Chapter 171: 164 Sixiang Mountain

By the evening of the first day, many quick-footed young Talisman Sword Masters had already arrived at their first checkpoint.

Looking into the distance, a strangely shaped mountain sat enthroned among the mountain range.

Given the mountain range's layout in Kungang, there shouldn't have been a mountain here, yet at this moment, there was one. The mountain had three peaks from low to high, arranged in a line, and at the foot of the mountain was a cave with its entrance wide open.

At the cave entrance, there were three large, sweeping characters: "Sixiang Mountain"!

"So this is the first checkpoint, Sixiang Mountain?" Jiang Shenyi looked up from the foot of the mountain.

The Sixiang Mountain checkpoint was simple and straightforward: starting from the foot of the mountain, one had to climb upward along the path in the cave. It was said that the pressure inside the cave was extremely strong, and the higher one went, the stronger the pressure became. Moreover, the three peaks represented three different types of pressure, each capable of pinning a person to the ground.

Challengers could rely on their own strength to resist the pressure, or they could use an Art Tool. Of course, most used Art Tools, since those coming to challenge were all Talisman Sword Masters.

Only those who overcame the three layers of pressure and crawled out from the cave entrance at the summit were considered to have successfully passed this checkpoint, earning the gift bestowed by Longyuan and hints for the questions later in the test paper.

"Sixiang Mountain... why is a mountain with three peaks called Sixiang Mountain?" Jiang Shenyi was quite puzzled.

"Huh? Asking me?" The Xiao Wugui he had tucked in his pocket poked its head out.

Jiang Shenyi said, "Do you know?"

Xiao Wugui said, "Don't know. Gui Ge thinks... it can be called whatever it wants. If it were called Seven Absolutes Mountain or Eight Immortals Mountain, what could you do about it?"

Jiang Shenyi curled his lip. After two days together, he already knew this little turtle's brain wasn't very bright and it didn't know much, though it was like a rat gnawing on a urinal—full of foul-smelling words.

But there was no one else on or off the mountain, and no one else could answer his question.

Suddenly, with a "thud," a person came out of the cave.

This person didn't come out standing or squatting, but lying down, sliding out of the cave flat on their back, head-first, as if the cave were a giant slide. There was a patch of grass at the cave entrance; they slid onto the grass and stopped, and aside from being covered in dust, they weren't injured.

"Ah—" they opened their mouth to shout in frustration, but suddenly seeing someone looking down at them, their face turned red and their voice stopped abruptly. They tried to scramble up, but felt light-headed and couldn't get up, finally resigning themselves to lying on the ground.

Seeing their situation, Jiang Shenyi remained calm and reached out a hand to pull the other person up.

The person took the opportunity to stand up. Seeing that Jiang Shenyi was handsome and spirited, especially with his calm expression—completely devoid of mockery and not at all surprised by their disheveled state—they couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill and cupped their hands, saying, "I've made a fool of myself."

Jiang Shenyi said, "It's fine. Brother, did you just come out from inside?"

The person nodded, and Jiang Shenyi asked again, "How is it inside? What's the situation?"

The person patted their chest and said, "It's too hard! This Sixiang Mountain is not meant for people to pass. The pressure inside is too great. And each layer is stronger than the last. Once you enter, the first layer of pressure is called the White Tiger Tribulation. It suppresses your strength. At that time, your strength and Internal Energy are lost, leaving you weak all over; you shake with every step you take. But this layer is still manageable; after all, we Talisman Sword Masters rely on Rune Formulas for support and can use the power of a Heavy Art Tool to bolster ourselves and resist the pressure, so climbing up is no problem."

Jiang Shenyi nodded, taking in the advice. The person became more fluent as they spoke: "The second layer of pressure is the Black Tortoise Tribulation. It suppresses your body, bones, and internal organs. At this point, you feel your bones rattling, your blood stops flowing, your internal organs are churning, and even breathing is difficult; every step forward feels like you're going to die. At that time, Heavy Art Tools are useless; only Art Tools that provide Body Protection and bolster the flesh can resist it, but such Art Tools are rare. The body-protecting Art Tools we usually carry, like protective walls, are of no use at all. Because that pressure acts directly upon you."

Jiang Shenyi pondered, "In other words, if one's own body is strong, one can resist it?"

The person shook their head repeatedly and said, "That is possible. However, who has such a strong body? We aren't those crude martial artists who train their bodies like pillars of meat, impervious to blades and spears. Even if we are stronger than the average person, how can we resist such immense pressure?"

Jiang Shenyi said, "Before practicing the Mysterious Technique, one should have already perfected both internal and external training. I imagine that if one's Internal Energy and body are perfect and without leaks, this checkpoint shouldn't be hard to pass."

The person disagreed, thinking to themselves, "How much time and energy would it take to perfect both internal and external training? What's the point of grinding for so many years? Aside from being useful in special moments like this, when is it ever useful?" But there was no need to argue with a stranger, so they continued, "This third tribulation is the most formidable; it's called the Vermilion Bird Tribulation. It directly suppresses the Spirit. At that point, your mind becomes chaotic, your Spirit withers, and your fighting spirit vanishes completely; let alone climbing, you'll be too tired to move a finger. Moreover, the way we Talisman Sword Masters use Art Tools is also related to our mental state. Once you reach that state of physical and mental exhaustion, you can't trigger any Rune Formula. No matter how many Art Tools you have, they all become a pile of junk. It's a case of calling to heaven with no response and calling to earth with no answer."

Jiang Shenyi sized them up, thinking: You speak quite eloquently, describing the checkpoint as so terrifying—are you sure you aren't a shill sent by Longyuan?

