Before entering the grotto-heaven to explore, Wei Yuan set several additional traps. Only then, with peace of mind, did he lead the party through the entrance and into the grotto-heaven fragment.
In a secret realm a thousand li away, the heavily wounded old man flickered into view in midair. Upon landing, he staggered, nearly collapsing. Several people rushed out of the buildings in the secret realm to support him. "Seventh Elder! How did you get so badly injured?"
The old man snorted and shoved aside those supporting him. "Just minor flesh wounds, nothing to worry about! I didn't expect them to turn out in full force this time, even bringing along their only True Person of the Dharma Idol realm. They had the advantage in numbers, so it was inevitable that I took a small loss. Still, after a battle like this, they're bound to believe there is a great treasure in the grotto-heaven fragment. Every one of them will fall right into my plan and obediently march inside. Hmph, when that happens, they'll enter, but never leave!"
A junior nearby said in a low voice, "Elder, your wounds are still bleeding."
"Merely trivial scratches. Prepare hot water—I will bathe and change." Ignoring his still-bleeding wounds, the old man held his head high and strode into his room.
Everyone knew the Seventh Elder was always proud, and this was his way of showing his injuries weren't severe. Yet with every step he left a bloody footprint on the floor, and the blood had a greenish tinge—no matter how one looked at it, it hardly seemed minor.
Once inside with the door shut, the Seventh Elder swiftly stripped off his clothes to inspect his injuries. Only then was he horrified to find that many of the wounds were already mottled with dark greenish-black and had lost all sensation—no wonder he hadn't felt much pain earlier!
Cursing Wei Yuan's viciousness, he searched for detoxification pills. Right then, however, another sharp pang pierced his divine sense. Dizziness overwhelmed him, his vision blurred, and he pitched forward!
At this brink of life and death, the Seventh Elder mustered an astounding surge of willpower, crawled to the door, shoved it open, stretched out a single hand, and then blacked out.
Outside the grotto-heaven, Sun Yu suddenly sensed a disturbance in his Merit Booklet. Checking it with his divine sense, he was taken aback—where had these heavenly merits come from? With no time to ponder it, he followed the others into the grotto-heaven.
By this time, Wei Yuan had passed through the dark ripples floating in the air. His vision shifted, and he found himself in another world.
Ahead stood a towering memorial gateway sculpted entirely from white jade, a hundred feet high, inscribed with four grand characters: "Huankong Grotto-Heaven." Wei Yuan glanced behind him and saw only a faint layer of mist, signaling the grotto-heaven's boundary.
At the moment, the mist churned restlessly, thinning at times to reveal the black void behind it. The void here differed from that of the Outer Domains; it was the rift between the grotto-heaven and the Native Realm. Once dragged into it, one would likely never escape.
Around then, the figures of Perfected Chuhe, Sun Yu, and the others coalesced in the air, shifting from nothingness into shape and from shape into solid form, allowing Wei Yuan to witness the entire process of entering the grotto-heaven.
Ji Liuli surveyed their surroundings and said, "Our luck isn't bad. This should be a side gate to the grotto-heaven. Be careful—there ought to be some traps nearby. No telling whether they're still active."
Wei Yuan also performed a silent divination in his mind; the result showed no danger.
Yet having little confidence in his divination abilities, he quietly slipped on a bracelet. The bracelet was actually a feng shui formation into which Wei Yuan had infused the aura of the Red Lotus Bodhi, raising his karmic luck so that misfortune would turn to fortune should danger strike.
Behind the white jade archway, a broad avenue sloped gently upward, leading toward a small town not far off. Judging by the number of buildings, at least several thousand people had once lived there. Taverns, eateries, and shops of every kind lined the streets, all paved with bluestone and wide enough for two carriages to pass abreast—a testament to its past prosperity.
This had likely been the quarters for ordinary disciples and mortal servants. Continuing up along the main thoroughfare, an expansive complex of palaces and pavilions sat at the summit; that was the true core of the entire grotto-heaven.
The terrain inside this grotto-heaven consisted of gentle hills, the highest point reaching no more than two or three hundred zhang. Between the foothill town and the mountaintop palaces lay dozens of li of gentle slopes. The steeper sections were evidently rich in spiritual energy, terraced into stepped fields for cultivating spirit herbs and plants. On the remaining gentle slopes, a few plots had been tilled to grow spirit rice. Perhaps due to insufficient spiritual energy, not many fields had been cleared.
