Stealing Heavenly Secrets from Cover the Heavens Section 38

From Boss Li's tone, it didn't seem like he felt any homesickness at all.

Zhang Wenchang spoke up from the crowd: "Mr. Li, do you know where we're going? Can we ever go back?"

Boss Li said bluntly: "When you've reached the Crocodile Ancestor's level of cultivation, you can follow the path back to Earth."

Then Pang Bo asked: "Boss Li, you seem to know a lot about these things?"

Boss Li said: "Once you set foot on the Path of Cultivation, you'll understand that no Life Ancient Star in this universe is as simple as it appears on the surface. Countless secrets are hidden behind them."

Then Ye Fan asked: "Brother Li, did you find the rest of the Longevity Art on Mount Tai?"

Boss Li nodded: "Of course. Otherwise, why do you think I was trapped on Mount Tai for nearly a year?"

Then Boss Li patted Ye Fan on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry about your parents. If they go to Zhou Mei to ask about you, they'll learn some of the truth. If they take good care of themselves and keep practicing the Breathing Method you left behind, maybe in twenty or thirty years, you'll return to them and find them still healthy."

Boss Li knew that Ye Fan had already taught the Breathing Method to his parents.

After all, it was something that could strengthen the body and prolong life—Ye Fan had no reason to hide it.

Then Boss Li treated them to a fruit feast.

With no more conflict, the dark coffin soon fell into silence.

The faint light from a few phone screens wasn't enough to dispel the fear in everyone's hearts.

At Boss Li's invitation, Ye Fan and his five companions enjoyed a delicious fruit feast.

The sweet juice soothed their tense nerves.

But the crisp crunching sounds they made while eating stirred the hunger of the others.

Most people hadn't brought any food.

After a night of heart-pounding travel, they were starving.

In the darkness, Zhou Yi saw Lin Jia heading toward Ye Fan's group. He quietly tugged Wang Ziwen's sleeve, and the two followed Lin Jia with silent understanding to the corner where Boss Li and the others were eating.

"Mr. Li, did you bring all these fruits? Could you share some with us?" Lin Jia put on the warm, approachable demeanor of a professional woman.

"Miss Lin, no need to be polite. I still have plenty of fruit here. Help yourselves." Boss Li glanced at the shrewd Lin Jia and said casually.

"Mr. Li, we've all been through life-and-death trials together. If you have extra fruit, could you share some with our classmates?" Zhou Yi, standing beside Lin Jia, saw how easygoing Boss Li was and quickly chimed in.

"If you're hungry, come and get some. I have dozens of pounds of fruit here—enough for everyone to eat for two or three days."

"Mr. Li, on behalf of the classmates, thank you." Zhou Yi's eyes showed a hint of surprise—he hadn't expected Boss Li to be so agreeable.

Pang Bo wanted to say something about Boss Li's generosity, but Ye Fan shook his head at him.

Ye Fan knew that Boss Li had never been a good person in the conventional sense.

On a journey with no known destination, how could he casually share his food with others?

From what Ye Fan knew of Boss Li, if food really ran short, he wouldn't hesitate to turn his blade on those classmates.

Then Zhou Yi and Wang Ziwen carried away nearly half the fruit wrapped in their clothes.

Counting Boss Li, there were now fifteen living people inside the bronze coffin, but they were clearly split into two groups.

The two groups sat on opposite ends of the Bronze Giant Coffin, with the Small Coffin in the middle.

After eating their fill, Boss Li said to Ye Fan and the others: "Everyone full?"

Ye Fan nodded and asked: "Brother Li, can you tell us more about the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport?"

Boss Li smiled and said: "I don't know much about it. Since everyone's full, do me a small favor—keep copying the patterns on that Small Coffin."

Ye Fan asked: "Brother Li, what's so special about those patterns?"

Boss Li answered honestly: "I'm not sure. But I do know one thing—as our knowledge grows, we'll eventually understand what they mean."

Everyone nodded.

Then they helped Boss Li copy all the carvings on the Small Coffin in the center.

After that, seeing there were still a few sheets of tracing paper left, Boss Li planned to pick some representative patterns from the walls of the Bronze Giant Coffin to copy.

Just then, Ye Fan suddenly made a shushing gesture to everyone.

"Shh!"

He walked over to the Small Coffin, pressed his ear against its wall, and listened to what was inside.

After a moment, Ye Fan turned back and asked: "Did you all hear that?"

