281: Being forced to retreat

So with this punch...

Chu Ying seemed to have struck an unshakeable mountain; the opponent's body was so hard, towering, and indestructible.

The ancient-robed old man's expression remained unfazed, seemingly ignoring Chu Ying's "provocation."

This was because Chu Ying had not truly stepped onto the peak of the cliff yet; he was still clinging to the rock face.

A muffled grunt escaped as Chu Ying, holding Yu Chuyue and Qiu Lingsu, fell from the cliff.

"Chu Dage!"

"Fellow Daoist Chu!"

The two women were shocked. They hadn't expected the ancient-robed old man to be so terrifying, capable of defeating even Chu Ying.

Most importantly, Chu Ying seemed to be injured; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have started falling like that.

"I'm fine."

Chu Ying swallowed the congested blood that surged up his throat, and his body quickly landed on the rock face. By then, he had descended to a height of over eight thousand Zhang.

"Whew!"

Chu Ying let out a long breath.

"That old man... is unfathomable!"

This was Chu Ying's feeling; his punch against the old man barely caused him to budge an inch.

Deep as a vast sea!

"Chu Dage, do we need to find the wild origin stone that old man spoke of?" Qiu Lingsu asked with a worried look in her eyes.

"The wild origin stone... most likely."

Chu Ying looked back at the dark red area in the Outer Region, and his intuition grew stronger.

If it wasn't for him today, relying on the strength enhanced by the Dou Zi Magic Verse, how could any Cultivator from the Outer Region possibly reach the summit?

In other words, it was impossible to reach the summit purely by one's own strength.

Perhaps some could climb a thousand Zhang, but at most, it would only be to temper their physical bodies and enhance their physical combat strength.

However, people always have limits. Once the limit is reached, as the height increases, gravity continues to grow.

But one's own resistance has already reached its limit.

It would then be impossible to climb any higher.

Unless external forces are used, means other than one's own strength...

Then, it would be that mysterious dark red area. From a high altitude, it looked like it was paved with stones.

If there were no surprises, those would be the so-called wild origin stone.

"Whew! Let's go down."

Chu Ying remembered the direction of the dark red area: at the outermost edge of the Outer Region, always to the south, the extreme south.

There, it seemed that no forces from the Outer Region had ever ventured, like the Reincarnation Valley and the Ninefold Blades, which had never gone to the extreme south.

Perhaps they didn't think there would be any opportunities or treasures there, or perhaps they hadn't discovered them.

Of course, there was also the possibility that they didn't dare to go, that something was there blocking them, just like the ancient-robed old man on the high cliff.

...

"It's too difficult. Two hundred Zhang high, will I die if I fall?"

"If I had cultivation, I wouldn't be afraid of two hundred Zhang, or even two thousand Zhang. But now I'm just an ordinary person; apart from strong physical strength, I'm no different from a Mortal in terms of life level!"

"Or should we just go down? It's Ten Thousand Zhang high; it's impossible to climb up."

Hundred Refinements Thousand Zhang Cliff.

Nine Heavens Holy Palace, Yin Yang Holy Land, Leiyin Cave, and some other Cultivators from the Endless Sea had basically all arrived here.

And they had successfully climbed the Hundred Refinements Thousand Zhang Cliff, reaching a height of one hundred Zhang.

At one hundred Zhang high, the appearance of one hundred thousand jin of gravity and ancient pressure shocked them. What the Thunder Sound Cave Leader said really didn't deceive them.

"If this continues, even if we can climb above a thousand Zhang, we still won't be able to reach the summit... if it really is Ten Thousand Zhang high."

Chixiao Holy Son's Physical Body was very strong, but even he felt a sense of "impossibility."

"Is this really Ten Thousand Zhang high?"

Azure Firmament Holy Son looked at the Thunder Sound Cave Leader, the bearded man, with a very suspicious look in his eyes.

The Thunder Sound Cave Leader said, "Whether it's Ten Thousand Zhang high or not, I don't know, but my predecessors before me all said this was the Ten Thousand Zhang Cliff."

Of course, he didn't have the strength to verify it; he himself had only climbed a few hundred Zhang high in the past.

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

Many Disciples of the Yin Yang Holy Land had already started to sway and gasp for breath; their overall strength was far inferior to that of the Nine Heavens Holy Palace.

Even the Holy Son Lin Dong, his Physical Body was not actually strong. If he hadn't luckily consumed a Little Mysterious Spirit Fruit, his physical combat strength would only have been a little over one hundred thousand jin.

"I think we might have encountered a misconception. Under normal circumstances, we cannot climb this Ten Thousand Zhang high cliff with our own strength, let alone enter the Inner Region."

Cloud Heaven Holy Maiden spoke in a clear, cold voice, making everyone's hearts tremble.

"You mean?"

"There are still secrets in the Outer Region that we don't know about."

Cloud Heaven Holy Maiden's eyes flickered as she voiced her guess.

Just then, a laugh came from above:

"Cloud Heaven Holy Maiden is quite clever!"

Hearing this voice, the Cultivators on the cliff were stunned again, dumbfounded.

This voice... came from above?

Chu Ying was seen rapidly descending, holding Yu Chuyue and Qiu Lingsu in his arms.

Of course, the people below could only see Chu Ying's back.

Chu Ying descended like an immortal god, his figure very smooth. However, upon closer inspection, he was freely moving on the cliff face, running down quickly, not truly falling.

Everyone was astonished.

"How did he do that?"

"To what extent has his power reached, that he can ignore the gravity on the cliff?"

In the blink of an eye, Chu Ying had landed steadily with the two women.

The Cultivators on the cliff were stunned.

"Isn't that the Yin Yang Saintess? And those two, a man and a woman... from how high did they come down?"

"Why did they come down? Could it be that even that person couldn't climb the Ten Thousand Zhang Cliff?"

"If that's the case, then how could we possibly climb up?"

For a moment, the Cultivators from the Nine Heavens Holy Palace, Yin Yang Holy Land, and Leiyin Cave were shaken, immediately wanting to retreat.

"Let's go down! He must have found something!"

Cloud Heaven Holy Maiden reacted and immediately shouted.

Azure Firmament Holy Son and Chixiao Holy Son also understood her meaning and quickly walked down.

After all of them came down, they quickly followed Chu Ying's tracks, only able to see a few footprints and follow the lingering aura.

At this time, Chu Ying, Qiu Lingsu, and Yu Chuyue were rapidly heading south.

Half a day later.

The three had walked through a large area of the Outer Region, crossing mountains and ridges.

Further south was a very harsh mountain forest, filled with miasma and a violent, bloody aura.

"It's not simple. There should be Evil Fiends living in this mountain range, and quite a few of them. No wonder the Five Great Powers of the Outer Region don't go in this extreme southern direction."

"With our current physical bodies, those miasmas won't cause us any harm."

After a test, Chu Ying confirmed they could enter directly.

The three entered the mountain range together. A moment later, they encountered an ancient, exotic creature.

"Roar!"

A black gorilla pounded its chest, its body three Zhang tall, with extremely thick limbs.

It seemed to have smelled their presence, awakening from its slumber and blocking their path forward.