Chapter 378

So it was hidden here!

Li Yan couldn't help but feel his heart pounding.

The Three Treasures of Yunmeng Marsh, whether it was the Divine Palace of Yun Zhong Jun or the Breathing Soil, were all things from myths and legends; that the Wang Chan Ancestor's Scripture Forest could be mentioned in the same breath showed its extraordinariness.

In the eyes of others, the Wang Chan Ancestor's Scripture Forest might represent a legacy, such as military strategy, vertical and horizontal alliances, or Yin and Yang, which could pacify the world if obtained.

But Li Yan was more concerned with the secrets within.

The great sorcerer Xing Hepu was the first to discover this object; he was a living Yin messenger himself, but he could bypass the rules of heaven and provide shelter for those who had returned to life and Earth Immortals.

Perhaps, the secret was recorded inside...

Li Yan was excited, but became increasingly cautious.

This place was likely the secret of that Fuxi tribe.

Looking at the corpses around, they came from different eras; perhaps they had also come in pursuit of this ancient secret, but had also chosen to cover it up and bury their physical bodies here.

Li Yan had heard Wang Wang Daoxuan mention one thing.

In this world, there were some astonishing dragon vein apertures; if one were buried within, the physical body would not rot, and this place was likely one of them...

He looked around again and moved carefully toward the tablet forest.

This stone cave was not large, about the size of a two-story small divine hall; the tablet forest was arranged in an Eight Trigrams pattern, placed in the middle, and most of them faced inward.

To see clearly, one had to enter within.

After walking a dozen steps, Li Yan approached the tablet forest and, borrowing the faint blue light in the stone cave, carefully examined the characters carved on the tablets.

"As we examine the past, the sages were between heaven and earth, as the leaders of all living things. Observing the opening and closing of Yin and Yang to command things, knowing the gateways of existence and extinction..."

"Within the flourishing spirit are five energies; the spirit is their leader, the heart is their dwelling, virtue is their greatness, the place to nourish the spirit, returning to the Dao..."

Seeing these characters, Li Yan only frowned.

Although he couldn't compare to Wang Wang Daoxuan's erudition, since he began cultivating, he had also started reading numerous ancient books in his spare time.

These words were clearly from the Ghost Valley Military Strategy and the Seven Arts of Yin Talisman.

Although they weren't exactly everywhere, basic collections in the homes of wealthy families would basically have them, so it wasn't considered rare.

The tablet forest was divided into three layers; the outer ones were likely all these.

Li Yan walked forward a few more steps to check the middle tablet forest.

"The tortoise is the leader of shelled insects, carrying patterns on its back; when burned and roasted, the shell cracks and the patterns appear, with Heaven One, Earth Two, Heaven Three as the Upper Origin. With Earth Four, Heaven Five, Earth Six as the Middle Origin..."

Seeing the text above, Li Yan's brows furrowed slightly.

These were all methods of numerology, including the "Chapter on Tortoise Shell Divination," "Chapter on Yarrow Stalk Divination," etc.; the characters were only the size of soybeans, and every stone tablet was densely carved.

The way of numerology was profound and deep; divination was only one of them, and there were also some strange military arts in the tablet forest.

Li Yan didn't understand these very well, nor was he very interested.

Memorizing them was definitely out of the question; he would either have to make rubbings or take the stone tablets out entirely.

Thinking of this, he looked toward the few stone tablets at the center.

Li Yan had a premonition that the things he wanted were definitely hidden inside.

After approaching carefully, he looked at a stone tablet.

An article was carved on the stone tablet, also densely packed with characters, only the size of mung beans, which made one's eyes dizzy just looking at it.

No wonder they used this object to record it.

This stone tablet was no ordinary object; it looked somewhat like obsidian, lustrous like glaze, and despite how many years had passed, the characters remained clear.

What was even more critical was the article carved above.

"Great Luo Dharma Realm"!

Just seeing this name made Li Yan's heart tremble.

After reading a few sentences, his eyes widened.

This began with an autobiography, recounting the cultivation past of Wang Chan Ancestor when he was young.

Wang Chan Ancestor became famous during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods; because of the four moles on his forehead, he had the appearance of the Ghost Constellation, and because he lived in seclusion in Ghost Valley on Yunmeng Mountain, he was called Guiguzi.

But in reality, his origins were even more ancient.

According to what was written above, he was born in the Shang Dynasty, had experienced several reincarnations, and had even served as a sacrificial official for both the Shang and Zhou dynasties!

