Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

Chapter 5: I Think the Third Test is About Wisdom

Everyone approached the Heart-Seeking Mountain, feeling no different except for Barbarian Bone, who distinctly felt his strength diminishing, his physical standards aligning with the others.

His boiling ancient barbarian blood calmed, no longer providing him with endless power.

Everyone looked at each other and then at Barbarian Bone, the strongest among them.

“I’ll go first,” Barbarian Bone said, seeing everyone’s gaze on him, and stepped forward as the first to climb.

One step, two steps, three steps... ten steps.

The first ten steps were easy for Barbarian Bone, but from the eleventh step, the pressure started to build, feeling like he was carrying a stone slab on his back that grew heavier with each step.

However, it was still bearable.

He continued to climb.

After reaching the twentieth step, Barbarian Bone’s pace became increasingly difficult, his steps slowing down.

By the twenty-ninth step, sweat soaked through his clothes, forcing him to stop and rest, gasping for breath.

“Even sitting down feels heavy,” Barbarian Bone muttered to himself, too tired to speak further. Now, instead of standing with the slab, he was sitting with it, and his recovery was slow.

Seeing Barbarian Bone struggle so much, everyone realized the difficulty of the mountain and became apprehensive.

Someone solemnly said, “I heard from an elder about places like this. Heart-Seeking Mountain tests one’s desire for the Dao. The purer the heart and the firmer the will, the purer the desire for the Dao. Barbarian Bone, from the ancient barbarian lineage known for their straightforwardness, is struggling so much. It will likely be even harder for us!”

“Would a meditation mantra help calm the mind?” another person suggested.

The test just needed them to reach the fiftieth step. It didn’t require them to be among the first few to pass, they were not in competition.

Everyone agreed, finding it a good idea. Most had been taught similar mantras by their elders for cultivation and self-discipline.

Lu Yang opened his mouth, but he didn’t know any meditation mantras.

“Do you want me to teach you a mantra?” Meng Jingzhou offered.

Lu Yang shook his head, “No need yet. I’ll think of another way.”

Meng Jingzhou respected his decision and didn’t insist.

...

Meng Jingzhou awoke from meditation, feeling an unprecedented calmness in his heart.

The meditation mantra worked!

“No problem, as long as it’s sharp,” Lu Yang said, knowing that even if Meng family’s treasures couldn’t be activated, their sharpness surpassed any mundane axe or saw.

Perfect for cutting trees.

“Come see, I’ve already designed the blueprint while you were meditating.”

Lu Yang led Meng Jingzhou to a patch of soft sand, where he had drawn the blueprint for the ‘7’-shaped ladder.

After a brief discussion, they started their task.

The Meng family dagger was indeed sharp, cutting through thick trees like paper. They quickly shaped the wood into unique boards.

The trees growing within Heart-Seeking Mountain, where cultivators and mortals were equal, were ordinary.

Soon, Meng Jingzhou noticed another issue.

“How do we join these two boards? We don’t have nails, and even if we did, they wouldn’t hold these thick boards together.”

“Have you heard of mortise and tenon joints?”

“No.”

Lu Yang sighed, took the dagger, and began shaping the joints while explaining this earthly wisdom to Meng Jingzhou.

“This protruding part is the mortise, and this recessed part is the tenon. Together, they form a mortise and tenon joint. Its main feature is strength without needing nails.”

Meng Jingzhou listened intently, as the Meng family used spiritual energy for forging, unfamiliar with such structures.

On the steps, people were exhausted, drenched in sweat, struggling to reach the fiftieth step, hoping to be the first to pass and possibly earn special attention and cultivation from the Dao Seeking Sect.

They now understood why there was no time limit: staying too long would leave them too weak to even stand, let alone climb.

Meanwhile, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, also drenched in sweat and panting, spent a great deal of effort felling numerous trees. After several trials and errors, they finally completed the ladder.

The ladder, with its bizarre shape – thinner at the top and thicker at the bottom, with a curved end – resembled a giant ‘7’ more than a ladder.

The surrounding bare ground, as if gnawed by a giant demon pig, drew secretive glances from Dao Seeking Sect disciples who remembered Dai Bufan’s pride in his lush Heart-Seeking Mountain.

Dai Bufan’s eye twitched involuntarily, his fist clenched.

A schematic of Lu Yang climbing the mountain is attached.

(End of the chapter)