The deep forest was silent, and there was no one on the steps to heaven.
The cold wind blew, Jiang Yuebai shivered, hugged himself tightly, and limped up.
With every step she took, she felt as if a stone was pressing on her shoulders, making her steps heavy.
Jiang Yuebai gritted his teeth and resisted, rushing up the tenth step in one breath. Suddenly, a dying woman lying on the ground appeared in front of him.
"mother!"
Jiang Yuebai burst into tears and crawled to the woman's side.
The woman was so hungry that only a layer of skin was left covering her bones. Her lips were cracked. She raised her hand and touched Jiang Yuebai's face.
"Yue'er, mother is too tired. She can't walk anymore, and I can't find anything for Yue'er to eat. Let's rest here and not move on, okay? After a good sleep, Yue'er will definitely find a good family again when she wakes up."
Jiang Yuebai was shocked and suddenly stood up and moved away from the woman.
"You are not my mother. My mother would not say such things."
Jiang Yuebai recalled that when she was four years old, there was a drought in her hometown for three years. Everyone had to flee for their lives. Her father died, her brother also died, and her mother did not survive. Only she was lucky enough to crawl out from the pile of dead bodies.
"Yue'er, crawl. You have to crawl out even if you risk your life. Even if you are the only one left, you have to live for me. Otherwise, I won't be at peace even if I become a ghost!"
Jiang Yuebai pursed her lips to hold back her tears, watching the woman in front of her disappear with a smile on her face, and then turned into a breeze that wrapped around her, making her feel relaxed.
"Mom, Yue'er misses you so much."
Jiang Yuebai knew it was fake, but her heart still ached. She wiped away her tears, took advantage of the breeze and tried her best to move forward.
Twentieth level!
When the breeze died down, she was forced to kneel down on the stone steps under tremendous pressure. She saw the little beggars who had competed with her for food, holding sticks and looking ferocious.
"You are quite capable. You even managed to get a steamed bun to eat. Hand it over, or I will beat you to death today."
Jiang Yuebai trembled all over, and was afraid in his heart, but he clenched his fists and shouted, "I'm not afraid of you!"
After saying that, she climbed up with all her might, facing the sticks of the group of little beggars.
She was in severe pain and sweat broke out on her forehead. A stick hit her leg and she knelt down, continuing to crawl using her hands and feet.
The 30th level!
The little beggars behind him all disappeared, and the cool breeze blew over his body, and all the pain disappeared.
Before Jiang Yuebai had time to be happy, a slap slapped her in the face.
Bang!
"You are just a maidservant beside the young lady, yet you dare to secretly learn calligraphy? Since the female teacher praised you for being smart and studious, then you should go to the brothel and study hard! Take her away!"
A ferocious-looking fat nanny blocked her way, and a servant suddenly appeared and dragged her down the stairs.
"What's wrong with me learning calligraphy? Let me go. I won't accept it!"
Jiang Yuebai roared, but she was pulled further and further away, and no matter how she struggled, it was useless.
She was a maid who accompanied Lin Suiwan to study. Lin Suiwan himself was unwilling to study, but she had to help Lin Suiwan write down the homework assigned by the teacher. If she couldn't remember it, she would be scolded. But how could she remember it
She could only try hard to listen to the class when Lin Suiwan dozed off, and write on the ground with a wooden stick when she had free time on weekdays. She didn't dare to touch Lin Suiwan's paper and pen.
Later, she was discovered by Master Shen, who taught her to read and changed her name to Jiang Yuebai. Master Shen praised her behind her back, and another maid in the same room heard it and reported it to Lin Sui Wan, which led to her being sold directly.
In order to earn a few more dollars, the housekeeper sold her to a brothel on her own initiative, and she almost couldn't get out.
Jiang Yuebai used the same trick again. He bit the servant's arm and climbed up desperately. When he reached the fat nanny, he knocked her down.
"I'm right. I not only want to learn characters, I also want to learn more powerful things in the future. I'm not afraid of you!"
The illusion disappeared again, and this time there was no fresh breeze, only a bone-chilling cold wind.
"You can't stop. Mom said that as long as you still have the strength, you have to crawl as hard as you can."
Jiang Yuebai gritted her teeth and continued to move forward under the increasing pressure. No matter what she saw, she told herself not to be afraid.
This path to immortality was pointed out to her by the immortal.
That day when she escaped from the brothel and ran into the mountains, and was almost caught again, she saw the most beautiful light in her life.
Like moonlight descending from the sky, those bad guys were knocked away in an instant.
She looked up and saw the moon rising over the mountains and the vast sea of clouds.
The fairy in green sits on the sword, her brows are lazy, her clothes are fluttering, she is holding a pot of wine, and she looks unrestrained and free.
"Little boy, why are you still running when you know you can't outrun me?"
Jiang Yuebai's pupils trembled and his mouth opened for a long time before he found his voice.
"What if he just... ran away?"
"Silly."
The fairy raised her head to drink the wine, Jiang Yuebai knelt down and kowtowed hard.
"Please accept me, Immortal. I want to learn the Immortal Technique."
"In that case, I will continue to bother you and give you a chance to become an immortal. I have no use for this broken thing, so I'll give it to you."
