Xu Ying's eyes gleamed. If he could trace this back to its source, wouldn't that mean he had an endless supply of mysterious energy at his disposal?
Even if he couldn't unseal the Mud Pill secret depository, he could continuously absorb its vitality, forge a Hidden Scenery, and become a Nuo master!
He immediately re-entered meditative trance, turned his vision inward, and entered the Realm of Xiyi within his body.
This time, Xu Ying's divine sense no longer followed the mysterious energy along its path through the Realm of Xiyi. Instead, he traced the mysterious energy against its current, venturing outside his body!
His consciousness traveled upstream, plunging into the water.
Within the water, currents of various mysterious energies swirled into violent torrents, treacherous and erratic. With the slightest carelessness, his divine sense would be swept into the churning turbulence and lose its bearings completely.
Just then, a voice resonated along with the chime of a bell: "Young man, I'll steady your divine sense with my chime!"
A resounding *dang* echoed in Xu Ying's ears, lingering and melodious. It rendered his divine sense incomparably serene and steadfast, impervious to external disruptions.
Xu Ying seized the chance, slipping between the swirling currents and drifting farther and farther into the cavern along the trail of that wisp of mysterious energy.
It felt as if he were passing through ancient dimensional realms, stepping into an unfathomable, unknowable world. Even the chimes of the bronze bell grew distant, as though separated by boundless space.
Xu Ying couldn't help feeling a pang of fear. If his divine sense failed to find its way back, wouldn't he end up an idiot?
"My divine sense traveled through time and space following this mysterious energy, going so far without reaching the source. It seems this truly is a grotto-heaven and blessed land! Master Bell was definitely wrong!"
Just as Xu Ying was about to retrace his steps, the bell chimes gradually grew clearer.
He froze in surprise.
The bell chimes growing clearer meant he was drawing closer to his physical body!
But how was that possible?
His divine sense had clearly traversed space-times and planes following the mysterious energy, as if journeying hundreds of millions of li—so why was he actually getting closer to himself?
Xu Ying's divine sense pursued the strand of mysterious energy into the Mud Pill Palace, arriving before the stone wall behind it. The source of the mysterious energy lay inside that stone wall.
Xu Ying withdrew his divine sense, leaped out of the water, and swiftly pulled on his tattered clothes.
He checked on Yuan Qi and saw the snake demon was still in the middle of molting, so he walked over to the stone wall behind the palace alone.
The wall was covered in moss, appearing no different from any ordinary cliff face. Xu Ying examined his surroundings; the mysterious energy had seeped into this very stone wall before vanishing.
He knocked lightly on the stone wall. It sounded solid and thick.
After a moment's thought, Xu Ying said, "Master Bell, come out for a moment."
The bronze bell flew out of his mind and asked, "What is it?"
Xu Ying grabbed the bell by its suspension loop, swung it in a wide arc, and slammed it furiously against the stone wall. The bronze bell shrieked in horror: "What are you doing? Put me down! *Dang!* You insolent brat! *Dang!* Fuck your ancestors, I'll fight you to the death! *Dang!* A bell may be broken, but never humiliated! *Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!*"
The bronze bell vibrated violently, yet the stone wall didn't budge in the slightest.
Setting the bronze bell down, Xu Ying stepped forward and stroked the wall, pondering, "There really is something strange here. The bronze bell can shatter even Lord City God's golden body. Ordinary rock couldn't possibly be tougher than the City God."
The bronze bell hurriedly scrambled away from Xu Ying, lingering fear in its tone: "This kid has violent tendencies!"
At that moment, Xu Ying noticed a faint impression on the stone wall. It looked like the imprint of a left palm, hazy and indistinct.
Moved by a hunch, he reached out with his left hand and placed it over the palm print.
The stone wall trembled slightly, then ground apart with a sudden clatter, opening into a narrow passage. Xu Ying stepped inside, only to see the stone walls drawing back as square stone blocks retracted into the mountain's interior. The bronze bell hurriedly followed.
As Xu Ying walked forward, the stone walls continuously receded. After advancing dozens of zhang, he arrived at a stone chamber deep within the mountain.
The chamber wasn't large—about four zhang in length and width—and was quite austere, containing only a prayer mat and a jade couch. Upon the mat sat a skeleton clad in cyan robes as sheer as cicada wings, through which the bones were plainly visible. The skeleton sat with its head bowed, its skeletal hands cupped as if supporting something, though nothing remained in its grasp.
Around the skeleton stood rows of bookshelves, now completely bare, and in a corner of the wall lay a pile of ashes.
"The mysterious energy in Qinyan Cave came from inside this skeleton's skull!"
Xu Ying's heart jolted. Just as he stepped forward, he spotted a pair of silk-wound gloves and a snake-startling rod lying beside the skeleton. He paused, taken aback. "Those look like a snake catcher's gear! Another snake catcher came here before us!"
