Volume 1, Chapter 149: The World Inside Spirit Mountain

"Third Brother, I know you refused the Fumeng Holy Mountain's invitation because you're worried that the dynasty will have no one to坐镇 after you leave. I'm sorry for making you unable to pursue higher martial arts," the Second Prince walked to Lin Yu's side, blaming himself.

To be fair, the conditions Elder Huang finally offered were extremely generous, even not requiring Lin Yu to swear allegiance. Ninety-nine percent of warriors from the Divine Continent would definitely agree.

Yet Lin Yu refused. Apart from continuing to guard the Great Han Dynasty, he couldn't think of any other reason why Lin Yu would refuse such a great opportunity.

"Second Brother, you don't need to blame yourself. I refused them because I don't need to go elsewhere to continue cultivating," Lin Yu explained with a smile.

"Third Brother, I know you're comforting me. Don't worry, I will do my best to collect spiritual herbs and elixirs to help you advance to the Huaxu Realm. You've made such a great sacrifice to help me, and I will never let you down!" The Second Prince patted Lin Yu's shoulder, determined to use the entire country's resources to help Lin Yu advance to the Huaxu Realm.

"The Third Prince has contributed to the country. Even if His Majesty uses the entire country's resources to support the Third Prince's cultivation, we won't have any objections," the Prime Minister also advised Lin Yu to accept the Second Prince's kindness.

The other ministers also joined in persuading Lin Yu. The stronger Lin Yu was, the more stable the Great Han Dynasty would be.

Lin Yu smiled helplessly. He couldn't say he had the God-Eating Cauldron and a building boat that could traverse the Stormy Sea, so he could only accept the Second Prince's kindness.

A few days later, with the farewell of the Great Han's ministers, Lin Yu left the imperial city and headed for Lie Tian Gorge.

...

Lie Tian Gorge is located in the central part of the Divine Continent, stretching for thousands of miles. The widest part is more than ten li, and the narrowest part is only tens of zhang.

Now, Lie Tian Gorge was crowded with people. Experts and prodigies from various dynasties, sects, and aristocratic families had gathered here. Even reclusive sects that had secluded themselves in paradises couldn't resist the temptation of Spirit Mountain and sent experts and disciples down the mountain to compete for the opportunities in Spirit Mountain.

In the center of the gorge stands a huge altar. The altar has nine tiers, with a stone gate at the top.

The stone gate is engraved with countless ancient inscriptions, exuding a mysterious aura. Streams of沟壑 (grooves) like lines spread downward from the center of the stone gate, drawing different patterns on each tier of the altar like flowing water.

This is the entrance to Spirit Mountain. When Spirit Mountain collided with the Canglan Domain, several unstable passages appeared.

The experts of the Canglan Domain brainstormed and built altars outside each unstable passage. When Spirit Mountain opens, the altar will activate automatically to stabilize the entrance, preventing the passage from collapsing suddenly and trapping those who enter Spirit Mountain.

Moreover, any warrior who enters Spirit Mountain through the altar will be marked by the altar. Before the passage closes, no matter where they are in Spirit Mountain, they will be forcibly taken out by the altar.

"Who do you think will be the first to pass the test and enter Spirit Mountain?"

"Needless to say, it must be those from the reclusive sects. Their strength is beyond our reach."

"Not necessarily. Haven't you heard of the Great Han Dynasty's town defender? It's said he's a Wanxiang Ninth Grade warrior. If he's not late, he'll definitely be the first to enter Spirit Mountain."

The warriors in the gorge whispered, waiting for Spirit Mountain to open.

In addition to the warriors qualified to explore Spirit Mountain, there were also many onlookers. After all, to step onto the altar and enter Spirit Mountain, one had to pass the test of the nine tiers of the altar.

Many couldn't even pass this level, and they would fall off the altar, becoming objects of ridicule.

There were even people setting up betting odds, wagering on who would enter Spirit Mountain first!

"Chuchu, have you heard the news from the capital?" The Seventh Princess looked at the altar ahead and whispered to Chuchu beside her.

"You mean that the Emperor Grandfather died by the Third Uncle's sword, and Father has ascended the throne?" Chuchu's expression was calm, as if she were talking about something unrelated to the Great Han Dynasty.

"Father was actually the real murderer who killed Third Brother's mother. It's truly lamentable. I wonder if Third Brother will come this time?" The Seventh Princess smiled helplessly. She wasn't close to the Han Emperor, but she had a good relationship with Lin Yu.

Therefore, the Han Emperor's death didn't stir much emotion in her heart.

"If Emperor Grandfather killed Third Uncle's mother, he should pay with his life. I don't think Third Uncle is wrong," Chuchu shook her head, looking at the huge altar ahead, "Third Uncle will definitely come. He deceived us for so long. When he comes, I must settle the score with him!"

"Yes! Third Brother deceived us so badly!" The Seventh Princess also smiled and nodded. After learning that Lin Yu had shown his might and killed a Wanxiang Ninth Grade warrior from the Penglai Continent, they both immediately guessed that the Prince Su who had taken such good care of them was definitely假扮 (disguised) by Lin Yu.

Chuchu and the Seventh Princess were both ready to settle the score with Lin Yu. How could he hide such a major event as restoring his cultivation from them!

Especially Chuchu. Previously, in order to help Lin Yu find a way to restore his cultivation, she had pored over sect典籍 (classics) day and night, finally finding the record of Earth Vein Dragon Spring and happily told Lin Yu about it.

Now she realized that Lin Yu's cultivation had already been restored at that time.

Rumble!

Although the sky above Lie Tian Gorge was clear, thunder suddenly rumbled.

Then a gorgeous light band appeared in the sky out of nowhere, constantly changing colors. At the same time, heaven and earth spiritual energy surged and poured into the stone gate standing on the altar.

The ancient inscriptions engraved on the stone gate lit up one by one with dazzling silver light.

In the blink of an eye, these ancient inscriptions were filled with spiritual energy and all lit up.

Vast spiritual energy flowed along the grooves covering the altar, like silver threads, filling all the grooves on the altar. Each tier of the altar was covered with ancient silver inscriptions.

When the entire altar was shining with silver light, the center of the stone gate above the altar rippled with silver circles. Behind the ripples, there were distant mountains, vast plains, and surging rivers—clearly another world.

"Is that Spirit Mountain beyond the altar?"

"I wonder who set up this altar. It can connect to Spirit Mountain and form a stable passage!"

Looking at the world behind the stone gate, shocked voices rose one after another.

They had all read records about Spirit Mountain and the opening of the altar in books, but seeing it with their own eyes was completely different. They were all amazed.

After a moment, the passage in the stone gate completely stabilized, and a mighty pressure emanated from the stone gate, covering the entire gorge.

To enter Spirit Mountain, one must pass the nine tiers of the altar. If anyone tried to sneak into the stone gate by flying, they would immediately be suppressed by the altar, ensuring they would fall half-dead.