Chapter 124: Peril and Destiny in the Aqueous Manor

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The Ninth Elder’s gaze swept casually across the crowd, and the atmosphere once again froze. Everyone felt that his eyes were deep and sharp, as if they could see into the innermost secrets of their hearts.

“Today is the final day of your trial. By order of the Sect Master, this elder will open the Aqueous Manor at the bottom of Sun Moon Lake for you. Entering the manor is a momentous opportunity. An ancient legend speaks of a great immortal destiny within, which no one has ever obtained.” The Ninth Elder paused, then added, “The manor also produces a stalactite-like Spirit Liquid. A sufficient quantity of this liquid can be refined into Lifespan Pills to increase one’s longevity! If you obtain any, the sect will purchase it at a high price.”

Following his announcement, under the direction of Elder Chu, a fleet of large Immortal Cloud Carts arrived to transport the new disciples to Sun Moon Lake.

The lake was located in the center of the Great Islet Mountain range. The disciples were stunned by its sheer vastness; a misty expanse of clear water stretched to the horizon, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds.

When they arrived, two or three thousand other Taichu Sect disciples were already gathered by the shore. They all had one thing in common: their cultivation was below the Twentieth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm.

To maximize the chances of someone from the sect obtaining the manor’s legendary destiny, or at least gathering some of the exceedingly rare Spirit Liquid, the sect sent in all eligible disciples every year.

Although the manor was mysterious and would instantly kill any cultivator at the Twentieth-Leaf or higher who entered, years of exploration had shown it to be otherwise free of danger.

As the disciples wondered how they would get to the manor at the bottom of the freezing cold lake, the Ninth Elder suddenly spread his arms. His entire presence seemed to swell, and in the disciples’ eyes, his frail body became incomparably vast. The calm surface of Sun Moon Lake began to churn violently, with waves several meters high crashing against the shore.

After about thirty breaths, the Ninth Elder’s body became like a giant vortex, madly pulling in the dense Heaven and Earth spiritual energy from above the lake. Soon, the energy condensed into a solid form before him. His ten fingers flew, and the spiritual power roiled.

He gathered energy for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, finally forming a massive broadsword, dozens of meters long, in the sky above the lake. He then drew his own flying sword. With a cry like a dragon’s roar that shook their very souls, it shot from its scabbard, infusing the giant energy blade with its own world-splitting sword qi.

The Ninth Elder let out a long cry, his aura swelling even more. He channeled a torrent of spiritual power into his own sword until it shone with a blinding white light, outshining the sun itself.

“Go!”

With a thunderous shout, the light from his sword detached and merged into the giant energy blade above. The blade now radiated an unstoppable aura, as if it could cleave the heavens and the earth. After infusing it with a final, hastily drawn talisman, he directed the massive sword to chop down.

With a single, unstoppable strike, the blade cleaved the vast Sun Moon Lake in two.

A wide passage opened on the lakebed, flanked by towering walls of churning water over ten meters high. It was a spectacular, heart-shaking sight. At the end of the passage, a corner of the magnificent Aqueous Manor was revealed. As it appeared, seven pillars of colored light shot from it into the sky.

The sight filled the three thousand disciples with hope and wild ambition.

Just as they were about to rush forward, the Ninth Elder’s brow furrowed. He could see dark, human-like shadows flitting about inside the distant manor.

An elder from the Summer Cloud Hall immediately tossed six divination coins. They spun in the air and landed on the ground. All six showed their backs to the sky. It was a hexagram of extreme ambiguity—it could mean the greatest of fortunes, the worst of calamities, or a mixture of both.

The Ninth Elder’s face grew grave. He shouted a warning to the crowd, “The manor is highly unusual this year! There may be unprecedented dangers, but also unprecedented opportunities! Entry is voluntary. You will have exactly twelve hours inside. After that, you must leave, with or without any gains!”

The disciples hesitated at the mention of great danger, but the allure of a life-changing opportunity was too strong. Spurred on by the fear of missing out, a few disciples leaped into the passage and sprinted towards the manor. Their actions triggered a stampede, as thousands of others scrambled after them.

In the massive surge, Qin Haoxuan was separated from Xu Yu and the others. Fortunately, Ye Yiming grabbed his arm. “The entrance is a giant teleportation array!” he shouted over the din. “We must hold hands to be sent to the same place!”

Qin Haoxuan gripped his hand tightly. They followed the flow of people down the passage and passed through a shimmering barrier of light that held the lake water at bay.

After a moment of weightlessness, the scene before their eyes changed. They found themselves in an enormous garden, several times larger than the imperial garden of the Soaring Dragon Nation, filled with strange and beautiful flora. Above them, the light barrier acted as a ceiling, letting in the sunlight from the sky far above the water’s surface.

“This Aqueous Manor is truly a work of divine creation,” Qin Haoxuan marveled. “Could it have been left by an immortal?”

Ye Yiming could only shake his head with a wry smile.

“Senior Brother Ye,” Qin Haoxuan asked, “the elder mentioned a great treasure. Do you know what it is?”

“Not only do I not know,” Ye Yiming replied, “but I’m afraid even the past Sect Masters of the Taichu Sect know very little. No one has ever obtained it. All that is known is that one can sometimes feel a vast immortal qi within the manor, but its exact source has never been found.”

The two of them began to walk, but even after a full incense stick’s worth of time, they had still not found the end of the magnificent garden.