Six days passed by in a flash, and the Immortal Gathering was around the corner.
Six days passed by in a flash, and too many things had happened in Spirit Creek Town. The story of a countryside youth's incredible encounter at the inn had spread throughout the entire town, as well as word of a certain Lady Boss's golden radishes. Young talents from all over the land, as if by prior agreement, began to look for the same kind opportunity.
Six days passed by in a flash, and the number of opportunities they have actually excavated were only known amongst them.
But the one who started everything had stayed peacefully within the Ru Family Inn for the entire six days.
He had completed the quest at the town entrance out of sheer curiosity. From the beginning, Wang Lu had never really been considerate about fate. Since he already had the "Heavenly Spirit Root", was "fate" something he needed to become an Immortal Cultivator anymore?
Of course, on the other hand, after spending all of his money in order to receive a box of wine and meat, Wang Lu only had a single coin left. Therefore, he did not have any other choice, unless he was willing to wash some dishes for the Lady Boss.
In the morning, Wang Lu was awakened by the noise outside his room.
"The Immortal Gathering has begun!"
"The mountain gate's Golden Bridge has been lowered!"
Countless people were shouting. Their sounds gradually moved towards the exit of the town.
The sunlight from outside the room was already quite blinding. Wang Lu opened his eyes and let out a sigh. He woke his errand boy up and began to change his clothes, readying himself to embark on his journey.
During their check out at the counter, for some reason, the Lady Boss would not stop smiling. When Wang Lu tried to return the box back to her, she generously waved her hands. "It's not worth much, you can keep it."
Since she was being so "generous", Wang Lu really wanted to ask her, why not give his three thousand and five hundred liang of silver back?
Of course, that was impossible. Holding the rusty copper coin in his hand, Wang Lu walked out of the inn with the gigantic box and a big smile on his face. Following the crowd, he walked towards the location of the Immortal Gathering.
Outside the Spirit Creek Town, the reflection of the sun's rays made the towering Spirit Sword Mountain look like it was coated with a layer of gold. A Golden Bridge slowly descended from the everlasting clouds in the sky, with one end attached to the ground and the other end stretching all the way to the Spirit Sword Mountain. The clouds covered a good portion of the bridge, giving the impression that it was cut off in the middle, isolating the mortal world from the Immortal World.
Tens of thousands of people filled the small land at the base of the bridge. Wang Lu had woken up late, and as a result, he was still stuck inside the town. He could only gaze into the distance.
Fortunately, the youth has excellent eyesight. He could see from afar that the Golden Bridge in the sky was gradually lowered. With hands making a sword sign, two cultivators wearing black and white robes standing on flying swords stood on each side of the bridge.
From afar, the two young cultivators didn't seem to have any supernatural power and looked exactly like ordinary mortals. They did not have a halo or heavenly music around them, but even from afar, their Immortal Auras surpassed that of a mortal emperor. When the Golden Bridge hit the ground, there was a loud thud, followed by a complete silence amongst the countless of people on that small land. Everyone's gaze was focused in one place. Not to mention the princes and sons of officials, even the descendants of Immortal Cultivator's families were unable to speak.
In the silence, the Spirit Sword Sect cultivators smiled and began to speak. Their voices were like the wind, blowing into the ears of each person present.
"First of all, my Junior Martial Brother and I would like to welcome everyone to the Spirit Sword Sect's Immortal Gathering."
The two people then very calmly began to clap. Unfortunately, their Immortal Auras were too strong, deterring anyone from following them.
The Senior Martial Brother felt a bit embarrassed as he cleared his throat. "Well, let's skip all the idle talks. Regarding our sect's information, I'm sure everyone has asked what they need to know at the town already, so I no longer need to repeat them. As for the other things, you will find out for yourselves in your journey upward. I sincerely hope that everyone will be able to find their fate with the Immortal Path."
Then, from the crowd, someone finally opened his mouth to ask, "Is the Immortal Gathering simply walking to the top of this bridge?"
The Senior Martial Brother replied, "To this, I can hope for everyone to try their best on their journey. As for the top, no need to obsess over it too much."
"Then what spot do we need to reach in order to pass? Surely, you can tell us about that."
The Senior Martial Brother replied, "When the time comes, you'll know,"
"When the time comes? Isn't this a bit too irresponsible?"
The Senior Martial Brother smiled, but said nothing. Instead, the Junior Martial Brother coldly said, "If you don't want to come, then get lost. No one's begging you to try."
The asker immediately blushed and did not dare to dispute again.
The Senior Martial Brother began to speak again, "Now, please walk to the mountain along this Golden Bridge. In general, there should be no danger on this bridge. However, if you have an accident, trapped or find yourself in a dangerous situation, feel free to ask for a rescue at any time. We will come to help you as soon as possible."
The Junior Martial Brother added, "And, if there are any people who are deliberately looking for death, we will gladly fulfill their wish."
The Senior Martial Brother said, "I apologize, everyone, my Junior Martial Brother is in a bad mood these past few days..."
"I am in a good mood."
"You shut up."
"You shut up. You drew the worst lot, but somehow I was dragged out here with you to do this chore, yet you have the nerve..."
Seeing that they were being looked at by tens of thousands of curious onlookers, the Senior Martial Brother quickly changed the topic, "I declare the official opening of the Immortal Gathering!"
After that, the two Martial Brothers lifted off in a hurry, clearing up the way to the the Golden Bridge.