Snake catchers used silk-wound gloves to seize snakes by the fatal spot seven inches below the head, and snake-startling rods to flush venomous snakes out of the grass. Xu Ying was a snake catcher himself, so he was naturally familiar with both tools. However, since achieving success in cultivation, he had rarely needed to use them.
"This has been the home of Yuan Qi's family for three generations. They've lived here for over three hundred years. How could a snake catcher have entered Qinyan Cave and found this place?"
At this thought, Xu Ying suddenly recalled the book he had read the previous night—the travel journal written by Yuan Qi's grandfather. Because it had been dreadfully dry, he had fallen asleep while reading.
"I remember the book saying Yuan Qi's grandfather was hunted by a snake catcher and fled into Qinyan Cave, where he discovered a cave within a cave and found this Mud Pill Palace Grotto-Heaven."
Xu Ying mused, "Could it be that he never actually shook that snake catcher off? That snake catcher followed him and also found the Mud Pill Palace Grotto-Heaven. That man must have been exceptionally clever—he even detected the mysterious energy of Qinyan Cave and traced it here! In that case, the books on these shelves must have been taken by him."
He inspected the pile of ashes in the corner. The snake catcher could only carry away so many books; what he couldn't carry, he burned to the ground!
Xu Ying sighed with regret. "The master of this chamber was most likely the master of the Mud Pill Palace whom the maiden in the coffin was searching for. He died in this chamber and left his legacy behind. That snake catcher stumbled upon this place by chance and obtained the senior's legacy, but fearing that others might also find it, he burned the senior's life's work to clean ash!"
The bronze bell circled the skeleton once, sensing closely, and said, "The mysterious energy indeed stems from this person's skull. It seems before he died, he used what remained of his power to help future seekers divine the dragon's lair and locate their Mud Pill secret depository."
Xu Ying walked over to the ashes in the corner and sifted through them with his hands. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he pulled out a book that had mostly been burned away.
The snake catcher had burned too many books, and this one, pressed at the very bottom, had escaped the full brunt of the flames. A few pages remained, with legible writing faintly discernible upon them.
Xu Ying read carefully, his heart pounding, and cried out in astonishment, "This describes the method to unseal the Mud Pill secret depository!"
The bronze bell flew over and said, "The method to unseal the Mud Pill secret depository? That doesn't make sense. The demonic woman I suppressed was a Qi Refiner, and she knew the master of this place, so he was naturally a Qi Refiner as well! In their era, Nuo arts and Nuo methods hadn't even appeared yet. How could there be a method to unseal a secret depository?"
Xu Ying was puzzled as well. "Could this skeleton not be the person the maiden in the coffin was looking for? Wait... who was that snake catcher?"
He stared blankly in contemplation, then blurted out, "The Zhou clan of Lingling also began their rise over three hundred years ago before later relocating to the capital. The Zhou clan's closely guarded secret is none other than the Mud Pill secret depository. Could it be that the snake catcher who followed Yuan Qi's grandfather into Qinyan Cave was the ancestor of the Zhou clan?"
The bronze bell was also taken aback. "Three hundred years ago, a man and a snake entered Qinyan Cave. Three hundred years later, it's still a man and a snake entering Qinyan Cave. Both snake demons only discovered the White Jade Palace outside, failing to notice the chamber inside the stone wall. Both snake catchers discovered the stone chamber. Isn't that a bit too coincidental?"
Xu Ying looked around. When the Zhou clan ancestor entered this place all those years ago, this stone chamber must have been packed with an immense collection of books—all the Nuo methods and Nuo arts practiced by the chamber's master.
The Zhou clan ancestor took the most crucial Nuo methods and Nuo arts, and what he couldn't take, he set ablaze. The books he carried away ultimately propelled the Zhou clan to prominence, transforming them from a humble snake catcher in Lingling into a colossal aristocratic clan!
"That copy of the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist that Yuan Qi's grandfather found was probably just a low-grade demonic technique the Zhou clan ancestor tossed aside out of pity," Xu Ying thought to himself.
He carefully smoothed out the surviving fragments of the ancient book and read intently. The text on the remaining pages was incomplete, forcing him to piece together the missing parts in his mind.
The book stated that among the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body, the Mud Pill was chief. The chaotic primordial egg was the Mud Pill secret depository itself, but the power it contained was simply too monumental; one first had to chisel through the chaos.
By carving a grotto-heaven out of the chaos, one could dredge up the vitality of the Mud Pill. Once one's cultivation reached a certain level, another grotto-heaven could be opened, delving deeper into the Mud Pill to dredge up even more of its vitality.
Repeating this process until all nine layers of grotto-heavens were unsealed, one could dredge out the full might of the Mud Pill secret depository.
And the method to chisel open the Mud Pill secret depository was exceedingly simple: strike the chaotic primordial egg with maximum force!
"A matter like this truly does require the assistance of a Grand Nuo."
Stowing the fragments away, Xu Ying reflected, "The Mud Pill secret depository resides within the brain. With the slightest mistake, one would literally blast a hole through their head, splattering their brains everywhere. Even with the help of a Grand Nuo, it's bound to be perilous."
