Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System

Another week slipped by while Li Yun remained deep within the Misty Mountains.

“Roar!”

A furious beastly roar suddenly echoed through the mountain range. The peaks were shrouded in pale white mist and had appeared calm and tranquil just moments before, yet that single roar shattered the silence completely.

Boom.

A second roar followed almost immediately. A dark figure was hurled out of the dense forest in utter disarray, smashing through dozens of towering trees before crashing heavily onto the ground. The impact formed a deep crater, sending dust and碎stones flying.

It was a third tier demonic beast at the ninth level, a Black Cloud Leopard. Demonic beasts were divided into tiers from the first to the twelfth based on strength, with the first tier comparable to the Bone Refining Realm, the second tier to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and so on.

The instant the Black Cloud Leopard struck the ground, the sound of bones snapping echoed from within its body. Its massive jaws opened as it violently spat out a mouthful of dark red blood mixed with shattered organs and bone fragments. Terror filled its eyes as it stared into the distance. It tried to struggle to its feet and flee, but its body refused to respond. After a few weak attempts, it collapsed limply, barely clinging to life.

“I have finally reached the first stage of the Golden Battle Body this week.”

A faint chuckle rang out. Soon after, a slender figure dressed in green robes walked forward from the mist. It was Li Yun.

After five full days of relentless cultivation within the Misty Mountains, Li Yun had finally succeeded in cultivating the top grade mortal rank body refining art, the Golden Battle Body Art, to its first stage. The art contained four stages in total, yet he had only managed to reach the first by consuming the low grade spirit stones he had obtained as system rewards.

Golden Battle Body Art was the top grade mortal rank body refining art in the storage ring left by his father.

“The cultivation speed of the Golden Battle Body Art has slowed down too much now that I have reached the first stage,” Li Yun said with a quiet sigh. “It seems low grade spirit stones are only effective up to this point. If I want to reach the fourth stage, I will need other methods.”

As this thought crossed his mind, Li Yun paused and looked around, only to realize that he was still deep within the Misty Mountains.

“By my calculations, five days should have been more than enough to cross the Misty Mountains and reach Phoenix Flame City in Flame County,” he muttered with a frown. “So why have I not seen any sign of leaving yet? Could it be…”

With a casual wave of his hand, Li Yun ended the Black Cloud Leopard’s life. He then carefully scanned his surroundings, his brows knitting together tighter with every passing moment.

Suddenly, his gaze froze on something ahead, and a strong sense of unease surged through his heart. His expression darkened at once. “There is no need to guess anymore. Damn it, I am lost.”

About twenty meters in front of him stood a towering tree. Carved into its trunk was a small, distinctive sword mark. It was a mark Li Yun himself had left behind earlier. Seeing it again now made everything clear. No wonder he had failed to leave the Misty Mountains after so many days. He had been going around in circles the entire time.

If others learned that a cultivator at the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm could get lost so thoroughly, they would likely laugh without restraint.

Of course, this was not truly Li Yun’s fault.

The Misty Mountains earned their name not only because they were perpetually shrouded in pale white fog, but also because their terrain was exceptionally complex, resembling a massive natural maze. Without a guide familiar with the area, even experts of the Xiantian Realm would easily lose their way after entering this place.

“What should I do now?” Li Yun asked himself with a bitter smile.

Days of wandering without direction, combined with the endless rows of nearly identical towering trees, had already thrown his senses into complete confusion. He could no longer tell one direction from another. He briefly considered flying straight up and leaving from the sky, but cultivators below the Xiantian Realm simply did not possess the ability to fly.

Li Yun pressed his fingers against his temples in frustration. It seemed that only one option remained. He would have to choose a single direction and push forward without hesitation, ignoring everything else.

It was a crude and unreliable method that depended entirely on luck.

If fortune favored him, he might escape the Misty Mountains within two or three more days. If luck turned against him, he could wander here for an entire month and still fail to find a way out.

“Let fate decide.”

With no better option left, Li Yun forced a bitter smile and was about to move on.

Rumble. Rumble.

Just as he prepared to leave, a series of distant rumbling sounds rolled through the air. Along with them came faint fluctuations of internal energy. Li Yun’s spirit soul had already reached the Yellow Stage, the third tier, and his perception was far sharper than before. He was certain that he was not mistaken.

The moment he sensed this, Li Yun stopped in his tracks. A hint of excitement appeared on his face. “I did not expect to encounter other people in the Misty Mountains. I should go take a look at once. If they are familiar with this place, I might be able to ask them for directions and finally leave.”

He had no desire to remain in this cursed mountain range any longer. As soon as the thought formed, his figure blurred and moved forward with ghostlike speed.

Li Yun’s movement was astonishingly fast. In the span of ten breaths, he arrived at the source of the violent fluctuations.

He did not reveal himself immediately. Instead, he silently climbed a towering tree and hid within its dense canopy, using the thick leaves and branches to conceal his presence as he observed the scene below.

