Dual Cultivation In Martial Peak

Chapter 59: To The Nether Mountain

"Does your stamina know no bounds?" Su Yan commented while helping Su Mu get dressed, and the latter chuckled.

"It doesn't, especially when I'm with you."

After dual cultivating with Su Yan for a whole day, Su Mu cultivated with his two servants, Du Yi Shuang and Lan Chu Die, for a few hours.

Currently, Du Yi Shuang and Lan Chu Die were in the room next door, peacefully absorbing Su Mu's Yang Qi while he was getting ready to leave the High Heaven Pavillion once again.

Unlike Su Yan, Du Yi Shuang and Lan Chu Die had yet to learn how to absorb Yang Qi while they were cultivating, so they had no choice but to do it after they were done.

"What about Little Sister Jiao'er and Mei'er?" Su Yan asked.

"They'll be waiting for me at the High Heaven Pavilion." Su Mu replied, watching as Su Yan tied the robe sash around his waist, and with that, he was ready to go.

"Perfect." After looking at her handiwork, Su Yan smiled.

Watching Su Yan's smile, Su Mu did the most logical thing that came to his mind, and he planted his lips on hers, giving her a deep kiss.

After kissing Su Yan for a good while, Su Mu retreated his lips before summoning the Demon Mystic Tome in his right hand.

"Are you done refining the Asura Sword?" Su Yan asked, watching as Su Mu picked up the Asura Sword, which was resting against a wall, before placing it inside the Demon Mystic Tome.

"If I only wanted to refine a Heaven Grade Low-Rank Artifact, it would've only taken a single day at most." Su Mu replied as the Demon Mystic Tome disappeared from his hand, being stored inside his body.

"Then, what were you doing if not refining it?" Su Yan asked, tilting her head a little.

"To turn it into an Artifact that grows alongside me, the first thing I did was remove all the prohibitions placed on it by the Asura Sect, completely making the Artifact mine, before merging my Killing Intent into the sword, and now, unless I allow someone to, no one can properly wield the Asura Sword." Su Mu explained.

Naturally, people like Meng Wuya were exceptions to this rule, as their cultivation far exceeded Su Mu's current cultivation.

"Does that mean the Asura Sword is a growth-type artifact now?" Su Yan asked.

"Of course not." Su Mu shook his head in denial. "To make it a growth-type artifact, I'd need to first refine an artifact spirit for it, and then let it absorb an enormous amount of World Energy that only a large Earth Vein can provide."

"Like the Earth Vein under Central Capital?" Su Yan asked.

"More or less, yes. But without going to the Central Capital once, I won't know if it will suffice or not." Su Mu replied.

And even before that happens, Su Mu first needed to collect some materials for the Asura Sword.

"So to collect Resentful Spirits for the Artifact Spirits, you'd first need to visit the Ash Grey Cloud Evil Land and then the Central Capital." Su Yan summarized the general idea Su Mu had in mind.

"Anything can happen, but that's the gist of it."

The two of them talked for a while longer, and Su Mu decided to take his leave.

"Make sure to visit Little Sister Xia before leaving." Su Yan said, and Su Mu nodded.

"I know."

"Then, take care, and make sure to look after Little Sister Jiao'er and Mei'er." Su Yan walked towards the bed before sitting cross-legged on it. "Make sure to contact through the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, okay?"

"I'll keep that in mind, and if something happens at the High Heaven Pavilion, contact me immediately."

Su Yan nodded at his words, and after saying his goodbyes to Xia Ning Chang, Su Mu made his way towards the High Heaven Pavilion, where the Hu Sisters were patiently waiting for his arrival.

---

"Right, Senior Sister Xia told me to give these to you." Summoning some bottles of pills from the Demon Mystic Tome, Su Mu handed them over to Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er. "

Hu Mei'er opened one of the bottles in her hands, and her eyes widened slightly. "All of these pills are Heaven Grade."

