Chapter 680: Soul and Will, Gods Enter Mount Shu (Two in One)

Mount Shu.

Following winding white stone steps, one ascended towards Mount Shu. In the distance, magnificent palaces stood majestically on countless peaks and hillsides, shrouded in misty vapor, appearing like an ethereal fairyland.

At the main hall, Caroline met Liu Wenjian.

This legendary figure, driven by an almost fanatical dedication, was the first true mortal Heavenly Emperor in history. During the Jianghu era, as an ordinary mortal, he forged swords from his severed arm and managed to assassinate numerous terrifying Grandmasters and formidable experts of the fifth and sixth ranks.

This ancient being, who ushered in the era of mortal cultivation, was nothing short of a legend.

“You wish to see Mount Shu?” Liu Wenjian asked, a little surprised.

However, accompanied by Mother Earth, the Lady of the Green Vine, he was clearly giving the visitor from another world a tour, fulfilling his duties as a host.

Afterward, the group proceeded to the back of the mountain. At the peak was the Sword Mound, halfway down was the Sword Washing Pool, and further down, on the other side of the mountain, was the Sword Forging Furnace.

It was a place of extreme cruelty, yet profoundly moving.

Structured like a sword-forging manor from the martial arts world, it was filled with iron tools and sword blanks, with various ores scattered everywhere. It could be considered the armory of the Six Realms, providing standard weaponry for the armies of the Celestial Gods. Disciples wishing to enter Mount Shu first had to learn sword forging; the entire place was populated by blacksmiths honing their craft.

Clang, clang, clang!

Countless individuals, bare-chested, wielded iron tools amidst the scorching, fiery furnaces.

Mastering the forging technique typically involved seven to eight years of arduous training. Upon becoming a renowned blacksmith, the ultimate step was to forge a sword using one's own arm.

“To learn swordsmanship on Mount Shu, one must first learn sword forging, a craft that takes seven or eight years to master. Life, by its very nature, is unfair,” Liu Wenjian lamented.

Liu Wenjian sighed, “Some people are born with powerful innate aptitudes, destined for a smooth cultivation path. But for the majority, perhaps eighty percent, born without so-called cultivation potential, achieving the extraordinary requires enduring thousands of times more hardship just to stand on equal footing with others.”

Caroline could not deny this.

The vast extraordinary world was largely composed of mortals.

Even in the ancient volcanic domain of the Three Pillar Gods, most inhabitants were mortals who lacked even the most basic aptitude for Arcane Swordsmanship; otherwise, there would be no social hierarchy.

“Isn’t there already a Body Cultivation lineage?” Caroline asked.

“Body cultivation, while not requiring bloodline aptitude, demands an immense amount of resources, making it the most resource-intensive of all systems. It’s beyond the means of ordinary people; even cultivation families might struggle to support one or two practitioners.”

Liu Wenjian smiled. “Therefore, most mortals who wish to cultivate must endure extreme hardship, climbing the towering and rugged Mount Shu to seek immortality and the Dao.”

“Of course, on Mount Shu, many disciples, once they become Sword Immortals, can earn their own cultivation resources and then pursue Body Cultivation,” Liu Wenjian said, looking at the glowing red furnace. “After all, Mount Shu disciples possess combat power but have mortal lifespans. Supplementing with Body Cultivation allows us to truly embark on the path of cultivators.”

Caroline nodded, carefully contemplating the implications.

Many details and pieces of knowledge could not be fully grasped from the stories alone.

“But for mortals without aptitude to stand alongside gifted cultivators, it is an exceedingly painful endeavor. One must plunge a hand alive into a blazing furnace, endure excruciating pain, and with the other hand, wield a hammer to forge and refine the meridians and flesh of that mortal arm, granting it ‘aptitude,’ and then sever it.”

Liu Wenjian’s voice was calm, but everyone knew this method was arguably the most cruel torture in the world.

Perhaps even unparalleled.

To plunge one’s living hand into a furnace?

What kind of experience was it to wield a hammer then?

What terrifying resolve did that require?

Stories were, after all, just stories. Only when Caroline witnessed this scene firsthand did she truly understand the formidable nature of these mortals.

“That’s why our Mount Shu lineage remains sparsely populated. Every Mount Shu disciple possesses unimaginable fortitude. If one were to delve deeper, before they ascended the mountain, they all had extremely tragic, pitiable stories.”

Liu Wenjian smiled placidly, “As the mortal saying goes, ‘The road to Shu is harder than ascending to the heavens.’”

Those who could ascend Mount Shu were, by nature, extraordinary individuals who had long transcended the fear of life and death.

“However, it is precisely because they have endured suffering that they are transformed, learning to cherish. Every Mount Shu disciple, if they do not fall midway, can at least reach the Seventh-Tier Heavenly Emperor realm.”

