Easy Way of Cultivation: Power Harvesting

Chapter 554: Chapter 336: Arrival at Thunder Mountain, Gaining Ancient Martial Arts

The Black Water Thieves are a notorious group of bandits in the vicinity, often engaging in roadside robberies, and sometimes even attacking small towns or sects for plunder, committing numerous evil deeds.

Wei Fan checked the Demon Hunter Waist Token, and indeed there was a bounty regarding the Black Water Thieves.

Although the Demon Hunter Organization only handles demon fiends matters and ignores internal human race disputes and bandits, the Five Great Domains’ demon hunters are different from those of the Wilderness.

The demon hunters of the Five Great Domains lean more towards bounty hunters. Besides the tasks released by the Demon Hunter Organization, individuals can also post tasks through the organization, such as escort, protection, or bounty on bandits, flower thieves, demon dao experts.

After all, a large organization spanning the Five Great Domains also needs income, and these bounty tasks are a part of the Demon Hunter Organization’s income, and the demon hunters cannot rely solely on merits but need spirit crystals for cultivation.

However, for a bounty like Wei Fan by the Zilan Sect, the Demon Hunter Organization would not help release it. It is relatively a neutral organization.

Since Liya brother does not need an escort, Wei Fan wanted to see if he could conveniently eliminate the Black Water Thieves, but after carefully checking the information, the task released by the Demon Hunter Organization did not include the location of the Black Water Thieves’ base.

Whoosh whoosh...

In the middle of the night, three sturdy old men appeared outside the temple, all elders of the Bone Tribe with Martial King Ninth Layer cultivation, two of whom Wei Fan had seen in the Bone Tribe.

"Wei Fan, young friend, did you rescue Qi Chao and the others?"

Seeing Wei Fan, these three elders who hurried over were very pleased.

Wei Fan shook his head, recognizing Qi Chao as someone from the Bone Tribe. He indeed intended to help, but the Martial King from the Black Water Thieves said unpleasant words, which angered Liya brother Qi Chao. Wei Fan had not had time to reveal his identity before Qi Chao produced the figure from the divine platform, killing all the Black Water Thieves.

"Did you use... it?" the elder named Qi Ang’s expression changed, and the other two elders also looked uneasy, instinctively glancing at the empty divine platform.

Qi Chao smiled bitterly and nodded, "The situation was urgent; I only wanted to protect the Demon Suppression Stone and had no other choice."

"Ah..."

Qi Ang sighed deeply, then turned to cup his hands to Wei Fan and his companions, "Wei Fan, young friend, we must immediately escort the Demon Suppression Stone back to the tribe, so we take our leave. After dawn, you should leave here quickly, do not linger."

As he spoke, giving no chance for Wei Fan to ask, the three took Liya brother Qi Chao and the woman and left, disappearing into the night sky in a few breaths.

Wei Fan had wanted to ask some things, but he knew even if he asked, Qi Ang and the others would not tell him.

He turned to Feng Hua, "Do you know what is the essence of the so-called taboo in Cangwu Mountain?"

Feng Hua’s expression slightly changed, "Those are some incomprehensible existences; I can’t specifically say what they are!"

She gestured at the empty divine platform.

Wei Fan also glanced there apprehensively and then stopped speaking. Qi Ang’s advice to leave at dawn hinted there was an issue here.

Knowing there was an issue here only made Wei Fan’s doubts grow; what was the shadow Qi Chao conjured earlier? What problem led to the abandonment of this place? Is it related to the Bone Tribe?

Having many questions but no answers is truly uncomfortable.

The three meditated overnight, and nothing bad happened. After dawn, they mounted their white horses and departed.

...

Actually, Zhi Hua’s identity was not simple; her full name is Yang Zhihua, and she is a princess of the Daxu Kingdom in Beiding Continent.

Daxu has been established for a long time, once an Imperial Dynasty. However, after the previous imperial family’s Martial Saint died fighting demon fiends, the Daxu Royal Family has never borne a new Martial Saint, hence they fell from the Holy Sect ranks.

Of course, for a dynasty that once had Martial Saint powerhouses, fielding an artifact to cross the Dao Collapse Barrier shouldn’t be difficult. However, she is a woman with a talent that isn’t the most remarkable among the royalty, so getting such an artifact wasn’t granted to her but to someone from the royal family most likely to break through to the Martial Saint Realm.

Daxu isn’t large; its population and land area are similar to the Dragon Kingdom. Wei Fan’s destination, Thunder Mountain, is near a place called Yin Chuan City within the Daxu borders.

Wei Fan and his companions reached Yin Chuan City, discovering many Jianghu people already present, but none had entered the city, heading directly to Thunder Mountain instead.

The three entered Yin Chuan City, entrusted their white horses to a horse handler, and went on their way to Thunder Mountain.

"Have you two ever comprehended the Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill?" Wei Fan asked Feng Hua and Zhi Hua.

The path had many people, yet Wei Fan noticed most were under twenty years old, with very few older ones. These people, like him, had never comprehended the Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill.

"I once tried comprehending it for a month but left with no clues whatsoever," Zhi Hua replied.

