The Snake Catcher from Three Hundred Years Ago

Xu Ying's eyes lit up. If he could find the source, wouldn't that mean he would have an endless supply of mysterious energy?

Even if he couldn't open the Ni Wan Secret Treasury, he could continuously absorb the Ni Wan Secret Treasury's vitality and forge the Hidden View, becoming a Nu Master!

He immediately entered meditation again, observing himself internally, entering the Realm of Serenity within his body.

This time, Xu Ying's spiritual sense in the Realm of Serenity did not follow the mysterious energy. Instead, it traveled upstream against the mysterious energy, and his spiritual sense reached outside his body!

His consciousness flowed upward, entering the water.

Various mysterious energies in the water formed turbulent currents, extremely dangerous. If his spiritual sense were caught in a turbulent current even slightly, he would lose his way.

At this moment, a bell chime echoed: "Young man, I will use the bell's chime to stabilize your spiritual sense!"

A resonant dong sounded in Xu Ying's ears, lingering and making his spiritual sense incredibly pure and stable, free from external interference.

Xu Ying seized the opportunity, passing through the turbulent currents one by one, following the source of that wisp of mysterious energy deeper into the cave.

He seemed to pass through ancient spaces, entering an unknowable world. The Great Bell's chime gradually faded, as if separated by immeasurable space.

Xu Ying couldn't help but feel afraid. If his spiritual sense couldn't return, wouldn't he become an idiot?

"My spiritual sense followed the mysterious energy through space-time, traveling so far, yet I still haven't found the source of the mysterious energy. It seems this truly is a blessed land, not a fake! Grandpa Bell must have guessed wrong!"

Just as Xu Ying was about to return the way he came, the bell chime suddenly became clearer.

He couldn't help but freeze.

The bell chime growing clearer meant he was getting closer to his physical body!

But how was this possible?

His spiritual sense had clearly traversed space-time and dimensions, traveling for what felt like millions of miles, yet it was getting closer to him instead?

Xu Ying's spiritual sense followed this wisp of mysterious energy into the Ni Wan Palace, arriving before the stone wall behind the palace. The source of the mysterious energy was within the stone wall.

Xu Ying withdrew his spiritual sense, leaped out of the water, and quickly put on his tattered clothes.

He looked at Yuan Qi, only to see the Snake Demon still undergoing transformation. He had no choice but to go to the stone wall behind the palace himself.

The stone wall was covered in moss and looked no different from any other part of the wall. Xu Ying looked around; the mysterious energy had seeped into this stone wall and then disappeared.

He gently knocked on the stone wall. It was incredibly solid.

Xu Ying thought for a moment and said, "Grandpa Bell, come out for a moment."

The Great Bell flew out of his mind and asked, "What is it?"

Xu Ying grabbed the bell's handle, swung it around, and smashed it fiercely against the stone wall. The Great Bell shrieked, "What are you doing? Put me down quickly, dong! You scoundrel, dong! I'll fight you, you bastard, dong! A bell can be killed but not insulted, dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The Great Bell vibrated, but the stone wall remained motionless.

Xu Ying put down the Great Bell, stepped forward, and stroked the stone wall, pondering, "As expected, there's something wrong. The Great Bell could even shatter City God's Golden Body. Ordinary stone can't be harder than City God's."

The Great Bell quickly moved away from Xu Ying, its heart still pounding: "This kid has a violent tendency!"

At this moment, Xu Ying noticed a faint imprint on the stone wall. The imprint looked like a left palm print, blurry and indistinct.

His heart stirred, and he extended his left hand, covering the palm print.

The stone wall trembled slightly, then suddenly made a cracking sound. It split open, revealing a narrow passage. Xu Ying stepped inside, only to see the stone wall receding. Square stones retracted into the mountain's interior. The Great Bell quickly followed.

Xu Ying walked forward, and the stone wall kept receding. After walking dozens of feet, he arrived at a stone chamber inside the mountain.

The stone chamber was not large, about four zhang long and wide, very simple, with only a meditation cushion and a jade couch. On the cushion sat a skeleton, clad in a green robe as thin as a cicada's wing. One could see the bones through the clothing. The skeleton sat there with its head bowed, its skeletal hand seemingly holding something, though its hand was empty.

Around the skeleton were rows of bookshelves, but they were empty. In the corner of the room was a pile of ashes.

"The mysterious energy in Qin Yan Cave originates from the skull of the skeleton!"

Xu Ying's heart trembled. Just as he was about to step forward, he saw a pair of silk-wrapped gloves and a snake-startling stick next to the skeleton, and he couldn't help but be surprised: "These look like a Snake Catcher's belongings! A Snake Catcher came here before us!"

A Snake Catcher used silk-wrapped gloves to grab a snake by the seven-inch mark and a snake-startling stick to scare away venomous snakes in the grass. Xu Ying himself was a Snake Catcher, so he was naturally familiar with these two tools. However, after achieving cultivation, he rarely used them.