…Heavenly! Emperor!?

Caroline’s expression shifted slightly.

No wonder the Mount Shu lineage produced rapid results.

During the war with the Demonic Realm years ago, a large number of formidable combatants emerged.

This was because their state of mind had reached a certain level, allowing them to disregard the slow progress of traditional cultivation. They simply needed to accumulate various resources and treasures on their swords.

After all, they could swiftly elevate the realm of their swords through forging techniques.

These words had thoroughly elucidated the entire arduous process of mortal cultivation, perhaps worthy of being written into a blood-soaked epic: ‘A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality.’

Or perhaps, ‘The Legend of the Mount Shu Heroes.’

Not far away, a middle-aged man began the final sword-forging ritual.

Clang, clang, clang!

He plunged his living hand into the furnace, forging his very being. His face was wild and obsessive, like a madman, as he frantically swung a large hammer.

Beyond Caroline’s imagination, the man’s face was calm and composed, as if he saw through everything with clarity. There was no pain, only unwavering resolve.

Clang, clang, clang!

He swung the hammer steadily.

The slightest tremor would lead to the failure of the sword forging.

It was as if he had waited for this moment of pain for an eternity, anticipating this extreme suffering as the moment of complete rebirth from the flames.

He was waiting for his great sickness to be cured.

He was waiting for his ‘Sickness-Cured Sword’.

“Bearing a thousand sins, forging an undying heart.”

Caroline’s expression was far from calm, even a little alarmed. “It’s hard to imagine what he endured to transition from such a state of frenzied madness to this calm, wielding the hammer with all his might, as if pouring all his pain and obsession, like a great flood, into the forging of the sword.”

She thought of Liu Wenjian.

Perhaps this middle-aged man had faced similar circumstances.

Wailing before corpses and blood, hating his weakness, his helplessness, his family’s ruin.

Weakness was a sickness.

He was waiting for his great sickness to be cured.

Mount Shu embodied a mortal’s defiance: defying the heavens, defying oneself.

“Mount Shu gathers the most suffering, sorrowful, and resolute individuals from among the trillions of beings across the Six Realms. Their souls are poured into it; they infuse their spirits, their flesh and blood, their very willpower, like a mighty flood, into the sword. The arm itself becomes a fusion of soul and flesh.”

Caroline’s eyes gleamed brightly; she seemed to understand something.

No wonder the severed arms of Mount Shu disciples could not be regenerated by any Daoist method or technique.

Because they had merged the soul of their arm into the sword, severing the first part of their own soul, creating a unique fusion of flesh and soul on the arm.

This was the essence of a Mount Shu disciple.

Even with powerful cultivation, even ascending to the realm of an Eighth-Tier Deity like Liu Wenjian, becoming a great being capable of high-level flesh and blood regeneration, they would forever retain the truth of their severed, incomplete arm.

Physically incomplete, never whole.

Because a part of their soul had been completely severed and integrated into the flesh and blood of their arm, transforming into a sword.

Mengmei shuddered upon hearing Caroline’s explanation. “The eternal mystery of Mount Shu’s severed arms—even the Mount Shu Sect Master had to simply accept this permanent state. This mystery actually…”

It perfectly aligned with the present!

It was perfectly unveiled!

It turned out to be a somewhat weakened version of soul-flesh fusion.

Before, with insufficient knowledge, they couldn’t comprehend this peculiar phenomenon, but now they understood.

It was as if everything in the world, everything deduced in the pursuit of the Ninth Tier, pointed to the same ultimate destination.

“Knowledge is the ultimate power.”

Mengmei suddenly recalled a saying by Hermes describing truth:

When that time comes, all obscurity and uncertainty shall vanish from your side!

At that moment, she trembled with excitement, almost speechless, completely convinced by the legendary Hermes. All knowledge, it turned out, had already been right there.

She then suddenly remembered another saying:

The world is not lacking in beauty; it only lacks the eyes to discover it.

“This is everything Hermes wanted to tell us. The answer to the mystery, the solution, was already on Mount Shu.”

Caroline was equally astonished. Having arrived in this world, she now understood the feelings of Mengmei and others, the terrifying and mysterious nature of Hermes to this world, and his formidable role in advancing civilization.

Yet, she was no ordinary person. After a moment of thoughtful contemplation, she continued to ponder:

“The Ninth-Tier path of soul-flesh fusion might draw inspiration from the Mount Shu sect. Firstly, one must temper the heart in the mortal world, experiencing internal suffering akin to theirs, possessing astounding will and resolve. Then, create a furnace of heaven and earth, place oneself within it, and use a terrifying high-pressure forging environment to accelerate the fusion and cultivation of soul and flesh, speeding up the process of refining a hundred trillion cells, the fusion speed of every single cell!”