Feng Hua laughed bitterly, shaking her head, "I didn’t believe it at first and spent three full months here trying to comprehend it, only to face reality and leave."

Zhi Hua chuckled, "We are relatively fortunate, though; at the foot of Thunder Mountain, several Martial Kings have been trying for hundreds of years without giving up."

Comprehension over hundreds of years... Wei Fan could only say such persistence is admirable. Knowing something is hopeless yet pursuing it either means folly or foolishness.

These people are probably hoping that comprehending the Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill will enable them to soar to the skies, but such feats are rarely simple.

The group soon reached the foot of Thunder Mountain. Over thousands of years, continuous attempts at comprehension have turned this place, though not into a city, into a bustling commercial town, complete with accommodations, even stores selling weapons, elixirs, and such.

In another direction of the small town, a large square was set up with a platform and several high seating areas.

The Thunder Mountain martial arts event has developed to become one of Beiding Continent’s grand martial events, naturally requiring someone to preside.

According to Feng Hua and Zhi Hua, the first item in the martial arts event is still the discussion of Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill, with those who have comprehended it for hundreds of years here, passing on their experiences to the young participants who have come, followed by martial contests.

The martial contests are generally in the form of friendly spars; young participants go on stage to report their age and cultivation. If anyone feels eager to compete, they can go on stage, typically without actual combat, although there are exceptions sometimes.

"So this is Thunder Mountain!"

When Wei Fan walked to the square, he finally understood why it’s called Thunder Mountain—a pitch-black magnetic mountain rose from the earth, continuously emitting a terrifying magnetic field attracting all metal objects.

"Where can it be comprehended?"

Wei Fan asked.

Zhi Hua said, "Right now, it cannot be comprehended; only during thunderstorms will the Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill manifest. However, if thunderstorms do not appear in the coming days, some senior experts will join forces to create a thunderstorm.

At that time, one can truly comprehend the Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill!

Come, we’ll take you somewhere first!"

Zhi Hua and Feng Hua walked ahead, and Wei Fan followed them to a cliffside.

Thunder Mountain was majestic and imposing, looking less like a mountain and more like a massive boulder embedded in the earth, entirely a whole with no vegetation on it. The closer one got, the stronger the magnetic field; even Wei Fan’s hair stood on end.

"Look..."

Following Zhi Hua’s finger, he looked over and saw that the pitch-black cliff was engraved with bizarre humanoid diagrams.

Wei Fan puzzled, "Isn’t it said that it can’t be comprehended, why are there diagrams here?"

Zhi Hua said, "I’m just letting you see these things first; right now, comprehending these diagrams isn’t very useful. When the thunderstorms occur, these things will come alive, and only then can they truly be comprehended."

Wei Fan nodded.

There were quite a few people like him who were coming to Thunder Mountain for the first time; many were watching the diagrams on the cliffside while mimicking the actions.

"Don’t mimic them, those movements are useless!" Zhi Hua transmitted to him.

The images on the cliff, and the movements from horizontal martial arts training, were extremely similar, but besides the movements, there were no heart method mantras.

"Okay! I’ll just look at these moves first!"

Wei Fan calmed his thoughts, gathered all his focus, and began observing the diagrams on the cliff, simulating them in his heart spirit.

As he simulated, it was indeed as Zhi Hua mentioned; these movements seemed to serve little purpose. Under heart spirit simulation, the movements were odd, but nothing else stood out, unable to enhance any power.

Time seemed to pass unknowingly; Wei Fan demonstrated all eighty-one diagrams in his heart spirit, yet there was no gain.

"Perhaps the order is wrong, or due to other reasons, maybe because I already have cultivation, or perhaps they’re just ordinary diagrams..."

He remembered novels from his past life that mentioned supreme divine skills often required practitioners with no cultivation.

Throughout his journey, he had no mentor and seldom conversed with others about martial dao, unsure if the Five Great Domains had such a saying.

"Oh right, the panel!"

He suddenly remembered the panel, hurriedly looked up—it’s more authoritative than anyone about the authenticity of a cultivation technique.

[Nine-Nine True Skill · Incomplete (Uninitiated)]

Wei Fan’s eyes gleamed as something indeed appeared on the panel.

Nine-Nine True Skill!

Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill is merely a name given by later generations after discovering the cultivation technique; the real name of the martial arts on Thunder Mountain is Nine-Nine True Skill.

"The panel is truly extraordinary!"

Xuanyuan Peak, hailed as the first genius in two thousand years, meditated on it for months, only to leave disappointed, but he just observed once, and the panel recorded the cultivation technique truthfully.

Though he was still baffled by Nine-Nine True Skill, as long as the panel recorded it, the worst case was expending more power.

"This might be an ancient martial art. After so many years, experts from the Five Great Domains have come for comprehension, yet failed to recognize it as Nine-Nine True Skill, likely because no one knows the name of this cultivation technique anymore."

Wei Fan’s thoughts churned; it should indeed be ancient martial arts, but the current panel records it as incomplete, meaning these cliffside diagrams are merely part of the Nine-Nine True Skill.

"Is the other part what appears during thunderstorms?"