Chapter 139

Main Text Chapter 141: Subtle Penetrating Mystic Water Dragon Halo

We climbed along the spiral ancient plank road toward the Heavenly Palace; our current position happened to be the spot where I had just seen Shirley Yang and Pangzi surface from the deep pool. Suddenly recalling their panicked, anxious expressions, I couldn't help but ask.

Hearing my question, Shirley Yang said to me: 'We had just descended to about this section of the plank road, looked down and saw you floating up from the pool bottom. Only then did we let our worried hearts settle, but then we saw a huge monstrous claw in the deep water, as large as several rooms, with you right at the edge of its palm, as if you could be grabbed by that giant hand at any moment, so we rushed down to meet you.'

After hearing Shirley Yang's explanation, I also found it very strange—how could I have been in the water without noticing anything at all? I lowered my head and looked down from the plank road; aside from the edge where the waterfall group poured down, the emerald‑green, deep pool was tranquil and serene, its profound depths exuding a secluded aura that could shut out one's mind. From our height we could even see fish shoals darting to and fro in the water.

Examining more closely, the undulations of the pool floor could also be distinguished, including the wreckage of the American bomber that had crashed into the bottom; various outlines were faintly visible. In the middle of the pool there was a black dot—that must have been the vortex that nearly swallowed me. Outside the vortex‑shaped water eye, several protruding arc‑shaped cones of varying thickness and length encircled the pool's vortex, forming a ring.

Looking down from above, it resembled a gigantic beast's claw cradling the vortex at the pool's bottom. Because of the vortex's undercurrent, nothing is visible from above, yet it gives the objects on the bottom a dynamic effect. The huge claw seemed to open and close slightly, as if alive, but it is indeed an inanimate object. I was utterly unprepared for falling off the cliff into the deep pool; at first, on that steep cliff, I only felt the green water below making me dizzy, so I never examined it closely and didn't know such a sight existed in the pool. Only after Shirley Yang went down to the pool's edge and took a clear look did she realize it was just a false alarm.

I stared, lost in thought, repeatedly wondering: 'This monster‑claw is so vivid, with the claw right at the edge of the water eye—could it have been intentionally made when the Xian King's Tomb was built?'

Seeing me standing still, Pangzi kept urging me on, probably afraid of this ancient plank road that makes one's soles feel like they're stepping on clouds, wanting to get up quickly. Hearing him press me from behind, I stopped overthinking and simply continued climbing the ladder‑like plank road step by step.

After walking a few steps, I seemed to recall something important. Right—Shirley Yang had once said this deep‑green funnel‑shaped terrain resembled the 'Bottomless Ghost Cave' beneath Zhagelama Divine Mountain.

So, as I walked upward, I told Shirley Yang a concise version of what I had seen underwater, and finally said: 'The vortex at the pool bottom and the Xiangchen Pearl we're seeking share several coincidental features; the beast‑claw encircling the water eye also looks artificially made. This shows the pool bottom is part of the Xian King's Tomb, at least containing a symbolically significant mysterious structure.'

Shirley Yang nodded and said: 'This large green pool certainly has many strange aspects, but the underwater vegetation is lush, giving the pool bottom a thick camouflage. With just the three of us, it's hard to discern the detailed structure below; we can only guess from the contours visible from above.'

We also mentioned the underwater crash; I'm not familiar with the shape of American aircraft, the wrecked plane is incomplete, and in my haste I didn't examine it closely. I could only give a rough description of its shape, and Shirley Yang said it might be a B24 long‑range bomber.

Seeing the successive wrecked aircraft, it must be related to the two meteorites at the entrance of Insect Valley. That meteorite was originally a single body, and there are at least several more pieces. Centering on Gourd Cave, they are distributed in a ring, hidden on both sides of the stream valley entrance and in some surrounding areas. In the dense jungle, if you don't go up close, it's hard to notice their presence. The strong electromagnetic interference waves in the meteorites are also affected by the divine object that guards Gourd Cave—that is, the blue three‑legged monster toad placed in the Toad Palace.

The material of the blue monster toad is very special—it might be a lump of radioactive dense mineral containing rare elements such as quark particles and glue‑like particles. This causes the interference range of electromagnetically radiating meteorites to expand, disabling electronic equipment. Even some migratory birds with navigation biological systems are affected, causing them to fall from the sky and die when passing over Insect Valley.

Shirley Yang believes that this lump of rare dense mineral crystal itself has strong radiation. It may have originally existed in an ancient Triassic forest; during the great disaster that turned the ancient forest into fossils, because it was heated to high temperature, it produced more radioactive substances, forming the dark‑red, semi‑transparent stratified rock around it today, and also shaping it into a vaulted arch.

Even that 'Hu's immortal worm' survived the devastation only because of its presence; otherwise, no matter how tenacious the worm's vitality, it could not adapt to the change in atmospheric oxygen. The special environment around the radioactive dense mineral is what allowed this gigantic old worm to live to this day. As for the numerous giant insects and plants in the cavern, they too are surely the result of its long‑term influence.

As we walked, we discussed these matters, compiling all the observed signs for a lateral comparative analysis, plus some subjective speculation. In this way, the scattered information gradually coalesced into a straight line.

Shirley Yang has made up her mind: no matter what, she wants to add a side mission to this operation—to destroy the divine artifact of Shield Dragon Mountain.

