The selection of sword holders is somewhat different from the selection of sects. The former is more strict and is also divided into two stages.
The first stage is to compete for the qualifications of those who participate in the Sword Bearer Trial.
This stage is mainly to eliminate the vast majority of disciples so that a very small number of people can qualify for the final trial.
The number of disciples from various sects who arrived this time totaled 2,793. These were the leaders of each sect in Yinghuang Province in the past ten years.
They will select the top ten in the first stage of selection to qualify for the trial.
Only these ten of them are qualified to participate in the next second stage of the sword-wielding trial.
This is because the sword wielder trial after obtaining the trial qualification is extremely special.
Like a pilgrimage, all sword holders will go to witness it.
Therefore, the tradition from ancient times to the present does not allow too many people to participate in the trial and disturb the sage's sleep.
The assessment of sword holders takes place every ten years, and each time five people are selected from the best among the best, of which three are positive and two are the winner.
Zheng means that the sword holder is directly given the identity, the command sword, and the blessing of the emperor.
Those who are responsible for holding swords, as evidenced by heaven and earth, are the most orthodox.
Accurate, it means there is no order sword, there is a blessing, you need to go to Fenghai County Sword Holding Palace and re-evaluate. This is a deputy position, there is no proof of heaven and earth. The previous sword-holding elders can make their own decisions based on the performance of the participants.
Before these two stages, both the understanding of the Spiritual Seal of War and the height of Taichu from the Youzhu are very important and will be bonus points for the second stage of the trial.
At this moment, the sky is blue, the clouds and fog are thin, and the midday sun shines on the earth, reflecting the snowy field brightly.
Whether it is the light from the sky or the light from the ice and snow on the ground, at this moment, the sky and the earth are intertwined, glowing with coldness.
There was even more wind coming from the north, blowing up the snowflakes, blowing the crowds, and lifting their clothes.
Beside the Taichu Liyou Pillar, with the sound of swords coming from the sword-holding court, disciples from various sects and casual cultivators in Yinghuang Province, totaling 2,793 people, gathered together.
Xu Qing and the captain of Yitianer Forum were among them. They stood together, both looking up at the sky.
Xu Qing looked calm, and the captain looked expectantly.
Xu Qing was not surprised that the captain could meet the conditions of a trialist. After all, the opponent had been preparing for this since he came to the Eight Sects Alliance.
What he focused on was Taisi Xianmen Daozi among the crowd in the distance.
"Are you targeting him?" the captain whispered.
.
Xu Qing glanced at the captain and nodded slightly.
The captain laughed when he heard this.
"You feel it too?"
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed and he was about to ask, but at this moment, the sound of swords and gold and stone echoed again in the sky, and three vast figures descended from the end of Taichu Liyou Pillar.
Among these three figures are two old men and one middle-aged man.
The three of them were all wearing official uniforms. They appeared in mid-air with such majestic momentum that the heaven and earth seemed to be shaking. All directions were extremely silent. It was really the two old men who were extraordinary. Thousands of traces of light flowed in their eyes, shaking the sky.
And Zhengzhong Zhixiu is even more terrifying. Countless shadows appear behind him, one after another, connected to the sky. It seems that half of the sky he looks at is transformed by his body.
The people below, as well as all the monks in Taichu Liyou City, all trembled under this pressure and looked respectful.
Then a majestic voice exploded like thunder in the minds of these two thousand, seven hundred and ninety-three people.
"In the past, the selection of qualifications for trialists rarely resulted in life or death."
"But this time the selection of qualifications for Yinghuangzhou trialists is different from the past. According to the decision of the Sword Holding Court, the place where qualifications are obtained will be replaced by a ghost cave."
The majestic voice echoed, and most of the people who heard it were shocked and confused, and they obviously had not heard of ghost caves. Only a few disciples and protectors of various sects had moved expressions.
Xu Qing was also startled and instinctively looked at the captain.
The captain's pupils obviously shrank slightly, noticing Xu Qing's gaze, he raised his finger and pointed to the ground.
Xu Qingruoyou
Thoughts.
And that majestic voice, after finishing the previous words, waited for a while and then continued to speak.
Some of you may have heard of it, but most of you probably don’t know what a ghost cave is.”
Everyone below listened attentively. After all, this was a matter of success or failure. Xu Qing also looked solemn and very serious.
You all should know the origin of Taichu Liyou Pillar, the ghost cave... is under Taichu Liyou Pillar!"
Everyone's minds were in turmoil, and Xu Qing also narrowed his eyes.
"Under the Liyou Pillar of Taichu, there is a deep pit that leads to nowhere. It is filled with countless strange ghosts. Listen carefully, it is not weird, but strange ghosts."
When the middle-aged man in the sky said this, he glanced at everyone, and then spoke again.
"Strangeness is fiction, strange ghosts are reality, the former is sinister, and the latter is vicious."
"There are many ghost caves on the Wanggu Continent. Every one of them is mysterious and full of dangers. But as long as they don't go too deep, the dangers can still be controlled."
"Taichu Li Youzhu is actually suppressing this ghost cave, and has been suppressing it for too many years.
Xu Qing lowered his head and glanced at the distant part of the Taichu Liyou Pillar that was submerged into the earth. He thought of what the captain had told him, and later generations analyzed that the Ghost Emperor had a purpose for throwing down his weapon.
Looking at it now, this purpose may be to suppress the ghost cave.
