Chapter 158: What Kind of Independent Cultivator Is This!?

"This junior brother is striking and talented in appearance. No wonder Senior Brother Xuanhe regards him so highly."

Looking at Wang Ping, Xiaoxiang's briefly furrowed brow instantly smoothed out. An amiable smile appeared on his face as he took the initiative to ask, "Dare I ask Junior Brother's name?"

Naturally, Wang Ping was not about to give his real name.

So, after a moment of thought, he provided his Daoist name:

"Dousheng."

Such arrogance!

Murmurs instantly broke out among the surrounding outer sect disciples paying attention to Wang Ping, though no one dared openly mock him in front of Daoist Xuanhe.

As for Xiaoxiang, his expression did not change at all. He continued, "So it is Junior Brother Dousheng. Are you familiar with the inside of Dao Proving Mountain? Senior Brother Xuanhe is a busy man and might not have explained it to you in detail. Why don't I walk you through it? We can look out for each other once we enter Dao Proving Mountain."

Hearing this, Wang Ping glanced at the outer sect disciple.

To be honest, the moment Xiaoxiang discovered he came from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he had displayed the same subconscious disgust and resistance as everyone else around them.

However, his recovery had been very fast.

It seems he needs a favor from Xuanhe... What a pity that the outer sect is still the outer sect. In the end, his expression still shifted. He couldn't maintain his composure and is just trying to make up for it now.

Even so, Wang Ping naturally wasn't going to refuse a free explanation.

"Then I thank you, Senior Brother."

"I am Xiaoxiang. Junior Brother does not need to be so polite."

While forcefully suppressing the urge to wipe his hand, Xiaoxiang affectionately patted Wang Ping's shoulder. No matter what, he could not afford to fall out with him at this moment.

From beginning to end, Xiaoxiang remained extremely clear-headed.

I was careless for a moment and ran to Dao Proving Mountain without an inner sect disciple senior brother following me. Right now, it is highly likely that I've already been targeted by a bandit cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer.

In this situation, it's fortunate I ran into Xuanhe. Although this person comes from a Human Firewood background, he still possesses the cultivation of Divine Powers. No matter what, I must find a way to travel with him. At worst, I'll follow him to the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Once I am safe, I'll ask an inner sect disciple senior brother from the Heaven and Earth Pavilion to bring me back.

Look down on Wang Ping in this kind of situation?

What a joke!

God knew what kind of relationship this firewood-adding disciple had with Xuanhe. In a matter of life and death, Xiaoxiang wasn't going to make a mistake over some slight prejudice.

"Dao Proving Mountain, as the name implies, involves climbing a mountain."

"There are three paths up the mountain in total: Spell, Dharma, and Artifact. They respectively test a cultivator's spells, magical power, and magical artifacts."

"Of course, these three paths do not restrict a cultivator's actual methods. Even if you take the Artifact path, you can still cast spells and utilize magical power. The reason for the division is primarily the rewards for climbing—namely, the Qi feedback you receive after defeating an opponent applies differently."

Xiaoxiang explained concisely:

"If you take the Artifact path, the Qi you receive after defeating an opponent will bless your magical artifact, saving you the time and effort of refining it."

"If you take the Dharma path, you can elevate the grade of your magical power. If you take the Spell path, you will gain epiphanies and achieve a more precise mastery over your spells."

"The specific effects depend on how high you can climb."

"The higher you climb on Dao Proving Mountain and the more opponents you defeat, the more Qi feedback you receive, and the better the rewards. There is precedent for this."

Speaking up to this point, Xiaoxiang naturally changed the subject:

"Take Senior Brother Xuanhe, for example."

"Back then on Dao Proving Mountain, he climbed a full six hundred and sixty steps. Because he took the Dharma path, the Qi feedback allowed him to condense intermediate Divine Powers."

"He truly shook the immortal peaks with his fame."

After saying this, Xiaoxiang scratched his cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed. "To tell you the truth, as a fellow outer sect disciple, I have always looked up to Senior Brother Xuanhe as a role model."

Wang Ping: "..."

The disciples of the Immortal Gate truly knew how to talk, each one better at it than the last.

Glancing at Daoist Xuanhe, Wang Ping knew that although Xiaoxiang's flattery was stiff, Daoist Xuanhe still found it extremely pleasant to hear.

"Thank you for clearing up my confusion, Senior Brother."

Wang Ping cupped his hands and said straightforwardly, "Without further delay, I plan to go in and take a look right now. Dare I ask, Senior Brother, how do I get to the Dharma path?"

