Carefree Path of Dreams

“Iron Mountain Gate?”

Inside the Pantheon Palace, Fang Yuan looked at the black iron token in his hand.

This token had a simple shape with a special aura on it, and ‘Iron Mountain’ was inscribed on its front face.

He had obtained it from that master-servant pair, and it should be some form of credential.

Since that boy wanted to use him, he had to pay a price.

Adhering to the principle of giving and receiving, he had left something for him as well—the positioning bloodline curse from that Immortal.

The cursed boy obviously could not go against an Immortal, so the Heavenly Circuit Immortal Sect would probably capture him in no time.

“But what does this have to do with me?” Fang Yuan smiled indifferently and looked at the nearby Gold Ingot. “So, do you recognize this Iron Mountain Token?”

“I’ve seen something similar!” Gold Ingot paused. “It should be a credential for the sect. They only recognize the token but not the person…”

“Seems like Immortal Hong Chen even went to the Great Sage Immortal World before.” Fang Yuan nodded. “A mere Iron Mountain Gate isn’t much, but the Immortals there are probably different from the ones in the Sixteen Countries. Do you know where the difference is?”

Without waiting for Gold Ingot to reply, Fang Yuan muttered, “This relates to the strength of the physical body… That group of disciples from the Heavenly Circuit Immortal Sect seemed to have cultivated body refining techniques…”

Of course, his Blade of Universe could kill even the bodies of Immortals, so some body refining techniques were not much of a concern to him. The one feeling was that there was a slight resistance to his attacks, and they were slightly more difficult to kill. That was all.

“However, this secret might be something only passed on in the Holy Lands. I checked Sun Xun and that old servant just now, but there were no such signs…

“Nonetheless, many Immortals have gone through the tribulation in the Holy Lands, so they must know some secret… The preciousness of the Nine Transference Undying Method is probably beyond my imagination!

“I have to pay attention to the strategy this time. This iron token may be a good cover-up… But how can everything go according to your will? This is nothing more than a whim, but I obtained it by chance, so why not…”

Gold Ingot fell silent. “The Hundred Physical Forging Technique is something that Old Master obtained from the Central Region. Their body refining techniques are better. Master, if you want a higher-level body refining technique, it’s truly a good choice to sneak into the sect and wait for the opportunity to enter the Holy Land!”

…

Three months later.

Iron Mountain Range, Central Region, Great Sage Immortal World.

This mountain range spanned tens of thousands of kilometers, and its depth was unknown. The soil was dark, and the climate was abnormal. Only one type of iron tree could grow smoothly, thereby creating a totally different ecology from the outside world.

The famous Iron Mountain Gate was located deep within the Iron Mountain Range.

On this day, Fang Yuan transformed into a stream of light and landed on top of a mountain. “I have to be more cautious from here on!”

He had disguised himself to appear like an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

After all, he had mastered the Illusion Realm’s nomological laws. Anything that could easily expose his status, he had hidden in a small space in his dantian, like a drop in the ocean. Even if Immortals inspected him, they would not discover any flaws.

“I’ll pretend to be an itinerant cultivator from the Southern Region and head to the Iron Mountain Gate!”

This was Fang Yuan’s entire plan, simple and direct.

However, even in the worst-case scenario, a mere Iron Mountain Gate could not possibly keep him from leaving, so it was naturally safe.

“The quality of the iron ore is higher in the Iron Mountain Range, but there is also a risk—the iron beasts!”

The iron beasts, to Fang Yuan, were a special type of Fey beast.

Due to the influence of the environment, their skin became as tough as iron, comparable to some spirit artifacts or even dao artifacts. They were akin to cultivators who refined their body, which was quite scary.

He was walking through the woods formed of many iron trees with childish innocence, occasionally glancing at the wild fruits surrounding him.

The fruits of the iron trees were crystal clear, like big hard gems. Its branches and leaves were very tough as well, connecting to the fruits like iron wires, making it take quite some effort to pluck them.

Crunch!

Fang Yuan bit the fruit, giving off the crisp sound of metal on metal, and a crescent appeared on the fruit.

“It tastes average. There isn’t enough moisture, and the texture is bad… Normal humans might directly die after eating one…” Fang Yuan commented after eating one. “Of course, Fey beats have strong digestive powers and can absorb it to strengthen their skin. Over time, they evolved into iron beasts! With some special body refining techniques, perhaps cultivators can also do the same to strengthen their bodies!”

He roughly understood why the Iron Mountain Gate had established its foundation here.

His ears twitched, and a shadow suddenly intruded. It was an iron beast.

This iron beast looked like a wolf. Its fur was like steel needles, having a beauty befitting a sci-fi machine.

