Chapter 57: Tempered by the Blazing Flames

Dark clouds hung heavily overhead, jagged stones littered the ground beneath his feet. Looking out across the land, for hundreds of miles in every direction, the terrain was so wildly transformed that words failed to describe it. Part of this chaos stemmed from that mysterious roar which had shattered the cliffs; another reason was that every mountain around had been hollowed out. Webs of mining tunnels crisscrossed the region, intensifying the severity of the collapses.

Wei Cheng wandered alone amid this maze of broken rocks, a hoe in one hand, a miner’s basket strapped to his back. It was a relic from the previous stage; most people had discarded theirs, but he treasured it, carrying it everywhere without complaint.

Finding ore was no easy task. From the journey out of Floating Cloud City, he hadn’t heard of anyone who stumbled upon mineral stones. Yet Wei Cheng had an advantage: his mental strength was unusually high. With careful sensing, he could detect the unique energy fluctuations hidden within different ores. For example, with his current power, he could sense the presence of Flame Stone from a hundred meters away. After all, these minerals were compressed forms of energy.

Thus, Wei Cheng advanced slowly, stopping and starting without impatience. He didn’t always extend his senses; instead, he carefully observed the shape of the stone piles, the texture of the rocks, and the marks left by previous excavations. With these visible details, he reconstructed the original landscape, deducing whether there had been mines here. Only then would he focus his mental energy to probe the stone piles for hidden ore.

Even with this meticulous approach, he still occasionally came up empty-handed, but in truth, his chances of finding ore were now many times greater.

About half an hour later, Wei Cheng finally made a discovery: beneath a rubble pile, more than a hundred meters down, he detected a trace of Flame Stone’s energy. He immediately began clearing the rocks, moving small pieces, chiseling away at larger ones. In little more than ten minutes, he uncovered a fist-sized Flame Stone.

Wei Cheng smiled in satisfaction, about to place it in his miner’s basket, when something caught his attention. Through his mental sense, he noticed that energy from the Flame Stone was slowly, almost imperceptibly, flowing into the Flame Ring he wore. This process only occurred when the two were in contact, and was exceedingly slow—if his mental strength were any weaker, he’d never have noticed.

“So, this is how enhancement works?” Wei Cheng was delighted; this was far more valuable than selling the stone in Cangwu City. The process was slow, though—at this rate, it would take at least a month.

He thought for a moment, then gently rubbed the Flame Stone with his hand. Instantly, a faint red glow shimmered across its surface, as if fire were about to ignite. At that moment, his mental sense registered that the Flame Ring’s absorption of energy had sped up tenfold.

Well now, he thought, so that’s how it works.

Wei Cheng rubbed the stone with a bit more force. A layer of purple flame burst forth, raising the temperature dramatically. His Golden Bell Shield activated in response, protecting him; otherwise, his hand might have ended up roasted.

As expected, the Flame Ring’s absorption rate now increased a hundredfold. He continued to rub the stone, pushing it to the limit of what the Golden Bell Shield could withstand. All the while, he kept a close eye on the Flame Ring, fearing an explosion or failed enhancement.

Luckily, nothing went awry. In just a few minutes, the Flame Stone crumbled to ashes, scattering on the wind. The Flame Ring’s quality had risen to Fire Resistance +7.

This meant that, when facing powerful fireballs again, Wei Cheng would have greater defensive capacity. Fire Resistance +7 was almost like gaining an extra Golden Bell.

Having tasted success, Wei Cheng refrained from continuing; the Shadow Curse was coming.

At that moment, a massive, unknown roar—or perhaps a thunderous rumble—echoed from deep beneath the earth. Centered on Floating Cloud City, the ground shook violently for hundreds of miles, as if a great earthquake had struck.

Immediately, from the ruins of Floating Cloud City, a strange black mist shot skyward, then transformed into an enormous mass of dark clouds, like the shadow of some demon or ghost, spreading rapidly in all directions less than a hundred meters above the ground.

Wherever this shadow passed, even lifeless rocks and soil seemed to lose their vitality, left only with decay and rot. Clearly, the withered plants, birds, beasts, and insects throughout the region had perished this way.

In the blink of an eye, the Shadow Curse swept over Wei Cheng’s position, then over the people atop Floating Cloud Pass. Within ten seconds, the entire five-hundred-mile radius was engulfed.

Boom!

Wei Cheng’s Golden Bell instantly activated, and the +7 Flame Ring triggered automatically, forming a thin shield of fire outside the Golden Bell. The approaching shadow, carrying its sinister, unknown aura of despair and decay, was burned away by the flame shield, unable to penetrate the Golden Bell.

After ten minutes or so, the Shadow Curse gradually dissipated, and all returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Wei Cheng quietly summoned his Mountain-moving internal energy, spending several more minutes to reclaim some of his power from the Golden Bell and restore his freedom. This was the Golden Bell’s drawback: once deployed, it trapped him within, and without outside help, he could only slowly withdraw the energy himself.

He had no time to continue searching for Flame Stone; he hurried back to Floating Cloud Pass.

Upon arrival, he saw that nothing much had changed atop the city walls—at least, there was no sign of panic. Zhou Wu was waiting for him.

“Wei Cheng, you’ve returned just in time. I need to discuss something with you. The first Shadow Curse was weak, affecting only the Three Jiazi trial-takers. So, I’d like to remain here until tomorrow morning. What do you think?”

Wei Cheng paused, glanced at Zhou Wu, then at Xu Guoliang, Qin Douzi, Qu Xiong, Tang Xiaojun, and the others who were busily cultivating. For people of their strength, the Shadow Curse had been no real threat, and with plenty of Osmanthus Wine available, they were eager to seize the chance for breakthroughs.

With such opportunities, Zhou Wu’s team could soon boast three Eight Jiazi Mountain-movers and one Six Jiazi Purple Mist—a formidable lineup.

No wonder.

“As for the others, each will get another jar of Osmanthus Wine to help them accelerate their advancement. Wei Cheng, this is a rare opportunity; our overall strength is much too weak,” Zhou Wu said, his tone earnest and resolute.

Wei Cheng nodded—indeed, this was best. Otherwise, those weaker trial-takers, even if they set out immediately, would be of little use in upcoming battles.