"Uh..."

Hearing this, Xiaoxiang paused before pointing to the middle. "Magical power is the foundation of a cultivator, so naturally, it is situated in the center. However, I'm afraid this path will be very difficult for you, Junior Brother."

"Oh? Why is that?" Wang Ping asked.

"Uh, it's mainly because you started from scratch, Junior Brother, and caught up later," Xiaoxiang said tactfully. "Your magical power grade should be a bit lower than that of ordinary outer sect disciples."

These words were already giving him a lot of face.

Wang Ping quickly translated the meaning in his mind: Because I am an independent cultivator who didn't receive a master's inheritance, my magical power grade is definitely inferior to that of orthodox outer sect disciples.

Thinking this, he continued to ask:

"Dare I ask, Senior Brother, how are the grades of magical power divided?"

Xiaoxiang immediately answered, "Dao Proving Mountain has one thousand steps. Of the first nine hundred and ninety-nine, every one hundred and eleven steps corresponds to a grade of magical power."

"Therefore, from lowest to highest, magical power is divided into nine grades."

"When an ordinary independent cultivator first tempers their magical power, it is considered unranked. Only after comprehending the core of their magical power are they considered to truly possess ninth-grade magical power."

"However, going any higher strictly relies on Dao Proving Mountain."

"The higher the grade of your magical power, the closer the resonance with its corresponding Qi, and the more profundities you can borrow. At the same time, it is beneficial for condensing Divine Powers."

Wang Ping nodded.

"So that's how it is. Thank you for informing me, Senior Brother."

Immediately after, he turned to look at Daoist Xuanhe. "Then, Senior, I will be back shortly."

With that said, Wang Ping summoned a streak of escaping light and headed toward the middle area of Dao Proving Mountain. Wherever he passed, he drew another wave of clamor and heated discussion.

After all, it had been many years since an independent cultivator had dared to walk Dao Proving Mountain. In the outer regions, as Wang Ping's identity was exposed by the major blessed lands, all the independent cultivators watching the broadcast seethed with excitement. Scattered dharma currency poured in as they began placing bets on Wang Ping.

The decision of all the independent cultivators was exactly the same.

"Bet on him losing!"

"I bet he won't even make it past the first step!"

"Are you kidding? I'm an independent cultivator myself; how could I not know how trash independent cultivators are? If he can climb ten steps, I'll eat this Round Light Mirror!"

"Wealth is sought in danger. I bet he can pass ten steps!"

"I bet..."

The boiling discussions drew the backward glances of the two figures standing at the very forefront of the many outer sect disciples, just in time for them to see Wang Ping's back.

They were precisely the rising stars of the outer sect that the three inner sect disciples had mentioned during their discussion—Fairy Fengyuan and Changyangzi. At this moment, both of them furrowed their brows.

"Xiaoxiang... followed him in."

"He made a momentary miscalculation and didn't bring his backer along. As a result, he now has to cozy up to an independent cultivator. Who knows how disgusted he feels inside."

Fairy Fengyuan pursed her lips and chuckled softly.

Beside her, Changyangzi spoke in a sonorous and cold voice, "I have no interest in an independent cultivator. My only reason for climbing the mountain this time is to temper my flying sword."

As he spoke, a sharp sword light could be seen hovering between his brows. It was impressively a mid-grade magical artifact!

"Once I seize enough Qi to temper this Flying Star Sword into a dharma treasure, and wait for my master to suddenly die while crossing his fate tribulation, it will be my time to condense Divine Powers."

"Fellow Daoist's ambitions soar high."

Fairy Fengyuan praised softly. There was no helping it; outer sect disciples like them didn't have the qualifications to use the Eight Trigrams Furnace. They could only rely on themselves for dharma treasures.

Dao Proving Mountain was one of those avenues.

"Let's wait."

"I don't want to stay in the same cave-heaven as an independent cultivator. The perfectly good Dao Proving Mountain has been stunk up... We'll go in after he is eliminated."

...

He passed through that faint, crescent-moon light.

Wang Ping's vision first darkened before suddenly clearing up. He found himself standing at the foot of a mountain, while behind him lay a boundless, blank world.

Ahead was a gateway.

The character for 'Dharma' was written on it. This was clearly the Dharma path Xiaoxiang had mentioned. Looking up from the bottom, the mountain stretched so high that its peak was completely out of sight.

"One thousand steps, huh..."