"The lowest one is Heaven Grade Middle Rank, with most of them being Top Rank Heaven Grade Pills. Two of them even have Pill Veins." Even Hu Jiao'er was surprised.

Even the core disciples of the three sects wouldn't get such treatment from their respective sects, and if the monetary value of these pills were to be considered, they'd be enough for a disciple to get enough contribution points to rank up more than once.

"There's no need to hold back while using these pills, and make sure to not get in any dangerous situations—is what Senior Sister Xia said." Su Mu quoted what Xia Ning Chang had previously said to him.

From the insights into the Dao of Alchemy that Su Mu had left with Xia Ning Chang, her achievements in the Alchemy Dao increased even further.

Su Mu had to admit that even if Xia Ning Chang wasn't born with the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, her talent within the Dao of Alchemy was exceptional.

"Elder Sister Xia is so nice." Hu Mei'er smiled happily, placing the bottles in her pocket.

"Indeed." Hu Jiao'er nodded.

And so, the three of them made their way towards Ling Tai Xu's house, meeting up with him and Meng Wuya.

---

"Greetings, Senior Ling, Senior Meng." Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er respectfully cupped their fists, greeting the two old men.

"Yes." Ling Tai Xu nodded, and the Hu Sisters raised their heads.

"Greetings, Sect Master, Old Man Meng." Su Mu greeted the two with a casual smile, waving his hand towards them.

"In such a short time, you reached the 2nd Stage of True Element Realm, huh?" Meng Wuya commented with slightly wide eyes, looking at Su Mu, who just shrugged his shoulders in return.

His cultivation had unintentionally increased by one stage while he was cultivating with Su Yan.

"Impressive." Ling Tai Xu also nodded, admitting that Su Mu's cultivation pace was the fastest he had seen in his entire life. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Su Mu replied, making Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er nod as well.

"Then let's go." Ling Tai Xu said, and soon, the five of them started flying towards Coiling Dragon Stream which was near the High Heaven Pavilion, before heading down within it.

"It's so deep. I can't even see the ground below." Hu Mei'er couldn't help but exclaim, holding her elder sister's hand as the winds whistled past them, making the Coiling Dragon Stream seem bottomless.

After falling a few thousand feet, Ling Tai Xu suddenly changed direction, flying towards the Coiling Dragon Stream's embankment, followed by the rest until they came to a stop.

In the middle of the night, Ling Tai Xu, Menh Wuya, Su Mu, Hu Jiao'er, and Hu Mei'er floated mid-air, staring at the stone wall in front of them.

"Is it here?" Meng Wuya asked.

"Yes." Ling Tai Xu nodded. "The two of us must pour our True Qi into it."

"I see."

"Let's begin, Brother Meng." Ling Tai Xu said as he started to circulate his True Qi, placing his palm on the stone wall in front of him.

Meng Wuya followed Ling Tai Xu's lead, placing his palm on the stone wall before pouring his Saint Qi into the stone wall.

If Meng Wuya was at his peak, he could've opened this stone wall within a few seconds, but now, it took him and Ling Tai Xu a few minutes before the stone wall showed any signs of opening.

'I never thought a man-made void corridor would be present in such a small world like this.' Su Mu thought, watching as ripples started appearing on the seemingly ordinary stone wall, opening up a passage to an unknown place.

Su Mu guessed that the ancestor of the High Heaven Pavilion wasn't someone from this small world, but a 3rd Order Saint Realm Cultivator like Meng Wuya from the Tong Xuan Realm.

Watching the changes occur within the void corridor, both Ling Tai Xu and Meng Wuya retreated.

Although the two had ceased the flow of their True Qi and Saint Qi, the changes occurring on the stone wall continued.

The rumbling and ripples peaked in violence, and the layer of ripples had now actually become a physical phenomenon instead of simply an image, rotating steadily as they spread outward, the stone wall before exposing a dark hole.

Although it was weak by his standards, Su Mu was sure that it was indeed a stable Void Corridor.

