Chapter Ninety: A Stunning Discovery

Xu Zhe did not dwell too much on the lightning arc that had appeared within his dantian palace.

After all, it had made him stronger, without any side effects, and had also revealed a more authentic side of himself to the world.

"Not bad."

Satisfied, Xu Zhe gave a slight nod and set down the mirror in his hand.

Then he rose and walked toward the central region of the Immortal Burial Valley.

The thin Primordial Yang Golden Mist in the outer region could no longer meet the demands of forming a golden core. Only the thick, dense mist at the center would serve as the final place of seclusion.

Yet as he ventured deeper into the valley and the Primordial Yang Golden Mist grew heavier, his field of vision also became increasingly blurred.

Even with spiritual energy gathered in his eyes, he could only make out a range of one or two meters.

Xu Zhe had no choice but to slow his pace, while keeping his spiritual sense fully open and remaining on guard as he moved forward.

The Immortal Burial Valley had been called a forbidden land on the Azure Gift Continent for countless years, and rumors even claimed that beings above the Void-Integration stage had fallen here. That alone showed that the dangers within were likely not limited to the Primordial Yang Golden Mist.

By Xu Zhe's estimation of cultivators on the Azure Gift Continent, those above the Void-Integration stage would at least not be so easily corroded by the mist as to fail to notice it; they should still have had time and opportunity to turn and flee. So why, in the end, had none of them ever made it out?

"According to the ancient records, there do not seem to be many species that can survive unscathed in the Primordial Yang Golden Mist. I remember gold-devouring ants, crocodile-headed pythons, and the heaven-swallowing leviathan..."

Xu Zhe recalled for a moment.

Gold-devouring ants and crocodile-headed pythons alone would not be enough to trap a power above the Void-Integration stage. Of course, if their numbers were sufficient, then they would stand at the top of the food chain within the Primordial Yang Golden Mist.

As for the heaven-swallowing leviathan, that was an ancient ferocious beast long extinct.

"No, I can't measure this place by the standards of the Azure Heaven Domain. After all, the Primordial Yang Golden Mist was also a vanished thing in the Azure Heaven Domain. If a heaven-swallowing leviathan really appeared here... surely not. And someone as proper as I am has no reason to be eaten by a heaven-swallowing leviathan, but what if?"

Xu Zhe suddenly stopped, hesitation flashing through him.

With his current strength, if he encountered gold-devouring ants or crocodile-headed pythons, he could still escape as long as he ran at once.

But if he ran into a heaven-swallowing leviathan...

Then perhaps he should gather a bit of Primordial Yang Golden Mist on the spot and go outside to seclude himself there?

"Hm?"

Just then, Xu Zhe suddenly noticed something in the grass not far ahead, something glinting with a golden radiance.

This place was shrouded in Primordial Yang Golden Mist, and that object happened to be emitting a golden glow as well. Had he not stopped to look carefully, he would likely have missed it entirely.

Xu Zhe immediately quickened his pace, bent down, and parted the grass, only to freeze at once.

"This..."

He reached out and picked it up. It was actually a bronze-colored disc.

One side of the disc was bronze, while the other displayed an indescribable, indecently provocative image.

In the picture, a woman held two spheres in her hands, striking a coquettish pose that sullied the eye and offended propriety.

Xu Zhe's expression changed at once. He promptly flung the disc away and swiftly took out a bottle of water from his storage ring.

Glug, glug, glug...

He tilted his head back and drained more than half the bottle in one go.

Only then did Xu Zhe finally let out a breath, his expression incomparably grave.

"This disc is no ordinary thing. It can actually seize a person's mind and provoke inner demons. Had I not suppressed it in time with spiritual liquid, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Whoever abandoned this thing here harbored sinister intentions and vile motives!"

Xu Zhe said coldly, sweeping his gaze forward.

Sure enough, within two meters of him, the grass was littered everywhere with such discs.

The images on them varied greatly: two men and one woman, three men and one woman, one man and ten women...

But in a corner, Xu Zhe discovered an old storage ring. Its luster had completely faded, and several cracks were clearly visible on its surface.

"So that is how it is."

Xu Zhe finally understood. It seemed the ring had shattered, causing the storage space within to explode. Some things had been destroyed, while others had been blasted out.

"These cracks do not look like corrosion. They look like they were shattered by an external force. Was there once a battle here?"

Xu Zhe looked around, but saw no signs of battle. Clearly, the battlefield must have been in the sky.

After pondering for a moment, he continued onward.

Not long after, he came to a cliff face.

The cliff was all stone layers, with several pits left behind by violent destruction. The grass below was also covered in broken rocks.

Yet on one huge slab of stone, a trace of dried, dark brown blood remained.

Beneath the bloodstain, there was a line of small writing.

"Li Chunggong harmed me. I will not live past three days."

