The cave was not pitch-black as he had imagined. Instead, a soft, milky-white glow filled it, emanating from strange, faintly luminous moss embedded in the stone walls on either side. The air was dry and carried an ancient scent of long-sealed dust, utterly unlike the bloody chaos outside. The passage wound downward into unfathomable depths, its smooth walls bearing clear signs of excavation.
Enduring the searing pain in his internal organs, Han Li leaned against the cold stone wall and circulated the Essence-Concealing Technique at full strength, suppressing his aura to the utmost while his Profound Yin Spirit Eye warily scanned his surroundings. The spatial fluctuations at the entrance had already subsided, and the pursuers' furious roars were completely shut out. He was safe for now.
He swiftly swallowed several healing pills and sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing. He had forcibly unleashed the Profound Fiend Explosion to withstand attacks from several Foundation Establishment cultivators. Though he had used the force of their blows to escape, his internal injuries were serious, and his meridians throbbed faintly. He had to restore his fighting strength as quickly as possible. This unknown cave abode might harbor dangers of its own.
Half an hour later, a little color returned to Han Li's pale face, and his injuries stabilized for the moment. He rose, his gaze settling on the carefully stowed Mystic Womb Spirit-Transforming Vine, and warmth stirred in his heart. This treasure concerned his future path of cultivation; he could not afford to lose it. But now was not the time to refine it.
He cautiously followed the passage deeper inside. It was long and so silent that he could hear only his own footsteps and heartbeat. The farther he ventured, the stronger that ancient, timeworn atmosphere became. Faded murals began appearing on the walls, depicting ancient people performing sacrifices and battling demonic beasts in a rough, primitive style.
After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, the passage suddenly opened into a vast natural cavern. At its center stood a ruined altar, upon which sat a skeleton with its legs crossed! The bones were crystalline as jade, with a faint metallic sheen. They bore some resemblance to the remains he had seen in Venerable Xuan Gu's cave abode, but their aura was far more ancient and majestic! Before the skeleton's chest rested an antiquated black wooden box.
Another ancient cultivator's remains? Han Li's heart tightened, and he dared not let down his guard. Rather than approach immediately, he carefully examined his surroundings. Several long-decayed skeletons lay scattered in the cavern's corners. Judging by their clothing, they were not cultivators of recent times, but people who had entered this place long ago and perished. Faint fluctuations from a restrictive formation permeated the air.
He picked up a pebble and flicked it toward the altar.
Whoosh!
The moment the pebble entered within thirty feet of the altar, several intersecting strands of silver light abruptly flashed into existence. Like razor-sharp blades, they instantly shredded it into powder!
What a formidable restriction! Han Li's pupils contracted. Its power was astonishing; even a Core Formation cultivator would likely suffer for trying to force a way through. Obtaining that wooden box would not be easy.
After pondering briefly, he sat cross-legged at the restriction's edge and slowly extended his spiritual sense, cautiously probing the silver strands. They contained an incomparably sharp aura of geng metal, and their structure was extraordinarily complex, far beyond his present ability to unravel.
Must I leave empty-handed? Han Li frowned. Suddenly, a thought struck him: the dark-red token he had obtained from Venerable Xuan Gu's cave abode-the Mysterious Bone Token! This object shared its origin with his cultivation method. Perhaps...
He took out the Mysterious Bone Token. It felt slightly warm in his hand, and the indistinct rune on its surface seemed to flash. He tentatively infused a wisp of pure spiritual power imbued with profound fiend power into it.
Hum!
The token trembled gently, releasing a ring of almost imperceptible dark-red ripples that spread outward. When they touched the silver strands surrounding the altar, a strange sight unfolded! Like ice and snow meeting sunlight, the deadly strands swiftly softened, dimmed, and finally vanished without a sound! The restriction had actually been dispelled!
It worked! Han Li was overjoyed. It seemed the Mysterious Bone Token was not merely a token of identity, but also a key to certain associated locations! This cave abode most likely had countless threads connecting it to Venerable Xuan Gu and even the Profound Yin Sect behind him!
He cautiously approached and respectfully bowed to the skeleton. "This junior inadvertently entered your resting place, senior. Please forgive any offense." Only then did he carefully take the black wooden box.
The box was heavy in his hands, neither metal nor wood, and carved with runes similar to those on the Mysterious Bone Token. He tried opening it, only to discover a restrictive seal over its opening. He activated the token again. Dark-red ripples swept across the box, and the seal opened at once.
Inside were neither the cultivation manuals nor the divine weapons he had imagined, but only two objects: a dark-colored Jade Slip with an ancient aura, and a palm-sized, jet-black stone covered in natural cloud patterns.
Han Li picked up the Jade Slip first and sank his spiritual sense into it. A flood of information poured into his mind. It was not a cultivation method, but an incomplete... map! And a message!
