Terrifying Gravity

"Then go. If anything comes up, you can contact me through the willow branch at any time."

As soon as she finished speaking, the willow branch in Shi Jue's palm lost its luster, becoming no different from an ordinary willow branch.

Carefully putting the willow branch away, Shi Jue stepped directly onto the first stair. His body immediately sank slightly, and it felt as though he were carrying another version of himself on his back. It did not hinder his movements much. The effect of the first level was not obvious, so Shi Jue continued upward.

Second level.

Third level.

Tenth level.

When he reached the tenth level, Shi Jue felt his body become extraordinarily heavy. Every part of his body bore roughly a thousand jin of weight. Just moving his legs slightly made sweat begin to trickle down his forehead.

"Phew!"

After taking a deep breath, Shi Jue did not continue upward. This level of gravity was just right for now. The earlier lightning tempering had strengthened his body somewhat; otherwise, he would not even have been able to reach the tenth level.

Buzz!

As his body endured tenfold gravity, a warm current flowed from his abdomen. A hazy purple radiance circulated across his skin, and immense vitality emanated from him. Laws of lightning manifested and flickered around his body.

Shi Jue delightedly sensed that the Tribulation Liquid was indeed being absorbed faster. This was only the tenth level. If he reached the fiftieth or hundredth levels, the absorption rate would surely become even faster. With this discovery, Shi Jue worked even harder.

Though his steps were heavy, he still paced back and forth across the broad platform of the tenth level. Once he adapted to this weight, he could proceed to higher levels.

Half a year later, Shi Jue had adapted to the gravity of more than eighty levels. Here, he could move about freely, light as a swallow, as if there were not the slightest pressure on him.

Feeling somewhat bored, he could only chat in the group. Though it could not provide much help with cultivation, at least there were people to talk to.

[Shi Jue: Is anyone there? What have you all been up to lately?]

[Duan De: This poor Daoist visited the tomb of a Great Sage. That Great Sage was quite wealthy, and I obtained two Sage Weapons.]

[Yan Ruyu: Fellow Daoist Duan De, are you the person the Li Family of the Eastern Wasteland has been looking for recently?!]

The Eastern Wasteland had been relatively peaceful lately, with nothing major happening. The only widely known matter was the Li Family's wanted notice, which offered an enormous amount of Divine Source that made many cultivators' hearts stir.

[Duan De: I don't know. Too many people want to find this poor Daoist. If it's someone from recently, then it should be me.]

[Ye Fan: Good lord, Daoist Duan is a repeat offender.]

[Shi Jue: The treasures Duan De gets from robbing tombs are more than enough to establish an aristocratic family. He can be called the richest person in our group.]

[Huntuo: Group leader, do you know who will become the Great Emperor in our era?]

As soon as Huntuo asked this question, Yan Ruyu and Duan De became spirited. As cultivators, they were naturally immensely curious about the Great Emperor. After all, who did not want to contend for the imperial throne?

Even if they could not become the Great Emperor in the end, they could still build a good relationship with the one who did.

Shi Jue immediately found it amusing. The Great Emperor they wanted to know about was currently in the group, but he would not reveal it.

[Shi Jue: Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. The position of Great Emperor must be fought for. What good would telling you do?]

[Duan De: Just tell us. It's not as if we'd dig a pit and bury that person.]

[Shi Jue: Anyone can say that, but not you, Duan De!]

[Shi Jue: A person should not be too much like Duan De; a dog should not be too much like the Black Emperor.]

[Duan De: ???]

[Huntuo: Truly incisive. It makes me want to meet this fellow Daoist Duan De.]

[Duan De: Better not. I don't want to meet you.]

Duan De's face went dark with fright. This God of Misfortune was truly uncanny. Getting involved with him made it easy to suffer bad luck.

The cheerful atmosphere in the group helped relieve Shi Jue's boredom as he cultivated alone. He suddenly had an idea: what kind of reaction would occur if An Lan, at the pinnacle of immortals, met Huntuo, at the pinnacle of words?

"One hundred and fiftieth level!"

Pfft!

Shi Jue returned to reality and, with several leaps, arrived directly at the one hundred and fiftieth level. But the gravity here was terrifying. It was as if a weight of over ten thousand jin had been placed on him. He immediately slammed facedown onto the ground, his head pressed tightly against the floor, unable to get back up no matter how he tried.

He felt as though an ancient mountain were pressing down on him. Every bone in his body creaked, as if wailing in agony.

He had been too reckless. At this point, he could only use the final method.

"Liu Shen, save me!"

"Sigh, this is the fifth time already. Why can't you ever learn your lesson?" Liu Shen's voice sounded, carrying a trace of helplessness.

Shi Jue's current physical strength had not even reached ten thousand jin, yet he had overestimated himself and come to the one hundred and fiftieth level. This was not even the first time he had done it. Every time, he ended up lying there and begging for help.

"Liu Shen, don't you get used to it after trying a few more times?" Shi Jue smiled awkwardly.

"Your rate of growth is already not slow. Shi Hao only has five thousand jin of strength now, so there is no need to rush."

"That's different. My progress is because of the Tribulation Liquid, while Shi Hao relies entirely on himself."

Shi Jue understood this clearly. Without the Tribulation Liquid laying his foundation, his physical body would at most have reached a thousand jin of strength by now. Apart from medicinal baths, Shi Hao relied on his own talent and that desperate, life-risking cultivation.

"You understand yourself quite well. Once you finish absorbing the Tribulation Liquid, although you will not develop a special physique, your foundation will be as solid as a rock and flawless. As your cultivation realm rises and your level of life evolves, even a Mortal Body will no longer be ordinary."

"Shi Hao is under pressure because of you and is also cultivating desperately now. He will likely break through to the hundred-thousand-jin Extreme Realm before he turns seven."

"It's fine. Being a little behind does not mean anything. As long as I'm not left too far behind, it's no problem." Shi Jue smiled.

They were friends; there was no need to fight to the death. Shi Hao's bearing destined him to become the Desolate Heavenly Emperor who would stand alone through eternity, while Shi Jue did not possess that great righteousness of bearing the world upon his shoulders. As long as he could survive, that was enough.

He still pursued strength. Otherwise, he could simply find a place, stop cultivating, and spend a short hundred years in peace. Would that not be even more comfortable?

"Thank you for the trouble, Liu Shen. This won't happen again."

Shi Jue expressed his gratitude. Liu Shen had taken great care of him. What Immortal King-level existence could have such patience?

Liu Shen accepted Shi Jue's thanks, gave him a few reminders, and then left the Void God Realm.

"Starting from the hundredth level!" Shi Jue encouraged himself. On the hundredth stair, in an environment of hundredfold gravity, he began adapting and tempering himself. He had learned some of Stone Village's movements for strengthening the body, and he began practicing them atop this level of stairs.