Asleep?
Since entering the Redstone Mountains for his life-threatening adventure over four years ago, he had never slept! By now, reaching such a level of cultivation, sleep had become merely a habit, a luxury, rather than a necessity. Just now, when he fell from the Path of Heart Inquiry, it was indeed the deepest slumber possible. Though brief, waking up after falling to the ground felt incredibly refreshing.
“The first segment of the Path of Heart Inquiry, I’ve only completed half? Let me try again.” Dongbo Xueying immediately took a step forward, leaving behind an afterimage, and arrived at the beginning of the Path of Heart Inquiry. He stepped onto the stone steps once more, ascending one level at a time.
Although waves of weariness engulfed his soul, growing stronger with each passing moment.
Dongbo Xueying sought a state of transcendence and composure.
Just as he once suppressed the agony of Voodoo and preserved a serene mind, the exhaustion along the Path of Heart Inquiry stretched endlessly, deepening with each step—far eclipsing the torment of Voodoo.
“Stay awake.”
“Maintain awareness.”
“All is illusion.”
Dongbo Xueying strove to make his soul increasingly serene, casting aside all distractions. Let the winds of sand rage; he would stand firm!
…
In the distant air, four figures stood side by side, watching Dongbo Xueying repeatedly fall asleep and tumble from the Path of Heart Inquiry.
They were Xi Wei, Hongshi, a young man wrapped in a thick robe, and a boy wearing a crimson cloak.
The thick-robed youth watched from afar with a smile: “This kid is pretty impressive. He keeps walking the Path of Heart Inquiry again and again. Is this the sixth time? He managed to walk twenty more steps than the first time! He actually improved so quickly. He might really have a chance to become an inner disciple and our little junior brother. What do you think, Old Seven?”
“Yeah,” the crimson-cloaked youth nodded. “He’s just attained mastery over the Ten Thousand Calamities Primordial Chaos Physique, which nurtures both body and soul. Within a decade, his spiritual strength will at least double from its current state! With just a bit more refinement in his heart cultivation, clearing the first trial segment should pose no difficulty.”
(Note: I’ve rendered “万劫混元Body” as “Ten Thousand Calamities Primordial Chaos Physique” to preserve the mystical grandeur of the term while making it accessible in English. The translation maintains the fantasy tone with phrases like “nurtures both body and soul” and “clearing the first trial segment.”)
“Do you think there’s a chance he could lead us out someday?” the thick-robed youth asked.
“It’s nigh impossible to depart,” the crimson-cloaked youth shook his head solemnly. “The laws governing the Material Plane are absolute. Not even deities from the Celestial Realm may descend by force. Only the Archons of this realm possess free passage, yet even they may only transport inanimate objects or mundane creatures upon return. Divine entities and beyond are barred entry—unless they wield a Pocket Paradise artifact.”
His cloak shimmered like congealed blood as he continued, “These Pocket Paradises can harbor living souls and veil them from the Material Plane’s scrutiny. We were cast into this world forcibly within the Scarlet Peaks. But acquiring such treasures… that’s a trial beyond measure. Our Grandmaster possessed but one—the very Scarlet Peaks you see before you.” His fingers tightened around his staff. “This demands patience, not haste.”
“I understand,” the thick-robed youth nodded slightly.
Then the thick-robed youth grinned, looking at the nearby Hongshi: “Senior Hongshi, can’t your conditions for accepting a master-disciple bond be a bit lower?”
“It must be a direct disciple, and must become a Realm Monarch,” Hongshi replied. “Without the extraordinary talent of comprehending a First-Rank True Dao, there’s no way to avenge my Master! If one cannot become a Realm Monarch, one cannot even refine and control the Redstone Mountains.”
“A First-Rank True Dao cultivator… must attain a First-Rank Divine Heart within ten thousand years,” the thick-robed youth shook his head. “Master lived for so long, yet only accepted two disciples who met this requirement. Even if Dongbo Xueying becomes a Realm Monarch, without being a direct disciple, where would a Realm Monarch obtain a Void treasure? Among all our brothers, only Senior Brother Huiming possessed a Void treasure.”
Senior Brother Huiming held a special place among the disciples of the Redstone Mountains.
He was the first among the three direct disciples!
The object of admiration for all disciples. In the Godly Realm, Senior Brother Huiming once shone even brighter than his own Master, the Holy Sovereign of the Mortal World! Though not a Grand Being, he was nearly one.
“I wonder if Senior Brother Huiming has become a Grand Being yet,” the crimson-cloaked boy said.
