The ash grey firmament shook as violent qi from the two colossal forces collided, and waves upon waves of earth-shattering might swept out, smashing into a vibrant barrier in the shape of a large lotus that encompassed the entirety of ‘Pure Moon Peak’ and the many peaks neighboring it.

Outside the barrier, sat cross-legged before each of the seven petals that formed the seven hue lotus were the figures of seven young women dressed in veils and robes matching in color with the petal before them. Each time a surge of qi slammed into the barrier, beads of sweat would roll down the figures of the seven maidens, and their fair skin would turn a shade paler.

Inside the barrier, the image of a fierce tiger, tens of li tall, with bronze fur crafted out of the sunset, and dark stripes forged from the night sky, was locked in an intense battle with a mass of illusory black mist that ebbed and flowed elusively around the beast…

“ARGH! Keel over you rotten twig!” Jun Zhenmin screamed angrily, his arms swinging as the beast’s paw clawed at empty air.

“You keel over!” Heigu Xuanzong rebuked loudly, his voice echoing from inside the black mist, his body hidden somewhere within it.

At this moment, what remained of the ‘Radiant Sea Gates’ lay sprawled atop the ruins of the ‘Pure Moon Peak’, while the sprawling ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ were reduced to a few broken bricks that paved the rocky paths up the peak.

*****

A hundred or so li down the crumbling ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’; below the savage battle between Jun Zhenmin and Heigu Xuanzong, a green-robed youth was slowly scaling what was left of the stone stairs.

“Ai-yah, no wonder big bro told me this was going to be tough…there’s not even any proper steps anymore! Or was this an intentional design choice? Immortals are pretty unfathomable, maybe they’re just into contemporary architecture? But well, this is an interesting change of pace, nothing like those dumb tests with the broken rocks and those scary beasts!” The youth muttered as he pulled himself up a piece of debris that was jutting out against the mountain path. “But I have to say, this is a lot easier than I expected, it’s more like an obstacle course than a test to enter an Immortal sect…eh, maybe there’s some secret meaning behind this test that I have to figure out?”

If any other living person who had ever scaled the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ heard the youth’s words and saw his current nonchalant demeanor, they would have wanted to stab this little devil to death with a cleaver and then off themselves in that exact same way.

The ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ were forged from a number of incomparably precious heavenly materials, the more notable being the ‘Firmament Suppression Stone’ that was used to craft the last thousand steps, the ‘Dao Abolition Steel’ that constituted the last hundred steps and the ‘Supreme Advent Ore’ that formed the last ten steps. Not to mention, the steps were erected by dozens of top-rate formation masters and blacksmith, the most prevalent among them being ‘Grandmaster Duanfu’!

When the innumerable formations engraved upon the steps are activated, combined with the intrinsic essence of the heavenly materials that form it, the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ become nigh impossible to scale!

Stepping upon any number among the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ was a testimonial of a cultivator's ‘Will’, ‘Heart’, and ‘Strength’! The ‘Will’ to weather rain and winds, the ‘Heart’ to seek the dao, and the ‘Strength’ to challenge all beneath heaven and earth!

To scale the last thousand steps, one must possess the ‘Will’ to forge forward against all suppression, to scale the last hundred steps, one must possess the ‘Heart’ to embrace the dao against all abolition, and to scale to last ten steps, one must possess the ‘Strength’ to reign supreme against all adversaries!

In times of peace, the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ was a perfect tool to test the students of the institute and temper their ‘Will’, ‘Heart’, and ‘Strength’. While in times of war, it was a perfect killing tool, although the steps glowed a soft silvery light, seemingly untouched and untainted, every time the ‘Radiant Sea Institute’ went through turbulent times, its ivory steps would be engulfed in the blood of those that dared point their blades at the Institute!

However, during its creation, the formation masters of the institute laid out a series of formations to redirect the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ innate qi elsewhere, thus weakening its connection with the natural Fengshui of ‘Pure Moon Peak’, reducing its current efficacy to slightly under one ten-thousandth of its peak. This was all done so that the qi that the ‘Firmament Suppression Stone’, ‘Dao Abolition Steel’, and ‘Supreme Advent Ore’ exuded could be used more effectively.

Why else would it have been so easily collapsed by the fatty and old bones’ frenzied struggle? As long as it’s innate qi was channeled back into it, the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’, and the surrounding mountain peak would recover within an incense stick’s time! This was why the old woman was not bothered by the destruction wrought by the conflict atop ‘Pure Moon Peak’ in the slightest.

