Chapter 608: The Name of the Magic Mountain

A massive ship, eighty thousand li long, floated in the void outside the territory.

This ship was now Fusui's cave abode and base.

"These Fifth Tribulation cultivators are truly cautious," Fusui remarked, standing on the highest deck of the vast ancient ship, looking at the Fifth Tribulation cultivators gathered on the distant deck. "They won't hand over ten thousand cubic meters of exotic primeval crystals each until the first group emerges."

Although these Fifth Tribulation cultivators were eagerly anticipating the relic world, their years of adventuring in the outer void had also made them extremely cautious.

The fifty-three Fifth Tribulation cultivators entered in batches.

The next group would only hand over the ten thousand cubic meters once the previous group had exited. If anything seemed amiss, they would abandon their entry.

"Ten thousand cubic meters of exotic primeval crystals; we must be careful."

"Let's not be deceived by Fusui."

These Fifth Tribulation cultivators came from various river regions, but as fellow members of the Cang Alliance, most were familiar with each other and chatted idly on the deck.

"Hm?"

The Fifth Tribulation cultivators on the deck looked up, and Fusui, at the highest point of the ancient ship, also looked into the distance.

A massive cloud of black mist coalesced, forming a man in deep purple robes. He looked down with chilling eyes.

"Oh?"

A shiver ran through the hearts of the Fifth Tribulation cultivators; each felt an instinctive fear.

"Boom." An array formation appeared on the ancient ship, its layers isolating the oppressive pressure from outside.

"Lord Guimo."

The group of Fifth Tribulation cultivators stirred restlessly, some even proactively bowing and saluting: "Greetings, Lord Guimo."

There were eight 'Sixth Tribulation Grandmasters' in the Cang Alliance, and Lord Guimo was one of them.

Apart from Old Ancestor Fire Dragon and Lord Bingpo, who were relatively approachable, the other six grandmasters generally ignored the Fifth Tribulation cultivators. Lord Guimo, in particular, usually couldn't be bothered with them. And reputation-wise… among the eight Sixth Tribulation Grandmasters, Lord Guimo had the worst reputation due to his ruthless and unscrupulous methods. It was said that the higher one's status, the more one cared about reputation, but Lord Guimo was one of the rare few who disregarded it entirely.

"Lord Guimo."

Fusui also appeared, flying to the edge of the ancient ship's array formation. With the formation's aid, he felt confident enough to confront Lord Guimo.

"Fusui?"

Lord Guimo, in his deep purple robes, looked at Fusui. He could sense that Fusui's life level hadn't increased, indicating his physical body was still at the Fifth Tribulation stage. This left Lord Guimo feeling no sense of threat.

Even if their cultivation realms were equal, Lord Guimo's physical body was far stronger than Fusui's. In a direct confrontation, Fusui would undoubtedly be defeated.

If Fusui were to create a physical cultivation method and raise his physical body to the Sixth Tribulation level, Lord Guimo's attitude might shift.

"Fusui, I ask you," Lord Guimo said coldly, "Are the messages you publicly spread in the Cang Alliance space all true?"

"Naturally, I wouldn't dare deceive the entire Cang Alliance space," Fusui replied with a smile.

He had indeed stated that the first path of enlightenment would cause primordial spirit injuries, with the severity increasing the further one traveled. He hadn't lied, merely omitted to clearly describe the full extent of the danger.

"Sixth Tribulation cultivators cannot enter?" Lord Guimo looked at Fusui.

"When I open the relic world, I can only bring Fifth Tribulation members inside," Fusui replied with a humble smile. "If you don't believe me, Lord Guimo, I can take you in next time for a trial. You will then feel the relic's repulsion."

Lord Guimo's brows furrowed slightly, then he said, "Alright, next time, you will take me in."

Fusui's heart skipped a beat. Was Lord Guimo truly intending to enter?

"Lord Guimo, you don't believe me?" Fusui couldn't help but ask.

"We shall see," Lord Guimo said indifferently.

Fusui felt somewhat aggrieved.

Trying it meant one less Fifth Tribulation cultivator could be brought in next time.

"The next opportunity might be in thirty years," Fusui said with a slight smile. "If you are willing, Lord Guimo, I will take you in then, and you will see that I haven't lied."

"Very well."

Lord Guimo waved his hand, releasing a black palace, and entered it to wait.

Fusui glanced at the distant palace, then turned to the group of Fifth Tribulation cultivators and said indifferently, "You all heard it. Lord Guimo wants to try, so I can only bring seven of you in for the next batch." With that, Fusui flew away.

The Black Mountain relic garnered increasing attention from the outside world, while within the relic world, Meng Chuan continued to advance slowly, step by step.

Three years passed in a flash.

"New cultivators are arriving."

Meng Chuan clearly saw cultivators advancing along the first path in the distance, already reaching a height comparable to his own.

"City Lord Dongning? He's been here for thirty-three years, hasn't he, and he's only climbed this high?" "The third path is indeed difficult."

There were four Cang Alliance cultivators on the first path, quite close to each other, and they also noticed Meng Chuan on the distant third path.