Wang Ping took a deep breath, a feeling of eagerness finally welling up in his heart. After all, he still didn't know exactly how strong he was now!

Although he had previously taken a spin on the First Seat's Martial Drill Platform, his opponent had been noticeably over-scaled. A martial Great Grandmaster Rank could already fully match a Divine Powers cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer. In terms of true same-realm combat power, into which tier of the Immortal Gate could his repeatedly transformed self be ranked?

"...Then let's give it a try."

Right now was the perfect opportunity to measure himself!

With this thought, Wang Ping immediately drew the Battle-Victorious Demon-Quelling Blade. He strode through the gateway before him, and his surroundings instantly changed once again.

The scene before his eyes had abruptly transformed into a mountain forest.

The mountain forest was vast and boundless, and the spiritual energy was extremely abundant. As Wang Ping was examining his surroundings, he suddenly heard a soft gasp of surprise:

"Junior Brother Dousheng?"

Wang Ping turned his head at the sound, equally surprised.

"Senior Brother?"

At this very moment, the person appearing on the first step of Dao Proving Mountain alongside him was none other than Xiaoxiang. The other party's face was full of astonishment and confusion.

"What's going on?"

Xiaoxiang furrowed his brows tightly, somewhat unable to understand. What does Dao Proving Mountain mean by this? Matching me with an independent cultivator on the first step? Is it looking down on me?

Logically speaking, the matchmaking of Dao Proving Mountain operated on a special mechanism. In the initial battles, you would generally be matched with an opponent of similar strength. The more you won, the stronger your opponents would be, and the more you lost, the weaker they would be. Only in extremely rare circumstances would someone encounter a powerful enemy in their very first battle.

For example, if one party was too strong and there were no equal opponents at the current step level.

In this kind of situation, Dao Proving Mountain would directly send over cannon fodder to signal that the stronger party didn't need to waste time, allowing them to skip the stage entirely.

This was also to prevent true transmission disciples from specifically coming here to bully the weak.

In other words:

Dao Proving Mountain thinks this highly of me?

It thinks I have no rivals in the first hundred and ten steps?

For a moment, Xiaoxiang felt a bit overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. Although he had confidence in himself, the validation from Dao Proving Mountain still made him quite delighted.

Thinking this, he decided to handle things with a bit more grace.

"Junior Brother, count yourself unlucky this time for running into me."

Xiaoxiang looked at Wang Ping:

"After we get out of here, I will gift you a magical artifact to express my apologies, Junior Brother. Rest assured, you won't truly die inside Dao Proving Mountain; at most, you'll just be eliminated..."

Before his voice could fade.

Suddenly, for no reason at all, Xiaoxiang felt a bout of shortness of breath. The magical power circulating within his body abruptly severed.

The next second, his world spun.

At the same time, a lingering voice echoed by his ears, seemingly both near and far:

"That's great. Apologies, Senior Brother, I'm in a hurry... Excuse me."

Ah!?

...

Outside Dao Proving Mountain.

"Boom!"

A sudden flash of arcing light appeared, and Xiaoxiang's figure flew backward out of it. He smashed into the ground in an utterly wretched posture, his face full of horror and shock.

"Huh? Who came out?"

"It's Xiaoxiang!"

Almost immediately, the spectating crowd also spotted his figure, their faces showing surprise. "That's not right. Didn't he just go in?"

"Who did he run into?"

"It's not entirely impossible. After all, Dao Proving Mountain connects to the Eight Immortal Peaks. If his luck was bad, it's totally normal that he ran into a true transmission disciple who also happened to be challenging the mountain."

"Sigh, what a pity."

"Pity my ass! I bet on him walking at least a hundred steps... My money!"

"Fucking trash!"

In an instant, a cacophony of voices boiled over.

However, Xiaoxiang was already in no mood to pay attention to those discussions. He instinctively clutched his head, only one thought remaining in his mind:

Is my head still there?

Only after confirming that his head was still attached and hadn't fallen from his neck did he let out a long breath. Afterward, he looked toward Dao Proving Mountain in near disbelief.

I got instantly killed?

What the hell instantly killed me?

I didn't even see it!

For a time, Xiaoxiang's hands shook uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered nonstop. Finally unable to hold it in, he turned his head to look at Daoist Xuanhe and asked in a low voice:

"Senior Brother Xuanhe... The person you brought here, is he an independent cultivator?"

What kind of independent cultivator is this!?

This isn't fair!