"This is the home of Yuan Qi's ancestors for three generations. They have lived here for over three hundred years. How could a Snake Catcher have entered Qin Yan Cave and found this place?"

As Xu Ying thought about this, he suddenly remembered the book he had read last night. It was a travelogue written by Yuan Qi's grandfather. It was so boring that he fell asleep while reading it.

"I remember the book said Yuan Qi's grandfather was chased by a Snake Catcher and fled to Qin Yan Cave, where he discovered a cave within a cave and found this Ni Wan Palace blessed land."

Xu Ying pondered, "Did he not manage to shake off that Snake Catcher? That Snake Catcher followed him and also found the Ni Wan Palace blessed land. This person must have been extremely intelligent, even sensing the mysterious energy in Qin Yan Cave and fumbling his way here! Then the books on these shelves must have been taken by him."

He looked at the pile of ashes in the corner. The Snake Catcher could only take a few books; those he couldn't take, he burned.

Xu Ying sighed with regret, "The owner of this stone chamber is likely the Ni Wan Palace master the girl in the coffin was looking for. He died in this stone chamber, leaving behind his inheritance. That Snake Catcher stumbled upon this place, obtained the inheritance of this senior, and fearing that others might also find this place, burned the senior's life's work to ashes!"

The Great Bell flew around the skeleton, sensing carefully. "The mysterious energy indeed originates from this person's skull. It's likely that before he died, he used his remaining energy to help people with Dragon Seeking Positioning to find the Ni Wan Secret Treasury."

Xu Ying went to the pile of ashes in the corner and sifted through them with his hand. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pulled a half-burned book from the ashes.

That Snake Catcher had burned too many books. This one was buried at the bottom, so the flames couldn't reach it. A few pages remained, and the text on them was still vaguely discernible.

Xu Ying carefully identified the text, his heart pounding. He exclaimed, "This book describes the method to open the Ni Wan Secret Treasury!"

The Great Bell flew over and said, "The method to open the Ni Wan Secret Treasury? That's not right. The demoness I suppressed was a Qi Refiner. She knew the owner of this place, and the owner of this place was naturally also a Qi Refiner! In their era, Nu Art and Nu techniques had not yet appeared, so how could there be a method to open the Secret Treasury?"

Xu Ying was also quite puzzled and said, "Could this skeleton not be the person the girl in the coffin was looking for? Wait, who was that Snake Catcher?"

He stared blankly into space, then suddenly said, "The Zhou family of Lingling also rose to prominence about three hundred years ago and later moved to the capital. The Zhou family's secret inheritance is the Ni Wan Secret Treasury. Could it be that the Snake Catcher who followed Yuan Qi's grandfather to Qin Yan Cave was the ancestor of the Zhou family?"

The Great Bell was also taken aback, saying, "Three hundred years ago, one person and one snake entered Qin Yan Cave. Three hundred years later, it's still one person and one snake entering Qin Yan Cave. The two snake demons only found the White Jade Palace outside, but they didn't find the stone chamber within the stone wall. Both snake catchers discovered the stone chamber. This is too much of a coincidence."

Xu Ying scanned his surroundings. When the ancestor of the Zhou family entered this place back then, there must have been an enormous number of books in the stone chamber, countless volumes, all sorts of Nu arts and Nu techniques practiced by the master of this place.

The ancestor of the Zhou family memorized the most crucial Nu arts and Nu techniques. Anything he couldn't take with him, he burned. The books he took with him finally allowed the Zhou family to prosper, transforming from a small snake catcher in Lingling into a massive aristocratic family!

"The Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist that Yuan Qi's grandfather obtained was probably just a low-level demon art that the ancestor of the Zhou family took pity on him and casually tossed to him," Xu Ying thought.

He carefully unfolded the tattered ancient book pages and read them closely. The text on the pages was incomplete, and he could only fill in the missing parts in his mind.

The book stated that among the Six Secrets of the Human Body, the Ni Wan was the foremost. The primordial chaos egg was the Ni Wan Secret Treasury, but its contained power was truly immense, requiring one to first chisel open the chaos.

To carve out a grotto-heaven within the chaos and fish for the Ni Wan's vitality. Once one's cultivation reached a certain level, another grotto-heaven could be opened, delving deeper into the Ni Wan to fish for more vitality.

Repeating this process, opening nine layers of grotto-heavens, would allow one to fish out all the power of the Ni Wan Secret Treasury.

The method to chisel open the Ni Wan Secret Treasury was also extremely simple: exert one's full strength and strike the primordial chaos egg!

"This kind of thing really requires the help of a Great Nu Master."

Xu Ying put away the tattered pages and pondered, "The Ni Wan Secret Treasury is in the brain. A slight misstep could directly open a hole in the skull, resulting in a splattering of brain matter. Even with the help of a Great Nu Master, it would still be very dangerous."