Then, like a dam that was burst open, the crowds of young masters and their servants crowded onto the Golden Bridge. Although the bridge was tens of meters wide, for a moment, it could not accommodate that many people. Thus, cries and shouts of frustration and anger erupted. To make things worse, many of those who had just taken a step or two on the bridge had immediately fallen off it. The scene was a complete mess.
The Senior and Junior Martial Brothers from the Spirit Sword Sect were taken aback as they hurriedly flew down. They teamed up to separate the massive crowd, but at this time, the people who have been injured were no less than a hundred. The Senior Martial Brother suddenly looked very embarrassed. "Sorry, I forgot to say that after the start of the Immortal Gathering, in addition to those eligible candidates, no one else can step onto the bridge. All of the entourage, please leave now."
It turned out to be so. No wonder so many servants and bodyguards had come crashing down. What was even more amusing was that a few young masters had also fallen off the bridge.
At this moment, the Junior Martial Brother coldly added, "Just to reiterate again, you have to be no more than twelve years old and have not cultivated before. Anyone else should get lost."
All the young masters who had fallen off from the bridge felt extremely embarrassed. Indeed, there were many of them who were already thirteen or fourteen years old, but had faked their identity to get a pass. But at this time, all of them had already been exposed. Although they wanted to explain, looking at the condescending looks of the Senior and Junior Martial Brothers, who would dare to speak against them? Even though they hadn't explained everything, clearly, they were the ones who have caused the chaos in the first place.
Of course, with more than tens of thousands of people present, there were bound to be some weird ones. After listening to the two Brothers' explanation, one person furiously shouted, "I'm only eleven years old this year, why can't I go on the bridge?!"
The Junior Martial Brother immediately pulled a long face. "How do you know you're eleven years old? Can you remember the exact date and time of your birth when you were born?"
That person immediately faltered, "This, well, of course it was my mom who told me."
"Then your mom must have remembered incorrectly."
The youth was so angry that it seemed like he was about to spit out blood.
The Senior Martial Brother rolled his eyes. "Your Highness is...?"
"I am Liu Hanlong of the Liu Family from the 'You' Region. My eleventh birthday was last month. My mother, Fei Yunzong, as the head of clan, invited seventeen other prominent families from the Lian Yun Mountain of the 'You' Region to celebrate my birthday. My birthday is something that everyone on the Lian Yun Mountain knows about!"
The Senior Martial Brother looked extremely confused. "Fei Yunzong?"
"Lian Yun Mountain?"
After looking confused for a moment, the Senior Martial Brother, with a suspicious look, took out a map from the cuff of his sleeve and studied it. He looked for the region the youth just talked about with his Junior Martial Brother.
After looking for a long time, the Junior Martial Brother's face became harsher. "I can't even see that tiny little region of your tiny little family on the map! Seventeen prominent families came to celebrate your unlucky birthday? And you dare to act as if your shxtty little family is an influential one!"
Seeing his Junior Brother becoming increasingly agitated, the Senior Martial Brother quickly interrupted, "The Golden Bridge was personally made by our Sect Leader. If anyone is not satisfied with the efficacy of the bridge, you can contact the Sect Leader directly."
The Junior Martial Brother sneered, "I'm sure he'll have a calm and lengthy conversation with you."
Lengthy conversation? More like send you to eternal sleep! After hearing the words Sect Leader, the Liu Family's young master was too ashamed to say anymore; he quietly disappeared within the crowd along with his servants.
After that, no one dared to voice their doubt anymore. Seeing everyone finally acted in an orderly fashion, the Senior and Junior Martial Brothers nodded their heads, then lifted off to the skies again and no longer bothered with the people on the Golden Bridge down below. As for the rest of the people, they also began to quietly walk forward.
Of course, the people who walked together would inevitably talk to each other. An errand boy shouldering a heavy load sighed in full of admiration, "The Immortal Cultivators are indeed different. Even two doormen have such arrogance."
His young master beside him laughed, "Doormen? Are you blind? If those two people heard that, I'd be burning an incense on your grave for your death anniversary the next year... Didn't you hear them? They drew the worst lot, so they had to come here to work as doormen. Just now, they were even able to ride on flying swords, and had even separated a crowd of thousands people with ease. Do the doormen where you live have such power?"
The errand boy was shocked. "Indeed, they seem to be able to show off, but I always have the feeling that the Spirit Sword Sect isn't very friendly to us mortals."
"When you were a kid, you poured boiling water down an ant's nest, and you didn't seem very friendly to those ants. An Immortal's Path is different than the path of a mortal. To the Immortals, we mortals are just ants. Sparing our lives after being so pissed off is lenient already. Don't you know we just returned from the jaws of death a moment ago?"
The errand boy's face paled. "Really?"
"Of course not. Do you really believe that? For goodness sake, they're not some Demon Clan, so how could they possibly slaughter innocent people?"
"..."
"Although the Spirit Sword Sect is very interesting, it's very different to the other ancient sects. Although they themselves are an ancient sect, they seem more mysterious than the others, something that I very much like!"
The errand boy loudly sighed as he silently kept up with his young master's footsteps. The Spirit Sword Sect's Golden Bridge only limited people by their age. He was the same age as his young master, having just had his twelfth birthday, so he was able to enter. In this journey, he would probably have to carry the heavy loads for his young master to the end.
At this time, he still had not realized that him stepping onto the Golden Bridge had signified his arrival onto the Immortal's Path. The Golden Bridge only recognized one's fate with immortality, regardless if one was a young master or an errand boy.
The journey to becoming an immortal began with a single step.