Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao

Chapter 496: Floating Stone Steps

Translator: Reverie_ Editor: Kurisu

Although he didn’t like medicinal pills as a reward, he wouldn’t waste the chance and so picked a pill.

The tier of the three pills were actually not low, and quite coincidentally, among these pills, one was the Hidden Tiger Heavenly Luck Pill, so Ling Han picked that one.

The other two were used to assist in breaking through a tier—Heaven Tier—but Ling Han didn’t need it, and secondly, he could also refine it, so he skipped those. Anyway, when the people by his side reached the Deity Transformation Tier, he shouldn’t lack the ingredients to refine such pills.

This was also a reward for Zhu Xuan Er.

“There’s one last test ahead. Those who can make it there in ten days will have qualified to take the test,” the formation spirit went on. Every person that passed through the formation received a reward, but other than the top three, the rewards were hardly as impressive.

Everyone departed, and even those who hadn’t passed through the formation were let out. This didn’t affect their qualifications to head towards the third stage… the key was whether or not they could reach the third stage. Similar to the forest that led to the second stage, there were terrifying beasts keeping watch on the way, eliminating a portion of people.

The five of them also set out, and since two parts of Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art were acquired, Ling Han obviously wanted to obtain the last part even more, forming the complete art.

While he hastened on the road, he began to study the art.

Different from normal arts, the Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art didn’t cultivate Origin Power. It completely excavated the potential of the human body, increasing the power of blood, flesh, veins, and muscles, and at last, breaking through the limit to become a god in flesh.

To cultivate this art was rather easy. First, eat as much worldly treasures and such tonic things as possible, and second, cultivate for all one was worth, squeezing out one’s own physical limits.

This required a strong physique, or else one wouldn’t be able maintain such terrifying physical power.

Just like a man of clay—even if its punch had over ten thousand pounds of force, if it smashed into a wall, the wall might shatter, but the man of clay itself would also collapse. However, if it were a golem, then a punch would definitely break the wall, and the golem itself would be fine.

For Ling Han, the Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art was like it was tailor-made for him, because he cultivated Indestructible Heaven’s Scroll and the toughness of his physique was comparable to rare metals of the same tier. If he were to advance one more step to Diamond Tier, then it would be even more terrifying!

With a strong physique, he would get twice the result by doing half the work when cultivating this art.

However, now he didn’t have the time to cultivate, because they were hurrying on the road. The formation spirit actually gave them ten days this time, meaning that the road would be extremely long or filled with danger, and they would stumble and experience numerous difficulties before reaching the end.

The flatlands soon disappeared, and there was no road ahead. Instead, there were stones floating in midair, layering higher and higher until the end of the skies.

“The third stage… could it be in the sky?”

“It certainly seems so.”

“Is this the ladder to heaven?”

“Haha, this counts as a ladder?

Everyone felt that this stage was not a test at all, because Flower Blossom Tier warriors could fly, and even if they couldn’t fly to the top in one go, there were floating stones on the way for them to stop to rest.

“Let’s try it out.” Ling Han leapt up, but his expression changed immediately. With this leap, he discovered the gravity here was unusually strong. Originally, he could jump at least several hundred feet, but now it was hardly five feet.

Fortunately, he still jumped onto that floating stone.

The strange thing was that when he was on the floating stone, the gravity returned to normal and no additional weight came upon him.

Apparently, the gravity existed to stop Flower Blossom Tier warriors from flying, as well as to increase their difficulty in advancing.

This should also vary according to tier, or else it would lose meaning.

“All of you come up, this road probably won’t be so easy to walk,” he said.

This was a bit like the city gate of the first stage, but the obstructive force was layered, while the gravity here was terrifying. The key was that the formation spirit said it would suffice to arrive within ten days; what did this mean?

The road was damn long!

Therefore, this tested endurance and willpower; otherwise, under such a strong gravitational environment, who could maintain their pace for ten days’ time?

Everyone jumped up one after another. Some people actually didn’t jump high enough and had to jump again—and this was only the first layer of floating stones. The end of the rows of floating stone steps couldn’t be seen, so no one knew how far the road led.

If there were an end, then everyone would at least have a goal to strive for in their minds, but the situation before their eyes… a road without end and moving forward was extremely difficult. This could very easily make people disheartened and lose tenacity.

Everyone began to move forward. At the start, everyone was fierce, jumping over the floating steps one after the other, but only after ten minutes, their speed became slower and slower, with sweat trickling down their backs.

Ling Han was still relaxed. He could actually store Liu Yu Tong and the others into the Black Tower and bring them to the top, but he didn’t do so, because as he saw it, this was great for improving oneself.

Those who could walk to the end in ten days, regardless of martial arts talent, would at least prove that they possessed a heart to never back down.

This was an indispensable quality on the road to the peak of martial arts.

So, Ling Han didn’t wait for the others and employed his movement arts, climbing upwards rapidly.

Flower Blossom Tier cultivators could only jump step by step here too. Moreover, the higher the tier, the greater the gravitational force one endured, losing their advantage. The test here was more about willpower than cultivation.

Ling Han soon left everyone behind, and the only one who kept up with him was Hu Niu. This little girl’s speed was also clearly restricted, but she was still fast, at least no slower than Ling Han.

Jumping, jumping continuously, and jumping until exhaustion, they rested on the floating rocks, meditating and absorbing Spiritual Qi to recover. This was greatly beneficial in increasing one’s cultivation.

Ling Han had eaten many great things, and the time was too short for many of them to show their effects, accumulating within his body. Now his body was operating in excess burden, which finally unleashed the effects.

After completing cultivation, Ling Han began to cultivate the Nine Dragon Tyrant Body Art.

This could only be cultivated one hour each day and no more. Going beyond the limit would instead harm the body. Also, during the cultivation process, blood, flesh, veins, and bones would absorb large amounts of energy and essence. If there weren’t enough world treasures to keep up, then one would only overdraw oneself.

Ling Han cultivated now because the essences of the treasured medicine accumulated within the body were all released through intense exercise. If he didn’t cultivate the Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art now, it would truly be a great waste.

He assumed a strange posture, and instantly, ka ka ka , the bones all over his body crackled. He almost bent himself into a curve, and Qi and blood instantly couldn’t circulate normally; it was so painful that he almost spurted out blood.

The Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art’s initial stage had a total of twelve styles of such postures; before acquiring the second portion of the art, there were only six styles, and apparently, the completed Tyrant Body Art probably had eighteen styles.