These words sent a chill down Gu Chen's spine once again.
He felt his hands and feet were ice-cold, and there seemed to be a pent-up frustration brewing in his chest, unable to be released!
Gu Chen quickly turned his head and looked at the mountain range under the lonely moon, its silver light spilling across the ground as if coated with a layer of silver powder, covering its entire outline. He was horrified! The ghost cultivation manual, "The Heaven-Reaching Netherworld Art," actually came from this Dragon Spine Mountain before him!
No wonder. He was still wondering why there was a ghost cultivator's manual in the Land of Heaven and Earth. If there was, it should have been found by someone long ago. Why would it attract so many people, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, and ultimately fall into the hands of the Wang Gui?
Nan Wuhen's words clearly indicate that someone deliberately released them!
Who put it there?
If Nan Wuhen's analysis is true, then the answer is simple and there is only one: the original inhabitants of this place!
Although Nan Wuhen's words were mostly filled with his own subjective speculation, Gu Chen was certain that there really seemed to be people in this Land of Heaven and Earth who knew the methods of cultivating immortality! The "Heaven-Reaching Netherworld Art" was the signal they released; they might be ghost cultivators, or perhaps not!
Gu Chen was shaken, as if a heavy object had fallen and slammed into his heart.
"Now you should understand that Dragon Spine Mountain is a dangerous place to go," Nan Wuhen said. "Ancient martial arts families from Huaxia have been in the Land of Heaven and Earth for hundreds of years, but to this day, it remains an unknown land, a wilderness uncharted by anyone."
"Has anyone ever crossed Dragon Spine Mountain?" Gu Chen couldn't help but ask.
"No." Nan Wuhen shook his head and said, "As I just said, many experts on the Dragon Ranking have tried to go over the years, but without exception, none have returned. My predecessor's generation had three top-three experts on the Dragon Ranking go together, but they also disappeared without a trace. Otherwise, where do you think the term 'forbidden area' for the Heaven and Earth Forest came from?"
"Interesting." Gu Chen's eyes burned with excitement.
The more fantastical and exaggerated Nan Wuhen's words became, the more excited and impatient he became!
He had previously thought that he might be the only cultivator on Earth, but now it seemed that there were others like him in this Land of Heaven and Earth! Although it was still uncertain, the signal was very clear! At least the people inside possessed cultivation techniques, whether they were ghost cultivators or orthodox ones, it didn't matter!
To return to Heavenly Nether Star, one must venture into this Endless Sea! Perhaps, it's truly possible!
Moreover, the guidance given to him by his master, Luo Yunxi, was clearly in the Land of Heaven and Earth, or even beyond that Endless Sea!
Having figured everything out, Gu Chen took a deep breath and said, "I understand."
"What do you understand?" Nan Wuhen, having seen countless people, noticed Gu Chen's subtle reaction but discerned something from the boy's delicate expression. He asked, "Do you still want to go?"
"Of course I'll go," Gu Chen said decisively.
"Are you crazy?" Nan Wuhen asked in astonishment. "I've made the pros and cons so clear. Even if you're trying to escape, there's absolutely no need for you. The two of us can go almost anywhere in the Land of Heaven and Earth together, and we can leave the Heaven and Earth Forest without any problems. Why do you have to go to Dragon Spine Mountain!"
"Perhaps, it's to prove something, or perhaps it's for some mission I myself don't even know." Gu Chen looked at the undulating mountains and said, "There seems to be something there that keeps drawing me in; I have to go!"
"Madman!" Nan Wuhen's expression shifted as he cursed.
"I'm not crazy. Why would I make a big show of going to the Heaven and Earth Palace after entering the Land of Heaven and Earth? I'm not crazy. Why would I expose my cultivation method?" Gu Chen laughed and said, "Senior Chu, you're right. I am a madman, a complete and utter madman!"
Seeing the frenzied look on Gu Chen's face caused by excitement, Nan Wuhen was speechless.
He was certain once again that he couldn't see through this person!
Yes!
Anyone who obtains a cultivation method would probably not dare to reveal it, but Gu Chen is so blatant and reckless. Moreover, based on his observation just now, this kid is not an idiot at all, but rather cunning and treacherous, even more so than him!
His actions can probably be summed up in one sentence: he has the confidence and the audacity to back it up!
"I'll ask you one more time, are you sure you want to go, to enter the Dragon Spine Mountain Range?" Nan Wuhen asked.
"Senior Nan, if you don't want to go, you can't stop me," Gu Chen said. "Don't worry, our cooperation still stands."
"You're courting death!" Nan Wuhen roared, "Entering the Dragon Spine Mountain Range means certain death! So many powerful figures have failed to emerge, and you will face the same fate! Your cultivation methods will be lost inside!"
"I understand what you mean," Gu Chen said. "Listen to the incantation."
"What?"
Nan Wuhen looked puzzled, but Gu Chen didn't explain. Instead, he started reciting a mantra.
At first, Nan Wuhen didn't react, but the more he listened, the more his heart trembled, and finally his face was filled with horror.
"This is Fire Summoning Technique. Although it's a low-level spell, a martial artist's Inner Breath can still activate it," Gu Chen said calmly. "Consider this an advance payment for our cooperation."
Gu Chen didn't teach Zhao Bo any martial arts techniques, since Nan Wuhen had already reached the peak of martial arts and was almost as strong as him.
To gain the trust of this old fox, only what he expects will move him!
That is, magic!
"Fire Summoning Technique?" Nan Wuhen's body trembled!
Having reached his level, his comprehension ability was naturally quite good. When he heard the word "spell," he didn't care whether it was high-level or low-level. He immediately closed his eyes and began to circulate his internal Inner Breath to his fingers, following the incantation that Gu Chen had just recited.
Before long, a few sparks of fire appeared on Nan Wuhen's fingers!
The flame wasn't very intense, only about the size of a thumb, but looking at it, Nan Wuhen felt as if he had discovered a new continent. His eyes lit up, his whole body trembled, and even his limbs felt weak!
"Fire! I have summoned fire!"
Nan Wuhen's throat tightened. In his more than one hundred years of life, he had never felt so excited and agitated. Oh, perhaps he had, back in his hazy memory, when he was eight years old, the first time he came into contact with martial arts!
But now, at this moment, he suddenly felt as if he had lived for more than a hundred years in vain, and everything from the past seemed to have been completely overturned at this moment.
A cold wind blew through the dark forest, and a chilling gust extinguished the flame on Nan Wuhen's finger.
Although the flames had been extinguished, they hadn't extinguished the burning passion in Nan Wuhen's heart. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he turned to look at Gu Chen and asked in a trembling voice, "This spell... I summoned it?"