"Mhhm~!" Stretching her body as she slowly woke up after having slept for what felt like days, Mui let out a comfortable sound before getting her hands on yet another delicious fruit to satiate the hunger that appeared the moment she woke up.
Chomp~
Finishing up the fruit in a single bite, Mui turned her attention towards the location of the Fourth special area located farther up the mountain. Even if part of her wanted to just stay inside the third special area where she could laze around with an endless supply of delicious fruits, she also understood that completing the trial was a top priority!
I... I should get going...
Feeling a bit afraid when she remembered how she had only barely managed to make it to the third special area due to suddenly breaking through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, Mui could not help hesitating for a short moment before finally taking a step outside the special area.
Whoosh-!
Not even a second after doing this, Mui felt all too familiar terrifying pressure once again weighing down on her. Even if this was not the first time, the pressure was even stronger than it had been between the second and third special area.
"I should start moving..." Knowing that the qi inside her dantian was extremely limited in how long it allowed her to do something simple like using her cultivation mantra, Mui did not dare waste a single second after she finished adjusting to the pressure. Directly beginning to make her way up the increasingly steep mountain path leading towards the fourth special area.
The path up the mountain was not anything special and had at most been made smooth to make it easier to walk along... Of course, that was if one didn't consider the terrifying pressure one would have to endure while traversing this path.
At least, the simple and empty path made it far easy for Mui, as she slowly got closer and closer to the fourth special area without any problems.
"Ah-!"
Thump-!
It was when she was just about to reach the fourth special area that Mui who had been ready to relax after the long climb, suddenly let out a painful scream before collapsing on the ground. Unable to stand up again due to the pressure constantly bearing down on her.
Wha-what happened!? Why did the pressure suddenly increase by so much!?
Barely able to keep herself conscious, Mui could not help wondering why the pressure that had been relatively easy for her to withstand so far, had suddenly multiplied by several folds. Not even giving her a chance to resist before she was pressed to the ground.
No! I can't fail like this!
Feeling her vision fading with each passing second, as she got closer and closer to fainting due to the pressure from above, Mui found what little willpower she had to use the last power left in her body to forcibly drag herself forward. Moving along the small rocks of the path leading up the mountain towards the fourth special area that was no more than a few meters away from her. Disregarding any pain, she felt from dragging her body along the small rocks while being pressed down towards the ground at the same time.
Continuing forward towards her goal like this for an unknown period of time, Mui managed to drag her exhausted body inside the fourth special area. Allowing her to finally relax her battered and exhausted body.
I... I made it!
The last ten meters of her journey towards the fourth special area had by far been one of the hardest things she had ever experienced, but in the end, she had made it!
Now I can eat more delicious-
Elated and bursting with happiness after making it on to the soft grass that covered the fourth special area, Mui didn't have any time to express her happy emotions before fainting on the spot. Falling into a deep sleep on the soft grass under the shade of a large tree filled with leaves large enough to cover her entire body.
...
Whoosh-!
"Ah!? I fell asleep... Hun!? What happened to my injuries...?" Waking up after an unknown length of time, Mui jumped off the ground before suddenly realizing that the pain she had felt across her entire body before falling asleep had completely disappeared.
"Hm? My strength also seems to have increased..."
Investigating her situation further, Mui also discovered that the qi cyclone inside her dantian seemed to have grown larger and had reached the limit of the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Only needing a single push to reach the Thirds Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Not only that, but it was also completely stable without her needing to due anything to stabilize the sudden increase in qi present inside her dantian!
"This place is amazing. Allowing my strength to improve rapidly... Maybe I can use this..." Muttering this to herself as she once again felt amazed by the fact that her strength had managed to take another leap forward without her doing anything, Mui began wondering whether she could use the pressure just outside the fourth special area to improve her strength even further before moving on towards the next special area.
Rumble~
"What was that!?"
However, before she had a chance to do this, a loud rumbling sound echoed out across the special area. Making Mui jump in surprise as she looked around herself for the source of the rumbling sound.
Rumble~
"Wait... the origin of the sound is-"
It was only when the rumbling sound returned for a second time, that she realized it was coming from her stomach.
"..."
Feeling her face turning red in embarrassment upon this realization, Mui quietly got her hands on a large number of delicious fruits before starting to eat in silence. Instead using this time to look for the box of words, that could be found at every special area, to figure out how much time she had left to complete the second trial.
"Ah, there it is." Finding the box of words half hidden behind one of the large trees inside the special area, Mui took a few delicious fruits along with her as she made her way over to the box of words.
Rustle~
Pulling aside a few leaves that was blocking the words on the box of words, Mui began reading through the information displayed on the box of words.
[Second Trial, Test of Will]
[Status: In Progress, Fourth Special Area Reached]
[Time left: 8 Hours, 17 Minutes, 24 Seconds... 23 Seconds... 22-]
"Waaaah! I only have 8 hours left before the trial is over!? Just how long did I sleep for!?"
Letting out a both shocked and surprised sound after discovering that she only had a little over 8 hours left before the second trial came to an end, Mui could not help starting to panic. The plan of using the pressure to increase her strength before continuing further up the mountain, was now useless, as she didn't have the time to do this anymore.
For the first time since she had started the trials, Mui felt like she didn't have enough time to complete the trial.
"At least I don't have a long way to go to reach the top of the mountain..." Calming herself down as she said this while looking towards the peak of the mountain that was at most a little over a hundred meters away from her current location, Mui decided to not think about the terrifying pressure she had experienced just before reaching the fourth special area.
After all, even with her improved strength, it would barely be doable to move ten to twenty meters further up the mountain... And that was not mentioning the fact that the pressure would most likely be even more terrifying compared to what she had experienced on the last ten meters to the fourth special area...
"Well... Considering I don't have that long to the peak of the mountain, I should try and see if I can break through to the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm before trying to climb to the peak..." Muttering this to herself as she very well understood she was far too weak to make the last hundred meter journey up the mountain to the peak, Mui decided to use what little time she could to reach the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.
At the very least, if she managed to reach the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, she would have more qi available in her dantian and should be able to utilize her cultivation mantra more efficiently to negate the pressure.
Whoosh~!
Having come up with a plan on what to do before attempting to climb the last bit of the way to the peak of the mountain, Mui sat down on the soft grass before focusing all her attention towards trying to break through to the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Hoping to breakthrough and stabilize her cultivation base as fast as possible.