"A fallen body cultivator? What a surprise! I've never thought body cultivation would be possible on a planet like this."
While saying that with an astonished look on her face, Ling's eyes widened in delight as she continued reading the contents on the tablet.
"Body cultivation? What's that?"
Hearing the foreign term being mentioned before him, Jiang Feng stepped back and gave way to Ling as he asked. Turning to him once she was done, Ling raised a finger up as she started lecturing.
"There exists two types of cultivation stream people take, focusing on the mind and the body."
"The cultivation stream that focuses on the mind, we call it 'Immortal Cultivation'. We absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, turning it into ours for use as we achieve immortality and beyond."
"The other, being known as 'Body Cultivation', although has the same goal in my mind, is many times difficult to achieve than Immortal Cultivation."
"A body cultivator will have to temper their bodies with spiritual energies and treasures to refine their constitution, constantly enduring excruciating pain both to the mind and the body. Hence, many prefer the former over the latter as it was thought to be easier."
After saying that, Ling's head began shaking as a knowing smile that seemed to looked down on all appeared on her face as she continued.
"However, regardless of what stream a cultivator chooses, the climb to the peak will never be easy."
Maintaining his silence, a question rose in Jiang Feng's mind as his curiosity led him to guess the cultivation stream he took in his past life.
"That's enough talking. Following what the tablet said, you'll have to find the entrance using your strength. I'm sure you've already found it, right?"
Lifting her head up, the gloominess on Ling's face disappeared as her smile regained it radiant glow.
Nodding his head at her question, Jiang Feng began walking past the tablet as he stood at the wall of dirt before him. It looked no different to its surroundings due to the humidity in the air and the lack of light at where they are.
Taking in a deep breath, Jiang Feng's leg pulled up and kicked towards the wall.
BOOM!
Dust began rising up into the air as the wall crumbled into dirt, falling over the place.
"There it is."
Pointing out at the obvious, Jiang Feng's eyes began examining the steep stone stairways that spiraled downwards before him, the end unknown.
On both sides of the stair were sconces with lit torches that appeared as soon as the wall was kicked down, and after examining closely using Spiritual Senses, Jiang Feng came to know that each step of the stair was infused with a thin amount of spiritual energy.
Once he made sure that there was no threat down the stairs, Jiang Feng began stepping forward as Ling silently accompanied him from behind.
The spiral went on for a few minutes as their foots moved, torches being lit up mysteriously as the couple approached them.
During this, Ling took out a small pouch made out of a silk cloth that brimmed with spiritual energy as it conjured a sword for him. The blade was sharp and its reflective surface gleamed under the fire's light, comparable to the work of professional blacksmith on Earth.
Holding it tightly within his right hand, the two finally stepped foot on a flat ground as an underground chamber appeared before them.
Just like how the stairways was, the torches hanging around the wall began lighting up on its own from both sides as they reached the opposite end from where Jiang Feng was standing.
Yet another tablet was placed at the center, pulling Jiang Feng over as he asked.
"It's another tablet. I wonder why I never saw one in the tomb that you built."
"It's because I never planned to lay in there for an eternity. I recorded my voice into a formation that guides challengers through it. I'll teach you more about it once you breakthrough to Foundation Building Stage and we leave this place."
"Fair enough."
Shrugging his shoulders at Ling's reply, Jiang Feng stared at the tablet's content as he read it out loud.
"The tomb consists only of two trial. Start the first one by infusing spiritual energy into this tablet to prove your existence as a cultivator…that's easy."
Saying so, Jiang Feng opened his palm and stick it onto the dusty surface of the tablet, his spiritual energy slowly flowing out and into the tablet.
The ground then began trembling as the ground beneath the tablet opened up, bringing it down to where the second trial most likely was.
While so, the room was filled with sudden appearance of many strange symbols, the spiritual energy around him spiking up because of it.
The weirds symbols then rotated around the room as it attracted the attention of Jiang Feng, only stopping at its separate sequences as a small ground spare from it appeared at the edge where Ling stood.
"I'll hide myself from the detection of the tomb so do your best."
"I will."
Right after Jiang Feng stepped foot into the circle, the surrounding symbols sprang into action as all the spiritual energy in the room converged on top of him, forming invisible weights.
'So heavy! It feels like I'm carrying multiple rice sacks on top of me despite having only a sword.' Jiang Feng complained inwardly.
Taking a few seconds to regulate his breathing, Jiang Feng then looked at the path that the symbols had made for him, its end on the other side of the room. Understanding what the challenge was, Jiang Feng began walking forward with the invisible weights on him.
Things were smooth at the first few steps, with barely any changes that obstructed Jiang Feng from continuing. However, the invisible weight upon Jiang Feng drastically increased as he reached where the tablet was previously.
Straightening his knees as his legs trembled at the force, Jiang Feng continued to move on as he was determined to complete the challenge.
It was also then did Jiang Feng realized that the increase of the invisible weight on him rose immensely with each step he taken compared to earlier.
His movements struggled to advance as the heavy force crushed down on his limbs, causing him to fall forward on to the ground accidentally.
'What the heck is with this weight?! Not even a car should be this heavy!'
Screaming inwardly as he attempted to get back onto his feet, Jiang Feng was only met with failure as his face kissed the ground again.
'This won't do. I need to find a way to resist the invisible force on me first.'
With the thought in my mind, Jiang Feng managed to pull himself together as he sat in a lotus position, eyes closed while figuring for a solution. At the same time, he was also subconsciously circulating his flow of spiritual energy, something he managed to learn in the past week.
…
Ling's Thoughts.
Ah, there it is. He finally found the way to resist the spiritual force crushing onto him. He finally is circulating his flow of spiritual energy.
Although the spiritual energy in this planet is very scarce, the spiritual force conjured out of the surrounding can still be quite challenging for Feng, since he is still a beginner in the cultivation world.
He doesn't seem to have realize it yet though…I wonder if it's because his too occupied with his thoughts that he ignored the changes in his surroundings. I guess I'll have to warn him about this afterwards.
…Still, there's something else that requires my attention.
Looking at these formation symbols, I don't think the inhabitants of this planet will be capable of learning them, not to mention knowing of its existence.
If so, that can only bring me to the conclusion that I am are not the only cultivator from the outside world.
But from what I can tell, the owner of this tomb is only at the Body Reconstruction Stage.
For a cultivator at that level to visit a godforsaken planet like Earth, something doesn't line up.
Could there be a hidden treasure somewhere on this planet? No, I doubt it would be something that could attract the attention of someone above Foundation Building Stage with how sparse the spiritual energy is here.
If so…what else could there be…
…
While Ling was lost in her own thoughts, Jiang Feng had finally came to realize the changes around him.
His circulation of spiritual energy had weakened the spiritual force on him, absorbing a part of it and turning it into his.
With a method of withstanding the heavy force crashing on him, Jiang Feng stood back onto his feet as his movements caught the attention of Ling who was behind him, dragging her back to reality.
Now having lesser pressure on his shoulders, Jiang Feng was able to resume his advancement as he completed the final few steps. The spiritual force on him disappeared as he ran back to Ling who had her hands behind her back waiting for him.
"Good job finding out the way to resist the spiritual force." Ling congratulated as she handed him a white cloth conjured out from the same pouch from earlier.
"Spiritual force, was it the invisible force crushing down on me?"
Receiving the cloth over, Jiang Feng began wiping off the dripping sweat as he asked.
"Correct, it basically is just spiritual energy all gathered up together and pressured onto a cultivator. You can achieve something similar by releasing your cultivation base."
"I see."