Chapter 118: Mountains upon Mountains

Page (1/3)

Although the distractions increased his mental pressure, Zhou Yi did not give up!
Name: Zhou Yi
Cultivation Time: 10,000 years
Magic Power: 8,456 years
Energy: 8,547
Cell Count: 9,999 (Second Transformation)
Spell Technique: Art of Heavy Mountains (1/100)

Time passed unknowingly. Zhou Yi glanced at his attribute panel, then returned his focus to cultivation.
His cultivation time had reached ten thousand years, and his magic power was over eight thousand four hundred years. If it were another time or situation, seeing such numbers would not leave him so calm; instead, there would be a trace of bitterness in his heart.

Magic power surpassing eight thousand years was once just a number of imagination and existence. Even if he had dreamed of reaching it one day, it was an uncertain future far away. But now, he had achieved it in a short time—it was nothing short of a miracle, albeit one paid with the price of his life.

Looking at these figures, although Zhou Yi quickly returned his attention to cultivation, a thought emerged in his heart: if he had not recklessly embedded the cosmic information into his acupoint, could he have reached his current strength?

That was impossible. Although he was now on the edge of life and death, this brink held both great terror and great fortune.

Still, Zhou Yi knew clearly that if he had not been so reckless before, even if he did not achieve his current power so quickly, it would not have taken much longer.

“So this time, I was truly reckless, impulsive... courting death myself!”

At this point, pondering further was futile. The outcome was already decided; what use was understanding it now?

Ten thousand years of cultivation, over eight thousand years of magic power—these were not limits. Undoubtedly, they would continue to rise, even reaching a much higher level. Yet, even so, for Zhou Yi, beyond easing his heart a little, it meant little else.

Judging by his current speed, the expansion of his acupoint space, and the absorption of energy, the third stage of the False Core was not his limit. The fourth stage of the False Core, once only a plan, no longer seemed unattainable.

Page (2/3)

Zhou Yi was almost certain he could reach the fourth stage of the False Core!

However, reaching the fourth stage would represent a boundary. According to his estimates, the limit of the acupoint space was roughly at the fourth stage of the False Core!

This did not mean the acupoint’s growth potential stopped at the fourth stage; rather, because it had always been maintained at its limit, although it continued to grow, the speed at which it could convert energy was limited. There was a maximum amount of energy it could process at any moment, even though this number increased with growth.

According to Zhou Yi’s calculations, upon reaching the fourth stage, the influx of external energy would exceed this limit, causing the acupoint to fail to fully convert the energy, and it would then explode.

Solving this was not impossible. Given time for the acupoint to digest the excess energy, the problem would naturally be resolved.

But time was what Zhou Yi lacked most!

Another solution was energy diversion.

The current problem was an overwhelming amount of energy beyond his capacity to digest. Later, it would burst his body.

If he could find a way to handle or consume this energy, the crisis would be averted.

Yet the only method Zhou Yi could think of to consume this energy was to cultivate the Art of Heavy Mountains.

Once successfully cultivated, the Art of Heavy Mountains would absorb magic power to nourish the heavy mountain within, naturally consuming energy at a considerable rate. When Zhou Yi first saw the cultivation requirements of this art, his heart sank because it was difficult to cultivate and even more so to fully unleash its power.

The crucial challenge was its enormous demand for magic power.

In Zhou Yi’s experience, only the sixth stage of the False Core required more magic power than the Art of Heavy Mountains after cultivation.

Nothing else came close.

Therefore, once Zhou Yi mastered the Art of Heavy Mountains, its massive demand for magic power would make his current problems vanish, transforming into great opportunities instead.

Moreover, cultivating the Art of Heavy Mountains would be like having a mountain inside his body, a constant source of pressure. This would accelerate the growth of his energy points and solve his current issues.

In other words, as long as he could cultivate the Art of Heavy Mountains, all his problems would cease to be problems.

Yet the entry requirement for the Art of Heavy Mountains was 129,600 years of magic power, because it required 129,600 mountain meridians to form the heavy mountain, each needing one year’s worth of magic power.

Page (3/3)

Up to now, even though Zhou Yi had greatly advanced from the first to the third stage of the False Core, he could only sigh in despair at the cultivation demands of the Art of Heavy Mountains. There was simply no way!

Cultivating the Art of Heavy Mountains could solve his current problems, but sadly, he couldn’t even get through the door. Even if it could solve his problems, what good would it do?

“Hmm?” Suddenly, Zhou Yi realized something important, so significant that even in this urgent moment, he gave it some thought.

“As long as I cultivate the Art of Heavy Mountains, I can solve my current problem!”

“And the reason I cannot cultivate it now is because I haven’t met the minimum magic power requirement!”

“129,600 years!”

“If I grow through acupoint expansion, I indeed need to reach the fifth stage of the False Core to meet this requirement, but if I use acupoint infusion, I can meet it now!”

Zhou Yi was stunned, his mind chaotic from his own thoughts. “So even though I risked my life, I actually didn’t have to?”

The third stage of the False Core, the ‘Cave’, could hold ten thousand years of magic power each. With 365 acupoints, that’s 3,650,000 years of magic power. If he perfected the third stage, he would possess 3.65 million years of magic power!

In this case, the Art of Heavy Mountains could naturally be cultivated, and his current problems would no longer be problems!

But...

The joy in Zhou Yi’s eyes faded. That meant no future for him.

True, if he chose acupoint infusion, he could solve his current problem. But it also meant his cultivation ceiling was set.

Although, as things stood, he could surpass the third stage of the False Core to reach the fourth, and then through acupoint infusion, his strength would see another massive leap.

The fourth stage of the False Core, the ‘Hall’, could hold 100,000 years of magic power each; perfected, that’s 36.5 million years of magic power!

“If there’s truly no other way, then... that’s not so bad!” Zhou Yi’s eyes carried bitterness. “Perfecting the fourth stage of the False Core... my strength wouldn’t be weak at all!”