Chapter 557: Forest of Swords (I)
The next day, the three hundred and thirty-three sword cultivators who qualified to enter the Forest of Swords gathered in the now silent arena. They were only joined by the sect masters from their respective sects, the hosts from the Eastern Sword Alliance, and the honored guests from other powers.
The morning was cold and dark. A thick fog had rolled in from the neighboring mountains during the night and refused to dissipate. If not for the aura of the twenty-five or so Spirit Lords that had gathered, the whole arena as well as the entrance to the forest would have been under a heavy, shadowy blanket.
Each sect stood around in its small huddle, waiting for the right time. The biggest group was the Tower of Swords with over forty disciples. Their dominance as the best sword cultivators of the subcontinent was undisputed. The next biggest groups belonged to the Four Greats; the Mount Yun Sect, the Mount Xiong Sect, the Mount Huang Sect, and the Mount Tai Sect. They each had over twenty people and together, they formed an even bigger faction of close to one hundred.
After these big names were the third-rate sects with less than twenty disciples. They included the Legendary Fighter League, the Xiao Immortal Clan, Skycloud Temple, Myriad Castle, the New Horizon Sect, and the Virtuous Sword Villa. Chen Wentian's Ten Thousand Flower Valley could not be considered a part of this category because he had only brought nine disciples yet all of them managed to qualify.
Bringing up the rear were small sects with only one, two, or a handful of disciples. Nobody paid them much attention but they were proud nonetheless to have made it. These immortals were very old and the disciples beside them represented their last hope, the final legacy they would leave in this world before they passed.
Woosh!
There was a sudden surge of spiritual energy that was filled with the profoundness of the sword. Everyone looked ahead in awe as a shining circle of light appeared and slowly expanded in size.
"It's opening!" Someone shouted.
"Yeah!"
Immortal Green Destiny Yang Kaitian stepped forward and faced the crowd to address them, "On behalf of the Eastern Sword Alliance and the Convocation of Swords, I welcome everyone to the secret realm known as the Forest of Swords. The entrance is opening and will be fully opened shortly in a few minutes. It will remain open for two weeks but only three hundred and thirty-three people at the mortal realms are allowed to enter. If you leave, it won't allow you back in.
"Inside, there are countless dangers but also tremendous rewards in the form of sword truths. As you all know, these sword truths grow randomly on the trees and appear as ordinary branches. They are the crystallization of a supreme cultivator's way of the sword, their understanding, knowledge, sword intent, sword spirit... You'll be able to sense them if are close enough but so can the indigenous beasts. Thus, each branch of sword truth is usually guarded by ferocious spirit beasts or deadly traps.
"I will remind you all that you will be on your own. This is a very dangerous place and you may end up seriously injured or even lose your life. Your masters won't be able to protect you and in case anything happens, it will be your own fault. That said, if anyone wants to give up, you may simply leave."
He stopped and looked around.
Nobody reacted. nobody wanted to leave. They had all worked so hard to reach this position. They were willing to risk it all for a chance at advancing their sword arts.
"Good." Yang Kaitian turned and glanced at the glowing entrance which was now around two meters wide but still expanding, "There's still a few more minutes to go. Everyone should make their final preparations."
There was a flurry of movement as the disciples gathered around their respective masters for some last words of advice and encouragement.
In the middle of the small army of the Tower of Swords disciples, sect master Peng Yuefeng stood in the middle of a small circle of his core disciples.
"Peng Shuya, I will entrust everything to you. You will be in charge within the forest." Peng Yuefeng said in a hushed voice. "The rest of you, listen to Shuya's orders. You know the plan. If anyone sees Wu Qianyu, immediately set off talismans to alert the others. She is very strong so don't try to take her on alone. When you strike, you must be swift and carry overwhelming power. She cannot leave the forest alive!"
"Yes, master!" The core disciples replied firmly.
"As for Xiling, that troublesome child, I really have no idea what he is thinking." Peng Yuefeng sighed and glanced in the direction of Peng Xiling who was standing by himself at the edge of the crowd, "Do not involve him in this matter. Let him do his own thing."
"Yes, understood!"
Across from the Tower of Swords, the sect masters of Four Greats met together with their most senior disciples. They once again reaffirmed the order to kill all the disciples of Ten Thousand Flower Valley inside the forest. Since the Yang Clan ancestor wanted this done, they would get it down. They had originally prepared to fight it out with the Tower of Swords but this was a much easier task. They had close to a hundred disciples so it shouldn't be hard to take out nine opponents.
As for Chen Wentian, he had already prepared for these kinds of plots in advance. He was an expert at cheating others within secret realms and he had never suffered a loss. If he let his precious disciples suffer a loss here, he would lose all face.
His disciples knew what they each had to do. Out of the nine, Li Yuechan, Song Wushuang, and Xu Lanyi would face the most uncertainty due to the nature of the items they carried. Li Yuechan only had a mortal realm sword. Although he could indeed help her in an emergency, it would require a huge amount of soul power to transmit his immortal intent through a mortal soul. The soul of the Ageless Ice Unicorn would also be damaged and take some time to recover. As for the other two, Song Wushuang had chosen Tortoise Can Fly and Xu Lanyi took the Cloudy Bronze Parasol.
Due to this, the first task for the three of them was to try and group up with others that carried proper immortal items. The others would send out special alert talismans at regular intervals to announce their position so that they could group up and offer each full protection. This way, he was sure that there was nothing that could threaten his disciples.
"Alright, come here." He said and pulled Lin Qingcheng in for a tight hug.
"Protect your sisters." He whispered in her ear.
"Yes."
He let her go and hugged Zhou Ziyun, "Watch out for tricks from the other sects."
"I know." She replied.
He then embraced Wu Qianyu lovingly, feeling her soft body melt into his. "Love you, be safe."
"I will and I love you too." She replied softly.
He went around and hugged the rest of his disciples in turn. He couldn't bear to part with them, even for two weeks. But he knew he couldn't shelter them forever. This was a good opportunity to see them face a strange environment and unknown dangers. He wouldn't intervene unless he absolutely had to.
The entrance to the Forest of Swords fully opened to more than five meters across. The gathered sword cultivators streamed in one group at a time. Chen Wentian looked on wistfully as his disciples finally disappeared into that circle of light.
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