Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Zhou Chu used all his strength in this punch.

boom!

The fist slammed solidly into the tiger's abdomen.

With the added force of its pounce, the combined power caused the mountain lord, despite its tough fur, to let out a strange cry of pain.

Zhou Chu was also in pain. The mountain tiger's two paws clamped down on Zhou Chu's left arm, the sharp claws digging deep into his flesh, drawing six shocking wounds. The pain that went deep into his bones made Zhou Chu's mind go blank for a moment.

The mountain lord's massive body tilted backward.

Zhou Chu was also pulled in the same direction.

As soon as the mountain lord landed, it immediately flipped over and stood up, opening its huge, dark maw to bite at Zhou Chu's throat.

Knowing he couldn't dodge in time, Zhou Chu quickly raised his throbbing arms to block.

The tiger's sharp fangs were just a hair's breadth away from piercing Zhou Chu's arm.

Just then, Xie Qi placed another immobilization talisman on the mountain tiger's back, freezing it in place.

Zhou Chu got up and said, "Keep an eye on it, I'm going to break the formation."

Xie Qi nodded, pinched a talisman in his hand, and was ready to stick it on the mountain lord as soon as it made any move.

Having learned his lesson, Xie Qi stared intently at the mountain lord, not daring to look away for even a moment.

Twenty breaths.

The immobilization charm can only last for twenty breaths on the mountain lord.

When Xie Qi had only three mind-stabilizing talismans left in his hand, Zhou Chu's voice came from not far away:

"Get out of here, hurry!"

Xie Qi stuck all three talismans on the mountain lord's forehead and ran away.

As Zhou Chu placed the last two chess pieces, the formation in the cave began to change.

First, a blinding light suddenly appeared all around, so bright that people couldn't open their eyes. A scorching heat surged in from all directions, and the temperature inside the cave rose rapidly.

Xie Qi could feel the scorching heat of the ground even through his shoes, so hot that he quickly crossed his feet off the ground and hopped away.

He grimaced, enduring the burning sensation on his skin, and quickened his pace.

After walking a few steps, the surroundings suddenly darkened, and a bone-chilling cold swept over us.

This bone-chilling cold was several times colder than the north winds of the northern border of the Yan Kingdom.

Almost all the blood in his body was frozen solid.

His movements became increasingly sluggish, and he began to doubt whether he could ever get out of there.

At that moment, a rope was thrown from the shadows, entangled Xie Qi, and then he was suddenly pulled away by a tremendous force.

Xie Qi then felt a little better.

"Are you alright?" Zhou Chu helped Xie Qi untie the ropes in the passageway.

Just after placing the last two pieces, Zhou Chu noticed something was wrong.

The formation in the cave was originally an extremely yin formation, but after his modification, it became a chaotic mix of yin and yang, and its power was several times stronger than before.

Zhou Chu didn't know whether this formation could help the Mountain Lord avoid the heavenly tribulation.

All he knew was that anyone inside would surely die a gruesome death.

So after calling out to Xie Qi, he ran into the passageway first and used the Spirit Binding Rope to pull the motionless Xie Qi over.

Zhou Chu carried the frozen Xie Qi and Chen Xiangzi on his back and quickly fled to the other end of the passageway.

Boom!

A loud bang came from behind, and the entire cave shook violently.

"Heavenly lightning!" Chen Xiangzi exclaimed, "Midnight has arrived, a heavenly tribulation of lightning is about to descend..."

Boom! Boom...

Several more claps of thunder followed, as if they were about to split the mountaintop in two.

The two instinctively quickened their pace, fearing that if they were even a little late, they would be caught in the lightning tribulation and become the mountain king's companions.

The village was in chaos, and even the Mountain Lord could hardly move an inch. However, when heavenly lightning struck, driven by the instinct for survival, the Mountain Lord unleashed all its potential and broke free from the formation.

The space inside the passageway was less affected by the formation, allowing the mountain lord to unleash its speed and escape quickly.

Hearing the commotion behind them, Zhou Chu and Chen Xiangzi turned around and saw the mountain lord's enormous body rushing towards them.

