Primordial Star Scripture

"The first two trials of the Inner Mansion, the 'Lotus Sword Pool' and the 'Ten Thousand Swords Mountain', will have dedicated hosts. Soon the Three-Eyed Giant Ape will take you to meet it, and it will instruct you on how to partake in the tests."

"And I will be waiting for you at the peak of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, at the third trial. I hope that I will be there when you step onto the summit!"

"At that time, I will tell you about the origins and the invaluable nature of the 'Flying Sword Heritage' I left behind!"

Qian Jizi looked at Jiang Yao and Ye Chen with hope: "Ye Chen, Jiang Yao."

"Senior."

"Senior."

Ye Chen and Jiang Yao both looked up at Qian Jizi.

Qian Jizi nodded: "My astral projection stayed here to wait for the truly deserving recipient of the Flying Sword Heritage. I've been waiting for over three hundred years without finding the right person!"

"I hope that you two will succeed this time!"

Ye Chen and Jiang Yao exchanged glances, both their eyes filled with an inexplicable determination.

No matter what, they were going to venture through the three trials of the Inner Mansion together and strive for the Flying Sword Heritage!

"Senior, rest assured, we will definitely strive to reach the peak of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain to see you again!" Ye Chen said.

"Yes, Ye Chen and I will not easily give up," Jiang Yao stated firmly.

"Good," Qian Jizi nodded. He turned toward the Three-Eyed Giant Ape, "Giant Ape, lead them to the 'Lotus Sword Pool'."

"Yes, Master!"

The Three-Eyed Giant Ape replied respectfully.

"Ye Chen, Jiang Yao, I will be waiting to see you again at the peak of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain!"

As Qian Jizi's voice echoed, he vanished with a sweep of his large sleeve.

Watching Qian Jizi's astral projection disappear, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao both felt a sense of loss from parting. Whether it was Qian Jizi revealing his true form to teach them martial skills at the 'Mirror Light Spirit Wall', or just now informing them about the trials in the Inner Mansion, they could both perceive Qian Jizi's expectations for them.

"Ye Chen, let's both do our best," Jiang Yao said with a slight lift of her head, her clear eyes gazing at Ye Chen, cheering him on.

"Yes, let's work hard together!" Ye Chen looked at the girl's pale face and nodded firmly.

The Three-Eyed Giant Ape looked toward the towering mountains in the far distance of the Inner Mansion, heaving a deep sigh, "The master still refuses to see that old demon bird; he is afraid of remembering 'Senior Lian Yue'."

"Those paired flying swords at the peak of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain are the astonishing treasures that the master and Senior Lian Yue obtained from the 'Sea God Palace' during their journey to the 'Sea of Chaos', capable of moving even the mightiest in the Heavenly Saint Realm!"

"Unfortunately, Senior Lian Yue..."

At this thought, all three eyes of the Three-Eyed Giant Ape dampened slightly.

"What's wrong, Senior Ape?" Jiang Yao noticed the Giant Ape's unusual expression and asked with concern.

Ye Chen turned to look at the Giant Ape as well and saw the tears brimming in its divine eyes.

"It's nothing." The Three-Eyed Giant Ape took a deep breath and smiled at Jiang Yao and Ye Chen, "Let's go, I'll take you to the 'Lotus Sword Pool'. There's an old demon bird waiting for you there."

"An old demon bird?"

Ye Chen and Jiang Yao were both slightly startled.

...

So it turns out, that's the 'Lotus Sword Pool'!"

Ye Chen and Jiang Yao stood on the shoulders of the Three-Eyed Giant Ape, and as it soared forth, they rapidly approached the lake with the endless ripples of verdant lotus leaves that they had seen from afar.

A tea's time later, they arrived beside the lake.

Gazing at the vast lake stretching thousands of feet in every direction and inhaling the light fragrance of the green lotus leaves, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao felt their minds clear and refreshed.

The lake and lotus leaves gave them an extraordinary feeling.

Looking over the lake known as 'Lotus Sword Pool', they saw many lotus leaves but couldn't spot a single lotus flower.

Just as they found it odd, a somewhat harsh voice came from the middle of the lake: "Twenty-eight years and only now has someone passed the three trials of the Outer Mansion? Quite disappointing, isn't it?"

Then, countless lotus leaves rustled as beams of light emerged above them, followed by the appearance of an extraordinarily divine ice-blue feathered bird.

This gigantic ice-blue bird, with its wings spread wide—easily over two hundred yards long—demanded attention. Even more striking was its deep blue, watery plumage, each feather shimmering enchantingly, full of grace and beauty.

A formidable pressure emanated from within it. Even from a great distance, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao's expressions changed significantly.

Both of them could feel that this giant ice-blue feathered bird could probably kill them with a single flap of its wings!

"Is this the master of the first two challenges in the Inner Mansion?"

"Is this the 'old demon bird' that Ape mentioned earlier? But... this giant ice-blue feathered bird, where is it old? It's clearly incredibly mystical!"

Ye Chen and Jiang Yao were both stunned by the mysterious beauty of the giant feathered bird.

At this moment, the giant ice-blue feathered bird's divine eyes also turned to look at Ye Chen and Jiang Yao, "Are they such a young pair? One in the Spirit Sea Realm, the other in the True Qi Realm?"

