Chapter 138  : Chapter 138  : Trouble! Yang Zhen has arrived!

Yang Zhen and the fat cat were chasing each other, acting out a life-and-death race in the Shanggeng Mirror World and ended up crashing into a mountain.

Standing tall and piercing the clouds in the Shanggeng Mirror World was a mountain filled with a dense aura of blood. Countless practitioners had gathered there and were looking up in horror at an elderly man atop the mountain.

The elder wore a solemn expression as he carefully ascended the stone steps that led up the mountain. With every step he took, his aura would increase dramatically.

There were at least a thousand practitioners surrounding him, all of them anxiously watching the elder’s back. There were plenty of Nascent Soul Stage Experts among them, with some enormously powerful ones that had reached the eighth or ninth tier. Like the other practitioners, their faces also reflected a mix of severity and tension.

Boom!

As the elder stepped onto the tenth step, an overwhelming wave of force came bearing down from the mountain like an immense raging wave, wave after wave, relentless and unbroken.

The elder’s form faltered. He gave out an indignant roar, and from him burst forth a horrifying fluctuation of True Essence, which astonishingly coalesced behind him into a behemoth false shadow. The false shadow was so lifelike, it appeared like a war god roaring at the heavens.

Boom!

The two waves of force collided, resulting in a surge of violence that swept in all directions. Shale and stones took off into the air at the base of the mountain, and all the practitioners reacted with expressions of dread, uttering cries of alarm.

“Such a terrifying prohibition exists on this mountain. Elder Qu, a powerful practitioner at the Void Cultivation Stage, already seems to be struggling to reach just the tenth level!”

“Could it be true that only Divine Travel Stage experts can ascend?”

“Not necessarily. I attempted to climb these steps earlier and was repulsed upon reaching the third level. However, the degree of resistance I faced wasn’t as great as it seems now.”

“Could it be that the higher a practitioner’s cultivation, the greater the prohibition they face?”

A buzz of excitement arose amongst the crowd, everybody discussing their theories.

“If that’s true, then us, the lower cultivated people also stand a chance to reach the top. Perhaps the legacy left by Dust Blood Great Sage lies on the mountain peak!”

“Look quickly, Elder Qu is resuming his ascent.”

After a brief pause at the tenth step, Elder Qu huffed coldly. The false shadow of the war god on his back let out a muffled battle cry and abruptly emitted a grey light. The aura surrounding Elder Qu also swiftly elevated.

“This… this is terrifying. How could a Void Cultivation Stage expert be so powerful?”

“Of course, Void Cultivation Stage means being able to practice the spiritual into the void and condensing an inscription, capable of overturning rivers and causing mountains to tremble!”

Step one, two, up to the nineteenth step is where Elder Qu’s face started to change.

“Not good!”

Elder Qu barked out a grim warning, and his aura exploded with intensity. He heavily planted his foot on the twentieth step, and instantly the world shook, with the sounds of terrifying waves of power echoing throughout the ears of the crowd.

Humm!

A ghastly and furious rumbling resounded from the heavens above, and from the mountain peak descended a terrifying, blood-curdling surge that bore down onto Elder Qu.

The sudden burst of the terrifying prohibition startled Elder Qu, and before he could react, he was thrown off with a loud crash. He landed roughly onto his backside before hurriedly standing up again.

A bunch of people rushed forward, their faces filled with alarm as they questioned, “How is it, Elder Qu? Can nobody really ascend this mountain due to its prohibition?”

Elder Qu’s face betrayed his changing feelings. He caught his breath and finally shook his head to reply, “There is a peculiar prohibition on the mountain path. The stronger a practitioner’s cultivation, the greater resistance they encounter. I am unsure of how to ascend it.”

“Could it be that not using True Essence would allow us not to encounter resistance?”

“That is not the case. I have just tried it earlier. Regardless of whether you use True Essence or not, the resistance encountered does not lessen.”

“Then… what should we do?”

Everyone exchanged glances, clueless as to what to do next. They all turned their attention toward Elder Qu, whose glance fell on the Flower Tower Master, Hua Youyue in the crowd. He furrowed his brow slightly, then smiled and asked, “Flower Tower Master, you managed to enter the fifteenth level earlier with your Nascent Soul Stage cultivation. Did you discover anything?”

