Chapter 3: Su Bao Mountain (Seeking Recommendations)

  (New book needs various supports, please recommend, collect and click!)

  Below are white clouds drifting by, a lean horse pulling an unassuming carriage wrapped in a mass of light, traversing through the air.

  Sun Li sat in the corner of the carriage, holding a bundle in his arms, which contained deep family affection.

  At the thought of his parents' gaze when they parted ways, Sun Li still couldn't shake off the feeling.

  It was the other three people in the car, Chong Zhao Shi brothers and Tian Yingdong, who seemed to have no feelings of injury or farewell, chatting happily. From their conversation, Sun Li also learned that the Chong Zhao Shi brothers' school gate, which is their future sect, is one of the seven major Xiu Zhen schools of the Great Sui Dynasty - Su Bao Shan. According to the brothers' words, Su Bao Shan has a strong foundation, with an old ancestor of the True Person level presiding over it, and more than ten strong people of the Xian Ren level below, as well as more than fifty disciples of the Dao Ren realm, making it a true immortal gate appointed by the emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty!

  The Great Sui Dynasty was the entire "world" in the eyes of the people of Great Sui, but cultivators all knew that this world was not so small. And Chong Zhao and his brothers were explaining some anecdotes about the Cultivation Realm to Tian Yingdong along the way.

  "The world is vast and boundless, the Great Yu is just a corner of it. The seven major sects of the Great Yu are: Subao Mountain, Banhu Zhai, Yuxian Villa, Tianshui Fortress, Chenbing Gate, Bolong Way, and Xianqiao Sect. It's said that thousands of years ago, the ancestors of the seven major sects joined forces, going through countless hardships and dangers, to finally drive out the demonic cultivators from the Great Yu, bringing peace to the mortal world."

  "Alas, the demonic cultivators' evil intentions have not died out, and they have fled into the northwest to collude with the demon tribes, repeatedly violating our borders. Every time war breaks out, my seven major sects will secretly send people to the border to covertly assist the imperial army in achieving victory. If it weren't for the protection of my seven major sects, this great Sui dynasty would have long ago become a world ruled by demonic cultivators, and the common people would not be able to survive."

  He didn't live up to the boasts of the seven major factions, and instead continued to elevate the status of Subao Mountain among the seven major factions. Sun Li listened on the side, roughly understanding the situation of Subao Mountain, and also gained some insights.

  Luohuan was dissatisfied with one sentence: "This guy's mouth is like a hanging river, more than half of what he says are boastful words, don't believe him at all..."

  Chong Zhao's spirit symbol couldn't last long, the carriage flew for about a hundred miles before it had to descend. Although spirit symbols were a common means of transportation in the Cultivation Realm, they weren't something that grew on trees, and Chong Zhao wasn't extravagant enough to use them to travel.

  After a hundred miles, the horse carriage came down, and the thin horse seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied, snorted loudly, and slowly began to pull the cart.

  Mount Su is about two thousand miles away from Mount Luo, spanning across two provinces. To ordinary people, this distance seems almost unreachable, but to cultivators, it's just a matter of a few days' journey.

  On the way, Chong Zhao and his brothers were secretly building a relationship with Tian Yingdong, this future star, without paying much attention to Sun Li. When Sun Li was thirsty, he would ask the two for some water to drink, and when he was hungry, he would eat the dry rations he had brought himself.

  It was Tian Yingdong who, on the contrary, didn't feel as repulsed by Sun Li as before and would chat with him for a couple of sentences every day.

  Tian Yingdong also had his own thoughts. Once he entered the door, it was a strange and unfamiliar world. According to Chong Zhao's words, he would have great achievements in the future.

  But no matter how great the achievement is, there will always be a few people around who need to help and support you, in other words, subordinates.

  Sun Li was from the same village as him, with average qualifications. In the past, he also seemed honest and down-to-earth. In Tian Yingdong's view, it was naturally easy to control and cultivate loyalty. So in Tian Yingdong's heart, Sun Li was actually being cultivated as a future "backbone".

