Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chapter 594: Bountiful Treasures

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Chen Fei rested for a moment before beginning his ascent once again.

Given Chen Fei’s current speed, it was inevitable that it would take several hours to reach the summit.

Fortunately, the seal of the Black Divine Domain intentionally left a gap. During rest, the sealed elemental energy within him would rapidly replenish his stamina until reaching the level of an ordinary person’s body condition, and then it would cease.

Without this gap, people or beasts within the Black Divine Domain would either be exhausted to death or starve.

As time passed, Chen Fei continued to observe the mountain path and the conditions on the mountain walls during his climb.

Just like what Chen Fei observed at the foot of the mountain, there were indeed patterns of formations on the mountain path and the mountain walls. This entire Black Divine Peak was a massive formation.

Faintly, Chen Fei could sense that the seal on his body was related to the formation on this mountain peak, and even the black stone on Chen Fei’s back was actually a part of this formation.

However, that was all he could perceive. Chen Fei couldn’t discern anything more.

After eight hours, Chen Fei finally reached the summit. Looking ahead, a city appeared before his eyes.

With just one glance, Chen Fei felt a heavy sense of oppression rushing towards him, as if his entire mind was immobilized.

After a moment, Chen Fei managed to somewhat recover his senses. As he looked at the city again, his gaze became solemn.

The power possessed by this city, which could achieve such a deterrent effect solely through its aura, was difficult to imagine.

Carrying the black stone on his back, Chen Fei walked forward. The closer he got, the heavier his heart became, as if a hand was constantly pulling and tearing at his heart, intending to crush it completely.

Chen Fei’s steps faltered slightly as he realized that this force was mainly targeting the black stone behind him. If Chen Fei were to discard the black stone now, this pressure would likely disappear immediately.

But according to the rules just now, if he were to drop the black stone at this moment, Chen Fei would meet his demise instantly.

Was this another kind of test? Or was there some other reason behind it?

Chen Fei frowned slightly, hesitating to discard the black stone. Instead, he continued to press forward under the pressure.

With each subsequent step, the pressure on his heart grew stronger. Just when Chen Fei thought this pressure would continue to increase until he entered the city gates, the pressure suddenly disappeared from his heart.

In a daze, Chen Fei sensed another kind of power, completely different from the pressure exerted by the city earlier.

And this new force seemed to be welcoming Chen Fei, or more precisely, welcoming the black stone behind Chen Fei, as if Chen Fei had passed some sort of test?

It felt strange. The two forces just now should have been unified. At least on the mountain path, the two forces were intertwined.

But just now, they seemed to function separately as if experiencing a split in purpose.

Carrying the black stone on his back, Chen Fei entered the city gates. There were no bustling cries for sale, and there were no shops on either side of the street, only black stone houses.

At the end of the road stood a massive temple, where a group of people knelt outside, devoutly facing the temple with solemn expressions.

Chen Fei looked at the stone houses on both sides. Most of the doors were tightly shut, but some were left open. Chen Fei didn’t know the specific meaning behind this, so he simply walked towards the direction of the temple.

The rules on the mountain path specifically mentioned that the black stones brought up the mountain were to be moved into the temple. When the time came, as long as there were enough black stones, the rewards would also be obtained within the temple.

Chen Fei passed by the kneeling crowd and silently observed them. He noticed that each person had a black mark on their foreheads.

The patterns of the marks varied, with more complex patterns indicating a deeper presence of energy. Faintly, there was a scent reminiscent of the Mountain Sea Realm.

“Soul cultivation?”

Suddenly, an idea popped into Chen Fei’s mind. Based on the information Chen Fei had received, the greatest difference between the Mountain Sea Realm and the Combined Aperture Tempering realm might stem from the soul.

So, did the complexity of these marks represent the progress of soul cultivation?

As Chen Fei passed by these individuals, none of them reacted, but Chen Fei could sense that they were engaging in some form of connection with the temple.

Stepping into the temple, Chen Fei found no other adornments except for a massive statue directly ahead.

The statue was entirely black, much like the black stone on Chen Fei’s back.

The statue had a compassionate expression, without any sense of oppression. It even gave off a feeling that made one want to approach it.

After examining the statue for a moment, Chen Fei noticed that not all parts of the statue were entirely black. There were many greenish marks around its ankles and wrists.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed like the black color was trying to cover up these green marks, but it never succeeded.

Instead, the green marks seemed to be subtly spreading outward.

Chen Fei brought the black stone from his back to his front and glanced at the statue. Did he bring the black stone from the foot of the mountain to here to cast a divine body for the statue?

In front of the statue was a massive well, its opening spanning several meters in length and width. From a distance, the well looked more like a pool.

The final destination for the black stones carried up by humans and beasts was this well.

Chen Fei walked slowly to the edge of the well, feeling a strong urge to quickly throw the black stone in his hand into it. However, there was also another faint voice, seemingly trying to stop Chen Fei.

