Everlasting Cave

The next day, Liu Ding discovered a problem. The clan's Soul Forging Cauldron was already being used by disciples for medicinal baths early in the morning, but without undergoing the test, he could not enter the third floor of the Library Pavilion. He had no choice but to seek out Liu Yandong.

"You want to borrow books for the Five Soulforging Cauldrons realm?" Liu Yandong looked at Liu Ding in confusion, hope shining in his eyes.

Seeing the concern on his grandfather's face, Liu Ding decided to hide it no longer. He nodded solemnly. "Yes, I broke through."

Liu Yandong stepped forward in disbelief and grabbed Liu Ding's wrist. The instant he touched him, a powerful surge of soul energy rippled out. It was as though he had been struck by lightning. "R-Really?" He was so shocked that his mind went blank, and only after a long while did he come back to himself.

"Grandfather, you have suffered all these years because of me. Don't worry. Since I can break through to Five Soulforging Cauldrons, I can definitely break through to Six Soulforging Cauldrons, even Seven Soul-Forging Cauldrons."

Thinking back on how his grandfather had nurtured him with his own soul energy every day over the years, causing his own strength to decline, and how he had endured the sneers of people like Nie Zhengxu, Liu Ding was overcome with emotion.

"Wonderful, Ding'er! There are still ten months until the day of the Sect Master contest. Even if I have to risk this old life of mine, I will help you break through the clan's minor bottleneck and reach Six Soulforging Cauldrons before you turn sixteen!" Their ancestors had once forged such glory. As the direct line of descent, why could they not forge glory once more?

In high spirits, he said, "Ding'er, since we cannot use the Soul Forging Cauldron, we will keep a low profile and skip the test. I'll borrow them for you right away."

"Mu Shan's Notes." Liu Ding remembered what Zhi'er had said.

Liu Mushan had also been a genius among the Liu Clan's elders. It was said that he had been unparalleled within the clan at the time, one of the seniors most likely to break through the Soul Forging Realm bottleneck. Yet he had later gone out to gain experience and never returned. It was truly regrettable.

Mu Shan's Notes was a record of his cultivation insights from his time in the clan. It contained few notes on Dragon Crushing Hand, only a few short lines hidden amid the journal, making them easy to overlook.

Dragon Crushing Hand: Legend says it came from another world that revered dragons as its totem. It resembled the Azure Dragon, gleamed golden, dwelled amid the four seas, raged with thunderous fury, and stirred wind and rain in all directions.

As Liu Ding carefully savored those few lines in the notes, memories of the dream world immediately surfaced in his mind—the image of a five-clawed golden dragon coiling amid wind and thunder, its wild fury ravaging the storms. He could not help drawing a deep breath.

This was practically a martial skill tailor-made for me. In his memories of that world of dragon descendants, the postures of countless golden dragons twisting, coiling, and striking in fury directly allowed Liu Ding to grasp the essence of Dragon Crushing Hand.

Within a secluded forest in the clan's back mountain, his palms swept outward. Branches and leaves immediately whirled across the sky like falling rain, then formed a vortex and gathered toward his two palms, condensing into a sphere of leaves.

"Dragon Crushing Hand!"

Liu Ding roared as the momentum of Qilin's Surge at Five Soulforging Cauldrons erupted. His body coiled like a dragon before bursting forward in fury. In an instant, the sphere of gathered leaves blasted out and smashed into a large tree.

With a bang, the seemingly soft ball of leaves exploded the tree, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

With a crack, the entire tree could no longer hold up. It let out a long groan of breaking wood and crashed to the ground.

"After three days, I finally mastered it." Seeing the results, Liu Ding grinned from ear to ear, his face full of satisfaction. This was the first time he had used a martial skill to attack. The terrifying power it displayed was probably no weaker than Liu Ji at Six Soulforging Cauldrons.

"Not bad. Reaching this level of understanding with Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl is acceptable, though it is still somewhat childish."

Just as he was brimming with joy, General Jiang's faint voice drifted into his ear.

Liu Ding's mouth twitched. "Get lost,

Do you have to put people down like that? This is childish? Come out and try it yourself. I guarantee Dragon Crushing Hand won't kill you."

"Humility brings progress, while pride causes one to fall behind. Your Dragon Crushing Hand gathers random debris. It looks impressive, but it also puts your enemy on guard. What if you gathered not debris, but invisible, intangible soul energy instead?"

At that point, General Jiang deliberately stopped speaking.

"Invisible, intangible soul energy..." Liu Ding murmured. It was as though an entirely new world had opened before his eyes, but he quickly grew dejected again. "General Jiang, you make it sound easy. To project soul energy outward, wouldn't one need to cultivate to the Law Soul Warrior realm at the very least?"

Liu Ding recalled the scene of Shi Zhongyu erupting soul energy from his fist that day. That was precisely a technique of the Law Soul Realm.

"Hehe, how would you know it is impossible if you have never tried?" General Jiang sounded delighted. "Your Qilin's Surge has now reached perfection in both stability and explosive force. Tonight, I'll take you somewhere you can absorb soul energy. It will also be perfect for training your Dragon Crushing Hand."

At last, General Jiang brought up the promise that had been hanging over Liu Ding's heart.

"General Jiang, it's still early. Why not take me there now?" Having just grasped the power of Dragon Crushing Hand, Liu Ding could hardly wait.

"It is daytime. I cannot expose my soul spirit body beneath the sunlight." General Jiang sounded somewhat helpless. "I only hid in a cave here last night because I knew you were coming to cultivate in this place."

Unable to see any trace of General Jiang around him, Liu Ding finally understood what was going on.

At midnight, under General Jiang's guidance, Liu Ding finally arrived at a place "filled with soul energy."

"Damn, this is the clan's burial grounds?"

Above the entrance to a cave were three dark-red words: Everlasting Cave. Liu Ding was speechless. It really was a place filled with soul energy.

The Liu Clan's ancestors had all been sent into this Everlasting Cave. It was cold and dry inside, and it was said that the air contained a strange substance that dried corpses without allowing them to decay. Liu Ding had known that since childhood and had often been warned that there were ghosts inside, so he must never enter.

"Little one, I can only bring you this far. You must go in yourself. If a soul spirit at my Fourth Soul-Forging Cauldron realm enters rashly, I will be directly devoured by the ghosts within."

Hearing General Jiang say that, Liu Ding's mouth twitched. There really were ghosts? "General Jiang, are you serious? Even you dare not go in. How could I possibly dare?"

"For Zhi'er, go for it." That hateful General Jiang even gave him an encouraging elbow jab.

"Alright, old man, quit fooling around. I can go in, but give me some life-saving trick first." Liu Ding was helpless. Zhi'er, my weakness, my weakness...

"These ghosts are exactly what you need. As long as there are no ghosts in your heart, there is nothing to fear." General Jiang winked.

"Get lost. There are ghosts in my heart. Do you know Sadako? She's terrifying." Liu Ding shook his head desperately.

"Fine, I'll teach you one move. If you feel something is wrong after entering, immediately recite this incantation: Qilin stirs mountains and rivers, sun and moon illuminate the land. Imagine a red sun rising from Golden Mountain. All demons and monsters will vanish like smoke, and you can use the dispersed soul energy to cultivate."

"The red sun over Golden Mountain... General Jiang, I'm realizing you're becoming more and more mysterious. You even know classics from some other world?" Liu Ding gritted his teeth. He did not have much time. Ordinary cultivation could not change his fate at all.

I'm doing it.

The moment he stepped into Everlasting Cave, a chilling wind howled around him. What followed were all manner of terrifying shrieks, making his heart tremble and his hair stand on end.