Chapter 108: The Path of Cultivation

“Roar! Boom!”

From afar, the fierce roar of the elite magma giant could be heard, along with the thunderous sound of it hurling magma spears, as relentless as a rocket barrage sweeping the battlefield.

The good news was that Bai Han was still alive. Even Wei Cheng admired him now—this was truly a formidable nine-cycle Mountain Mover. With only one person left, he still held out for so long.

“Wei Cheng, do you have a plan?” Chen Ce shouted anxiously.

“No!” Wei Cheng replied, then plunged headlong into the fray. Behind him, Xu Shan and Liu Sui swept to the left and right flanks, awaiting their moment.

Meanwhile, Yu Liang and Mei Renli followed one each, like two caretakers, dedicated to tossing immovable golden bells to Liu Sui and Xu Shan.

This was a strategy Wei Cheng had arranged earlier. With so few people, simplicity was key—no flashy tactics.

“No plan? I—I’m doomed!” Chen Ce was despairing. District 14C was truly the worst server; it seemed this would be his final resting place. Old Bai, you won’t be my brother-in-law after all!

Grandparents, parents, sister, and future brother-in-law—farewell forever.

Before Chen Ce could finish his thoughts, his eyes widened in shock.

That Wei Da Sha—no, Wei Cheng—charged forward with no technical finesse whatsoever. It was impossible to discern how he did it.

A streak of golden light appeared, layers of talismanic seals overlapping, transforming into a series of immovable golden bells that intercepted all fifty-two magma spears without a single one slipping through!

Incredible!

Even Bai Han, a nine-cycle Mountain Mover with a +18 Flame Ring and the strongest in District 13C, wasn’t this fierce!

Wait, did he just release fifteen immovable golden bells at once?

“Ling Yan!” Wei Cheng’s roar snapped Chen Ce out of his shock. The female warrior Ling Yan in Wei Cheng’s team had already launched her attack; Chen Ce felt ashamed.

With a sudden burst of speed, she arced gracefully through the air like a crescent moon blade, striking at the elite flame monster’s left flank.

Her speed even surpassed Xu Shan’s earlier advance, including her combat awareness and grasp of the battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Ce’s blade flashed cold, slashing swiftly at the magma giant’s right eye. Without hesitation, he retreated over a hundred meters.

Xu Shan was a step slower, only managing a strike across the giant’s forehead, but she withdrew quickly.

The elite magma giant roared thunderously but had no time to retaliate against Chen Ce and Xu Shan because Wei Cheng and Bai Han, though without any exchange, coordinated seamlessly the moment they entered the battle.

At the instant Wei Cheng blocked the wave of fifty-two magma spears, Bai Han didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward, enveloped in a thick flame shield inscribed with fiery runes—the power of his +18 Flame Ring.

The next moment, amid the giant’s roar, a torrent of magma was drawn up from the river below the cliff, rapidly forming and launched—fifty-two magma spears slammed into Bai Han.

His flame shield shattered but he quickly formed nine immovable golden bells that perfectly blocked the attack.

Though his Flame Ring’s enhancement dropped to +15, it was worth it.

Because almost simultaneously, while Bai Han absorbed the giant’s devastating strike, Wei Cheng charged like a raging bull, signaling Liu Sui in the distance as he closed in on the magma giant.

Next moment—Uncontested Path unleashed!

Majestic mountains, roaring rivers—within several hundred meters, all were engulfed in this illusion.

But for the magma giant, this was no mere illusion.

Within tens of meters, the sound of surging river waters, howling mountain winds, and the force of rushing currents forcibly dragged it into the mountain-moving visualization’s illusion.

Even a single second of this was enough to unbalance it, preventing it from drawing magma from the river behind or condensing magma spears.

It was disarmed for a full second!

At that moment, Liu Sui transformed into a purple whirlwind and struck perfectly.

Compared to Chen Ce and Xu Shan, who could only slash briefly before retreating, Liu Sui, a seven-cycle Purple Mist warrior, was terrifying when given an opening.

In that instant, a dragon’s roar echoed through the air as purple mist illusions filled the sky. Countless palm shadows converged, descending like a dragon’s claw!

A heavy blow struck the magma giant’s chest!

This time, without generating a flame armor, the magma giant’s chest, over ten meters thick, was pierced through!

But the rupture caused countless golden flames—like blood—to burst forth, igniting explosively over a two-hundred-meter radius.

Liu Sui still had no chance to escape.

Too fast—after all, he was not Ling Yan, who could instantly generate talismanic clouds midair to rebound.

Yet this time, Wei Cheng swiftly placed an immovable golden bell on Liu Sui while he himself, engulfed in roaring flames, leapt up and drove his iron staff into the magma giant’s eye again.

He had long noticed the golden flames resembling blood, a substance that could melt black iron stone and steadily improve its quality, so he wouldn’t miss this chance.

