On New Year’s Eve, all Archean Mountain disciples gathered at Dao Exchange Peak.
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
A group of disciples enjoyed themselves with drinks. There were also musicians playing music by the side. Delicacies were constantly served by servants.
Liu Qiyue and Meng Chuan sat together and watched the fireworks explode in the distance. The servants—who were launching the fireworks from afar—were also very happy.
“In a blink of an eye, it’s already New Year’s Eve. This is the first New Year’s Eve I’m spending at Archean Mountain.” Liu Qiyue leaned against Meng Chuan and felt like she wasn’t lonely on Archean Mountain anymore.
“We will be here for about ten years,” said Meng Chuan with a smile. “This will be our last peaceful period. We will be placed on the battlefield once we leave the mountain.”
After entering Archean Mountain, most disciples went down the mountain after ten to fifteen years. Some people went down the mountain earlier—about six years after entering Archean Mountain.
Some of the more talented disciples took twenty years before leaving the mountain.
The higher one’s talent was, the harder the Nine Mystical Caves test. For example, the Fifth Young Master—Xue Feng—had been on the mountain for ten years. He had achieved Sword Soul last year. He was now far more powerful than Jadesun Palace Lord, but he still wasn’t able to pass the Nine Mystical Caves.
My future Nine Mystical Caves test will probably be very difficult as well. He had formed his Essence Soul when he was mortal, so his master’s requirements for him would definitely be strict. If he successfully cultivated a transcendent-grade Godfiend Body and a Black Metal Sutra move, the test would be extremely difficult. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for him to cultivate a transcendent-grade Godfiend Body and a Black Metal Sutra either. Only two disciples—who hadn’t left the mountain—were capable of doing so. One of them was King Calm Sea’s fifth son, Xue Feng, and the other was Xiao Yunyue from Jiang State’s Xiao family.
“We have to enter the battlefield once we leave the mountain. Therefore, we need to cultivate well on the mountain. Only with sufficient strength can we kill powerful demon monarchs,” said Liu Qiyue.
“Hey Couple, what are the two of you talking about? Why aren’t you coming over to drink?” Dong Fang’s voice was rough as he shouted loudly.
“Yes, yes, yes. Come on over,” Ning Yibo shouted in a tipsy state.
“Couple?” Liu Qiyue blushed red when she heard that.
“Qiyue, let’s go over.” Meng Chuan smiled as he pulled Liu Qiyue along. Liu Qiyue had come up the mountain alone, so she joined this new batch of disciples for the gathering.
There were three gatherings at Dao Exchange Peak every month. They happened on the 10th, 20th, and last day of each month.
Firstly, the gathering was meant for them to relax and make friends. After all, they would be comrade-in-arms on the battlefield. Secondly, they could discuss any cultivation problems that stumped them. Many Archean Mountain disciples still on the mountains had become Godfiends; thus, they could give some pointers to their juniors.
Thirdly, they could engage in sparring matches. All who entered Archean Mountain were geniuses, so they naturally refused to admit defeat.
The gathering today was very special. It was New Year’s Eve.
“Come, come. We can let Sister Qiyue off, but Meng Chuan, you’re a man. You need to drink three shots as a forfeit!” Dong Fang laughed.
“Alright, I’ll drink three cups.” Meng Chuan didn’t hesitate and quickly downed three cups of alcohol.
Yan Jin sat with a cup of alcohol in his hand as a smile crept up on the corners of his mouth.
The group of people drank and talked.
“I think I’m quite talented in cultivating the Two World Divine Body. I’ve already gained basic mastery of it. Perhaps I’ll be able to achieve a transcendent-grade Godfiend body in a year,” said the youngest Yan Chitong. He sat cross-legged—his feet bare—as he gnawed on a drumstick smugly.
“Junior Brother, don’t be too smug. It’s easy to gain basic mastery of the Two World Divine Body. The hardest parts are the three life-and-death tribulations,” said Yan Feng with a smile.
“None of the transcendent-grade Godfiend bodies are simple,” said Chu Yong.
Everyone was in a good mood.
Everyone’s cultivation was very smooth in the beginning. Meng Chuan’s cultivation of the Lightning Devastator Fiend Body had also gone very smoothly.
“Look at how happy you all are.” A carefree young man walked over with an alcohol flask in hand. He looked drunk. “My name is Yue Qing. I came to Archean Mountain two years earlier than you. Every new batch of disciples would smile happily in the beginning, but they all wore bitter looks as they continued cultivating. It’s really difficult to achieve a transcendent-grade Godfiend body. I haven’t succeeded in cultivating the Black Sand Fiend Body to this day. Forget it. Let’s not talk about this. It’s New Year’s Eve. Why talk about this? Let me toast all of you, my juniors.”
“Bottoms up, Senior Brother.”
Meng Chuan and company raised their cups. He wasn’t familiar with all of his seniors. However, they would gradually become more familiar with each other through gatherings at Dao Exchange Peak.
They were destined to be influential figures of the Great Zhou Dynasty. They were still young.
...
After New Year’s Eve—the first day of the new year—he began cultivating normally again.
All the geniuses were very diligent. They knew that many twenty-year-olds were serving in the military and fighting on the battlefield while they were able to live comfortably. Why? It was because they were the hope of humanity! On the mountain, they had all the resources and formulas they needed. Many seniors left behind secret manuals and notes while fighting outside.
