Chapter 604: The Cost

Within the Remnant World, twelve years after Meng Chuan and his companions embarked on the paths.

Fusu stood blankly on the first path for a long time.

"Have I mastered the Six Tribulation realm rules?" Fusu muttered, his mind dazed by an overwhelming sense of joy. In a vast river system, Six Tribulation realm cultivators were few and far between. Such power offered the potential to control a secret realm! They were core members in any top-tier power within the River of Spacetime, a level Fusu had previously only dared to dream of.

He had sacrificed much for this goal, yet hope had remained elusive.

"I never thought I, Fusu, would truly master the Six Tribulation realm rules in this lifetime," Fusu exclaimed, his heart surging with emotion. Why had he risked so much, so madly? Was it truly just a love for adventure?

Of course not.

What he truly sought was power! Power that could elevate his home world, power that could eliminate the 'enemy' who had weighed on his heart for years.

"I've finally grasped this power," Fusu said, extending his right hand and clenching it slightly. Black cracks appeared in his palm. Although he had only just mastered the rules and not yet rebuilt his physical body based on them, nor passed the Sixth Body Tribulation, his current burst of strength had already reached the threshold of the Six Tribulation realm.

This was a qualitative difference from the Five Tribulation realm. Numerous Five Tribulation cultivators, including Master Jingyun and Meng Hu, would be utterly helpless before Fusu.

Five Tribulation cultivators could easily kill Four Tribulation cultivators.

Six Tribulation cultivators could kill Five Tribulation cultivators with even greater ease.

"Twelve years. Just twelve years on this path, and I've gained such power," Fusu said, invigorated. He looked up at the path, filled with immense anticipation.

Fusu knew well that in terms of innate talent and potential, he was only considered above average among Five Tribulation cultivators, far inferior to Heavenly Dream God General Meng Hu.

If it were Meng Hu, he would likely master the Six Tribulation realm rules after just one or two years of enlightenment.

Compared to someone like Meng Chuan, who could create 'Emperor-level ultimate techniques,' Fusu's talent was even more significantly lacking.

"With such a great opportunity, I can still go far. Now, I must quickly figure out how to cultivate my physical body to pass the Body Tribulation," Fusu thought, suppressing his excitement. He continued forward, re-entering a state of enlightenment.

Another three years passed swiftly. Fifteen years after arriving at the remnant, Fusu had traveled over fifty thousand miles.

"Hmm?"

Fusu watched in shock as the path ahead, shrouded in mist, vaguely curved along the contours of a tall mountain, converging with another winding passage.

Fusu recognized the other winding passage instantly: it was the third path.

"The first and third paths, after fifty thousand miles, are starting to merge into one?" Fusu stared blankly.

He had originally thought the three paths each led to the summit, but who would have imagined that after fifty thousand miles, the first and third paths would converge?

"What should I do?"

"Stepping onto the merged path will certainly bring changes," Fusu thought with some unease, gritting his teeth after a moment of contemplation. "My method for cultivating the physical body is almost complete. With the aid of enlightenment, I should be able to fully grasp it soon. If I were outside, the time required would be unpredictable."

"Besides, I feel completely fine right now, nothing seems wrong." Fusu inherently believed that opportunities were found through risks, and that a crucial moment demanded a gamble.

Step by step, half a month later, Fusu reached the converging point of the two paths.

"I'll see what happens when the two paths merge," Fusu said, looking down. He then stepped forward without hesitation.

With one step, he entered the new path.

The instant he stepped in, a vast, majestic voice suddenly echoed within his true spirit from the direction of the summit. "Nine... Tai... Yan..." Each character was an incredibly heavy blow, striking his true spirit.

Upon hearing the first character, countless cracks appeared in his true spirit. After the sounds of several more characters, Fusu's true spirit completely shattered.

"No!" Fusu had no time for any other reaction. His true spirit had already been annihilated. His physical body slumped at the entrance of the new path, utterly lifeless.

***

In Fusu's home world.

"What happened?" Fusu, sitting cross-legged in his quiet chamber, opened his eyes in shock. "My external true body died in the Remnant World?"