  Sun Li certainly did not know Tian Yingdong had so many thoughts.

  Tian Yingdong talks to him, he just responds with two sentences, and when no one speaks, he can't be bothered to start a conversation. The "grudges" of the two people's childhood, looking back now, seem somewhat ridiculous.

  Thus, after four days of being treated as an invisible person by the Chong Zhao brothers, a massive and long mountain range appeared in front of the carriage, with majestic momentum, vast and powerful. The mountains were lush and green, steady and heavy - Su Bao Mountain had arrived.

  Su Bao Mountain is a famous mountain within the boundaries of Da Wei, ranking fifth among the top ten famous mountains in Da Wei. Three hundred years ago, the then leader of Su Bao Mountain, Zhen Ren, killed an evil dragon that was causing floods and disasters in half of the state, and as a result, Su Bao Mountain received the imperial seal from the Emperor of Da Wei, officially becoming a recognized Xianjia Menpai.

  Don't underestimate this imperial edict. Those who think that cultivating the truth is completely disconnected from worldly affairs are absolutely laughable. Not to mention other things, just this imperial edict alone has numerous benefits.

  The Dragon's aura has always had a suppressive effect on those who practice the Tao. However, after receiving the imperial seal, becoming an immortal official of the court, the entire sect gained another option in their cultivation: Fulongting.

  This Dharma door is not used by some cultivators with good innate roots, but for those ordinary cultivators who have no hope of breaking through in their normal cultivation, it is the last straw to save their lives.

  With the imperial court's appointment, there is the qualification for Fulongting.

  And it will also be more convenient for you to handle matters in various states. For example, when selecting a disciple or something, local officials will all do their best to help with the arrangements.

  The horse carriage entered the Su Bao Mountain and went deep into the mountain, where many places were steep cliffs that even monkeys could hardly climb and birds could hardly fly over. The skills of the thin horse showed up at this time, and it easily passed through these dangerous places as if they were flat ground, pulling a cart smoothly along the way.

  The first time that thin horse pulled the carriage lightly and jumped up, against the current to a thirty-zhang giant waterfall, Sun Li was stunned, and exclaimed in his heart: Indeed, it's a divine skill!

  At the same time, Luo Heng let out a disdainful "hmmph" and didn't even bother to explain to Sun Li this country bumpkin: Is this what you call a divine family's technique?

  The horse carriage traveled through the mountains for two days and arrived at a remote mountain valley.

  The valley was wide and open, with massive peaks on both sides. The hillside meadow was filled with small white and yellow flowers. Chong Pu smiled and said, "Tian Shidi, we've arrived, let's get off the carriage."

  Sun Li was the last one to get off the bus and looked around, feeling that this place didn't seem much different from Luomei Mountain.

  And around here, empty mountains all over, where is the gate of the Su Bao Sect?

  Seeing the confusion in Sun Li and Tian Yingdong's eyes, Chong Zhao had a hint of complacency in his eyes. Chong Pu took out a shield-shaped jade token from his bosom under his senior brother's indication, and a faint light surged out from his body into the jade token.

  "Zhi——"

  A beam of spiritual light shot out from the jade plaque and shone towards a void in the air above the mountain valley.

  "Boom!"

  A loud roar, the divine fire swept across the sky, instantly filling the entire valley. The flames were extremely fierce, but as they rolled over the flowers, grass and trees, they seemed to be harmless.

  In the fiery light, the entire valley seemed like a scroll being gently unrolled layer by layer.

  Behind, a magnificent mountain gate emerged, with a giant stone archway as high as thirty zhang. Six stone pillars supported six coiled dragons that seemed to come alive, and the horizontal beam was carved with twelve zodiac divine beasts, each one shining with a faint golden light.

