After bidding Jiang Taixu farewell, Adam continued onward.
The path ahead began to grow increasingly intricate, branching off in many directions. Fortunately, only a handful of people had entered Purple Mountain over the past thousand years. By following the freshest traces left behind, he could determine which path Zhang Wu-ye's ancestor had taken.
At a corner, Adam found fragments of a stone knife scattered across the ground. It was the same model as the stone knife Zhang Wu-ye had given him.
"The stone knife shattered here, then..."
Adam swung the Jade Staff, and its dove-shaped head cleanly pecked through the skull of the attacker lunging from the shadows.
"Sure enough, a crane-beaked hoe is the most efficient weapon."
Adam shook the blood from the Jade Staff and looked at the somewhat shriveled corpse. Clearly, the creature had been unable to leave Purple Mountain and had nothing to eat. It had already been worn down by severe malnutrition.
Aside from being used for cultivation, source's greatest function was sealing. It could keep someone in an extremely low-energy state, allowing them to reach a future far beyond their natural lifespan.
This creature had likely been sealed in source. Zhang Wu-ye's ancestor had triggered the mechanism and released it. It had emerged to eliminate intruders and protect the existence deeper within the seal, but after killing the intruder, it had been unable to return to its seal.
"Even becoming an emperor only grants a lifespan of ten thousand years... How tragic."
Adam shook his head with a sigh and continued forward.
Before he had gone far, a corpse lying prone on the ground appeared before him. Tattered Stone Clothing hung from its body, and a silver book lay nearby.
This was Zhang Wu-ye's ancestor. He had entered Purple Mountain with the Source Scripture