In front of Lei Yun, Mu Luyin, and the avatars, the energy faintly vibrated in the air, suggesting the presence of a possible barrier.
They were at the foot of the main mountain, and from what Aotian had discovered through those Nascent Souls, certain formations would constantly appear along the path, as if only those with a certain power and potential could proceed.
Since the terrain ahead was filled with formations and barriers, it was no longer suitable to use the flying ship, forcing them to descend and go on foot.
The greatest problem, however—the one that left Aotian helpless—was not the barrier and formations, but the slightly suspicious and cautious look of the green-haired girl fixed on his avatars.
After the episode in which she began to suspect that the avatars were deceiving Lei Yun, Mu Luyin was already inclined to abandon the cooperation.
In her mind, if someone was willing to deceive so casually, the chances of abandoning, betraying, or stabbing one in the back in the face of danger or opportunity were very high, and she was unwilling to risk both her own life and that of the person she cared for.
And the worst part was that she wasn't wrong to feel that way. The only problem… was that the avatars were telling the truth, however absurd it sounded, but she had no way of knowing that.
Fortunately, Lei Yun, trusting in his instincts, knowledge, and abilities, decided to maintain the cooperation. He saw no lies in Gu Jian's words or those of his companions, and there was also the fact that they all shared common enemies, making it better to remain together.
Though reluctant, the girl agreed to continue the cooperation. But the constant suspicious, even cold, glances she threw at them made Aotian's mouth twitch fiercely.
'Aotian, don't hit people for no reason, stay calm…' He rolled his eyes in his main body, sighing.
He didn't blame her, for he knew that perhaps he would act the same way in her place. Still, he felt like giving her a few slaps when he received ugly looks and was called a liar by her, even though he was innocent.
The avatars, for their part, maintained a calm appearance and showed no signs of being affected, as they began to study the formations.
'5th-level energy concentration, but the aura isn't threatening, and the blockade seems selective, allowing spiritual energy to enter and exit…'
Han Ruoyun, from the Formation Pavilion, crouched down, picked up a mid-grade spirit stone, and threw it to the other side.
The stone passed through without any resistance.
'… and spiritually energized objects can also pass.'
Aotian analyzed seriously.
Seeing Elder Han play and study the formation, Mu Luyin looked at him with slight disdain.
Normally, she was a well-mannered young lady, but in front of potential enemies—especially those who used deceit to get close—she did not intend to act delicately. On the contrary, she even hoped that her constant disdain would force them to reveal their true faces.
When she opened her mouth to voice such scorn, Gu Jian immediately turned his face toward her and calmly smiled, as if already knowing what she was going to say.
"We know that we can pass, and that this barrier will not harm or stop us, as long as we have reached a certain level. Elder Han just enjoys observing formations."
He explained calmly, not waiting to be belittled.
Mu Luyin, who still had her mouth open as she was interrupted just when she was about to speak, froze, and then a displeased and slightly embarrassed look appeared on her face.
"Hmph!" She snorted angrily and turned her face away, ignoring them.
Lei Yun looked at them somewhat helplessly, but said nothing, only sighing internally with a slight headache.
The girl's hostility was as evident as the sky, but even so, Aotian chose to continue with them because he was truly interested in recruiting Lei Yun.
Besides, as cold as she was, Mu Luyin did not show murderous intent in her eyes, otherwise he might have left them to avoid trouble.
Of course, his confidence in continuing cooperation came mainly from the fact that he believed he could deal with any problems, since the inner elders of the Missions Pavilion worked tirelessly in the sect, creating missions and assessing levels of danger, opening up a clear path for him to follow.
The reason he still studied the formation, even knowing what it was for—information obtained from the memories of various cultivators who had already passed there—was simply curiosity and caution.
He distrusted that mountain. He did not understand why the great powers of the world allowed cultivators to freely explore that place. He did not believe it was out of kindness, nor mere coincidence.
He felt there was a purpose, he just didn't know what.
Aotian analyzed the formation a bit more, but in the end set it aside and crossed with the others. His mastery of formations was still a bit too low to comprehend Formation-Tier matrices.
As soon as the avatars crossed the barrier, its energy touched their bodies. Aotian, with his sensitivity, immediately noticed that it seemed to be analyzing his energy, almost as if probing.
After that, it allowed his entry, as if granting approval. The instant he stepped onto the main mountain, he detected something wrong in the air, narrowing his eyes.
'The purity of the energy… has dropped. Perhaps even Nascent Souls would have difficulty perceiving the difference, but with my powerful spiritual consciousness, I am certain there are more tiny impurities in the air than outside… and they seem particularly aggressive, invading cultivators' bodies.'
A little surprised, even alarmed, upon feeling the impurities slowly invading—unseen yet especially fierce—his veins, unlike external impurities that only enter when one absorbs impure energy, these actively invaded even without drawing in energy.
With a heavy face, Aotian wasted no time. He set his enlightened minds to work, continuously activating the Celestial Rotation of the Five Elements cultivation technique in his avatars.
Under the power of the Supreme Golden Core and the synthesized technique, the impurities were purified and expelled, while blocking those trying to enter.
Realizing that he could easily expel such a level of impurity, he relaxed a bit and ceased the technique.
Although with his enlightened minds he could cultivate while walking, it was not ideal, since the roots and dantian constantly followed a pattern of energy absorption during cultivation, making it impossible to fully use other externalization techniques, such as combat techniques.
