Chapter 281: Hanging Mountain
The Nine-Colored Divine Pool floated amidst the white clouds, its waters formed by the convergence of nine-colored Profound Qi, transforming into the rare and precious "Nine-Colored Profound Water"—a treasure of heaven and earth.
Within this divine pool stood a pavilion, and inside the pavilion sat a woman dressed in Daoist robes. The sight was akin to stumbling upon a celestial abode and witnessing a beautiful, holy fairy.
"This girl’s talent is no less than yours, and her cultivation is profound. Killing her won’t be easy," the Heavenly Emperor's Blade sneered coldly.
Ning Xiaochuan could sense the killing intent emanating from the blade and warned, "Don’t act recklessly. The Master of the Martial Palace hasn’t left the Emperor's Martial Palace yet. If we alert him, we can forget about finding any clues to the Divine Palace."
Ning Xiaochuan recognized the woman in Daoist robes—she was none other than the Spiritual Void Venerable, Xue Lingxu, a figure of extraordinary status within the Emperor's Martial Palace.
Could she be the Master of the Martial Palace’s disciple?
But while the Master of the Martial Palace practiced the Martial Path, she cultivated Dao Techniques.
Compared to a year ago, the Spiritual Void Venerable’s cultivation had ascended to another realm. Seated cross-legged in the pavilion, her breaths caused the Profound Qi in the entire Nine-Colored Divine Pool to ripple like waves.
Moreover, Ning Xiaochuan could distinctly perceive an indescribable, subtle fluctuation in the surrounding space, causing his heartbeat to alternately quicken and slow. At his current level, he should have perfect control over his heart rate, yet even he was affected by this mysterious force, his rhythm thrown into disarray.
"This is the power of Time. The flow of time around the Nine-Colored Spiritual Node is unstable—sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Even I’m influenced by it," the Heavenly Emperor's Blade remarked. "To wield the power of Time… her future achievements might surpass yours."
Ning Xiaochuan said, "She possesses the Chaos Heart Palace. As her Martial Path cultivation grows, she’ll gain control over both Space and Time."
After observing the Spiritual Void Venerable for a while longer, Ning Xiaochuan realized she seemed to be cultivating a Supreme Dao Technique, having sealed off her six senses and five perceptions. Completely immersed in her training, she was utterly unaware of her surroundings.
Now was the time to collect the Nine-Colored Profound Water.
Suppressing his aura, Ning Xiaochuan unfurled his Wings of Rage and soared above the white clouds, landing at the edge of the Nine-Colored Divine Pool.
A white Halo manifested around the pool’s perimeter, forming a massive luminous dome that encased the space where the divine pool resided.
A Barrier.
This Barrier was immensely powerful, faintly revealing rotating formations upon its surface.
"Only Martial Artists with Once-in-a-Century Talent may enter," a deep, resonant voice echoed from the Barrier itself—not from any human mouth.
"Could this Barrier have gained sentience?" Ning Xiaochuan was astonished.
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade explained, "Every secret location within the White Cloud Cave Heaven is protected by Barriers, each with its own entry requirements. Only those whose innate talent meets the criteria are permitted to enter and cultivate."
Ning Xiaochuan, possessing "Once-in-Three-Thousand-Two-Hundred-Years" talent, naturally qualified.
Taking a step forward, he passed through the Barrier as effortlessly as crossing a curtain of water.
The Nine-Colored Divine Pool was not large. Through layers of Nine-Colored Profound Qi, one could see the Spiritual Void Venerable seated cross-legged in the pool, cultivating. The Profound Qi here was astonishingly dense and of an exceptionally high grade.
After entering the barrier, Ning Xiaochuan felt the blood in his body boiling, every pore breathing in Profound Qi. The Nine-Colored Profound Qi automatically merged into his blood, skin, bones, muscles, internal organs, Heart Palace, and heart. Every moment, his body underwent a transformation.
"No wonder the Spiritual Void Venerable’s cultivation speed is so fast. Cultivating in the Heavenly Palace year-round and possessing such a treasure trove of cultivation resources—even an ordinary person staying here long enough would have their body refined into a Divine Body," Ning Xiaochuan thought to himself.
In truth, Ning Xiaochuan had misunderstood. The Spiritual Void Venerable did not cultivate in the Nine-Colored Divine Pool all year round. It was only because the Master of the Martial Palace was about to leave the Yulan Empire that he had summoned her back. The Master of the Martial Palace hoped she could cultivate in the Nine-Colored Divine Pool, break through her realm, and succeed him as the new Master of the Emperor's Martial Palace.
When the older generation prepares to leave, they naturally must first find a successor.
Moreover, cultivating exclusively in the White Cloud Cave Heaven would inevitably lead to bottlenecks. Once a bottleneck was encountered, even a hundred years of cultivation in the White Cloud Cave Heaven would result in no progress.
Ning Xiaochuan stopped overthinking and took out the jade bottle and Mystic Wood box he had prepared earlier, beginning to collect the Nine-Colored Profound Water. A single drop of Nine-Colored Profound Water was worth several times a Low-Grade Profound Stone, yet Ning Xiaochuan was now filling bottles upon bottles. If other Martial Artists saw this, they would surely be driven mad with envy.
However, Ning Xiaochuan was still far from satisfied. After all, the jade bottle and Mystic Wood box were too small, limiting the amount of Nine-Colored Profound Water he could collect. Ordinary items couldn’t contain the Nine-Colored Profound Water—even if it were poured in, the Profound Water would dissipate into Profound Qi.
"Heart Nurturing True Cauldron!"
Ning Xiaochuan summoned the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron from his heart, expanding it into a seven-meter-tall cauldron. Only after filling the entire cauldron with Nine-Colored Profound Water did he retract it back into his heart.
