Watching the Mountain

Chapter 413: Chapter 217: A Thousand Years

Xu Ran knew that Elder Xu of the Instructor Hall hoped for his seven students—Qing Mei, Zhu Ma, Lan, Ju, and Shu—to become figures who would shine throughout the Cultivation Realm during the Dao Concealment Era.

He wanted them to be renowned, much like Senior Sister Yue, Zhang Zhentian, the Little Witch Ye Qingxue, and Chen Chang’an, who were known to the outside world as the Four Masters of Profound Pure.

Elder Xu had once revealed this to Xu Ran after having too much Spirit Wine.

The sky was dark that night, with a full, bright moon hanging high above.

Elder Xu pointed to the moon in the night sky and proclaimed with heroic spirit, ”If the Hidden Dao Era is an eternal night, then those seven will be the moon that illuminates it. They will be remembered by the world forever, and I... I will be the one who lit that moon, and I, too, will be remembered forever.”

He had just finished speaking when he glanced at Xu Ran beside him. His expression flickered, and he quickly added:

”Of course, the same goes for you, Hidden Mountain Elder. I don’t mind them having one more Guide. As long as my name is remembered, that’s all that matters.”

Xu Ran looked at the hopeful Elder Xu and fell into contemplation.

’I can understand why Elder Xu thinks this way. The simplest reason is that he’s old, and his own cultivation path has reached a dead end.’

’For those who can no longer see a path forward, it’s natural to place their hopes in others, wishing to leave their mark on the world through them.’

’It’s a very common mentality.’

’It’s just like Li Tianhe. After accepting his own mediocrity, he pinned all his hopes on his child. It was only when he learned his child had been grievously injured that he finally let go of that obsession. From then on, his only hope for his descendants was for them to live their lives in peace and safety.’

’In truth, this was a great opportunity for those seven students. Their innate talent was fairly average. Under normal circumstances, no matter how much Elder Xu valued them, he wouldn’t have placed such high hopes on them.’

’But then, my `Hidden Mountain Spell` appeared. They learned this unconventional path, and it all happened right as Elder Xu’s own mindset was shifting.’

’The right time, the right place, the right people—it was a perfect storm that forged the bond between them and Elder Xu.’

However, events did not unfold as Elder Xu had hoped.

The seven students certainly did him proud.

After accepting the mission to clear out the Tribulation Cultivators, they used their Combined Attack Array in their very first battle to defeat nineteen besieging cultivators, all of whom were also at the Purple Mansion Stage. This group even included three late-stage Purple Mansion cultivators.

In that battle, facing the siege of nineteen Purple Mansion Stage Tribulation Cultivators, they handled the assault with composure, slaying eighteen of them. Only a single enemy, a cultivator at the Purple Mansion Middle Stage, escaped after being grievously wounded.

Clearing out the Tribulation Cultivators was not a task for the Profound Pure Sect alone, but a major undertaking that all the factions in Changqing County had united to confront.

This joint force was formed by over twenty Nascent Soul Influences, in league with over a thousand Golden Core and Purple Mansion Influences of all sizes from across Changqing County.

Everyone who participated in clearing out the Tribulation Cultivators would receive corresponding Contribution Points and rewards.

To further incentivize participation, a leaderboard was established to offer additional rewards.

Thus, when their group of seven’s battle record was reported, word of their deeds spread instantly.

It was now the one hundred and seventy-fifth year of the Hidden Dao Era, and all the truly talented disciples from the major factions had long since entered a Dust-covered state.

Those who remained were individuals of average talent and aptitude.

One could say that for the past several decades, or even a century, the Cultivation Realm had seen very few people who were truly impressive.

In an era of novices pecking at each other, the sudden appearance of a group of seven who could defeat enemies of the same Realm several times their own number was like a stone tossed into a still lake—it was impossible not to notice.

However, the seven’s string of victories didn’t end there; on the contrary, they grew more valiant with every battle.

The seven of them acted as one, fighting nearly a hundred battles over several years. They never once failed. In the vast majority of their fights, they killed multiple enemies at a time, rarely facing a lone opponent.

Their two most dazzling victories included one where they were besieged by twenty-seven Purple Mansion Stage cultivators and managed to kill twenty.

The other was during a massive melee involving hundreds on both sides, where the seven used their Combined Attack Array to carve through the Tribulation Cultivator ranks. They charged in and out of the enemy lines seven times, slaying thirty-seven Purple Mansion Stage Tribulation Cultivators.

These two achievements cemented their fame. They became the talk of the entire Changqing County Cultivation Realm, and their reputation began to spread to the surrounding counties.

Many factions were utterly astonished when they heard about the group. ’What in the world is the Profound Pure Sect thinking? Judging by the potential these seven have shown, they absolutely deserve to be nurtured as core disciples.’

’Why haven’t they entered the Dust-covered state? Why were they sent out to clear out Tribulation Cultivators instead?’

People always said that the Profound Pure Sect had a long history of producing geniuses. Starting from the generation of the Sect Leader before last, Taihua True Monarch, remarkable talents had emerged in nearly every era.

This tradition reached its zenith with the generation of the previous Sect Leader, Yue Qingyu. The names of Sword Dao Ye Shan and Master Vermilion Bird were renowned throughout the lands.

The names of the Evergreen Sword Saint and Wuchen True Monarch were known across almost the entire Eastern Domain.

Even the current acting Sect Leader, Li Daoyi, was an illustrious prodigy of his generation.

Seeing this unending stream of prodigies, and now witnessing the case of these seven, some factions couldn’t help but wonder. ’Could it be that the Profound Pure Sect has too many geniuses? Is that why these seven were left behind in this era?’