Read Novel Full Chapter 51 - The Xumi Mustard Seed Diagram (1)
The night after paying respects to the Sage Yushan, snow fell heavily on Mount Gufeng all night long.
Early the next morning, the rooster crowed to announce the dawn. Zanxing finished her morning grooming and opened the door, to be greeted by a sight of snow-covered mountains.
The verdant slopes of Mount Gufeng were blanketed in silver, the sunlight cast a cold hue, and even the clouds at the end of the mountain peaks seemed to be frozen, like congealed jade, piled up at the end of the azure sky.
When people walked out, they could see a layer of damp white mist appear in the palm of their hands as they breathed on them.
Taiyan Sect was good in all aspects, except for one thing: it was too cold in winter.
Zanxing had spent a whole autumn here, but she still couldn’t get used to the weather here.
As she was thinking about this, Tian Fangfang came out of the small wooden building next door. Seeing Mimi lying on the doorstep dozing off, he stroked its head and complained to Zanxing while rubbing her hands, “It’s too cold today! This robe is not warm enough!”
The sect’s robes were only two thin layers, presumably to maintain the ethereal image of immortals. The senior disciples had already adapted to the dressing style here, but for the new disciples, it was obviously a bit difficult.
Zanxing lifted her skirt, startling Tian Fangfang, who quickly turned away and asked, “What are you doing?”
“Here,” Zanxing gestured for him to look. Tian Fangfang carefully turned back and saw that Zanxing was wearing a thick pair of cotton trousers under her gauze skirt. He was taken aback.
“If you feel cold, just add a pair of autumn pants underneath,” Zanxing said. “No one will see it anyway.” The cultivation world was too vain, and the trend of valuing style over warmth was really undesirable. When they got older, who knows who would end up with arthritis?
Tian Fangfang’s eyes were opened to a new world. He pondered for a while and agreed that Zanxing’s idea was indeed a good one. He went back and added a pair of trousers under his gauze robe before going to the dining hall with Zanxing for breakfast.
Today was the day for the inner sect assessment, and also the day for Xuan Lingzi to select personal disciples. The dining hall was crowded, and it happened to be the winter solstice, so mutton dumplings were served for breakfast. Zanxing and Tian Fangfang each had a bowl, and they immediately felt much warmer.
After finishing their meal, they headed to the competition platform together.
The competition arena was already crowded with people, similar to last time but also somewhat different. Last time, only Ziluo was presiding at the front of the platform, but today was a much-anticipated event, with all seven senior disciples present.
Senior Uncle Yueguang, Senior Aunt Yue Qin, Cui Yufu, Li Danshu, Zhao Mayi, Xuan Lingzi, and Gu Baiying were all seated on one side of the competition arena. In the center of the platform stood a square-shaped giant rock, extremely wide and long, with nothing on top.
Zanxing also caught sight of Hua Yue. His gaze swept over her with a gloomy look, indicating that he hadn’t come up with any good plans for her.
These days, Hua Yue had been sending people to harass her, but within the sect, he hadn’t found any opportunity to act against her for the time being. At most, he just cursed at her and sent his lackeys to pick fights, after all, fighting was not allowed within the sect. It was said that he and Duan Xiangrao had also broken up, finding her unworthy as she was only an outer disciple and didn’t match his status as a potential personal disciple. In short, he was as heartless and unprincipled as Wang Shao.
Zanxing also saw Meng Ying. This future head of the Taiyan Sect had just come out of seclusion not long ago, breaking through to the middle stage of Nascent Soul. With her current strength, the difficulty of the inner sect assessment was no longer suitable for her, so she didn’t need to participate. Zanxing’s gaze lingered on Meng Ying and Mu Cengxiao for a moment. The two of them seemed very unfamiliar with each other, and she didn’t notice any signs of a romantic subplot. Zanxing pondered in her heart that so far, the storyline about Mu Cengxiao and Meng Ying had yet to begin.
I wonder if there will be any changes in this inner sect assessment, Zanxing thought.
Just as she was thinking, Ziluo on the platform had already checked the final list of disciples coming for the assessment, placing the list aside. The surroundings gradually quieted down, and the disciples standing in the array knew that the assessment was about to begin.
