Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 1496: Chapter 810: Inverted Mountain

After a whirlwind, the world suddenly changed.

Zhao Sheng opened his eyes, his expression vigilant, scanning his surroundings.

What he saw was a ground covered with chaotic rocks, and further away, stone houses built high along steep cliffs lined up one by one.

Looking further up, a towering giant peak came into view.

Suddenly, Zhao Sheng’s eyes narrowed, unexpectedly seeing boundless stretches of land.

No, where is the sky?

He raised his head toward that desolate silence, vast like an endless wasteland, confirming once more that the earth was directly above him.

Glancing around, Zhao Sheng’s gaze pierced through the uneven giant stones and quickly saw massive layers of grey clouds stretching indefinitely at the foot of the mountain.

And in the distance, one giant peak after another floated above the cloud layers, while above his head was also boundless land.

At a glance, it seemed as if heaven and earth had been turned upside down!

Gazing at such an unusual scene before him, Zhao Sheng was somewhat lost in thought.

At this moment, a gentle voice suddenly came from behind: "Little brother, you must be here for the first time at Inverted Mountain!"

Zhao Sheng turned around, looking towards the voice, and was taken aback.

For there was no one around, only scattered chaotic rocks.

Who was speaking earlier?

"Hey, where are you looking! I am here." The voice spoke again, with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Zhao Sheng followed the voice and looked down, only to see not far away a human-sized, fully black pebble, inlaid with two thumb-sized "Red Agates" that glowed like embers.

"My apologies! I didn’t recognize you earlier with my clumsy eyes." Zhao Sheng took two steps forward, cupping his hands in salute.

"You’re not to blame! Little brother comes from the Lower Realm, it’s understandable not to recognize us Stone Spirits." The pebble rolled on the ground, cracking open a palm-sized seam, speaking with a mouth like motion.

Zhao Sheng cupped his hands: "I’ve met the Stone Spirit elder. It’s my first time at Inverted Mountain and I’m unaware of any taboos here. I’d greatly appreciate any advice from the elder."

"We Stone Spirits are natives of Inverted Mountain and know it intimately. You’ve asked the right one. Inverted Mountain has three great taboos: first, never step outside the mountain; second, if you encounter Cloud Sea at night, you must return to the Lower Realm quickly, or you’ll face dire consequences; third, don’t approach the mountaintop or attempt to harm us, or else... heh heh!"

Zhao Sheng’s gaze swept toward the Cloud Sea outside the mountain, thoughts running through his mind, suddenly bending down to pick up a pebble and throwing it down the mountain with force.

The pebble flew out far, and at the moment of falling outside the mountain, it abruptly paused, then soared directly, straight toward that vast land.

No, not flying towards, but "falling".

Zhao Sheng’s eyes showed surprise: No wonder this mountain is called Inverted Mountain, it’s not heaven and earth that are inverted; it’s the mountain peaks that have flipped upside down.

"Heh heh, understand now! I’ve always been honest and trustworthy, wouldn’t deceive you." The Stone Spirit joyfully chuckled, causing the pebble to roll.

"Thank you elder Stone Spirit for your guidance!" Zhao Sheng turned and respectfully bowed again.

The Stone Spirit jumped close, saying: "Alright, let’s talk serious business. Do you have Top-grade Spirit Stones? I’ll trade treasures with you."

Zhao Sheng was slightly startled, looking up at the row of stone houses, but saw no figures.

"Don’t bother. It’s very deserted here, only you are alive at the moment. By the way, do you have any Top-grade Spirit Stones?"

Zhao Sheng withdrew his gaze, feeling the increasing rejection force from the Void, shook his head: "I’ve disappointed the elder, I came empty-handed, not only without Top-grade Spirit Stones, but without any grade of Spirit Stones."

"Ah, waited so long for a living being, yet you’re a pauper! Why is fate so cruel?" The Stone Spirit instantly wilted, the "Red Agates" dimming considerably.

Zhao Sheng smiled slightly: "I have nothing now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have resources in the future. Before that happens, I hope the elder can offer some guidance. What treasures does Inverted Mountain produce? If the elder can give me some pointers, I will return this time with treasures and next time won’t disappoint the elder."

"Nice words, but who knows when you’ll come back, if you’ll even come back... no no, just follow me."

Mid-sentence, the Stone Spirit seemed to gather his thoughts, immediately bouncing away toward the stone houses.

Zhao Sheng saw this and stepped forward to follow.

Before long, the Stone Spirit reached the corner of a stone house, jumped onto a pile of half-person-high black stones, hopping and bouncing.

"This pile of iron stones is useless. Take as much as you can. When you come back next time, make sure to bring Spirit Stones, the higher grade the better."

Zhao Sheng’s eyes fell on the iron ore, a spark of light flashing momentarily.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this pile of "useless" iron stones was actually composed entirely of Ten-thousand-year-old Xuan Iron.

Ten-thousand-year-old Xuan Iron is a Middle Rank Heaven and Earth Strange Object, usually used for refining Magical Treasures. It is extremely rare and highly valuable, almost comparable to Heaven and Earth True Fire of the same rank.

Zhao Sheng was overjoyed, yet his face showed no change. He took a few steps forward, grabbed a fist-sized piece of Ten-thousand-year-old Xuan Iron with both hands, and lifted with full force.

Unexpectedly... the Ten-thousand-year-old Xuan Iron didn’t budge, its weight somewhat exceeding his expectations.

Zhao Sheng calmly released his grip, eyes scanning the pile, settling on an egg-sized piece of Ten-thousand-year-old Xuan Iron.

This time he exerted all his strength and barely managed to lift it, estimating it to weigh at least ten jun.

"Hey, hey, you should take more! This little iron stone is worth only a few Spirit Stones!" The Stone Spirit saw, jumped three feet high, and urged loudly.