Obtained the "Source Heavenly Book," Leaving Purple Mountain

Lin Yu continued onward, heading deeper into Purple Mountain. By a stroke of fortune, he had refined the Demon God Seal before the purple jade wall this time. It was an unexpected gain.

But he could not take that jade wall with him, so he still had to find the "Source Heavenly Book."

The lineage of Source Arts studied mountains, terrain, dragon veins, and feng shui. Unlike ordinary cultivators, they were closer to the Feng Shui Array Dao. Their realms included Source Earth Master, Source Heavenly Master, Source Emperor, and more.

Source Heavenly Masters were common, but Source Emperors were nowhere to be found. Only Duan De, Underworld Venerable in his Second Life, seemed to have reached that realm. He had built the unprecedented source formation of Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountain for Emperor Venerable, nurturing the immortal artifact known as the Immortal Ascension Cauldron.

Interestingly, the lineage of Source Arts revered the Source Emperor as its founding patriarch. The Source Emperor had produced Source Gods and Source Ghosts, and Source Gods and Source Ghosts, in turn, cursed Source Heavenly Masters with misfortune in their later years. It truly formed a perfect loop.

Although Lin Yu had refined the Hell Furnace, which was said to be capable of squeezing oil from even rocks, there was a saying for this, wasn't there? Someone who ate rocks could not appreciate fine grain.

Cultivation was so slow. When would he ever fulfill his dream of suppressing the Restricted Areas and sweeping the world clean?

After walking two or three li, Lin Yu reached the depths of the mine shaft and discovered a massive piece of source stone sealing a beautiful woman with an ethereal bearing.

Beside it was a stone inscription left by Zhang Jiye in worship. She should have been Yang Yi, the Jade Lake Holy Maiden from ten thousand years ago. Back then, she had died for love of Zhang Lin, the Source Heavenly Master. He had used the methods of a Source Heavenly Master to seal her within Special Divine Source, leaving her with a faint trace of life.

A Primordial Being's corpse lay collapsed nearby. It had indeed been Zhang Lin's doing. After turning into a half-human, half-other creature, he had remained here to guard Yang Yi.

"For thirty years I searched for swordsmen; how many times had fallen leaves returned to budding branches? Since first seeing peach blossoms, I have never doubted again."

"My cultivation is still too low. I cannot save you yet." Lin Yu sighed, then turned and continued forward.

Further on, he encountered a group of Yin people and Yin Horses that had emerged from a Yin Meridian. All of them became Lin Yu's takeout.

"Of all people, you had to provoke me? Don't you know exterminating demons is my specialty?" Lin Yu opened the Hell Furnace and reduced them to tribulation ash with a single blaze.

Suddenly, Lin Yu sensed a prying gaze. He turned around and saw a Primordial Being charging at him from behind. Its lower body was that of a serpent, as thick as a water vat and dozens of meters long. Its upper body resembled a human's and was covered in black beast fur. A huge black hand reached out, seeking to strangle him.

These were the guards left behind by those self-sealed Primordial Beings. They had originally sealed themselves in source, but now that their seals had broken, they could basically never return. Naturally, they were a little cranky after waking up.

Lin Yu flickered backward, the Wings of the Demon flashing behind him as he evaded its attack.

"Spear of the Underworld God!"

A Spear of the Underworld God appeared in Lin Yu's hand. Dark-golden blood gathered into the patterns of hell, endlessly intertwining, while notes from hell began to resound, ruling over life and death.

With one thrust of the Spear of the Underworld God, two bloody holes instantly appeared in those huge hands. Soul-piercing pain struck, making the Primordial Being let out a shrill scream.

At that moment, a foul wind surged in the distance, accompanied by a long, piercing howl.

A monstrous bird more than ten meters long charged over. It had no feathers, its entire body covered in scales. Unfortunately, its body was too large for it to spread its wings and fly, so it could only run across the ground.

"Oh, are you starting to call for help?"

Lin Yu was fearless. With a shake of his spear, it stretched to more than ten meters long, becoming as large as the monstrous bird. A vortex of hell appeared and tore through the bird's assault.

The two monsters attacked from both sides, their overwhelming killing intent surging as they desperately sought to kill Lin Yu at once. Lin Yu remained completely calm. Taking advantage of their enormous size, he darted and maneuvered through the air.

