I think the third test is about wisdom. The group arrived at the Mountain of the Heart and felt nothing special. Only Mangu noticed a significant decrease in his strength, with his physical standards aligning with those of the others.
The boiling ancient barbarian blood in his veins calmed down and could no longer provide him with a continuous stream of power.
Everyone looked at each other, and finally, they all turned to Mangu, the strongest among them. "I'll go first," Mangu said, not bothering with formalities as he stepped forward to be the first one to try.
First step, second step, third step... tenth step. Mangu climbed the first ten steps effortlessly. From the eleventh step onward, the pressure gradually became apparent. He felt as if he were carrying a stone slab, and the higher he climbed, the heavier the slab became. But it was still within his tolerable range.
He continued climbing. Mangu took a few breaths to steady himself and proceeded to the twentieth step. As he reached the twentieth step, his pace became more difficult, and he climbed slower and slower. By the twenty-ninth step, sweat had started to soak through Mangu's clothes, and he had to stop, panting heavily, and sit down on the step to rest. "Even sitting down, there's still pressure," Mangu gritted his teeth and said to himself, too tired to speak. He was now merely carrying the stone slab while sitting instead of standing, and his strength recovered slowly.
Seeing how difficult it was for Mangu, the others realized that this mountain was not easy to climb, and their hearts sank. Someone said in a deep voice, "I've heard from the elders in our clan about a similar place. The Mountain of the Heart tests one's determination to seek the Way. The purer one's heart is and the more firm one's will, the purer one's determination to seek the Way becomes. Mangu comes from the ancient barbarian clan and is famous for his single-mindedness. If even he's having a hard time climbing, it will be even harder for us!"
"Would reciting a calming mantra help to precipitate the mind?" someone else suggested a solution. The third test required reaching the fiftieth step and did not specify that only the top few would pass. They were not in competition with each other now.
Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking it was a good idea. Their family elders had taught them similar mantras for self-cultivation.
Lu Yang opened his mouth, but he didn't know any calming mantras. "Do you want me to teach you a calming mantra?" Meng Jingzhou asked.
Lu Yang shook his head. "Not yet. I want to think of another way."
Seeing this, Meng Jingzhou didn't insist on teaching Lu Yang the mantra.
...
Meng Jingzhou awoke from his meditation, feeling an unprecedented sense of calm in his heart. The calming mantra worked!
Meng Jingzhou's meditation lasted longer than usual. When he awoke, the others were already on the twentieth to thirtieth steps, sweating profusely and struggling to take each step.
Sweat dripped down their faces, and they didn't even have the strength to wipe it off. Someone tried to take a shortcut by thinking that only the steps had pressure and attempted to bypass them by climbing the mountainside to the fiftieth step. However, they found that this method didn't work. The entire Mountain of the Heart exerted increasing pressure the higher one climbed.
Someone else tried to use treasures, only to discover that they had lost their power. No matter how extraordinary the treasures were, they couldn't be activated and had become useless junk. No wonder Dai Bufan wasn't worried about them using treasures.
Lu Yang lagged behind everyone and was the most conspicuous. Barefoot on the tenth step, he squatted down, deep in thought, observing something. "What are you doing? Everyone else has climbed much farther," Meng Jingzhou asked curiously.
Lu Yang remained silent, holding a shoe in his hand. He threw the shoe onto the eleventh step and said, "Try picking it up."
Meng Jingzhou didn't understand what Lu Yang meant, but he did as asked. Immediately, he noticed that the shoe was heavier than usual, as if something was pulling it down from below. Meng Jingzhou seemed to understand something and threw the shoe onto the twelfth step. He found that the shoe fell at the same speed as on the eleventh step but was heavier to pick up. "Did you discover any patterns?"
Meng Jingzhou frowned. "The pressure doesn't transfer to the object unless it touches the ground. Only when the object lands and comes into contact with the ground does it experience additional pressure?"
"Exactly," Lu Yang said, punching his palm with his fist. He was delighted that someone else shared his idea.
Meng Jingzhou pondered for a moment. In his calm state, his mind raced. "The steps are slanted, and there are many trees here. We can build a '7'-shaped ladder. One end of the ladder will be buried in the ground, and the other end will reach the fiftieth step."
Lu Yang said confidently, "Yes, this third test is supposed to test our wisdom. This is the correct answer!"
Meng Jingzhou understood Lu Yang's idea but quickly raised another question. "How are we going to cut down trees? We don't have axes or saws."
"Do you have any sharp treasures on you?" Lu Yang had already thought about this problem. He had considered collaborating with others, but unfortunately, they couldn't understand his idea.
Meng Jingzhou took out a dagger. "This is for self-defense, given to me by an elder. It can be activated by willpower and is as fast as a Jindan-stage cultivator. But on the Mountain of the Heart, it can't fly."
"It doesn't matter. As long as it's sharp," Lu Yang smiled. The Meng family was a powerful clan, and their treasures, even if they couldn't be activated, were far sharper than ordinary axes or saws.
"Perfect for cutting down trees," he added. "Come over here. While you were meditating, I already drew up the plans."
Lu Yang led Meng Jingzhou to a patch of soft sand where he had drawn his design for the '7'-shaped ladder. After a brief discussion, they began to act.
The Meng family's dagger was indeed sharp. The thick trees were like paper in front of the dagger, and they were quickly whittled into uniquely shaped wooden boards by the two of them. On the Mountain of the Heart, cultivators were as weak as ordinary people, and the trees that could grow here were naturally the most ordinary kind.
Soon, Meng Jingzhou noticed another problem. "How are we going to connect these two boards? We don't have nails, and even if we did, they wouldn't be able to hold such thick boards together."
"Have you heard of the mortise and tenon structure?"
"No."
Lu Yang sighed helplessly and, while taking the dagger to carve the mortise and tenon joint on the board, explained the wisdom of the mortal world to Meng Jingzhou. "This protruding part is called the tenon, and this concave part is called the mortise. Together, they form the mortise and tenon structure. The biggest characteristic of the mortise and tenon structure is that it is extremely sturdy without using nails."
Meng Jingzhou listened attentively. The Meng family used spiritual energy and refining techniques to create artifacts, so they didn't need the mortise and tenon structure.
On the steps, everyone was sweating profusely and panting heavily, striving to reach the fiftieth step and be the first to pass the test. Perhaps being the first to pass would earn them the appreciation of the Way-Seeking Sect and lead to special cultivation.
Everyone also understood why there was no time limit. Climbing the mountain was physically exhausting, and if they stayed too long, they would be too hungry to even stand up, let alone climb the mountain.
The two below the steps were also sweating profusely and panting heavily. After a great deal of effort, they cut down a grove of trees and, after several trials and errors, finally completed the ladder.
The ladder had a strange shape, with a thin upper part and a thick lower part, and the end curved. It looked more like a giant '7' than a ladder. The surrounding area was now a bare patch of land, as if it had been bitten off by a giant pig demon.
Some disciples of the Way-Seeking Sect secretly glanced at Dai Bufan. They remembered that Senior Brother Dai Bufan loved to boast about his lush Mountain of the Heart.
Dai Bufan's eyebrows twitched, and he unconsciously clenched his fist.