Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

You can't keep using "stone" to force the response, otherwise his literary style won't hold up.

Chen Zhuo thought to himself.

He needs to find a way to break the deadlock.

After dodging another attack from the demons, Chen Zhuo retreated behind a rock about two people high, panting heavily.

The dull pain in my chest from the impact of the giant claw hadn't subsided, and half of my arm was still numb.

The demon slowly turned around on the opposite side of the mountain path and locked onto his direction.

The biggest difference between Beast-class and Soul-class is not that they have stronger attack power, but that their attacks do not have a fixed pattern.

The intervals between each attack—pounce, sweep, spit—are constantly changing, and each countermeasure requires him to simultaneously employ at least two spells to neutralize it.

His literary skills combination allows him to easily unleash combos against Soul-level opponents, but against Beast-level opponents, every step is a battle of attrition.

I sensed the spiritual energy currently present within my body.

Less than half remain.

Just as Chen Zhuo was about to take out the jade to replenish his energy,

The demons have stirred again.

This time, it didn't pounce like before. Instead, it slowly lowered its body in place, and the surrounding darkness began to converge on it.

It actively absorbs the atmosphere of the long night surrounding it.

It's building up its power and preparing a powerful attack!

When this judgment flashed through Chen Zhuo's mind, his body reacted before his consciousness could.

Typing the character "快" (fast) will cause the body to enter a ghostly state.

At the same time, the character "月" (moon) minimized its presence, while the character "战" (war) condensed and took shape in the air.

Suddenly, he felt something inside his body being touched.

It is the cultivation method he studied, "The Record of Mountain and River Amusements".

The feeling I had when I first comprehended the "connection of mountains and rivers" under the righteous energy array reappeared.

He could feel the rocks beneath his feet trembling slightly.

The mountain itself resonated with him, containing a majestic aura.

Scholars who follow the way of mountains and water cultivate the way of mountains and water, borrowing the power of mountains and water to repel enemies within them.

A sudden realization dawned on me.

The progress of the analysis of "The Adventures of Mountains and Rivers" jumped on the panel.

[Cultivation progress of "The Amusement Park in Mountains and Rivers" +5%; The "Stone" character technique gains additional bonuses in mountainous terrain: Defense +15%, Conduction Efficiency +20%.]

Then his word "war" collided with demons.

This "battle" is different from all the previous ones.

As he charged forward, he felt the pulse of the rocks beneath his feet, a sense of spiritual essence emanating from the mountains and rivers.

It's about the meaning of the character "stone"!

This force surged throughout the body, finally converging at the impact point of the character "战" (war).

The demon was knocked away.

The entire demon was thrown off the ground, crashed into the withered tree on the opposite side of the mountain path, and fell into the pile of rubble.

Chen Zhuo was slightly surprised. The "Battle" script had become somewhat different after being enhanced by the "Stone" script.

Previously, it was about penetrating the enemy; this time, it's about violently ramming the enemy away.

"If all else fails, let's just rename it 'Collision' Character Writing Technique!"

Thoughts in the mind vanish in an instant.

Chen Zhuo did not give it a chance to recharge.

The word "fast" exploded again. He caught up with the demon, stepped on its carapace, and bent down to deliver a "sun" strike into the gaps in its carapace.

A blinding white light exploded within the demon's body, its roar changing from low to sharp before abruptly ceasing.

Chen Zhuo jumped off the demon's corpse, his legs went weak, and he almost lost his balance.

The continuous bursts of literary arts rapidly depleted the literary energy within his body.

Chen Zhuo looked down at his hand; there was a cut on the web between his thumb and forefinger, but not much blood was flowing out.

He leaned against the demon's corpse, panting heavily.

After about half a cup of tea's time, Chen Zhuo finally felt a slight recovery of the literary energy that had been drained from his body.

Without resting for long, he took out a piece of jade from his pocket and held it in his palm.

The literary energy within the jade flowed slowly into the meridians, like a stream flowing anew on a dried-up riverbed.

When his literary energy had recovered to about 60%, he put away the jade pendant and wiped the wound on his hand on the hem of his clothes.

The blood on it has already coagulated naturally.

Chen Zhuo took one last look at the beast-level demon that he had forcefully knocked over.

A large chunk of the bony carapace collapsed where the "日" character had shattered, and lingering smoke from the burnt area was still rising from the broken edge.

His victory this time was partly due to the mountain's terrain and partly because the demon's charging attack gave him time to react. He might not be so lucky next time.

He suppressed this thought, took out the demon materials, and turned to walk deeper into the mountain path.

The character "月" (moon) is outlined on the side of the body, its presence suppressed to an extremely low level.

Under the cover of "Moon", he made his way to the shelter in the direction Zheng Du had marked on the map.

Along the way, they encountered a few more scattered wandering demons.

Chen Zhuo didn't engage in prolonged combat; he would circle around whenever possible, and if he couldn't, he would use the "sun" character to take them down from a distance. After finishing his attack, he would retreat without lingering in one place.

At this moment, every bit of combat experience he had accumulated over the past few days on the city wall, in the mine, and at the Bluestone Gathering was coming into play.

Knowing when to fight, when to retreat, and when to save a bit of breath.

This isn't something the control panel can teach him; he figured it out himself through trial and error.

As he crossed the last ridge, he finally saw the outline of the shelter.

It was an old stone fortress embedded in the mountain. No one knew when it was built. Most of the fortress walls had collapsed, but the main structure was still intact.

The stone fortress is backed by a cliff and partially enclosed by protruding rocks on both sides, with only a narrow entrance at the front.

This place is less of a sanctuary and more of a natural defensive point.

As long as we hold the front, we don't need to fear sneak attacks from the flanks.

Zheng Du's decision to set this place as the meeting point demonstrates his experience.

When he stepped into the stone fortress, there were already twenty or thirty people gathered inside.

The rogue scholar sat leaning against a broken stone pillar, his left sleeve torn and hastily wrapped with a strip of cloth.

He nodded slightly when he saw Chen Zhuo come in.

The worn-out pen in his hand was still spinning at his fingertips, a drop of demonic black blood dripping down the pen shaft.

Wanyan Liang sat cross-legged on the ground, with his palm-sized copper abacus in front of him.

He was meticulously working on the abacus beads, muttering to himself about the ink sticks and talismans he was using.

Xu Yi stood beside the only window in the stone fortress, the folding fan closed, and was speaking with his head turned to the side.

Standing next to him is Zheng Du.

Zheng Du had several obvious claw marks on his shoulder, and the torn leather armor revealed the soft lining underneath, but his posture was no different from when he set off.

Chen Zhuo's gaze swept around the stone fortress, but he did not see Chen Tianshen or Chen Tianlang.

He walked around, greeted several familiar colleagues, checked in with each other to confirm their conditions, and then walked to the entrance of the stone fortress.

The darkness outside the stone fortress remained thick throughout the long night, and there was no movement from the direction of the mountain road.

Xu Yi's voice came from behind, very calm, as if asking casually:

"Brother Chen, are you waiting for those two people?"

Chen Zhuo nodded, and Xu Yi didn't press the matter further.

Suddenly, Chen Zhuo felt a jolt inside the stone fortress.