Martial Cultivator

The Three Thousand Storeys stood atop Willow Peak on Mount Xi, named because the mountain resembled a willow leaf. From afar, Chen Chao looked upon it and marvelled at nature’s divine craftsmanship. Such a sight could only be shaped by Heaven and Earth.

As he approached Willow Peak, Zhu Xia was already there waiting. She wore a flowing red dress, brilliant and eye-catching, yet it did not feel gaudy.

Instead, it was like a blooming flower - vibrant but not vulgar.

Chen Chao gave her an extra glance but said nothing.

Zhu Xia skipped over and asked with a grin, “Do I look pretty?”

Chen Chao nodded honestly, but did not say a word.

This left Zhu Xia a bit disappointed. She had hoped Chen Chao would offer a few words of praise, but the result fell short of her expectations.

The two of them then arrived before the towering structure that pierced into the clouds at the mountain’s summit.

A plaque above the building casually bore three characters: Three Thousand Storeys.

The three words lacked any particular grandeur, appearing quite ordinary. But it was said to have been written personally by the founding ancestor of the Myriad Heaven Palace. That great daoist sage was a first-rate great daoist sage at that time. In the Great Peace Dao lineage, no one dared speak lightly of his name.

What puzzled Chen Chao, however, was that there were no guards stationed in front of the Three Thousand Storeys.

Chen Chao asked curiously, “This place is so important, is the Myriad Heaven Palace truly this at ease?”

Zhu Xia replied carelessly, “There’s a senior cultivating in seclusion within the tower. No one can remove any scriptures from here.”

”A daoist sage?”

Chen Chao glanced at the Three Thousand Storeys. He could sense the Dao rhythm here, something that could not have formed overnight. Without centuries of accumulation, it would be impossible to reach this level.

”It’s a great daoist sage.”

Zhu Xia said a little sorrowfully, ”It’s my master’s little junior brother.”

Chen Chao was taken aback. Zhu Xia’s master had once been the highest-ranked, most senior, and most respected daoist sage of the Myriad Heaven Palace. Even the former Infatuation Daoist Temple Master had to show a junior’s courtesy in front of this great daoist sage.

That great daoist sage’s junior disciple must have lived for many years as well.

Zhu Xia sniffled and did not want to linger on this topic. She pulled Chen Chao’s hand and led him into the Three Thousand Storeys.

The moment he stepped inside, Chen Chao was taken aback. From the outside, the tower already looked tall enough, but upon entering and looking up, it felt truly magnificent. The upper end vanished into the heights above. Layer upon layer, the stairs spiralling along the walls, rising all the way to the top.

Could the Three Thousand Storeys really have three thousand floors?

Chen Chao looked at Zhu Xia. The latter let out an ”ah?”, unsure what Chen Chao meant.

Chen Chao was speechless and could only chuckle as he asked, “Does the Three Thousand Storeys really have three thousand floors?”

Zhu Xia shook her head. “No idea. The daoist scriptures get more profound the higher you go. I’ve only ever gone up a few dozen levels. Beyond that, without reaching Nepenthe, it’s impossible to continue.”

“The elders in the mountains have never said how tall it truly is. If you really want to know, you could always try walking it floor by floor.”

Zhu Xia smiled. “The first few floors are easy. But the higher you go, the harder it gets.”

The Three Thousand Storeys housed the daoist canon of Myriad Heaven Palace, and climbing the tower was also a test of disciples’ cultivation. This trial did not merely assess one’s cultivation base, it also tested one’s inner self and was quite complex. Some cultivators at the Nepenthe realm could only reach a few hundred floors before stopping; others might manage a hundred more.

Chen Chao nodded. The Three Thousand Storeys had quite a reputation, he was indeed curious to see it for himself.

The first floor was filled with introductory daoist techniques. There were quite a few people, many disciples were poring over books here, most of them fully absorbed, paying no attention to those around them. A few disciples, upon noticing Chen Chao, gave him a slight bow, and some greeted him in low voices, but no one raised their voice or made a commotion.

