Chapter 78: Passing Another Level

Very soon, as Wei Cheng’s exhausted internal energy of seven cycles for Moving Mountains was fully restored, he decisively placed miniature Immovable Golden Bells on Xu Shan, Liu Sui, and the others, then recalled the ultimate form of the Immovable Golden Bell. Meanwhile, the spiritual liquor from the Osmanthus Wine could still convert into about five cycles.

Altogether, he now possessed fourteen cycles of Moving Mountains internal energy to wield.

It was enough. Time for battle!

Wei Cheng dashed forward at full speed, charging toward the enormous tree of flames. Life and death, victory or defeat, would be decided in this moment—either you die, or I perish.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but from within that tree of fire came a strange, sinister laughter. Countless branches swayed in the sky, as if in delight.

As Wei Cheng finally entered the attack range of the flaming tree, in an instant, thousands upon thousands of fiery branches burst into brilliant light. What appeared as supple, tentacle-like limbs now bristled with sharp, barbed hooks, lashing down like a queen’s whips with crackling ferocity.

Even the ground erupted with crazed, sharp, barbed roots, attacking relentlessly from every direction, leaving no blind spots!

Yet Wei Cheng felt no fear. The Moving Mountains internal energy surged rapidly within him as the Moving Mountains Visualization materialized in illusion. The golden light of the bell’s shield blazed forth, enveloping his entire body, while he ran at full tilt, completely disregarding the attacks of the flaming whips and the spiked roots.

A fiery whip struck down, leaving a crack on the golden bell shield. This form of defense, though more mobile, was far weaker than the Immovable Golden Bell’s ultimate state.

Only by recklessly pouring in Moving Mountains energy and relying on the support of the Visualization could he maintain it.

Soon, the flaming tree seemed to realize Wei Cheng’s intent. Massive roots burst from the ground ahead, forming sturdy, twisted wooden barriers, trying to block his advance.

But Wei Cheng simply bared his fists. He loved nothing more than a target that neither moved nor dodged, and was content to take a solid beating.

With a thunderous shout, golden light erupted as he punched forward. The wooden wall, nearly two or three meters thick, was blasted open with a massive hole!

What a joke!

His high-quality internal energy, one and a half times stronger than ordinary Moving Mountains power, was no idle boast.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

He advanced step by step, punching as he went, all the while fending off flaming whips and spiked roots. Wei Cheng’s Moving Mountains energy was consumed at a furious rate.

But the distance between him and the tree of fire was rapidly shrinking. The main reason was the sheer size of the demonic tree—and its inability to move.

It was practically a stationary target.

Perfect for the debut of his little wine cup—no, his Immovable Golden Bell artifact!

“Boom!”

With another explosion, a wooden wall was blasted apart. Ahead loomed the very core of the flaming tree. Even though Wei Cheng now stood amid a sea of fire, even as countless branches transformed into barbed whips that lashed at him without end, he still accomplished his strategic goal.

In the next moment, he decisively drew out the artifact, the Immovable Golden Bell, and poured all his Moving Mountains energy into it. Like inflating a balloon, in one breath it expanded to a diameter of fifty meters, resembling a small mountain.

But in doing so, Wei Cheng depleted the last of his Moving Mountains energy. The only thing he could still do was use his spiritual power to guide the immense Immovable Golden Bell, setting it atop the flaming tree—like putting a hat on it.

There was no other way. The flaming tree was simply too large; even the Immovable Golden Bell seemed pitifully small by comparison.

Yet this did not diminish its might in the slightest.

The power of an artifact must not be insulted!

The next instant, with a thunderous crash, the flaming tree was crushed and exploded beneath the bell’s weight.

The Immovable Golden Bell was simply too heavy.

And that was that. There was no miraculous or bizarre spectacle—Wei Cheng’s seven cycles of Moving Mountains energy sustained the bell for only three seconds.

But those three seconds were enough to deal a devastating blow to the blazing tree.

Its towering trunk, its massive crown and countless branches, the roots plunging deep into the earth, its flaming aura, its wailing screams—everything vanished in an instant.

