Chapter 156: The Anemone Ring (Dedicated to Patron WarmSun1314 - Extra 4/100)

"Leader Wei, I think you can make good use of this item."

As the merit-inheriting stele dissipated, Tang Yuanshan suddenly stepped forward and handed a ring emitting a faint cyan glow to Wei Cheng.

This was the extra reward he had obtained as the first person to touch the merit-inheriting stele just now, and it was the only reward, as no one else received anything.

It was by no means as generous as the Magma Giant boss, which handed out Flame Rings as if they cost nothing.

However, it was said that the Fog Demon boss was the same.

It seemed that was merely a special case, perhaps related to the ancient fiend Chi Yao.

Wei Cheng took the ring, immediately sensing a wisp of airflow circulating within his hand. Judging from the carved patterns upon it, it should be called the Wind-Whisper Ring, though it possessed no enhancement values, nor any related description.

Even so, this ring was an exceptionally fine auxiliary magic artifact for the Swift Swallow class.

Without hesitation, Wei Cheng switched to the Swift Swallow mental cultivation method, put on the Wind-Whisper Ring, and circulated his Swift Swallow internal energy slightly. Instantly, he felt his body become much lighter, gaining an enhancement of about twenty percent.

By the same token, whether executing the Cloud-Stepping Treading or any other movement technique, it would correspondingly reduce the consumption of Swift Swallow internal energy by twenty percent.

This was a fine treasure.

Especially for the Swift Swallow class.

After a moment's thought, he removed the Wind-Whisper Ring and handed it to Chen Ce. "I have no use for it temporarily. It's yours; experience it for yourself."

"Ah? Thank you, Brother Wei!"

Chen Ce was first startled, then ecstatic, but deep remorse followed immediately after. For some reason, he pushed the Wind-Whisper Ring back, looking utterly dejected.

"Brother Wei, I'm unworthy. My mental power is already at level 7, and both Old Bai and Old Tang have ignited their fires of consciousness, yet I still haven't made any progress. I have no idea how to ignite it at all. Just now, I was knocked unconscious by that stone statue at the very first glance. If Sister Xu hadn't stepped in, I'd have been a goner. How disgraceful, how humiliating! To think I even had the nerve to call myself an elite Swift Swallow—damn it, what kind of elite am I?!"

With that, Chen Ce simply squatted on the ground, his dejected appearance resembling a shaved little Teddy dog.

For a moment, even Wei Cheng did not know how to comfort him, because theoretically, level 6 mental power was enough to ignite the fire of consciousness.

Yet people were different. Xu Shan was also at level 7 mental power now, and wasn't she in the same boat?

Then there were Yu Liang and Mei Renli, who had both reached level 6.5 now.

Glancing around at the others, no one knew how to comfort him either. Or rather, this was hardly the time for lengthy consolations; new situations could arise all around them at any moment.

"Old Xu, give him a few more shots."

Ultimately, Wei Cheng could only say this.

"Hey, wait a minute, what did you just call me?"

Xu Shan was practically ready to leap into the air. Good grief, this lady is in the prime of her youth, blast you!

Wei Cheng turned his head away and waved his hand. The group quickly set off again; they could not afford any more complications.

"Sister Xu, I feel life is utterly hopeless. Everything has lost its meaning!"

Chen Ce was already crying with a messy mixture of snot and tears, depressed to the absolute extreme.

"Damn it!"

Xu Shan cursed, and with a backhand motion, drove a hundred cyan wooden needles into him. She had just been illuminated by the divine light, and her cyan wood internal energy was abundant, allowing her to be quite willful.

To her surprise, the next second, Chen Ce began to cough violently. Streams of black tainted blood flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Within the tainted blood, tiny bug-like creatures could be seen writhing about.

"What the hell!"

This sight made everyone's heart leap to their throats. What was going on? How had Chen Ce fallen victim to a trap without anyone noticing?

Even Xu Shan opened her mouth wide in astonishment, and hurriedly explained afterward, "That's not right, this isn't right. I can assess everyone's condition; this shouldn't happen. I clearly just cleansed him a moment ago. It's not like I was slack on the job."

"It's not that you were slacking, but rather that the enemy is too cunning. Chen Ce just faced that stone statue's demonic shadow head-on. Someone like Old Tang is fine—he ignited his fire of consciousness in a desperate situation—and Liu Sheng was also able to resist with a mental barrier. Only Chen Ce had the weakest will, and as a result, he was exploited. Part of the evil power remained floating on the surface, while another part lurked deep within his body, waiting for an opportunity to strike."

Wei Cheng said in a deep voice. At this moment, he recalled the situation back in Dong'an Residential Area when he killed his first infiltrating foreign demon. He had clearly slain it, yet that creature had still managed to leave behind a contingency deep underground.

This was entirely the style of foreign demons.

"It seems that once we return and are safe, we'll have to let little Xu give each of us a hundred needles." Bai Han's heart was also pounding with anxiety. Although he possessed a mental barrier, he had to maintain a hundred thousand points of vigilance.

"Let's move. Old Bai, you and Old Tang take the rear. Tang Xiaojun, Yu Liang, Old Mei, Liu Sheng, you guys clear the path ahead."

"Our primary objective next is to ensure that everyone who meets the criteria ignites their fire of consciousness."

Wei Cheng said solemnly. Whether one had ignited the fire of consciousness or not was truly of paramount importance.

"Brother Wei, I want to go clear the path ahead too. I've figured it out. I've always harbored wishful thinking, subconsciously refusing to take all of this seriously. I kept thinking that if the sky fell, the tall guys would hold it up, and whenever trouble struck, my first thought was always how to run away."

"Now, I want to face myself head-on, and face everything!"

