Chapter 541: Chapter 541

Time quickly passed, and when the final designated six months were up, including Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian, only nine people had successfully passed the three trials in the cave hall.

More than twenty people entered the "Holy Infant Valley," and in the end, only nine people managed to pass all three trials to get here, with a more than half elimination rate, which was undeniably difficult.

It must be noted that the cultivators who dared to come to this "Holy Infant Valley" to seize the "Holy Infant Fruit" were not ordinary individuals.

Besides Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian, the lowest cultivation among the others was at the Mid-Stage Golden Core, with most cultivators being at the Late-Stage Golden Core, and even five Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivators, including Black Vulture Ascendant.

But now, only a mere nine people managed to stand here, and among the five Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivators, only three successfully passed the three trials.

"The fact that you nine were able to pass the first three trials and reach this point shows that you excel in strength, comprehension, and mental cultivation, meaning your success rate for Nascent Soul Formation is much higher than those mediocre individuals."

"However, there are only five Holy Infant Fruits this time, meaning four of you still need to be eliminated!"

"Of course, if anyone wishes to withdraw now, I can allow them to leave and not participate in the next elimination trial!"

In the quiet cave hall, only the cold voice of the black-robed man echoed.

The nine cultivators in the hall, including Zhouyang, all turned pale at his words.

Zhouyang couldn’t help but look at Jiang Fengxian, only to find that Jiang Fengxian was also looking at him.

In Jiang Fengxian’s eyes, he saw determination, clearly showing that she had no intention of giving up.

Zhouyang had once been puzzled about why Jiang Fengxian, who possessed the "Green Wood Spirit Body," would still come to the Kunxu Realm to seek adventure and risk fighting for the "Holy Infant Fruit," even though she had a considerable chance of Nascent Soul Formation just by cultivating step-by-step.

At that time, Jiang Fengxian didn’t answer him.

But later, after they had a kind of relationship within the Cyan Treasure Cauldron, Jiang Fengxian revealed her feelings during a conversation.

It turned out that everything she did was to quickly cultivate to the Nascent Soul and then delve into the Wilderness Jungle to find the Celestial Phoenix Race’s settlement, to locate her "heartless and ungrateful" father, and bring him back to her mother’s grave to repent.

Zhouyang wasn’t very optimistic about Jiang Fengxian’s goal.

Jiang Fengxian herself had said that her father from the Celestial Phoenix Race had excellent bloodlines and was a direct descendant of an elder equivalent to a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, and at her birth already had strength comparable to a Late-Stage Golden Core Cultivator.

Now, several centuries later, he might have already become a Tier Six existence.

In that case, what could Jiang Fengxian do even if she successfully achieves Nascent Soul Formation?

Even if her father hasn’t advanced to Tier Six and lives until she forms her Nascent Soul because the Celestial Phoenix Race’s longevity surpasses that of Human Race cultivators.

Faced with countless Tier Six existences within the Celestial Phoenix Race, how could she, who had just recently formed her Nascent Soul, take her father away under their noses?

Zhouyang believed Jiang Fengxian knew all this, but she must have her own thoughts and persistence.

Since that’s the case, he could only support her in achieving this goal, ensuring she would not have any regrets.

So at the moment he saw the firmness in Jiang Fengxian’s eyes, the slightest hint of retreat in his heart was dispelled.

Not only Zhouyang, but none of the other seven were willing to quit at this moment.

All of them had made it through the three trials to get here; how could they easily give up this chance to obtain the "Holy Infant Fruit" just because of the black-robed man’s words?

"No one wants to withdraw? Then let the fourth trial begin now!"

As the black-robed man spoke, with a wave of his large sleeve, he and Zhouyang, along with the others, were instantly transported from the cave hall to the foot of a Spirit Mountain filled with dense Spiritual Qi.

"Do you see the palace above? The first five to reach that palace can enter and pluck the Holy Infant Fruit. Now you may act!"

Below the Spirit Mountain, the black-robed man pointed at a black palace atop the mountain, his voice as cold as ever.

Upon hearing this, none of Zhouyang and the others recklessly charged up the mountain immediately. Instead, they carefully observed and assessed the entire Spirit Mountain.

This Spirit Mountain was some one to two thousand feet high, completely barren from bottom to top, and the exposed parts of the mountain were made of a kind of black rock, making the entire mountain seem as if it were composed of stone.