As the ice-blue feathered bird spoke with a human voice, it flapped its wings and flew towards the edge of the lake.

With every beat of its wings, the waters of the entire lake churned violently, and a hurricane formed right away, dragging up huge waves that followed the flying giant bird and assaulted Ye Chen and Jiang Yao.

Seeing this, Jiang Yao and Ye Chen's expressions changed, and almost instinctively, they each grabbed the other's clothes and retreated explosively backwards.

"Alright, old demon bird, these are a pair of youngsters highly valued by the master. Perhaps they really might obtain the Flying Sword Heritage!" the Three-Eyed Giant Ape roared, and the hurricane "boom" crashed into the lake, and the storm finally settled down.

"Your master is not my master!" the ice-blue feathered bird huffed coldly. However, it also retracted its aura and landed next to the lake. Its divine eyes once again looked at Ye Chen and Jiang Yao, "If Qian Jizi sees value in you, it seems you two really have some skills!"

"What? Isn't this feathered bird a Spirit Beast of Qian Jizi?"

Hearing the ice-blue feathered bird's tone lacking any bit of respect towards Qian Jizi, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao were somewhat puzzled.

After all, this was the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, where Qian Jizi, as the owner, should be the most authoritative.

The pair were a bit confused.

"Since you've made it here, I will not make things difficult for you," the ice-blue feathered bird continued to speak, "However, whether or not you pass the challenge of the Inner Mansion depends on your own abilities."

"Before you, a total of eighteen pairs, thirty-six people, have entered the Inner Mansion, but all thirty-six of them were eliminated in the first two challenges! I do not hope that you will be the nineteenth pair to be eliminated!"

The ice-blue feathered bird looked at Ye Chen and Jiang Yao with its cold eyes and spoke chillingly.

"Rest assured, Senior, Jiang Yao and I will strive to pass the test," Ye Chen said to the ice-blue feathered bird, "Please inform us about the first challenge."

Though astonished by the giant feathered bird with wings spanning over two hundred zhang, Ye Chen felt no fear.

For one thing, this was a testing ground in the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode; for another, when he obtained the Starlight Tower in the void space beneath the Antarctic Glacier, he had seen myriad giant beasts that stretched for ten thousand meters, making this giant feathered bird seem quite small in comparison.

Seeing that Ye Chen's eyes were clear and showed no trace of fear while conversing, the ice-blue feathered bird was slightly taken aback. It then glanced at Jiang Yao again.

"This little girl, reaching Spirit Sea Realm at the sclerotic age of seventeen, it's no wonder Qian Jizi values you. It's surprising that a True Qi Realm youngster like you would also be valued by Qian Jizi. But now it seems you do have some courage," it commented.

"With that being the case, prepare yourselves to start the first trial, 'Opening the Sword Palace Acupoint,'" said the giant feathered bird before gesturing towards the lake with a flap of its wing.

"This lake is called 'Lotus Sword Pool.' When the lotus blooms, the water in the pool will transform into 'Sword Qi Spirit Liquid.' Then, you shall enter the Sword Pool and draw the 'Sword Qi Spirit Liquid' to open the Sword Palace Acupoint!"

"The first challenge will only grant you three days. If you cannot open the Sword Palace Acupoint within three days, it means you have no affinity with the sword, and you will be directly eliminated!"

"Moreover, within the three days, in addition to opening the Sword Palace Acupoint, you must also strive to absorb more 'Sword Qi Spirit Liquid' into the acupoint. The more spirit liquid you absorb, the larger the opened acupoint will be, and the higher the quality of the nurtured Flying Swords will naturally be!"

"If the Sword Palace Acupoint you open is too small, you will also be eliminated!"

"Now, remember the secret technique for opening the Sword Palace Acupoint and prepare to start the first trial!"

After the giant feathered bird finished speaking, two Jade Slips shot toward Ye Chen and Jiang Yao. Upon receiving them, they saw that the Jade Slips recorded the secret technique to turn the brow's meridian seal into the Sword Palace Acupoint.

Clenching the Jade Slips in their hands, they quickly committed them to memory.

After communicating the secret technique to Ye Chen and Jiang Yao, the giant feathered bird gave another flap of its wings toward the lake. In mid-air above the lake, a huge lotus bud directly rose up.

This lotus bud was a hundred meters in size, and once it appeared in the air, it began to rotate smoothly.

With the rotation, the petals of the bud slowly parted, and in a moment, a lotus flower over three hundred meters in size floated above the surface of the lake.

As the lotus flower bloomed completely, endless light cascaded from its petals, falling into the water below.

The once placid lake suddenly radiated endless sword gleams, and strands of sword energy flowed ceaselessly within, instantly turning the entire blue lake into a sea of silver white!

"The Sword Qi Spirit Liquid has formed!"

"Go in and absorb it. Whether or not you can open the 'Sword Palace Acupoint' within three days depends on your fate!" the giant feathered bird said to Ye Chen and Jiang Yao.

"Let's go, Jiang Yao."

"Ye Chen, let's go."

Ye Chen and Jiang Yao exchanged a glance, and then, with a flicker, they both flew into the waters of the Sword Pool.