Han Chen's breath steamed in the sulfurous air as he stepped onto the tenth-to-last restriction. Instantly, the world swam—colors rippling and reforming until he found himself standing on a scorched volcanic plain. The ground beneath his feet was a mosaic of hardened lava and red-glowing fissures, the heat oppressive, rippling through the air in shimmering waves.
Occasionally, boom!—a jet of lava blasted upward, scalding bits of earth and fire raining down in molten arcs. Shadows flickered across the foothills where rivers of orange light pooled and cooled amongst jagged obsidian rocks.
Suddenly, quick silver shapes darted out from the lava flows: lava rats, their pelts almost mirrored in shine, bodies tough and low. They swarmed in loose packs, their eyes glittering with heat-born hunger. Without hesitation, Han Chen summoned a shield of soul power, shimmering faintly as the rats hurled themselves at it in waves. Each impact reverberated in his mind—crack, crack, crack—but his shield held, forcing the beasts to recoil.
Focusing, Han Chen drew soul power into his fist and punched directly toward the nearest rats. The blow landed with a heavy thud, sending several rats tumbling and yelping across the solidified lava.
But as more lava rats emerged from the flows, Han Chen's divine sense scouted for the core of the restriction. Oddly, this time he could sense a center—but it wasn't in the land or the air. Instead, a tremendous presence loomed at the far end of the plain: a mutated lava rat, twice as large as the rest, its pelt marked by golden cracks and its eyes burning with fierce red light. This was no ordinary beast—it was the pack leader, radiating power at the very peak of grade one.
The mutated rat charged Han Chen with surprising speed, spewing lava in a wild arc. Han Chen braced himself, blocking with his soul shield. As claws scraped the shield with a rasp like grinding stones, Han Chen's divine sense shot forward, piercing past the beast's outer aura and into its soul. Immediately, resistance battered his mind, but Han Chen's soul force surged—still vastly superior to that of a mere grade one beast.
The lava rat's will faltered and then submitted, as if bowing to a far older, stronger king. Instantly, the assaulting rats scattered and retreated, bowing their heads in nervous submission. The plain seemed to quiet, the only sound the continual hiss of cooling lava.
Within the giant rat's Sea of Consciousness, Han Chen found what he sought: a single, fiery core pulsing deep within—a knot of light afloat in a mirrored sea of magma smoke. Focusing on the core, his divine sense dove inward.
What greeted him inside staggered even his tempered will: layers upon layers of spiritual code, a mad labyrinth stretching seemingly forever. Over a million separate layers, each bound intricately to the volcanic beast's existence and power. Han Chen's brows furrowed, the magnitude of the work making his breath slow and careful.
He began the arduous process—searching, analyzing, and gently prodding at code to identify the control switch. Hours bled away in silence, each one a test of focus and endurance as he pressed against exhaustion. Still, Han Chen pressed on, never once faltering, never once hurried. Around the 481,000th layer, he found what he was looking for—a subroutine, faint and subtle, cycling the restriction's on/off command.
With a gentle but decisive push, Han Chen altered the sequence. The world shimmered, and the oppressive heat faded. The rats looked up, blinking hazily, then disappeared with the flicker of vanishing energy. The restriction had been closed.Han Chen wiped his brow and let out a long breath. The taste of fire lingered in the back of his throat. "The core in a living being…" he mused. "Amazing!" His beard brushed his chest as he grinned, the relief brief but profound.
After regaining composure, he moved forward, tackling step nine, then step eight, then seven. Each restriction was unique, a gauntlet of dangers or puzzles—a swarm of sapphire locusts whose wings sang of madness, a well of pure darkness that devoured sensation, a chain of illusory mirrors reflecting his fears. He solved them, one after another, intuition and soul force honed to an instinctive edge after months of relentless challenges.
At last, Han Chen reached the fifth step from the mountain's peak.
The world changed again, replaced by a biting cold that stole the air from his lungs. He was cast into a seemingly endless snowy plain, white and silent beneath a frozen sky. Thick flakes drifted down, and a howling blizzard quickly built into a wall that blinded and disoriented him.
No matter which way he turned, all directions blurred into white. The wind roared in his ears, drowning out all thought, stripping away the sense of forward or back. He tried to track his steps, but the snow filled his footprints as soon as he took them.
Han Chen pressed on, eyes narrowed to slits, Soul Power woven into his senses to shield against the worst of the freezing blizzard. But disorientation set in, dull and deep, pressing at the edges of his resolve.
Then, quite suddenly, the ground cracked beneath him—crack!—and he plunged through a hidden crevice, hitting a slope and tumbling into darkness.
He landed in a hollow cave below the snow, breath coming hard. The blizzard above was just a dull roar now, muffled by thick layers of ice and earth. Han Chen looked around and immediately noticed a faint, pulsating light far ahead.
He crawled closer. There, embedded in a jagged formation of blue-white crystal, was the core of the restriction. His divine sense reached toward it, mind tired but relentless.
Inside the core, the complexity took his breath away—a dizzying, crystalline structure of more than 1.2 million code layers. It felt like peering into a frozen eternity.
Han Chen took his time, knowing hurried action could unleash the blizzard's full wrath. Carefully, he continued his search through the shifting, brittle maze of code. Minutes turned into hours. His body shivered in real and spiritual cold, but his mind stayed sharp, seeking the hidden thread.
At long last—after nearly eighteen hours—he traced it: just over the 900,000th layer, a dormant on/off switch woven between codes of confusion and stasis. Carefully, he severed the connection.
The blizzard above ceased instantly. Silence returned, deep and absolute. Han Chen felt the world shift; his spirit steadied, and the relentless cold lifted off his bones.