Just like the Mount Shu disciples.

Using the furnace to accelerate their own fusion, forcefully integrating all their soul, will, and emotions into their bodies.

“To become a god, one must first become mortal.” As Caroline uttered these words, it was as if thunder exploded in her mind, and a clear path unfolded before her. “I will follow the Mount Shu lineage first.”

Thus, Caroline gazed at the sword-forging furnace, then turned to look at the entirety of Mount Shu outside, asking earnestly, “I am here for a journey. May I also become a disciple of Mount Shu and begin learning as one of your students?”

Become a disciple of Mount Shu?

Liu Wenjian was momentarily stunned.

The Mount Shu lineage was a path of extreme dedication, pioneered by mortals. Cultivators with aptitude never came here to train. Who, with nothing better to do, would willingly sever an arm?

Furthermore, even reaching godhood would not allow for its restoration.

If there were other options, no one would choose such a painful and incomplete path.

This was not a system generally considered worth learning. Even other cultivators would not concurrently cultivate the Sword Immortal lineage, unlike how they might practice Body Cultivation.

“I do not wish to cultivate Mount Shu’s sword arts, but rather to learn its sword intent, spirit, and resolve, to enter the Dao of cultivation here,” Caroline said with a serious expression. “This place is a crucible for the Ninth-Tier path. I believe I will gain some understanding here.”

Liu Wenjian was speechless, but could only nod.

Caroline then sealed her cultivation and began learning like an ordinary person, re-experiencing all the hardships of the cultivation path.

Soon after, within a short period, news from this area spread through Mother Earth, the Lady of the Green Vine.

The entire Six Realms were shaken by this, finding the terrifying truth almost inconceivable.

“Another ancient mystery unveiled?”

“In ancient times, Baixiaosheng already revealed two concepts of the Ninth Tier to the world? Using Hu Renlong and Liu Wenjian, whom he taught back then?”

“This?…How astonishing! A previous historical dialogue revealed the mindset required for the Ninth Tier, and now it reveals two concepts of the Ninth Tier?”

“The Mount Shu lineage, with its soul-flesh fusion, could perhaps be the inspiration point for the Ninth-Tier path!?”

“No, no, Mount Shu’s path is correct in its general direction, but wildly off in its specific approach. They integrate the arm as a whole into soul and flesh, treating it like a large iron plate, rather than as billions of cellular arms, precisely severing and integrating the soul into each part separately.”

“Yes, it’s not precise enough.”

“But it’s also inevitable. As an initial cultivation at such a low realm, how could one achieve such precision? It’s natural to treat the arm as a whole and integrate the soul of the entire arm.”

“However, the cultivation path beyond Mount Shu has also emerged.”

“Indeed, Liu Wenjian will also re-cultivate the Mount Shu Sword Canon, breaking through as a Sword Immortal of godhood, and then re-refine his own sword, transforming it back into a sword composed of tens of trillions of cells.”

“Treating the sword as a world, the Mount Shu Sword Immortal lineage directly points to the Grand Dao’s Ninth Tier! It can be cultivated up to the Ninth Tier!”

“However, Liu Wenjian is already a Mid-Tier Deity, and their lineage’s cultivation path secretly aligns with the Ninth Tier. It is feared that once they break through to High-Tier Deity in the future, their fusion progress on the Ninth-Tier path will be countless times faster than ours.”

In an instant, all the Deities across the Six Realms were moved.

A powerful surge swelled within them. At that moment, they were almost speechless with inner shock, deeply sensing that ethereal presence—a terrifyingly ancient and supreme being who had left everything for them before his demise. It was as if everything had already been conceived, already laid out before their eyes, secretly guiding the mortals on the ground.

“Hermes…”

Countless powerful beings abruptly turned their heads, gazing towards a certain direction in the ethereal unknown.

They had originally been in secluded cultivation, but now, they felt that their places of seclusion should be changed.

Within just a few days.

At the foot of Mount Shu, more than a dozen ordinary people, their divine powers sealed, slowly began to climb the mountain, seeking immortality and the Dao.

To become a god, one must first become mortal.

The gods entered Mount Shu.

The bitter winter was harsh.

In the orchard of Dongxiang Village, Xu Zhi glanced into the cellar.

He looked at the ancient world, where it was perpetually spring, at everything happening on Mount Shu, then shifted his gaze back.

He continued to arrange and structure everything in his study.

In his view, this would be the birthplace of his new world, the Crystal Wall System World.

Although the soul world did not demand much in terms of spatial size, Xu Zhi still wanted to improve the environment, as it resembled a computer server room.

“It seems I need to begin conceiving and planning the development of the new world,” Xu Zhi murmured.

After all, a world from nothing to something, even as its initial germ, still required much refinement and many stages.