1682

Chapter 1682: The Holy Mountain Appears . . .

Although Huang Xiaolong had expected the holy fruit to bring an array of amazing benefits, he was still astonished to hear that the holy fruit was comparable to the grandmist fruit that grew on the Grandmist Tree in his Master King of Grandmist's orchard!

He had taken the grandmist fruit, thus he was clearer than anyone here of its effectiveness. With one grandmist fruit, his cultivation had taken a great leap from the peak late-Sixth Order God King Realm to peak late-Seventh Order God King Realm!

One big cultivation realm!

The Holy Mountain had twelve floors, so if he could be the first person to clear each floor's obstacles, then wouldn't it mean that he would gain thirty-six holy fruits?! 

"The holy fruit is comparable to the grandmist fruit? From what I've heard, consuming one's first grandmist fruit is the most beneficial. The effects decline when consuming the consecutive fruits." Huang Xiaolong said.

If that was the same with the holy fruit, it made no difference whether he got thirty-six holy fruits or one holy fruit.

Fan Hui smiled as he explained, "Master may not be aware of this, but the holy fruit is different from the grandmist fruit in this aspect. With the grandmist fruit, the effects reduce with the more number of fruits you consume, however, with the holy fruit, the more you consume, the better the benefits. For example, consuming your first holy fruit has roughly similar benefits to your first grandmist fruit, then your second holy fruit would give a greater benefit than the first, the third holy fruit is two times better than your second holy fruit. The effects continue to double with your fourth holy fruit and so on!"

Huang Xiaolong was astounded at Fan Hui's words.

This...!

In that case, when he consumes the thirty-sixth holy fruit, he could gain several times the benefits of refining his first grandmist fruit? Maybe twenty times, even thirty times better?!

"Then, in so many years, what's the record for most holy fruits a person in Hell has gotten?" Huang Xiaolong asked.

"The highest is twenty-eight! Only one person has achieved that, the second highest record is twenty-seven holy fruits, there were four people who achieved this result." It was Wan Yutian who answered.

"No one has ever gotten thirty or more?" Huang Xiaolong sounded surprised.

All four shook their heads.

"No, the person who had gotten twenty-eight holy fruits is Ghost World's Qin Fan, who is also the Castellan of Ghost World's Fengdu City." Tai Yue went on, "That year, even though Qin Fan cleared the eleventh floor, he couldn't clear the obstacles on a few floors, hence, he got twenty-eight holy fruits in the end. Other than Qin Fan, the other person who cleared the eleventh floor's obstacles was the Misty Palace's Shu Wei! She is the current Palace Master of Misty Palace."

Huang Xiaolong's eyes widened slightly. The current Palace Master of Misty Palace!

He truly had not expected that.

Qin Fan was the Ghost World's strongest expert, and his talent was almost unrivaled, thus Huang Xiaolong wasn't surprised that Qin Fan had reached the eleventh floor of the Holy Mountain. On the other hand, the Misty Palace's Palace Master Shu Wei's similar achievement surprised him.

Whether it was fame or prestige, the Misty Palace's Shu Wei was simply too far behind compared to Qin Fan.

"The Misty Palace's Palace Master Shu Wei is extremely low-profile. She was hailed as the Asura World's number one beauty in the past, and the number of geniuses who chased after her could form a hundred million miles long line." Jin Yuan said in a complicated tone. "No one really knows the true extent of her talent, and the time she took to rise to fame was extremely short. It was truly unexpected for all parties when she ascended to the eleventh floor of the Holy Mountain, but after that, she has rarely appeared in public. According to rumors, she has been in seclusion within the Misty Palace for the last one billion years, that is also why she's not as famous as Qin Fan."

Tai Yue chimed in nostalgically, "The Misty Palace used to rank thirty-second among the Asura World's forces in the past. It's Shu Wei's credit that its ranking has risen all the way into the top ten in a short one billion years or so. Not only did she lead the Misty Palace into the top ten, but they firmly sit at third place!"