With a final look at the fading core, Han Chen climbed back toward the faint light of the path—and stood, ready for the last four steps awaiting him in the shadow of the peak.
...
Han Chen climbed steadily, his breath steady as he reached the fourth-to-last step—expecting yet another whirlwind of restrictions. But what met him was something altogether different. The remaining three steps did not assault him with trials or traps; instead, each bestowed rewards—gifts hidden behind the guise of restrictions.
As he approached the third-to-last step, a surge of energy washed over him, and manifestations appeared before him.
The first was the Grade Two, expendable Stone Bones Gu—a cockroach-sized insect with a shell like cracked granite and iridescent veins glowing faintly blue beneath its carapace. Despite its diminutive size, it radiated an unyielding strength that seemed to vibrate with earth's primal force.
Next fluttered the Grade Two, expendable Metal Tendon Gu, resembling a steel-winged fly. Its wings beat with mechanical precision, joints glinting like polished iron, as sinewy tendrils stretched from its body, imbued with an uncanny resilience.
The last of this group was the Grade Two, expendable Stone Skin Gu—a beetle-like creature encased in semi-translucent crystalline armor that shimmered like frost under the sun, its movements deliberate and steady.
His eyes widened in disbelief. "Grade two… expendable," he murmured, "I'm still only Qi Condensation five stars—not even fit to wield grade one treasures. What use do I have for these?"
Han Chen carefully captured the bizarre yet potent creatures and gently placed them into his spatial ring. There was no need to release or use them yet, for he couldn't activate a Grade Two Gu with his Qi Condensation–spiritual energy.
Crossing the second-to-last restriction revealed a set of more powerful Gu : A Grade Three, expendable Iron Bones Gu, resembling a cockroach but scaled to the size of a fist, its shell resembling hammered iron, emitting a dull metallic hum.
Alongside it was the Grade Three, expendable Steel Tendons Gu, a swift, dragonfly-like being with segmented legs that flexed like forged steel cables.
The Grade Three, expendable Metal Skin Gu completed the trio—a shiny black beetle with plates of layered metal, as if fashioned by a master smith rather than nature.
The most startling was a Grade Four, expendable Body Transformation Gu, a small, writhing centipede-like creature with iridescent scales that reflected shifting colors, promising profound transformation to those who could unlock its power.
Han Chen, composed and cautious, slipped each into his spatial ring, his mind cataloging their unique essences without a hint of haste.
Finally, upon clearing the last restriction, an array of Gu converged before him—the pinnacle treasures : A Grade Five, expendable Organ Transformation Gu, a monstrous grub no larger than his thumb but thrumming with an eerie, almost celestial pulse. Its core shimmered like molten metal infused with starfire.
Accompanying it were Grade Four, expendable Hard Organs Gu—a beetle with a grotesquely hardened shell—and Strong Organs Gu—a fly-like insect with wings that rippled with power.
And among them, the magnificent Phoenix Eyes Gu, a tiny, fiery moth radiating warmth and wisdom, its delicate wings leaving sparks in the air as it moved slowly.
Han Chen stored each carefully inside his spatial ring, the container humming softly with barely restrained power.
He muttered under his breath, "Grade five Gu… at my Qi Condensation level, they're far beyond my limits."
A wry smile touched his lips. "As expected of a Deity Formation cultivator's inheritance." His thoughts continued, contemplative and sharp: "If every challenger here receives such treasures, the riches of a Deity Formation must be beyond my deepest dreams. No wonder one can reach Deity Transformation in less than eight hundred years on this blessed land."
The Gu waited silently within the spatial confines, potent and patient, while Han Chen prepared himself for the trials that still awaited him atop the sacred mountain.
.
Han Chen's strides slowed as a familiar voice echoed softly in his mind, breaking the contemplation that had settled deep within him."Congratulations, Master, on your profits," came the light, tone of Yue Ruo.
He glanced at his hand, the weight of the newly acquired Gu still magnetized within the spatial ring—a treasure trove of potential waiting patiently."I can't even activate them," Han Chen replied with a tinge of frustration, his voice low but steady. "What use are they then? At least expandable-type Gu only consume spiritual energy, so I don't need to worry about feeding them physical resources. If they demanded anything else, I'd go bankrupt just trying to keep them alive, and I couldn't even use them on top of that."
Yue Ruo's silence hung between them a moment before she answered thoughtfully, "Master, though these trials always carry some ominous omen in their pattern, this place hasn't been accessed for ten thousand years. I think if there were any real problems, they would have surfaced or disappeared by now." Her voice tapered off like a breeze fading into shadow, as if reluctant to venture further.
Han Chen frowned, curiosity pricking at him."What ominous omen are you talking about?"
The soft reply came almost in a whisper, "Nothing. I'm not entirely sure. So I won't speculate."
Han Chen paused, the stillness stretching long between thoughts and silence. The hint of mystery lingered like a shadow across a bright room, unsettling but vague.
He knew better than to press Yue Ruo further when doubt touched her voice. Within these trials lay ancient enigmas—not merely the physical tests, but histories and secrets locked beneath layers of time and power.
His gaze flicked to the horizon, to the looming peak shrouded in mist and power. The Gu slumbered within his spatial ring, silent soldiers waiting for the moment they would be called forth.
Han Chen allowed himself a breath, steadying resolve. The burden of potential, and the unease of mysteries yet uncovered, pressed heavily. Still, he was certain of one truth: he would not falter.
In the quiet between heartbeats, Han Chen whispered quietly to himself, "Let me see, what ominous omen is there."
-----TO BE CONTINUED-----