“Master Dan Yuanzi, shall we pursue him?”
One of the Heavenly Immortal experts asked Dan Yuanzi.
“No rush, we’ll leave him be for now. Let’s first explore this world. Once we leave the Void Secret Realm, I’ll go find him.”
After some thought, Dan Yuanzi replied.
By this time, Ye Yunfei, Meng Wu, and Lu Jun had already traveled far away.
“That Dan Yuanzi is a relatively famous alchemist. He has extensive connections throughout the Chaotic Void Sea. You should be careful when you encounter him again,” Meng Wu said to Ye Yunfei.
“Exactly, Brother Ye. Dan Yuanzi himself is a Perfected Heavenly Immortal, and as an alchemist, he can call upon a large number of helpers at any time. I’ve heard that although this man appears amiable on the surface, he’s actually quite narrow-minded. It looks like he’s already set his sights on your alchemy furnace. Whether it's with you or not, he’ll still come looking for trouble,” Lu Jun also spoke up.
“Thank you both for the warning. But rest assured, I’ll be cautious if I encounter him again,” Ye Yunfei nodded gratefully.
“Though our concern might be unnecessary. With Brother Ye’s skills, there’s no need to fear them,” Lu Jun said.
“Brother Lu, you flatter me. They have two Perfected Heavenly Immortals and three Advanced Heavenly Immortals. If I had to face them alone, I doubt I could handle it and would likely have to flee,” Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
The three of them then continued to move about in this world.
Others who had entered this world were also exploring.
Soon, everyone discovered that the scale of this world wasn’t very large—strictly speaking, it could only be considered a Small World.
What was even more disappointing was that, so far, no one had found any treasures or resources in this Small World.
Except for Ye Yunfei, of course.
Because Ye Yunfei had obtained a portion of alchemy insights and experience from that little Daoist boy. Although he hadn’t begun to comprehend or cultivate them yet, Ye Yunfei understood in his heart that those alchemy insights and experience were undoubtedly incredibly precious.
“What’s going on here? There aren’t any treasures or opportunities in this Xuwu Realm! It seems the legends were mostly wrong.”
“I thought entering this Xuwu Realm would guarantee great gains. How disappointing!”
“I don’t think we need to waste more time in this world. Better to leave now and check out the other worlds in the Void Secret Realm. The harvest might be greater there.”
…
Almost everyone felt disappointed and started discussing. Quite a few left this world directly.
Just then, Meng Wu’s expression changed slightly as he looked in a certain direction.
“Something seems to be happening over there. Let’s hurry and check it out.”
Meng Wu exclaimed softly, then took the lead, rushing in that direction.
Ye Yunfei and Lu Jun followed behind.
Soon after, a tall mountain peak suddenly appeared ahead, piercing into the clouds. The upper half of this great mountain was shrouded in mist, completely submerged in a dense sea of clouds, making its true height impossible to discern.
A group of people was already standing before this mountain.
Ye Yunfei looked around and discovered many Heavenly Immortal experts from major powers had arrived.
The Third Prince of the Heavenly God Hall, along with a large group of young elites from major factions such as the demon race, the devil race, and the Dark Faction, were standing before the mountain.
“Brother Meng, Brother Lu, you’ve come.”
As soon as the three arrived, a youth in gray robes walked over. It was he who had sent the message informing Meng Wu of the situation here.
This gray-robed youth came before the three and gave Ye Yunfei a strange look.
Meng Wu immediately made a brief introduction between Ye Yunfei and this gray-robed youth.
This youth’s name was Li Ming, an Advanced Heavenly Immortal.
“Brother Li, what’s going on?” Lu Jun asked.
“Splendorous light seems to radiate from that mountain peak, suggesting there are many treasures there. It’s just that this mountain is very difficult to ascend. Many have already tried to climb it but were repelled by a mysterious prohibition. Moreover, flight is impossible on this mountain—one can only walk. A mysterious energy controls the space above the peak. Anyone attempting to fly up will be immediately suppressed. Many are currently attempting to climb the mountain now. Everyone believes this peak likely holds the legacy and opportunities left by the Xuwu God.”
Li Ming answered.
“If that’s the case, then we should also climb up and have a look!”
