Chapter 16, Seal the Six Senses, Find the Spirit Mountain!

Translator: StarReader

 

Su Chen was half-kneeling by the lake, his youthful face barely concealing his grief and despair. After shedding the bluestone tears, he felt his vital energy ebbing away at an unimaginable speed, leaving him weak and on the brink of death.

 

He had experienced this familiar agony eight or nine times in his life. Each time it was unbearable, making him unwilling to undergo it again.

 

Su Chen’s vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes. Faintly, he seemed to see a scene of wonder—the small lake before him boiling with fish eager to fight over the two bluestone tears he had shed. But he had no time to linger on this incredible sight; his heart was filled with sorrow.

 

“Will the golden-banded viper’s venom take me, or my illness?”

 

Su Chen could no longer hold on; his body grew limp as the paralysis set in, and he collapsed with a “plop” into the shallow water of the lake. His heart was filled with despair as he thought to himself.

 

No matter what, he didn’t want to die.

 

As long as there was one breath left in his body, as long as his mind remained intact, he would find a way to save himself.

 

No matter how humble his life was, it was his own.

 

He made a promise with Ah Chou to become great martial artists, traveling together across the martial world. He hadn’t yet achieved greatness in the martial arts community, nor had he returned to Zhou Village to see his parents.

 

There were so many things he wanted to do but hadn’t had the chance to.

 

The venom from the golden-banded viper was incurable.

 

However, he could still replenish and restore the spirit he lost due to the shedding of blue tears.

 

Su Chen used his one hand, still barely able to move, to pull out that wild ginseng from his chest, trembling as he forced himself to put half of it into his mouth. With every ounce of strength left in him, he chewed it up and swallowed it down.

 

Such a wild ginseng that had been growing for decades couldn’t be eaten directly. It was a common herb used by second-rate practitioners to aid in cultivating True Qi in their Middle Dantian.

 

The wild ginseng held an immense amount of energy, making its effect of boosting the spirit extremely powerful and overwhelming. Practitioners simply couldn’t handle such a strong influx of energy. Even an internal second-rate expert wouldn’t consume decades-old wild ginseng directly for cultivation.

 

Proper preparation involved slicing the ginseng into small pieces, boiling it down into a decoction, or cooking it slowly over low heat. Then, it would be taken in divided doses to allow the body to gradually absorb its energy.

 

Su Chen had no strength left for such preparations. After losing blood and tears, his body was severely weakened, barely holding on. Every bit of energy he could get counted, even if it meant taking such a risk.

 

He chewed a small piece of wild ginseng in his mouth a few times, releasing its sweet and bitter juices before quickly swallowing it. Instantly, the ginseng’s essence surged through him, transforming into a powerful stream of energy within his abdomen. This energy surged through his meridians like a torrent, overwhelming his senses and leaving no escape route. Su Chen soon felt an intense pain in his stomach, as if it were being carved by a blade.

 

He had only consumed ginseng in soups made with fresh fish, simmered for half an hour to make the effects gentle and nourishing. He never imagined eating raw, decades-old wild ginseng could be so potent. A powerful surge of energy coursed through his body’s meridians, eventually reaching his brain.

 

The energy relentlessly battered his forehead acupoint, causing a sudden explosion of pain in his head and rendering him unconscious. Su Chen collapsed by the lake’s edge, floating aimlessly as water lapped around him. A large piece of wild ginseng remained submerged nearby.

 

At that time, the terrifying spotted rockfish monster surged forward, smashing through waves with unstoppable force, causing countless fish and shrimp to scatter in fear.

 

Its massive mouth, as big as a millstone, opened wide and swallowed the remaining drop of blue tears and the unconscious Su Chen. Then, it swayed its short tail and slowly swam towards the depths of the lake.

 

The quiet lake, stretching over thousands of feet, calmed down. The boiling surface returned to the stillness it was accustomed to.

 

The waves repeatedly washed against the bloodstains on the shore, erasing all traces of blood and carnage.

 

In the depths of the lake, the spotted rockfish monster swam slowly, sinking into the abyss. There, it settled down upon a stone bed covered with aquatic plants.