“Hmm? Its body should be comparable to a spirit artifact. An ordinary Golden Core cultivator would have no way to deal with it without a spirit artifact or even dao artifact…”

Fang Yuan felt slightly surprised when he saw it. With a flick of his finger, a wind blade formed and landed on the wolf.

“Ahwhoooo!” Sparks splattered everywhere as the iron wolf growled and quickly backed away.

“There are chances of a Fey core forming inside iron beasts. If I were to use them to refine pills to help strengthen my Nascent Soul body…” Fang Yuan immediately refuted the idea. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t have much use for me.”

This kind of environment was only useful for low and mid-level body refining cultivators. He had mastered the Hundred Physical Forging Technique, and his body was now comparable to a dao artifact, so there would not be much effect.

However, he still advanced and punched the wolf’s head. His fist penetrated its head and took out a rhombus-shaped crystal core.

“The chances of a Fey core appearing should be between one to ten percent. My luck is quite good!”

Fang Yuan played with the Fey core as he looked to the side.

Before long, the sound of footsteps arrived. Two cultivators came, and their faces changed when they saw the corpse of the wolf on the ground. “Ah… my iron beast!”

The young man and woman had dark skin with the shine of iron and were at the Golden Core stage.

“Are you from the Iron Mountain Gate?” Fang Yuan threw the Fey core to them. “I want to go to the Iron Mountain Gate. Could I trouble you to bring me there?”

“I’m Tie Danshan. Senior, you are?” The man exchanged glances with his junior sister before bowing to Fang Yuan.

In any case, this person had Nascent Soul fluctuations and seemed to bear no ill will.

“I’m Li Hun from the Southern Region! I have a close relationship with the Iron Mountain Gate!” Fang Yuan said with a faint smile.

Tie Dansha heaved a sigh of relief before replying politely, “In that case, I’ll guide Senior!”

They would be safe as long as they reached their gate.

The young girl, however, had bright eyes that swirled around Fang Yuan, full of curiosity.

…

Iron Mountain Gate.

This branch of the Golden Soul Sect was famous in the surrounding area. The sect master, Immortal Iron Mountain, was a powerful body-refining Immortal who had slaughtered an otherworldly demon before. Great prestige was synonymous with his name.

Not only that, but there were also six Immortal elders. It could be said that one strike from the Iron Mountain Gate could obliterate the entire Kun Yun Sect. Such were the huge differences in strength even among the Immortals.

At this point, all seven Immortals gathered, somewhat baffled.

“Honorable Sect Master, why did you gather us here?”

Unlike the Immortals of the Sixteen Countries, the Immortals of the Iron Mountain Gate tended to have dark skin, muscular bodies, and a special domineering aura.

If Fang Yuan were here, he would have realized that all of them had bodies comparable to dao artifacts!

An elder stood up. He had a fierce aura and faint black Qi around his body.

“Elder Kuangtu, I summoned everyone here because I encountered something that I can’t decide on!” Immortal Iron Mountain frowned and said loudly, “In recent days, a Nascent Soul cultivator came and presented an Iron Mountain Token!”

“Oh? Could his ancestors or seniors have done a favor for our Iron Mountain Gate?” An elder stroked his bread. “When we issued these Iron Mountain Tokens, we had a clear message that our Iron Mountain Gate would do whatever we could to fulfill their wishes, no matter who it was. I don’t know what this person’s request was, but it wouldn’t be too excessive to make him a core disciple if that is his request!”

“I wouldn’t have needed to convene the elders if that were the case…” Immortal Iron Mountain smiled bitterly. “That person is arrogant and looks down on our Iron Mountain Gate. He wants to join the Golden Soul Sect!”

“Hmph!”

“Doesn’t know his place!”

…

The air seemed to turn to ice as the elders felt disgruntled.

The Golden Soul Sect was the cultivation Holy Land of the Central Region, while the Iron Mountain Gate was only a branch under them. How could they just send people upward!

“This person knows no end to his greed. This is beyond our ability, so we can just reject him! Why is Sect Master hesitating?” an Elder asked.

“This person is less than a hundred years old, yet his cultivation has reached Nascent Soul. He’s managed to condense his body to the dao artifact level, a true genius…” Immortal Iron Mountain continued. “Moreover, he didn’t say he wants us to get him directly into the Golden Soul Sect but only an evaluation opportunity from the Golden Soul Sect! We really do have one quota for this!”

As a branch of the Golden Soul Sect, one of the Iron Mountain Gate’s duties was to select the best disciples and send them to the Golden Soul Sect for evaluation.

It would only train the top disciples itself.

There were no less than a dozen like the Iron Mountain Gate in the Central Region and even the other four regions!

“He only wants an evaluation quota?”

A few elders exchanged glances. This was indeed within their authority and responsibility, but there was a small problem.

Elder Tie Kuangtu exploded. “What about my disciple if this quota is given to that boy?”