Jiang Chen cultivated the Heart of Rock, and his mental strength was extraordinarily powerful. He could tell from the Golden Cicada's demeanor and words that it wasn't putting on an act.
The thought of refining the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain — once it surged up in Jiang Chen's heart, it became utterly unstoppable.
"Old Gold, I promised you about the bloodline evolution, and I will absolutely do my best to deliver. However, this Golden Cicada — you can't lay a hand on it today."
Jiang Chen turned to the Gold-Munching Mouse King as he spoke.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King sighed helplessly. He knew it too — the fate of his entire race rested on Jiang Chen's shoulders. Without Jiang Chen's help, even he, the Gold-Munching Mouse King, had no ability to turn the tide for his whole clan. So when Jiang Chen spoke, he had no choice but to listen.
He also knew that Jiang Chen always kept his word. Once he had promised the bloodline evolution, he would see it through.
"Chen Shao, as long as you remember that the fate of my entire Gold-Munching Mouse race is in your hands. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. Besides, without your help, I wouldn't have had any chance of catching this Golden Cicada anyway."
The Gold-Munching Mouse King was somewhat reluctant, but he was shrewd enough to bite the bullet and let it go.
"All right, little Golden Cicada. I swear an oath to the heavens right now — as long as your secret truly holds value, I guarantee I won't touch the Thunder Cloud Wood, and I won't touch you either."
Jiang Chen smiled at the Golden Cicada and swore another oath: "Should I break this promise, may I be destroyed by heaven and earth."
"Hmm, you humans aren't all as cunning and fickle as the others. Fine — I'll tell you the secret of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain."
"According to my inherited bloodline memories, this Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain should be a treasure from the ancient era. It was the work of a great power from antiquity. Whoever manages to reach the peak of the tenth floor will have the chance to refine the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain. However, there are many conditions for refining it. The most critical one is passing the trial of the tenth floor."
"A trial?"
"Yes. The tenth floor is different from the previous nine. Besides the fierce Primordial Magnetic Storms, there are other challenges as well. Once you pass those trials, if you can find the Primordial Magnetic Core within one hour and refine it, you'll be able to refine the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain itself and make it your own."
"The Primordial Magnetic Core?" Jiang Chen's gaze sharpened. "Where is this Primordial Magnetic Core located?"
The little Golden Cicada shook its head: "Even in my inherited memories, I don't know the exact location of the Primordial Magnetic Core. All I know is that the Primordial Magnetic Core is controlled by the Golden Seal Lord. You have to defeat the Golden Seal Lord before you can obtain the Primordial Magnetic Core."
Jiang Chen had a fair understanding of Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountains. However, each one was crafted by a different person, and different creators meant different characteristics — it all depended on the original master's design at the time of forging.
As for the Golden Seal Lord, though Jiang Chen didn't know exactly what it was, he knew it must be a powerful being nurtured by the essential energy of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain — the ultimate guardian of the treasure.
"What level of cultivation does this Golden Seal Lord possess?"
If the Golden Seal Lord's strength was merely average, it might be worth attempting. But if it was truly unstoppable, then he'd be better off abandoning the idea altogether.
These kinds of beings possessed none of human emotion. Once they went berserk, there was no reasoning with them whatsoever.
Jiang Chen desperately wanted to refine the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain, but he also knew that flying headlong into a flame was pointless.
If the Golden Seal Lord's strength far surpassed his own, then challenging it would serve no purpose — it would be no different from walking to his death.
"The Golden Seal Lord's strength isn't fixed. According to my inherited memories, it seems to depend on the activity level of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain's spiritual energy. If you happen to trigger a flare-up of the mountain, then no one can say exactly how powerful the Golden Seal Lord might become. But if the Primordial Magnetic Force of the mountain is relatively stable, then even if the Golden Seal Lord awakens, its strength won't be too formidable."
The little Golden Cicada's words gave Jiang Chen something to consider.
"That's right — this Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain has long been used by many ancient great powers as a trial ground. Since it was crafted by an ancient titan of power, it surely wouldn't be subpar. If a cultivator from the Spirit Realm came to the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain, the Primordial Magnetic energy they triggered would certainly be far greater than what us secular martial artists could provoke. And the stronger the Primordial Magnetic energy stimulated, the higher the Golden Seal Lord's level of awakening would be! That means the brilliance of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain lies in the principle of 'strong when facing the strong, weak when facing the weak.' It tests a martial artist's potential, not their actual cultivation level or combat power?"
Jiang Chen had figured it out, and a spark of joy lit in his heart: "If the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain truly operates on the principle of strong when facing the strong, weak when facing the weak, then even though many secular martial artists have come this time, most of them have been active below the fifth floor and haven't triggered all that much violent Primordial Magnetic energy. If that's the case, wouldn't it mean that the Golden Seal Lord on the tenth floor, even if awakened, would be within a manageable range of strength?"
With this new thought, Jiang Chen felt his interest in the Primordial Magnetic Core grow even stronger.
"No more deliberating! Fortune favors the bold! I can't stay on the ninth floor much longer. The trial lasts ten days in total. The first nine floors have already eaten up at least three of those days. That means I only have seven days left to conquer the tenth floor of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain."
"If the Golden Seal Lord truly proves invincible, I'll retreat immediately. But as long as there's even a sliver of hope, I cannot give up." Jiang Chen had made up his mind.
The allure of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain was clearly far greater than that of the Thunder Cloud Wood and the Thunder Cloud Golden Cicada.
Besides, the Thunder Cloud Wood and the Thunder Cloud Golden Cicada were both inside this Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain. Once he refined the mountain, they would all end up in his pocket regardless!
Of course, since Jiang Chen had promised the Golden Cicada that he wouldn't kill it, he had no intention of going back on his word.
A eager glint flashed through Jiang Chen's eyes as he said to the Gold-Munching Mouse King: "Old Gold, feeling up for a trip to the tenth floor? In this Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain, you'd be like a fish in water."
The Gold-Munching Mouse King chuckled: "Chen Shao, don't try goading me. It's settled then — if there's anything good on the tenth floor, you'd better remember to share."
Jiang Chen laughed: "Relax. When there's a windfall, you'll get your share."