 

The depths were dim and silent.

 

At the bottom of the lake, an underwater channel could faintly be seen, connecting to other large lakes.

 

The hideous and terrifying stonefish monster’s face stared with lantern-like eyes, blankly gazing at the empty, emerald-green lake, as if pondering the unknown.

 

…

 

Su Chen had already lost his breath.

 

He was completely surrounded by decaying flesh, in absolute silence and darkness, with no trace of air. The walls were lined with thick ooze, and only the rhythmic thumping of the fish monster’s heart could be heard.

 

The venom from the viper king was flowing along his arteries, paralyzing his muscles and respiratory system, leaving him gasping for breath.

 

Su Chen was in a life-threatening state, just shy of true death.

 

But he stayed there, neither dead nor alive.

 

Within Su Chen’s abdomen, the intense energy emitted by the wild ginseng surged through his body, colliding with his organs and tissues. His physical form was filled with an unusual intensity of life force.

 

Within his body’s meridians, the flow of energy could not be stopped. Though his muscles and nerves were already numb, and his breathing had ceased, the flow continued to surge powerfully, driving the circulation of vitality and blood.

 

Even though Su Chen was asleep, his habitual practice of Turtle Breath activated on its own, allowing him to cultivate internally. The immense energy had nowhere to discharge, breaking through the Muddy Grain Palace acupoint in his brain like splitting branches, opening a path into the Upper Dantian.

 

Su Chen fell into an incredibly rare state. If a grandmaster were here to see this, they would be astonished. This was the true Turtle Breath state! It was a cultivating condition that countless first-rate practitioners dreamed of achieving.

 

In the true Turtle Breath state, a practitioner did not breathe through the mouth or nose, shutting off the six senses, completely cutting off all external disturbances. However, the energy within their body remained vigorous and abundant, with life force continuing endlessly.

 

This state made it easiest to enter look within. A thread of consciousness entered the mysterious Upper Dantian.

 

Looking into the Upper Dantian was the only way for first-rate martial practitioners to become Grandmasters, yet also the most difficult step.

 

Countless experts stalled outside the gates of the Upper Dantian, just one step away from becoming Grandmaster, toiling for decades without success.

 

At this point, Su Chen, whose Lower Dantian cultivation was still incomplete, inadvertently crashed into the Upper Dantian in a dangerous manner.

 

…

 

Su Chen had already closed off his six senses, his body enveloped in a thick layer of ooze that also mingled with the strong fragrance of bluestone tears.

 

In his vague perception, he felt as though he had turned into an incredibly dim and barely perceptible small light dot, existing within a sea of void.

 

The expanse of the void sea stretched on endlessly, its boundless horizon unseen.

 

He had forgotten everything, lingering in a vague state of existence where he no longer recognized who he was. He drifted aimlessly, his purpose as unclear as his memories.

 

This void sea knew no limits, only endless emptiness and void.

 

Utterly devoid of anything, the sheer loneliness was enough to make one’s heart race with fear.

 

In this immense expanse, a faint, insignificant light orb floated about, feeling as though it were the sole entity in existence. The overwhelming isolation and desolation were almost unbearable.

 

Fortunately, its ignorance spared it from comprehending such profound loneliness. Thus, it continued its aimless journey through the void sea, existing in a haze of unawareness, for how long or far, neither it nor anyone else could say.

 

By chance, it stumbled upon something extraordinary—a faint streak of blue energy.

 

This delicate strand of energy, as insubstantial as smoke, drifted aimlessly within this vast emptiness, much like the light orb itself.

 

It became aware of something nearby in the vast emptiness, filled with excitement as it darted after it, eagerly calling out to the tendril of blue energy ahead. The blue energy seemed to ignore it completely, showing no response at all.

 

After chasing for a while and receiving no answer when it attempted to speak, it grew bolder and approached, reaching out to touch the gentle strand of energy. Instantly, the blue energy was absorbed into its own essence, fusing together.

