I listened, completely bewildered, and inquired, "What do you mean by the legendary, true pit?"

Da Xiong let out a soft chuckle and kept silent.

I gave him a sidelong glance, said nothing, and walked to the edge of the pit, peering into the darkness below.

Inside, the bones were almost entirely pulverized fragments.

At that moment, I seemed to understand something: the torture in this level of hell must involve crushing people completely with some mechanism.

I vaguely recalled hearing about such a punishment somewhere, but I couldn't place it immediately.

Nie Chuan, seemingly sensing my thoughts, interjected from the side, "It was oxen."

His reminder brought it back instantly; yes, it was oxen.

The ghost bailiffs would bind the condemned, place them in the pre-dug trenches, and then release a herd of oxen to trample them until they were crushed to bone dust.

In the books, these individuals, reduced to bone fragments, would be scooped up by the bailiffs with nets, set aside, and after a short while, they would reform into humans to continue suffering.

However, this aspect didn't apply here, as they were using living people; thus, once crushed, they simply became a pit full of bone residue.

So many years had passed; the oxen must surely have died of old age by now, so as I looked around, I detected nothing unusual.

After soliciting opinions from the other two, they also agreed we could pass through directly.

So, I stepped into the pit first.

Da Xiong and Nie Chuan jumped in right after me, and the three of us proceeded cautiously.

But when we were still about five or six meters from the opposite bank, we suddenly heard the sound of countless galloping animals from the other side of the trench.

The three of us jumped in fright, thinking, Could the oxen still be alive?

As we turned back, two objects resembling car headlights flared to life in the darkness.

Vaguely, a silhouette of an ox's head appeared rapidly where the lights were, charging towards us at full speed.

Da Xiong blurted out, "This isn't an ox at all; it looks like a train!"

I said, "Stop wasting time; we need to get out of here quickly."

With that, the three of us broke into a desperate run.

I leaped up, clearing the bank first, then turned back, grabbed Nie Chuan, and hauled him up onto the shore.

When I looked back, Da Xiong was still lagging, panting heavily, nowhere near the bank.

At that moment, the train-like charging beast was almost upon him, mere steps to his side.

A surge of panic hit me, and I propelled my mental energy, flinging Da Xiong upwards.

Da Xiong was clearly unaware of what was happening, letting out an unpleasant shriek.

Fortunately, just as he soared two or three meters into the air, the thing below thundered past beneath him.

I focused my sight, realizing this was no living ox, but a massive mechanical bull's head contraption made of iron.

The mechanism strongly resembled a train: a bull's head followed by a body several meters long, supported by dozens of pairs of legs underneath.

With this setup, one pass would turn a person into pulp.

Da Xiong arced through the air and landed not far from me, tumbling onto his face.

Before I could help him up, he exclaimed, "That was incredible! Let's do it again!"

I warned him, "Be careful. I saved you that time, but I might not be able to next time."

Da Xiong chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

Looking back, the mechanical bull head had already vanished into the darkness on the far side.

"What in the world was that thing? It ran like a subway," Da Xiong asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe it's some kind of automaton, like the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse. Those Japanese really come up with things."

"Wooden Ox, Flowing Horse? Can you eat it?" Da Xiong looked at me with perfect innocence.

I lightly struck his head. "The Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse were the earliest automata invented by Zhuge Liang; they could move on their own. You haven't read the books, but surely you've seen the TV shows."

Da Xiong made a sound of realization. "What a letdown. If there were real oxen, I'd definitely catch one to make soup."

I ignored him, but then Nie Chuan spoke up, "This road ahead won't be easy, I think. Look."

I followed his flashlight beam forward and saw a trench like this one every ten meters or so, with no idea how many there were in total.

For myself, it was no big deal; if I couldn't dodge them, I could simply jump over, but these two were surely going to run into trouble.

Because the trenches were filled with bone dust, running would be impossible, and if the mechanical oxen came, they certainly wouldn't be able to evade them all.

This became a major problem before us.

After thinking for a moment, an idea struck me.

In reality, I could easily use my own power to send both of them safely across, but who knew what lay beyond these trenches.

Giving them both some means of self-preservation had suddenly become crucially important, and if a real fight broke out later, I would have two capable allies.

So, I turned to them and said, "Wait. Let's rest here for a moment. I have something to tell you both."

I then produced the ancient book.

Nie Chuan looked at it and said, "Could it be..."

Da Xiong was far more animated than Nie Chuan. He immediately dropped to his knees, grabbed my thigh, and declared, "Master, accept this bow from your disciple. From now on, I am your faithful follower!"

I kicked him away. "You're a grown man, aren't you disgusted with yourself?"

