Chapter 299: First Entry into Jie Jian Mountain

At dawn, when the sky had just begun to brighten slightly, sparse sunlight fell upon the Liangzhou Realm.

Jie Jian Mountain, the only surviving Fourth-Transformation Great Sect of the Great Expansion, is perpetually shrouded in cold, dense clouds and mist.

Jagged mountain ridges pierce the sky like ten thousand inverted sharp swords, while waterfalls crash from the cliffs into the cold pool with a boom.

To the outside world, this place is always incredibly mysterious; a sect composed entirely of women naturally draws the longing of outsiders.

And at this moment, on the steps leading to the mountain's waist, a youth in plain white robes, his face bearing an unchanging calmness of ten thousand years, climbed the steps alone.

The ring-shaped stone steps, constructed of over ten thousand sections of bluestone that seemed unreachable to ordinary people, constantly receded beneath the youth's feet.

Moving with a normal walking rhythm, he covered dozens of steps with a single stride, his figure flashing and shifting continuously along the staircase.

In less than half a stick of incense's worth of travel, the youth saw the mountain gate of Jie Jian Mountain, marked with sword scars.

"May I ask which senior brother is visiting Jie Jian Mountain!"

A woman in white robes, carrying a long sword on her back, blocked the path before the gate, her conduct adhering strictly to sect etiquette.

But upon seeing the youth entering the gate, the woman's breathing unconsciously slowed, and her mind went blank for a brief instant.

Where do I come from? Where am I going? What is the end of the world?

These questions, which had arisen due to extreme boredom during the process of guarding the mountain gate, were now all cast aside from her mind.

In the woman's eyes, there was only the pair of eyes beneath the youth's silver hair, shimmering with the luster of rubies.

The mountain wind brushed against his hanging silver hair; the earlobe visible between the strands was three parts more translucent than Kunlun snow jade, complementing his cold, immortal-like bone structure.

With just a fleeting glance, the young girl recalled, like a revolving lantern, the tranquil scene of herself lying on her back by the lake at the foot of the mountain on the night she was three years old, counting the starlight in the sky before falling asleep.

'My emotional tribulation... perhaps it has arrived... or perhaps I am dreaming while guarding the gate... perhaps so? It doesn't matter?'

Fang Can looked at the dazed young girl before him with confusion: "Senior Sister, the Liu Sect Master sent me to Jie Jian Mountain; please inform her on my behalf."

The young girl suddenly snapped out of her dreamlike trance, gazing deeply at the youth for a moment, wanting to engrave the beautiful male form before her into her mind, before immediately revealing an expression of loss.

Regarding the youth's identity, she, having watched the Hundred Wise One's live broadcast, naturally recognized him after coming to her senses, but the more she knew, the deeper the despair in her heart grew.

She was only at the Fifth Layer of the Profound Gate, with the breakthrough to the Heavenly Path still far away and hope difficult to see, while the youth before her had accomplished the feat of defeating a Fourth-Transformation cultivator just a few days ago.

Unless something unexpected happened, the gap between the two would only grow wider and wider.

She never expected to fall into a state of heartbreak immediately after the first glance of falling in love.

'Such a beauty is only worthy of a strong person to possess.' The female disciple's gaze secretly glanced at Fang Can's figure: 'Such a beauty, I wonder whose bed she will finally lie in? I really can't accept it!'

Suppressing the regret constantly rising in her heart, the disciple's face broke into a gentle smile:

"Fang... Junior Brother, please follow me; I will guide you into the mountain."

"In that case, thank you, Senior Sister."

Fang Can followed behind the young girl, walking into the mountain; since Jie Jian Mountain had long neglected external communication, the gate was deserted, with only a single disciple assigned to guard it.

But once inside the sect's interior, it became lively.

Not long after entering the mountain gate, Fang Can could hear the clashing of weapons and the laughter of young girls.