"I can help you."

The Great Bell suddenly said, "I am extremely powerful. Even though I've been heavily injured by that demoness, a burst of power from me is not something a Nu Master can compare to. But I don't do things for free. You help me open the Ni Wan Secret Treasury, and you must provide me with more Blood Essence to help me heal."

Xu Ying glanced at it, hesitating.

The Great Bell was indeed extremely powerful. Even after being heavily injured, it could still contend with two masters, Zhou Yihang and Xue City God. When it was dormant, Xu Ying had almost used it to smash Zhou Yihang and the evil Xue City God to death.

Xu Ying's concern was that the Great Bell was too fierce. If it unleashed its full power inside his head, his head might not just have a hole opened in it, but would explode with a bang.

"Probably nothing above the neck would be left," Xu Ying thought.

Seeing his hesitation, the Great Bell asked suspiciously, "You don't trust me? Hey Xu, I, Zhong, have experienced no less than a thousand battles, big and small, in my lifetime. You dare not trust me? Doesn't everyone know that Master Zhong of Little Stone Mountain acts with great prudence and has an impeccable reputation?"

Xu Ying stammered, "Yes, yes. But how did the maiden in the coffin escape?"

The Great Bell flew into a rage, shouting, "Someone clearly ambushed me and rescued the demoness amidst the chaos! These scoundrels have been plotting against me for more than a day or two. They even went so far as to kill wantonly, forcing the River of Oblivion to change its course and impact Little Stone Mountain! Otherwise, how could I have let the demoness escape?"

Xu Ying hesitated. The Great Bell quickly said, "Let's go out of the cave, and I'll show you my accuracy!"

Xu Ying then walked out of the stone chamber and into the Ni Wan Palace. He saw that Yuan Qi was still unconscious.

He walked out of Qin Yan Cave and onto Mount Wu Wang. A cool breeze was blowing, and the Great Bell floated up, saying, "Do you see that towering tree on the mountain?"

Xu Ying looked into the distance. At the top of the cliff of Mount Wu Wang, there was a towering tree, about thirty zhang tall, extremely majestic.

The Great Bell said, "I will unleash my power and destroy it with my bell sound. Watch carefully!"

Xu Ying craned his neck in anticipation. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the bell, "Dong!" Space rippled layer by layer, and in the next instant, over a dozen men and women were blasted out of the forest, flailing in mid-air.

Xu Ying's heart leaped in alarm, "Lingling officials! They actually found their way here!"

After a moment, the dozen or so officials landed, falling into the forest and scattering birds and beasts.

The Great Bell paused for a moment and said, "I sensed someone approaching and hiding in the forest, spying on us. So I changed direction and startled them out. Ah Ying, I've used up the power I've accumulated these past two days. The rest is up to you!"

With that, the Great Bell zipped into the back of Xu Ying's head and disappeared without a trace.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the forest. The dozen or so officials, bruised and swollen from their fall, emerged from the woods.

Xu Ying stood still, saying calmly, "My cultivation has advanced greatly, and I have become a Demon King. You are no match for me."

The dozen or so officials were eager to try, but then a voice came, chuckling, "King Xu is a human anomaly. It is reasonable that ordinary Nu Masters would not be King Xu's match after he achieved the status of a Demon King. Therefore, this time, they do not need to act. I will subdue you myself."

Xu Ying looked in the direction of the voice. County Magistrate Zhou Yang, clad in a luxurious black silk robe, stepped out of the forest.

"Form the sword array!" Zhou Yang said softly.

Only then did Xu Ying notice that the officials behind him each carried a sword basket, containing more than a dozen precious swords. The officials stopped about thirty paces away from him, drew the swords from their baskets, planted them in the ground, and then quickly retreated.

Zhou Yang walked forward, took a seed from his sleeve, and planted it in the center of the sword array.

The seed quickly took root and sprouted, soon growing into a towering tree. Its canopy covered an area of several mu, and its branches hung down, thin and long, each branch soft yet tough.

The great tree, like a demon, its branches danced, drawing out the precious swords planted all around with a clang!

"This tree is called Fenghua. Legend has it that it is a demonic tree that absorbed phoenix blood. Under my control, it will wield a hundred swords and perform my Zhou family's ultimate technique, the Zhou Tian Demon Slaying Sword."

Zhou Yang smiled slightly and said, "Xu Ying, as the magistrate of Lingling, I love my people like my own children. I will give you a way out. As long as you surrender, I will not only help you clear your name but also make you an official."

"Do what? Be a corrupt official like you?"

Xu Ying walked to a willow tree nearby, broke off a willow branch about the thickness of a little finger, and smiled, "Corrupt official, let me see how your ancestral technique, obtained from Qin Yan Cave, compares to what I've comprehended myself!"