"I didn't hear anything. Ye Zi, what did you hear?" Pang Bo asked.

Only Boss Li sensed that something in Ye Fan's chest was starting to heat up—likely the Bodhi Seed he'd gotten from the Great Thunderclap Temple.

Then he saw Ye Fan reach out to touch the coffin lid, as if he really had heard something.

"Everyone, try listening too," Boss Li said at the right moment.

Then Boss Li walked over to Ye Fan, rolled a piece of tracing paper into a tube, pressed one end against the coffin wall, and put the other to his ear, listening carefully to the sounds inside.

Seeing this, the others followed suit, gathering around the Small Coffin and listening.

Soon, a strange scene unfolded inside the Bronze Giant Coffin.

On one side of the small coffin, Ye Fan, Li Zhi, Lin Jia, Pang Bo, Liu Yiyi, Zhang Ziling, Zhang Wenchang, and others stood in a row, all tilting their ears to listen to the sounds coming from within.

On the other side of the small coffin, those who saw Li Zhi and the others' actions grew curious as well.

Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, and Li Xiaoman exchanged nods, then followed suit, taking positions on the opposite side of the small coffin to listen.

As Li Zhi gradually emptied his mind and subconsciously activated the Breathing Method from Stealing Heavenly Secrets, a vast heavenly sound suddenly rang out where there had been silence before.

The Great Dao Heavenly Sound seemed filled with supreme mysteries, intoxicating all who heard it.

"The Way of Heaven takes from the abundant to supplement the deficient. The Way of Earth absorbs all things into chaos. The Way of Man stands between heaven and earth to cultivate all paths."

Of the mysterious Great Dao Heavenly Sound, Li Zhi only caught the first three sentences clearly; the rest grew indistinct, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make out the specifics.

It felt vast and profound, as if it were a supreme Dao sound from the Chaotic Ancient Era.

The three sentences he had heard clearly quickly transformed into thirty mysterious Great Dao Runes, firmly imprinted in his heart.

Then, he withdrew from that state of Unity of Heaven and Man.

Li Zhi instantly realized the opportunity had ended; he was not fated to hear the rest of the Scripture.

He turned to look at the others.

They were frowning, straining to listen.

But from their bewildered expressions, it seemed no one had caught even a single word of the Scripture.

Only Ye Fan, his hand resting on the bronze small coffin, stood like a mirror-still lake reflecting the bright moon, an aura of transcendence spreading around him, casting him in an especially sacred light.

And from the look of it, Ye Fan wouldn't wake anytime soon.

Li Zhi shook his head and left the small coffin.

Soon after, Pang Bo followed him, walking to the wall of the Bronze Giant Coffin before asking, "Boss Li, did you hear it?"

Li Zhi shook his head. "My fortune isn't deep enough. I vaguely heard a Chanting Sound, but couldn't make out the content of the Scripture."

Pang Bo grew anxious. "How come I didn't hear anything at all?"

Li Zhi smiled. "That means your fortune is even worse than mine."

The others all pricked up their ears, listening to Li Zhi and Pang Bo's conversation; a few even seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Pang Bo said indignantly, "That can't be right. I must have had the wrong posture. Let me try a different one."

Then he jumped onto the small coffin, lying flat on it, pressing his ear tight against the lid, straining to listen to that supreme Scripture.

The sight made everyone laugh.

Those who had been quietly anxious about hearing nothing suddenly felt their restlessness vanish at Pang Bo's antics.

One by one, they gave up trying to hear the supreme Dao sound.

Like Li Zhi, they began studying the carvings on the walls of the Bronze Giant Coffin.

Some even used their phones to snap pictures of the carvings, trying to record them all.

A few muttered complaints about Li Zhi being old-fashioned—what era was this? Why use rubbings when a phone photo was far more convenient?

Soon, aside from Ye Fan, who remained in meditation, and Pang Bo, who was still "working hard" on the coffin lid, everyone else had left the small coffin.

Suddenly, a strange sound reached everyone's ears, as if it could stir the soul.

It was heavy with sorrow, mournful with grief.

"What's that sound?"

Startled, they looked around but couldn't find the source, then fixed their gazes on Ye Fan and Pang Bo.

Mostly on Pang Bo.

"Could Pang Bo's actions have disturbed the spirit in the coffin?"

"Probably not. That Mr. Li earlier was lying on the coffin lid, rubbing the carvings, and even knocked on it."