The elite magma giant howled in agony, attempting to flee, but its injuries were too severe. It collapsed with a thunderous crash, cooling rapidly into a grim stone giant.

Wei Cheng calmly withdrew the iron staff. As expected, the already shortened staff was now only one meter long, its surface blackened but imbued with a profound luster—as if it had grown wild and untamed.

It was striking indeed.

But at this moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to the slowly descending Transmission Stone Tablet, now enveloped in flames twice as intense as before.

The elite magma giant was truly impressive.

Wei Cheng didn’t hesitate or ask Bai Han or Chen Ce, and stepped forward to touch the Transmission Stone Tablet.

Instantly, divine light descended, of extremely high quality, laced with thick golden flames.

In just one second, all his internal energy was restored, and the Flame Ring’s enhancement reached +10, gaining four levels.

But this was just the beginning.

More divine light enveloped his body, no longer hastening breakthroughs but nurturing quietly, like spring rain nourishing the earth.

Undoubtedly, at this stage, Wei Cheng’s cultivation aptitude had risen to a high level. Even the divine light gave the sensation of a reservoir on the verge of filling.

Wei Cheng knew he had reached the moment to open the ninth innate meridian. Becoming a nine-cycle Mountain Mover was now within easy reach.

Then, he would open it!

With a single thought, divine light persisted, and Wei Cheng’s spiritual power surged forth, making time seem to slow by ten thousandfold.

Not really—his spiritual power was simply so strong he could instantly calculate and grasp every known detail.

Thus, time seemed to slow.

In this state, he could effortlessly locate the ninth innate meridian and mobilize all his Mountain Mover internal energy in the simplest, most direct, and fastest way to open it in one go!

Vast Mountain Mover energy was consumed within a second, but the next second the divine light restored it completely.

Consumed again the next moment, and replenished once more the moment after.

In this way, within five cycles, excluding the initial two seconds, the remaining ten seconds of divine light allowed Wei Cheng to successfully open the ninth innate meridian, becoming a nine-cycle Mountain Mover.

He also refined the deeper details of the Mountain Mover visualization to 96%.

He felt he could perfect it to 100% before advancing to nine cycles, but the situation inside the poison zone made him uneasy.

Though the divine light faded, Wei Cheng remained standing, detached from the world.

In truth, he was amidst mountains—not physically, but his spiritual power and consciousness had transformed into a mountain range.

“Rumble!” Thunder rolled in, the nine innate meridians twisted and sprawling like the roots of a great tree, stretching countless miles.

Wei Cheng sensed he was forming and condensing some wondrous mystical state.

Those nine innate meridians were his foundation, his path to ascend heavenward.

The thunder grew fiercer with each blast, one overwhelming the last.

It was like traversing a tribulation.

Wei Cheng struggled, his spiritual power an invisible hand, attempting to climb toward the pinnacle of mystery.

That pinnacle was a gateway, a ladder to the heavens, and the threshold of immortality.

Yet he was still just shy of reaching it.

Amid the lightning and thunder, the Transmission Stone Tablet recording the Mountain Mover Heart Method silently emerged, merging into Wei Cheng’s mind. A torrent of never-before-received information flooded his heart.

He understood now.

“The Mountain Mover Heart Method is indeed a martial artist’s cultivation technique, but it’s also the stepping stone to the path of immortality.”

“The Mountain Mover internal energy, the nine innate meridians it opens, and the mountain visualization combined should be called an Earth Spiritual Root.”

“Only those with a spiritual root qualify to practice immortality.”

“Those without a spiritual root remain mere mortals.”

“No wonder the trial immortals don’t directly teach immortal arts on Earth—it’s impossible. They must use such real trials to quickly transform mortals into martial artists, then into innate martial artists, and then grant them the most basic spiritual root of immortality. Only then does the true beginning start.”

Wei Cheng pondered further, comparing the myriad details inscribed on the Transmission Stone Tablet.

“The Mountain Mover Heart Method originally has only three tiers—I knew it was hard to acquire.”

“And according to the description of spiritual roots, there are also three levels of quality.”

“My current refinement of the Mountain Mover visualization’s deeper details is actually on the path to the first tier. Only when the refinement reaches 100% can one be considered to have a first-tier spiritual root.”

“Of course, possessing a first-tier spiritual root grants one the qualification to practice immortality, though certainly as a mediocre cultivator.”

“A second-tier spiritual root qualifies as a genius in the immortal realm, but still far from the third tier.”

“However, the third-tier spiritual root is nearly impossible to attain. Thus, dual cultivation is not recommended unless one is born with dual, triple, or even quintuple spiritual roots. Trying to achieve dual roots through postnatal effort is practically defying heaven.”

Only now did Wei Cheng grasp why the trial immortals set three different professions.

Even for the Greenwood profession, exclusive specialization was advised. Otherwise, cultivation would be painfully slow, mainly to ensure the primary profession remained unaffected.

(End of chapter)