At the same time, the Immovable Golden Bell shrank back into a small wine cup.

A massive Transmission Stele descended, glowing with radiant light. Wei Cheng crawled over on hands and knees—he had only narrowly escaped being lashed to death just moments ago.

As soon as he pressed his palms to the Transmission Stele, a brilliant golden light enveloped his entire body, its quality surpassing even the divine light he had received for yesterday’s first kill.

His blood-soaked wounds healed at a shocking speed, and his depleted Moving Mountains energy was replenished in an instant.

Every pore in his body rejoiced. A wave of pure, warming yang energy circulated through him, then merged directly into the landscape and mountains formed by his Moving Mountains Visualization, finally leaving a faint golden radiance within—a gentle warmth, unique and subtle.

It seemed to mark an excellent beginning.

At the same time, Wei Cheng’s spiritual power expanded to its utmost, growing stronger, until he brushed up against a certain boundary—just a little more effort, and he could pierce the barrier and roam the world freely.

Alas, he still fell just a hair short.

The divine light faded—it lasted twelve seconds, an extraordinary twelve seconds.

But there was a surprise.

This time, Wei Cheng did not obtain any external martial arts technique related to the Moving Mountains method. Instead, he received the first stage of the Ladder of Clouds technique.

Was this because he had mastered the Lingyan Method?

Wei Cheng pondered this, casting a glance at the Transmission Stele, now shrunk to only a third of its original size. He then turned to call Xu Shan, Liu Sui, Cheng An, Yu Liang, and Mei Renli over. At this moment, they were still in a dazed state, not even realizing that Wei Cheng had already claimed victory in battle.

But Wei Cheng did not mind, nor did he have any other thoughts about it.

The fact that the five of them had persevered with him to this point was already the greatest effort and sincerity they could offer.

He could not demand more.

Besides, with their accumulated progress, as long as they escaped the poisonous zone and were given time to cultivate and refine their techniques and foundations, joining the first tier would be well within reach.

“Old Wei, you—”

When Liu Sui was bathed in the secondary divine light for ten seconds, he immediately snapped to his senses. Overjoyed and astonished, he now found he could cultivate the Purple Mist up to seven cycles without hindrance.

His spiritual power was now as strong as Zhou Wu’s had been two days earlier—a remarkable feat. At the very least, it meant he would no longer suffer from hallucinations or auditory illusions.

Of course, Wei Cheng’s spiritual power was even greater—now roughly equivalent to three and a half Zhou Wus. Well, three and a half of Zhou Wu from two days ago, since Zhou Wu surely made progress in that time as well.

Xu Shan was third to receive the light, gaining eight seconds.

Cheng An was fourth, receiving six seconds.

Yu Liang was fifth, receiving four seconds.

Mei Renli was last, getting two seconds.

Everyone was delighted—who wouldn’t be, having won while lying flat the whole way?

At this moment, regardless of raw strength, in terms of spiritual power alone, Wei Cheng’s team now ranked firmly above average.

Because Mei Renli, Cheng An, and Yu Liang could now cultivate the second stage of the Moving Mountains method.

Wei Cheng wasted no time, quickly explaining the second-stage technique to the three of them. Even though it was a rough overview, their greatly enhanced spiritual power allowed them to grasp the essence immediately.

“One hour. I give you all just one hour.”

“Old Wei, look! There’s actually some osmanthus wine here—exactly five hundred jars!”

Xu Shan exclaimed in delight, scurrying about like a squirrel with maxed-out exploration skills, her favorite thing being to scavenge for treasures.

The flaming tree had been obliterated by the Immovable Golden Bell, yet a section of the city wall it had enveloped somehow miraculously survived. Even more astonishing, hidden within that stretch of wall was a warehouse—containing precisely five hundred jars of osmanthus wine.

This could no longer be described as mere good fortune. The Immortal conducting the trial had truly gone to great lengths: every victory brought them ample resources for cultivation and a period of safety.