Many daoists were curious about this newly appointed Lord Warden Commander of Great Liang.

Zhu Xia and Chen Chao soon began climbing the wooden stairs to the second floor. The distance between floors was not short. After reaching the second level, the number of disciples decreased significantly.

Chen Chao casually picked a daoist text off a nearby bookshelf. He did not open it, but even so, he could already sense a trace of daoist aura emanating from it.

It was the aura left behind by the one who wrote it.

Each of these texts had different authors, and when writing them, each author would leave their aura behind in the pages.

Chen Chao did not open the book. After glancing at the cover, he placed it back on the shelf.

Zhu Xia asked curiously, “Why didn’t you open it and take a look?”

Chen Chao smiled. “I’m just a martial artist, why would I read daoist techniques?”

Zhu Xia gave an “oh” and murmured, “That makes sense.”

Chen Chao gave a helpless laugh. He had long expected that this young girl would not think too much. If it had been someone else coming here, they likely would not have shared the same view.

Chen Chao followed Zhu Xia as they went up several more levels. In the blink of an eye, they were already past the twentieth floor.

Unlike the densely packed bookshelves of the lower levels, the shelves here were fewer, but the aura was far stronger than before.

The authors of these daoist texts were likely all individuals of extremely profound cultivation.

Though Myriad Heaven Palace had been in decline for years within the daoist world, its foundations ran deep; like an ancient, bottomless well. No one could truly know how pure the spring water at the very bottom might be.

Chen Chao shook his head. Compared to these sects whose legacies spanned centuries or even millennia, the Great Liang did seem rather lacking in strength.

As they continued to climb up, the number of bookshelves naturally decreased, and so did the number of daoist texts. Still, by this point, the number of texts Chen Chao had seen already exceeded three thousand volumes.

But everyone knew that whether it was three thousand or thirty thousand volumes here, it ultimately made little difference. It was because none could compare to the three thousand volumes personally written by the Dao Ancestor.

Those three thousand volumes, like the Dao Ancestor’s handwritten texts, were the true treasures of Daoism.

No one knew whether the Three Thousand Storeys of Myriad Heaven Palace might be hiding a single scroll handwritten by the Dao Ancestor.

Chen Chao was deeply curious about this.

After all, as the founder of one of the Three Sects, the Dao Ancestor had lived in a time so ancient it was beyond tracing. Yet in terms of status or daoist techniques, he was unquestionably far above any daoist cultivator of the present age.

If he could so much as glance at a daoist scroll written by the Dao Ancestor, it would likely benefit Chen Chao greatly, even if he was just a martial artist.

With this thought in mind, he had already climbed more than a hundred floors. By now, the disciples of Myriad Heaven Palace in sight were all of older age. It was rare to see any young disciples, most were middle-aged daoists.

Chen Chao paused briefly, intending to continue climbing, but did not notice that Zhu Xia beside him was already panting heavily.

“What’s wrong? Tired?”

Chen Chao glanced at Zhu Xia and asked casually.

Zhu Xia complained, “You’re a Nepenthe Realm, of course you don’t feel anything! But do you know? At this point, this isn’t a place just any ordinary cultivator can reach.”

Though Zhu Xia had a high aptitude, she had cultivated for only a few years and was not particularly fond of rigorous training. By now, she had long since reached her limit.

Chen Chao returned to his senses and smiled. “Then how about you wait here? I’ll go up a bit further and take a look. It shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Zhu Xia nodded and plopped herself down on the stairs unceremoniously, “Go if you want, but the higher you go, the harder it gets. Don’t push yourself, or you’ll get hurt.”

Chen Chao nodded his head.

At this moment, he truly did want to go higher. He even felt as though something in the unseen was calling to him.

That feeling was vague and indescribable.