Chapter Two: The Black Stone

When he drifted back to consciousness, the sun was already sinking in the west, and dusk had fallen. Even the pit in which he lay was now shrouded in darkness. In that gloom, one corner of the pit shone with particular brilliance—a pile of stones crackling with electric light, dazzling to the eye.

He could not help but draw a sharp breath.

At a glance, there were at least several dozen Thunder Stones here, the largest of which was the size of an infant’s head, encircled by a ring of golden light.

“Have I… have I stumbled into the City Lord’s treasure vault?”

His mouth hung open in disbelief. He knew, of course, that such a thing was impossible; it was simply the sheer abundance of Thunder Stones that had made him lose his composure.

Yet he could not quell the anxiety in his heart, for he vaguely remembered being struck unconscious by that burly, red-bearded man before waking up in this place.

All of this made the situation terribly strange.

“What’s this?”

As he fought through the pain and crawled over to the Thunder Stones, intending to pick one up, something caught his eye. Amidst the pile was a piece of jet-black stone, utterly unremarkable, as if it had been charred by fire. Compared to the other Thunder Stones, it seemed worthless.

Yet this very stone, which appeared to have no value at all, lay at the center of the pile like a sovereign surrounded by its ministers, making it especially conspicuous. Even the Thunder Stone as large as an infant’s head seemed to pale in comparison to its prominence.

“Perhaps it’s some kind of treasure!”

As soon as Tulu brushed aside a Thunder Stone and picked up the black stone, a strange pattern lit up across its surface. In that instant, a terrifying power surged from the stone and coursed into his body.

No!

Tulu’s expression changed. A powerful current flooded through him, and he screamed in agony, feeling as if every bone in his body might shatter.

But even when he tried to let go, he could not; the blackened stone clung to his palm as if fused to it. After several heartbeats, the sensation finally faded. Gasping for breath, he felt as if his very soul had been scorched.

Damn!

He hastily flung the stone away.

But with a thunderous boom, the stone smashed into the earthen wall, blasting open a massive crater.

He stared, momentarily stunned, then sucked in a sharp breath as he looked down at his own fist. After a long hesitation, he clenched his teeth and brought his fist crashing down on the ground. Another deafening crash resounded, and a huge pit appeared, the earth still crackling with electricity and the smell of burning lingering in the air.

“What… what is this…”

For a long while, he simply stood there, breathing raggedly, nearly stammering in shock.

It was then that he realized not only his strength, but his vision, hearing, even his sense of smell were all at least twice as keen as before. And his legs, which he thought had been broken, seemed perfectly healed.

This…

The realization filled him with such joy he wanted to laugh aloud.

“Haha! A thousand catties—I must have the strength of at least a thousand catties now! This is the legendary Moving Mountains realm!”

He was beside himself with delight.

It was said that the first stage of cultivation was Body Tempering, itself divided into Moving Mountains and Filling Seas. The strength of a thousand catties marked the threshold of the Moving Mountains realm, the true beginning of a cultivator’s path.

He had dreamed of this before, but never truly believed he could set foot on the path of immortality. After all, in the Divine Land, cultivation required three things: inheritance, talent, and resources. Without any one of them, all was for naught.

His talent was nothing special, and as for inheritance or resources, he had never dared to hope. Yet now, by a twist of fate, he had entered the Moving Mountains realm. It was a blessing beyond measure.

“I never thought I’d embark on the immortal’s path! Wait, my sister! Since this stone has such power, she must try it as well!”

Hurriedly, he retrieved the jet-black stone, polished it carefully, then wrapped it in a length of cloth and tied it to his person as if it were a priceless treasure.

As for the pile of Thunder Stones, they now seemed of little importance.

“With this stone, I am a cultivator at last. What are Thunder Stones to me?”

For a moment he was filled with pride and confidence, feeling as though nothing in the world could stand in his way. But then he scanned his surroundings and frowned slightly.

“Where… exactly is this place?”

Remembering how he had come to be here, anxiety crept in once more. But the worry was fleeting; he had just stepped into the Moving Mountains realm and was full of newfound confidence.

Shaking his head, he took off his outer garment, bundled up the Thunder Stones, slung them over his back, and leapt nimbly out of the pit.

…

Some hours later.

Inside the pit, he was gasping for breath, still shaken.

He had made it back! That had been terrifying.

All around, the great mountain was shrouded in thunder, ancient trees rising to the heavens, and above, the sky was covered by the glow of formations. Most frightening of all, the ground was crawling with thunder-type beasts.

“Damn… this is the Thunder Mountain’s back range!”

He gritted his teeth, his face pale.

He had never eaten pork, but he had seen pigs run. He had heard of Thunder Mountain—it was where the Gongsun family had set up their great formation.

But the main formation lay in the front range; the back range was the domain of the monsters, bordering the Thunder Demon Mountains. Even the Gongsun family dared not venture too deeply here. There were ancient beasts beyond the Body Tempering realm, foes no ordinary person—or even an average cultivator—could hope to withstand.

During those hours, he had even witnessed a middle-aged man, collapsed on the path, get devoured alive by a tiger beast.

Thinking back, had he not been lucky enough to fall into that pit and avoid the monsters, he would likely have died long before becoming a cultivator.

“Damn it!”

He shuddered with lingering fear.

After regaining his composure, he cautiously climbed out of the stone pit, his gaze fixed in one direction.

That was the exit from the back range of Thunder Mountain. To his surprise, the pit he had fallen into was so close to the way out!

It made sense, though. The red-bearded brute who had thrown him into the back range would never risk venturing too deep himself. Tossing him from outside, he couldn’t have sent him very far. It was just Tulu’s good fortune to have landed in the pit.

“Even though it’s close, how am I supposed to get out…”

Tulu stared at the exit, biting his lip.

A small stone hill stood just outside. At first, he had paid it little mind, but as night fell, two lantern-like eyes on the hill began to glow brighter and brighter.

That was no stone hill—it was a terrifying stone beast!

“To get out, I have to pass the stone beast. But since earlier, everyone thrown in here has been swallowed by that thing. If I try, there’s no avoiding a confrontation—and that beast…”

What should he do?

He licked his lips, face pale, yet somehow a little excited.

On the one hand, he had tremendous confidence in himself now, his newfound strength making him eager to test his limits. He felt that if his only goal was escape, perhaps he could make it past the beast.

The thought of slipping past such a fearsome monster filled him with a wild thrill.

But… he was only at the Moving Mountains realm, barely a match for the most ordinary of monsters. Against the stone beast, the gap was enormous, and that made him uneasy…