"I can help you," the bronze bell offered abruptly.
"I am exceedingly powerful," the bell declared. "Even though I suffered grievous injuries from that demonic woman, a short burst of power from me far surpasses anything a Grand Nuo can muster. But I won't do it for free. If I help unseal your Mud Pill secret depository, you must supply me with more vital qi and blood to aid my recovery."
Xu Ying glanced at it, rather hesitant.
The bronze bell was indeed extraordinarily potent. Even after being severely damaged, it could contend against two top masters like Zhou Yihang and City God Xue. While it was fast asleep, Xu Ying had even swung it and nearly battered Zhou Yihang and the wicked City God Xue to death.
What worried Xu Ying was that the bell was too violent. If it unleashed a full-strength strike inside his head, it wouldn't just blast an opening—his head would probably detonate with a loud bang.
*There probably wouldn't be anything left above my neck,* Xu Ying thought.
Seeing his hesitation, the bell grew suspicious. "Don't tell me you distrust me? Listen here, kid named Xu—in my time, I have fought in no fewer than a thousand battles, great and small. You dare doubt me? Who doesn't know that Master Bell of Mount Xiaoshi is steady and reliable, with a sterling reputation?"
Xu Ying muttered vaguely, "Right, right... But how did the maiden in the coffin escape?"
The bronze bell flew into a rage, bellowing, "Someone ambushed me, obviously, and rescued the demonic woman amidst the chaos! Those bastards had been plotting against me for a long time. They even went so far as to slaughter countless lives just to divert the Nai River to assault Mount Xiaoshi! Otherwise, how could I have ever let that demonic woman escape?"
Seeing Xu Ying still hesitant, the bell hurriedly added, "Let's go outside the cave. I'll show you my aim!"
Xu Ying walked out of the stone chamber and entered the Mud Pill Palace, where Yuan Qi remained fast asleep.
He exited Qinyan Cave and stepped onto Mount Wuwang. A cool breeze brushed by. The bronze bell floated up and said, "Do you see that towering tree up on the mountain?"
Xu Ying gazed into the distance and saw a towering tree perched atop the cliff of Mount Wuwang, some thirty zhang high, looking exceedingly majestic.
The bronze bell said, "I will unleash my might and destroy it with my chime. Watch closely!"
Xu Ying waited with rapt attention. Suddenly, a chime rang out—*dang!* Layers of space rippled violently, and in the next instant, more than a dozen men and women were blasted out of the woods, flailing helplessly in midair.
Xu Ying was startled. "Lingling officials! They actually tracked us here!"
A moment later, the dozen or so officials hit the ground, their crash scattering birds and beasts throughout the forest.
The bronze bell paused, then said, "I sensed someone approaching, hiding in the woods to spy on us, so I redirected my strike to flush them out. Ah Ying, I've used up all the power I gathered over the past two days. The rest is up to you!"
With that, the bronze bell slipped into the back of Xu Ying's head in a flash and vanished without a trace.
A flurry of footsteps sounded from the forest as the bruised and battered officials stumbled out.
Xu Ying stood rooted to the spot, saying nonchalantly, "My cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds; I am already a demon king. You are no match for me."
The officials were eager to test their mettle, but then a voice rang out with a chuckle: "Demon King Xu is an exceptional anomaly of the human race. After cultivating into a demon king, it is only natural that ordinary official Nuo masters are no match for you. That is why this time, there is no need for them to intervene. This official will personally bring you to heel."
Xu Ying looked toward the voice. County Magistrate Zhou Yang strode out of the woods, clad in a silken black robe of opulent magnificence.
"Deploy the swords!" Zhou Yang said softly.
Only now did Xu Ying notice that each official carried a sword hamper on their back, holding over a dozen fine swords. Stopping roughly thirty paces away from him, the officials drew the swords from their hampers, plunged them into the ground, and swiftly retreated.
Zhou Yang walked forward, took a seed from his sleeve, and planted it in the center of the sword formation.
The seed rapidly took root and sprouted, swift in growing into a towering tree whose canopy shaded several mu. Slender, drooping branches hung down, each branch supple yet resilient.
Like a demon, the great tree whipped its branches, drawing each sword planted around it with a ringing metallic clatter!
"This tree is called Fenghua. Legend has it that it is a demonic tree that drank phoenix blood. Under my command, it will wield a hundred blades to unleash my Zhou clan's supreme heritage: the Zhou Celestial Demon-Slaying Sword."
Zhou Yang gave a faint smile and said, "Xu Ying, as the father and mother official of Lingling, I love my people like my own children, so I will grant you a way out. As long as you submit, not only will this official clear your name, but I will even grant you an official post."
"To do what? Become a corrupt dog of an official like the rest of you?"
Xu Ying walked over to a nearby willow tree, snapped off a twig the thickness of a little finger, and smiled faintly. "Corrupt dog, let me see how the supreme technique your ancestor took from Qinyan Cave compares to what I comprehended on my own!"
Chapter 22