Chapter 121: Eighteen Maps of the Heavens and Earth Worlds

With a body brimming with power and a sudden surge of overwhelming satisfaction, Zhou Yi stood before the "Heavy Mountain." Gazing at the structure, which appeared no larger than an ordinary small hill, his heart raced with irrepressible excitement.

The Heavy Mountain was not large. Within the space of his Dantian, there were no objects for scale, but judging by the aura it exuded, it was indeed compact. Yet, despite its size—or even the fact that Zhou Yi could shrink it to the size of his palm at will—its power was anything but small.

One hundred twenty-nine thousand and six hundred mountain meridians had been combined to form the Heavy Mountain before him. Each meridian required a year’s worth of cultivation; thus, in total, it represented one hundred twenty-nine thousand and six hundred years of cultivation base. Once forged, the Heavy Mountain served not only as a technique for offense but also functioned as an extension of Zhou Yi's own power. It could be drawn upon as energy, and because it contained the profound essence of the mountain, it was far more potent than ordinary cultivation power.

*Hum!*

Zhou Yi reached out, and a long saber appeared in his hand. He began the "Mountain-Backing Saber" technique.

With the blade in hand, his internal power surged, flowing into the steel. Instantly, the saber erupted with brilliant light. Since he was within his Dantian space, his consciousness acted as his physical form, simulating the outside world without restraint. As the blade manifested, the Heavy Mountain before him began to rotate with a thunderous roar.

*Rumble! Rumble!*

Deafening echoes filled the void. Rivers of thick, substantial power flowed forth from nowhere. In an instant, the saber reached its capacity; the brilliant light flared once before settling into a steady, intense glow. Zhou Yi’s eyes flashed with brilliance. Instead of stopping the rotation, he channeled his will, using it as a driving force to accelerate the Heavy Mountain. The flow of power quickened, becoming instantaneous.

*Swish!*

The power surged like a majestic river, coiling forward like a serpent.

*Bang!*

Zhou Yi reached out and closed his palm; it became a black hole, absorbing all the incoming energy. With a flick of his wrist, his fingers splayed, and a speck of light shot out. It hovered before him, spinning as it slowly unfolded.

In an instant, mountains, rivers, flowers, trees, and landscapes leaped into view.

The Map of Heaven and Earth!

Zhou Yi cast a glance at the unfurled map, then turned his attention back to the saber. With a shift of his intent, he drove the Map of Heaven and Earth forward. With a resounding boom, he pressed it into the blade.

*Boom!*

In an instant, the Map of Heaven and Earth vanished from the air, merging into the saber and settling upon it as a series of simple, primitive markings.

The first Map of Heaven and Earth was engraved!

"Again!" Feeling the expenditure of his power, Zhou Yi could not help but smile. He steadied his emotions and set his will to work once more.

*Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!*

Rivers of energy emerged from thin air. Zhou Yi’s hands moved rapidly, clenching and releasing. Specks of light appeared, forming one Map of Heaven and Earth after another, suspended before him.

One. Two. Three... Seventeen. Eighteen!

Zhou Yi did not stop until eighteen maps were lined up before him, each like a miniature world. His expression turned solemn as he looked at them.

His strength had grown with terrifying speed—so fast that even Zhou Yi felt as though he were in a dream. Heavenly Human, False Core, the first stage of False Core, the second stage, the third stage! For others, each of these realms would require years of grueling effort and hardship to achieve. Yet, in less than a month, he had crossed every single one of them in one go. Such a rate of growth was enough to shock the world.

Beyond his cultivation realm, he had also mastered the Heavy Mountain technique. Compared to the realm increase, the boost provided by the Heavy Mountain was much easier to quantify. He desperately needed to know how much his strength had truly increased and whether the monumental effort he had invested in the Heavy Mountain was worth it.

The Heavy Mountain technique was difficult to master, but its rewards were even greater. Many of its effects remained untested due to current limitations, but one thing he could verify immediately was the "Heavy Mountain Power." Once the technique was mastered, it acted as a mold; the energy he cultivated would henceforth inherently be "Heavy Mountain Power," without needing to be converted into mountain meridians first.

Compared to ordinary energy, this power was denser and possessed more texture—a higher quality of energy. It was possible that one year of this power was worth ten years of ordinary cultivation. Of course, this was merely a hypothesis; he would only know the truth after testing.

Zhou Yi scanned his capabilities. The only thing that required enough power to test the limits of the Heavy Mountain was the Map of Heaven and Earth. Even with his current strength, he dared not claim he had found the map's limit. After all, as long as there was enough power, the maps could be stacked indefinitely.

He was immensely grateful for the discovery of the Map of Heaven and Earth; it was something bordering on legendary. Everything he had learned in the past was limited to the martial world, peaking at the Heavenly Human realm. But now, having stepped into the False Core stage, his old techniques were largely obsolete, unable to keep pace with his current level. If not for the Map of Heaven and Earth, his strongest technique would still be the Mountain-Backing Saber—a mere trifle in the eyes of a False Core practitioner.

He had already realized that even though he had pushed the Mountain-Backing Saber to its absolute limit, the blade had reached saturation the moment the Heavy Mountain began to rotate, unable to bear any more power.

Now, having successfully engraved the first map and feeling no strain at all—his energy even fully recovered—Zhou Yi knew that the first map was no longer a challenge. He confidently set out to engrave all eighteen, eager to see exactly what level of strength he had reached.