Yin

An unimaginably enormous section of tree root lay across a fissure in the ground. Its outer bark had long since rotted and peeled away, exposing wood riddled with holes beneath.

The root was as thick as a palace pillar, winding and coiling deeper underground like the remains of a giant python dead for ten thousand years. Countless holes pocked its charred cross-section, and fungal threads and rotting moss stretched between their walls in a deathly pale web.

"So that's why the Spider Mother insisted on using the 'Blood Slaughter Incantation' to curse every spider demon I captured to death. This is the mountain's true secret."

Fang Lin and Jiang Wangxuan exchanged a glance and followed the tunnel through the dead tree downward.

Firelight shone into the depths of the tunnel. Those stone cracks and rocky crevices, the structures of the mountain that should have been naturally formed-once their outer layers were stripped away, all that lay beneath was a tangled network of woody veins.

Over the long years, the sap of the rotten wood had hardened into amber-colored lumps embedded among the rootlets. In the firelight, they gleamed a deep, dark gold.

"So that's how Jinping Mountain was formed. The remains of an ancient tree that had existed for who knew how many years finally became one with the mountain. The roots of this dead tree nourished the foundation of the entire mountain."

Jiang Wangxuan added in shock, "Could True Person Shouhui's real purpose be to use the path of incense offerings to revive this ancient tree? That's why the temple enshrined a black wooden tablet instead of the 'Cicada Immortal.' That tablet referred to this ancient tree."

As they continued downward, the two finally saw that the hollows in the dead wood were connected. The large ones were like halls, the small ones like passageways, and they stretched downward for dozens of zhang.

The inner walls of every level of tree hollows were covered in thick layers of spider silk, from which hung ghastly white, shriveled cocoon sacs, most of them already split open. The spider swarm had made its home in this tree hollow, only for all of them to perish on this snowy night.

The deeper they went, the denser the spider silk became, like layer upon layer of congealed, bloody grime. It had bored through the dead tree's entire root network, turning it into a spider nest.

And the Spider Mother's presence rose from the deepest part, so thick it had nearly taken tangible form.

"It's 'seen' us!" Cooking Radiance True Essence surged through Fang Lin.

But at that moment, Jiang Wangxuan took out the 'Cicada Immortal's' thumb ring. Ever since he released that 'Radiant Wish,' the ring had been as lifeless as a dead thing, but here at the bottom of the tree hollow, the veins of the cicada pattern engraved on it flashed once more with a cold light.

"It seems the Cicada Immortal's 'legacy' is down here underground, and the Spider Mother has already claimed it for itself."

Fang Lin looked into the dark, deep tunnel and fell silent for a moment. The firelight flickered across his face, illuminating the inescapable gravity between his brows.

At last, he gave a rueful smile and turned to Jiang Wangxuan, genuine feeling in his voice.

"Tonight's affair had nothing to do with you, Brother Jiang. We only met a few days ago, yet you came into the mountain with me on a snowy night. I'm deeply touched by your bold spirit."

He paused, his gaze settling on the roiling dark red presence deep in the tunnel. His voice grew grave. "The Dao Path ahead is perilous, and I cannot be sure I'll make it out unscathed. But if I asked you to leave now, Brother Jiang, I doubt you'd be willing."

Jiang Wangxuan smiled too. "We've already come this far. Since we're here, we might as well have a look. As people say online these days, we should at least check in, right?"

"Indeed, indeed. That's the way of it."

Fang Lin nodded, then said solemnly, "But if the fight is beyond us, Brother Jiang, your first priority must be keeping yourself safe. What lies ahead is a struggle between the Spider Mother and me over our Dao Paths. That isn't true for you, Brother Jiang."

He sighed again and reached into his robes, taking out a warm stone the size of a copper coin. It was dark orange throughout, its surface covered in fine fire patterns like the cracks burned into the inside of a stove over many years. It was warm to the touch, but never hot enough to burn.

"Brother Jiang, you came from a poor family, yet you have such cultivation at your age. The road to Foundation Establishment lies wide open before you, so you must take care of yourself. This 'Hearth Stone' is a token of my Jixia Fang Household. Please keep it safe, Brother Jiang."

He handed over the Hearth Stone, his tone so frank it was almost casual. "If I die, I'll have to rely on you, Brother Jiang, to call in help and collect my corpse. With this 'Hearth Stone' as proof, the Jixia Fang Household will receive you as an honored guest. You needn't worry."

Jiang Wangxuan looked at the man before him: a square face, a broad forehead, and a bristling, wiry beard. The awe-inspiring righteousness in his features was etched into his very bones, yet he was so open and forthright that there was nothing affected about him.

He reached out and took the Hearth Stone. As he closed his palm around it, warmth spread along his meridians, gentle rather than fierce, just like the temperament of the man before him.

Jiang Wangxuan put the Hearth Stone away and said no more. He simply flicked his sleeve, and a stream of Clear Water surged out of thin air. Clear and blue-green, it slipped into the tree passage like a spirit serpent, washing away every trace of the leftover spider silk and rotting moss.

