Firmament Sword

"This is the real Celestial Brilliance!" The youth guiding Xu Luo said with a proud look on his face, "Senior Brother, have you ever seen such a sight before?"

"Never," Xu Luo said, shaking his head. He didn't want to hide the shock he felt, nor did he see any need to.

It was like another world. Mist swirled, Spiritual Qi overflowed, and one enormous mountain peak after another hung suspended in mid-air!

In the far distance, more mountain ranges floated in the sky, resembling sleeping dragons.

All kinds of spiritual birds soared between the mountain ranges, their figures appearing and disappearing in flashes, their speed incredible.

"Heh, everyone who comes here for the first time is stunned. You're quite composed, Senior Brother. When I first came here, my legs went weak from fright. I had only one thought in my head: 'Is this a place where gods live?'" As the youth spoke, the lingering shock was still visible on his face.

Xu Luo nodded and said, "This sight... it is indeed breathtaking!"

"I wonder if you've noticed, Senior Brother... this place... it isn't a Small World. It's right here in the Divine Domain." The youth had a cheerful disposition. As a junior disciple guarding the main gate, he was probably used to being ignored. But now, he had met a newcomer who, despite his high status as an Elder's Direct Disciple right from the start, was very easygoing. This made the youth quite talkative.

"Oh? This isn't a self-contained Small World?" Xu Luo was genuinely surprised. He had indeed assumed that the Celestial Brilliance Sect was located in an independent Small World.

"Of course not!" the youth said proudly. "If it were just a Small World, it wouldn't be anything to brag about! In all of Xi Hezhou, there's only one place like this! The path we took to get in is actually an incredibly profound Innate Grand Array!"

The youth looked at Xu Luo and said, "This kind of Innate Grand Array was formed naturally, not by human hands. Back in the day, the Celestial Brilliance Ancestor discovered this place and spent one thousand three hundred years successfully comprehending the Grand Array. Only after entering it did he find this location. The Spiritual Qi in here is several times denser than on the outside!"

"That's why all Celestial Brilliance Disciples cultivate at least twice as fast as their peers!" A look of pride appeared on the youth's face. "So? Senior Brother, don't you now feel that joining Celestial Brilliance is an incredible honor?"

Xu Luo smiled faintly. 'An honor? I'm not so sure about that. One day, Celestial Brilliance will probably come to hate my guts and nail me to a pillar of shame. But as long as I can help Qianqian recover, I'm willing to be the villain for once!'

This was Xu Luo's mindset!

For the sake of his loved ones, he would not hesitate, even if it meant defying the world and being condemned by all!

The youth led Xu Luo through the floating mountains and precipitous ridges. Soon, they arrived before a mountain range that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The mountain range before them was majestic, composed of nine distinct ridges.

Each of these nine ridges was like a crouching dragon, with a head and a tail. They were connected head-to-tail, forming a circle that constituted the range.

Xu Luo and the youth were standing at a high elevation, so they could see more than half of the entire mountain range.

In the center of the circular mountain range was a vast, azure lake!

The lake was as large as a sea, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles!

At that moment, sunlight shone on the lake, casting a golden sheen. The azure waves rippled, glittering brilliantly with golden light.

"This... is the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden!" the youth said to Xu Luo, his eyes filled with envy.

"It's huge!" Xu Luo couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Just the lake alone was hundreds of thousands of miles across. The nine mountain ridges circling it were nearly as wide, suspended in mid-air and soaring into the Cangqiong, like a paradise in the Mortal World!

"This place is called Jiulong Ridge, and it all belongs to the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden." As he spoke, the youth glanced at Xu Luo and said a little sheepishly, "I was hoping Senior Brother might look after me in the future..."

Xu Luo nodded. "Of course."

'It would be better for you if I didn't. You'll regret it later if I do!'

Then, the youth led Xu Luo as they slowly descended from the sky.

Just then, Xu Luo saw a massive black warship fly out from the mountains. The ship was hundreds of zhang long and shimmered with a cold, dark light.

"Ah... that's the First Senior Brother's warship! What's he doing here?" the youth muttered in surprise.

"First Senior Brother?" Xu Luo glanced at the enormous warship as it slowly passed overhead. He was filled with awe; it was the first time he had ever seen such a treasure.

"Yes, the First Senior Brother of this generation of Celestial Brilliance, the Sect Leader's Direct Disciple!" The youth's eyes flashed with envy as he explained to Xu Luo.

By this time, the warship had departed. The youth led Xu Luo to the entrance gate of Jiulong Ridge.

The disciples guarding the mountain had already received word and came to greet them. This was as far as the youth could go. He looked at Xu Luo and said respectfully, "Senior Brother, my name is Gai Hu—Gai as in 'unrivaled,' Hu as in 'tiger.' I hope that when you've made a name for yourself... you won't forget about me!"

Xu Luo nodded at him. "Don't worry. If it's possible, I'll have you transferred to the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden."