 

The once dim and unremarkable small light underwent a transformation; its glow brightened, becoming more vibrant and robust. This unexpected gain filled it with both surprise and joy, as the ingestion of energy brought an immediate surge of strength, akin to ingesting a rare elixir.

 

It pondered further—what if it consumed even more? Could it become a radiant entity, shining brilliantly in the void? Motivated by this desire, it searched thoroughly through the void expanse, determined to locate additional traces of the elusive blue energy.

 

Soon, it found a lot of blue energy, more than ten strands.

 

After quickly absorbing them, the originally dim light ball became one-third brighter.

 

It followed the blue energy and went in the direction where it was drifting and came before a huge object.

 

This object was round, like a giant egg, and the blue energy was emitted from within.

 

It was surprised. It had been floating in the empty void for so long, but it was the first time it saw such a huge existence.

 

It was confused, worried, and scared, fearing that this giant would swallow it.

 

Having hovered for a long time at a distance of dozens of miles without sensing any danger from the massive object, it cautiously flew toward the chaos entity.

 

The gigantic creature appeared enormous, measuring thousands of feet in size—more majestic than towering mountains or great peaks. In comparison, the weak little light dot was no bigger than a peanut, tiny and pitiable.

 

As it drew closer, it was startled to behold a crack hundreds of feet long on the surface of this colossal entity. From within the fissure streamed thin strands of blue energy.

 

The crack resembled a broken eggshell, shocking to behold. What was once a perfectly round, unblemished giant egg now bore this massive defect, a flaw that rendered it incomplete.

 

“Uh… is it cracked?”

 

It stared for a long time, feeling sympathy and sorrow for the immense egg.

 

It was like a naive village boy who, while gathering eggs, sadly found that the eggs in a nest had cracked shells with some yolk leaking out, leaving him feeling down for a long time.

 

Suddenly, he snapped back to reality and found it amusing—this giant egg had nothing to do with him; why was he worrying about such nonsense? What mattered was the blue energy it could get from this. The energy seeped out from the cracks in the chaotic giant eggshell, providing a fortunate opportunity for it to consume. If this chaotic entity didn’t have any cracks, it might never get to enjoy the nourishing energy. It figured there had to be even more inside the giant entity, so it excitedly dived deep into the cracks to get its fill. The shell of this chaotic giant felt soft, almost like a thin membrane. The crack on it was long but narrow, just slightly wider than a needle tip.

 

A faint blue mist emerged in wispy strands from within.

 

But as it was a small light ball, far plumper and rounder than the tiny blue energy. It strained with all its might to push inward, almost crushing itself in the process.

 

With a sudden ‘puff,’ it reached halfway before its strength gave out, completely exhausted, leaving it trapped in the crack without movement.

 

Not long after, faint traces of blue mist seeped outward from within, which it eagerly consumed, restoring some of its energy.

 

Gaining a bit of strength, it resumed its struggle, pushing with all its might until at last, after much effort, it squeezed through the cracked eggshell and entered the interior of the colossal chaos entity.

 

Inside the primordial egg was a vast space, with a small mountain floating in the center. The mountain was covered entirely in gray rock and measured just over three feet in height. On its peak stood a flat expanse of land, surrounded by jagged rocks. The mountain bore natural ridges and grooves that twisted and turned like ancient runes or serpentine symbols from a bygone era.

 

It was startled. It had never seen such ancient runes before. In the depths of its previously chaotic and ignorant consciousness, two words suddenly emerged on their own:

 

“Spirit Mountain!”

 

In an instant, all the memories it had long since forgotten surged back like a tidal wave. He remembered everything.

 

“I am Su Chen. I was looking for a golden-banded viper in the mountains. I accidentally found an old wild ginseng. As a result, I fought with a viper king lurking in the cave next to me and was bitten by its fangs.”

 

He ran to the lake at the foot of the mountain to clean his wound, but the poison took effect, and he gradually lost consciousness. In pain and grief, he shed blue stone tears and finally fainted. The last thing he saw was a huge fish like a rock.

 

Su Chen was a little stunned. How did he turn into a small blue light ball?