"Make sure to come back with all your limbs attached, brat." Meng Wuya patted Su Mu's shoulder, knowing that nothing could endanger Su Mu in a land where no Immortal Ascension Realm Cultivators would be present.

"I'll keep that in mind." Su Mu wondered if that was supposed to be a warning or not, before pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind.

"While I am absent for these next few days, I ask Brother Meng to watch over High Heaven Pavilion." Ling Tai Xu saluted Meng Wuya, who nodded at him.

With that, Ling Tai Xu, Su Mu, Hu Jiao'er, and Hu Mei'er waddled into the black swirling hole before disappearing, leaving Meng Wuya alone.

---

The black hole contained chaotic surroundings, but the scenery only lasted for about three breaths of time, and soon, Hu Jiao'er, Hu Mei'er, Su Mu, and Ling Tai Xu appeared on a strange land.

Ling Tai Xu looked around, then quickly flew towards the horizon, stopping a short while later in a secluded spot, before sitting cross-legged on the ground. "I need a moment to recover, so stand guard for me."

Su Mu watched as Ling Tai Xu swallowed a restoration pill and then started meditating, only stopping after two hours passed.

In the meantime, Su Mu started messing around with Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er, exploring the strange land without a care in the world.

If anyone approached the area, he would be able to sense them, so there was no need to stand guard.

After Ling Tai Xu was done recovering, the four of them flew towards a certain direction again under the former's guidance.

While they were flying, Hu Mei'er asked. "Senior Ling, what was that black hole within the Coiling Dragon Stream?"

"It is something the Ancestral Founder of my High Heaven Pavilion left behind many years ago—a void corridor connecting one place in this world to another; and with it, one can easily move from that spot in High Heaven Pavilion to another place. How it works specifically, I do not know. After all, my strength is far too insignificant compared to our Ancestral Founder."

"How far did we travel using it?" Su Mu asked.

With his current cultivation, he couldn't accurately pinpoint the location where Ling Tai Xu and Meng Wuya were opening a Void Corridor to.

"About four thousand miles." Ling Tai Xu replied, shocking both Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er.

"I see, but where is this place?"

At Su Mu's question, Ling Tai Xu replied. "This is near the Nether Mountain, which is our final destination."

"Senior Ling, you don't mean the forbidden zone called Nether Mountain, do you?" Hu Jiao'er's mouth twitched after hearing that.

"Indeed I do."

The Nether Mountain was a fierce and notorious name for a forbidden zone, which was a famous forbidden zone for cultivators at that. Many had entered this forbidden zone but none had ever returned alive.

Of course, this is only the most exaggerated rumour spread around the world and the reality in Nether Mountain was not one of certain death, but it was undeniable that entering the grim place was indeed arguably suicide.

And because it was so dangerous, it earned the label of a Forbidden Zone.

The Nether Mountain also happened to be the only such Forbidden Zone in the entire Great Han Dynasty.

Forbidden Zones were filled with strange Monster Beasts while the forests hide many unknown dangers.

Going inside haphazardly was simply courting death.

As if realising what the Hu Sisters were thinking about, Ling Tai Xu continued. "We are not venturing deep into Nether Mountain... only about one hundred and fifty miles where there is a very strange place. It is suitable for cultivators of your level to gain experience."

"What kind of place?" Hu Mei'er asked.

"This place creates a unique situation where everywhere everyone around you is a life-and-death enemy because inside when a cultivator is killed, their Qi and Blood Essence will condense into a Blood Bead. The Blood Bead a then be absorbed by any cultivator, enhancing their strength without any negative effects."

'That's mildly interesting. A natural array, perhaps?' Su Mu's interest was somewhat piqued, as at the centre of such natural arrays, one might end up finding something unique and valuable.

For all he knew, he might end up with something that could be of use to the current him.

With that in mind, Su Mu decided to explore Nether Mountain beyond what Ling Tai Xu was talking about.