They were free to choose, and the Supremacy guided them personally. Therefore, they didn’t want to waste time.
Thousand Sabers Cavern.
On 6th January, Meng Chuan arrived at Thousand Sabers Cavern.
Looking up, one could see countless caves. Strong winds passed through these caves, producing ear-piercing sounds. There were even visible “wind blades” passing through the caves.
Thousand Sabers Cavern was a natural formation. One didn’t require any credit to cultivate here.
From today onwards, I’ll practice my saber here every day. Meng Chuan leaped 100 feet high and entered a cave.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The raging winds in the cave roared as wind blades sliced through them. The tunnels were in all kinds of weird shapes—due to the howling winds buffeting the cave for many years.
As Meng Chuan walked through the cave, he dodged the wind blades nimbly. As for the wind? It was nothing to experts at his level.
After venturing a thousand feet into the cave, the wind in the cave grew stronger. There were even more wind blades here.
According to Archean Mountain’s records, Godfiend Guo Ke was isolated deep inside Thousand Sabers Cavern. He had his Quintessential Essence sealed, preventing him from casting a domain. The wind blades constantly sliced at his body, causing him to suffer endless torment. Therefore, he constantly sliced the wind blades apart.
There are countless wind blades deep inside Thousand Sabers Cavern; they can slice a newly-advanced Godfiend to pieces. In the three years he spent inside Thousand Sabers Cavern, Guo Ke created the Heart Intent Saber Art—which helped him dominate the entire world—after repeatedly slashing the wind blades. With this, he became a Marquis Godfiend. Then, he went deeper into Thousand Sabers Cavern to cultivate his saber arts! By the time he reached the end, he had mastered the Heart Saber Stance and became a Regis Godfiend. The Heart Intent Saber Art was perfected after centuries, becoming one of humanity’s strongest weapon arts.
Meng Chuan nodded slightly.
The foundation of Heart Intent Saber’s eighteen stances was the first stance—Heart Saber Stance.
The Heart Saber Stance was the most basic move of Heart Intent Saber, but it was also the saber art’s ultimate move. However, to most Heart Intent Saber cultivators, the next three stances were stronger. After all, there was only a handful in history who could transform the Heart Saber Stance into the most powerful move.
Time to begin. Meng Chuan quickly drew his saber.
Wind blades whistled through the air, their trajectories unpredictable. A saber beam flashed and cleaved the wind blades! The wind blades were weak, so Meng Chuan sliced through them easily.
Nine saber beams struck the wind blades one after another, but there were still two wind blades that flew past Meng Chuan.
Oh? Meng Chuan frowned. According to the manual, I have to block all the wind blades. However, the wind blades don’t fly over simultaneously. I need to slice them apart quickly. My saber needs to be fast, and I have to strike out consecutively and accurately.
It was different from when he trained with arrows flying at him. Previously, Meng Chuan struck out once before sheathing his saber, in preparation for the next strike.
Here, a large number of wind blades attacked him irregularly. He needed to draw his saber quickly and strike out multiple times. In the blink of an eye, he needed to attack seven to ten times.
I’ll follow the Quintessential Essence circulation method described by the Heart Intent Saber manual. Meng Chuan was also adapting to it. Previously, he used the Quintessential Essence circulation method that he had gleaned from a portion of the Five Lightning Descent move to create his own Saber Drawing Stance.
However, the technique he created was crude.
The Heart Saber Stance circulation method is the most suitable for a saber drawing stance. It can be said to be the best saber drawing stance in the world.
As Meng Chuan got used to it, his execution of the saber move improved. Ninety percent of his strength went into the saber strike, while the last ten percent was used to direct the blade. His explosive speed would reach an extreme, and he would immediately deliver another strike. He kept this up continuously, his saber never stopping.
This was the only way to slice more and more wind blades apart.
Yes, that’s how it should be. Meng Chuan quickly adapted. After all, he had spent a lot of effort on the Saber Drawing Stance. He had a great deal of experience, so he learned the Heart Saber Stance quickly. He quickly blocked the wind blades in Thousand Sabers Cavern and advanced forward. As he advanced, the wind blades grew in strength and number. When Godfiend Guo Ke reached Thousand Sabers Cavern’s end, he had relied on his Heart Saber Stance to become a Regis Godfiend. As a mortal, Meng Chuan was still far from reaching that stage.
...
Meng Chuan spent seven hours cultivating in Thousand Sabers Cavern every day. He spent six hours on the Heart Saber Stance. He spent an hour practicing the movement technique, Swallow Stance, and the defensive technique, Red Lotus Stance. Swallow Stance and Red Lotus Stance were Heart Intent Saber’s ninth and fifth moves respectively.
After leaving Thousand Sabers Cavern, he returned to his cave abode to eat and rest. In the afternoon, he would spend two hours tempering his body with baneful aura. When evening came, he painted. Having learned that painting was beneficial to his Essence Soul, he naturally didn’t stop. He also liked painting from the bottom of his heart.
...
Days passed.
Meng Chuan’s cultivation of Lightning Devastator Fiend Body went very smoothly. He reached First Refinement in five days, Second Refinement in twelve days, and the Third Refinement in eighteen days. His progress was extremely smooth, making Meng Chuan extremely happy. From the looks of it, he was truly suited for the Lightning Devastator Fiend Body.
However—a month later—he encountered a bottleneck.