A total of 400 disciples participated in this assessment, all of them inner disciples of the Taiyan Sect. Xuan Lingzi stood up and walked to the center of the competition arena. Since this time, he was selecting his personal disciples, it was natural for him to oversee the proceedings.
“Today is the day of the inner sect assessment. After discussions among the senior brothers, it has been decided to change the assessment method,” Xuan Lingzi said.
He extended his hand, and a light point the size of a grain of rice appeared on his palm. With another wave of his hand, the rice-sized light point fell into the air and slowly unfolded, revealing a painting.
It was a long scroll depicting various demon cultivators
1 and practitioners engaging in a great battle, giving the impression of a battlefield scene at first glance.
“What’s this?” whispered the disciples below the platform.
Xuan Lingzi smiled and glanced at the crowd. When the disciples finished discussing, he slowly said, “This is the Xumi
2 Mustard Seed Diagram, and it’s also the location of your assessment this time.”
Zanxing was surprised. This assessment venue was quite advanced.
Just as she was thinking about this, Zanxing suddenly saw the diagram depicting the battlefield scene enlarge in front of her eyes. The next moment, her surroundings changed, and she realized that she was no longer at the previous competition arena.
She found herself in a wilderness with tall grasses, a dense forest nearby, and low-hanging clouds overhead. In the distance, there was a towering peak with a waterfall, illuminated by the sun on a clear day. However, the distant scenery looked extremely artificial, like a poorly painted picture. Only the eerie and desolate atmosphere around her felt real.
The soil on the ground was soft, tinged with a dirty red color, faintly carrying the scent of blood. A crow perched on a tree branch, its blood-red eyes fixed on Zanxing, emitting a sinister aura.
Xuan Lingzi’s voice came from the end of the vast sky, as if echoing through distant space. He said, “Twenty years ago, the Demon King Gui Diaotang wreaked havoc in the mortal realm, slaughtering humans. In the war between humans and demons, the sects of the cultivation world led their disciples into battle. Our sect’s Qinghua Fairy personally killed the Demon King Gui Diaotang, helping restore peace to the mortal realm.”
“After the battle between humans and demons, our Taiyan Sect suffered heavy losses in vitality, and many outstanding disciples fell. The evil and bloodthirsty demons deserve no pardon. Later, someone drew the ‘Xumi Mustard Seed Diagram’ to reflect the tragic scene of the battlefield at that time.”
“All the disciples participating in the assessment, the land beneath your feet is the scene of the human-demon war back then. In this picture, various demon cultivators that appeared during the great battle are outlined with qi. Each defeat of a demonic cultivator automatically increases your qi. Different demon cultivators represent different amounts of qi. The lower-level demon cultivators have the least qi, while the higher-level ones have more. The number of demon cultivators is limited, and what you need to do is to defeat as many demon cultivators as possible in the shortest time to gain qi.”
“The ranking stones outside the competition arena will automatically update the rankings every hour based on the qi gained.”
While Zanxing was concentrating, she suddenly felt something in her hand. Lowering her head, she saw a piece of paper with a crooked red character ‘止’
3 drawn on it.
“Each of you has a Departure Talisman. Although the demon cultivators in the Xumi Mustard Seed Diagram are fake, you may get injured during the battle with them. If you can’t hold on, you can crush the Departure Talisman to leave the assessment area on your own.”
“If you encounter a demon that threatens your life and doesn’t match your current cultivation level, you don’t need to fight. Simply crush the Departure Talisman.”
Xuan Lingzi said, “The assessment will last for up to two days, ending when the last candidate leaves the arena. Now, the trial begins.”
Footnotes
By demon cultivators I mean demons who cultivate, not cultivators from demonic sects
须弥 (xū mí) is a term in Buddhist cosmology that refers to Xumi or Sumeru, a sacred mountain believed to be the center of the universe in certain Buddhist traditions. It’s depicted as a colossal mountain towering at the axis of the world, with its summit reaching into the heavens and its base extending deep into the earth. In Buddhist mythology, Mount Sumeru is considered the abode of gods, and it plays a significant role in various Buddhist texts and teachings. It’s often described as a symbol of stability, immovability, and the central axis around which the universe revolves.
This character means ‘stop’