Xiang Ling no longer tried to explain matters to these hopeful youths. If she was in their situation, she too would choose to traverse the unknown and dangerous for a chance at standing beneath a grander sky.
'Regardless how many will perish, a few will inevitably succeed. These seeds will grow into sprouts that may benefit the sect.' Her thoughts were settled and clear.
She inhaled softly, a low rumbling started to occur that shook quite a few, and her eyes started to release gorgeously radiant light. When she swept this gaze onto these youths, they all felt as if they were staring a manifested deity of the world.
Wei Wuyin slightly frowned. 'She's using mana?' As he thought this, he felt an unknown force shroud over his entire body. It was light yet similarly heavy. It was a conflicting feeling, but the only consistency he felt from it was its calmness that resembled the ebb and flow of the sea.
"I'll be taking you all to the Myriad Void Gate. Do not resist; if you do, you can simply stay here." Her words were spoken softly but they were like thunderclaps as their minds and spirits shook.
There were one hundred and three participants.
Wei Wuyin spotted Mei Yang in the distance. She was older than a hundred years, and while she pouted, she was unable to leave with them. According to Mei Yang, it was against the policy of the owners of this continent. They forbid those that haven't entered the Astral Core Realm from departing without explicit permission.
It seemed that she'll have to cultivate diligently for them to meet once again. 'If I become capable of influencing these rules, perhaps I'll take her away. After all, I could use a maid.' When he thought up to here, a satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
Mei Yang in the distance noticed that and waved, giving off an astonishingly bright smile in reply. She mouthed: "Remember me!" Those words and her gesture was truly capable of instigating one to bring her along. Unfortunately, while Xiang Ling had given a guarantee that he would be a Sky Noble rank disciple, he wasn't an official one.
Besides little exemptions, such as bringing Su Mei and Bai Lin along, she couldn't overthrow the rules and treat them like air. This made him catch a glimpse at the strict adherence to rules that this sect has.
Woooo!
Suddenly, everyone felt their bodies become lighter and start to float upwards. The force being moved by Xiang Ling had firmly adhered to each of their bodies and was slowly lifting them upwards.
Xiang Ling slowly lifted her two arms from her sides like a conductor, and everyone started to increase at the rate of their ascent. This gave them a wondrous feeling as if they were flying without wings. It was truly a novel feeling.
While cultivators at their level can levitate, it was only to a minor extent and stabilizing or maintaining it was quite difficult, let alone legitimately flying through the skies. So when their speed started to accelerate until it seemed as if they were truly flying, many gave off unintentional but heartfelt woah's.
Wei Wuyin, like the others, lifted their head and predicted their trajectory. Not a single one of them didn't have their hearts shake at the realization of their designation: Wu Astral Tower!
A location as grand as can be. There only existed one in the entire continent and it was above the Wu Country. It lingered effortlessly amongst the clouds and brightened at night, acting as a guiding star to cultivators and citizens alike. It proclaimed a legacy that said: "Wu Lineage Lives!" To some, it stabilized the entire clan's destiny!
The grandness of its meaning was appreciated by many and became a symbol of national pride. Even when Wei Wuyin was younger, his entire clan idolized this tower.
Was this truly their designation?
Was he going to see this tower that proudly hung amongst the clouds up close?!
His heart raced. The excitement was palpable within the minds, hearts, and souls of all these elites. While many hadn't been born and raised in this country, their respect and understanding of the Wu Astral Tower was as grandiose as its mortal citizens.
Their speed continued to increase until their vision started to blur. It was mind-blowing as they started to soar swiftly through the sky! At their speed, they arrived before the tower in a blank. Those with lower cultivations and weaker physique went blank after the speed reached a certain point. Those stronger mostly saw a blur.
Wei Wuyin, on the other hand, kept his eyes focused on the Wu Astral Tower the moment he realized their designation. Seeing it up close, he felt as if his inner-child was experiencing one of its most desired dreams.
It was a jet-black, tall, and imposing. Faint starry light flickered on its jet-black surface that gave it a mystical and mysterious feeling. It was like looking at the night sky, seeing the stars flit across it with the utmost freedom. Wasn't this the pursuit of cultivators? To soar across the starry skies alongside the stars?