The black palace at the mountain peak spanned about four or five acres, with a somewhat rough exterior, appearing as if it were constructed carelessly.

From the surface, Zhouyang didn’t find anything unusual about this Spirit Mountain.

Hmm, that’s not entirely true.

The most prominent anomaly was the fact that despite the Spirit Mountain’s Spiritual Qi concentration reaching a Tier Six High-Grade Spiritual Vein level, no grass grew on it at all.

This situation wouldn’t even occur in a desolate and barren place like the Boundless Desert Sea.

However, now was not the time to ponder this deeply, because after the initial thorough observation, someone had already started climbing the mountain.

And the climber was Zhouyang’s "old acquaintance"—Black Vulture Ascendant.

Seeing someone pioneering the path, Zhouyang and the others naturally perked up, seizing the opportunity to observe.

The moment Black Vulture Ascendant attempted to fly up the Spirit Mountain, he was immediately slammed to the ground upon entering the mountain’s airspace, nearly making a great fall.

From this, it became clear that flying was forbidden on this Spirit Mountain.

Then, Zhouyang and the others could clearly see Black Vulture Ascendant’s shoulders sink and his knees bend slightly as if he were carrying a mountain upon landing.

From this, it could be seen that the gravity within the mountain’s range was certainly many times that of the outside world.

As Black Vulture Ascendant’s Magical Power aura surged, his bent knees quickly straightened up, and his shoulders became considerably straighter.

This let Zhouyang and the others know that Magical Power could be used within the mountain, and that it could help alleviate the gravity pressure.

Soon, after Black Vulture Ascendant slightly adapted to the situation, he began to officially climb the mountain.

Seeing this scene, none of Zhouyang and the others dared to wait any longer, and they all followed suit, entering the mountain range on foot.

Upon entering the mountain, even though Zhouyang was prepared, his shoulders still inevitably sank as if carrying a giant mountain.

Then, by circulating his Magical Power slightly, he discovered that if his Magical Power was constantly in operation, he could probably reduce the gravity pressing down on him by thirty percent.

But he quickly discovered a downside: relying on Magical Power to reduce gravity, each breath consumed as much Magical Power as performing a Tier Three High-grade Technique.

Calculating this way, even if he constantly held a Top-grade Spirit Stone to replenish Magical Power, and even if there were no other obstacles blocking his path on this mountain, reaching the summit on foot would be very arduous.

Zhouyang’s gaze turned to the figure of Black Vulture Ascendant leading the way ahead.

At this moment, Black Vulture Ascendant had already covered one-tenth of the journey, but after completing this stretch, his pace noticeably slowed down.

There was only one explanation for this: the gravity was stronger at higher altitudes.

This realization sank Zhouyang’s heart, prompting him to look at Jiang Fengxian beside him.

Jiang Fengxian’s cultivation was higher than his, and her Magical Power was naturally much more abundant, but her physical strength was completely incomparable to his, something the two had already verified.

If he could still rely on his physical strength to climb the mountain normally without using magic to reduce gravity, Jiang Fengxian definitely couldn’t.

Obviously, Jiang Fengxian quickly realized this herself.

So when she saw Zhouyang looking over, she quickly shook her head at him and said, "Don’t worry about me, you go first!"

Upon hearing this, Zhouyang did not agree. Instead, he pondered for a moment and said, "Let me try carrying you to see if we can go faster." For origınal chapters go to novel⟡fire.net

After saying that, he gestured for Jiang Fengxian to come onto his back.

Seeing this, Jiang Fengxian hesitated for a moment but unwilling to give up the opportunity, obediently jumped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

With a beauty behind him, Zhouyang had no amorous thoughts at all.

He stretched his arms back to support Jiang Fengxian’s calves, then exerted force and took the first step forward.

A crisp sound echoed as a stone on the ground crumbled under the pressure and shattered.

"Better put me down, this method is bound to fail, they wouldn’t leave such a loophole for us!"

Jiang Fengxian said as she released her grip around Zhouyang’s neck, intending to get down.

But Zhouyang had no intention of letting go. Instead, he held her legs tightly and said in a deep voice, "It’s okay, I can still handle it!"

After that, he took a deep breath and began climbing towards the mountaintop step by step.

Wherever he went, he left a series of deep footprints.

