come.
The Mortal World warship appeared within the void shortly after. Top notch, mighty ones appeared one after another. It was to be another three days before Dawn Road was opened. Most arrived more than three days prior.
Countless murmured amongst themselves. There were simply too many mighty ones, including those renowned ones. Many came with an air of confidence and assurance, but it was quickly diminished seeing their competitors.
Ye Futian was there with the people of Mount Jiuxian. They mingled with those in the crowd and hardly anyone took any notice of them.
Despite being descendants of sages themselves, there were simply too many of such background and caliber within the vast Barren State region. Many who just showed up were probably of a more impressive background than they were. Some even quipped that being showered with the presence of so many great ones and having their eyes opened was a reward in itself.
People from the three schools and all clans of Divine Sky City had also arrived and ended up buried unceremoniously in the massive crowd.
Long Mu saw such a scene from the void and felt stunned to the core of his being, feeling like he had been a frog at the bottom of the well for his entire life. But of course, his will grew strong. The days when Long Mu’s father’s name was known throughout Barren State and made it to the Barren Sky Rankings was simply glorious. He was but a child back then and was unable to witness the moment himself. He yearned to accomplish everything his father had ever done before. He also knew well, however, that his path was a difficult one.
Long Mu came with people from the Starry School. Members of the Dragon clan and the Gu clan were there as well. Gu Yunxi was, of course, present. She heard from her father that Ye Futian was alive, and it was very possible that Headmaster Chen sent him on the journey to the Holy Road. As such, she wanted to see for herself if the peerless young man had indeed lived.
People of the Jin clan were there, as well as those from Blazing Sun School and Bright Moon School. The lineup emanated an impressive air.
A girl of unparalleled beauty stood by the beach among the masses, gazing upon the sea before her eyes. She emanated an air that nobody could touch. She was the proud daughter of the Zhaixing House, Mu Zhiqiu. She would have been allowed entrance into the Holy Zhi Palace solely by recommendation from her brother, yet she chose to embark on her own journey instead. It had been a while since she lost to Ye Futian, and it was only recently that she had broken through the Noble Plane.
There was a Holy Road among the nine located north of the Zhongzhou city area, a Holy Road named the Nether Road. The road was filled with mighty ones as well, even more so than the Dawn Road.
Many, including people of the Zhuge family and Taixuan Mountain, as well as the ones of demon gods, appeared before the road. The road was known to be the three strongest roads among the nine.
A row of figures stood quietly on the hill before the Holy Road. Two of which were ladies of extreme beauty, and one of them was especially beautiful.
Many pairs of eyes turned to look at her. One look at her beautiful face was enough to have them feel as if they had fallen in love. If they were able to marry such a girl, it would have been of the highest honor. Yet, they knew that they would have never had a chance with such a girl. Only top geniuses from the most powerful clans would be capable of such a feat.
She was named Hua Jieyu, who was said to be called a sister from a different mother by Zhuge Mingyue. She was studying in the Zhuge family at the moment. She was a Divine Spiritual Sorcerer out to test herself in the Holy Road!
[1]: The ‘jiu’ in Yan Jiu is written as the Chinese word for the number nine（九）