The sky above the grotto-heaven remained bright, roughly mid-morning, but at the distant horizon lay a distinct dividing line beyond which was the murky void. That sprawling, flickering abyss looked like a gaping wound upon the grotto-heaven, one that was slowly expanding.
Before much longer, this grotto-heaven fragment would be completely swallowed up, vanishing from the world entirely.
Wei Yuan entered the town, picked an artifact shop at random, smashed through the boards sealing the door, and walked inside. The shop was of considerable scale, with finely crafted counters and shelves. Yet the shelves were now completely bare, without a single item in sight. Behind the counter was just as clean—everything had been packed up and taken away.
Traces of dismantling were visible throughout the shop; the lamps once set into the walls had all vanished, clearly stripped away. The entire establishment was reduced to an empty shell, with anything of the slightest value taken. The shopkeeper seemed to have harbored thoughts of returning to do business someday, as the counters and shelves had been left intact and the doorway carefully boarded up.
Having inspected one shop, Wei Yuan knew the others were likely much the same. Perhaps some hidden spots still held overlooked valuables, but the chances were slim.
Thoroughly searching the town would still take considerable time, but this was precisely where the benefit of bringing so many people became apparent. With a wave of his hand, over a hundred Dao Foundation cultivators fanned out in all directions to scour the town.
Wei Yuan, meanwhile, went with Perfected Chuhe to inspect the spirit fields.
The fields along the mountainsides meant for growing spirit rice were now overgrown and desolate, choked with weeds. Perfected Chuhe bent down, scooped up a handful of dirt, and examined it. "There is hardly any spiritual energy left in the soil. It seems the spirit-gathering formations failed after the grotto-heaven shattered. Or perhaps they destroyed the formations when evacuating."
These fields were nothing more than weed patches now with little to see, so Wei Yuan and Perfected Chuhe made their way toward the medicinal herb gardens. Perfected Chuhe's little cat trotted leisurely behind them. Suddenly, it turned its head, the fur along its back bristling, yet it spotted nothing.
After communicating with the cat for a moment, Perfected Chuhe said, "A shattered grotto-heaven is fraught with perils, but the greatest danger is actually the void. It probably sensed a spot on the verge of collapsing into the void."
"Daoist Master, where is that peerless treasure you sensed?"
Perfected Chuhe gave a wry smile. "A grotto-heaven forms its own realm. Once inside, this old Daoist's dharma idol divine ability doesn't work so well. Were it not for that, I would have come exploring on my own long ago..."
So he wanted to keep it all for himself... Wei Yuan thought to himself. Still, one doesn't rise early without profit in mind; it was only natural for the old Daoist to have ideas of his own. Considering the abundant spiritual energy provided by his several plots of Nether Soil, Wei Yuan could easily tolerate it.
Upon reaching the edge of the herb garden, Wei Yuan felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort, as if he hadn't bathed in days, his body feeling clammy and sticky.
The sensation felt somewhat like being afflicted by a curse, yet also like an ill omen that something bad was about to happen.
Thus, Wei Yuan was in no hurry to enter the herb garden. He cast a hexagram on the spot to divine the situation, but came up empty. Just as Perfected Chuhe had said, a grotto-heaven formed an isolated realm where many spells and formations ceased to function—an important means by which many grotto-heavens defended against external enemies.
Seeing that he could deduce no danger, Wei Yuan placed a drop of platinum sap into his bracelet, drawing upon the power of the celestial laurel tree to boost his own fortunes and ward off unknown risks.
His movements were discreet, and with the old Daoist's attention entirely absorbed by the herb garden, Chuhe failed to notice what Wei Yuan had done. Once inside the garden, the old Daoist grew quite excited. "The standard of this herb field is indeed remarkably high; the Xu family truly spared no expense! Heh heh, though they dug up all the spirit herbs when they left, certain herbs can regrow so long as a sliver of root remains! Let this old Daoist see if any slipped through the net—"
Mid-sentence, the old Daoist suddenly misstepped and tumbled down into the terrace below.
The little cat scrambled to help, but as it sprang into the air, its hind paws slipped, and it tumbled down right along with him.
Paying no mind to his disheveled state, Perfected Chuhe scrambled to his feet and resumed searching. Under his meticulous scouring, he actually managed to find several revived spirit roots. These were high-grade spirit herbs useful even to True Monarchs, on par with the Ruby Lantern and Foul Earth Nightshade.