Where the water passed, something of the original wood grain emerged on the inner walls of the dead tree. Though still rotten, it was no longer so filthy.

"Rest assured, Brother Fang." Jiang Wangxuan drew the water back into his sleeve. "If the fight is beyond us, I'll be the first to run."

Fang Lin stared for a moment, then burst out laughing.

The two continued down the wooden passage. At first, the atmosphere was still oppressive and dark. The sour stench of rotting wood mingled with the damp, earthy smell of soil, making the air so stifling that even circulating Law Power became sluggish.

Occasional flashes of firefly-green phosphorescence flickered and vanished in the holes on either side of the passage, lighting up the mottled grain on the walls. But after they passed through a dilapidated wooden door, the space before them suddenly opened up.

The wooden door hung half-collapsed from its frame. The runic patterns once carved into its panels had long since blurred beyond recognition, leaving only several deep cracks running across them. Fang Lin reached out and pushed the panels aside. The rotten wood crumbled at his touch and fell with a rustle.

Beyond the door was a vast space with no end in sight.

The two stood rooted to the spot, speechless for a moment. A hundred zhang above them was a vaulted ceiling of tangled roots. Countless roots as thick as palace pillars intertwined to form a net across the heavens, and points of dim blue phosphorescence filtered through the gaps like stars hanging upside down.

The light came from luminous moss growing between the roots. It spread along the enormous roots, bathing the entire underground space in a wavering glow, as though they had fallen into an inverted starry sky.

At the very center, a dead, broken section of the main root hung down from the ceiling. It was so thick that even ten people joining hands might not have been able to encircle it. Where the bark had peeled away, grayish-white wood lay exposed, silently telling of the giant tree's size and age when it was alive.

And beneath their feet was actual earth. Fallen leaves had piled up into a thick carpet, soft and silent underfoot, with clusters of deathly pale mushrooms sprouting among them.

Several streams seeped out from between the roots and converged in a shallow pool. The water was clear enough to see the bottom, reflecting the inverted "starry sky" overhead.

Standing in this underground wilderness, the two could not quiet the shock in their hearts. Even Big Fat Fish, inside the Rising Yang Mansion, drew a sharp breath. She had truly never seen a sight like this.

This was no spider nest. It was plainly the enormous remains left behind when the dead tree died, eroded by time and the Qi of the earth into an underground grotto-heaven.

Those mushrooms and mosses were new life growing on these remains, creating a different scene upon a foundation of death.

"It seems this is where the Spider Mother depends on to survive. Not one of its spider swarms has ever entered."

Fang Lin walked over to the main root hanging from the ceiling. Emerald-green sap was still flowing from the dead, broken trunk, and every drop nourished this underground wilderness.

Jinping Mountain outside shared the same roots and origin as this wilderness. After Jiang Wangxuan strolled through it, Big Fat Fish, inside the Rising Yang Mansion, stared without blinking at the Black Tide sweeping in once more!

"Master, ever since you got that big red out of the thumb ring, this Black Tide has been so annoying, popping up every now and then!"

Jiang Wangxuan acknowledged her inwardly, then sent Big Fat Fish a message. "This is the first time we've sensed an emotion from the Black Tide. It's feeling nostalgic!"

At that moment, the 'Black Tide,' which seemed to have been activated by the Jiang Household bloodline, was remembering this ruined, dead tree.

"Yin!"

In his bloodline, in his soul, Jiang Wangxuan learned the name of this dead tree.

After returning to his hometown, he had labored and rushed about without gaining anything. He had never expected that, on Jinping Mountain, he might have found the source of the 'Black Tide.'

It seemed he and Fang Lin were quite fated. This trip into the mountain had indeed depended on the various pieces of information Fang Lin had gathered earlier, and it was thanks to the Cicada Immortal's 'thumb ring' that Fang Lin had provided that he had finally found this place.

Fang Lin, meanwhile, was filled with shock. He could no longer see. His karma had been completely severed here; he could see nothing at all!

From the moment he entered the tree hollow beneath the temple, his connection with Him had gradually faded. Who had blocked His great power?

Was it this ruined, dead tree?

No, impossible. Unless this giant tree, which had become one with the mountain, had already attained gold and ascended to its place, how could he possibly have lost his connection with Him?

What else was hidden in this mountain, in this wilderness?

An ill-timed hiss rang out from the eastern part of the wilderness. Immediately afterward, a wave of cold Qi mixed with bloody Sha Qi rushed at their faces.

The Spider Mother, which regarded this little world of wilderness as its exclusive domain, was warning the intruders.

Neither Jiang Wangxuan nor Fang Lin paid the Spider Mother any attention at first, despite its warning. Only when a second hiss sounded did both turn displeased gazes toward the east of the wilderness.

"Guarding such a rare and blessed land, yet even now it's only at qi refinement perfection. Brother Jiang, if this spider had followed the immortal path, here amid this legacy of wood virtue, it would have had a chance to glimpse Divine Abilities and the Purple Mansion."

Jiang Wangxuan sighed as well. "A precious pearl covered in dust!"