Wei Wuyin's eyes were drawn to a multicolored faint smoke that lingered around the tower and cascaded into the clouds below. It was so thin, nearly unnoticeable, that unless you were directly before it one would never notice. Before anyone could fully enjoy the scenery of this tower that stood at a height of over nine hundred meters high, he and everyone else felt a flash of starry light and their bodies grew heavier.
Wei Wuyin swiftly regained his composure and sense of balance as he inspected his new surroundings. At the moment, everyone was on some type of tiled floor that crisscrossed in a dizzying pattern. They were located in a spacious room that was mostly empty. The only item besides them, the four walls, and the odd tiles were a half-circular silver arc that emanated faint light.
It was this light that allowed utter darkness to not take over. Atop this frame of this arc was various protrusions of gold and black, and every inch of it was inscribed with esoteric markings that resembled those from arrays etched on Qi Armaments but far, far more complex.
Xiang Ling waltzed out and stood before the silver gate. She turned to these curious elites and calmly announced, "You guys might refer to this tower as the Wu Astral Tower, it is not a tower that stabilizes the destiny of a clan. It is indeed called an Astral Tower, but it's more of a holding location for important objects."
"This is not the Wu Astral Tower?" A Wu Clan talented genius said with a hint of despondency.
"Hahaha! I always knew the Wu Clan was a bunch of liars. How could their destiny be stabilized?" A burly man laughed with excitement. His country and Wu Country has always been at odds, and learning that this tower wasn't a trump card that stabilized their destiny helped alleviate his heart.
If one day he returned to the Myriad Yore Continent, he'll be sure to spread this news.
"What does it store?" A bright-eyed young woman dressed in luxurious wear curiously asked. Her gaze ceaselessly fixated on the half-circle arc that brightened the room. This question was on everyone's mind so they paid extra attention.
"It stores one of the sixty-seven Void Gates of our sect. Void Gates that belong to our sect are called Myriad Void Gates. These structures are created by the sect's exceptional creationist working in unison. It is constructed with various essence materials, the crucial being spatial essence stones." Xiang Ling explained.
Spatial essence stones!
For those who were in the know, storage rings were fashioned with a thousandth of a single drop of condensed spatial essence. A spatial essence stone contained about a hundred thousand drops and were exceptionally rare. According to records, spatial essence stones were only found on meteors that fall from the sky.
Xiang Ling continued after they've digested this piece of information. "With the support of astral arrays inscribed upon it, It is like storage rings at its core functionality. It connects two points of stable space together, even from an exceptionally vast distance, but allows living existences to cross over. With it, traveling tens of millions of miles in a blink of an eye is entirely feasible, as long as one has the resources and this," She pulled out a small, silver oval disk the size of a baby's palm from her brassiere.
Quite a few young, hot-blooded eyes honed onto that and even gulped. Xiang Ling was exceptionally beautiful with an alluring figure and ample set of breasts. This coupled with her high cultivation and innate high-born bearing, she was truly an extraordinary woman for the eyes.
Xiang Ling entirely ignored these hot gazes and added, "This is a Void Disk. On it are coordinates. These coordinates are pre-set and the Void Gate can only send you to the designated coordinates. If you don't have a Void Disk, if you don't have a location in mind, you're entirely unable to use a Void Gate."
The eyes of everyone focused. With that, its possible to travel tens of millions of miles in a blank?
Wait.
For those smarter than others, they soon realized that without a Void Disk, wouldn't they be unable to return back home unless their cultivation base allowed them to travel amongst the stars? Also, how far was this sect if it required a Void Gate? Was it actually millions of miles away?! What type of concept was that? How much resources would that take and would this mysterious sect spend that on them if they fail the examination?!
Wei Wuyin quietly pondered this. His heart, however, was steady and undisturbed. 'Either I live or die, and if I live, then I'll be able to return with ease. If I die, then what's the use worrying about this?'
To him, this was the start of a new life. A new horizon. A new, grander sky.
Xiang Ling nodded after a faint light of realization and shock emerged on each of their faces. "For those who haven't understood, the sect is millions of miles away. Unless you obtain a Void Disk, you'll never be able to return. While that shouldn't be the most of your worries, it does mean that if you fail the examination and keep your lives, you will be left stranded and left to your own devices.
