txolops Chapter 96 The Secret of the Hidden Mountain
Chapter 96 The Secret of the Hidden Mountain
Chapter 96 The Secret of the Secluded Mountain (4000 words)
You keep a close eye on Da Chun.
Since learning of Da Chun's disappearance in Youshan, you have come to Youshan to search for Da Chun at least thirty to fifty times in the past hundred years.
The exploration of the secluded mountain has been carried out countless times.
[Especially after you cultivate to the peak of Foundation Establishment and your array formation skills reach the second tier]
Still unable to see through even a fraction of the secluded mountain.
More than thirty years ago, you even invited a third-tier array master.
After circling around the secluded mountain several times, the third-tier array master shook his head, saying that there should be a great array of heaven and earth here, which he could not break.
After that, you basically gave up.
[You were originally planning to give up completely and follow Da Chun in the next simulation to investigate properly.]
I just didn't expect to see Da Chun again in this simulation.
[And this is how I met Da Chun]
Although Master Tonghai was only a pseudo-Dan Master, he was still a Master.
[So he couldn't even withstand one punch from Da Chun and died?]
[Although, in part, Master Tonghai didn't react in time.]
[But this also demonstrates that Da Chun's offensive power is absolutely at the Core Formation level.]
"Core Formation?"
A pang of sadness welled up inside you.
In this simulation, you meticulously planned and schemed, narrowly escaping numerous deadly attacks.
[The result is that the foundation building stage has now been completed.]
[Da Chun hid in the secluded mountains, and when he came out, he had already formed his core?]
"Oh, the secluded mountains..."
Da Chun thought for a moment, then said in a simple and honest manner, "It's a trial ground. I can't explain it clearly, but I can take you in, young master."
"Can you take me in?"
A surge of joy filled your heart.
"Yes, once you enter the Dark Mountain, you can use this secret technique to be teleported to that other world within the Dark Mountain..."
As Da Chun spoke, he explained this secret technique to you.
The secret technique is not complicated, nor does it have any other use. It simply changes one's aura during its execution, as if merging into the secluded mountains.
"No matter when, activating this secret technique allows one to enter the world within the secluded mountain?"
[You asked]
"Yes, that's what the guardian spirit said."
Da Chun nodded.
"A guardian deity?"
You are slightly curious.
"I don't know either. He said he's a guardian deity."
[Da Chun scratched his head and said, "For thousands of years, the world within You Mountain has been protected by him..."]
"For millions of years?"
You were secretly alarmed.
Even a Nascent Soul Celestial Lord only has a lifespan of a thousand years.
Millions of years?
You realize that the origins of the inner world of Youshan are far more complex than you expected.
[At least far surpassing the previous Mountain and Sea Secret Realm]
[Measured over tens of millions of years, this is at least at the Nascent Soul level, and might even be related to the legendary Divine Transformation Heavenly Lord.]
"Is that guardian spirit a puppet? Or a living being?"
You tend to believe the former.
[Puppets are not living beings, so theoretically they have no lifespan limit. As long as the material of their carrier does not decay, they can exist indefinitely.]
[You have also reached the second level in the art of puppetry, and you know that puppets do not possess concrete intelligence and can only carry out the commands left by their former masters.]
If that guardian deity has truly protected the inner world of You Mountain for millions of years, it is most likely a puppet.
[To protect for millions of years? Even a Nascent Soul Celestial Lord would have died of old age.]
"Young master, I'll take you inside," Da Chun said.
"Wait a minute..."
After confirming that you could also enter the world within the secluded mountain, you stopped being in a hurry.
"Is Master Tonghai dead?"
Look up in the direction where Master Tonghai just fell.
Although Tokai Masato's life force dissipated during the fall.
But the other party is, after all, a real person; who knows if they have any means of self-defense?
You're naturally unwilling to let them go so easily after they've been chasing you for so long.
[And if Master Tonghai really is dead, you wouldn't want to miss the body search segment either.]
"I'll go take a look." Da Chun took a step forward and disappeared from the spot.
"Ancient physical cultivation techniques... Shrinking the earth to an inch..."
[Experiencing it up close, you might also guess what this ancient body cultivation method is all about]
[In this simulation, you have invested no less than several million spirit stones in purchasing various skill inheritances, secret techniques, and other hidden matters.]
In terms of erudition, even a Core Formation cultivator might not be able to match you.
The so-called ancient body cultivation refers to pure body cultivation.
What is pure body cultivation? It means focusing solely on body training and excluding other aspects of cultivation.
[You also practice body refinement, and the technique you cultivate is the "Mountain and Sea Body Refinement Technique," which leans towards ancient body refinement methods.]