The above recounted the beginning and end of the War of Investiture of the Gods.

The shamans of the ancient times communicated with heaven, earth, ghosts, and gods, and could travel in dreams to the divine realm, comprehend the Great Dao, and master great supernatural powers, which later caused heaven to send down calamities and disasters to occur frequently.

Later, the Eunuch clan contended with Emperor Zhuanxu for the imperial throne, and in anger, struck the Buzhou Mountain of the divine realm, causing the pillars of heaven to break and the earth's ties to snap, causing heaven to tilt to the northwest and earth to sink to the southeast.

Therefore, Emperor Emperor Zhuanxu cut off the communication between heaven and earth; on one hand, he reformed the human sacrifices, which was called "cutting off the communication between earth and heaven," and on the other hand, he united the various "Emperors" to establish rules, becoming the prototype of heavenly laws, which was called "cutting off the communication between heaven and earth."

But this still could not stop the disaster.

The Great Flood erupted, and after Yu, there were no more "Emperors."

Therefore, during the Shang Dynasty, the main objects of sacrifice changed from heavenly gods to human ghosts, that is, the Shang ancestors, and the rites of human sacrifice became increasingly prosperous.

One thing that remained the same was that these sacrifices had strict regulations, and the Shang royal clan held absolute power of interpretation, which was the orthodoxy.

But the hidden dangers of human sacrifice also gradually appeared.

This method not only caused a burden, making the vassal tribes gradually lose their hearts, but also caused powerful ghosts and gods in the human world to run rampant, known as the Seventy-Two Earth Gods.

Later, the Rites of Zhou replaced the Shang sacrifices, many immortals descended to the mortal world, the Seventy-Two Earth Gods were sealed, and the sacrificial rites of the human world changed, which was the so-called War of Investiture of the Gods.

The entire pattern of the Mystic Sect today had the Investiture of the Gods as its source.

And what truly made Li Yan's heart tremble was that many things mentioned in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas"—Kunlun, Jianmu, Guixu, Youdu... were all in the divine realm.

This place was called the Great Luo Dharma Realm!

And below, Xing Hepu had added another article, saying that the current Heavenly Court and Underworld were all in the Great Luo Dharma Realm!

This Great Luo Dharma Realm was unpredictable, as difficult to describe as the Great Dao, but it had a close connection with the human world, changing due to the sacrificial rites of the mortal world.

The so-called "Emperors," "Immortals," and "Gods" all had a common name: "Those Who Ascend to Divinity"!

Li Yan's heart was pounding.

The things recounted above were bizarre and unbelievable.

Also, this divine realm was called the Great Luo Dharma Realm.

Was his Great Luo Dharma Body also related to it?

Li Yan was already completely obsessed with it; after finishing the "Great Luo Dharma Realm," he turned toward another tablet inscription.

But just as he walked two steps, thick fog rose all around.

Li Yan was stunned for a moment, feeling somewhat panicked.

He was all too familiar with this scene; every time the Underworld issued a mission, it was like this.

Could it be because he had peered into a taboo?

Li Yan felt uneasy, pushed aside the clouds and mist, and walked forward.

But this time, it was somewhat different.

The clouds and mist seemed boundless; he walked for a long time without seeing any scenery.

And outside, his physical body had a dazed look in its eyes, as if controlled by something, walking like a puppet into a stone wall grotto.

Like those corpses, it sat cross-legged, gradually losing its breath...

…………

"Roar!"

Water waves surged, and roars continued.

On the underground river surface of the ruins, two giant beasts were fighting madly.

The Tuoshi was gradually at a disadvantage; the gaps in its scales were once again covered with those eerie white Gu thread-worms, and its combat power was damaged.

And the East Lake Ancestor was also not having an easy time.

These giant demons had huge bodies and astonishing demon magic, but their consumption was also intense; they had stopped using magic techniques and were just fighting physically.

The East Lake Ancestor's body was covered in numerous wounds, deep to the bone, and blood dyed the water surface red.

Thud!

The Tuoshi suddenly turned and slammed into the stone platform on the shore, attempting to stop the sacrificial ritual, which left the East Lake Ancestor both shocked and angry, and it hurriedly tried to block it.

However, this was just a lure.

Taking advantage of the East Lake Ancestor rushing over, the Tuoshi suddenly turned again, bit the East Lake Ancestor's thigh, and its body rolled frantically, stirring up huge waves.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by a painful roar, the East Lake Ancestor's thigh was torn off directly.

