Chapter Two: Moving the Mountain

Wei Cheng stood at six feet tall and weighed nearly two hundred and twenty pounds, yet when he donned that coarse linen robe, it fit him with surprising perfection, even lending him the air of an elegant gentleman from ages past—a young noble, radiant as jade in the fields. But he felt no vanity at this moment. Instead, his mind raced with calculations.

"The temperature in this mine is about twenty degrees Celsius. Given my current condition, if I start mining, I’ll be drenched in sweat, and the water in my flask is about a liter—only enough for a single day."

"So mining isn’t a wise choice, unless I plan to leave. But what if this mine is the only safe zone?"

"The flatbread looks rough, but should be edible. If I ration it, I can make it last three days—no, five, if I count urine as well."

"So, in five days, how far can I cultivate the Mountain Moving Technique?"

Wei Cheng’s expression was grave; from the very beginning, he had chosen to focus his efforts on cultivation.

Though the legacy stone had enabled him to bypass the learning and comprehension phase of the Mountain Moving Technique, he possessed only a sliver of inner power. In this unfamiliar environment, devoid of any hints or guidance, cultivating Mountain Moving energy seemed the optimal path.

Of course, perhaps others could find better solutions, but that was not his concern.

He didn’t even consider exploring the mine, worried that stepping out of a certain boundary might breach the safe zone.

In his mind, every detail of the Mountain Moving Technique was clear. Leaning against the stone wall, he sat down—unable to cross his legs due to his size, yet able to slip quickly into the meditative state, as naturally as picking up chopsticks to eat.

He possessed a newfound clarity about his body, almost as if he could see through it. The brief flash of light earlier seemed to have fundamentally improved his physical constitution.

Exhaling, regulating his breath, focusing his mind, letting his thoughts flow like water, he directed the faint core of Mountain Moving energy in his lower abdomen. It moved silently along his meridians, and as it passed each one, names—both familiar and strange—surfaced automatically: meridians, acupoints, countless gates.

Starting from the lower abdomen, it ascended through the lungs, up the left arm, traversed the head, descended through the lungs again, and down the right arm, completing the cycle and returning to the lower dantian.

This was one full cycle. Wei Cheng felt an ease in his whole body, lighter by a pound or two—but his stomach immediately rumbled, and an overpowering hunger struck without warning.

He reached for food but lacked the strength even to extend his hand. Darkness clouded his vision, and he collapsed, for something unknown had triggered his muscles, bones, meridians, acupoints, and organs to tremble violently, as if they were all dancing wildly.

This nightmare of pain lasted several minutes, and Wei Cheng doubted whether he was still alive.

Yet, the strange hunger vanished as swiftly as it had come, and he suddenly returned to normal.

Rolling up to his feet, he felt nimble, drastically different from his earlier, bulky form. After all, at two hundred and twenty pounds, the change was impossible to miss.

He touched his stomach and strongly suspected that, in that brief span, he’d shed at least twenty pounds.

"What about impurities? Shouldn’t there be some expelled?"

He sniffed himself—he didn’t smell.

Never mind, it wasn’t important.

He examined his dantian; the Mountain Moving energy had increased by nearly two-fifths. So that’s the cause and effect.

Glancing at the two slabs of stone-hard flatbread, Wei Cheng decisively chose to continue losing weight.

Gritting his teeth, with each cycle of cultivation, he endured a fierce hunger and violent tremors throughout his body—a torment worse than death.

But the results were remarkable.

After three cycles, his Mountain Moving energy had doubled, and he had essentially returned to the handsome, striking figure of his high school days.

Wei Cheng dared not push further, feeling a deep anxiety, as if he might drop dead at any moment.

He opened the water flask and cautiously took a sip. The water was crisp and cold, invigorating his lungs like nothing he’d ever tasted.

"Wait—"

He closed his eyes, sensing the chilly flow transform quickly into warmth, sweeping away all fatigue and sharpening his mind.

"This isn’t ordinary water, but a restorative elixir—it dispels weariness, refreshes the mind, and most importantly, restores physical strength."

Many thoughts flashed through his mind; he carefully capped the flask.

Things had taken an unexpected turn.

He began reexamining the situation.

"First, this isn’t a dream—not in any ordinary sense."

"Second, it doesn’t seem like a typical transmigration, since I saw thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people earlier, including foreigners shouting 'God bless.'"

"Third, I chose the legacy stone, which brought me here. If it’s a trigger, it means I need to find another trigger to return to Earth."

"Fourth, being given such precious things at the outset—how dangerous must it be outside?"

"Could this place be the so-called world of immortal cultivation?"

A bold idea struck Wei Cheng.

Three hundred years from now, the invasion of demonic beings would reach Earth. How could Earth’s people intervene? Clearly, there’s nothing more effective than throwing them onto the battlefield against the demons.

Wei Cheng felt a weight settle over his heart, and dared not waste another moment. No matter how valuable the water, it couldn’t compare to strength gained.

As expected, after each cycle, his stamina was depleted; he drank another sip to restore himself.

When three-quarters of the water was gone, he had managed thirty cycles. With each cycle producing about two-fifths more Mountain Moving energy, his dantian now held more than ten times the original amount.

Such abundance brought remarkable effects. Even without actively circulating his energy, he could feel a mighty river surging in his dantian, endless and powerful. At a thought, he could fill his whole body with Mountain Moving energy, and felt as if he could punch a hole in the sky; his strength was immense.

Yet, this hard-won energy was not to be wasted. Moreover, advancing so quickly left his realm unstable—he was like a drunk, struggling to control the power. One misstep, and the energy would spill out.

This made him even more cautious, sitting cross-legged and gently guiding the unruly energy along his meridians, again and again, until it settled.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, when suddenly a thunderous sound exploded in his mind, as if in response. At the same moment, the Mountain Moving energy in his dantian erupted like a volcano, without warning.

Wei Cheng was stunned, forced to watch as the energy he had painstakingly cultivated broke through its banks.

But in the next instant, the legacy stone appeared before him again, flooding his mind with new information, and he understood at last.

He had cultivated enough Mountain Moving energy for a full sixty-year cycle.

The breakthrough propelled him directly into the realm of innate martial artists.

"This is far too fast..."

Wei Cheng murmured, but then he was startled to discover changes in the mine—the glowing moss dimmed, layers of spider webs appeared, and he heard shouting nearby.

For reasons unknown, Wei Cheng suddenly realized: the safe house was gone. They had most likely entered the true world of immortal cultivation.