MTLNOVEL Chapter 158: On Stage, Off Stage
Chapter 158: On Stage, Off Stage
Outside of Pingyang County, at the altar.
Xu Lian stood at the altar with Miao Yueyue, Jiang Yunyan, and Huo Xin’er. He said, “To Qifeng Mountain,” and placed 120,000 spirit stones on the altar-30,000 per person, the minimum price for using the altar. Then, he began adding more Spirit Stones.
He kept adding.
And adding…
When he reached 1 million Spirit Stones, the altar still showed no reaction. Xu Lian’s lips twitched, but he had no choice but to continue.
Finally, when he added over 1.3 million spirit stones, the altar lit up.
1 million spirit stones vanished into thin air, presumably taken by the Mian Pavilion, while the remaining 300,000 turned into spiritual energy, flowing into the altar to maintain it.
Amidst the blinding light, the four of them closed their eyes.
When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in a spatial tunnel.
Except for Miao Yueyue, who was visibly frightened by the humanoid monsters, the other three were unfazed.
Xu Lian took the opportunity to comfort Miao Yueyue, gently holding her and building a rapport with her.
Jiang Yunyan and Huo Xin’er remained expressionless. In this harsh world, there were only two flavors – sweet and bitter – so they didn’t even know what jealousy was.
The blinding light appeared again, and the four of them closed their eyes.
When the light faded, they found themselves at the foot of a huge mountain.
It was a volcano, the most fiery volcano imaginable. From its peak to its base, it was a cracked, glowing red, crisscrossed with rivers of lava. The whole mountain looked like a colossal red giant blocking half the sky.
Even from a distance at the base of the mountain, the four of them could feel the searing heat.
Huo Xin’er explained, “Legend has it that a phoenix-like bird with a trace of phoenix blood once lived here long ago, which is why the mountain looks like this.”
Above the peak of the mountain, a massive crack split the sky, as if the sky itself had been torn apart.
Inside the crack, an ancient and majestic city could be vaguely seen. This was undoubtedly the Imperial Capital.
A large crowd had already gathered at the altar.
Men and women, young and old, were present, although most of them were male geniuses, probably here to participate in the consort selection… taking a risk to turn an ordinary sword into a flying sword?
Moreover, the altar kept flashing with light, indicating that more and more people were arriving.
Of course, not everyone was here for the consort selection. People in this world were pragmatic and didn’t indulge in daydreams. Some might have come to trade cultivation resources or for other purposes.
Everyone looked up at the Imperial City in the crack in the sky, their faces filled with concern.
“How do we get up there?”
“The Imperial Capital appears in a different place every time. It is up to us to figure out how to get in and out. The Yin Dynasty royal family won’t help us.”
An old man waved his hand, releasing a small flying sword that grew in size, transforming into a large flying sword. He stepped onto it with ease and said with a smile, “Come, come, anyone who wants to go to the Imperial Capital can ride my flying sword. Just 1 million Spirit Stones per person.”
Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost.
“1 million spirit stones? Are you robbing us?”
“Do we look like fools to you?”
Although Xu Lian had over 30 million spirit stones, he wasn’t about to spend them so recklessly. He certainly wouldn’t take the old man’s flying sword.
Huo Xin’er flipped her hand and took out a flying sword, releasing it.
She pulled Xu Lian onto it, Xu Lian held onto Miao Yueyue, and Miao Yueyue held onto Jiang Yunyan…
“Miss, does your flying sword take passengers? How much would it cost?”
Someone asked the price.
Huo Xin’er refused, “My control over the flying sword isn’t that advanced. Transporting a few people is already my limit.”
A beginner, and a female pilot at that… Xu Lian’s heart sank at the thought. Jiang Yunyan and Miao Yueyue looked nervous as well.
Huo Xin’er formed a hand seal with one hand, controlling the flying sword to take off. It wobbled unsteadily as it flew toward the peak of the mountain.
Everyone watched in stunned silence, their hearts in their throats for the four of them.
Xu Lian held onto Miao Yueyue tightly. If the sword “flipped”, he would protect her first. As for Huo Xin’er, with her 8th Stage Transformation Strength cultivation and Jiang Yunyan with her 7th Stage Dark Strength cultivation, they would surely survive a fall…
The people gathered in small groups and discussed how to reach the Imperial Capital.