"I once tried the third path; although it greatly affected my mind and consciousness, I could withstand it. But the sound from the merged path was much clearer and struck my true spirit far harder. Just a few characters, and my true spirit shattered," Fusu said, feeling unwilling to accept it. He couldn't advance any further.

"So be it."

"Even though I've left the Remnant World, at least I've mastered the Six Tribulation realm rules, and my method for cultivating the physical body is almost complete," Fusu quickly calmed down, and his mood was quite good. "I estimate a few more centuries of quiet cultivation, and I can become a Six Tribulation cultivator."

"Even now, I can barely be considered Six Tribulation realm strength," Fusu said, unable to suppress his smile. The opportunity in the Remnant World had helped him immensely.

If his physical body was also refined, the difference from a true Six Tribulation cultivator would be negligible. Passing tribulation was merely a test, having little direct impact on one's strength.

As Fusu happily contemplated his future plans, his expression suddenly changed.

"My... my true spirit..." Fusu clutched his head in pain.

He felt an intense agony in his true spirit, a pain that made him collapse uncontrollably to the ground, twitching and rolling.

"There's something wrong with my true spirit."

"Fifteen years of enlightenment seems to have damaged the foundation of my true spirit," Fusu thought. He felt his entire true spirit trembling with severe pain, a wound that had permeated its very roots.

With a thought, he retrieved a treasure beneficial to the true spirit from his storage artifact.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. He first drank a pot of wine. The wine contained an invisible power that nourished the true spirit, but the true spirit remained in severe pain, offering little relief.

Pills, blood crystals, spirit fruits...

Fusu successively consumed eleven types of treasures beneficial to the true spirit. It was only when the eleventh one, the 'Crimson Leaf Fruit,' thoroughly affected his true spirit at its very foundation that the pain receded.

"The Crimson Leaf Fruit is a precious treasure for healing true spirit injuries, with one fruit valued at three hundred units," Fusu thought, a faint worry creeping in. "I wonder if my true spirit injury has fully recovered."

However, that very night, his true spirit began to ache slightly again. Fusu tried not taking any treasures, but the pain only intensified with time.

"One Crimson Leaf Fruit couldn't even hold off the pain for a day?"

"What should I do?" That very day, Fusu manifested another true body and immediately went to the outer realm to find a way to heal his true spirit.

***

Within the Remnant World.

"Is it just Black Wind and me left in this Remnant World?" Meng Chuan sensed his companions' locations through karmic ties. Meng Hu had left the Remnant World long ago, and today, Fusu had left as well.

"Fusu took the first path, and he was in enlightenment for a full fifteen years?" Meng Chuan was surprised, even a little envious. After all, states of enlightenment were hard to come by. Fifteen years of enlightenment? He might even be able to attempt breaking through to the 'Seven Tribulation realm' himself, right?

But Meng Chuan also knew that fifteen years of enlightenment surely came with a price.

The creator of Black Mountain would not give benefits for free.

"I wonder what price Fusu paid," Meng Chuan mused, looking down at the path beneath his own feet.

Meng Chuan was quite satisfied with the path he had chosen, despite his true spirit constantly being bombarded and suppressed. This was because his other avatars in the outside world had been cultivating normally, and after all these years, they were surprisingly close to mastering the Six Tribulation realm rules—so close that it even startled him into halting their cultivation.

"I can feel that if my external avatars continue cultivating, they could reach the Six Tribulation realm at any moment," Meng Chuan realized. He also vaguely understood that his accelerated cultivation was likely connected to the transformation of his mind and will.

"Temporarily halt cultivation."

"First, I'll focus all my efforts on cultivating my mind until I can no longer advance on this path," Meng Chuan resolved.

True spirit tribulation cannot be delayed.

Pass it, live. Fail it, die!

His mental cultivation might already be sufficient, or perhaps still lacking. Before undergoing the tribulation, Meng Chuan had no confidence whatsoever.

Therefore, Meng Chuan decided to temporarily cease cultivation and dedicate almost all his mental energy to cultivating his 'path of mind'.