Legacy of Those Who Came Before

After cultivating Spirit Transformation Energy, a cultivator's spiritual power would become imbued with a peculiar force. Once an opponent was struck, this force would invade his eight extraordinary meridians and dantian acupoints, continuously wearing away at his spiritual power.

This force was not difficult to dispel, but it required a certain amount of time. In actual combat, it was hard to find such an opportunity. Once hit, the rate at which one's spiritual power was consumed would increase by a large chunk.

That was extremely fatal, especially when both sides had equal cultivation. The side whose power was consumed faster would naturally be the first to fall.

"No wonder it needed special treatment for preservation. Such a secret art is truly rare." Song Changsheng was overjoyed. Creating secret arts was exceedingly difficult; one needed to reach at least the Golden Core Stage. With this secret art alone, his trip had not been in vain.

He picked up the remaining three jade slips and examined them one by one. But with such pearls and jade before them, these few seemed rather lacking. They were all array arrangements or artifact-refining techniques. These were priceless to rogue cultivators, but to him, they could only be considered better than nothing.

After putting away his gains, Song Changsheng continued toward the next stone chamber. After drawing blanks at two more locations in succession, he entered a peculiar stone chamber.

It was an extremely spacious area, several times larger than the previous stone chambers.

"It looks completely empty, yet killing intent lurks everywhere. The master of this Immortal Cave was likely no less accomplished in arrays than Grandfather." Song Changsheng was secretly alarmed. Gritting his teeth, he ultimately chose to go around it.

He knew there were certainly treasures hidden inside, but that fortuitous encounter did not belong to him. Within lay a sword-dao killing array approaching the third tier, its sword qi running rampant. It was simply beyond anything he could lay a hand on.

Rather than waste time here, he might as well seek out other fortuitous encounters.

What Song Changsheng did not expect was that not long after he left, Xu Yunhe also arrived here through another passage. Feeling the peerlessly sharp sword qi, Xu Yunhe glanced at his empty right side before resolutely stepping inside...

Song Changsheng explored all the way onward, but his gains were not great. This left him somewhat puzzled. Why had the master of the Immortal Cave opened up so many utterly useless stone chambers?

Could he have simply had too much time on his hands?

That was naturally impossible. Yet with Song Changsheng's discernment, he could not discover the purpose behind the master of the Immortal Cave's actions and could only speculate in secret.

After pushing open another stone gate, Song Changsheng was instantly stunned. Unlike the dimness of the other stone chambers, this one was brightly lit.

He could not help looking upward. He did not see the sun, but he saw a glowing sphere embedded in the center of the ceiling, like an oversized incandescent lamp.

"It is actually a Sea Bright Pearl. One this large is truly rare." Song Changsheng clicked his tongue in amazement. Sea Bright Pearls were not valuable, but he had only seen one this large in books. This was truly an eye-opener.

Lowering his gaze, Song Changsheng finally noticed a jade bed emitting a chill in the corner of the room. A skeleton sat cross-legged upon it, making for a rather eerie sight.

"I actually did not notice its presence at first glance. Something is strange." Song Changsheng narrowed his eyes and immediately discovered the clue. A layer of restriction shrouded the area before the jade bed, possessing a certain deceptive effect. That was why he had failed to notice it immediately.

"The flesh has already decayed, yet the bones still emit a faint spiritual glow. Before death, this person was at least a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. He should have been the master of this Immortal Cave, right?"

Song Changsheng stepped forward a few paces and gave a meticulous, respectful cupped-fist salute. "Senior Expert, this junior is Song Changsheng. I was fortunate enough to enter your Immortal Cave and have disturbed your peaceful rest. If I have committed any discourtesy, I beg Senior Expert to forgive me."

Though they had arrived uninvited, they should still show the most basic respect toward a senior's remains.

"Creak."

Right as Song Changsheng was saluting, the gate to another passage was also opened. Zhu Yiqun and Zhuang Yuechan had arrived as well. It seemed this was the end of the Immortal Cave.

"Ah, arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time. We nearly let Changsheng claim this greatest fortuitous encounter all by himself. Good thing we were not delayed on the way." Zhu Yiqun looked at the remains on the jade bed and said to Zhuang Yuechan with a cheerful smile.

"Indeed." Zhuang Yuechan nodded approvingly as well.

"You two certainly arrived at just the right time. Where is Fellow Daoist Xu?" Song Changsheng shook his head with a smile and looked around.

Zhu Yiqun scratched his head. "Fellow Daoist Zhuang and I met halfway through. I thought Fellow Daoist Xu would be with you."

"I did not encounter him." Song Changsheng frowned slightly. Could something have happened to him?

Just then, Xu Yunhe stumbled out of the passage Song Changsheng had taken. His body was covered in fine bloodstains, and he could barely remain standing.

Yet his mental state was excellent, his excitement plainly visible. He had presumably made an extraordinary gain.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, those injuries of yours... are you all right?" Zhu Yiqun asked with concern.

"It is nothing, merely flesh wounds." Xu Yunhe grinned and waved his hand at everyone.

"That is good. Since everyone is here, let us divide this final great fortuitous encounter together." Zhu Yiqun said, his eyes shining as he stared at the well-preserved Universe Bag beside the skeleton.

No one asked what Xu Yunhe had experienced, much less what he had obtained. Just as they had said before, it all depended on one's own ability!

Song Changsheng vaguely guessed where Xu Yunhe had gone, but he likewise asked nothing. This later became an unsolved mystery.

Hearing Zhu Yiqun's words, Song Changsheng nodded. After respectfully saluting the skeleton, he removed the restriction and picked up the Universe Bag on the jade bed.

Since the owner of the Universe Bag had passed away many years ago, the Divine Sense Imprint upon it had long since dissipated. Thus, he opened it without the slightest effort.

With a light shake, a pile of spirit stones, magic artifacts, metal ingots, jade slips, jade boxes, porcelain bottles, and other items appeared before them. The items were a chaotic assortment, with almost everything included.

It was time to divide the spoils again.

Song Changsheng gathered the spirit stones, ores, and similar items together and said, "The value of these things is clear, so we can divide them equally later. As for the other items whose value is difficult to determine, let us each take one at a time. What we obtain will depend entirely on luck. What do you all think?"

He meant the jade slips, jade boxes, and such. Before they were opened, no one knew what was inside. They might contain nothing at all, or they might hold treasures.

Naturally, everyone wanted the good items. No matter how they divided them then, it would be improper. They might as well open blind boxes directly and let luck decide, lest they hurt their harmony afterward.

"No method of division can achieve absolute fairness. This is undoubtedly the most suitable approach." Zhu Yiqun nodded in agreement.

Neither Zhuang Yuechan nor Xu Yunhe had any objections, since there was currently no better method.

"Who will go first?" Song Changsheng asked, looking at the others.

"Fellow Daoist Song made the greatest contribution to our entry into this Immortal Cave. I think Fellow Daoist Song should choose three items first." Zhuang Yuechan unexpectedly proposed.