Chapter 516: Chapter 516

The human heart is never satisfied.

When Zhouyang was still at the Qi Cultivation Stage, his goal was to reach Foundation Establishment. Everything he did was to achieve this objective.

At that time, he only thought of extending his lifespan to over two hundred years after Foundation Establishment, allowing him to inherit and protect the Zhou Family’s legacy from extinction.

After successfully establishing his foundation, he discovered that he actually possessed the rare "Qianyang Treasure Body" and had also acquired the legacy of the Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, "Master Qianyang." He was no longer content with just being a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, unwilling to spend his life confined to the Foundation Establishment Stage like the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, watching himself age without remedy.

He wanted to open the Purple Mansion and develop the Zhou Family into a clan that cannot be controlled by others at the Purple Mansion Stage.

Later, after successfully opening the Purple Mansion, he transformed the Zhou Family into the top Cultivation Clan in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, forming a Golden Core with a lifespan of a thousand years, marking a new goal of becoming a millennium Golden Core Family unseen for thousands of years in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.

Now that he was a Golden Core Stage Cultivator with a thousand years of lifespan, his next goal was, of course, to refine his core and form a Nascent Soul, truly entering the elite circle of "Spirit Realm" cultivators.

In the present, when Tribulation Crossing True Immortals are in seclusion, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators are the pinnacle beings of the "Spirit Realm." Once one achieves Nascent Soul, not only can their lifespan extend to three thousand years, but they can truly gain the literal sense of being "carefree."

Ride the wind and control the Qi for three thousand years, roaming freely between heaven and earth in the Spirit Realm!

If this pursuit could be achieved, Zhouyang felt that he wouldn’t have lived in vain for two lifetimes.

Therefore, when he saw the introduction of the "Holy Infant Fruit" on the map, his heart immediately leaped violently.

He had never heard of this "Holy Infant Fruit" before, but he believed that the person who left the annotations on the map definitely wouldn’t make baseless claims.

And where was this place?

This was the "Kunxu Realm" that only opens once every eight hundred years!

In this place, rumored to contain opportunities and legacies left by Celestial Immortals, the appearance of such Spiritual Objects as the "Holy Infant Fruit," which could help cultivators form a Nascent Soul, was quite reasonable.

Zhouyang didn’t know how many cultivators knew of the existence of the "Holy Infant Fruit" in the "Holy Infant Valley," but after learning of this news, he could no longer remain calm.

Although he had just formed a Golden Core, seemingly far from refining his core and forming a Nascent Soul, it didn’t affect his desire for the "Holy Infant Fruit" in the slightest.

The "Kunxu Realm" opens once every eight hundred years, and if he missed this opportunity, there was no way Zhouyang could enter here again before advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage.

So, if he wanted to obtain the "Holy Infant Fruit," this was his only chance.

Missing this opportunity meant even if he could enter the "Kunxu Realm" again in the future, the "Holy Infant Fruit" would be useless to him.

"According to the records here, the forbidden technique outside the Holy Infant Valley won’t dissipate until the third year after the Kunxu Realm opens. Only then can we enter the valley to seek the [Holy Infant Fruit]."

"In that case, I don’t have to rush to Holy Infant Valley right away; I can continue to help Fengxian achieve her goal first."

In the cave dwelling, after studying the map, Zhouyang turned his hand to store it in his storage ring, calming down to practice.

A month later, Jiang Fengxian finally fully recovered from her injuries and exited seclusion.

At this time, Zhouyang discussed with her the distribution of treasures gained from the battle in the "Red Desert."

Of course, before dividing the treasures, Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian first checked Wu Zidao’s storage ring.

Most of Wu Zidao’s skills lay in his Puppet Beasts, and apart from a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact, the "Primordial Circle," he had only refined a Tier Five Lower-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact.

However, he had previously joined forces with Song Qingyun to kill a Late-Stage Golden Core Cultivator, from whose spoils he had obtained a Tier Five Middle-Grade Attack Spiritual Artifact, the "Mountain Shifting Seal," and a Tier Five Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact flying sword.

Additionally, because high-tier Puppet Beasts consumed top-grade Spirit Stones at an immense rate, Wu Zidao surprisingly had thirty-four top-grade Spirit Stones on hand. The rıghtful source is novel·fiɾe·net

But to Zhouyang, the most useful gain from Wu Zidao’s belongings was his personal notes on Artifact Refining Skill and Puppet Beast refining insights.