Li Yun was no longer the inexperienced novice he once had been. He understood clearly that when cultivating outside, the greatest danger to a martial artist did not come from ferocious beasts, but from other humans who also walked the martial path.

Because of this, before confirming who the other party was, he chose not to expose himself rashly and invite unnecessary trouble.

Peering through gaps in the leaves, Li Yun saw two figures below. One was a blue robed young man who appeared to be around twenty years old, his expression sharp and sinister. The other was a yellow robed middle aged man in his forties.

Standing before them was a vicious beast as massive as a small hill, a tier three, ninth level Berserk Giant Bear.

“Roar!”

The Berserk Giant Bear fixed its furious gaze on the two humans and released an earth shaking roar. Its enormous paw, broad like a fan, rose into the air and came crashing down with a violent surge of wind.

“Hmph, a mere beast dares to challenge me? You are simply seeking death,” the yellow robed middle aged man sneered coldly. He raised his hand and struck out with a palm. In an instant, a torrent of powerful energy surged forward with a thunderous roar, like floodgates bursting open.

“This is…” Li Yun’s pupils shrank sharply the moment he sensed that surge of power. It resembled internal energy, yet it was clearly different, and its might was several times greater than ordinary internal energy.

“Qi,” Li Yun exclaimed silently.

Among martial artists, the only form of energy more ferocious than internal energy was qi, a higher and more advanced power. When a cultivator broke through from the Body Tempering Realm into the Xiantian Realm, the energy within their body underwent a transformation, evolving from internal energy into true qi.

However, Li Yun’s expression quickly changed. “No, this is not pure qi. It is still mixed with a large amount of Body Tempering Realm internal energy. That means this yellow robed man has not truly entered the Xiantian Realm. He is only at the Half Step Xiantian level.”

Li Yun’s perception was exceptionally keen, and he discerned the man’s true cultivation almost instantly. He had encountered this kind of mixed energy before during his battle with Chen Xiao. Chen Xiao had used the same power against him, and he too had been a Half Step Xiantian cultivator.

—-

A Half Step Xiantian expert facing a tier three, ninth level vicious beast was nothing more than a case of overwhelming strength crushing the weak. The outcome of such a battle was never in doubt.

The yellow robed middle aged man sent the Berserk Giant Bear flying with a single palm strike. He then formed his hand into a blade and slashed through the air. A cold streak of blade light flashed forth and split the massive beast cleanly in two.

“Second Uncle, were we not supposed to ambush that woman, Xi Luo? Why are we wasting time hunting vicious beasts here?” the blue robed youth said at once after witnessing the kill.

The yellow robed man smiled faintly. “Do you think your Second Uncle would act without reason?”

He continued calmly, “I eliminated all the vicious beasts within a twenty meter radius for the sake of dealing with that little bitch, Xi Luo.”

The blue robed youth looked confused. “Second Uncle, what do you mean by that?”

“With your Half Step Xiantian cultivation, how could that woman possibly be your match?” the youth continued. “Once she arrives, you could reveal yourself and strike. Killing her and her companions would be no harder than slaughtering chickens and dogs. Why go through so much trouble? What does killing vicious beasts have to do with killing Xi Luo?”

The yellow robed middle aged man’s expression turned cold. “Do not underestimate her. Xi Luo may be young, but she is extremely cunning. According to our intelligence, she not only obtained the Red Blood Jade Ginseng in Spirit County, but also acquired a bag of Exploding Beast Powder.”

“Exploding Beast Powder?” the blue robed youth cried out in shock.

The yellow robed man nodded grimly. “You know how terrifying that substance is. Once used, it can draw every vicious beast within a ten kilometer radius.”

He went on, his voice heavy. “I can deal with the beasts in this area one by one, but if they are all drawn out at once and driven mad by the Exploding Beast Powder, their strength will surge as well. In that situation, even a Half Step Xiantian expert like me would not be able to endure it. The most likely outcome would be mutual destruction.”

The blue robed youth felt a chill run down his spine. “That woman is truly insidious. It is fortunate that we discovered her plan in advance.”

If they had not learned of this beforehand and she had used the Exploding Beast Powder during the confrontation, triggering a riot among all vicious beasts within ten kilometers, the resulting chaos and consequences would have been beyond imagination.

“Enough talk. Stop wasting time,” the yellow robed middle aged man said coldly. “Xi Luo and her group should arrive in about an hour. Prepare the ambush.”

Hidden high within the tree, Li Yun heard every word spoken by the despicable uncle and nephew. His pupils shrank sharply, yet a trace of excitement flickered deep within his eyes.

“Red Blood Jade Ginseng,” he thought silently. “There is actually a Red Blood Jade Ginseng. This is a natural treasure perfectly suited for body refinement. If I can obtain it, I will definitely be able to break through to the second stage of the Golden Battle Body Art.”