Chapter 52: Mammoth
Chapter 52: Mammoth
His gaze fell upon it and could no longer look away.
“Mammoth Shakes the Mountain”.
“Siren Splits the Tide”.
“Owlbear Howls at the Moon”.
“Siren Soars on the Wind”.
“Behemoth Rends the Sky”.
“This is the Five Beasts Exercise!”
The force pierced through the paper, each character was like a dragon!
Each character held a hint of fierce and domineering power, deep as the sea abyss, high as towering peaks, piercing straight into his pupils. Looking at them for too long made his eyes ache.
For each of the five movements, there were diagrams below with clear markings of the meridians, mysterious and profound.
However, except for “Mammoth Shakes the Mountain” which was golden, the other four movements’ diagrams were dim and blurred.
“It seems the later movements require certain conditions to be met before they can be triggered…”
A thought flashed in his mind. Li Yi speculated silently and reached a conclusion.
He had heard that ancient cultivation arts followed a gradual, step-by-step process—slow but steady. This method was to prevent practitioners from advancing too hastily, aiming too high.
Understanding this, Li Yi took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and focused his gaze on the first diagram.
—”Mammoth Shakes the Mountain”.
“In the shadow of the Heavenly Mountains dwell mammoths. Weak in youth, they love to shake mountains. Upon reaching maturity, they undergo a complete transformation, their physiques no inferior to Dragons!”
“An adult mammoth possesses the strength to move mountains and overturn seas, with skin like bronze and bones like iron, flesh and blood like rock, impervious to poison and disease, difficult to harm with curses!”
“Three-tenths of its physique is innate, seven-tenths is derived from the Mountain-Shaking Art!”
Hua Tuo truly was a physician. This technique did not resemble martial arts mantras but was more like a medical record, detailed but not tedious, rather captivating.
“The essence of the Mountain-Shaking Art is to resonate with the earth spirits, absorb the Earth Essence, and nourish the physique!”
Earth Essence?
Reading this, Li Yi’s eyes were firmly fixed on those four words, his heart flooded with surprise.
Earth Essence was not earth element, but the element of the earth itself!
Mountains have mountain spirits, rivers have river spirits. The earth element is the essence of the Nine Provinces Continent, virtue that carries all things!
The reason Yan Zhao could stand invincible was because he was not human but formed from the ancient divine earth “Breathing Earth”, capable of communicating with the earth, drawing Earth Essence endlessly.
That this art could have such a marvelous use was truly strange!
“No wonder Yu Qian went to such great lengths to obtain this Samsara Shroud!” A sharp light flickered in Li Yi’s eyes like lightning in a rainy night. “Perfect, let him try to steal a chicken only to lose his rice instead!”
Carrying many complex and tense emotions, Li Yi pondered each word and sentence carefully, savoring their meaning, not daring to miss a single character.
“Tsk, so complicated!” He didn’t know how much time had passed before he exclaimed with a sigh.
Just one movement, yet it was intricately detailed, astonishingly difficult and obscure.
Not only the movement and posture, but the bending and stretching of fingers, the arching of feet, the rise and fall of chest and abdomen, even the breathing rhythm, all had strict and meticulous requirements.
Actions that seemed like minor details were all interconnected, forming a whole, like a symphony. Every inch of flesh and blood needed to cooperate seamlessly. The slightest deviation would lead to a huge error.
According to the text, when cultivated to a deep level, even the rhythms of internal organs would faintly resonate, connecting to the pulse of the earth.
Li Yi did not dare be careless. He closed his eyes to rest his mind, then recalled the memory once more.
Feeling about seventy to eighty percent confident in his heart, he steadied himself and took a step forward!
…
Completely unexpectedly, just for this small step, it was already noon the next day.
“How many times is this? Thirty-three, or thirty-four?”
“Forget it, I don’t want to remember. It’s useless anyway.”
“Today, I’ll fight you to the end!”
The Grip of Serenity on his index finger, deserving of being the top reward, had a powerful calming and stabilizing effect. Despite repeated failures, his heart remained as calm as water, neither arrogant nor impatient.
“Again! I refuse to believe this is impossible!”
Li Yi leaned his body forward, arched his back high, his whole posture exuding a dragon-elephant bearing, solemn as a mountain.
Slowly gathering momentum, his breathing rhythm became constant. Muscles contracted and relaxed in turn. Under his skin all over his body, faint dense rumbling sounds arose, like long spring thunder, lingering endlessly.
His foot moved forward, as if a mammoth pushing a mountain, slow and heavy.