Then, after passing a corner, he could see from a distance a group of female swordsmen in uniform white skirts chatting and sparring with each other.

Watching this scene from afar, Fang Can couldn't help but sigh; it was much better than the Pure Heart Studio.

Both were sects composed of female cultivators, but upon approaching the Pure Heart Studio, it was full of "Ohhhhh" screams; comparing the two, the difference in quality was immediately apparent.

'This is the female cultivator sect in my heart,' Fang Can sighed inwardly: 'Focusing on martial arts practice, not thinking about those other things.'

As Fang Can and the gate-guarding female disciple walked in, they attracted the attention of some disciples.

Lu Zhirui, who was diligently practicing swordsmanship, frowned slightly.

Because she noticed that the senior sister sparring before her had unconsciously lost focus, while at the same time, senior and junior sisters one by one around them held their breath and widened their eyes.

Only then did she notice that the junior sister on duty today had actually run over from behind, her face stern as she said:

"Junior Sister Yan, today is not your turn..."

Before the words were finished, the young girl's breathing unconsciously grew lighter.

Then came the formulaic silver hair... ruby eyes... cold bone structure... revolving lantern...

Seeing the appearance of her fellow disciples, the young girl sighed lightly and unconsciously stepped in front of Fang Can, saying:

"Senior Sisters, Junior Brother Fang has urgent matters to discuss with the Sect Master; he will stay at Jie Jian Mountain for a few days. I am preparing to take her to meet the Sect Master."

"That is not appropriate..." Lu Zhirui unconsciously objected: "Your duty today is to guard the mountain gate; what if someone else comes? Would that not be neglectful? Therefore, I will take Junior Brother Fang there."

Junior Sister Yan: '... Senior Sister, your meaning is a bit too obvious.'

But duty bound her, so she could only sigh lightly and say: "Then I thank Senior Sister for guiding the way."

Two sticks of incense later, from outer sect disciples to inner sect disciples, then to outer sect elders, and then switching to inner sect elders.

It was not a particularly long path, but after changing guides five or six times, Fang Can finally met Hearing Liu Qingmeng under the guidance of an inner sect elder.

Watching the elder leave reluctantly, Fang Can decided to take back his previous words; this Jie Jian Mountain seemed a bit off as well.

"Greetings, Senior Liu," Fang Can said respectfully, performing the junior's salute after entering the room.

Watching the youth walk into the Yongle Dadian, Hearing Liu Qingmeng unconsciously frowned.

The commotion all the way up from the foot of the mountain was, for a Fourth-Transformation cultivator, as clear as viewing text in the palm of one's hand.

Regarding the youth's behavior of being beautiful without knowing it, she felt somewhat dissatisfied; it was simply disrupting the internal cultivation of the sect.

The woman raised her head slightly, and with a wave of her hand, condensed Lei Ting into a white mask bearing thunder patterns, tossing it out and saying: "While walking within the mountain these few days, pay attention to concealing your face."

"If you continue to be so showy, do you intend to marry the entire Jie Jian Mountain? This is not the Pure Heart Studio, where you can play around as you please."

Raising her hand, she lightly caught the mask thrown by the other party, placed it over her face, and concealed her world-disrupting countenance.

Fang Can asked: "Senior Liu, where is Senior Jiang... Jiang Ningan? Since I have come here, why have I not seen her?"

Watching the youth who directly spoke her disciple's name, a momentary darkness flashed through Hearing Liu Qingmeng's deep blue eyes, before she said calmly:

"Ningan is currently in seclusion, fully attempting to break through to the Fourth Transformation; she may not be able to emerge from seclusion for three to five years."

'Is that so...' Fang Can unconsciously felt regret; the martial arts path is long, and having few meetings and many partings is naturally normal.

But for him at eighteen, three or five years was simply too long.

For him, who had cultivated to this level in merely half a year, it was hard to empathize with how terrifying it would be for other martial artists to break through to the Fourth Transformation in three or five years.

(End of this chapter)