They had been walking for three years, while Meng Chuan had been there for thirty-three years, yet they were all at comparable heights.

"This path of enlightenment is truly remarkable." All four cultivators felt the immense gains from three years of enlightenment. However, one of them, a six-armed, one-eyed Fifth Tribulation Grandmaster, stopped. He awoke with a start, looking towards Meng Chuan's direction with some apprehension: "I've been here for three years. I originally decided to leave immediately once I mastered three Fifth Tribulation rules, but enlightenment is so wonderful that I unknowingly continued for over a year more. Fortunately, seeing Dongning today finally jolted me awake."

Being immersed in a state of enlightenment was indeed too wonderful; no one wanted to stop.

Upon seeing Meng Chuan and recalling Fusui, Meng Hu, and Old Demon Heifeng, the six-armed, one-eyed cultivator finally calmed down completely.

"It's time to go."

"My purpose for coming was merely to master three Fifth Tribulation rules. I should have returned immediately over a year ago."

The six-armed, one-eyed cultivator had originally mastered two Fifth Tribulation rules and intended to leave once he made further progress. This way, any potential harm would be significantly reduced.

However, being immersed in the state of enlightenment, even mentally ecstatic and fervent, greatly diminished his caution.

"This path is somewhat sinister." The six-armed, one-eyed cultivator looked at the path beneath his feet, immediately stopped pondering, and swiftly allowed his physical body and primordial spirit to dissipate.

"He gave up after only three years?" "Fusui walked for fifteen years."

The other cultivators continued walking.

Meng Chuan, on the third path, clearly witnessed all of this, seeing the six-armed, one-eyed cultivator self-destruct his true body and depart.

"His name is Wu Ao, isn't it?" Meng Chuan, who had information on Cang Alliance members, thought, "He gave up after only walking about ten thousand li on the first path of enlightenment?"

Meng Chuan then dismissed the thought and continued to advance slowly.

However, the pressure was indeed growing stronger. The further he walked, the louder and clearer the sounds he heard became, yet his mind and will had not transformed further.

Meng Chuan knew clearly that the previous five breakthroughs occurred in his second, fifth, tenth, eighteenth, and twenty-ninth years. The next transformation might be decades away...

"The next transformation might be decades away, but I'm nearing my limit now."

Every step Meng Chuan took was arduous.

"I can feel that I can only walk for a few more months at most."

Every sound character reverberating in his mind caused his primordial spirit to rumble and tremble. Meng Chuan strove to use this to perfect his mind and will.

Cultivation was just like this.

Even with the correct method, one had to endure the torment of time, slowly accumulating strength. This "tormenting process" was truly difficult, as sometimes the path could be wrong, rendering the endured time wasted.

The previous five transformations had shown Meng Chuan that this path was correct, so he naturally seized the opportunity to persevere.

One step… and then another…

Walking so slowly, Meng Chuan's pace grew increasingly sluggish, and resisting the sound characters became even harder.

"Boom." As Meng Chuan took another step, a voice resonated in his mind: "Walk ten thousand li on the path of the mind, and you can become an ordinary member of my Demonic Mountain."

Simultaneously, a secret technique entered his mind. With this technique, he could freely enter and exit the Demonic Mountain relic.

"There are nine entrances and exits to the Demonic Mountain relic? Each located in a different river region?" Meng Chuan was stunned. A single relic connected to nine river regions indicated that its creator possessed incredible mastery over space and time, far beyond what Ancestor Cang Yuan could achieve. "The creator of the Demonic Mountain appears to be at least an Eighth Tribulation Grandmaster, perhaps even higher?"

Meng Chuan had speculated that reaching the end of the third path might yield great benefits. Now it seemed, walking ten thousand li already granted one benefit: free entry and exit.

"If I walk further on this third path, there might be even more benefits."

"But why did the creator name this mountain range 'Demonic Mountain'?" Meng Chuan was puzzled. 'Divine' was a positive term, while 'demonic' was negative. It was one thing for outsiders to call it Demonic Mountain, but for the creator to name it "Demonic Mountain" himself? This gave Meng Chuan many thoughts.

"Continue forward."

Meng Chuan pondered for a moment, then continued walking. As expected, after another three months or so, he felt his sea of consciousness and primordial spirit rumbling. It became incredibly difficult to remain conscious under the bombardment of the sound characters, let alone advance further.

He retreated three steps in a row, and the pressure rapidly diminished.

"I've reached my limit; I should temporarily give up," Meng Chuan thought, looking at the mountain path extending into the depths of the clouds. "I'll try again when my mind cultivation has significantly improved. Fortunately, I can now enter and exit freely."

Meng Chuan felt very fortunate.

"Before I leave..."

Meng Chuan turned to look at the vast Demonic Mountain range. "I should first explore this mountain range and gain some benefits."

Meng Chuan swiftly flew down the third path. Climbing the mountain was arduous, but descending was quick. It had taken him over thirty-three years to traverse ten thousand li, but descending took only a moment.

(Today's update is late. Tomorrow's update will definitely be before 3 PM!)