Chen Ce said solemnly at this moment.

"Good! With this kind of mindset, how could you fail to ignite the fire of consciousness?"

Wei Cheng was deeply gratified. Very often, a person's breakthrough or degradation, growth or collapse, was merely a matter of a single thought.

"Um, Brother Wei, the Wind-Whisper Ring..." Chen Ce suddenly reached out with a shameless grin.

"Damn it!"

Wei Cheng let out an amused curse and tossed the Wind-Whisper Ring over.

Chen Ce did a few backflips with joy, resurrected at full health.

Following that, the group split into three sections to ensure they could provide mutual support, and ventured deeper into the area where the stone statue was located.

The terrain here was different, resembling more of a large-scale architectural ruin.

Broken walls and shattered bluestone floor tiles could be seen everywhere on the ground. Although dilapidated and ruined, one could still imagine how magnificent, grandiose, and exquisitely breathtaking this place must have been when it was intact.

"Leader Wei, there are some patterns here that match those in Cangwu City. I surmise there must be a connection between the two."

After walking a certain distance, Qin Yang suddenly spoke up.

"Observe carefully, but make sure not to stray from the main group, and do not invest too much focus into it. This place is rather bizarre; be careful of losing control. Duan Jianghai, keep your eyes on him!"

Wei Cheng naturally knew that studying the patterns here was important, because this place was very likely the former sect grounds of the Zixia Immortal Sect. However, important as it was, reckless research was extremely dangerous before thoroughly sweeping the area and ensuring safety.

"Understood, Leader Wei, just leave this to me! I guarantee I'll keep my eyes glued to him even if he goes to the restroom!"

Duan Jianghai patted his chest in assurance. This unruly thorn had long since been convinced and submissive, and felt more and more that he had come to the right place.

Otherwise, if he had just tagged along with bean-brain Qin, who knows in what donkey year or horse month he would have reached level 6 mental power?

Yet by following Leader Wei, he had reached it in just two days.

As they pushed further forward, the broken walls increased in number, and they could even catch glimpses of incomplete patterns suspected to be rune seals. If these could be repaired and deciphered, it would undoubtedly be a massive harvest.

Yet the deeper they went, the greater the power of the demonic shadow's curse seemed to become. Those novice trial-takers whose mental power was below level 6, who could previously endure half a minute between needle treatments, now required treatment every dozen seconds.

Even so, their minds grew increasingly muddled, allowing them to follow along merely like walking corpses. If this continued, it would likely cause irreversible damage to their bodies and minds.

Just as Wei Cheng was hesitating over what to do, two more hundred-meter-tall stone statues strode out from a massive ruin ahead, both possessing seven heads and twelve arms.

The moment they met, two demonic shadows struck out in invasion, immediately followed by twenty-four massive wind blades slashing through the air!

This was truly fatal!

Especially for the few individuals walking at the very front clearing the path, this was extremely perilous.

Liu Sheng activated his mental barrier at the very first instant, nullifying the two demonic shadow invasions. As for Tang Xiaojun, Yu Liang, Mei Renli, and even Chen Ce, they had to rely entirely on themselves.

"Aaaaaah!"

Chen Ce shrieked, rolling his eyes and foaming at the mouth as he collapsed once more. The two demonic shadows inflicted heavy damage on his psyche, but due to his relatively high mental fortitude, the dual impact resulted in nothing less than sheer fainting.

His will remained far too fragile.

This truly depended on one's personality, life experience, and convictions.

Because the level of mental fortitude was akin to ammunition; the more ammunition one possessed, the higher the chance of victory.

Yet the will was like the finger pulling the trigger.

No matter how much ammunition one had, if the will was weak, it would not bring about a qualitative transformation.

Simultaneously, Tang Xiaojun, Yu Liang, and Mei Renli were also struck by the demonic shadows, instantly losing control of their bodies. They had to face the demonic shadows directly, confront the invasion, and face the terror head-on.

This was a confrontation devoid of the slightest falsehood; every clash was accompanied by real blood, every inch contested for the throat!

Whoever yielded even the slightest bit would face failure, with no second possibility.

Yet the will of these three—Tang Xiaojun, Yu Liang, and Mei Renli—was undoubtedly much better and vastly stronger than Chen Ce's, even though their mental power was only around level 6.5.

In merely a split second, Tang Xiaojun was the first to shatter the demonic shadow, igniting the fire of consciousness. This sensation felt like having traversed a journey of ten thousand miles, enduring countless winds and rains, countless trials, and countless failures, yet ultimately managing to stand at the finish line.

It also felt like the countless days and nights from primary school through middle school to high school, studying tirelessly with a beam tied to the hair and an awl pressed against the thigh—facing the temptations of video games, wrestling with internal laziness, absorbing family encouragement alongside grievances and disappointments, yet ultimately gritting one's teeth and pressing forward through tears.

This was a miracle, yet not a miracle; anyone could achieve it, yet not everyone could.

Facing one's true self, confronting the fear one dared not face—at the very instant the fire of consciousness was ignited, one's entire life, destiny, and the whole world transformed profoundly.

Following closely behind, the next to shatter the two demonic shadows was Mei Renli, the nearly sixty-year-old veteran. Terrifying though the demonic shadows were, they fell short of the various hardships and pains he had endured throughout his life.

In the past, he had been powerless to resist, but now he possessed level 6.5 mental power—he now had the capital to fight back. Why should he bow to destiny once more?

Never!

All things of the past belonged to the past; today marked an entirely new self!

Boom!

The fire of consciousness ignited, and the sea of mountains manifested by the Mountain-Moving Visualization Diagram unfurled, merging with Tang Xiaojun's visualization diagram. The mountains transformed into a shield wall, indestructible and unshakable!