PCJ – Chapter 788 Breakthrough

The Sky Fortress was pitch-black, massive in size. When it rose into the air, it looked like an entire mountain range had lifted from the ground and was now suspended in the sky. Yet the fortress made no sound at all as it hovered there. Its sharp, pointed front faced directly toward the giant beast. At the tip, several large circular openings yawned like the mouths of some monstrous predator, ready to swallow the very heavens.

“Lock on target!”

“Free fire!”

…

A series of commands rang out inside the Sky Fortress. The cultivators on board did not even need to act— the spirit-intelligence system embedded in the fortress automatically carried out the orders.

From the circular openings at the top of the fortress, clusters of flames erupted. Blazing white fireballs shot toward the giant beast one after another.

Another fortress, however, used a different attack mode— from its front launched enormous swords of light, each sword streaking across the sky and driving toward the beast like falling stars.

The giant beast clearly sensed the danger. It immediately abandoned its attack on Zhang Yuanbao and Mute, spinning around and trying to flee in panic. But it was too late. Its speed could not match the Sky Fortresses, nor could it outrun their attacks.

Explosions burst across the beast’s enormous body. Sword after sword embedded itself deeply into its flesh, turning it into something like a giant, bristling hedgehog. Countless holes were blasted open in its hide.

The beast staggered, froze— and then fell with a thunderous crash. It did not move again.

“We won!”

Zhang Yuanbao shouted.

Though the opponent was only a spirit beast at the early Soul-Returning stage, this first battle held great significance for the Meishan Sect, who had just set foot in the Immortal Realm. It was an auspicious beginning.

There was little time for celebration. The Meishan Sect immediately began clearing the surrounding forests near the teleportation formation. They planned to build a fortress here and activate a protective mountain-guarding formation, to ensure the safety of the passage between the Human Realm and the Immortal Realm.

“Proceed with the original plan. Construction team: begin building the teleportation fortress. Formation team: deploy the mountain-guarding array. Vanguard teams: search the area and clear out spirit beasts.”

Zhang Jiaohua issued the orders one after another. Every member of the Meishan Sect was busy, each following the coordinated operation plan.

Zhang Yuanbao walked up to him. “Jiaohua, how did I perform in that battle?”

“Don’t even mention it. That beast had cultivation equal to your own, yet even with Mute helping you, you were still nearly overwhelmed. In the end, it was the Sky Fortresses that secured victory. You really need to improve your combat skills.” Zhang Jiaohua shook his head, clearly dissatisfied. He knew Zhang Yuanbao was prone to arrogance— even if he was satisfied, he would not show it.

As expected, Zhang Yuanbao looked discouraged. “Sigh… still lacking combat experience. I’m going to hunt more spirit beasts and train.”

“Don’t act recklessly! The Spirit Beast Mountain Range is extremely dangerous. Stay within range of your unit!” Zhang Jiaohua called out.

Zhang Yuanbao waved a hand. “Relax. I’m not stupid enough to throw my life away. Combat experience isn’t gained from reckless charges— it comes from countless proper battles.”

Over the next month, battle after battle unfolded. With the support of the Sky Fortresses, the elite strike teams of Meishan suffered no casualties, though many were injured. Their teamwork steadily improved, tactics became refined, and combat power increased dramatically.

At last, after about a month, a sturdy fortress was completed around the teleportation area, and a large-scale protective formation was activated. Now, even a late Soul-Returning rank spirit beast would struggle to break through.

With this forward base secured, the Meishan Sect had truly established a foothold in the Immortal Realm.

Using specialized cultivator-tech positioning devices, Zhang Jiaohua successfully contacted the Meishan Sect in the Abandoned Land and agreed on a rendezvous route.

But Zhang Jiaohua did not intend to push directly toward the Immortal Continent yet. The closer one went, the more dangerous the mountains became— the beasts there were far stronger. Without stepping into the Void-Fusion stage, encountering such beasts would be deadly.

Three months later, the Human Realm Meishan forces finally connected with the Abandoned Land Meishan Sect.

Once united, Zhang Jiaohua reorganized both branches into a single Meishan Sect. Resources combined, capabilities expanded, and progress accelerated.

After the battles and consolidation, Zhang Jiaohua felt his bottleneck loosening. He saw a hint of the Void-Fusion path. He immediately entered secluded cultivation.

On Mount Descending Immortal, he established a cave mansion and devoted himself to breaking through. Half a year later, he shattered the barrier and advanced to the Void-Fusion Stage.

When he emerged, the Meishan Sect had already unified nearly the entire Abandoned Land and formed a complete cultivation-and-technology development system.

Now stronger than ever, the Meishan Sect approached another bottleneck. To progress further, they needed new knowledge and resources— especially foundational cultivation system materials.

Thus, their path once again pointed to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range.

Their goal: cross the mountains and reach the Immortal Continent, the true center of immortal civilization.

But both the mountain range and the unknown continent were full of extreme dangers. The Meishan Sect would need to undergo trials— real tempering— in those mountains.

Riding inside the Sky Fortress, Qi Shuo flew for hours across the endless expanse of the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, yet still saw no end.

“This mountain range is enormous. If we have to advance across the ground step by step, who knows how many years it will take to reach the Immortal Continent?” Chang Zheng said.

Qi Shuo nodded. “Yes… our progress is far too slow. But we have no choice. The Immortal Realm’s mountain ranges are unimaginably dangerous.”