To Tai Yue and the others, Shu Wei was a junior, however, when speaking of Shu Wei, all four of them wore serious expressions.

Huang Xiaolong's eyes glimmered noticing this detail. "How is this Shu Wei's strength?" he asked.

Fan Hui shook his head, "Following our investigation, more than a billion years ago, some time after she ascended to the eleventh floor of the Holy Mountain, she broke through to Emperor Realm. The rumors circulating outside claim that she has already reached the peak late-Tenth Order Emperor Realm, but there are also rumors saying she has already surpassed Emperor Realm."

"That's right ah! Although the Massacring Gods Gate's Old Ancestor Chu Han was assumed to be Asura World's number one expert, not even Chu Han dared to say he could defeat Shu Wei." Wan Yutian added.

Huang Xiaolong fell into contemplation. It seemed like he had underestimated the Misty Palace.

"Master, once you're inside the Holy Mountain, you must not use any divine artifacts." A moment later, Tai Yue elaborated, "Whether it is a weapon or divine armor, all divine artifacts are not allowed. Once you use a divine artifact, it would trigger the Holy Mountain's restriction, and heavenly punishment will fall upon you!"

"There is such a rule?" Huang Xiaolong was flabbergasted.

"Yes. There were some people who refused to follow this rule in the past, and used divine artifacts inside the Holy Mountain. Due to this, they were struck by heavenly punishment, not even a ray of their soul remained." Jin Yuan nodded heavily as if to stress his words, "The heavenly punishment is not the usual heavenly punishment, there would be nothing left of you even if you're an Emperor Realm expert. So, Master, remember to use only your own strength on every floor."

Seeing the serious expressions on their faces, Huang Xiaolong understood that they were not joking. He nodded then asked, "Is there anything else I need to take note of?"

Tai Yue replied, "There is another thing, the Holy Mountain would only remain above the Nethersea for twelve years upon appearing. After twelve years, the Holy Mountain would sink back into the Nethersea again, thus, when the twelve years' time is up, no matter which floor Master is on, please ensure you rush out in time through the entrance on the first floor. Otherwise, once the time's up, you would be trapped inside the Holy Mountain forever. You won't be able to come out ever again."

"Forever?" Huang Xiaolong was shocked.

"That's right. Once you're trapped inside the Holy Mountain, it's permanent. None of the people trapped inside it in the past have ever come out." Fan Hui reiterated.

"Is there no other exit other than the doorway on the first floor?" Huang Xiaolong asked.

"Some people say if you could reach the twelfth floor, you could exit through the twelfth floor's doorway, but no one has ever passed through the twelfth floor. So, no one could verify if this rumor is true." Wan Yutian explained.

Huang Xiaolong nodded in understanding.

On the way, Huang Xiaolong further inquired about the Holy Mountain, Qin Fan, and Shu Wei from Tai Yue and the others.

Several hours later, Huang Xiaolong's group reached the central area of the Nethersea.

From afar, Song Litao spotted Huang Xiaolong riding on the Scarlet Flame Dark Qilin. The last thread of wishful thinking in his mind snapped. He was hoping there might be a slim chance for the report to be wrong, but it seemed like Huang Xiaolong had really tamed the Scarlet Flame Dark Qilin.

Sensing Song Litao, Yin You, as well as the Howling Moon Wolf and the others' gazes from afar, as well as their killing intent, Huang Xiaolong sneered inwardly.

Not long after Huang Xiaolong arrived, suddenly, the calm sea below roiled. Waves splashed high as strong winds blew.

"Master, the Holy Mountain is about to appear." Jin Yuan informed Huang Xiaolong.

Huang Xiaolong nodded and looked forward with bated breath.

As time trickled by, the waves hit higher, becoming more violent, extending hundreds and millions of li outwards. Winds howled as the waves struck higher and higher—a hundred zhang, a thousand zhang, several thousand zhang...!

Rumble~!

Suddenly, it sounded as if the world had split apart as a humongous entity rose from the bottom to the Nethersea's surface.