However, you are not a pure body cultivator, nor are you an ancient body cultivator.
Because you also took on the task of Dharma practice.
[Your primary cultivation should even be Dharma cultivation, while physical cultivation is just something you do incidentally.]
Furthermore, when undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation of Body Refinement, he resisted it with the power of Dharma cultivation, and never directly used the Heavenly Tribulation to stimulate his body and unleash its potential.
The ancient physical cultivation techniques were methods obtained by stimulating the potential of the physical body.
[Da Chun must have undergone several heavenly tribulations, constantly tempering his physical body with the power of these tribulations, thereby stimulating his physical potential and awakening the ability to shrink the distance between people.]
A moment later, Da Chun reappeared, carrying the corpse of Master Tonghai.
[It is obvious that Master Tonghai is completely dead; not even his remnant soul escaped, having been obliterated by the punch delivered by Da Chun.]
You look at the corpse of Master Tonghai, tattered and broken, his protective magical artifacts and the small gray dagger magic weapon scattered and broken.
"Da Chun, what is your current strength?"
You couldn't help but ask.
"The guardian deity said that I am now at the initial stage of the third tier..."
]
"It should be no weaker than those ordinary cultivators in the mid-stage of Core Formation outside."
]
[Da Chun said in a simple and honest manner]
You fell silent.
[Having just entered the early stage of the third rank, is he already no weaker than a cultivator in the mid-stage of Core Formation?]
[Is this what ancient body cultivation is like?]
[Comparable to an early-stage True Immortal who has formed a flawless Golden Core?]
The golden elixir formed by a True Person at the Core Formation stage is divided into four categories: Lower Grade Golden Elixir, Middle Grade Golden Elixir, Upper Grade Golden Elixir, and Flawless Golden Elixir.
Among them, the Flawless Golden Core is also known as the Nascent Soul Seed. The early stage of the Flawless Golden Core is comparable to that of an ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
Those who can form a flawless golden core are all chosen ones of heaven, mainly cultivators with celestial spiritual roots, and many of them not only have celestial spiritual roots but also possess some kind of Dao body or treasure body, or other talents.
Not all cultivators with celestial spiritual roots can form a flawless golden core.
As for the secret method of alchemy, it has many limitations and the conditions for its use are very strict.
"Da Chun, what kind of body-refining technique do you practice? Can I practice it?"
You couldn't help but ask.
The aura that Da Chun is currently displaying is not that of the "Mountain and Sea Body Refining Technique," indicating that he has switched to cultivating other body refining techniques.
[If one cultivates a body-refining technique, one can smoothly advance to the early stage of the third rank like Da Chun, comparable to a flawless Golden Core cultivator.]
So you can also be a body cultivator, or you can focus solely on body refinement.
"Young Master, the body-refining technique I cultivate is called 'Ancient Saint Body Refining.' The guardian deity says that only those who possess a trace of ancient saint bloodline can cultivate it..."
Da Chun scratched his head.
"Ancient Saint Body Refinement? Ancient Saint Bloodline?"
This touches on a blind spot in your knowledge.
However, you've thought of some of Da Chun's extraordinary talents.
For example, Da Chun can locate a target based on its scent, something a normal person obviously cannot do.
"Never mind..."
A
[Without further thought, after looting Tonghai Zhenren's corpse, you put the obtained treasures and other items into your storage bag.]
Then you began using divination to predict your future fortune.
The fortune or misfortune here refers to those forces that borrowed spirit stones; let's see if they will continue their pursuit.
The divination result is neutral and balanced, without a trace of misfortune.
"It seems they've given up the chase."
You weren't surprised.
The death of Master Tonghai must have been known to the forces behind him by now.
The sudden death of a fake Core Formation cultivator would elicit a reaction of utter terror from the forces behind him, rather than any thought of revenge.
After all, the forces you initially chose to lend spirit stones to were all weaklings, without any Golden Core cultivators backing them up.
[A fake Core Formation cultivator is probably at the limit.]
[With their strongest member dying inexplicably, they wouldn't even dare to inquire about the details, let alone seek revenge.]
You cast a divination again for your upcoming entry into the inner world of the secluded mountain.
No divination result was obtained.
Clearly, the realm within the secluded mountains is at a level far exceeding the limits of your divination abilities.
[Actually, let alone You Shan, even Da Chun, a pure third-tier body cultivator, is not someone you can cast a divination for.]
The reason you calculated that your chance of survival lay here is because you invested ten years of your lifespan in a deep-level divination.
Even so, the resulting divination was still extremely vague, unable to extract any specific information.
"These ten years of lifespan were well worth it..."
You thought to yourself.
