Secrets of Spirit Ruins

The more Han Yishui got entangled with him, the more miserably he would die in the future. A fate marked by the Calamitous Star was no empty reputation.

And Han Yishui's disciples and relatives were welcome to come ask him questions about cultivation as well. The more, the merrier.

"This way, please."

Han Yishui led the way, deliberately showing Jiang Ming the scenery and foundations of Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.

In the end, the group stopped before a cluster of pavilions wreathed in mist. Towering green bamboo and lush vegetation surrounded them, while pavilions and buildings were scattered naturally throughout. With a rushing sound, clear spring water flowed over the rocks.

Whether grass, trees, or emerald bamboo, everything shimmered with a crystalline luster, as though it had been meticulously carved from jade. Nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon, clouds and rosy mists swirled through the air.

A waterfall a thousand meters high plunged down, its clear waters like a silver dragon guarding this Cave-Heaven Paradise.

Spirit cranes flew freely through the sky, their intelligent eyes gleaming as they curiously examined Jiang Ming.

Next came drinking wine, tasting tea, chatting about all manner of things, and probing one another.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Han Yishui, he brought out his treasured spirit tea for Jiang Ming and his younger brother Han Bugua to sample. The three appeared to be chatting casually, but they were actually discussing the Dao.

Jiang Ming naturally steered the topic toward Dao Patterns. The Formation Dao of this world was based on such things. He had just studied Elder Han's beast-hide book, so this was the perfect opportunity to look into them further.

After discussing the Dao for several hours, everyone gained something.

Even Han Bugua had to admit that Jiang Ming truly had some skill.

Finally, Han Yishui brought out a jug of spirit wine. After the three shared a few cups, their initial probing of one another came to an end.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, the moon had risen above the willow branches.

Just like that.

Jiang Ming's life of dining on rosy clouds and drinking dew, facing savage beasts, exotic birds, ruins, and wilderness every day, had come to a temporary end. He could stay in Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven for a few days.

He could also take the opportunity to explore the secrets beneath Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.

In the original plot, Ye Fan had mentioned that something beneath the bluestone steps at the mountain gate could resonate with the ancient characters he had obtained from the bronze coffin.

Jiang Ming considered it and decided he might as well investigate.

The secret here should have been taken by Weiwei in the original plot.

Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven had produced an extraordinary genius. Jiang Ming recalled that it should have been the Immortal Spirit Eyes. Once her cultivation continued to rise, she would likely discover the secret beneath the bluestone steps and ultimately obtain what was inside.

There was no rush for any of that.

Jiang Ming settled into a guest cave residence. After using several Cleansing Spells and a few minor techniques to tidy it up, he immediately sat down to meditate and cultivate Qi.

Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven was said to rank last among the six Cave-Heaven Paradises. This time, Jiang Ming experienced firsthand that the density of spiritual energy here was inferior to Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven.

No wonder some elders of Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven had grudges against the elders of Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven. They often disdainfully called this place a minor blessed land, unworthy of being called a grotto-heaven.

What was Cave-Heaven Paradise? When cultivation grounds were established in these regions, ancient ruins had been discovered. Some of those ruins contained secret realm spaces, giving these cultivation grounds qualities similar to grotto-heavens.

It could be said that the entire Primordial Ruins, including the six Cave-Heaven Paradises surrounding them, had originally been territory of the demon race. A demon sage had created several small secret-realm worlds for later generations.

Unfortunately, Azure Emperor was suspected to have fallen. This region experienced a terrifying calamity. At that time, saints and sages still existed in the world, and they came bearing heavy weapons to attack, reducing this primordial treasure land to ruins.

After the changes of ages, it became the Primordial Ruins of today.

Many small grotto-heaven worlds had mostly collapsed. Still, a small portion remained and was occupied by later generations, who established cultivation grounds and turned them into human inheritances.

Jiang Ming roughly understood. Perhaps the thing beneath the bluestone steps was connected to the core secret-realm grotto-heaven of Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven, causing the secret realm to consume spiritual energy too quickly and reducing the overall spiritual energy of Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.

Inside the cave residence where he was resting, Jiang Ming inspected the place once. There were no image-recording stones or anything similar nearby. It was merely an ordinary cave residence with some Formation Patterns arranged to gather spiritual energy.