"Gai Hu thanks Senior Brother for your patronage!" The youth's face lit up with surprise. He wasn't even an Outer Sect Disciple yet; he had been fortunate enough to enter Celestial Brilliance, but only as a Servant. That was why he'd been assigned to stand guard outside the Celestial Brilliance Array.

If he could really enter the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden, it would be the greatest blessing of his life!

Afterward, Gai Hu took his leave, albeit reluctantly.

Two young disciples who appeared to be in their early twenties approached, but the looks they gave Xu Luo were rather intriguing.

Although Xu Luo wasn't very old, he had struggled for many years in the secular Lower Realm and had been through a great deal. Thus, he understood the meaning in the two young disciples' eyes at a single glance.

'Envy, jealousy, reverence, and disdain...' These emotions were all mixed together and revealed in their eyes. Even though they tried their best to hide it, Xu Luo saw through them completely.

The envy and jealousy were understandable. As a Supreme Great Sect in Xi Hezhou that had existed for countless years, Celestial Brilliance had seen cases like Xu Luo's—becoming an Elder's Direct Disciple right away—but they were exceedingly rare.

Therefore, others were bound to be envious and jealous of such a person. However, within Celestial Brilliance's strict hierarchy, one had to show sufficient respect to an Inner Sect Senior Brother, hence the reverence.

As for the disdain... that was also easy to understand.

For countless years, those in Celestial Brilliance who had directly entered the Inner Sect to become an Elder's Direct Disciple were, without exception, peerless prodigies chosen from hundreds of millions!

Even before joining Celestial Brilliance, they had already built illustrious reputations and were famous in their own right.

Or they were the kind who, from birth, were accompanied by all sorts of celestial phenomena and were discovered and brought back to the sect by one of Celestial Brilliance's great figures.

So, when people like that became an Inner Sect Elder's Direct Disciple, others might be envious and jealous, but they would never dare to show the slightest bit of disdain.

Because it wouldn't be many years before such a disciple grew into a true prodigy!

They didn't go from ugly ducklings to white swans; they were proud white swans from the very beginning! Once they grew up... they became fully-fledged swans!

But Xu Luo... this Elder's Direct Disciple... had his position bought with a Nether Flower Seed!

Even if the person who arrived with this slot was a genius, to the other Celestial Brilliance Disciples—especially those from the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden—they would still subconsciously... deep down in their hearts, look down on this "Senior Brother"!

Most importantly, whether or not he could truly become their Senior Brother still depended on passing the test of the Medicine Garden's Chief Grand Elder... Yuwen Ji!

If he couldn't pass Yuwen Ji's test, then he would surely be sent right back where he came from. He wouldn't even be qualified to become a Servant in Celestial Brilliance!

So don't be fooled by the youth who had just led Xu Luo here. He was just the lowest-ranking Servant in Celestial Brilliance—not even a disciple, strictly speaking—but back in his own family, he too was a one-in-ten-thousand genius!

Otherwise, he never would have been able to enter Celestial Brilliance at all, not even as a Servant!

"You... are you the one who came with the token, seeking to enter the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden?" one of the two young disciples, the slightly older one, asked Xu Luo coolly.

Xu Luo nodded. "That's right. The token is with me."

"Heh, you got here faster than we expected." The young disciple gave Xu Luo a provocative look and suddenly said, "That Nether Flower Seed... it was yours, wasn't it?"

Xu Luo raised an eyebrow. He could sense that this slightly older disciple seemed to have some animosity towards him. At the very least... he definitely didn't like him.

But Xu Luo also understood that someone like him, who had appeared out of nowhere to become an Inner Sect Disciple, would surely be a public enemy within Celestial Brilliance, especially in the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden.

If he couldn't demonstrate convincing abilities, then even if the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden's Chief Grand Elder, Yuwen Ji, accepted him as a Direct Disciple, countless people would refuse to accept it and would directly isolate and target him.

Even the Direct Disciples of the other Elders in the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden would find him extremely displeasing!

It was like a grain of sand suddenly appearing in a bowl of white rice—very unsettling.

Xu Luo was well aware of all this, but being aware didn't mean he would choose to compromise.

He smiled faintly, looked at the young man who had spoken, and asked, "Are you a Direct Disciple?"

The young man's expression changed slightly, and he shook his head.

Xu Luo asked again, "Are you an Inner Sect Disciple?"

The young man's face grew even more awkward. A flash of anger crossed his eyes as he shook his head and said, "I am Li Yin, the First Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden's Outer Sect!"

"Oh... the Outer Sect." Xu Luo nodded nonchalantly, then calmly met his gaze. "Is this how you normally speak to other Inner Sect Direct Disciples?"

The young man's expression turned ugly. He lifted his head to look at Xu Luo, his tone hardening. "You may have come with a token, and the token may have been verified, but as of right now, you... are not yet Elder Yuwen's Direct Disciple! In fact... you're not even considered a member of Celestial Brilliance!"

As he spoke, a flash of disdain crossed his eyes. "So, is there a problem with me speaking to you like this?"

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