"I'll hold it off for a bit, you take Xie Qi out quickly." Zhou Chu handed Xie Qi to Chen Xiangzi and turned to face the mountain lord.

"Be careful!" Chen Xiangzi, whose leg-moving talisman hadn't yet worn off, carried Xie Qi on his back and ran outside as fast as he could.

The weasel at his waist spoke again, "Take a dozen steps forward, there's a hidden door on your right."

After saying that, he curled up into a ball again.

Chen Xiangzi didn't say anything, and continued running for more than ten steps. Sure enough, he saw a gap in the right wall, which looked like a hidden door.

He nudged the hidden door with his shoulder, but it didn't budge.

"The mechanism: face the hidden door and retreat all the way back, then step forward using the Heavenly Gang Step," the weasel reminded him.

Following Huang Pizi's instructions, Chen Xiangzi quickly retreated until he was against the wall.

He had practiced the Heavenly Gang Step countless times since he was a child.

This is because the Chen family's guiding exercises are different from those of other families.

Other schools practice meditation, drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth or the sun and moon to transform into true energy within the body.

The Chen family's martial arts method involves using the power of the Big Dipper to open all 3,600 acupoints in the body and draw in Qi.

As Tian Gang took the Seven Steps, a cracking sound came from the stone wall in front of him.

Chen Xiangzi sensed the air movement and knew the secret door was open.

He shouted at Zhou Chu, "Come quick, there's a door here!"

"You guys go first!" Zhou Chu was already entangled in a fight with the mountain king and couldn't break free.

"Be careful." Chen Xiangzi gritted his teeth, carried Xie Qi on his back, and ran into the secret door.

As soon as I entered, the stone door behind me quickly closed.

The environment inside was not affected by the disordered formation; everything was normal.

He placed Xie Qi on the ground, drew a talisman, and lit it to illuminate the area.

The scene before him greatly surprised Chen Xiangzi.

Inside, there are stone tables, stone benches, stone beds, as well as pots, pans, stoves, and other household utensils.

There was an oil lamp on the stone table, the oil inside of which had solidified.

Chen Xiangzi melted it and set it on fire, illuminating the entire space.

The blankets and bedding on the stone bed were rotten, and it was unknown who had lived there.

A niche about ten feet square was carved into the wall, with layers and shelves like bookshelves, on which books and various objects were sparsely placed.

The most eye-catching item was a dark green jade box, which shone with a faint green light under the lamplight.

Chen Xiangzi had seen this stone box when he was a child.

He had a cousin who never liked reading or martial arts, preferring instead to indulge in sensual pleasures and was known throughout the clan for his irresponsible and carefree lifestyle.

More than a decade ago, this uncle suddenly disappeared. His family searched for him in every possible way but to no avail, and eventually gave up.

A year later, this uncle suddenly returned home, carrying the same jade box as the one in front of us.

He told his family that he had traveled to the Baiyue Mountains in the past two years.

The stone box was brought out from the Ten Thousand Mountains, and inside it was a scroll of map called: Mountain and Sea Map.

The Shan Hai Tu (a type of ancient Chinese painting) is made of an unknown material; it is as thin as a cicada's wing yet exceptionally tough.

When folded, it is the size of an ordinary book; when unfolded, it is four or five zhang long and wide, and the locations of all the countries in the world are recorded on it.

In the far north, there is a mountain called the Northern Celestial Pillar. The mountain is black and hard, and no vegetation grows on it. There is a spring at the top of the mountain called the Spring of Longevity.

Ordinary people can bathe in the spring water to wash away their mortal body and directly skip the three acquired realms, transforming into an innate body, which is the true body realm of an innate martial artist.

Very few ordinary martial artists can reach the True Body Realm through arduous training.

Chen Xiangzi's uncle was of mediocre talent, only reaching the middle realm at the age of forty. Reaching the peak of his cultivation in this lifetime was already the limit.

Since taking a bath at the Spring of Immortality could lead to the True Body Realm, how could Chen Xiangzi, this clan uncle, not be tempted?

Despite his family's objections, he ventured north alone to search for the Fountain of Immortality, following the directions on the map.