Zhang Yan immediately agreed, saying heartily, "Elder Yuan, rest assured, if I drink with Elder Gong again next time, I will certainly leave some for you."
Elder Yuan listened with joy, repeatedly exclaiming good.
Currently, the time for the Cave Mansion to open has not yet arrived. He is here guarding alone, with no juniors in the sect, and usually no one comes. Seeing Zhang Yan now, he couldn’t help but start talking about some old stories from the past, revealing many sect secrets.
Zhang Yan’s eyes flashed slightly. Although he had heard a lot from Zhou Chongju, this Elder Yuan had lived for eight hundred years and was also a disciple of the Mingcang Sect, so he knew some secret matters even more clearly than Zhou Chongju. After a conversation, he gradually gained some understanding of the current situation within the sect.
At the hour of the Rat, suddenly there was a rumbling sound from within the cave. Elder Yuan stood up and said, "Junior Brother Zhang, the Boundary Gate is open, come with the Old Daoist."
Elder Yuan led the way first. The two returned to the entrance of the cave, only to see that the originally black stone gate was already open. A bone-chilling cold wind blew out, hitting their bodies. Even with Zhang Yan’s level of cultivation, despite having drunk the Rejuvenation Wine, he still felt a burst of chill.
Elder Yuan squinted his eyes and said solemnly, "In this Small Cold Realm, for six hours a day, the Nine Nether Cold Wind blows. Those with slightly lower cultivation will have their hearts and lungs frozen and die on the spot if touched by this cold wind. Thus, cultivators in seclusion here stay in the Cave Mansion for cultivation. If you come without drinking some Rejuvenation Wine, forget about flying across the wind; even a few gusts would render you immobile."
Zhang Yan’s mind stirred. Thinking of the ’Spring Bottle’ Elder Gong had given him, he thought to himself, "So this wine has such an effect. This way, I can fly outside, otherwise, I would have to sit idly in the cave for half a day every day, which would be quite a waste of time."
He actually did not know that several past guards of the Small Cold Realm had died within a hundred years due to the Nine Nether Cold Wind penetrating their bones.
But since Elder Yuan has been guarding the Cave Mansion, he has had Rejuvenation Wine to ward off the cold, and it has been over three hundred and fifty years without issue. However, it also made him feel uncomfortable if he did not drink it even for a day.
Elder Yuan fumbled in his sleeve for a while and handed a talisman to him, advising, "Junior Brother Zhang, hold on to this. If you want to leave, simply tap this talisman at midday each day to exit this realm. Also, one thing to remind you, there is a person imprisoned deep within this small realm. If you see the Great Array Restriction, avoid it from afar, lest it harms you by mistake."
Zhang Yan was slightly surprised. However, anyone imprisoned here must not be a simple person. Given his current level of cultivation, he might be unable to provoke such a person, so he said, "I understand."
Elder Yuan nodded, closed his eyes, pointed ahead with his hand, and said no more.
Zhang Yan cupped his hands towards him and walked into the cave. After about a dozen steps, he suddenly felt his vision open up. He saw rolling mountains and snow all around at his feet. Looking afar, it was entirely an icy crystal jade river, frozen cliffs, the sky was dim like dusk, all were cold and desolate.
He glanced north a few times, thought for a moment, then activated his Elixir Evil, leaping up and transforming into a wisp of white smoke, flying towards the nearest Cave Mansion noted on the map.
After a hundred miles, the Nine Nether Cold Wind seemed to blow even fiercer. He couldn’t help but frown slightly. Although this wind didn’t blow him off the clouds, he felt his hands and feet chilling, marveling at its power, and hurriedly took out the "Spring Bottle" to drink a few sips of wine, his body gradually warming up.
In fact, if it were an ordinary cultivator, even with Rejuvenation Wine, they couldn’t travel far like he did. They could only find a place to hide temporarily and only dare to come out after the cold wind passes. He could do this because he practiced the God and Demon Contract Technique, making his entire body like forged gold and iron, impervious to the slightest cold wind.
After flying another hundred miles, he saw the mountains and rivers below were about eighty to ninety percent similar to what was shown on the map. After taking a closer look and confirming it, he lowered his cloud head and circled the mountain, finding a half-hidden half-open abandoned Cave Mansion.
Zhang Yan waved his sleeve, flying into the Cave Mansion. The entrance wasn’t large, but inside was quite spacious, with interconnected caves and piled strange stones. He waved his robe sleeve, and dozens of Bright Pearls flew out, floating around him, instantly illuminating the place brightly.
He moved forward, carefully observing his surroundings, not long after reaching the cave’s depths. At this moment, he looked up, as if sensing something, and saw a fierce Daoist sitting on the rock not three feet away, hair and beard bristling, completely naked, eyes glaring angrily, fists clenched, seemingly about to shout at him.
Zhang Yan glanced faintly and then turned away. This Daoist had long been petrified here, even his Vestment robe had rotted away. Observing his expressions, he seemed to have harbored intense unwillingness at the moment of realizing his impending death.
The Mingcang Sect has stood for over ten thousand years, yet only a few truly embarked on the Immortality Dao and ascended beyond the heavens. During this time, countless prodigies and talents have perished on the path of cultivation. Latest content publıshed on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Zhang Yan pondered silently, the Great Dao is vast and Immortality is hard to seek. If I don’t seize every opportunity and strive arduously for that slim chance at the Dao, one day, I fear I might end up the same way.
This Daoist, whoever he was in the sect, was someone’s remnant, and he didn’t wish to destroy it. So he carefully bypassed, his eyes scanning the two walls for any insights, as this should have been the main residence of the Daoist, where any realization or understanding would likely be nearby.
Sure enough, not long after, he discovered densely packed writings on a southeastern stone wall. The cultivation technique mentioned was the "Nine-Numbered Taishi Lingbao Xuanming Scripture."
With joy in his heart, Zhang Yan didn’t want to waste time. With a casual wave of his hand, those dozens of Bright Pearls floated in an orderly sequence, immediately illuminating the entire stone wall.
...(To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)