The situation of Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian was naturally seen by the other climbers, all of whom were happy to see them , wishing Zhouyang would persist.

Clearly, if Zhouyang kept doing this, even if he managed to carry Jiang Fengxian to the top, they would surely fall far behind the others, losing the chance to get the "Holy Infant Fruit".

Thus, when Zhouyang completed one-tenth of the journey, the foremost people had finished half, while those ahead of him had completed at least thirty percent.

"If it’s just you, you still have a chance to fight for it. Bringing me along will only lead to both of us being eliminated!"

"I already know your intentions. You don’t have to give up this opportunity to prove anything to me!"

Jiang Fengxian looked with a complex expression at the man’s sweat-soaked profile, her emotions incredibly mixed.

Zhouyang was willing to give up this opportunity for her, which deeply moved her heart.

But if because of her, Zhouyang lost the chance to get the "Holy Infant Fruit", how could she be at ease?

Faced with her persuasion, Zhouyang still only said solemnly, "It’s alright, I can still hold on!"

That same sentence again!

Jiang Fengxian bit her lip, couldn’t help leaning close to the man’s ear, and shouted angrily:

"What’s the use of you holding on?"

"Even if you manage to stubbornly carry me to the summit, there are only five ’Holy Infant Fruits’. Would there be any left for us by then?"

"You know, I’d rather you climb alone and get one ’Holy Infant Fruit’ than see both of us end up with nothing!"

Could Zhouyang not understand this logic?

But how would he know it wouldn’t work without trying?

He glanced at the individuals who had already covered half the path ahead on the mountain and suddenly said, "Let’s do it this way. If there’s still no change ahead for a while, I’ll put you down first."

After speaking, he didn’t care how Jiang Fengxian reacted, just saying, "That’s it, you take a good rest and conserve your energy."

As if responding to Zhouyang’s words, shortly after, the foremost cultivator experienced a problem on the peak.

Suddenly, with a flash of lightning, a silver thunderbolt descended from the sky, striking directly on that cultivator.

Although the cultivator quickly activated defense divine techniques to block the lightning, it inevitably slowed his progress.

As he continued to advance, almost every increase of ten zhang brought another strike of lightning.

After being struck by several thunderbolts consecutively, that cultivator had no choice but to stop and meditate on the spot to restore his magical power.

"See, I told you it wouldn’t be that easy!"

"Let’s move on for a while. When I carry you halfway up, you should have a chance to compete with them!"

Zhouyang’s face flickered with a smile, turned his relaxed gaze to Jiang Fengxian, and voiced his intention.

Their cheeks were less than a foot apart. The breath Zhouyang exhaled warmed Jiang Fengxian’s face, making her cheeks flush.

She watched Zhouyang with lightly twitching eyebrows, speaking in a low tone, "And what about you? If you do carry me halfway up, will you still have the strength to strive for those five quotas?"

"We won’t know until we get to that point!"

Zhouyang turned his head back, replied calmly, and then continued climbing steadily upwards.

Seeing this, Jiang Fengxian’s mouth moved, wanting to say something, yet she was like something stuck, unable to voice it.

"You must have been an ox in a past life!"

She sulked for a long time, only managing to grit out this sentence, then tightly held onto Zhouyang’s neck, silent.

Hearing her words, Zhouyang was secretly delighted, knowing his sincerity had finally won her heart.

As they say, a joyful occasion cheers the spirit, and the delight in Zhouyang’s heart seemed to make the double gravity on him not so burdensome anymore, his pace unknowingly sped up.

After an unknown amount of time passed , he finally carried Jiang Fengxian through half of the journey.

By that time, the fastest cultivator was less than two hundred zhang away from the summit.

"Alright, from here on out, you must rely on yourself. Remember to protect yourself well—the opportunity is only good if you survive to enjoy it!"

At halfway up the mountain, Zhouyang released his slightly numb hands, letting Jiang Fengxian down, not forgetting to remind her to take care of herself.

However, looking at his sweat-covered handsome face, Jiang Fengxian suddenly moved forward on her own and gave him a sweet kiss.

Then, before he came back to himself, she quickly activated her Celestial Phoenix bloodline transformation and rushed towards the mountaintop with a flap of her wings.

"Zhouyang, I’ll wait for you at the top, be sure to come up!"