Even though the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ was not at its peak, it was still exceedingly difficult to reach the ‘Radiant Sea Gates’. Without a strong ‘Will’, firm ‘Heart’, and powerful ‘Strength’, not to mention climbing to the top of the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’, it was impossible to even set foot on it! Out of ten thousand ‘Qi Immersion’ cultivators in the entirety of the ‘Nine Sun Empire’, one would be hard-pressed to find even five who could climb the first step, much less reach the peak!

The youth in green however, did not possess a resilient ‘Will’, nor was his ‘Heart’ firm, but he was strong, oh yes, compared to those in ‘Qi Immersion’ he was very, very strong, heaven-defyingly so…

“Hmm…maybe the view of the mountain top is meant to scare us! Test our ‘Dao Heart’? It is pretty scary…but it’s just an illusion, right? Hehe…you think you can discourage me with something so stupid?” The youth questioned; his eyes fixed on the large phantom tiger rampaging atop the ruined ‘Pure Moon Peak’. Before flashing a brilliant smile as he declared, “Maybe other people will fall for it, but I am the incredibly virtuous, supremely righteous, the bravest and the boldest, the smartest and the wisest, the mysterious and unfathomable, young noble XIAN…YI!”

*****

*Spurt*

Outside the vibrant lotus that surrounded ‘Pure Moon Peak’; and the battle between Jun Zhenmin and Heigu Xuanzong, among the seven maidens that formed the seven petalled lotus, the green-robed maiden could no longer hold on. Vomiting out a mouthful of blood, the green halo around her dispersed, and the maiden’s figure was instantly blasted tens of li into the air

“Junior sister Ling!” the yellow-robed maiden, whose position was beside the green-robed maiden’s, screamed in panic when she noticed this, but she was unable to move from her current position in the slightest, much less do anything to help, lest her remaining sisters be instantly overwhelmed by the tempest formed by the battle inside.

Fortunately, before the green-robed maiden could fall to her death, the old woman floating above the peak intervened. A single petal from the lotus beneath her feet separated from its body, and flew towards the green-robed maiden, wrapping her in a protective green halo.

“Master…disciple…has…disappointed you…” The green-robed maiden uttered with her last breath before her eyes rolled backward and she fell unconscious.

Despite saving the green-robed maiden, the old woman didn’t even glance at her, as her cold gaze was fixed upon the battle inside.

“These two old dogs, *sigh* do they even know how to write the word ‘reasonable’?” The old woman muttered faintly, her eyes glazing over the waning lotus barrier.

Without the green-robed maiden controlling it, the green petal quickly began to wilt. Heeding this, the blue-robed maiden, who was sat on the other side of the green-robed maiden, floated towards the space between the green and blue petal and began to funnel her qi towards both petals at the same time.

“Senior sister Lan…” the yellow-robed maiden blurted out; her tone full of concern.

“Focus,” the blue-robed woman, senior sister Lan, uttered simply, her face still like stone, seemingly unbothered by the dwindling qi in her ‘Inner World’ and the powerful waves of energy smashing into the barrier.

Unfortunately, the yellow-robed maiden’s concern for her junior sister Ling, and senior sister Lan, distracted her enough to throw the qi within the yellow petal into disarray. In a single breath, the yellow petal wilted, and the qi within it rebounded against the yellow-robed maiden, smashing into her body. The yellow-robed maiden’s chest instantly caved in and she sprayed out a mouthful of blood, before falling out of the sky, her body limp, like a puppet with its string cut.

Luckily, she too was quickly saved by the old woman.

None of the five maidens remaining had the luxury to even utter the name of their fallen sister. Although they were still five strong, the barrier did not possess five-sevenths of its original strength, no, it did not even possess a quarter of its original strength! The true power of their ‘Seven Hearts, Septuple Spirits Lotus array’ required all seven of them controlling it to fully reveal, and losing each of one of them meant losing half of the array’s strength!

Moving towards the center of the green petal, the blue-robed maiden began to pour her own qi into the yellow petal as well. The wilted yellow petal quickly reformed once more, and the blue-robed maiden’s countenance began to grow paler and paler. It was clear that she was reaching her limits, but the blue-robed maiden’s expression was still the same, cold, chilling, and indifferent.

The green-robed maiden’s fall was like a pendulum swinging into motion, once it began, there was no stopping it. It was only a matter of time before they all collapsed, the only thing the remaining maidens could do was pray for the battle to come to an end…