But the voice trying to stop Chen Fei was too weak and quickly disappeared.

After a moment of thought, Chen Fei glanced at the black stone in his hand and then threw it into the well.

Instead of hearing the sound of the stone hitting the water, Chen Fei heard a sound resembling chewing, but it was just a fleeting sensation, almost like an illusion.

As Chen Fei threw the black stone, a curtain of water appeared above the well.

[Contribution: One Stone]

Chen Fei didn’t recognize the characters on the water curtain, but just by looking at them, he immediately understood their meaning.

Next to Chen Fei’s contribution value, there was another column with numerous options, each followed by the required contribution value.

It turned out that carrying the black stone up the mountain could indeed earn rewards, at least for now.

At the bottom of these options was “Leave,” which required exactly one stone as a contribution. If Chen Fei chose to leave now, his contribution value would be more than enough.

As Chen Fei’s gaze moved away from the bottom option to leave, he realized that leaving like this would be a total loss for the cubic black stone in his spatial grid.

Of course, the most crucial aspect was the items listed in the options, which made Chen Fei’s eyes light up with envy.

“The Qin Sword, bending the will of the heavens, harnessing the immense power of the Mountain Sea Realm, a low-grade spiritual treasure!”

“The Iron Dragon Spear, also a low-grade spiritual treasure.”

“Heaven’s Scroll, a medium-grade spiritual treasure!”

Above the options, the prominent “spiritual treasure” label caught Chen Fei’s attention immediately.

The broken ruler in Chen Fei’s spatial grid was almost considered a defective spiritual treasure, yet here were complete spiritual treasures, and there was even the presence of a medium-grade spiritual treasure.

In addition to these spiritual treasures, there were even more magical treasures, starting from superior-grade magical treasures, with the quantity of supreme-grade magical treasures exceeding that of superior-grade ones.

Not only that, but there was also a plethora of rare and precious spiritual materials available. Near the end, Chen Fei saw the Celestial Azure Flower, the one that Min Yanlu had bestowed upon him.

After the spiritual materials, there were various cultivation techniques, each more numerous than the last. Following the cultivation techniques were various special innate abilities.

Chen Fei’s gaze lingered on those innate abilities for a moment before understanding their meaning.

Among martial artists, there was no such thing as innate abilities. At most, it was manifested as aptitude or exceptionally strong physique, or perhaps perfect compatibility with a certain cultivation technique.

But among beasts, many possessed innate powers due to their special bloodlines.

The ability displayed by the Azure Dragon Carp, the lateral movement of more than twenty li, did not belong to the Azure Dragon Carp itself, but indeed there were other beasts that possessed such innate talents.

And now, here they were transplanting this bloodline power, which completely belonged to other beasts, onto other individuals, whether human or beast?

Chen Fei’s gaze fluctuated slightly. The more he looked, the more excited he felt. Any one of these items presented here would cause a frenzy among people, with everyone clamoring to get their hands on them.

While magical treasures and cultivation techniques were traceable, the transplantation of innate abilities was something completely unattainable. Chen Fei had only heard of it here.

But the hotter Chen Fei’s heart grew, the more composed his mind became.

It wasn’t that the items here weren’t tempting; rather, they were too tempting, making Chen Fei feel an extremely surreal sensation.

What kind of existence was the Black Divine, to offer such unimaginable treasures? More importantly, why did bringing black stones up from the foot of the mountain give the opportunity to exchange for these items?

Was it difficult to carry black stones with a flesh-and-blood body?

For ordinary people, it would probably be truly difficult. But those who came here actually had a solid foundation in martial arts. Even if they were not as powerful as Chen Fei, they were much stronger than true ordinary people.

As for those beasts, they were even more formidable, each one possessing astonishing strength, making it even easier to carry black stones.

But that Azure Dragon Carp had indeed demonstrated a talent that did not belong to its own species. If it weren’t for the Azure Dragon Carp, Chen Fei would definitely have doubted the authenticity of the items here.

But the Azure Dragon Carp had provided such a template, proving that what was displayed here was not false.

“The disparity between the effort and the reward is staggering!”

Chen Fei turned and left the temple. He wanted to see what additional constraints would be imposed if he wanted to descend the mountain again.

Otherwise, with so many people here and only one black stone to move each day, the items inside would probably have been exchanged long ago.

As Chen Fei stepped out of the temple, his eyes glanced forward and met the gaze of a person who had been kneeling in front of the temple just now. The person happened to have opened their eyes.

There seemed to be myriad vortexes in this person’s eyes, and as soon as Chen Fei’s gaze touched them, he was completely drawn into them by the swirling motion.

It was as if ethereal melodies were echoing softly in his ears, but Chen Fei also felt his body being pulled down like a heavy weight, involuntarily sinking downward.

“Buzz!”

There was a slight tremor in Chen Fei’s mind, but it quickly subsided involuntarily. However, in that moment of tremor, Chen Fei was brought back to reality..