Lu Jun said.
“I’ve got it! There’s a special type of formation on this mountain, somewhat similar to the formations some sects use to test the foundation and aptitude of their disciples. Of course, the formation here is much more advanced!”
Suddenly, a Perfected Heavenly Immortal spoke loudly.
This was a young man, emanating a sharp and imposing aura, his gaze bright. One could tell at a glance he was an outstanding young genius.
“Let me give it a try!”
The young man declared, then stepped forth and began ascending the mountain ahead.
Rumble…
An endless surge of energy and laws erupted from within the young man’s body, soaring into the sky and causing the surrounding space to tremble.
The young man’s movement speed was extremely fast. Starting from the mountain’s base, he ascended as swiftly as if on level ground, covering a great distance up the mountain in mere moments.
“There’s a Seven Immortals' Sariras Flower here! And by the looks of it, it’s at least a thousand years old! Hahaha… It seems this mountain peak indeed holds treasures and opportunities left by the Xuwu God!”
The young man suddenly spotted a strangely-shaped flower by the roadside, blooming with a golden light and exuding a strange fragrance. After briefly identifying it, he immediately recognized this flower as the exceedingly precious Seven Immortals’ Sariras Flower. Unable to contain his delight, he burst into laughter.
Hearing his words, the others standing at the mountain’s base all perked up with excitement.
Unable to hold themselves back any longer, everyone began utilizing their movement techniques to ascend the mountain.
“All Heavenly God Hall members, follow me!”
The Third Prince of the Heavenly God Hall waved his hand and loudly shouted, leading the charge up the mountain.
Among the Heavenly God Hall contingent, the Third Prince’s cultivation realm and strength were not the highest, but his status and position were the most esteemed, so even the Perfected Heavenly Immortals of Heavenly God Hall had to heed his commands.
Moreover, this Third Prince, despite his young age, had already displayed exceptionally high talent and had earned a certain reputation within the Chaotic Void Sea.
“Our Dark Faction members, ascend as well!”
One of the Dark Faction members waved his hand and strode forward, charging up the mountain.
Mighty dark energy and dark laws surged from his body like a bursting flash flood.
He was one of the Dark Faction’s young geniuses, part of this generation’s Black Princes.
“We, the demon race, must not fall behind!”
A young demon from the demon race led a team of demon race members charging up the mountain.
Members of the other major powers, unwilling to be outdone, also moved into action and began their ascent.
“Let’s go up and take a look too!”
Meng Wu declared.
Then Meng Wu, Lu Jun, Ye Yunfei, and Li Ming, walking side by side, rushed together toward the mountain ahead.
Rumble…
As soon as each person stepped onto the mountain, they immediately felt a powerful pressure descend from above, pressing directly onto their bodies.
Everyone felt as if they were being pressed down by an invisible great mountain, and their movements began to be restricted.
“This formation indeed somewhat resembles the kind used by some sects to test a disciple’s foundation and aptitude!”
Ye Yunfei was a bit surprised.
In truth, given Ye Yunfei’s current cultivation and strength, he could also set up a formation with similar effects, but its power would be far inferior to the formation existing on this mountain.
When they first stepped onto the mountain, this formation wasn’t very strong. Everyone could still endure it and continued climbing upward.
However, gradually, everyone discovered that the higher they climbed, the greater the pressure on their bodies became. One could say that with each step upward, the pressure grew heavier.
“There are many Immortal Crystals here!”
“I see them too! There are many Immortal Crystals by the roadside, and their grades are very high!”
Suddenly, quite a few people exclaimed in pleasant surprise, rushing to the roadside to gather the Immortal Crystals.
“There are over a dozen spirit herbs here, all of high grade! And they are particularly rare varieties, hard to find in the outside world!”
Soon, someone else cried out excitedly, having discovered many high-grade spirit herbs by the roadside.
“Hahaha… I found a Celestial Flame Spirit Tree! It just so happens that I cultivate flame-type cultivation techniques and martial skills! It suits me perfectly!”
A man in red robes, after climbing a short distance, spotted a small red tree growing beside a large rock. Recognizing it as the Celestial Flame Spirit Tree, he burst into laughter on the spot, then rushed over, carefully uprooted the small tree, and stored it away.