  Two small stone-carved beasts crouched in front of the mountain gate, their sturdy and sharp claws pressed against the ground, their four huge eyes seeming to move as they scrutinized everyone who entered the mountain gate.

  Above the archway, three huge golden characters danced in the air: "Su Bao Shan".

  Seeing Sun Li and Tian Yingdong's shocked expressions, Chong Zhao and the other person smiled to themselves, exchanged a glance and said: "Tian Shidi, let's go in. We might be the last batch to return."

  "Oh, okay." Tian Yingdong replied, adjusting his clothes and appearance, and followed the two men to the mountain gate with a sincere heart. Sun Li followed behind, hearing Chong Zhao introduce in a very proud tone: "Don't underestimate this mountain gate, inside is sealed our Su Bao Sect's protective array: Daqing Xutian Two Instruments Thunder Fire Array."

  "This grand formation is the second-grade top-level formation left by our ancestral master who founded our sect. On offense, it can summon the Nine Heavenly Thunderfire and unleash eighteen consecutive strikes of the Demon-Extinction Divine Thunder, even a strong practitioner at the peak of the human realm would have to retreat in defeat! On defense, it can withstand three full-force attacks from an invincible strong practitioner at the peak of the human realm. Among the seven major sects of the Great Sui Dynasty's True Cultivation School, our Suo Bao Sect's Grand Clear Void Heaven Two Principles Thunderfire Formation is the most powerful protective formation!"

  Other explanations, Sun Li didn't have much intuitive feeling, only the last sentence, being able to dominate the entire Great Sui Xiu Zhen realm, made him clearly feel the horror of this mountain protection array!

  "Pshaw! Treating trash as treasure."

  "Wu Yao suddenly spoke up: 'A trashy formation that can only achieve a three-layered stack, is actually being used as the treasure of the sect, and there are even disciples who are proud of it. What's wrong with the current cultivation world? Are there no good things left? Are there no people who know how to appreciate good things?'"

  Sun Li was shocked: "Triple-layered? Garbage formation? This is the strongest protective mountain array of the seven major sects of the Great Sui!"

  "Trash is always trash, even if it's the best of the worst in a pile of garbage, it's still trash!" Wu Yao said bluntly.

  Sun Li still found it hard to believe: "But this is a second-grade formation method, and the level is already very high."

  "Kid, today I'll teach you another lesson. The power of an array is not just about its grade level. What's more important is how many times this array can be superimposed. The more times it can be superimposed, the fewer flaws and weaknesses there will be."

  "This grand and powerful Heavenly Thunder Formation of the Qing Dynasty, sounds very formidable just by its name, and its power is indeed sufficient. However, its weakness is too obvious. As long as the enemy who comes to attack has a set of sword arrays or similar magical treasures, sacrificing this set of magical treasures can completely divert the entire array's power. This Dog Shit Suo Bao Mountain is just an unguarded mountain gate."

  Sun Limou: Bullshit Su Bao Shan - this is going to be my future sect, can't you at least save some face?

  Four people passed under the mountain gate, and only when they got closer could they truly feel the grandeur of the mountain gate. Compared to the two giant stone beasts, however, the four people seemed tiny, like ants under an elephant's foot.

  Inside the mountain gate, two young Taoists were guarding. Seeing Chong Zhao and his companion, they immediately knelt down and bowed: "Welcome back to the mountain, Master!"

  This trip brought back Tian Yingdong, who possessed the precious root of wisdom. Chong Zhao's mood was not bad, and he nodded slightly, saying, "No need to be polite..."

  Tian Yingdong hastened to return the gift, but was pulled back by Chong Pu. Sun Li stood aside, watching with a cold eye, and vaguely sensed something.

  "Have all the other brothers returned?" Chong Zhao asked.

  One of them respectfully replied: "Reporting back to Shixiong, they have all returned."

  Chong Zhao nodded and waved his hand, and the four of them left together. The two mountain-guarding disciples bowed again: "See you off, Master!"