Some wanted to capture a flying mount, but the mountain was too hot and there were no flying birds nearby.
Others wanted to climb to the top of the mountain first, thinking that the distance to the rift would be shorter from there, and they might be able to jump up.
Some thought of summoning a Dharma Avatar, jumping into the air, and having the Avatar strike their feet to propel them upward.
There were even those who suggested using throwing darts, like “skipping stones,” throwing one dart after another and stepping on them to ascend.
In short, everyone had their own ideas and methods.
Despite the wobbling, Huo Xin’er’s flying sword managed to avoid any accidents. It flew higher and higher, eventually reaching the halfway point of the mountain. After a while, they finally arrived at the top.
Feeling the intense heat, Xu Lian released golden energy to shield Miao Yueyue, who, along with Jiang Yunyan, had only recently started practicing martial arts and hadn’t even reached the Skin Refining Stage.
Huo Xin’er continued to fly the sword upwards. At this height, they were above some clouds. The sight that greeted them left Xu Lian and Miao Yueyue astonished. The sky was not empty.
Instead, it was filled with floating debris: ancient, decayed corpses; rusted, broken ships; and the massive remains of unknown beasts, all emitting a faint black mist – a sign of something dangerous.
“No wonder humans don’t fly in the sky. The dangers up here are even worse than on the ground,” Xu Lian remarked, recalling the warnings he’d heard during his journey with Jiang Xianyu’s caravan to Yanfu County.
Jiang Yunyan solemnly said, “According to some records left by our ancestors from the Thirteen Clans, these things have existed in the sky since their ancient times.”
Xu Lian was shocked. This meant that these skybound relics were even older, their origins lost to time.
As Huo Xin’er’s flying sword entered the spatial rift, it shook violently, nearly flipping over. The four of them broke out in a cold sweat. Falling from this height would undoubtedly result in serious injuries.
Thankfully, they made it through safely. The flying sword entered the rift and arrived at the Imperial Capital, revealing its full grandeur.
Unlike the loose structure of ordinary cities, the Imperial Capital was an impenetrable whole, with layers of streets stacked like stairs.
Xu Lian counted about 3,764 steps. Did this number have any significance?
The top layer was shrouded in golden mist, with the faint outline of a palace visible. This must be the Imperial Palace, the residence of the royal family of the Yin Dynasty.
Aside from the palace, the most prominent features were the arenas on each level of the streets. Each arena was packed with people, and the air was filled with the clash of energy and sword auras, with frequent bursts of light – the fights were intense.
“There’s a royal proclamation posted over there,” Miao Yueyue pointed to the city gate. Xu Lian had already explained his purpose for coming to the Imperial Capital, so they knew he was here to participate in the consort selection.
Xu Lian led the three of them to the city gate and read out the royal proclamation. It outlined the rules for the consort selection.
The age limit for male participants was set at 35, with no other restrictions.
Geniuses from high-ranking factions could go directly to the Ministry of Rites. After their identities were verified, they could skip the preliminary and first rounds and enter the elimination rounds.
For ordinary participants, they had to start from the arenas on the first tier of streets and fight their way up layer by layer until they reached the 3,700th tier, where they would enter the elimination matches.
“Fighting from the first layer to the 3,700th layer? Wouldn’t that be exhausting?” Miao Yueyue cutely stuck out her tongue. “If you fought one arena a day, it would take ten years… The consort selection would be long over by then.”
Jiang Yunyan laughed, “You can’t fight one arena a day. Not even ten. You’d need to fight at least a hundred arenas daily to make it to the elimination matches before the selection ends.
Ordinary people definitely can’t do it. Only the most talented geniuses could do it. This is clearly designed to weed out the average participants.”
“Huh, with such a high level of difficulty, why are there still so many people participating? Don’t you find it strange?” The old man who had flown up on his sword was also reading the proclamation.
He chuckled, “For most of the younger generation, they don’t actually expect to make it to the elimination matches. They just want to perform well in the arenas to attract the attention of the nobles in the capital. They might be recruited as sons-in-law. This is called ‘catching a son-in-law off the stage’, which is a tradition in the Capital.”
Xu Lian, Jiang Yunyan, and Miao Yueyue suddenly understood. However, Huo Xin’er remained calm as if she had already known about this custom.