The map depicted a vast, unfamiliar region-not the Heavenly South, but places he had never heard of and marked danger zones. Several locations had been specially highlighted, with annotations in ancient script: "Profound Yin True Fiend Vein," "Yellow Springs Earth Eye," "Nine Nether Secret Realm"... They appeared to be secret locations related to the Profound Yin Sect's legacy or some powerful fiendish energy. At its far end, the map pointed to an indistinct marker labeled "Spirit-Reversing Passage," beside which was another brief annotation: "Secret of ascension?"
Han Li was shaken to his core! The secret of ascension? The implications were staggering! The owner of this Jade Slip must have been an extraordinary mighty cultivator of ancient times!
The message resolved some of the questions in his mind:
"I am Mo Yuan, an outcast disciple of the Profound Yin Sect. Betrayed by villains, I fled to this realm grievously wounded, clinging to the remnants of life. I obtained part of Senior Brother Mysterious Bone's legacy, yet my path to the Great Dao was severed, and no power could turn back the heavens. I leave this map containing some of the Profound Yin Sect's secrets, along with a Spirit-Nurturing Stone, to one blessed with the fate to find them. Whoever gains the Mysterious Bone Token's recognition shall carry on the flame of the Profound Yin lineage. Use them with care. Do not let the Profound Yin name fall into disgrace, nor follow in my footsteps... Beware... the Netherworld Cult..."
The message ended abruptly, filled with unwillingness and warning.
Mo Yuan... an outcast disciple of the Profound Yin Sect... the Netherworld Cult... Han Li silently committed these names to memory. It seemed the Profound Yin Sect to which Venerable Xuan Gu belonged had been an immensely powerful sect in ancient times, while the Netherworld Cult appeared to be its enemy. Mo Yuan must have been Venerable Xuan Gu's junior brother, who had fled to this realm after suffering grave injuries and ultimately passed away in meditation here.
His gaze turned to the black stone-the Spirit-Nurturing Stone. According to the message, it was a rare treasure capable of nurturing the soul. Wearing it over a long period would slowly strengthen one's spiritual sense. It could also protect the mind and ward off inner demons when attempting to break through a bottleneck. Its value was immeasurable!
The Mystic Womb Spirit-Transforming Vine can purify my spiritual power, nourish my soul, and help me break through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. The Spirit-Nurturing Stone can nurture my spiritual sense and ward off inner demons. And then there's this fragmentary map pointing to the Profound Yin Sect's secrets and the secret of ascension... The rewards of this venture have far exceeded my expectations!
Han Li suppressed his excitement. After committing the Jade Slip's contents to memory, he destroyed it and stowed the Spirit-Nurturing Stone close to his body. He could not linger here. Who knew whether his pursuers might discover another entrance?
He bowed respectfully to Mo Yuan's remains once more and turned to leave. Suddenly, he halted, his gaze falling upon an utterly inconspicuous, dull-gray ring on one of the skeleton's fingers. The wooden box had drawn his attention earlier, and he had overlooked it.
A storage ring? Han Li's interest stirred. An ancient cultivator's storage artifact might contain other items. He carefully used the Mysterious Bone Token to break the ring's weak restriction, then probed inside with his spiritual sense.
The ring's storage space was small and held few things: several bottles of pills whose spiritual energy had long since dissipated, a few pieces of rare ore used in artifact refinement, and a blood-red jade talisman. A savage ghost's head was engraved on the talisman, which emitted faint teleportation fluctuations.
"Is this... a single-use fixed-destination teleportation talisman?" Han Li picked up the blood-red jade talisman. He could sense the spatial power within it, seemingly directed toward a specific set of coordinates. "Could this have been Mo Yuan's prepared means of escape? Or a key to some secret location?"
After a moment's consideration, he put away the useful ores from the ring along with the blood-red teleportation talisman. It might prove invaluable at a critical moment.
Once everything was done, he lingered no longer and swiftly retraced his path. Upon nearing the entrance, he did not rush outside. Instead, he concealed his aura and carefully investigated the situation beyond.
Only after confirming that his pursuers had temporarily withdrawn and no ambush lay nearby did he slip soundlessly out of the cave like a phantom. Choosing a direction opposite to the one he had come from, he unleashed his escape technique and sped away.
Through this encounter, Han Li had not only recovered from most of his injuries, but also gained an immense stroke of fortune. He now felt greater confidence and anticipation toward his approaching journey into the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land's central region.
"The Mystic Womb Spirit-Transforming Vine, the Spirit-Nurturing Stone, the fragmentary map, the teleportation talisman... the Black Fiend Cult, Heavenly Tower Fort, the Spirit Controlling Sect... and that mysterious Netherworld Cult..." A cold gleam flashed in Han Li's eyes. "I, Han Li, am going to wade into these muddy waters! Let's see who has the last laugh!"
His figure vanished into the blood-red mist deeper within the forbidden land. The true struggle had only just begun!
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