With such a massive cauldron of Nine-Colored Profound Water, not only could he nurture many high-level Martial Artists, but the pills refined from it would undoubtedly be far superior to those made by others.
This was truly a windfall.
"Huh? Where’s the Mystic Beast Manual?"
Suppressing his excitement, Ning Xiaochuan searched around but found that the Mystic Beast Manual had already flown above the Nine-Colored Divine Pool, heading straight for the Spiritual Void Venerable.
There was no need to guess—it was definitely the "Heavenly Emperor's Blade" inside the Mystic Beast Manual causing trouble.
What was it trying to do?
Ning Xiaochuan cursed in frustration. If the Spiritual Void Venerable were awakened, they wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything in the White Cloud Cave Heaven.
He activated his movement technique, flying above the Nine-Colored Divine Pool to chase after the Mystic Beast Manual.
"Boom!"
A massive vortex appeared around the Spiritual Void Venerable, and the Mystic Beast Manual, which had nearly reached her, instantly vanished.
When the Mystic Beast Manual reappeared, it had already landed back in Ning Xiaochuan’s hand.
Clutching the Mystic Beast Manual, Ning Xiaochuan immediately fled the Nine-Colored Divine Pool, dashed through the barrier, and hid within the white mist.
The whirlpool above the Nine-Colored Divine Pool quickly calmed down. The Spiritual Void Venerable sat cross-legged in the pavilion, her eyes still closed as she continued cultivating. It was as if she was completely unaware of what had just happened.
"Damn it, the Impure Energy actually encountered a spatial collapse. This girl’s methods are no joke," the Heavenly Emperor's Blade grumbled in frustration.
Ning Xiaochuan said, "What the hell are you trying to do? We almost got exposed just now."
"Her talent isn’t any lower than yours. I think recruiting her as a blade slave would be a good choice," the Heavenly Emperor's Blade replied.
Ning Xiaochuan was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. "Recruit your sister! If you want to make her a blade slave, I won’t stop you, but that’ll have to wait for later. Don’t forget the main reason we came to the White Cloud Cave Heaven."
"Right, let’s head to Hanging Mountain first," the Heavenly Emperor's Blade conceded.
Ning Xiaochuan set off once more, following the Heavenly Emperor's Blade toward Hanging Mountain.
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade didn’t know the exact location of Hanging Mountain either and could only rely on its own senses to search.
After traveling through the White Cloud Cave Heaven for over forty days and taking countless wrong turns, Ning Xiaochuan finally caught sight of a hazy mountain floating in the void. Thick clouds and mist obscured its true form, making it impossible to see clearly.
"Is this… Hanging Mountain?"
After another day of travel, Ning Xiaochuan finally stood directly beneath Hanging Mountain.
The towering peak before him was covered in sheer cliffs and ancient spirit trees. Among them stood an ancient green pine tree over 300 meters tall, its trunk more than 10 meters in diameter. Even the white roots hanging from the cliffs resembled a waterfall suspended in the air.
At the summit of the mountain, mist swirled, and faint divine light flickered, as if a deity resided there.
To be precise, this place had indeed once been inhabited by gods.
Ning Xiaochuan unfurled his Wings of Rage and soared toward Hanging Mountain. But as soon as he reached midair, a violent gale swept over him, forcing him back to the ground.
Refusing to accept this, Ning Xiaochuan shot into the sky once more, wrapping himself in Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi like a streak of White Light piercing the heavens.
"Thunderous!"
A bolt of Lightning descended from the sky, piercing through the Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi and striking Ning Xiaochuan’s body.
He crashed back to the ground, pain flaring in his shoulder as strands of Lightning crackled across the wound, seeping into his flesh.
"That Lightning was incredibly powerful. If I hadn’t dodged in time, it might have pierced right through me," Ning Xiaochuan muttered with a frown.
A deep, resonant voice echoed from Hanging Mountain: "Only Martial Artists with talent reaching the 'Once-in-Four-Thousand-Years' level may enter."
It was the voice of the Barrier.
Only those with Once-in-Four-Thousand-Years talent could enter Hanging Mountain. Ning Xiaochuan’s current talent was only at the Once-in-Three-Thousand-Two-Hundred-Years level—no wonder the Barrier had blocked him.
"Maybe I shouldn’t force my way in. This is a Barrier left by the Heavenly Emperor, far beyond my current ability to break. And the Barrier’s attacks will only grow stronger each time. If I try again, I might end up getting obliterated," Ning Xiaochuan thought to himself.
There was only one way to enter Hanging Mountain—to raise his talent level.
A single drop of Ning Xiaochuan’s blood could manifest four Divine Tigers. Based on his deductions, if he could cultivate to the point where one drop of blood manifested five Divine Tigers, he should be able to reach the "Once-in-Four-Thousand-Years" talent level.
Ning Xiaochuan took out a bottle of Nine-Colored Profound Water and opened its lid, releasing dense nine-colored Profound Qi from within.
He absorbed the power of the Nine-Colored Profound Water to refine the Blood Qi within his body.
True to its reputation as a treasure of heaven and earth, the Nine-Colored Profound Water contained an extremely rich concentration of Profound Qi, allowing Ning Xiaochuan's cultivation realm to advance at an astonishing speed.
After spending an entire year, Ning Xiaochuan finally broke through his bottleneck, stepping into the Transcendent Realm Sixth Layer and shedding his sixth layer of Mortal Skin.
However, his blood had not yet reached the level of five Divine Tigers per drop, though it had grown far more potent than before.
After another year and a half, the blood within Ning Xiaochuan's body finally began to boil, advancing toward the level of five Divine Tigers—he was now on the verge of a breakthrough!
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