Wu Zidao’s ability to refine Tier Five Puppet Beasts undoubtedly meant that his Artifact Refining Skill had reached the tier five level, and his refining insights would be of great reference for Zhouyang to upgrade his refining skill to tier five in the future.

Although Wu Zidao didn’t have secret methods of "Immortal Puppet Sect" for refining various Puppet Beasts on him, his recorded experiences and insights were extremely helpful for Zhouyang’s refining of Tier Four Puppet Beasts.

Remember, Zhouyang himself originally obtained four methods of refining Tier Four Puppet Beasts from the Yellow Sand Sect, but had not started refining due to the difficulty in acquiring materials.

This time, however, he found a considerable amount of materials for crafting high-tier Puppet Beasts in Wu Zidao’s storage ring.

He guessed that Wu Zidao carried these materials thinking of repairing or replacing any potentially damaged Puppet Beasts in the "Kunxu Realm."

This simplified the division of treasures.

Because Zhouyang had already taken the Tier Five Puppet Beast, the only Tier Five High-Grade Spiritual Artifact among the spoils, the "Sea-Suppressing Peak," went to Jiang Fengxian.

As compensation, he received the Tier Five Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact, the "Mountain Shifting Seal," obtained from Wu Zidao, as well as a Tier Five Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact and Wu Zidao’s Lifebound Spiritual Artifact, the "Primordial Circle."

The remaining Tier Five Spirit Talismans and elixirs were evenly split between Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian.

Through this division, Zhouyang alone gained nearly thirty top-grade Spirit Stones, making a considerable gain.

After dividing the profits, Zhouyang didn’t keep the discovery to himself; he showed Jiang Fengxian the map marked with the "Holy Infant Fruit."

As expected, Jiang Fengxian immediately had the urge to give it a try, just like him.

Afterward, the two didn’t linger on the small island and directly headed toward the center of the water domain on Zhouyang’s "Thunderbolt Golden Light Divine Shuttle," intending to try their luck at ascending "Heaven-Reaching Peak" to seize treasures.

As the name suggests, "Heaven-Reaching Peak" is a mountain peak suspended mid-air.

After flying over the water for three days on the "Thunderbolt Golden Light Divine Shuttle," Zhouyang saw dozens of black mountain peaks suspended a thousand feet in the sky from afar.

These thirty-six black mountain peaks corresponded to the number of the Heavenly Gang, all hanging upside down in the air, with their tops down and bases up.

At the base of each black mountain peak stands a palace spanning several acres. If someone can reach the front of the palace, they can enter and claim a treasure.

However, each time the "Kunxu Realm" opens, every cultivator has only one opportunity to enter "Heaven-Reaching Peak" to retrieve a treasure. Once a treasure is obtained, they cannot attempt again.

When Zhouyang and the others arrived outside the thirty-six "Heaven-Reaching Peaks," more than ten cultivators were already attempting to climb those black mountain peaks.

His gaze swept across those who had arrived. They were all Golden Core Stage Cultivators, including even three Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivators!

With his First-Layer Golden Core cultivation, he was indeed the lowest in cultivation here.

At this moment, upon seeing him and Jiang Fengxian appear here, those cultivators who arrived earlier merely glanced at them coldly without any additional actions.

"Heaven-Reaching Peak" here is not like a special place such as the "Red Desert." In a place where the strength of Golden Core Stage cultivators is entirely unrestricted, even a Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator generally would not rashly attack a First-Layer Golden Core Cultivator.

Moreover, although there aren’t many cultivators gathered here now, there are over a dozen. If someone dares to kill or rob here, there’s a good chance the news will leak after they leave, which is definitely not worth the risk.

"The thirty-six peaks of ’Heaven-Reaching Peak’ are divided into three layers: outer, middle, and inner. The outer eighteen peaks are the easiest, the middle twelve are harder, and the six innermost are the most challenging. It’s said that not even Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivators are confident of ascending them."

"With your and my cultivation, Fengxian, it would suffice to ascend the outer eighteen peaks. But after tens of thousands of years, the treasures on those peaks have likely been picked clean by previous entrants, and even if some remain, they are likely of little value."

"Therefore, if we wish to gain something here, we might have to attempt those twelve middle peaks. You see, others have made the same choice."