"Why did the Ghost Emperor do this? And what exactly exists in the Ghost Cave that would make the Ghost Emperor use Taichu Li Youzhu to suppress it?"
Xu Qing didn't know the reason, but he felt that the sword-wielding court must have the answer.
At this moment, the middle-aged man in official uniform in the sky still has a majestic voice that echoes in everyone's hearts.
"It is precisely because of this that the part of the Taichu Liyou Pillar that is submerged in the ghost cave is constantly being corroded by the breath of the ghost cave, and it is inevitable that it will break into pieces."
"Especially in recent years, more fragments have been broken, causing a large number of Taichu Li Youzhu fragments to fall into the ghost cave, some falling into the bottom of infinity, and others scattered on the walls and corners of the ghost cave.
"
"In the past, the sword holder would go down and collect it regularly and refining it into the Taichu Liyou Pillar. Today, it's up to you to wait."
"The time limit is three days. The top ten with the most fragments will be qualified for the second stage of the trial."
Everyone looked solemn, understanding that this was the rule of the qualification battle.
"In addition, I would like to remind you that there is a life and death crisis in the ghost cave, so this is your last chance to give up. Once you participate, everyone will be issued a specific teleportation talisman. If you encounter danger, you can teleport away, but it is not absolute. Unexpected
It’s still possible.”
As he spoke, jade slips flew from the sky one after another, fell in front of every participant here, and were caught by everyone one by one.
Those who can come here to participate in the selection of sword holders are not weak-minded people. Naturally, no one will withdraw at this moment. Some people even asked questions after getting the jade slip.
"Sir, if the quantities are the same, how to choose?"
"Decided according to the ranking of Taichu Liyouzhu." The middle-aged man in official uniform said calmly.
"Finally, I want to warn you, this ghost cave is not a place outside the law, it is also within the scope of the Sword Holding Court. You can take action, but killing each other is strictly prohibited."
"Now, the sword wielder trial qualification selection begins!"
As the words echoed, the Taichu Liyou Pillar suddenly emitted a dazzling light. As it continued to spread, the pillar trembled strongly. Then it slowly shrank in a circle, and slowly rose upwards to reveal the pillar buried underground.
Part of Taichu Liyouzhu.
Everyone's eyes fell, and they could clearly see that the bottom part of the lifted Taichu Liyou Pillar was dark, mottled, full of damage, and extremely corroded.
Even the bottom part of the column is full of holes and dilapidated.
And as Taichu Li Youzhu was raised, a thousand-foot-deep pit suddenly appeared on the ground. When bursts of black energy with extremely evil intentions emitted from it, there were bursts of roars that did not sound like human voices.
came from the deep pit.
Those roars were filled with shrillness and lamentation, containing endless pain and madness, as if... there was a connection to the underworld.
spring.
This scene caused the expressions of everyone here to change one after another, and some people who were originally determined were frightened and wavered.
"You guys, don't go down yet!" In the sky, the voice of a middle-aged man in official uniform surpassed the sky thunder and exploded with a bang. The disciples and casual cultivators around the pit gritted their teeth and rushed out of the pit.
Red Girl Qingqiu was among them, and was among the first to step in. Taisi Daozi, the human boy, and other geniuses from various sects also stepped in one after another.
Xu Qing and the captain also moved.
Soon, 90% of the cultivators here chose to step in. When the remaining ones hesitated, a shocking loud noise was heard. The Taichu Liyou Pillar that had risen into the sky suddenly fell down, became thousands of feet thick again, and pierced directly into the deep pit.
.
Block it again!
In an instant, the black energy dissipated, the wailing and shrill sounds disappeared, and everything was as usual.
As for the inside of the pit, it was pitch black.
The moment Xu Qing stepped in, he immediately approached the edges. After touching the soil, he became alert and stared coldly around him.
This place is weird, even if you focus your eyes with cultivation, you still can't see everything clearly for a while.
But the roars that were heard outside all disappeared at this moment, and there was no more screams. Except for the sound of breathing, there was silence here.
The darkness in front of you and the claustrophobic feeling naturally create depression and give people a sense of mystery and fear.
Only the cold breath coming from below, with a fishy and rotten smell, was like countless strands of hair floating around, scratching the skin, and the hairs would stand up instinctively.
Until a moment passed, perhaps because his naked eyes adapted to the darkness, or perhaps because his cultivation resonated with this place, Xu Qing's eyes slowly became clearer.
This is a huge deep pit. Even if you can see the surroundings clearly, the bottom is still dark, like an abyss.
There are some black plants growing on the surrounding walls, and on each leaf, there is a faint ghost face, smiling at the people who are leaning against the wall to observe at the moment.
There are a total of 2,400 to 500 people arriving, but now only half of them are on guard around the walls.
The remaining half seemed to rush deeper as soon as they entered this place.
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and turned to look to his side. The captain was looking at him as if he was less than three feet away, and then he raised his hand and pointed downwards.
Xu Qing nodded, and the two of them were about to let go and jump to the bottom of the pit, but at this moment...
A cold, long and ethereal singing voice seemed to be coming from all directions and in my ears, lingering and swirling.
The sound is full of softness and sharpness, blending together to form an unspeakable song.
"The past life will never come, but the past life will always be there. Cut off the lovesickness painting and dust..."
This voice cannot distinguish between male and female, and it seeps into the mind unconsciously, making people's scalp numb, and even the back is filled with coldness.
Like autumn rain, the cold that falls on the face penetrates into the whole body.
This chapter has been completed!