At the end of the line was written: "Left by Wang Jianguo."

Xu Zhe was instantly startled. Wang Jianguo had actually been here in the Immortal Burial Valley?

He remembered that earlier, everyone had said Wang Jianguo had been missing for hundreds of years, while the disciples of Heaven's Secret Dao claimed that Wang Jianguo had gone wandering the world in pursuit of the Dao.

"Li Chunggong..."

Xu Zhe murmured, frowning slightly.

Back in Sky River City, before Lin Keyi's incarnation departed, she had warned him to beware of Li Chunggong.

And now Wang Jianguo's writing had appeared here, possibly even his last words, claiming that Li Chunggong had harmed him!

"So... Li Chunggong is no longer the Li Chunggong of old?"

Xu Zhe thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Not quite. Although that fellow has never shown himself to me, if he really dared to harm Wang Jianguo, then Wang Jianguo's final words would never have been written so civilly."

Based on his understanding of Li Chunggong and Wang Jianguo, Xu Zhe felt that this text was either forged by someone with ulterior motives, or else Wang Jianguo had somehow become a model of civility and manners.

But when he thought of the discs scattered all over the ground nearby, Xu Zhe did not believe Wang Jianguo could have become all that civilized.

What proper, respectable person would collect such filthy things?

Xu Zhe's spiritual sense began to sweep the surroundings carefully, feeling the lingering aura of blood on the rock slab in an attempt to trace Wang Jianguo's whereabouts.

But the blood had been left here far too long ago. Only the faintest trace of aura remained, nearly assimilated by the Primordial Yang Golden Mist, making it almost impossible to find any clue from it.

Still, this at least indirectly proved that Wang Jianguo had not been weak at the time; he had to have been above the Void-Integration stage, and even under the cover of the Primordial Yang Golden Mist, the blood still retained a thread of lingering aura to this day.

So who had managed to injure him?

"No, I may have been too preconceived. Or perhaps this blood was not Wang Jianguo's at all, but came from the person he fought!"

Thinking this through, Xu Zhe continued to move ahead in search of more.

Since his spiritual sense could not detect any clues, he could only wander around and see whether he could find any useful information before making further judgments.

If he found nothing, then he would first go into seclusion and break through to the golden core stage.

However, before he had gone far, Xu Zhe seemed to recall something and abruptly stopped.

Then he turned back at once and returned to the great slab of rock.

He studied it for a while, then suddenly struck it with a palm.

Bang!

The entire rock was instantly blasted several meters away, then shattered and exploded into pieces that scattered across the ground.

Where the rock had originally stood, an entrance to a cave appeared beside the cliff wall.

Buzz!

Inside his sleeve, the quiet bronze flying sword suddenly trembled and rang out, then turned into a streak of flowing light and shot rapidly into the depths of the cave.

"Hm?"

Xu Zhe was somewhat astonished. He was already used to the bronze flying sword running off on its own.

But now he noticed that the bronze seal, which had always been quite steady, was also trembling faintly, as if it too were urgently trying to enter the cave.

Yet when he swept the cave with his spiritual sense, he found no sign of any treasure within.

"How strange. What is in there that attracts you so much?"

Carrying a trace of curiosity, Xu Zhe stepped into the cave.

It was pitch-black inside, with no light at all, and with the Primordial Yang Golden Mist shrouding the place, visibility became even more blurred.

What had once allowed him to see one or two meters ahead now had become so poor that not bumping into the walls would have counted as luck.

"Eh? Why did you stop?"

After walking for a moment inside the cave, Xu Zhe suddenly saw the bronze flying sword hovering right before his eyes, suspended motionless in midair.

Immediately after, the bronze seal in his arms ceased trembling as well, returning once more to silence.

This change left Xu Zhe somewhat baffled.

He reached out, took down the bronze flying sword, and simply held it in his hand as he continued onward.

After a few more steps, the Primordial Yang Golden Mist grew thinner, and his field of vision widened.

Xu Zhe immediately quickened his pace, shooting forward dozens of meters in an instant and directly breaking through the coverage of the mist.

Then gusts of cold air, mixed with biting chill, blew straight at him.

Within the vast, spacious interior of the cave, there was unexpectedly another enormous palace.

The bronze palace, when enlarged by the magical seal, had merely been a shape and form; one could not actually enter its interior.

But the palace before him was real, ancient and austere, radiating a faint, piercing cold.

Its great doors also stood open. Inside, a massive dragon throne could be seen clearly, and above it rested a crystal coffin so clear it seemed to be made of transparent ice, though it was empty.

"Eh, who are you?"

Just as Xu Zhe was still stunned, a voice suddenly rang out.

He was startled and turned to look.

In the corner of the outer wall on the right side of the palace stood a woman in plain clothing, holding a baby in her arms, staring at him with clear astonishment.

The second installment is here. Monthly votes are requested.