  Chong Pu said to Tian Yingdong, "They are just two ordinary outer sect disciples, Brother Tian doesn't need to be too polite. With your talent, once you enter the sect, you will definitely be valued by some senior master and become a personal disciple. These two people will have to show great respect when they see you in the future."

  Tian Yingdong's eyes flashed with a hint of longing.

  Sun Li also heard it, and he believed that the two mountain-guarding disciples behind him not far away also heard it, but still knelt on the ground honestly, not daring to show any dissatisfaction.

  Sun Li sighed in her heart and shook her head slightly.

  Behind the mountain gate, there is a long stone staircase. As you climb up along the stone staircase and go around a mountain peak, in front of you, on the waist of the half-mountain, there is a lush green forest of pines.

  Next to the pine forest is a mansion that occupies an extremely vast area of land. Even from three or four miles away, one can hear the roars of wild beasts.

  Chong Zhao explained: "Tian Shidi, that is where our Su Bao Sect's famous Spiritual Beast Garden is located. If a disciple has a cultivation path that relies on spiritual beasts, they can report to the sect leader and go to the Spiritual Beast Garden to choose a lifelong companion beast."

  "We may not be as large as the Companion Tiger Pavilion of the Seven Great Sects of Da Sui, but our Spirit Beast Garden is by no means inferior in terms of quality. The Companion Tiger Pavilion has 120 spirit beasts above grade six, while we have 110. Moreover, we have 36 spirit beasts above grade four, which is even more than the Companion Tiger Pavilion!"

  Sun Li heard him mention Ban Hu Zhai with a tone of hostility, and couldn't help but feel strange: aren't the seven major sects fighting side by side against the demonic cultivators?

  Wu Yao sneered, "You actually believe that? There are millions of cultivators in the world, but resources are limited. In this vast land, there are seven major sects, and it's strange if they don't fight for resources. What genius? From geniuses to strong practitioners, all are made through the accumulation of real resources!"

  Sun Li suddenly understood: So that's how it is.

  Chong Pu was speaking when a loud roar suddenly echoed from the Spirit Beast Garden, and the pine forest beside the mansion seemed to be blown by a strong wind, with leaves rustling loudly.

  Chong Zhao's face also revealed a proud smile: "You hear, this is the roar of the strongest second-grade spiritual beast in our Spiritual Beast Garden, the nine-tailed dragon scale leopard. This nine-tailed dragon scale leopard was personally cultivated by us at Su Bao Mountain, even if it were Ban Hu Zhai who specialized in spiritual beasts, they wouldn't have such a powerful one, they're so envious of us that they're about to die."

  Tian Yingdong roughly understood the strength of Su Bao Shan, and on the surface, he was calm and composed: "Two senior brothers, our school is powerful, which is a great blessing for us."

  "A group of fools!" In Sun Li's mind, Luo Huan's disdainful voice echoed: "The roar of the nine-tailed dragon scale leopard has a bit of hoarseness, and there must have been a problem with its feeding. This roar shakes the pine forest but cannot reach the ninth heaven, obviously the fierce wind power is excessive, and the tenacious water power is lacking. It should be during the spiritual feeding, the combination of white fruit grass and fire crocodile meat had problems."

  Sun Li didn't believe it: "Just a beast's roar, and you can infer so many things from it?"

  If Wu Yao questioned him like this, Luo Huan would definitely explode in anger and have a big argument with Wu Yao, absolutely not letting the matter drop.

  But when Sun Li asked, Luo Huan coldly sneered: "Ignorant child. Just wait and see, in just one incense stick of time, that nine-tailed dragon scale leopard will not be able to hold on."

  Sun Li didn't believe it, and followed Chong Zhao's three people to walk quickly. Before long, they passed by the side of that vast mansion. As they got closer, the sound of beasts roaring came, strong winds blowing in their faces, making Tian Yingdong extremely happy, feeling that his luck was not bad, entering a powerful sect.

