Within the Ruins (Part 2)

Song Changsheng formed a Heavenly Light Technique for illumination and took the lead into the Immortal Cave, with Zhuang Yuechan and the others close behind.

Beyond the gate lay a much wider passage. By the light of the spell, they could clearly see simple murals carved across its walls.

Yet Song Changsheng and the others were utterly baffled, unable to tell what the creator of these murals had been trying to convey.

The passage was not long; they could even see the broad space carved out at its far end.

But the passage was anything but easy to traverse. Just as Song Changsheng had expected, it was filled with arrays. Anyone who dared barge in would undoubtedly die an ugly death.

Still, amid the layers upon layers of arrays, Song Changsheng spotted something unusual.

"Though there are many arrays, none of them are of a high grade. And the methods to break them are exceptionally tricky. Without a unique understanding of arrays, one could scratch one's head bald and still fail to break them."

Song Changsheng pondered for a moment and vaguely grasped the Immortal Cave owner's intentions. He had already harbored suspicions outside the Bluestone Gate; what he had discovered in this passage now served as indirect proof of his conjecture.

The owner of this Immortal Cave had not intended to use these arrays to stop them. Rather, they had deliberately arranged them as tests, all to find someone gifted in arrays to inherit their mantle. This was not Song Changsheng's wild speculation, but a conclusion drawn from a rigorous analysis of the circumstances at hand.

Thinking of this, Song Changsheng could not help growing excited. The Immortal Cave owner had attained considerable mastery in arrays. If he could obtain that person's inheritance, it would be an immense boon to him.

Song Changsheng raised his vigilance to the utmost and broke the arrays one by one. The farther he went, the faster he became. In less than half an hour, they reached the end and entered an artificially excavated Stone Chamber.

"It looks like a place meant to receive guests," Zhu Yiqun said with certainty after looking around.

"With such a huge stone table here, we could tell even if you hadn't said so." Song Changsheng responded as he checked the surroundings for mechanisms.

"Tch, I won't argue with you. I'm going to look for treasures. This is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Immortal Cave—there must be plenty of good stuff!" Zhu Yiqun's tiny eyes rolled around before he entered through the opened main doorway.

Song Changsheng shook his head helplessly, then smiled at Zhuang Yuechan. "Let's follow him too, lest this Dead Fatty snatch up all the benefits."

While the group explored the Immortal Cave, the Blood Demon outside was not idle either.

Black Deacon stood atop a high place, watching A Group Of lackeys below bustle about endlessly under the direction of several minor leaders.

They placed specially made black clay jars around the perimeter of the array. A closer look would reveal that they were placing them precisely where Song Changsheng and the others had previously opened a passage—the weak points of the array.

It was merely a simple matter of copying the gourd as it was, yet it was incomparably difficult for these Demonic Cultivators. So long as they approached within a certain range of the array, the Yang Qi would continuously weaken the Demonic Qi in their bodies.

The process caused them immense agony and torment. Had Black Deacon's brutality and authority not been so deeply ingrained in their hearts, they would have thrown down their tools long ago.

After the last black clay jar was put into place amid a chorus of screams, Skeleton Man hurried to Black Deacon's In Front Of, bowing and scraping. "My lord, all the Black Blood has been placed. What do you think?"

"What are you waiting for, then? Break this array at once. If anything goes wrong and Steering Master's task is not completed, This Seat will make you wish you were dead!"

Black Deacon looked at Skeleton Man, and the icy gaze made his body tremble uncontrollably.

"My lord, rest assured. This Black Blood was obtained by processing more than a hundred children with Spirit Roots through a special Secret Art for seven times seven, forty-nine days. Its Yin-Baleful Qi is exceedingly heavy.

"If it were not for the insufficient quantity, we could have broken this Mystic Sun Heavenly Gang Array long ago. Now that we have arranged the Blood Demon Yin-Baleful Array by using the weak points of the passage they opened, we will certainly break it in one stroke." Skeleton Man quietly wiped the cold sweat from his brow and hurriedly explained.

"Hmph. It had better be." Black Deacon gave a cold laugh, then closed his eyes and Closed His Eyes to Rest.

Following Skeleton Man's command, the Blood Demon Yin-Baleful Array was immediately activated...

Within the Immortal Cave, Song Changsheng and the others continued their exploration. However, there were dozens of Stone Chambers within it, making their progress extremely slow.

After finding nothing in yet another Stone Chamber, Song Changsheng suggested, "This won't do. Our efficiency is too low. Let's split up and act separately. What we find will depend on our own fortuitous encounters."

Zhu Yiqun glanced around, then looked somewhat awkwardly at Xu Yunhe beside him. "If that's the case, then Fellow Daoist Xu..."

"As long as I do not take part in combat, my Injuries will not affect me." Xu Yunhe had regained his fighting spirit by then. Since they were relying on their own fortuitous encounters, he naturally could not drag the others down.

"Then let us do as Fellow Daoist Song says. Our gains will depend on our own fortuitous encounters." Seeing this, Zhuang Yuechan voiced her agreement as well.

No one objected, and they immediately each chose a direction to explore.

Relying on his instincts, Song Changsheng walked onward until he finally stopped before a Stone Chamber. He pushed open the door and found it spacious and empty, containing only ordinary furnishings and nothing of value.

This was not the first time he had come up empty-handed, so Song Changsheng did not mind. After carefully checking that nothing had been overlooked, he set off for the next Stone Chamber.

This one was different. It was round overall, and its furnishings made it seem like a study. The rosewood bookshelves around it further confirmed his guess.

Many Jade Slips were piled upon the shelves, each covered in a thick layer of dust. Song Changsheng suppressed his excitement and bent over to search through the shelves one by one.

But he soon realized that he had rejoiced too early. No one knew how many years this Immortal Cave had existed, and the contents of most of the Jade Slips had already dissipated, rendering them worthless.

Not to mention cultivation arts and divine abilities—even complete sentences were rare.

Unwilling to accept this, Song Changsheng continued searching through the shelves. Heaven did not disappoint those with determination; in the end, he truly found several well-preserved Jade Slips.

These Jade Slips had clearly undergone special treatment. Otherwise, they could not have survived until now.

The need for special treatment alone was enough to show how important these Jade Slips were.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Song Changsheng picked up the first Jade Slip and pressed it against his forehead. As a faint light flickered, the contents recorded within flooded into his mind.

"Spirit Transformation Energy?"

Song Changsheng lowered the Jade Slip in his hand, a trace of astonishment flashing through his eyes. What was recorded in this Jade Slip was actually a Secret Art.

A Secret Art differed from an ordinary spell. Spells imposed certain restrictions based on the user's cultivation, and their power was limited.

Secret Arts, however, were different. Their power was determined by their user; one could say they had no upper limit.

Secret Arts were rare. Song Changsheng had learned dozens of spells, but the only Secret Art he possessed was the Breath Concealment Technique he had comprehended from the Dao Scripture.

And what delighted him most was the effect of this Secret Art...