"Furthermore, your cultivations are all piss-poor in the grand scheme of things. There might be idle cultivators far stronger than you working at a farm simply because of the environmental factors. " Her words were exceptionally sharp. An idle cultivator was a term used for those who cultivate randomly. They were generally considered mortals, as everyone could cultivate, but few could reach the Qi Condensation Realm in the Myriad Yore Continent.
Yet in this new location with this mysterious sect, these types of cultivators were capable of rivaling Mortal Gods?!
"Luckily, you'll be testing your talent, not your cultivation." She smiled slightly after the various appalled expressions flashed in her gaze.
"I'll explain more about our sect later. For now, let's go."
A few of these elites now realized the magnitude of their situation and felt uncertain. Should they leave? Ambitions were like frost in the sun, dissipating endlessly. But Xiang Ling never gave them a choice to leave again, and they were left with no choice but to continue.
Using the Void Disk, Xiang Ling tossed it through the empty space of the half-circle arc. It halted an inch before entering and started to rotate with odd droning sounds.
Rooommmvvvvv!
Weeeeengg!
Various sounds emerged as if the initiation of a various internal gears were spinning, buttons were being pressed, and formations were revolving.
The silver arc's empty space started to rapidly flash with colorful, dazzlingly attractive lights. A thin, multicolored curtain started to descend from the top of the arc to the floor. If anyone was sensitive to bright and colorful lights and were prone to seizures, these flashing lights would induce them with a hundred percent certainty.
Wei Wuyin quietly inspected the arc and felt the wondrous changes happening within and around the arc. He sensed various spiritual energies and a unique spatial force emanated endlessly from the arc's esoteric markings. After several minutes of this, it finally stopped. No longer was there a multitude of various colors flashing within the thin frame but it was single color: Void Black.
The thinly void black curtain looked ominous as one peered into it, as if it led to a vast and empty void and nowhere else. The hearts of many valiant geniuses quivered heavily witnessing the endless void. Even Wei Wuyin felt a hint of fear creep within his mind, it was simply that frightening to stare at it. It was as if staring at the darkest abyss.
Clap!
Xiang Ling clapped once more, causing all those enthralled by the black void within to refocus. A few started with a yelp of fear. Embarrassed, they hid themselves within the crowd.
"Go in!"
She gestured for everyone to enter, her eyes indifferent to their fear and uncertainty. Wei Wuyin didn't hesitate. In fact, he was the first one to walk forward.
When he did, he was shocked to realize that Bai Lin was following unhesitantly and Su Mei was a step behind him. Her eyes were firm, fearless, and calm. As she walked beside Wei Wuyin, her steps were steady without a single pause.
When she noticed Wei Wuyin's gaze, she looked towards him with the firmest expression imaginable. His gaze lifted to see Bai Lin similarly fearless as she looked at the void black curtain of uncertainty. Her golden eyes peered down slightly, and Wei Wuyin could see the endless conviction within. They were in this together.
A warm feeling entered his heart in an inexplicable manner and he quietly said, "We."
When those words were spoken, as if it was a firing signal, the three rushed into the void black curtain and swiftly vanished.
Xiang Ling sweetly smiled. 'He's truly exceptional. It's just too unfortunate that my disciple is biased against him and Qing Qiumu seemed too stubborn.'
Her gaze swept the cautious Long Chen who seemed to be waiting and observing. But his eyes, like the rest, were similarly filled with shock as Wei Wuyin vanished into nothingness as he stepped into the curtain.
In his group, Na Xinyi bit her lower lip with those pearly white teeth of hers. Her eyes radiated uncertainty. Wei Wuyin's fearless dash truly shook her heart, because she felt an unfathomable pressure and uncertainty after Xiang Ling's many different explanations. Countless questions entered her thoughts, such as…was she worthy? Could she do it? Will she survive?
These questions stumbled into her heart as a deep-seated sense of inferiority birthed from being nothing arose. But for some reason, as she saw Wei Wuyin depart without pause, her heart had admiration and a little calm. If he could do it, so could she.
In this way, she wasn't the only one who likely had these fears, but she wanted to be the few who overcame them! She stepped forward and dashed towards the void black curtain with eyes flashing fierce resolve.