  The four of them continued forward, and the stone steps suddenly curved around a mountain valley, and the Ling Beast Garden was no longer in sight.

  In front of us, another building appeared.

  That building stood atop a tall mountain peak, forming a circular platform, and the things on it left Tian Yingdong and Sun Li stunned.

  "Cannon?!"

  The Sui Dynasty invented gunpowder hundreds of years ago, and it is said that during the process of competing for the world by the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty, cannons played a crucial role.

  Nowadays, the Sui Dynasty has a "Divine Fire Division" which is a specialized army that operates large cannons.

  So Tian Yingdong and Sun Li, although from a mountain village, were not unfamiliar with the big gun. On top of the peak, on the huge circular platform, was placed a huge iron cannon!

  The "Divine Fire Camp" of the Great Sui Dynasty had the largest iron cannon with a caliber that could fit a person inside, weighing 36,000 catties! Even in the heyday of the Great Sui Dynasty, only four were made, each placed on top of the city walls of the imperial capital.

  But the iron cannon of Subosha Mountain is more than ten times stronger than the four cannons in Tokyo combined.

  This cannon is twenty zhang long and eight zhang high, with a muzzle diameter of at least three zhang! Even if you stuff the nine-tailed dragon scale leopard from the Spiritual Beast Garden into it, it can shoot it out in one shot.

  Chong Zhao's eyes gleamed with reverence: "This divine cannon was personally forged by my seventh-generation ancestor, Master Hong Yuan. Master Hong Yuan is a renowned master craftsman in the history of the Cultivation Realm. The top-grade crafting technique 'Nine Layers of Refining Fire' that has been passed down since ancient times had already been lost for thousands of years. Yet, relying on his own innate talent and an incomplete ancient text, Master Hong Yuan managed to restore this ancient divine art!"

  "This 'Taiyi Heaven Fire Cannon' uses the Nine Layers of Refining with Continuous Fire. Until today, Mount Xuan is the only sect in the entire Cultivation world that has inherited this ancient divine technique."

  "This Great Sun Heaven Fire Cannon can directly borrow the majestic divine fire, and from a distance of tens of thousands of miles, strike down our enemies. The entire Great Sui is within the range of our Great Sun Heaven Fire Cannon's attack, so many times we don't need to leave the mountain gate to punish those who dare to offend the Suo Bao Sect!"

  Chongpu added: "This day's heavenly fire cannon has unmatched power, even a mountain peak can be blown flat with one shot."

  Sun Li and Tian Yingdong were shocked: This is the cannon of extermination!

  Wu Yao's voice echoed in Sun Li's mind: "It's just a pile of True Fire Spirit Power, it can only reach the level of an ordinary magic tool. The reason why the Nine Layers Refining Method was lost is because this method is too outdated. To put it bluntly, isn't it just using nine kinds of True Fire to repeatedly refine? If you're not careful, the effects of the nine kinds of True Fire will conflict with each other, causing the magic tool embryo to burst open."

  "In fact, if you really want to use this method to refine the law instrument, with three kinds of true fire shining together, it can already achieve the best effect. The nine layers of connected fire are actually gilding the lily."

  It's just that this time, it seems he has gotten used to Chong Zhao being the "arrogant" brother, his tone calm and no longer urgent, but the disdain that seeps through is evident.

  Sun Lixing still felt that this guy was boasting, after all, the power of the big day's fire gun was real and visible to the eye, Wu Yao was just talking through his hat.

  Wu Yao seemed to sense what Sun Li was thinking, and his expression turned displeased: "Hmph, you little brat, if you don't believe me, wait until you have the ability to refine artifacts in the future. I'll teach you a technique called 'Three-Colored Primordial Fire Heart Refining', and then you can try refining an artifact as clumsy as this one. By that time, you'll understand."

  A group of people walked past the artillery platform, and suddenly a hurried bell sound "ding ding ding..." came from the mountain. Chong Zhao's brothers' faces changed: "The seventh bell has sounded, something has happened inside the gate!"