At these words, many people around changed their expressions and quickly asked, “Exactly, Flower Tower Master, I too am at the Nascent Soul Stage of cultivation, but I can’t even climb to the eighth level. How did you get through the tenth level?”

Hua Youyue, seeing everyone’s gaze on her, hesitated for a moment before responding, “I’m not entirely sure myself, I just felt as though I could climb a few more levels. By the way, when I arrived at the tenth level, I felt a brief bout of intense pain within my spiritual sea. I nearly couldn’t stand it.”

“Huh?” Someone exclaimed, “I’ve encountered this situation too. At that moment, I was hit by a sharp pain in my head and when I regained my senses, I was already below.”

“Could it be that only Practitioners who have opened their spiritual sea can climb up?” Many people’s expressions changed.

Not all Nascent Soul Stage Practitioners could open their spiritual sea. Among the Practitioners present, the majority had not yet opened their spiritual sea. “If that’s the case, aren’t we devoid of any chance at this inheritance secret?”

For a moment, many people felt disheartened, having cold water thrown on them by the harsh reality.

At this time, Elder Qu solemnly said, “Everyone, do not despair. According to what I understand, even if we can’t climb to the top, cultivating on the stone platform can be highly effective. We can even use the life-blood force here to refine our bodies. Perhaps this is also a trial set by Dust Blood Great Sage.” “Right, I’ve noticed this too. Maybe if we cultivate up there and adapt to this life-blood force, we could successfully make it to the top.”

“But the restriction here is very strange. The more people ascend, the more pressure everyone endures. With so many of us here, who would want to wait below?”

People enthusiastically discussed and became cautious. At this point, everyone wanted to have a place on the stone steps. Who would want to wait below while others cultivated?

Elder Qu exchanged glances with two old Practitioners at the Void Cultivation Stage near the border. They nodded subtly, as if they had come to some agreement.

A tall, spirited old man stepped forward from the crowd and loudly proposed, “I suggest we arrange positions according to cultivation levels. Once someone can’t withstand it anymore, they can be replaced and continue cultivating. This could possibly give everyone a chance.”

At these words, everyone agreed and showed their approval.

“In accordance with what Patriarch Wang said, does anyone disagree?”

“How could anyone disagree? The three respected elders at the Void Cultivation Stage generously gave us an opportunity, we naturally abide by the rules.”

“I agree!” Hua Youyue looked at Medicine Elder and nodded in agreement.

Elder Qu chuckled, “We’ll follow Patriarch Wang’s proposal then. Everyone, please find your own spot… However….”

At this point, Elder Qu’s face darkened, he snorted and continued, “Let me make this clear right now, anyone who disregards the rules, disrupting our shared burden, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Seeing the terrifying aura that burst forth from Elder Qu, everyone fell into a stunned silence.

When Practitioners at the Void Cultivation Stage became angry, this place might become a river of blood.

Everyone naturally did not dare voice any objections and expressed they would not act as such.

Patriarch Wang chuckled, “Don’t blame Elder Qu. He’s also thinking for everyone’s sake. If someone rushes up in the middle and disrupts the balance we have barely formed, they might get injured or even killed by the restriction’s backlash. That would be unsightly.”

Upon hearing this, everyone understood. Everyone using the restriction to cultivate wasn’t such a simple matter. Imagining the consequences truly made people nervous.

Next, after several attempts, everyone finally reached a balance. If anyone else were to go up, everyone would be blasted down by the restrictions, which was extremely dangerous.

Three Void Cultivation Stage Experts were on the nineteenth level, the remaining Nascent Soul Stage Experts were on varying levels from fifteen down. But among the Nascent Soul Stage, only Hua Youyue could reach the fifteenth level.

Seeing everyone sitting cross-legged, preparing themselves, Elder Qu loudly said, “Everyone, we are going to begin. Keep an eye on who can’t take it anymore and promptly replace….”

Before Elder Qu could finish his sentence, a thunderous roar interrupted him:

“You damn cat, dare you stand still for me!”

“Bah, young one, I just drank a mouthful of your soup, was there a need to chase after me across six mountains?”

Elder Qu and the others were utterly confused, turning their heads towards the source of the noise, their faces draining of color.

“Damn, Yang Zhen is coming!”