Ascension Day

Xu Ying’s eyes lit up. ’If I can find the source, doesn’t that mean I’ll have an endless supply of Mysterious Energy?’

’Even if I can’t open the Mud Ball Secret Treasury, I can continuously absorb its Activity, refine a Hidden Scenery, and become a Nuo Master!’

He immediately entered Meditation again, performing Inner Observation on himself and entering the Mysterious Domain within his body.

This time, Xu Ying’s Divine Sense didn’t follow the Mysterious Energy through the Mysterious Domain. Instead, it traveled against its flow, moving outside his body!

His consciousness swam upstream, entering the current of water.

Within the current, various types of Mysterious Energy formed dangerous torrents. The slightest carelessness could get his Divine Sense swept up in the turbulence, causing him to lose his way.

Just then, the sound of the bell came: "Young man, I will use my chimes to help you stabilize your Divine Sense!"

A resonant CLANG echoed in Xu Ying’s ears, long and drawn out. It made his Divine Sense incredibly clear and stable, immune to external interference.

Xu Ying seized the opportunity, passing between the torrents and following that trace of Mysterious Energy’s source, drifting farther and farther into the cave.

It was as if he were passing through one ancient space after another, entering an immeasurable and unknowable world. Da Zhong’s chimes grew more and more distant, as if separated by an Infinite Space.

Xu Ying couldn’t help but feel a pang of fear. ’If my Divine Sense can’t return, won’t I become an idiot?’

’My Divine Sense has followed the Mysterious Energy across space-time, traveling so far, yet I still haven’t found its source. It seems this place really is a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land, not a fake! Lord Zhong must have been wrong!’

Just as Xu Ying was about to turn back, the sound of the bell suddenly grew clearer.

He couldn’t help but freeze.

The bell chimes becoming clearer meant that he was getting closer and closer to his own Flesh Body!

’But how is that possible?’

’My Divine Sense clearly followed the Mysterious Energy across different space-times and planes of existence, traveling what felt like countless miles. How could I be getting closer to myself?’

Xu Ying’s Divine Sense chased this wisp of Mysterious Energy into his Mud Pill Palace, arriving before the Stone Wall behind it. The source of the Mysterious Energy was inside the wall.

Xu Ying retracted his Divine Sense, leaped out of the water, and quickly threw on his tattered clothes.

He went to check on Yuan Qi and saw the Snake Demon was still in the middle of his transformation. He had no choice but to go to the Stone Wall behind the palace by himself.

The Stone Wall was covered in green moss and looked no different from the other stone walls in the area. Xu Ying looked around; the Mysterious Energy seeped into this wall and then vanished.

He tapped the Stone Wall lightly. It was incredibly thick.

Xu Ying thought for a moment, then said, "Lord Zhong, come out for a second."

Da Zhong flew out from his mind. "What is it?"

Xu Ying grabbed the bell by its loop, swung it in a wide arc, and smashed it viciously against the Stone Wall. Da Zhong shrieked, "What are you doing? Let me go! CLANG! You little bastard! CLANG! Damn you, I’ll kill you! CLANG! A bell can be killed but not humiliated! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"

Da Zhong vibrated violently, but the Stone Wall didn’t budge an inch.

Xu Ying set Da Zhong down, stepped forward to stroke the Stone Wall, and mused, "There really is something wrong with this. Da Zhong can shatter even the City God’s Golden Body. An ordinary rock can’t possibly be harder than the City God."

Da Zhong hastily moved away from Xu Ying, still shaken. "This kid has violent tendencies!"

Just then, Xu Ying noticed a faint mark on the Stone Wall. The mark looked like a left Palm Seal, but it was blurry and indistinct.

An idea sparked in his mind. He reached out with his left hand and placed it over the Palm Seal.

The Stone Wall trembled slightly, then with a loud GRIND, it split apart down the middle, revealing a narrow passage. Xu Ying stepped inside, only to see the walls retreating as square blocks of stone retracted into the mountainside. Da Zhong hurriedly followed.

As Xu Ying walked forward, the stone walls continued to retract. After walking for several dozen yards, he arrived at a stone chamber deep inside the mountain.

The stone chamber wasn’t large, about forty feet long and forty feet wide, and was very simple. There was only a meditation cushion and a jade couch. On the cushion sat a withered skeleton, draped in green robes as thin as a cicada’s wing, through which the bones were visible. The skeleton’s head was bowed, and its bony hands seemed to be holding something, but they were empty.

Around the skeleton were rows of bookshelves, but they were all empty. In a corner, there was a pile of ash.

"The Mysterious Energy in Qinyan Cave is coming from this skeleton’s skull!"

Xu Ying’s heart trembled. Just as he was about to step forward, he suddenly saw a pair of Silk Gloves and a Snake-Startling Rod next to the skeleton. He froze. "These look like a Snake Catcher’s tools! A Snake Catcher was here before us!"

A Snake Catcher uses Silk Gloves to grab a snake by its vital spot and a Snake-Startling Rod to flush out venomous snakes from the grass. Xu Ying was a Snake Catcher himself, so he was naturally familiar with these two tools. However, after making progress in his cultivation, he rarely used them anymore.

’This is Yuan Qi’s family home, where three generations have lived for over three hundred years. How could a Snake Catcher have entered Qinyan Cave and found this place?’

As he thought of this, he suddenly remembered the book he had been reading last night. It was a travel journal written by Yuan Qi’s grandfather. It had been so dry that he had fallen asleep while reading it.

’I remember the book saying that Yuan Qi’s grandfather was being hunted by a Snake Catcher when he fled to Qinyan Cave. He discovered a cave within the cave and found this Mud Ball Palace Grotto Heaven.’

Xu Ying mused, "Could it be that he never shook off that Snake Catcher? The Snake Catcher followed him and also found the Mud Ball Palace Grotto Heaven. This person must have been extremely clever, even sensing the Mysterious Energy in Qinyan Cave and tracing it here! In that case, the books on these shelves must have been taken by him."

He glanced at the pile of ash in the corner. The Snake Catcher couldn’t have carried many books, so whatever he couldn’t take, he must have burned!

Xu Ying sighed with regret. "The master of this stone chamber was most likely the Master of the Mud Mound Palace that the girl in the coffin was searching for. He died in this chamber, leaving behind his legacy. That Snake Catcher stumbled upon this place by accident, obtained this senior’s inheritance, and then, fearing others might find their way here, burned the senior’s life’s work to ashes!"