“Those look like Soul Power energy crystals!”
Suddenly, Ye Yunfei saw the ground glowing not far from the roadside. Looking more clearly, he saw many energy crystals of Soul Power type, some half-buried in the soil.
Ye Yunfei quickly walked over and, with a wave of his sleeve, shaved off part of the soil, revealing even more Soul Power energy crystals beneath.
Moreover, the grades of these Soul Power energy crystals were quite good.
“The quality of these Soul Power energy crystals is excellent!”
Ye Yunfei was pleasantly surprised and began collecting these energy crystals.
At almost the same time, Meng Wu, Lu Jun, and Li Ming also discovered different treasures and rushed over in delight to collect them.
Ye Yunfei glanced around and noticed that almost everyone who had ascended this mountain had gained something by now.
Moreover, it seemed everyone’s harvest was different, and each person found a treasure perfectly suited to themselves! It was as if some unseen will was distributing these different treasures to different people.
“Could it be that these treasures are rewards from this mountain for those who climb it?”
Ye Yunfei felt somewhat surprised in his heart.
“I can’t take it anymore, the pressure is too great!”
Just then, someone cried out in pain.
The next moment, a man’s body was blasted away by a powerful energy, sent flying high through the air before plummeting to the ground some distance from the mountain.
“I can’t take it either!”
Another person cried out in pain.
Immediately after, more people showed pained expressions, standing completely still, unable to climb any higher.
Everyone had begun enduring the pressure of this mountain from their very first step. And the higher they climbed, the greater the pressure became. Finally, some were starting to be unable to withstand it.
Seeing people being blasted away, the others were greatly startled and became even more cautious and careful.
The mountain seemed to be littered with treasures everywhere. If they could continue climbing upward, they would undoubtedly find even more precious treasures. No one wanted to be forced off at this moment.
However, as time went on, more and more people became unable to withstand the mountain’s pressure and were successively blasted away, falling outside the mountain’s perimeter.
“No! I just saw a large pile of top-tier Immortal Crystals and didn’t even have time to collect them before being forced down. I refuse to accept this!”
“I saw over a dozen priceless spirit herbs! But why was I forced down at this exact moment! Damn it!”
…
Those blasted away and expelled from the mountain wailed loudly, feeling utterly unwilling.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei, Meng Wu, Lu Jun, and Li Ming continued climbing step by step.
Although the four of them were now feeling considerable pressure, they could still resist it. All along the way, the four harvested more and more treasures.
Besides the four, many young geniuses from other major powers were also climbing upward step by step, and their harvests were equally impressive.
“Have you noticed, every time we climb a certain distance upward, we obtain some treasures! And the higher we climb, the more precious the treasures we obtain. It’s as if these treasures are specifically rewarded to us for climbing!”
Meng Wu transmitted his thoughts to Ye Yunfei and the other two.
“Could it be that the Xuwu God deliberately set this up?”
Lu Jun speculated.
“Regardless, let’s continue upward and strive for more treasures!”
Li Ming said.
The four continued conversing while climbing.
By now, more and more people were becoming unable to withstand the mountain’s pressure, being continuously blasted away and falling to the ground outside.
“It truly seems that the stronger one’s strength and the higher one’s talent, the greater the height they can reach!”
Lu Jun suddenly said.
“Yes! So far, all those who have been blasted away had relatively lower cultivation strength and comparatively poorer aptitude.”
Ye Yunfei nodded.
The four continued climbing while observing everything happening on the mountain.
“Mental Force energy crystals!”
Ye Yunfei suddenly discovered a batch of Mental Force energy crystals by the roadside and was overjoyed, immediately rushing over to collect them.
Although Ye Yunfei already had a large number of Mental Force energy artifacts, one never had too many good things.
Mental Force energy was one of Ye Yunfei’s strongest combat methods at present, and he intended to continue improving his Mental Force energy level in the future, so treasures related to it were naturally the more, the better.
“Could it be that this mountain was specially set up by the ancient Xuwu God to test disciples?”
The remnant soul, who had been paying close attention to the mountain, transmitted this thought to Ye Yunfei.