That put him at ease.

The next moment, Jiang Ming transformed into a small Zhu Yan, opened his Fiery Golden Eyes, and looked underground.

He was quite curious. What secret was hidden here?

Zhu Yan's innate God-given ability, Fiery Golden Eyes—Jiang Ming could only unleash sixty percent of its power, but that was already enough. Two golden beams shot from his eyes and pierced deep into the earth veins beneath his feet.

He could see the flow of earth-vein spiritual energy here, like the roots of a tree. Its source flowed out from the secret-realm space in the deepest part of Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.

A small cultivation force like Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven was not even qualified to possess a Source Stone Vein. If it did, everyone in the Cave-Heaven Paradise would be nourished by the natural heaven-and-earth essence emitted by the Source Stone Vein.

Of course, there could not possibly be a dragon vein underground here either.

There might have been one in the past, but it had been taken away through some great God-given ability and extraordinary method.

Jiang Ming knew very well that a terrifying battle had once erupted across this land. The Central Province Dynasty, Desolate Ancient Families, and holy sect forces had all participated.

When the battle ended and they failed to find what they were seeking, they would naturally have looted the place afterward.

When Azure Emperor had still been around, the demon race here had flourished and grown powerful, becoming incredibly wealthy.

In the end, the major powers had scraped the land clean. Even the underground dragon veins and Source Stone Veins had been excavated and taken away.

Jiang Ming shifted his gaze and looked diagonally toward the bluestone steps outside the mountain gate.

"Formation Patterns."

This place was sealed off by a powerful layer of Formation Patterns. If he had not used Fiery Golden Eyes, the innate treasure technique possessed by the Four Divine Apes of the ancient era, he would never have noticed these Dao Patterns.

The being who had laid down these Dao Patterns was incredibly powerful. The Formation Patterns had directly fused with the earth itself.

The bluestone steps themselves were very ordinary. They had been laid by later generations when Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven was established.

The true God-mystery lay deep underground.

No wonder that girl Weiwei had not touched this place.

Given Weiwei's talent, she was likely already a Divine Bridge cultivator.

With the talent of her Immortal Spirit Eyes, she had surely discovered the secret beneath the bluestone steps as well.

But she had no ability to take it away. Those Formation Patterns were too powerful, far beyond what she could touch at present.

Transform!

With a thought, Jiang Ming transformed into a juvenile Gu.

That was right. Though he was small, only the size of a palm, he was still larger than a Heavenly Horned Ant. This was one of the Ten Fiends' lineages.

The innate treasure techniques of the Ten Fiends' lineages involved time and space.

Moreover, the Gu Race possessed an innate talent for burrowing underground, making it perfectly suited for this operation.

A Gu with a dull gray shell appeared. Its wings were six-colored, containing the brilliant flow of time and the vast boundlessness of space.

The Gu Race was born to live within the earth, much like the Heavenly Horned Ant lineage.

Jiang Ming's figure vanished from where he stood. He burrowed into the earth and headed toward the place where he had spotted something profound.

After reaching that location, his figure vanished again. It was the Gu Race's innate treasure technique, Spatial Shift.

At the same time, his wings fluttered once, activating a time-based treasure technique, Flowing Radiance.

His body seemed to become a streak of time's flowing light, vanishing without notice.

Splash!

Jiang Ming's figure passed through that layer of Formation Patterns—or rather, a layer of space—and entered a special space.

The scene before him changed abruptly. He went from the earth into a dim world, as though he had suddenly arrived in another heaven and earth.

This place was completely empty, or rather, deathly silent. Only a scroll of scripture floated in the void, becoming the sole center as it emitted a soft, precious glow.

As expected, it was some kind of scripture treasure?

Then if it could cause the God-mysterious Emperor characters deep within Ye Fan's sea of consciousness to resonate, it had to be at least at the level of an Emperor Scripture's secret art, right?

Jiang Ming's heart filled with anticipation. This time, he directly transformed into a Spirit Stone Ape, one of the most intelligent races in heaven and earth. With the aid of Fiery Golden Eyes, he first observed whether there was anything else strange around the location of that scroll.