As his foot landed, a rumble sounded from deep within his sole—each step produced thunder!
“This is…”
Li Yi’s expression changed, a hint of joy appearing on his brows.
Beneath his feet, a vast and powerful will faintly resonated with his steps!
This was the Earth Spirit, the will of the vast, boundless earth beneath his feet. Though only a tiny wisp, it was still a huge breakthrough.
With each step, a strand of condensed, heavy energy rose from the sole of his left foot, circulated once, landed in the sole of his right foot, and returned to the earth.
During one cycle, only extremely thin and fragmented wisps of energy dispersed into his body. But those scattered wisps contained immense power. Wherever they passed, waves of tearing pain followed, as if cleansing his sinews and marrow. His bones hummed, and muscles trembled.
After three steps, Li Yi could not support himself and fell, sitting heavily on the ground.
“This art is not ordinary…”
Just three steps left his entire body aching and burning inside, but he could clearly feel that the vitality within him seemed a bit more vigorous.
This art was extremely extraordinary!
“Now, this is a bit…”
His eyes filled with a deep light. Li Yi nodded, but felt a bit of a headache.
The problem before him was one of choice.
This could be considered a happy trouble only he could enjoy.
Time was limited. Meditation, beast tending, Dao Transformation Armament, and now the Five Beasts Exercise—each required a great deal of time. If done concurrently, it would likely be like a bear breaking off corn, grabbing one and losing another.
He had to prioritize and make choices. Some would need less time, or even be abandoned completely.
Li Yi began to think.
Meditation, without a doubt, was non-negotiable, immovable.
In the Butian Pavilion, he still faced discrimination and exclusion, but Li Yi did not intend to back down. Dao Transformation Armament was definitely a majestic power standing at the peak of the era. Having finally seized that slim chance, lightly giving it up was something he absolutely refused to do. Moreover, since awakening his Bloodline Ability—”Bearing the Stele”—his control over magic had slightly improved. In the future, there might be more changes.
This current Five Beasts Exercise was the most unique. It didn’t seem related to magic, instead more like a martial artist’s cultivation art.
But this method was profound, containing great principles. To abandon it would be a great pity.
Also, the physical body was the foundation of everything. Who knew if the later four movements might be beneficial for a Mage?
Like “Owlbear Howls at the Moon”, it very likely was a way to strengthen the Soul Origin.
“It seems then…” Li Yi’s expression darkened a bit.
The only thing he could give up was the beast tending job.
Times were different now. Three White Crystals a day, to be honest, were already optional.
Those occasional rare treasures were certainly precious, but what Li Yi truly couldn’t bear to part with was actually Feixue.
In Li Yi’s eyes, it wasn’t a fearsome beast like the Blood-Shedding Manticore, but just a child, occasionally throwing small tantrums, but very simple and kind.
Over this period, his bond with Feixue had grown closer. Occasionally, he even enjoyed special treatment, sitting on its back, wandering a few rounds in the Blood-Shedding Cave, experiencing the mysterious fun of “Void Blink”.
It didn’t have many friends to begin with. If he left now, it would likely sadden the little one for a while.
Li Yi shook his head, also feeling a bit melancholy.
“All banquets in the world must end… I can only try to visit it more often!”
After hesitating for a long time, he still made the most rational decision.
That night, Li Yi resigned to Gu Yanran, adding that he would visit Feixue often as a friend.
Surprisingly, Gu Yanran did not try to keep him, being quite generous.
Li Yi felt she seemed to have something to say but held back.
However, his mind was filled with too many thoughts at the moment, his emotions complicated, so he didn’t pay too much attention.
…
Another three months passed.
Time flew. Li Yi had already been at Dawn Cliff for half a year.
Yan Zhao and Zhangsun Shenji had both been promoted to Direct Disciples. He felt increasingly lonely, but also more focused and diligent, single-minded.
Meditating every night, cultivating arduously every day, his magic cultivation finally reached half-step to the eighth layer.
Now, three energies—Mana, Dragon-Turtle Qi, and Ancient Alligator Qi—stood in a three-legged tripod formation, opposing each other.
Tempered by the “Bearing the Stele” ability, the Mana was pure and dense. Although its quality was slightly inferior to the other two energies, its quantity was far greater, wild and noisy like a tide.
The Mana within his body was truly too mixed. Li Yi had subtly inquired with some people about this unusual phenomenon, but none practiced multiple Meditation Arts like him, so naturally, he gained no insight.
Could it be that in the future, he would have to forge his own unique path, splitting one energy into three pure forms?
Li Yi secretly mocked himself.