Little did he know that this person had just suffered a huge setback at Sixiang Mountain and had been seen by someone; if they didn't describe the checkpoint as being as difficult as ascending to heaven, how could they save face?

The person finally sighed deeply and said, "Fortunately, Longyuan didn't leave us with no way out. There are stairs next to the steps; if you want to give up, you just need to turn to the side and you can slide down to a safe landing. This checkpoint isn't meant for people to pass. I tried once and knew that trying ten more times would be in vain. I won't bother torturing myself. I plan to bypass this checkpoint, and you, brother..."

Seeing Jiang Shenyi's eyes shining with determination, showing no signs of wavering, the person couldn't help but secretly curl their lip, thinking: As expected, still someone who won't turn back until they hit the south wall. My good words can't persuade a ghost destined to die; go ahead then. Shaking their head, they prepared to leave.

Jiang Shenyi looked up at the sky and saw that night had fallen, with only a trace of twilight remaining at the horizon, and said, "It's already late now..."

Gui Ge came out and said, "That's right, it's already late today. Do you plan to start the challenge tomorrow?"

Jiang Shenyi said, "No. If I start climbing now, I should be able to make it to the summit to see the sunrise, right?"

Deep in the night, two adjacent tents were one bright and one dark. The bright one was still active, while the dark one was already resting.

A turtle the size of a washbasin lifted the tent flap and crawled in slowly.

As soon as it entered the tent, the aroma of food wafted over.

Tang Zhao had finished his training and had already begun to set out a late-night snack.

A late-night snack shouldn't be too elaborate, so Tang Zhao just set up a soup pot and blanched a few small dishes—meat, vegetables, fish, and shrimp—for a light meal.

Seeing this, the turtle beamed and said, "Gui Ye has returned at just the right time." It crawled onto the table.

Tang Zhao mocked, "You certainly know how to time it." He set a bowl for it, served some fish and shrimp, and said, "Is this enough?"

The turtle said, "Two more scoops."

Tang Zhao said, "That's enough, that's enough. You turtles have a slow metabolism; it's not good to eat too much."

The turtle asked curiously, "What metabolism?"

Tang Zhao said, "It means you don't do anything all day, so if you eat too much, you won't digest it."

Hearing this, the turtle was very displeased and shouted, "What do you mean I don't do anything? I've done many things... sigh, do you know? I just scouted some intelligence."

Tang Zhao squinted and said, "You... scouted intelligence?"

The turtle became even more indignant and said, "Do you know where I came from? I came from that guy's tent next door. Guess what I saw?"

Tang Zhao's eyes flickered, and he said, "What?"

The turtle said, "I saw his test paper."

Tang Zhao scoffed and said, "Do I need you to look? Do I need to see someone else's test paper? Even if you found a perfect-score answer, I wouldn't care, and you don't need to tell me. I'll answer the questions myself and get a perfect score all the same."

The turtle sneered, "Would I tell you if it were a perfect score? Am I not the Spirit Envoy supervising you? Could I take the initiative to steal answers for you? It's just the opposite: his test paper—is a blank sheet! Not a single question was written! Do you know what this means?"

Tang Zhao raised an eyebrow: "He's waiting to cheat on the final checkpoint?"

The turtle said speechlessly, "Can you use your brain? The final checkpoint only lasts a day or two; is there enough time to cheat on everything? Any Talisman Sword Master, any Talisman Sword Master who wants a good grade, would at least write a question or two. The previous questions aren't hard; even a fool could answer dozens of them. Fine, even if he were a pure fool and couldn't answer a single one, he would still flip through it to look at the questions, and there would be marks on the paper. His test paper is as brand new as blank paper; it hasn't even been unsealed! And you were delayed in answering questions earlier, so you started late, but he set off even earlier than you and chose this path with no hints. What does this mean? It means he didn't intend to answer the questions at all. Or perhaps, he isn't a Talisman Sword Master at all!"

Tang Zhao was thoughtful and said, "That makes sense. If he isn't a Talisman Sword Master and is still rushing to Jianzhou, could he have another motive?"

The turtle said with satisfaction, "You finally reacted! He has a motive; his identity isn't simple, and his motive is equally not simple!"

Tang Zhao pondered, "Indeed, hearing it like this, he might have a problem... but what does that have to do with me?"

The turtle said "Eh?", but Tang Zhao already said matter-of-factly, "Although I don't know what his motive is, it's definitely not specifically to ambush me. I don't know him at all, and I don't have anything worth taking on me; on the contrary, he's much richer than I am. So what he wants to do is none of my business."

The turtle said, "No... traveling with someone who has ulterior motives, you're in danger too!"

Tang Zhao said lightly, "For the sake of caution, I can part ways with him tomorrow. But there's no need to delve into his affairs. The most important thing for me right now is to answer the questions, strive for the top, and get a good grade. As for other secrets, even if you uncover a major treason case, what does that have to do with me?"

The turtle was speechless for a moment; Tang Zhao patted its back and said, "I know, you are a Spirit Turtle that came out of Dragon Abyss, so you naturally have to worry about half of the Host's business. You can investigate if you want, but you still have to come with me when we set off tomorrow. You are neither the Host nor the Libationer; primarily, you are my Spirit Envoy. Attend to the duties of your position. Don't worry too much about other people's affairs. Eating and drinking a bit, keeping yourself warm—that is what's real."

Having said that, he buried his head in his food and drink; the turtle was silent for a while, then crouched in the bowl and ate frantically. Inside the tent, there was only the sound of slurping.

Bai Juan, huh... interesting.