Aside from those, there was an unexpected windfall: in a small corner plot grew several dozen stalks of Earth Net Red Flower. This was a mid-grade spiritual plant and a primary ingredient in Qi-replenishing pills for the Dao Foundation stage. These Earth Net Red Flowers had likely just been planted when the inhabitants evacuated, so no one had bothered with them. After several years like this, they had actually sprouted.
Perfected Chuhe carefully dug up and wrapped the young sprouts before tossing them to Wei Yuan. Spiritual plants of this grade were beneath the old Daoist's notice—not because they lacked value, but because he currently only cared for rare spiritual plants found nowhere else in the world, which would aid his comprehension.
"These spirit herbs in exchange for a leaf of the celestial laurel tree. Any difference in value this old Daoist will make up with what is grown on my six plots of Nether Soil."
"No problem," Wei Yuan agreed readily. He did not know what was growing on the old Daoist's six plots of Nether Soil, but it would certainly surpass ordinary high-grade spiritual plants. Even if it fell short of top-grade, it would not be far off.
The old Daoist lightly leapt up, intending to ascend back up a terrace, but his foot caught on the ledge, and he slammed to the ground once more.
"Strange, how strange... What is wrong with this old Daoist today?" Perfected Chuhe felt as though he were drunk, yet his mind was clearly sober. Just then came a meow from behind; the cat had slipped again as it jumped, failed to reach the required height, slammed headfirst into the terrace edge, and tumbled back down.
Wei Yuan pointed toward the palaces above and said, "The ground is level up there."
Finding that reasonable, Perfected Chuhe thought nothing more of it. He followed Wei Yuan out of the herb garden to explore the palaces. Yet just as they stepped out, Wei Yuan reacted with swift eyes and hands, yanking the old Daoist aside to dodge a floating shadow that materialized out of nowhere.
A cold sweat broke out across Perfected Chuhe's back. That shadow was a manifestation of the void; brushing against it could easily cost a patch of flesh. Had it appeared directly inside one's body, it would have meant death or grave injury at best.
The old Daoist wiped away his cold sweat, lingering dread in his voice. "Many thanks, Nephew!"
"We should rendezvous with the others first," Wei Yuan suggested.
Wei Yuan had already realized that the sap of the celestial tree was far too potent. Once added to the feng shui formation, the old Daoist hadn't merely sunk to the nadir of his karmic luck—he had plunged straight into a bottomless abyss of bad luck. Stay around Wei Yuan any longer, and the old Daoist might well die of inexplicable causes.
The old Daoist couldn't explain what was happening to him either, only that his heart pounded with relentless dread. Reluctantly putting aside any thoughts of hoarding the spoils, he accompanied Wei Yuan toward the palaces.
Outside the mountaintop palaces, the cultivators from the Palace of Grand Beginning had all assembled, awaiting Wei Yuan and the Perfected One.
Ji Liuli suddenly let out a soft gasp and frowned. "Something is bizarre about this place. Why is my karmic luck plummeting?"
The other cultivators had sensed it as well, and each began deploying their own methods.
Ji Liuli activated a formation plate to reinforce the feng shui around her.
Four immortal swords materialized around Zhang Sheng, stabilizing his surrounding karmic luck and the four primal elements of earth, fire, water, and wind.
Yu Zhizhuo produced an otherworldly stone to endure calamity in his stead. If someone were to strike with a blade, the blow would most likely hit this strange stone—and in this world, things harder than that stone were truly few and far between.
Sun Yu distanced himself from the crowd and lit a stick of Demon-Melting Soul-Extinguishing Incense.
Feng Tingyu's response was the simplest of all: she merely beamed with an innocent, naive smile.
As the saying went, simple youths enjoyed abundant joy; disciples of the Hall of the Bright King were pure of mind and mostly muscle between the ears, granting them naturally good fortune.
Employing their respective methods, everyone finally halted the steady decline of their karmic luck. Just then, Wei Yuan and Perfected Chuhe approached. Seeing everyone frozen in peculiar postures, Wei Yuan asked in bewilderment, "What are you all doing..."
Before he could finish, the old Daoist Chuhe beside him suddenly let out a yelp and slipped on level ground.
An ethereal shadow materialized in midair, swiping a claw toward Wei Yuan. But just then, Wei Yuan halted and turned his head to look at Perfected Chuhe; the claw missed entirely and plunged straight for the old Daoist sprawled on the ground.
Chapter 277