The dark-golden vortex upon the Spear of the Underworld God continuously sucked their attacks into the Hell Furnace within his body. The longer he fought, the stronger he became.

"Hell Furnace!"

A distorted Force Field appeared across several hundred paces of space. The two Primordial Beings' attacks were warped by the Force Field the moment they struck it and drawn into the Hell Furnace. Even sound could not escape.

The Primordial Beings were horrified. They tried to flee and summon clansmen of higher realms to kill Lin Yu, but the Force Field dragged them inexorably closer to the Hell Furnace. In the end, both were drawn inside.

"Not bad. Better than nothing, I suppose. A few more of these should be enough for one particle."

Hell True Flame burned, refining the two Primordial Beings into life essence. Lin Yu smacked his lips.

With the Primordial Beings no longer interfering, the path ahead was relatively peaceful. Before long, Lin Yu entered a vast and empty hall.

The hall was enormous. At a glance, Lin Yu saw a skeleton covered in wounds, as well as a silver book.

"This should be Grandpa Zhang Wu's ancestor, Zhang Jiye, and the Source Heavenly Book. I never expected that he followed in his ancestor's footsteps only to fall here in the end."

Lin Yu picked up the silver book. It was forged from metal and had around a hundred pages. It felt exceptionally heavy in his hands. Three ancient characters were engraved upon it: Source Heavenly Book.

When he opened it, a line of words gleamed brightly before his eyes:

"Look up to observe the images of heaven; look down to observe the laws of earth. Observe the patterns of birds and beasts, and the suitability of the land...

"Internal qi sprouts, external qi takes form; internal and external complement one another...

"Above, it corresponds to the stars; below, it manifests as a map of the earth. Heaven and earth take shape, and the trigrams move in stability..."

It was not merely a book that taught one how to seek source. It also explained how to use source to approach the Dao and ultimately attain the realm where man and heaven became one.

It emphasized examining the lay of mountains and rivers, the structure of terrain, and the changes in celestial phenomena. It involved Yin-Yang and Five Elements, as well as methods of resonance between man and heaven. It was profoundly mysterious and difficult to comprehend.

Lin Yu roughly flipped through it and found a line of small writing at the end:

"At the center of the valley lies no valley, without form or shadow, neither opposing nor defying. It remains low without moving, guards stillness without fading; thus is the valley formed, though its form cannot be seen..."

It was an excerpt from the Western Emperor Scripture that the Jade Lake Holy Maiden had passed to Zhang Lin, hoping he could use it to cultivate his nature and prolong his life.

After putting away the "Source Heavenly Book," Lin Yu prepared to study it after returning. He also gathered Zhang Jiye's remains, intending to bring them back to the stone village so he could return to his roots.

Lin Yu walked out of the hall and arrived before the "Beginningless Scripture." The terrain here resembled an altar, with the stone scripture displayed atop it. It was a stone book more than ten meters long and one or two meters thick.

Three large characters were inscribed upon it: Beginningless Scripture!

Lin Yu stepped forward and reached out to test it. As expected, there was no reaction. It seemed he would have to wait for the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo.

At that moment, the Emperor Jade he carried also began to glow, resonating with the "Beginningless Scripture." Lin Yu saw a groove on the altar, precisely the place where the Emperor Jade was meant to be placed.

Unfortunately, the Emperor Jade was incomplete and could only serve as a ticket.

Not far away, Lin Yu saw several lines of writing on the stone wall. One had been left by Jiang Taixu:

"Great Emperor Wushi's achievements rivaled creation itself, shaking the ancient and illuminating the present. Alas, I could not glimpse his methods. It is the greatest regret of my life..."

There was also one by Gu Tianshu:

"At the end of the immortal path, who stands at the peak? At the sight of Wushi, all Dao becomes empty..."

Behind the stone book, vines covered the ground in lush profusion. The ancient mines were filled with plants, through which that demonic power was being emitted.

After paying a brief tribute to Great Emperor Wushi's greatness, Lin Yu prepared to take his leave from Purple Mountain.

Lin Yu came before the groove in the altar and placed the Emperor Jade inside. The instant the ancient jade sank into it, the area became dazzlingly bright. Light shot into the heavens, and an enormous curtain of radiance enveloped him. Array patterns activated and began to traverse the void.