Da Xiong chuckled and sat down cross-legged. "Is it like this? I saw all those immortals in Journey to the West cultivating in this exact posture."

I managed a wry smile. "Yes, actually, how you sit isn't important. Just be comfortable."

Hearing this, Da Xiong hastily released his crossed legs and shifted into a squatting posture. "You should have said so earlier! If it's about comfort, squatting is definitely better."

I was momentarily speechless, struggling for a moment before finally uttering, "Fine. As long as you like it, I’ll just assume you’re taking a dump."

Da Xiong impatiently urged, "Quick, quick, that... what is the cultivation mantra?"

I paused, then recited the incantations recorded in the book to them.

In truth, I wasn't reading it verbatim; that idiot Da Xiong certainly wouldn't understand the ancient script. Instead, I recited my interpretation of the required verses.

Both of them followed my instruction, closed their eyes, and began to meditate.

I expected Da Xiong, with his impatient nature, to jump up within minutes and quit, but this time, in his desire to become a superman, he was truly committed.

Nie Chuan also studied with intense concentration, his brow slightly furrowed as he exerted himself to perceive something.

Truthfully, I had no certainty whether they could awaken their own innate Nian (will/mental energy). Although my grandfather had mentioned in a dream that our three Nian were exceptionally powerful, the ancient book stated that talent alone wasn't enough to master the techniques; one also needed karma or affinity.

Affinity is something nobody can precisely define. Whether one possesses it is not up to personal declaration.

Those destined to learn the methods will generate their own Nian after a period of meditation.

For the vast majority, even knowing the mantras, nothing will occur.

Under my anxious wait, half an hour finally passed. At that moment, I clearly saw that in Da Xiong, who was squatting on the ground in a posture resembling defecation, his internal Nian had undergone a distinct change.

In my sight, his Nian had originally been pure white; now, a spiraling red Nian was slowly emerging from the vicinity of his navel.

Looking at Nie Chuan, however, nothing had happened.

This is wrong, I thought. Nie Chuan’s attributes should be identical to mine, so why couldn't he grasp the Nian now?

Could it be that even though we possessed identical bodies, we were gradually becoming two different people?

"So hot, so hot, my stomach is burning," Da Xiong's muttering drew my attention.

Just as I was about to tell him to try and control this surge of energy, he suddenly let out a 'pop' and released a puff of hot air.

Although the 'fart' generated by the Nian smelled utterly odorless, it was still nauseating enough.

I fanned my nose. "Couldn't you have held that in?"

Da Xiong chuckled, about to reply, when suddenly, with a loud whoosh from behind him, a burst of flame erupted, instantly igniting his pants.

I was slightly taken aback, but Da Xiong remained remarkably calm. He rolled twice on the ground to smother the fire.

Seeing the large hole in his trousers, I couldn't help but burst into roaring laughter. Da Xiong, clutching his backside, stated solemnly, "Don't laugh! This is a superpower. Can you do that?"

I rolled around on the ground laughing. "This superpower suits you perfectly. You really are a windbag."

Da Xiong was about to retort when the two of us were suddenly blinded by a brilliant light emanating from Nie Chuan nearby.

A jolt of excitement went through me. "Holy hell, what kind of Nian is that? It's too fierce!"

Da Xiong also exclaimed in astonishment, "Something big is happening!"

"Quick, come and grab me! I'm about to lose control!" Nie Chuan's panicked voice called out from within the radiance.

Hearing his distress, I hurriedly shielded my eyes with my hand and walked toward him.

As I advanced, I said, "Don't panic, relax. It’s always a bit disorienting at first."

Just then, I sensed a terrifying wave of killing intent approaching.

Instinctively dodging aside, I saw a luminous arc flash past the spot where I had just been standing.

This arc of light was like a razor slicing through the air, splitting the protruding stones on the ground in half wherever it passed, before being intercepted by the distant Mountain of Blades.

Upon striking the Mountain of Blades, there was a tremendous BOOM, accompanied by flashing electrical arcs that actually blasted countless blades away, raining down a metallic shower.

What kind of power was that? I stared at the deep groove scored into the earth, thinking that even the white-haired old man from before didn't possess such skill.

Furthermore, why would Nie Chuan attack me? If I had been a fraction of a second slower in dodging, I would have been neatly severed in half, just like those stones.

While still confused, Nie Chuan let out another roar and launched another arc of light skyward.

Instantly, debris rained down from above, creating a scene of heaven collapsing and earth rending.

I knew Nie Chuan must have lost control. I leaped forward immediately and tackled him to the ground.

Da Xiong rushed over to help, pinning Nie Chuan down tightly beneath them.

Nie Chuan struggled intensely for a long moment before finally becoming still.

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