Chapter 716 - Prison of the Heaven and Earth

Chapter 716: Prison of the Heaven and Earth

At the peak of Mount Tianshan, the landscape was white with snow as far as the eyes could see. The frigid winds blew relentlessly through the peaks that had endured such harsh conditions for ages, making it a punishing and cold hinterland.

"Prison of the Heaven and Earth!"

Tianshan Elder's aura changed completely, and her youthful face turned rather savage as she roared out the mantra to invoke the skill.

A black barrier appeared out of thin air and encapsulated Xiao Luo within a perfectly formed cube, four meters on each side.

"Elder Long, did you not say that we intend to help Xiao Luo to unlock his potential power? Why are we boxing him up?"

Xiao Quanren asked, visibly puzzled. That pitch-black cube was mysteriously dark in shade and looked forbidding, even from afar. It looked like a cage used to imprison the most evil of beings from the darkest chambers of hell. Even someone as experienced as Xiao Quanren was anxiously wiping off beads of cold sweat from his forehead.

"We are unleashing his potential."

Elder Long responded as he stroked his non-existent beard and patiently explained, "The essence of unleashing one's potential is to overcome one's own internal limits continuously. This process is exceedingly painful, but it yields the fastest results. That is why I have brought Xiao Luo to my Junior Sister who is a master of the Divine Art of Moulding."

She will use the essence of Heaven and Earth to mold a person's potential. It is difficult to explain and involves reversing what we consider the natural order of one's life force and reaching a state of infinity. Ultimately, it is to find equilibrium and be as one with nature. To achieve that, it takes unrivaled skill. Unfortunately, my aptitude and natural abilities for such a skill are inferior to my Junior Sister, therefore, even though my master had wished to impart the teachings to me, I could only learn the very basic level of this art."

Xiao Quanren was even more bewildered after listening to his explanation. But one thing was for sure—the Divine Art of Moulding was extraordinarily impressive.

Everything that Gu Qianlin had seen so far had completely overwhelmed her. She was a person who grew up in a modern world, and she did not believe in such mystical stuff. However, when she saw the black cubical prison appear out of nowhere, she realized that there were many more unknowns in this world she was now in. What she had seen was merely the tip of an iceberg, and without the permission of the Tianshan Elder, she could not enter the cave mansion. She wasn't even permitted to see her sister, Gu Qianxue, and had to stay outside under a simple shed.

"You goddamn little brat. You will soon go through the most painful phase, and if you want to be powerful, then endure the pain. Are you ready?" Tianshan Elder asked as she sat on the black cubical prison. Her hair was tossed around in the frigid wind swirling through the snow-covered surroundings.

"I hear you. You don't have to warn me further, for I'm willing to face any amount of pain."

Xiao Luo's calm voice echoed out from the black prison, and while it sounded unemotional, the determination in his tone was clear.

"You little brat! Do not act like a hero in front of me. You will have to cultivate your inner strength for ten straight days. If you cannot carry on while we are at it, tell me, and I will stop the process," Tianshan Elder snapped.

"Enough with the chitchat. Let's get started," Xiao Luo replied indifferently.

"You cocky little brat. I shall see how long you can last!"

Tianshan Elder replied to him in a high-pitched voice. Then she shut her eyes and started making a series of strange hand gestures. An invisible field of energy formed around her as she chanted. "Reverse Cosmos, Yin-yang Infinity, four elements of wind, fire, thunder, and lightning, all-seeing…"

As she chanted the mantra, she slowly levitated in the air while still in the same sitting position. And as she did so, she was transmitting rays of invisible force into the black cubical box.

Elder Long could sense that Xiao Quanren was giving him a dubious stare. He felt rather embarrassed because he was also chanting the Divine Art of Moulding, but his version of the chant was entirely different from the Tianshan Elder's version. It could only mean that what he had explained was wrong.

Unable to take any more, Elder Long turned to look at Xiao Quanren and yelled, "Why are you looking at me? I have already said that my knowledge of this skill was at a very basic level. So what if I recited the mantra wrongly?"

Xiao Quanren looked shocked and thought, how did Elder Long sense that I was looking at him? And how did he know what I was thinking about?

"Of course, I know what you are thinking. You are just a little brat to me. If I cannot even figure out what a brat like you is thinking, then I don't deserve to have lived this long," Elder Long said.

"Elder Long, you speak the truth!"

Xiao Quanren saw Elder Long's point and decided to de-escalate the situation. He quickly realized that when he was still a newborn in his parent's arms, Elder Long had already lived for a thousand years. So, in Elder Long's eyes, Xiao Quanren was indeed just a little brat.

In the black cubical prison, the gravitational force had doubled. The elements of wind, fire, thunder, and lightning bore down on Xiao Luo. It was a different world in there, and Xiao Luo had to use his inner power against these forces. He shielded himself with his inner strength and blocked out the adverse effects of these elements. Of course, the effort took a toll on his inner strength.

There was no particular change in him on the first day as he endured the punishing forces using his vast reserve of inner power.

On the second day, the gravitational force doubled again. The effects from the four elements became even more pronounced. Occasionally, the elders could hear painful moans coming from that black cubical prison. Those were the moments that Xiao Luo could not take the pain.

"This goddamn little brat is quite impressive! But, if I do not force him into a corner, how can he overcome your limit?"

On the third day, Tianshan Elder altered the conditions within the black cubical prison by three folds. Even the people outside the black prison could feel the change inside that cube, and it was unbelievably dreadful. It gave everyone goosebumps, for they could imagine what it was like for the person inside the cube.

"ARRGH!"

Xiao Luo's scream came from inside the black prison again and echoed across the entire valley.

"This little brat is finally reaching his limit—the pain is worst just before that. Junior Sister, could you block his voice out? He is loud, and we don't him to cause another avalanche," Elder Long said.

Tianshan Elder, who was working the Divine Art of Moulding, turned to Elder Long and glared at him. "Shut the hell up!"

"I was only thinking about your cave mansion. If there is another avalanche, would it not bury your mansion and make things difficult for you?"

Elder Long murmured and then turned to Xiao Quanren for moral support. "Xiaoquan, am I right?"

"Yes, yes."

Xiao Quanren was not paying full attention to their conversation, and he simply agreed with whatever Elder Long threw at him. He was more anxious about Xiao Luo as his incessant screams were unbearable and nerve-racking to listen to. It worried him that an unforeseen mishap might occur during the cultivation process.

Gu Qianxue rushed out of the cave abode. Xiao Luo had made her into a real woman, and her loss of innocence had given her additional charm and maturity. It made her even more appealing.

"Xiao Luo…"

Her eyes had reddened as Xiao Luo's agonizing screams broke her heart. From what she recalled, Xiao Luo was a tough man who would not even flinch when he got shot. Yet, he was now screaming unceasingly. It only meant that he was undergoing tremendous pain that was much worse than gunshots. She wanted to stop her master, but she knew better. She did not want to stand in Xiao Luo's way in his quest to become stronger.

"Gulp!"

Gu Qianlin trembled as she swallowed her saliva with much difficulty and broke out in a cold sweat. "That… that's too extreme…"

It wasn't Xiao Luo's screams she was particularly referring to, but the torture that he was experiencing in the black cubical prison. This was a man who could withstand being slashed by blades, therefore, if he was screaming this way, it meant what he was going through in the black prison was worse than hell.