Chapter 6 Leaving The Village, Searching For Great Xia
On the following morning,
Grandfather and grandson both rose early and promptly began tidying up their house. They worked diligently until noon, transforming their eight-year-old residence into a spotlessly clean haven. The young man, carrying a sword sheath resembling a coffin, was drenched in sweat from their tireless efforts. Around noon, an unusual sight graced their table: six dishes.
Li Guanqi glanced at the table, momentarily at a loss for words.
Grandpa Cant we at least manage to prepare one hot dish among these six?
Indeed, all the dishes on the table were cold.
However, the old man merely offered a faint smile, gesturing subtly to produce two exquisite jade wine cups on the table.
Li Guanqi was taken aback and quipped with a grin, Grandpa, are you suggesting I should have a drink?
Su Xuan chuckled lightly and whispered, Tomorrow, youll be departing from the mountain. How can you not know how to handle your liquor?
The young man smirked, lifted the wine cup, and downed it in one gulp, immediately scrambling for water to ease the spiciness. The rich and robust liquor flowed down his throat like a fiery river. Observing this, Su Xuan couldnt help but burst into laughter, remarking hastily, Youre quite the hasty drinker, young man. You cant down it like that.
With such fine wine, youre drinking it as if you were in a tavern.
Cough, cough I never expected this stuff to be so fiery!
After a while, the young man regained his composure and quickly devoured a few mouthfuls of food before inquiring, Grandpa, what should I do after leaving the mountain?
Su Xuan playfully tapped the young mans head with his chopsticks, chuckling softly.
Youve already reached the pinnacle of Body Refinement.
All those years of hardship havent been in vain.
The next step involves drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into your body, reaching the stage of Qi Refinement.
You can potentially live for up to 120 years, your Dantian will gradually take shape, and youll acquire the fundamentals of some spiritual techniques. Youll establish your foundation and develop your spiritual consciousness.
At that time, with your intuition, it will be no different than if your eyes werent blinded.
A glimmer of longing appeared at the corner of the young mans mouth as his pale eyes shifted.
With a massive stone coffin on his back and a bulging bundle upfront, he carefully closed the door with a creak. After an extended period of silence, he finally mustered the resolve to get up and set out downhill. The young mans departure went unnoticed by anyone.
Li Guanqi had intended to visit the young girl at Aunt Lis house, but he found the Meng familys door tightly closed, so he refrained from knocking. So, with a cursory glance at the map, our protagonist ventured deeper into the mountains, ready to embrace whatever came his way.
Occasionally, he managed to catch some wild rabbits or mountain chickens to supplement his meals. In this manner, he had walked for half a month, covering only three hundred miles. The sword coffin on his back was incredibly heavy, but luckily, he had gradually adapted to its weight over this extended period.
He could even carry the sword coffin and move swiftly, with no trouble catching wild chickens or mountain rabbits.
Three months later, a dust-covered young man in gray attire emerged from the mountains. After some inquiries, he finally realized he had entered the territory of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
He scratched his head, muttering under his breath, Well, would you look at that a whole three months.
He casually tossed aside the wooden cane hed been using and continued strolling along the official road, headed straight for the Great Xia Sword Sect.
As he meandered through towns and villages, he couldnt help but overhear the locals chatter about the sect. In essence, they all praised the Great Xia Sword Sect for its excellent governance over a vast area of hundreds of miles, with few disasters to speak of. Even the nearby mountainous wilderness was said to be teeming with life, and malevolent creatures were rarely encountered.
Upon hearing this news, the young man couldnt help but curl his lips into a slight smile.
Looks like the Great Xia Sword Sect lives up to my grandfathers description, known for its impeccable reputation in the martial world. He thought, Guess I better pick up the pace on my journey
In just three days, the Great Xia Sword Sects grand disciple recruitment event would be underway.
With resolve, the young man pressed forward, and by the crack of dawn the next day, he found himself at the base of an imposing mountain range. Most of these peaks stood tall like columns, with the shortest ones measuring over two hundred zhang*, and the grandest ones reaching several thousand zhang, as if attempting to challenge the heavens themselves.
Gradually, more individuals gathered around him, appearing to be fellow juniors from various families, all en route to the sect entrance in pursuit of discipleship.
The bustling crowd echoed with complaints. Before them lay the legendary Heavenly Stairs of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
This staircase consisted of precisely 3,333 steps.
The sect overseer stood beneath the staircase, holding a sign that read: Prospective disciples must ascend the Heavenly Stairs unaided, without the use of any external aids!
Observing the noisy crowd, Li Guanqi moved through them effortlessly, a faint smile playing on his lips.
With confidence, he stepped onto the Heavenly Stairs.
*Approximately 3.33 meters