The Trial of Detachment
Mountain winds howled like beasts, and white clouds surged like a tempestuous sea. Giang Long ascended the highest precipice since departing from Van Lac Village. Cliffs reared up like celestial ramparts, freezing air lashing his skin like razor glass and striking an ache into his bones.
The trail had vanished, leaving only slippery crags cloaked in icy mist. His fingertips bled, crimson mingling with sweat, yet his gaze never wavered from the direction of Bich Van Terrace. Each footstep was a crucible of iron will; each breath, a struggle between life and death.
Just as Giang Long cleared a vertical cliff face, his foot landed upon a ledge that seemed solid.
A sharp crack shattered the silence. The ground beneath him gave way, robbing him of footing. With no path of retreat, Giang Long plummeted into the chasm.
The gale shrieked in his ears, tearing at his robes as mists whipped past like phantoms. Light from above was swallowed by darkness.
In that impending moment of mortality, time slowed to a crawl. Amidst the churning black clouds at the bottom of the ravine, a bridge of ethereal radiance manifested, stretching toward the horizon. Upon it, silhouettes of unnumbered sentient beings walked in stillness, turning in reverence toward a cosmic peak enshrined within the Great Fa.
A majestic voice reverberated from remote antiquity through his sea of consciousness:
“Thou hast chosen this path... Faith alone shall be the wings to carry thee high. This abyss is but a forge to temper the Xinxing of the successor.”
Fear dissolved. Giang Long closed his eyes, clutching the Jade of Celestial Whispers, channeling all his Righteous Thoughts into a single intent:
“Faith in the Great Fa; the Righteous Path endures eternal!”
Responding to his soul, the jade erupted with deep emerald force, unfurling into a soft orb of protective radiance that enveloped him, cushioning his descent.
With a heavy thud, his body crashed into a dense canopy of thickets. Branches snapped before everything settled into silence.
Giang Long coughed violently, blood welling at his lips, his frame wracked with agony. It took moments to realize he was suspended upon a network of ancient vines woven against the cliff face, yards above the cavern floor.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
The brilliance of the jade dissipated. Shuddering, he peered down into the abyss. Had his faith not awakened the protective aura of the stone, he would have been shattered to dust. Yet the image of the bridge of light and that voice remained etched in his mind—proof that this plunge held not destruction, but a hidden opportunity.
The Repository of Ancient Scripts
Struggling to rise, Giang Long discovered a deep indentation in the cliffside opening into a colossal cavern vault. The cave mouth yawned pitch black, a freezing chill wafting from within, bearing an ancient aura.
He gritted his teeth and ventured inside. Scattered spirit stones upon distant walls emitted an azure glow, illuminating the rugged stone strata. The deeper he advanced, the more violently the Jade of Celestial Whispers vibrated, resonating with an invisible pressure slumbering in the depths.
Ancient patterns carved into the mountain stone revealed themselves—lines meandering like coiled dragons and soaring phoenixes, awakening after millennia of slumber. In the quiet, each drop of water falling from the ceiling reverberated like a distant, celestial bell.
The Gateway of Mission
At the far end of the cavern, a stone hall loomed in majesty. Upon the floor, an ancient array lay inscribed into the bedrock, its patterns pulsing with arcane light. At the center stood a monolithic stone tablet nearly twenty feet tall, etched with profound characters.
As Giang Long approached, the tablet emitted a low vibration. A strand of divine consciousness shot directly into his mind:
[ HE WHO BEARS UNDYING FAITH, CROSSING THE ABYSS, SHALL UNLOCK THE CELESTIAL GATE TO ENTER BICH VAN TERRACE. ]
Instantly, the array beneath his feet blazed with brilliant azure. Sacred light surged, condensing into an ethereal gateway in mid-air. Gales whipped through the chamber as the earth shook gently. The residual energy flooded Giang Long’s body, temporarily suppressing his bone fractures and empowering him to stand tall.
Giang Long tightened his grip on the jade, his gaze locked onto the center of the light gate. He knew this was the threshold to the next trial.
The light shifted from azure to a five-colored radiance like a primordial rainbow, rendering the gate solid. Giang Long took a deep breath and, without hesitation, stepped forward.
The moment his silhouette vanished into the five-colored halo, his consciousness severed from his mortal frame, plunging into a new and wondrous realm…
CANTO XXVI: THE ABYSS AND THE MYSTIC CAVERN
The abyss swallows shadows, the mountain clouds break,
Ancient vines hold life, between death and the wake.
The deep cave opens wide, ancient scripts start to glow,
The stone tablet hums, as arcane arrays flow.
Five colors blaze forth, as mortal realms pale,
The Gate of Destiny now lifts its ancient veil.
With an undying faith, and a heart forged of steel,
Toward Bich Van he strides, with a vow that is real.