“According to the Ancestor, not yet,” Xi Wei replied.
“Sigh! Among our Redstone Mountains lineage, only Senior Brother Huiming has the potential to become a Grand Being. It’s a pity,” the crimson-cloaked boy said with some regret.
The thick-robed youth beside him also shook his head: “Senior Brother Huiming once spread his faith freely. It’s said that over a billion mortal worlds were sources of his faith. Faith made him powerful, but it also became a heavy chain, binding him so tightly that breaking free became extremely difficult. Crossing into the realm of Grand Beings… too hard! We’ve only been in the Material World for a million years. For Senior Brother Huiming to break through, it won’t come quickly.”
“Enough talk. Let’s watch little Dongbo,” the crimson-cloaked boy looked into the distance. “He walked the Path of Heart Inquiry ten times today. Seems like he might give up.”
“He’s not giving up. Look, he’s heading to the Ascending Cloud Tower!” the thick-robed youth pointed out.
The two of them were also the only other Realm Monarchs within the Redstone Mountains, besides Xi Wei.
…
“This heart must be constantly cleansed. Once neglected, it will stagnate or even regress,” Dongbo Xueying still loved the Path of Heart Inquiry. Without it, he would only be able to refine his spear techniques, merging his heart with the spear to repeatedly hone his willpower! But the effects were ultimately inferior to the Path of Heart Inquiry, which more directly targeted the soul and inner self. Walking it ten times a day was extremely effective.
Dongbo Xueying soon arrived before the towering, ancient nine-tiered pagoda—the Ascending Cloud Tower! He must pass the sixth level to meet the threshold of an inner disciple.
The entrance to the Ascending Cloud Tower was always open.
Dongbo Xueying stepped inside.
Inside the tower was a circular, vast space, where an old man with a white beard sat cross-legged, carrying two swords on his back.
As Dongbo Xueying entered this circular, open space, the old man with the white beard opened his eyes, revealing a smile. He looked at Dongbo Xueying with twinkling eyes filled with excitement: “Finally, someone has come! It’s been so long, I was almost going mad from boredom. Although this body for the first floor is relatively weak, and the power used is also limited, young man, winning against me won’t be easy!”
“Let me see how strong you are,” Dongbo Xueying extended his right hand, and a black long spear appeared.
Dongbo Xueying’s fighting spirit was also ignited.
How many years had it been?
For the first time, he was free from the torment of Voodoo, and the Primordial Chaos Body brimmed with power throughout his being. This overwhelming surge of energy ignited a fierce battle lust within him.
Upon entering the Ascending Cloud Tower, he quickly realized—there were no restrictions here. Teleportation, spatial piercing, and other arcane techniques could be wielded without restraint, allowing him to unleash the full depth of his mastery over the laws.
“You go first. Come at me with everything you’ve got,” the old man with the white beard stood there, carefree.
“Alright.”
Dongbo Xueying didn’t refuse, instantly rushing forward.
Swish.
In an instant, he pierced through space, attacking the old man with the white beard.
“Freeze,” the old man with the white beard remained casual, uttering a single word. Suddenly, the surrounding space completely froze, and Dongbo Xueying, who had pierced through space, was forcibly expelled.
“Space Divine Heart?” Dongbo Xueying’s expression slightly changed, but his hands didn’t stop. He directly thrust his spear forward.
Boom!
The dread might of the Ten Thousand Calamities Primordial Body was such that even a casual thrust of its spear, capable of piercing through the very fabric of space, carried a terrifying force that made one’s soul quiver.
The white-bearded elder furrowed his brow. *Clang! Clang!* The two longswords on his back unsheathed themselves in an instant. Gripping one in each hand, he unleashed two dazzling arcs of blade light that collided head-on—
*Clash!*
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, the force of the collision distorting space itself. Sparks erupted like a storm of falling stars, illuminating the battlefield in an eerie, flickering glow. The sheer momentum of the strike carved deep fissures into the earth, sending debris hurtling in all directions.
Again and again, the blades met—
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Each collision was a symphony of steel, a relentless dance of destruction. The elder’s movements were a blur, his swords weaving intricate patterns of light and shadow. The air trembled under the weight of his strikes, the very fabric of reality straining against the force of his onslaught.
And still, the clash continued—
*Boom! Crash! Shatter!*
The world itself seemed to recoil from the violence of their meeting, the echoes of steel ringing like thunder across the battlefield. The elder’s eyes burned with an unyielding resolve, his swords an extension of his will, carving through resistance with unstoppable force.
The battle raged on, an unending storm of steel and fury.
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