Chapter 68
He was momentarily taken aback by the purple halo beneath Zhou Qianyuan's feet, but he didn't ask any questions. Instead, he simply nodded to the crowd, remaining silent as he turned to the palace, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect. A talisman in his hand ignited spontaneously without any wind.
"Respectfully inviting the Ancestor of the Nine Mountains!"
The Ancestor of the Nine Mountains?
Zheng Fa watched in astonishment as the nine palaces before him suddenly rose from the ground, their rooftops sprouting peaks, and the palace walls transforming into sheer cliffs.
In the blink of an eye, nine majestic mountains loomed before everyone.
Before each person, a continuous silver ribbon appeared, winding its way up the nine peaks, leading to the summit of the highest ninth peak—where transparent walkways emerged.
"This assessment of talisman techniques is set by our Nine Mountains Sect, and the requirement is to ascend the Nine Mountains—each mountain has nine hundred and ninety-nine steps. The farther you go, the better."
"To join our Nine Mountains Sect, you must rank in the top twenty for distance!"
"For those at the initial level of white, those at the initial level of green will have their final distance increased by nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, and for those at the initial level of purple..."
The man glanced at Zhou Qianyuan, seemingly unsure how to proceed.
"I will traverse all nine mountains."
Zheng Fa understood his intent—he aimed for a perfect score, needing no extra points.
After Zhou Qianyuan spoke, he stepped directly onto the first level of the walkway. Suddenly, a basic elemental talisman appeared beneath his feet, while various talisman patterns began to flash rapidly on the next level of the walkway before him.
Zheng Fa began to grasp the purpose of this assessment—they needed to step onto the next level of the walkway at the right moment, when the corresponding talisman patterns appeared based on the elemental talisman beneath their feet.
"Ah..."
Zheng Fa watched helplessly as a hapless individual beside him stepped onto the next level of the walkway, only to find the talisman patterns above were incorrect. The transparent walkway shattered into dust, and the person fell from mid-air, their trajectory cutting through the colorful clouds, disappearing from sight, leaving everyone uncertain of their fate.
Others hesitated after stepping onto the first level of the walkway, afraid to move. As a result, the basic elemental talisman beneath their feet flickered a few times before both the talisman and the walkway vanished entirely.
This person was caught off guard, falling in an even more awkward manner than the previous one.
...So it turned out that simply waiting there wouldn’t work; this thing had a time limit!
You had to step forward within a certain timeframe, ensuring that the talisman patterns on the next level corresponded with the elemental talisman beneath your feet.
With a time constraint and the need for a deep understanding of talisman techniques, this assessment was proving to be quite challenging.
As he observed, he suddenly felt an unusual silence beside him. Turning his head, he found the Seventh Young Master standing three steps away, his face pale as he stared at the walkway before him.
Zheng Fa then recalled a little-known fact he had just learned—Seventh Young Master had a fear of heights.
This transparent walkway was directly poking at the Seventh Young Master's weakness.
Seeing Zheng Fa looking at him, the Seventh Young Master forced a smile that seemed a bit stiff.
"I suddenly realize that the immortal sect isn’t all that great."
"Thinking of giving up?"
"What do you mean by giving up? Don’t you remember the name of my courtyard? Not Envying Immortals! I’m not that eager to join the immortal sect!"
"...If you go back like this, your mother will scold you."
The Seventh Young Master hesitated for a moment, then shrugged it off.
"My mother? I’ve gotten used to it after all these years!"
"Your sister will hit you."
The Seventh Young Master’s face twisted in conflict, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "My sister... she probably won’t be able to kill me."
"Well... are you really decided to go back?"
"Yes!" The Seventh Young Master nodded firmly.
"Alright then, Gao Yuan has always wanted to be the second in command; this time he’ll get his wish."
"Huh? What second in command?"
"You don’t know Gao Yuan? He loves to compete."
The Seventh Young Master nodded.
Zheng Fa said casually, "Among the three of us, if I go to the immortal sect, he won’t measure up, but compared to you, he’s good at studying and has practiced martial arts, making him well-rounded. He always thought he should be the second."
"In the past, Young Master, your talisman skills were stronger than his, and you could enter the immortal sect, so he didn’t dare to be too arrogant."
"But now that you’re going back like this..."
Zheng Fa didn’t finish his sentence, but the Seventh Young Master was already furious, standing up.
"Does he have such ambitions?"
"Just think about the kind of person he is!"