Outside "Heaven-Reaching Peak," Zhouyang, having put away the "Thunderbolt Golden Light Divine Shuttle," stood in the air with Jiang Fengxian, pointing at the towering peaks ahead while secretly communicating his plan to her.

It is a cautious plan. With only one chance to claim a treasure, ascending the middle region peaks would yield better treasures than those on the outer peaks.

Thus, upon hearing his words, Jiang Fengxian agreed without much thought.

So, the two of them immediately chose an unclaimed middle-region peak and began their climb.

As mentioned before, the thirty-six peaks, corresponding to the number of celestial constellations, form a mysterious grand array known to no one.

These peaks are suspended in the sky due to the power of the array.

For Zhouyang and the other cultivators to reach the palaces at the summits, they must pass the test of the array.

The array assesses the overall strength of a cultivator.

Upon entering within a thousand-zhang range of a peak, the array forcefully suppresses the cultivator to the base level, and the task then is to elevate the cloud beneath their feet until it reaches a height equal to the summit.

During this process, the cultivator’s body endures immense gravity, the divine sense faces attacks, and even the magical power expended to maintain the cloud accelerates several times over.

Thus, to ascend "Heaven-Reaching Peak," a cultivator must succeed while any of the three—physical body, divine sense, or magical power—holds up. Failing that, losing resistance in any aspect results in immediate downfall.

Due to various reasons, Zhouyang’s body and divine sense are considerably stronger than those of peers.

Physically, he compares to a Body Refining Cultivator of the Golden Core Stage, capable of engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Tier Five Demon Beasts.

In terms of divine sense, his strength matches that of a Late-Stage Golden Core Cultivator, with a detection range exceeding eighty miles.

Only his magical power, though purer and more profound than most, cannot transcend small realms to compare with higher-stage cultivators.

Therefore, for him to ascend "Heaven-Reaching Peak" and claim a treasure, he must do so swiftly, before his magical power depletes.

At this moment, having prepared, he and Jiang Fengxian flew towards the black peak ahead.

As soon as they entered the thousand-zhang area of the black peak, Zhouyang felt a heaviness, and both he and the golden cloud beneath him were suppressed to the mountain’s base without resistance.

He tried to maneuver the golden cloud upwards, and instantly, a mountain-like gravity pressed down upon him, as if trying to crush him.

At the same time, an invisible wave struck him, causing his head to feel submerged and laden with heaviness.

"Such a bizarre force; no wonder the treasures of ’Heaven-Reaching Peak’ remain intact after tens of thousands of years—it truly has some mysteries within!"

Zhouyang was inwardly startled and dared not underestimate it any longer, promptly focusing all his energy to resist the array’s force upon his body and spirit.

The black peak they chose stood over five hundred zhang tall, and for every hundred-zhang ascent Zhouyang made, the pressure increased by twenty percent.

Under the immense pressure, the five-hundred-zhang distance that could be traversed in an instant now required Zhouyang to climb inch by inch.

After climbing for three hours, he had ascended only two hundred zhang—less than halfway.

By this time, nearly half of his magical power was spent.

He had no choice but to draw out a top-grade Spirit Stone and hold it to replenish his magical power.

Seven hours later, Zhouyang had climbed over four hundred zhang, leaving just one hundred zhang until the summit.

But upon entering the final hundred-zhang range, the increased pressure halted his ascent after only a few dozen zhang, forcing him to abandon the climb.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t withstand the pressure, but his magical power was nearing depletion, and continuing would not reach the summit. Choosing to abandon spared his dignity somewhat.

Turning to Jiang Fengxian, he saw she too had climbed over four hundred zhang, but her flushed and perspired face indicated her hope was slim.

Indeed, half an hour later, at forty zhang short of the summit, Jiang Fengxian was begrudgingly knocked from her cloud.

Seeing this, Zhouyang moved closer, gently comforting: "Fengxian, you were so close to succeeding. Try a couple more times, and you’re bound to make it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fengxian’s expression improved notably, and she asked him in return, "What about you, Brother Zhou? Your physical body and divine sense should be much stronger than mine. This peak shouldn’t pose a problem for you, should it?"

Zhouyang, hearing this, smiled slightly and replied, "The first attempt caught me unprepared; I was late in replenishing my magical power. Next time, if I promptly use Spirit Stones to replenish, ascending should be no trouble!"