Because this radioactive substance is highly unstable, fluctuating between strong and weak. It was probably during World War II that radioactive elements were relatively active, so the aircraft wreckage we see dates from that period. However, judging by the interference level on our electronic equipment, it has become active again nowadays. Unlike ancient times, modern air traffic is increasingly developed; to prevent another tragedy, the only way is to devise a means to venture back to the cavern's center and attempt to destroy this divine artifact.

That 'Gold Dragon‑Tiger Double‑Headed Short Staff'—the tiger‑head end should be used to close the Toad Palace. The bronze casket that serves as the Toad Palace might be used to shield the radioactive dense mineral. If that works, we should try to avoid damaging it, for after all it is a treasure of ancient civilization, not something to be destroyed lightly. Sinking it into the deep pool so it rests forever on the bottom, aging with time, would also be a fine fate.

I suddenly recalled the words on the back of that "human skin map," but my memory was hazy, so I quickly had Pangzi take it out to look. On its back, in the annotation for the "Xian King's Tomb," there was a long passage that read: "Where do the vast, boundless (mang third tone, meaning boundless flood) souls return? Clear water gives rise to the mysterious, revealing true form. Long Mountain enters the clouds, Insect Valley sinks deep, covering a hundred li (how familiar, isn't that from the 'Epang Palace Fu'?). When the heavens split, the three waters are abundant (hu first tone, large pieces of fish and meat used in sacrifices), and Jiantu (a plant name, bitter; the Book of Songs has 'Jiantu like contentment') gather, each holding its position. At the central true heart there is a dragon halo; where the dragon halo arises, they are linked, faintly faintly winding around the immortal cave. The profound wonder lies herein: faintly, it is said to be 'having within nothing'; faintly, it is said to be 'nothing within having.' Its state is like butter in a bowl, geese in clouds, a path in ashes, a snake in grass. Immortal qi moves within it, subtly hidden, yet the auspicious form and favorable momentum cannot be improved. The Xian King died, was buried in the water dragon halo, and his corpse dissolved, ascending to immortality. The dragon halo is formless; unless heaven collapses, it is especially difficult for outsiders to break."

The words on the back of the "human skin map" that resemble those in Qingwu fengshui describe the advantages of the immortal cave where the "Xian King's Tomb" is located, but the final sentence is unexpected, mentioning the term "heaven's collapse." At the time, none of us could understand its meaning; we even speculated that it might refer to a special moment when a star falls, giving a chance to enter the tomb's inner palace. However, since entering the "Shield Dragon Mountain," we have seen many wrecked aircraft remnants, making it hard not to think that "heaven's collapse" refers to fallen aircraft crashing and breaking the tomb walls.

However, the dragon halo on this tomb still exists; I previously did not believe such an immortal cave truly existed in the world, thinking it was merely an exaggeration, a sensational legend. For even the "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Fengshui Secret Technique" says only that divine caves cannot be encountered or sought, because they require too many elements, none can be missing, and exist only in theory.

In reality, there certainly would not be a gathering of a hundred iridescent water rainbows that last a thousand years without dispersing, but being on site made me realize that the ruling class, aside from immortality, can accomplish anything. The Xian King actually managed to alter the pattern, forcibly creating such a "dragon halo." From a fengshui perspective, the so-called "dragon halo" refers to the place where the clear and turbid yin and yang energies intersect, that evident boundary. This boundary is not a region of mutual blending; rather, it resembles the chaotic state before heaven and earth were separated. It is exactly what ordinary people say: "a little lower is water, a little higher is vapor." The "dragon halo" is neither high nor low, neither water nor vapor, but light—condensed, having form yet no substance, a thousand-year-lasting iridescent light.

Hearing Shirley Yang say there was a "negative-charged heating dense substance" nearby, I realized that this very stone increases the negative linear ions inside Insect Valley, making it almost cloudless and rainless, so the water vapor rising from the Waterfall Group cannot easily dissipate. Above the green great leak-dou, a layer forms that exists only in legend—a "dragon halo"—which turns out to be an artificial optical phenomenon.

While we were talking, we had already walked a long way on the Plank Road, and happened to pass through the dragon halo beneath the "Heavenly Palace." Previously we only thought rainbows were far away in the sky, but now we actually passed through it, feeling as if we had entered the Great Void illusion, becoming like immortals. All three of us couldn't help reaching out to touch the surrounding rainbow light, of course grasping at air, each of us grinning foolishly. Suddenly a strange thought arose: if this is a dream, it would be best never to wake up.

However, that band of seven-colored rainbow light was extremely thin, and we quickly passed through it. The wonderful feeling just felt vanished; now I only feel my legs sore from climbing the Plank Road. Descending is easy, but ascending now makes me feel that these spiral Plank Road loops are extraordinarily long; I walked for over an hour before finally reaching the gate of the Heavenly Palace.

I pointed at the gate before us and said to Shirley Yang and Pangzi: "If the heavenly collapse described in the Heavenly Stem-Branch refers to those aircraft that have met with air disasters, then I think this matches. The stone wall at the bottom of the pool has already been struck by the aircraft nose, creating a large hole, though we cannot yet be certain whether that hole is the inner palace. Even if the Corpse-Gold Captains can divide gold and pinpoint the cave, they cannot determine the scale of this divine cave. However, if we carry out a carpet-like search in the tomb's treasure summit, we will surely not fail to understand; there must be many secrets hidden inside."