Chapter 1457: Vast Expanse Shrine! (2/2)
Meng Hao scanned the list, then looked back toward the peak of the mountain.
The mountaintop pierced through the clouds, and had a staircase winding up it into the sky.
Meng Hao didn't know much about the Vast Expanse Shrine, only what he had heard from Yan’er.
He knew that the trial by fire of the Vast Expanse Shrine didn't just refer to the tower at the top of the mountain. It also included the staircase which started at the foot of the mountain.
The people who were able to make it all the way to the tower itself would make it into the top 100. Furthermore, one’s progress didn't have much to do with one’s cultivation base, but rather, one’s relative battle prowess and potential.
“I’ve been hiding away for too long,” he thought. “When people heard that Yan’er’s Master was Fang Mu, it didn't mean much, and my true self had to handle the situation.” He shook his head.
“Well then, it’s time to make a scene. Yan’er deserves a master who has taken 1st place on the Ninth Sect’s Vast Expanse Shrine. That will make the little girl happy.
“If it’s not enough, then I’ll just have to take 1st place on all nine Vast Expanse Shrines. If that’s not enough, then I might just have to try out the Transcendence Path.” Meng Hao smiled, and his eyes glittered brightly. Within the Vast Expanse School, there were more than enough locations to earn rankings of some sort or another. However, there were only two locations which people throughout the sects, and even the Paragons, took very seriously.
One was the location to test potential and latent talent, which was... the Vast Expanse Shrine. The other was the Vast Expanse School’s one and only... Transcendence Path!
It bore the name Transcendence, but the truth was... although Transcendence was a possibility, what was more likely was that those who walked it would benefit from the Baptism. According to the legends, if you could reach a certain point on the Transcendence Path, you would receive a Baptism, and thus, good fortune!
As for how far the Transcendence Path stretched, no one knew. However, it was well known that the person who had walked the furthest along it was not the Sect Leader, but rather, a woman by the name of Bai Wuchen.
She was also commonly known as Immortal Bai Wuchen!
However, not even she had reached the end of the path. Perhaps the difficulty level of that path was why the Sect Leader and the others placed their hope in the necropolis.
Meng Hao gathered his thoughts, then calmly took a step forward onto the first step of the staircase.
1 step. 2 steps. 3 steps....
No one paid him much attention. In fact, few people would pay attention to anyone in the starting stages of the Vast Expanse Shrine. Meng Hao walked along, climbing up the stairs, facing increasing levels of pressure. To some people, taking even half a step would be difficult. But to Meng Hao, it was like strolling along a level path. He didn't seem pressured at all, and maintained the same speed the entire time as he continued upward.
10 steps. 30 steps. 50 steps. 80 steps. 100 steps....
Meng Hao wasn’t the only person climbing the steps. Ahead of him were a few hundred people who had been in the process of climbing during recent days. It was a difficult process, and many of them would occasionally rest before struggling onward. To these disciples, this mountain was their hope of making a name for themselves.
Some people would even sit cross-legged to cultivate. However, when someone reached their limit, they would be teleported away. That was generally the only way people would leave.
There were quite a few people on the mountain who suddenly saw Fang Mu pass by. When they realized how casually he was walking along, and how he didn’t seem to have any difficulty whatsoever in climbing the stairs, their jaws dropped.
They saw him proceeded along rapidly, leaving all the other disciples behind, and soon, a bit of an uproar ensued.
“Hey... who’s that?!?!”
“How can he be walking so fast?!?! This is 300 stairs in, and the pressure is intense. He... he isn’t even pausing at all!!”
“How is that even possible...? Could it be... could it be that he's one of the blazing suns!?!?” The cultivators on the mountain looked on with reeling minds, and soon the sounds of their exclamations echoed out.
That sound grew louder as Meng Hao passed one Ninth Sect cultivator after another. There were some who, upon seeing him pass them so casually, mistakenly believed that the pressure from the trial by fire had suddenly disappeared. They then subconsciously stepped out, only to be slammed down into the ground or even ejected from the mountain.
“Who is that? He... he’s already reached the 700th stair!!”
“Heavens! He’s almost past 800 stairs! Whenever someone reaches the 1000th stair, a bell tolls, shaking the whole sect!!” More and more conversations broke out on the mountain. Meanwhile, Meng Hao’s true self had arrived with Yan’er.
“You... you really aren’t my Master?” she asked as they landed outside Fang Mu’s residence. When she looked at the majestic and supreme Ninth Paragon, she didn’t feel any fear or reverence at all. In fact, she somehow felt familiar with him, which left her very confused.
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, an ancient-sounding bell tolled out from the Vast Expanse Shrine, filling the Ninth Sect.
Dong....
The sound was clear, ancient, and sonorous, and it instantly attracted the attention of the disciples of the Ninth Sect. The sound of discussions rose up, and Meng Hao’s true self smiled and tousled Yan’er's hair.
“Your Master is challenging the Vast Expanse Shrine. Why don’t you go cheer him on?” With that, Meng Hao’s true self turned and vanished.
Yan’er was left gaping in shock. Then, she seemed to recall something in particular, and turned to look toward the Mount Vast Expanse.
“Huh? The old fogey is challenging the Vast Expanse Shrine? Um... isn’t that something for young people to do to make a name for themselves? Elite disciples like Elder Brother Bi Yun?” Eyes flickering with disbelief, and heart pounding, she took to flight toward the mountain and the Vast Expanse Shrine.