Long Chongshan was a mountain gorge. Beside it stood several Inkstone Giant Stones that gave off a heavy feeling, while within the mountains grew towering ancient trees, each so thick that even ten people joining hands could hardly encircle one.
"Dad, is this Long Chongshan?" Long Jiuyyao asked, looking at the gorge ahead.
"Mm. Yao'er, this is where our clan tempers its body. Normally, only those at the Origin Core Realm or above can enter, but you possess an Ancient Dragon Bone, so I'm letting you in."
"The lightest stones down there weigh a hundred pounds, and the heaviest weigh tens of thousands. For now, all you need to do is carry every hundred-pound Azure Stone to the other side of the gorge, then bring them back."
"And those ancient trees—you'll need to chop down fifty of them with an axe before you can leave," Yuan Gan said.
"How hard can that be?" Long Jiuyyao said with a smile. Behind him, Yuan Gan wore a peculiar expression.
"Then go on down," Yuan Gan said with a smile.
"All right." Long Jiuyyao nodded, took a step, and strolled toward the gorge.
But the moment he entered the air above the gorge, Long Jiuyyao's expression changed abruptly. A terrifying pressure crashed down on him, sending his body plummeting straight toward the ground.
"So heavy!" Long Jiuyyao's face paled. With a thunderous crash, he slammed into the ground. His legs could barely hold him upright, and his whole body felt as though it had fallen apart. He was thoroughly uncomfortable, and his internal organs seemed to be sinking.
"Yao'er, train hard." Yuan Gan smiled, then turned and left. Yuan Xin shot Long Jiuyyao a smug look. "Big brother, enjoy yourself. And don't forget to carry those stones and chop those trees!"
"How can it be this terrifying?" Long Jiuyyao straightened up, feeling an overwhelmingly powerful force pressing down on his whole body. Even the Yuan Power inside him struggled to circulate.
When a force reached its limit, it could undergo a qualitative change. This field of gravity had reached just such a limit.
"Thud!" He took one step, and the ground gave a muffled rumble. Long Jiuyyao looked at the giant stones, then at the ancient trees, and felt like crying!
"Damn it, I spoke too soon." Long Jiuyyao grimaced. No wonder his dad had looked at him like that.
"Ha!"
A dazzling Dark Gold Radiance spread from Long Jiuyyao's body. At last, he could move, unlike when he'd first entered, though he was still extremely slow.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Long Jiuyyao walked over to an Inkstone Giant Stone and muttered, "I wonder how heavy this thing is."
Long Jiuyyao roused the Pitch-black Yuan Power within him, then channeled terrifying Yin Sha Power into his arm and heaved with all his might. A series of rumbles rang out as Long Jiumo managed to lift a giant stone, but the next instant, a dreadful vibration thundered through the gorge. The ground seemed to split, and the stone crashed down. Long Jiumo sprawled on top of it, panting.
"This stone weighs only a hundred pounds, but that's somewhere else. Here, gravity is a thousand times stronger!" Long Jiuyyao lamented inwardly. He couldn't even lift a single stone.
Helpless, he walked toward the woods, picked up the axe lying nearby, and swung it at an ancient tree. He found that he'd only scraped off a layer of bark. He couldn't help lamenting inwardly. These ancient trees were far too sturdy.
He glanced back at the row of giant stones and noticed some slightly smaller ones beside them. Long Jiuyyao walked over and lifted one, then began trudging forward with difficulty. Every step left a deep footprint in the ground, as though he'd sunk into the earth.
"Damn, it's heavy." Long Jiuyyao was frustrated, but he could only grit his teeth and press on. After taking a dozen or so steps, he was drenched in sweat, yet he still clenched his jaw.
Training under the gravity of Gravity Mountain gave him a sense of something utterly primal. By constantly breaking through his limits and pushing his body to the brink, he made his physical strength grow.
Over the past half month, he had gradually adapted to the terrifying gravity and could now walk and run as he normally would. That alone was tremendous progress.
Long Jiuyyao trained quietly in Long Chongshan. From time to time, he saw others come in and train on the other side of the gorge. With only seven days left until the clan gathering, he could finally lift the giant stones and chop at the ancient trees with a large axe.
Every seven days, Yuan Gan and Yuan Xin came to visit him.
That day, Long Jiuyyao was chopping trees again. Now, each swing of his axe came easily, almost as if driven by momentum. He infused Yin Sha Power into the axe, and every swing brought a tiny improvement. As those small gains accumulated, they gradually grew more significant, allowing him to chop deeper with each blow.