"I’ll be the third if I go back?"
"I think that’s how he sees it."
"Not even as good as Gao Yuan?"
"He might not say it, but he’ll think so."
The Seventh Young Master gritted his teeth and walked toward the transparent walkway.
Zheng Fa smiled behind him.
You might endure your parents scolding you a thousand times for being a wayward child, but you certainly can’t accept a friend calling you trash—especially a friend who used to be beneath you.
A nearby youth who had overheard their conversation looked at Zheng Fa and sighed, "That Gao Yuan seems to have a close bond with this brother here, doesn’t he?"
"Huh?"
The youth continued, "You mentioned your mother’s scolding and your sister’s beatings, and he remained unfazed. But the moment Gao Yuan was brought up, he suddenly showed such courage."
Zheng Fa watched as the Seventh Young Master climbed up, trembling, using both hands and feet, gritting his teeth.
Zheng Fa nodded, "Yes, very close."
---
**Chapter 77: What He Taught**
The moment Zheng Fa stepped onto the walkway, he realized that this was purely a psychological game—it wobbled beneath him!
The sway wasn’t severe, but the feeling of instability brought an overwhelming sense of unease.
As he stood there, a fierce mountain wind rushed at him, causing his clothes to flap loudly.
A slight glance downward revealed valleys that seemed bottomless.
Participating in the talisman assessment in such an environment would make anyone nervous, regardless of whether they had a fear of heights.
Adding the time limit on the walkway made this assessment seem downright cruel—there were some real villains in the Nine Mountains Sect!
Zheng Fa took a deep breath, trying to forget the surrounding environment and focus on the talisman patterns on the next level of the walkway.
---
At the Zhao residence, in Sister Zhang's courtyard.
Watching the scene of the trembling participants on the walkway, Sun Daoyu felt a wave of nostalgia.
He smiled at Sister Zhang and said, "Seeing them really reminds me of my own past."
Sister Zhang shot him a glance, "What? Want to do it again?"
Sun Daoyu chuckled awkwardly, "Not quite... Back then, I was just as shaky on my legs, and I didn’t understand why they had to put us through such torment."
"Do you understand now?"
Sun Daoyu nodded, then sighed, "If one can’t remain calm and focused in the face of such illusory dangers and difficulties, that mindset wouldn’t hold up in the immortal sect. But sometimes, it’s better not to understand..."
The hint of weariness in his words made Sister Zhang look at him.
Sun Daoyu seemed to reflect for a moment before praising her, "Based on past performances in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, crossing two mountains is considered normal, while traversing four is excellent. But this time, to enter our Nine Mountains Sect, six mountains is the minimum standard—of course, if you can step directly onto the ninth peak and break the record for new disciples set in millennia, then you won’t have to worry about that. Your shadow still lingers on the Ninth Peak, Sister Zhang."
Upon hearing this, the ladies nearby turned their attention to Sister Zhang.
Having heard so much about her talent, they were finally getting a firsthand experience.
"Did you say your junior brother takes me as his goal?"
To their surprise, Sun Daoyu shook his head, "He’s still young; ambition is a good thing... But honestly, even Master probably doesn’t think he can truly match your talent, Sister. Your gift in talisman techniques is rare in a millennium. Not just this time, but even a thousand years from now, I doubt anyone will break your record."
Sister Zhang shook her head, seemingly unconvinced, her gaze fixed on the screen showing Zheng Fa still climbing upward.
---
At this moment, Zheng Fa had entered a state of pattern recognition, or rather, while this assessment might have been designed to test the mindset of new disciples, it suited him perfectly. After days of training, he had nearly turned his ability to recognize talisman patterns into instinct.
Once it became instinct, he could provide correct solutions and find answers even in a state of minimal thought and fear.
He almost forgot he was suspended in mid-air; his entire focus was on the talisman patterns on the walkway.
The difficulty of the assessment gradually increased.
In the first two mountains, the corresponding talisman patterns appeared frequently; out of every ten patterns, one or two would match.
This wasn’t difficult for Zheng Fa, nor for most of the others present.
He could see out of the corner of his eye that more than half of the participants had made it to the third mountain.
But starting from the third mountain, the difficulty of the assessment suddenly escalated dramatically.
The frequency of corresponding talisman patterns dropped significantly—now, only one would appear for every twenty patterns.
Moreover, the speed at which the walkway beneath his feet disappeared had increased considerably—by Zheng Fa’s estimate, the time had been reduced by about a third.
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