Chapter 292: Treasure of the Ninth Floor, the Thundercloud Tree
Thanks to his studies in his previous life, Jiang Chen knew some of the secrets of the magnetic gold mountain.
Therefore, he had a unique advantage when climbing up the mountain.
Although the magnetic twister was quite frightening, its appearance was usually accompanied by minute magnetic pulses. So as long as he made the correct judgment call and stayed alert, he would be able to avoid the eye of the twister.
As long as he evaded the twister, he wouldn’t have to worry about being churned to death.
Of course, if he had enough strength, he’d be able to completely ignore the twisters. But that was been another matter entirely.
With the level of magnetic twisters within the eight floor, earth spirit realm practitioners would still be able to break free if they were caught within.
With Jiang Chen’s level of training, he was confident he’d be able to struggle free of the twister if caught.
However, even though that was the case, it would still be an enormous drain on his spirit reserves if he did so, and Jiang Chen didn’t want to take the risk.
Jiang Chen had given up his pursuit of speed in favor of a sure and steady pace.
With that in mind, he spent a lot more time climbing the eighth floor of the magnetic gold mountain.
When Jiang Chen arrived at the peak, the number of practitioners that greeted his eyes could almost be counted on one hand.
Jiang Chen knew that if one didn’t wasn’t at the second or third level spirit realm, it would be exceedingly difficult for them to reach the peak of the eighth level.
“Things sure are different at the top. The quality of the treasures have been increasing with the increased numbers of steps found on each floor. Although the treasures on the eighth floor aren’t enough to make my eyes redden with desire, they’re decent enough.”
Since they were finally decent enough, Jiang Chen didn’t abstain any longer and began to unabashedly assess the area.
He didn’t tarry long afterwards. The organizer had said that they couldn’t spend more than two hours at the peak of any area, or they’d be disqualified immediately.
He started climbing the ninth floor without the slightest hesitation.
The air currents on the ninth floor were like actual knives and spears, flashing with light and shadows as they hurtled towards him.
In addition to the magnetic force that fettered one like a shapeless vine, it was impossible to completely lift one’s foot.
Even Jiang Chen didn’t dare take this floor lightly as he held the nameless saber in his hand for the first time.
He had to leverage the power of his weapon and cleave through the air to ensure that he could continue to advance.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The nameless blade carved the way as it slashed through one minor twister after another as Jiang Chen continued to climb.
It was a good thing Jiang Chen had a deep understanding of the magnetic golden mountain.
When he put his blade techniques to use, he tried to meld with it the metal attribute potential within his spirit ocean.
In this regard, every step he took on the ninth floor was quite firm and resolute, as if he was moving against the current in the great ocean.
The magnetic golden mountain kept sending out attacks on the ninth floor, almost completely lacking a pattern. Danger lurked behind every corner and a new test filled every second.
Jiang Chen had felt he’d spent a lot of time on the eighth floor, but it was sheer heaven compared to the ninth level.
He didn’t turn to look back, but used his peripheral vision to sweep his surroundings and discovered that there were no other practitioners moving forward.
“Did they all fail out of the ninth floor?”
Jiang Chen was also slightly surprised. He knew that premier geniuses were hard to come by amongst ordinary practitioners.
However, the four great sects had set up some sites in the mundane kingdoms and supported a lot of outer disciples. There were bound to be some geniuses amongst them.
Those outer disciples were also taking part in the first selection.
The disciples that Jiang Chen had met in the seventh and eighth floor had mostly been from the outer disciples of the sects.
Of course, Jiang Chen guessed that he wasn’t the only one to make it to the ninth floor.
“Whatever, it means nothing to me whether someone else has made it here. My goal is to climb to the top and experience what it means to be the king of the hill, overlooking all the other minor peaks!”
Jiang Chen wasn’t distracted as he continued climbing up the stairs.
Each floor had ten thousand steps, and he’d spent almost no effort to climb all ten thousand in the earlier levels.
But each step of this ninth floor was taken laboriously and arduously.
He spent a full day and weathered tests from countless magnetic twisters before setting foot onto the peak of the ninth floor.
“Hoo!”
There were no magnetic twisters at the peak of the ninth floor.
All was calm here, and he could finally take a break. However, he knew that the lack of a magnetic twister didn’t signify the lack of a magnetic force.
This was the magnetic golden mountain after all. The restraining magnetic force was omnipresent.
The terrain was flat here, making for an ideal resting place.
But of course, Jiang Chen wouldn’t waste time here. But this was the ninth floor, and according to his theory, the items here would be much better than those on the eighth floor.
If you were to say that the treasures on the eighth floor were just barely adequate, then those on the ninth floor may result in additional surprises!
