Meanwhile, Jared and his companions trekked toward the Seventh Hall. Jhaelyn suddenly pointed at a lone mountain peak. “That one looks so strange!”
Jemina followed her finger, astonished. “It’s like a sword driven into the ground. Beautiful, yet terrifying.”
Following their line of sight, Jared spotted, a few hundred kilometers away, a mountain rising over three thousand meters high-its massive point thrust into the earth like an enormous blade. Even at this distance, he felt the oppressive sharpness radiating from Sword-Peak Mountain.
“At the summit is the hilt,” he noted, sensing its keen edge.
“Everett, where are we? How does a mountain take that shape?” Jared asked the only native of the Third Heaven among them.
Everett studied the peak, then grimaced. “Mr. Chance, Azurecloud Sect lives on the Third Heaven’s fringe. The realm is vast; I’ve never set foot in the central lands, let alone seen that mountain. I have no idea what place this is.”
Jared’s curiosity burned brighter. “Mr. Flaxseed, stay here with the others. Everett and I will have a look.”
Flaxseed nodded gravely. “Be careful, Jared. That peak feels wrong, and I can sense sword intent swirling all around it.”
Flaxseed turned to Jared and offered a soft warning.
Jared gave a quick nod, then swept Everett up beside him and streaked toward the distant peak.
They traversed a few hundred kilometers in less than the time it took a single stick of candle to burn.
Drawing close, Jared finally noticed two enormous characters carved into the cliff face -Sword Sect.
From afar he had seen only the mountain itself; the inscription had been lost to distance. Confronted with the words, he froze, momentarily stunned.
Everett furrowed his brow and muttered, “Sword Sect? How have I never heard that name?”
Jared replied, “There are thousands-maybe tens of thousands of sects in the Third Heaven. You can’t expect to know them all.”
With that, he lifted his gaze. At close range, the mountain exuded a suffocating pressure.
That aura rolled over them like raging surf, each swell threatening to smash everything in its path.
They landed at the base of the peak; looking up, they could not even glimpse the summit.
On the ground, the oppression grew heavier still, and both men found their breath hitching.
The looming crag felt as though it might crash down on them at any moment.
“Mr. Chance, t-the pressure here is unbelievable!” Everett stammered.
The strain left him not only gasping but visibly trembling. With no Sword Sect disciple in sight, Everett already shook beneath the mountain’s might.
If this is merely their aura, Sword Sect must be leagues stronger than Azurecloud Sect, he thought. Training here beneath such weight would temper one’s mind every single day, Jared mused.
“This place is anything but ordinary,” Jared murmured.
“Mr. Chance, let’s go. I sense no life here-maybe this sect was wiped out ages ago,”
Everett urged.
His voice wavered.
“We’re here now, so let’s look around. No need to be afraid,” Jared said, then vaulted forward.
Everett gritted his teeth in reluctant pursuit.
Rounding the mountain, they spotted a ruined great hall halfway up the slope-vast enough to fit several hundred football fields.
Many sections had collapsed, the stone gnawed away by endless years.
“Such powerful sword intent… Is someone still inside?” Jared muttered, frowning.
“Don’t joke, Mr. Chance. I can’t feel the slightest trace of life,” Everett answered. He had long since spread his spiritual sense, yet found no one.
“Nor do I…” Jared admitted.
“Let’s take a look.” He strode toward the crumbling hall.
Everett followed, nerves taut, eyes flicking over every shadow. Something here felt profoundly wrong, as though danger lurked in every crevice.
Before the hall, they seemed tiny, and the instant their feet touched ground, several sword lights shot from within.
Startled, Everett was about to counter when Jared yanked him back.
“Don’t move.”
Holding Everett still, Jared raised no defense at all. The sword lights halted centimeters away, as if guided by an unseen hand, then shattered into glittering dust.