It would be like a river of pure water flowing in one direction, while at the same time trying to force a river of dirty water (elementalized energy) to flow the opposite way through the same path.
Even with Aotian's powerful control, capable of making the two currents coexist without mixing, the channel would still have to be divided between them, since space was limited. And division meant weakening.
In other words, if he used half the channel for cultivation, he would only have half the power for attacking, and there would still be an instant required to switch to full strength in any direction if necessary. And in a place as dangerous as Shadowfallen Burial Mountain, that instant with only half offensive power would be extremely risky in an urgent and sudden situation.
And, to expel those impurities, using only half the strength might not be enough, after all, the realm of the ten avatars was still only the 1st level of the Golden Core.
'Nascent Souls can still expel such impurities during cultivation in a short time under the pressure of their realm. If they spend 15 days in such an environment accumulating impurities in their bodies, a few years are enough to cleanse them… as for ordinary Golden Cores, such a level of impurity would take hundreds of years to clear, if they could manage it at all. But these impurities are very small and shouldn't impact cultivation much in this realm, as long as they don't accumulate too much. When they advance to the Nascent Soul realm, they will be able to deal with them within a few years.'
Aotian reflected, his mind illuminating and his eyes widening slightly… it seemed he had touched on the edge of a secret of that place.
'Could it be that… the reason cultivators who have already entered Shadowfallen Burial Mountain cannot enter again in the same realm when the mountain opens once more?! Because otherwise, they would accumulate too many impurities in their bodies? But what would be the reason for all this?'
Although he had some ideas, many questions still remained unanswered. He could only shake his head, while making his ten avatars stop circulating the cultivation technique.
Knowing he could expel those impurities with ease, he no longer worried about keeping the technique active all the time. It was enough to run it occasionally to avoid excessive accumulation.
Mu Luyin did not react much when passing through the barrier, perhaps because she already expected it or simply because she did not know. Lei Yun, however, furrowed his brows, a white talisman activated and glowing, fastened to his chest.
In fact, not only on him, but also on Mu Luyin and the avatars. They all had the same talisman.
That talisman had been placed by the barrier itself at the instant they passed through, and the matrix sustained its activation.
With his powerful perception and mastery over talismans and formations, Aotian could sense its purpose: discreetly preventing too many impurities from entering the body at once, and even completely blocking those that could only be purified by being two or more realms above the user's current cultivation.
'This is very strange… it's as if this place was designed to accumulate a specific amount of impurities of a certain level in cultivators' bodies, which would then be carried up to the next realm to be purified and expelled outside the mountain, allowing the person to return here and carry more impurities…'
When this idea arose in his mind, his eyes gleamed.
'The reason they let us into the mountain… could it be to bring impurities outside and purify them?! This would explain why the powers buy the useless, polluted bodies of the Shadow Beasts, and also why they allow anyone to enter in search of opportunities.'
'Added to the fact that it is difficult to sense impurities above one's own level, and with the talisman preventing those of the same level—the ones that truly hinder immediate cultivation—from entering abnormally, it is easy not to notice anything.'
'Perhaps there is even deliberate concealment from the great powers, which would keep this information a secret. That would explain why I found nothing about it when I researched earlier about the mountain, not even in the information I bought from the Dark Hand.'
'As for those men whose memories I read, it seemed they had little notion of this as well. Their perceptions of impurities were not as sharp as mine, and when they broke through to the next realm, they must have thought they were just normal impurities accumulated over the years, or side effects of certain opportunities and pills they had taken. Since what the mountain does is carried out very discreetly and without excess, without noticing, they attributed the cause to other reasons. So, with no other explanation, cultivators simply spent a few years expelling such impurities, without realizing that their progress had been slightly hindered just by entering the mountain.'
'Thus, the news does not spread, and more people keep coming every ten years, keeping the cycle active.'
With each deduction, Aotian seemed more convinced.
Impurities were not something easy to identify. Most cultivators only perceived them during concentrated cultivation, when examining their own bodies.
It was extremely rare for anyone to be like him, capable of sensing them in the air with such clarity, ease, and precision, simply by being there.
Being able to detect the tiny impurities that normally only higher realms would notice invading his body also demonstrated Aotian's excellence in cultivation, techniques, and, of course, in his multiple minds.
'Perhaps all of this is connected to that Shadowfallen Mu Luyin mentioned, or maybe it is part of a cunning plan of the central plateau. In any case, this has been happening for countless years, and the world has not ended. I just need a few more years until I fear nothing in this world, and then, by that time, everything will become clear.'
He thought with determination, calming himself, and then his gaze turned to Lei Yun, who was staring at the air with a slight grimace.
Seeing that made Aotian's eyes narrow playfully.
'Looks like I wasn't the only one to notice the problem with the impurities in the air. For such a feat, Lei Yun must be a reincarnated expert, I'm almost certain. But, judging by his grim face, he doesn't seem to have means as effective as mine. He has probably already realized that staying here will slow down his progress in the next realm a little.'
With that fact, Aotian's eyes shone brighter, with yet another card to recruit him being born.
While each one was lost in their own thoughts, the group climbed the mountain, ever alert.
The entire Shadowfallen Burial Mountain was immense, but the central mountain, though large, was still much smaller compared to the vast mountain range.
And since most strong cultivators focused on coming here, the chances of encountering people and conflicts were much higher.
The proof lay in the echoes of explosions and the vibrations of energy they could sense in various distant points, all coming from the central mountain.
As if to confirm this fact, they had not gone very far when several figures blocked their path.