As soon as she finished speaking, the fairy suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Yuebai, her light gauze skirt brushed across her cheek, and one hand pressed on her head.
The immortal stroked my head and gave me eternal life.
A golden light flashed by, and Jiang Yuebai opened his eyes blankly, not feeling anything different.
"Here we go east, cross the Nine Mountains, and step onto the top of the blue cloud, and you will find the Immortal Gate."
Jiang Yuebai looked worried. The Nine-Layered Mountain Range was full of dangers. How could a small person like her make it through
"Don't worry, I will show you the way. You will definitely get there. Don't worry about wolves, tigers or leopards. It all depends on how long you can hold on."
The fairy flew away on her sword and disappeared into the vast sea of clouds, leaving behind only a few drunken words.
“The path between immortals and mortals depends on a pair of ducks on your feet, soaring through the heavens and earth, wandering the rivers and lakes. From Danqiu in the east to Taihua in the west, from Beihai in the morning to Cangwu in the evening… Remember, the path to immortals must be fought for!”
The road to immortality is long and has no end.
Jiang Yuebai crawled forward with his head down, a golden word faintly flashed between his eyebrows.
Fight!
Fight for a breath, fight for a path.
clang-
The sound of the bell is loud, majestic and solemn.
The last ray of light in the sky disappeared, Jiang Yuebai was fixed in place, and other people's figures appeared around him one after another.
She didn't know which step she was on at the moment. There was still a long staircase in front of her, with seven or eight people scattered around the stairs.
The farthest thing she could see was a girl, and a little behind the girl was the fair-skinned boy who had been next to her and called her a fool.
"To be able to climb that high, he must be an extremely powerful person."
Jiang Yuebai couldn't help but feel envious, but she immediately took a breath and looked back to see how many people were not as qualified as her.
As we went down the stairs, more and more people came.
And among those people, she saw Lin Sui Wan.
When their eyes met, Jiang Yuebai raised his chin slightly, and Lin Suiwan's eyes instantly turned red. He squatted down and started crying with a wronged look on his face.
She had tried her best to pass the sixty-six steps to enter the outer gate, so how could she be surpassed by a lowly little girl
Others also looked at Jiang Yuebai with surprise, envy and jealousy, making her the center of attention.
At this moment, she is at the 81st level.
Hong Tao stood on the flying sword and looked down at the entire staircase. When he tested their spiritual roots and recorded their origins, he had some expectations about the level of these children.
He was not surprised at all to see Lu Nanzhi, Shen Huaixi and Xie Jingshan climbing up the ninety-ninth step, and what happened afterwards was mostly within his expectations. Until he saw Jiang Yuebai standing upright on the eighty-first step, he widened his eyes in surprise.
According to the ancient precepts of the Tianyan Sect, one must climb over the Nine Mountains to ascend to the Immortal Stairs. The fact that she was able to ascend to the Immortal Stairs without a token showed that she had indeed climbed over the Nine Mountains without any ambiguity.
At this moment, she was surrounded by children with three or two spiritual roots. She, who only had five spiritual roots, standing there, made everything around her pale in comparison, and made all the proud children become her foil.
Hong Tao couldn't help but sigh secretly. As expected, a child who could cross the Nine Mountains according to the ancient teachings must have a strong heart and strong will that ordinary people can't match.
But her qualifications are not worthy of her perseverance and character.
"What a pity..."
After recording the rankings, Hong Tao waved his hand, and all the children immediately appeared on the huge square made of white marble.
The green peaks stand upright, the waterfalls flow, and the clouds and mist are lingering, which is magnificent.
Nine huge tripods are placed on both sides, emitting wisps of green smoke with a light and elegant smell that lingers and makes people feel refreshed and clear-eyed.
Hong Tao led the disciples of the sect to stand in front with a serious face, "Congratulations on passing the test of the road of self-examination, but the sect has its own rules. Today, Tianyan Sect will only accept 365 boys as initiators. This is the number deduced by the Supreme Elder, and no exception can be made, so..."
After he finished speaking, Lin Suiwan pinched his sleeves nervously, and Hong Tao's eyes fell on Jiang Yuebai.
Jiang Yuebai gritted her teeth and met his gaze without fear.
As soon as Hong Tao raised his hand, Lin Suiwan screamed and squatted down, covering her ears. A gust of wind blew past Jiang Yuebai's ears.
With a scream, the boy next to Jiang Yuebai was blown away and disappeared behind the square.
He was the last one on the Road of Self-Searching and had the qualifications of four spiritual roots. He was kicked out of the Immortal Gate without even a chance to beg for mercy.
He did nothing wrong, he just didn't do enough.
Jiang Yuebai bit her lip and clenched her small fist little by little, becoming more and more aware of the cruelty of the fight for immortality.
"There are twenty-five major sects in the three continents and nine regions of the Central Plains. Among them, Guiyuan Sword Sect, Jingangtai, and my Tianyan Sect are the leaders. It is your honor to be able to enter the Tianyan Sect today. I hope you will practice diligently in the future and do not bring down the reputation of the Tianyan Sect."
"Next, according to your ranking, we will distribute disciple tokens, training materials, and arrange accommodation. The first place in the Questioning Heart Road, Lu Nanzhi, will enter the inner gate..."
(End of this chapter)