"This kid's improving so fast." Yuan Gan and the others had come again. Sitting above the gorge, they watched Long Jiuyyao swing his axe into an ancient tree, leaving a deep crack in its trunk. After dozens of swings, the tree fell.
This time, Yuan Gan stayed and watched Long Jiuyyao chop. It took him less than a day to fell all fifty trees, but he didn't stop. He kept chopping.
"Is he planning to cut down that whole grove? The Tree Planting Elder will be heartbroken," Yuan Xin murmured. Every tree here had grown from a seed. The elder's duty was to help those seeds grow quickly so they could continue to be used by the Dragon Clan's disciples to temper their bodies.
"Why is he getting weaker? Why is it taking him so long to chop down a tree?" Yuan Xin frowned, puzzled.
"He isn't relying on his Ancient Dragon Bone or Yuan Power anymore. He's using nothing but his physical strength to chop," Yuan Gan explained. Yuan Xin blinked her Spirit Eyes.
"Your brother's working hard for the clan gathering competition, while you're slacking off here. The clan gathering starts in just seven days," Yuan Gan said, patting Yuan Xin on the head.
"Oh, Dad, I'm not slacking off. I'm just balancing work and rest. I train too." As she spoke, Yuan Xin revealed the aura of the Late Earth Yuan Stage.
"You always have an answer for everything. Your cousin Liu Qing is taking part in this clan gathering too, and he's already reached the Lesser Origin Core Realm," Yuan Gan said helplessly.
Long Jiuyyao knew nothing of Yuan Gan and Yuan Xin's conversation. He kept chopping trees, resting when he was tired before returning to carry the giant stones.
He now did all of this willingly and with a positive attitude. Sometimes, he had an insight and practiced with his axe on the giant stones. He found these days very pleasant.
Although his cultivation realm hadn't improved, he wasn't in a hurry. Advancement came naturally; a solid foundation made one stronger in battle, and once his cultivation realm rose, he would naturally grow stronger still.
Several more days passed. Long Jiuyyao lay comfortably on top of a giant stone as sunlight spilled into the gorge and fell across him. His physique had taken on more defined lines, an Aesthetic of Strength.
He had gradually grown used to the terrifying gravity in the gorge. He knew he was undergoing a baptism, and his purely physical strength had become far greater than before.
"Big brother." A voice interrupted Long Jiuyyao's pleasant dream. He opened his eyes and saw Yuan Xin above the gorge.
"Xin'er." Long Jiuyyao sat up and looked at her.
"What, you've chopped down the whole grove and still can't bring yourself to leave?" Yuan Xin glanced at the woods, quietly impressed. Brother Jiuyyao really was amazing. He had adapted so quickly and even chopped down the entire grove.
Long Jiuyyao smiled, then stamped his foot. His body shot straight up against the pull of gravity and landed at the edge of the gorge. The moment the immense pressure was gone, he felt light as a feather, as if he had no weight at all. The sensation was wonderful.
"Boom!"
A surge of powerful Yin Sha Power erupted, revealing the full aura of the Late Earth Yuan Stage. Long Jiuyyao hurriedly reined it in. After a month of building up his strength, his cultivation had risen by another level.
"Little sister, what brings you here?" Long Jiuyyao asked with a smile.
"You silly brother! The clan gathering competition is tomorrow. Dad sent me to call you back," Yuan Xin said with a coquettish huff.
"Haha, then let's go."
Long Jiuyyao first returned to his room to bathe and change. He wore a Dragon Pattern Black Robe, his Obsidian-like hair tied loosely behind him. His eyes, dark as night, held a composure beyond his years, and his slightly youthful, handsome face was full of resolve.
Long Jiuyyao returned to the mountain peak he'd visited last time and looked at the pierced giant stone, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Dragon Finger—decide life and death."
His clearly defined index finger was wrapped in Pitch-black Yin Sha Power, but it no longer bore any cracks. As the Yin Sha Power gathered, it coiled around his finger like a black, enraged dragon.
The black dragon coiled around his index finger shot toward the massive Azure Stone in front of him like a meteor. At the instant of impact, it pierced through the stone, and terrifying Yin Sha Power spread through it.
The next moment, the Azure Stone turned into an ice sculpture, radiating waves of chill. When Long Jiuyyao touched it, it crumbled into icy shards.
"Hiss! This is practically on par with a Creation Martial Art."
Long Jiuyyao knew this power came from the terrifying might of the Primordial Dragon Bone Finger Bone and the Yin Sha Power he had absorbed.
Otherwise, a Ninth Grade Martial Art could never bridge the gap and rival a Creation Martial Art.
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