“Mm? This is the Thundercloud Tree?” Jiang Chen’s eyes suddenly snapped to a golden colored tree.
“This place actually has a Thundercloud Tree?” Jiang Chen began to recall what he knew about the tree.
The Thundercloud Tree had its place amongst the ranking of things beneath the heavens.
This particular one was likely only of medium to lesser quality. In the greater picture of things, no one would even pay attention to this tree if it grew by the side of the road.
After all, the experts beneath the heavens had seen too much, and a mere lesser Thundercloud Tree wasn’t enough to capture their attention.
However, Jiang Chen was uncommonly surprised at this moment, as if he’d received a priceless treasure.
The Thundercloud Tree was one of the more useful metal attribute spirit trees. It had many uses, such as the ability to be forged as part of a divine weapon. Practitioners who walked the path of thunder and lightning would find this even more of a treasure, because it could attract thunder, and was curiously effective at that.
Attracting thunder was just one of its many uses.
Apart from that, the Thundercloud Tree could neutralize many poisons. Having a branch of it in hand made one almost impervious to ten thousand evils and immune to a hundred poisons.
Apart from this, metal attribute practitioners could even refine and absorb high level Thundercloud Trees to forge their own bodies.
If it was a divine rank Thundercloud Tree, once it was absorbed into the practitioner’s tempered body, then the body could be labeled invincible.
No matter how many wondrous arts one had, a practitioner could never separate from their bodies.
Therefore, to body cultivators, the Thundercloud Tree was a priceless treasure.
A tempered body was more useful than any armor or external defense. This meant that one’s own body was the pinnacle of defense. It was almost impossible for a practitioner on the same level to defeat an opponent possessing a tempered body.
Even if they were one or two levels ahead of their opponents, it was still an extremely difficult matter to destroy a tempered body. If one didn’t have the aid of a divine treasure, fists and feet alone would be hard pressed to damage a tempered body.
Using the nameless blade in his hand, Jiang Chen used sixty percent of his strength to viciously chop down on the thickest branch of the Thundercloud Tree.
He too was quite excited about this tree. The branches and leaves were broad and full grown, and he wanted to take some for use in the future.
Clang!
A clear sound of impact rang out as Jiang Chen felt his hand go numb, with only a faint trace left on the tree.
The sharpness of the nameless blade and sixty percent of Jiang Chen’s strength had only left a faint mark!
Even he was slightly surprised by this scene.
“I’ve heard that the Thundercloud Tree is so durable that it cannot be damaged. It looks like this is true!” Jiang Chen smiled wryly and looked at the edge of the nameless blade. It was a good thing that the quality of the blade looked to be on par with the Thundercloud Tree. It hadn’t been chipped at all
He was certainly in a quandary now.
He would likely have to expend tremendous strength to pick a branch of the Thundercloud Tree.
If Jiang Chen were to hack away like this with no thought to the cost, he’d have no problem cutting down two or three branches within the allotted time.
However, once he had used up all his strength here, what would he use to challenge the tenth floor?
Would he give up before he’d climbed up to the tenth floor?
This obviously wasn’t Jiang Chen’s style. Since he’d reincarnated, he hadn’t allowed himself to give up part way even once. The desire to challenge the tenth floor was far greater than his desire for the Thundercloud Tree.
“The Thundercloud Tree is precious, but this is only the peak of the ninth floor. If I can make it to the tenth floor and reach the peak of this magnetic golden mountain, then the treasure that awaits me there will surely be more valuable than this wood!”
Jiang Chen also warned himself that he couldn’t be blinded by the profit at hand.
Restraining his desire for the Thundercloud Tree, Jiang Chen was about to walk forward when he suddenly remembered something. He smacked his forehead, “How could I have forgotten? The Goldbiter Rats devour everything related to the metal attribute. This magnetic golden mountain is the best stage for them to display their talents!”
Jiang Chen’s eyes, gazing at the Thundercloud Tree, started to sparkle again.
He immediately took out the Millionditch Stonenest and let the Rat King out.
“Ole Gold, I need your help again. This magnetic golden mountain brings almost no pressure to you. Take a look at this Thundercloud Tree. Can you remove it, roots and all, within two hours?”
Jiang Chen’s appetite had grown with the aid of the Goldbiter Rats.
He’d only wanted two or three branches before, but was now thinking of uprooting it entirely.
The Goldbiter Rat looked around with shock, “This really is the magnetic golden mountain. This… this is a heaven for my Goldbiter Rats!”
“Don’t be touched, take a look at the Thundercloud Tree first.” Jiang Chen hastened to speak up in reminder when he saw the Rat King look around in stupefaction.