Chapter 93: The Gales

"I swear by the name of the Heavenly Dao, stepping onto the Nine Heavens Path, life and death are determined by fate. If I successfully pass the trials, I shall not divulge any information about the Nine Heavens Path to others, or may heaven and earth destroy me!"

Ye Yuan read the words on the stone tablet aloud and clearly felt his soul tremble.

Ye Yuan knew that this was the sensation of his soul entering into a covenant with the Heavenly Dao.

If he ever violated the oath, the Heavenly Dao would descend divine punishment, annihilating both his body and soul.

"Now, may I enter?"

The guard stepped aside to let Ye Yuan pass.

Ye Yuan turned back and said to Feng Ruoqing and the others, "Take good care of Lü'er for me. I'll be back soon."

With that, Ye Yuan walked past the guard and leaped onto the Nine Heavens Path.

As he set foot on the first step, the scene suddenly shifted.

The originally narrow Nine Heavens Path now became a broad avenue, seemingly endless.

On both sides of the avenue, white mist swirled, as if in a fairyland.

Upon this Nine Heavens Path, the scenery on either side could no longer be seen.

When Ye Yuan looked back, the path behind him had also vanished, replaced by endless steps.

The entire Nine Heavens Path had become another world—a world composed of countless bluestone steps.

"Interesting! It seems everyone has their strengths. Although the martial arts of the lower realm are inferior to those of the Divine Realm, after countless years of development and evolution, many things have emerged that the Divine Realm does not possess. This Nine Heavens Path forms its own world; it appears that the one who arranged this formation has considerable skill. Moreover, this formation is unique, quite different from the style of the Divine Realm. The Nethercloud Sect should not be underestimated!" Ye Yuan exclaimed in admiration.

This formation was seamlessly integrated, interwoven with countless illusionary and killing arrays. Though its power was inferior to formations of the Divine Realm, its complexity was in no way inferior.

"No wonder the Nine Heavens Path is so difficult to traverse. If these illusionary and killing arrays were fully activated, they could kill Condensation Realm martial artists as easily as chopping vegetables!" Ye Yuan marveled again.

"Hmm, there's little hope of breaking the formation with my current strength. I'll just test the power of the Nine Heavens Path formation!"

With that, Ye Yuan strode forward.

This step seemed to trigger the formation, and countless gales swept toward Ye Yuan.

The gales were bitterly cold, as if they could annihilate all things in the world. In this world, only Ye Yuan existed, so naturally, only he would be annihilated.

"The concept of wind? So the Nine Heavens Path was built to help disciples cultivate. What thoughtful effort. But this method of cultivation is a bit too cruel."

As Ye Yuan sighed, he moved with the wind. The fierce gales could not inflict even the slightest harm on him!

These gales were artificially created by the formation's creator, integrating his own understanding of the concept of wind!

Sensing the concept of wind within the gales, Ye Yuan understood the creator's intention: to help disciples comprehend the concept of wind through these gales.

Yet how many could grasp the concept of wind at the Yuan Qi or Liquid Essence Realm?

To other disciples, these gales existed only to injure, not to help them comprehend any profound concept.

If another disciple were to traverse the Nine Heavens Path, the gale trial alone would likely consume a great deal of Yuan power.

Unlike Ye Yuan, who could take it easy, they would have to activate a Yuan power shield to withstand the force of the gales.

Otherwise, the gales would slice their bodies into pieces like blades.

Even for Liquid Essence Realm disciples, passing this trial would consume a tremendous amount of Yuan power, let alone those at the Yuan Qi Realm.

If a Qi Realm student tried to withstand this level with a Yuan Power shield, they would lose three or four tenths of their strength right away, and this is only the first level!

With such consumption, where could a Qi Realm student run even if they didn't die?

In contrast, Ye Yuan didn't even open his Yuan Power shield; he simply swayed his body with the wind, and the blades of the gale brushed past him.

These gales were like a giant wind blade technique, cutting recklessly through the space, omnidirectional, with no死角.

If a student entered without opening a Yuan Power shield, the consequences would be severe.

The reason Ye Yuan didn't need to open a Yuan Power shield was that his comprehension of the Wind Intent far surpassed these gales.

The Wind Intent contained in the gales was like a toddler learning to walk to Ye Yuan; it was naturally extremely difficult for them to harm him.

Not to mention anything else, just Ye Yuan's Falling Blossom Drifting Sword technique contained a very profound Wind Intent.

It was just that Ye Yuan's Yuan Power realm was too low for him to unleash the true power of the Wind Intent.

As his realm improved, the power of the Falling Blossom Drifting Sword would also grow stronger.

Although Ye Yuan was only at the Qi Realm now, it was more than enough for him to avoid the attacks of these gales.

…

Ye Yuan couldn't see the scenery outside, but those outside could see Ye Yuan's condition.

They couldn't see what was happening in the illusion, but they could see what Ye Yuan was doing at the moment.

The Nine Heavens Path had a total of nine hundred and ninety-nine stone steps, and Ye Yuan had only walked over twenty steps so far.

But to others, Ye Yuan's state didn't look good at all.

"What is Ye Yuan doing? Swaying like he's drunk."

"I don't know. Is he trapped by the illusion?"

"I think so! Look at him swaying the whole time. Who challenges the Nine Heavens Path like this?"

"Hmm, I've heard some senior brothers say that when those before challenged the Nine Heavens Path, they opened their Yuan Power shields right away, as if there was something terrifying. But look at Ye Yuan, he hasn't opened anything at all, and instead looks drunk. Why is his challenge completely different from others?"

"Yeah, according to the elders' speculation, the first three hundred and thirty-three steps of the Nine Heavens Path might be some external tests that consume a lot of Yuan Power. Those who can pass the three hundred and thirty-three steps are all exhausted to the point of collapse. But why is Ye Yuan acting like nothing's wrong? Could it be that what he encounters is different from what the elders encountered?"

"This Ye Yuan is really an oddball; everything he does is different from others. But if he keeps this up, will he lose his mind in the first three hundred and thirty-three steps?"

"I think it's possible!"

"Huh? Look, Ye Yuan seems to have returned to normal!"

That person looked closely and saw that Ye Yuan was no longer swaying like a drunk; he steadily continued walking upward.

Anyone with discerning eyes could tell that Ye Yuan had likely passed a checkpoint.

"This... Was the first level really this easy?" Hu Yan stared blankly at Ye Yuan's figure, his face full of confusion.

As an instructor of the academy, he knew much more than the other students! This knowledge was experience summed up from the blood of students.

The first three hundred and thirty-three steps of the Nine Heavens Path had a small checkpoint every thirty-three steps.

Although no one knew what these small checkpoints were, no one who challenged them ever passed so easily!

What's more, some Qi Realm students were directly annihilated at the first small checkpoint!

But Ye Yuan, swaying all the way, had actually passed!