  Before they could even react, a sharp light suddenly shot up from the continuous mountain peaks in front of them, flying quickly across dozens of mountains from the ninth heaven, and landed with a whoosh somewhere behind them.

  Dozens of monks rushed towards the place from different directions, with a look of urgency.

  Chong Zhao stopped a passing monk and asked: "Brother, what's going on?"

  Behind that person, five sword lights spread out like a peacock's open screen, and at a glance, it was a set of extremely high-quality swords with impressive attacking power.

  "In the Spirit Beast Garden, that nine-tailed dragon scaled leopard has gone mad and broken through the seal, injuring seven or eight guardian disciples." He quickly finished speaking and hastily rushed over.

  Chong Zhao and his brothers were somewhat surprised: "How could the Nine-Tailed Dragon Leopard suddenly go mad..."

  That sword light just now was a senior in the sect who had already reached the level of a great master, with him taking action and so many disciples rushing to go, naturally there is no need for Chong Zhao and his brothers.

  The two men took Sun Li and Tian Yingdong on their way. However, in his heart, Sun Li was greatly disturbed: Luo Huan had actually spoken the truth!

  After calculating the time, it was only a short while longer than Luo Huan's "the time of burning an incense stick".

  But Luo Huan was still puzzled: "How could it be late? It's delayed compared to my calculation, that is, the effect of Baiguo grass has a problem. Oh, I calculated according to the thousand-year-old Baiguo grass, and estimated that this broken door sect can't afford the thousand-year-old Baiguo grass."

  Sun Li was again filled with contempt.

  Luo Huan unexpectedly hit the nail on the head, so it can be said that Wu Yao's words were mostly true.

  But what is their origin? They casually mention various facilities that make Soba Mountain proud, and criticize them mercilessly!

  And that third existence, Ye Mo Tian, obviously made Luo Huan and Wu Yao truly fearful, but why did he remain silent from start to finish?

  They walked two more steps before Chong Zhao and his brother suddenly stopped, turned around to face the two of them, revealing a solemn expression.

  Chong Zhao said, "Tian Shidi and Sun Li, the place we are about to pass through is a sacred site of our Su Bao Sect. We must maintain a reverent heart and absolutely cannot make loud noises."

  The two of them became cautious, adjusted their clothes, and followed Chong Zhao's brothers as they walked forward.

  The stone steps ahead led into a lush green bamboo forest, and after entering the bamboo forest for over ten zhang, amidst the emerald green surroundings, a ray of spiritual light suddenly appeared.

  Looking ahead, it turned out that in the middle of the bamboo forest, a giant crystal prism stood towering at a height of two people.

  In this pillar, a large hammer with a rough appearance is sealed. The hammer's body has various battle scars crisscrossing each other. It's unknown how many life-and-death battles the owner of this large hammer has experienced!

  Inside the crystal prism, one can still see a faint golden array of engraved lines, emitting a soft and gentle glow.

  Not far away, I saw the second crystal pillar in the bamboo forest, which was roughly the same size as the previous one. However, what was sealed inside was an extremely delicate golden hairpin.

  The golden hairpin was of ordinary size, but on its surface, countless tiny characters were carved out with a fineness almost like the threads of hair, densely packed and filling the entire pin.

  Chong Zhao said in a solemn voice, "This is the famous 'Divine Army Forest' of our Su Bao Mountain. Each crystal pillar you see contains a divine soldier left behind by a predecessor who has attained the Dao. The divine soldiers that can enter here are at least second-rate or above!"

  "Each of the divine weapons here represents a powerful warrior who once dominated the world. After they fell, the divine weapon automatically flew back to our Su Bao Mountain and hid here."

  "From time to time, the sect would organize its disciples to enter the Divine Soldier Forest in search of opportunities. If they could be recognized by a treasure left behind by a senior and successfully acknowledged as their master, it would be of great help to their future cultivation."

  ;