If you escape in another direction, even if Da Chun comes out, it will take time to find you.
[In the chase scenario just now, you were prepared to continue investing all your lifespan into the next hexagram before ending this simulation.]
Even if Da Chun finds you, you'll just be a corpse, let alone knowing the secrets of You Mountain in advance.
"Let's go, let's go!"
After everything was ready, you followed Da Chun and entered the secluded mountain.
The deep mist shrouded the secluded mountain, unchanged from before.
"Young master, activate that secret technique."
[Da Chun stood to the side and said]
【"good."】
You nod.
In the past, when faced with a place whose background and characteristics were unknown, you would definitely have sent other subordinates to go in first and test the waters.
But now that Da Chun is leading the way, you are quite at ease.
[Buzz—]
[You used that secret technique of the Great Spring Cult]
In a trance, you seem to merge into the secluded mountains.
In the next instant, you felt the world change, and you found yourself in a vast space, with ancient buildings faintly visible in the distance.
"Young Master."
[Immediately afterwards, Da Chun also appeared beside him.]
"Is this the world within the secluded mountains?"
You carefully surveyed your surroundings, a sense of unease creeping into your heart.
Here, your divine sense is subtly suppressed, only able to cover a radius of several tens of meters around you.
"Young master, please come with me."
Da Chun immediately walked towards the center of the space.
There was a white jade platform there. You and Da Chun walked up the steps along the edge of the white jade platform.
"Guardian Deity."
Da Chun stopped in front of a figure clad in black armor.
This armored figure has sculpted features, as if carved from stone.
[Only when Da Chun spoke did he slowly open his eyes.]
"Trial participant, your next stage of the trial has not yet begun. Would you like to start the next stage of the trial ahead of schedule?"
The armored figure spoke in a cold, emotionless tone.
"It really is a puppet."
Standing behind Da Chun, you carefully observe the armored figure and draw a conclusion.
"Huh? No!"
Da Chun immediately shook his head and said, "I brought my young master here to participate in the trial."
"Your young master?" The armored figure turned to you, shook his head, and said, "Any living being that enters this place is qualified to participate in the trial."
"But the prerequisite is passing the qualification test."
"After passing the aptitude test, rewards will be given based on the level of aptitude, and then the trials will begin..."
The armored figure looked at you and slowly spoke, "Can you accept this?"
"A qualification test?"
You sensed something was wrong.
Judging from the current situation, your aptitude is not ideal; you only have a mid-grade spiritual root, and we haven't found any indication that you possess a special physique.
Taoist body]
"What kind of reward will I receive after passing the qualification test?"
You asked.
"Based on qualifications..."
The armored figure raised a hand, and a surge of spiritual light appeared, conjuring up scene after scene.
The scene depicts a variety of precious treasures and rare resources.
"That is...."
"
]
Your pupils contracted sharply. Most of the treasures and rare items in the scene were unfamiliar to you, but a pure golden elixir flashed by in an instant.
"Forming a Golden Core?"
A great deal of turmoil stirred within you.
The Golden Core is an ancient elixir used to assist Foundation Establishment cultivators in their attempt to form their Golden Core.
[Similar to the current Crystallization Pill]
However, the effects of the Golden Core Pill far surpass those of the Crystallization Pill.
The so-called Crystal Condensation Pill is merely a low-end version created in later generations based on the Golden Elixir.
The true Golden Elixir existed long ago, with the end of the ancient era. Certain key ingredients have become completely extinct and can never be reproduced again.
"If I could obtain a Golden Core, and with the help of other Golden Core-forming spiritual objects, as well as to make up for my own shortcomings, I dare not say I could achieve a flawless Golden Core in the next simulation, but at least I could try to reach a superior Golden Core..."
Your heart skipped a beat
[A superior Golden Core, while not comparable to a flawless Golden Core, still surpasses most Golden Core cultivators.]
Not to mention you also possess the secret technique for refining elixirs, which offers hope of further improving the quality of your golden elixir.
"It's just a qualification test..."
]
You fell silent again.
[Your idea is quite good, but the key question is, with your own qualifications, can you pass the test and obtain the Golden Core?]
"Shall we begin now?" the armored guardian asked.
"Let's begin." You no longer hesitated. What if you had some hidden talent that hadn't been discovered yet?
[Buzz—]
The eyes of the armored guardian god faintly glowed red.
You vaguely sense a surge of energy, and after a moment, the armored guardian speaks again.
[“The Dharma Cultivation Qualification Test is over—”]
[Race: Human.]
Age: 208 years old.
[Cultivation Level: Second Stage Perfection.]
[Status: Potential exhausted.]
[Comment: Mediocre talent.]
[Test result: Failed.]
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