Lu San no longer hid; standing on the high platform, he reloaded his mace, aimed at the East Lake Ancestor's head, and pressed the mechanism.

Bang! With a loud noise, one of the East Lake Ancestor's blood-red giant eyes exploded instantly.

The Tuoshi took the opportunity to bite the other thigh of the opponent.

The battle between these giant demons left the surrounding demon-people terrified.

Yu Yu Faling of the Snake Sect, at this moment, also ignored everything else; he held incense in his hands, chanting words, and kept bowing to those jade cong.

Finally, a change occurred in the mechanism.

Crack! Crack!

Accompanied by muffled sounds, the eighteen jade cong sank downward.

Creak, creak, the originally stationary waterwheels began to turn.

Lu San didn't care when he saw this.

He knew from the murals that these waterwheels were connected to cables, but most of them were damaged; even if the sacrifice was successful, it was impossible to lift that strange pearl.

Sure enough, although the few remaining waterwheels turned, accompanied by creaking sounds, the cables above became tighter and tighter, and then they all snapped with a "bang, bang, bang."

!.

"No—!"

Seeing this, Yu Yu Faling's face was filled with despair.

Even in the East Lake Ancestor's eyes, a trace of retreat arose.

But just at this moment, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The fresh blood poured onto those jade cong seemed to be attracted by something, and they seeped into the ground one after another.

Even the river water that had been dyed red gradually faded.

It seemed that something was absorbing the blood.

Subsequently, the water surface shimmered with a faint blue light.

The blue light grew increasingly intense, finally illuminating the entire ruin.

"This is..."

Lu San and Wu Ba looked at the water surface glowing with intense blue light, looking at each other in dismay.

Even the Heavenly Saint Sect demon-people below, as well as the Tuoshi and the East Lake Ancestor, all stopped, their eyes filled with vigilance.

What they didn't know was that as the blue light appeared, the "Jingren" hidden within the stone walls of the grotto all knelt down, kowtowing frantically.

The Jingren lived by serving gods.

Wherever the Jingren lived, there must be a powerful deity; it was precisely because they served the deity that this ancient race could exist.

Li Yan and the others, including the Heavenly Saint Sect demon-people, all thought these "Jingren" were serving the Goddess of the Han River or the Mountain God of Xianshan.

However, their guesses were all wrong.

The dense swarm of "Jingren" were sacrificing while carrying out pieces of jade ware.

They used two types of jade ware: jade cong and jade huang.

The jade cong could communicate with gods and were placed at the center, while the jade huang were used to eliminate disasters and were placed by the "Jingren" on the periphery.

These little things kept kowtowing, their eyes filled with madness.

And the people outside, whether it was Lu San, Wu Ba, or those Heavenly Saint Sect demon-people, and even the Tuoshi and the East Lake Ancestor, were all bathed in the blue light, their pupils gradually losing focus...

…………

Just as the sacrifice was successful, changes also occurred on Li Yan's side.

The thick fog all around dissipated rapidly, and a point of light appeared.

What is this?

Li Yan thought it was a new Underworld mission and hurriedly quickened his pace.

But after he approached, he discovered something was wrong.

The scenery all around changed rapidly, and a stone grotto appeared, almost exactly the same as the Fuxi tribe ruins outside.

The difference was that there wasn't a speck of dust, and it was very tidy.

The light he saw was an oil lamp, dim and gloomy, only able to illuminate a small area of the grotto.

And an old man in Daoist robes was sitting cross-legged on animal skin.

Li Yan was startled and hurriedly stopped.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

And he had seen this old man before;

he was none other than one of the corpses sitting cross-legged outside!

Seeming to sense his arrival, the old man slowly opened his eyes, suppressing his excitement, and said in an aged voice: "Congratulations, fellow Daoist, for attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal!"

"Become an immortal?"

Li Yan was somewhat dumbfounded; he looked around, finding it hard to believe, "This is the Immortal Realm?"

"Hahaha..."

The old man shook his Daoist robes, stood up slowly, stroked his beard, and said: "Of course this is the Immortal Realm; once you come to this place, you can attain longevity, and you can also practice immortal arts, changing as you wish."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the scenery all around changed again.

The originally ancient stone grotto was instantly covered in gold, which then changed and flowed, forming complex patterns, and even on the ground, smooth jade bricks appeared.

Li Yan's eyes revealed shock, but his heart became increasingly vigilant.

He intuitively felt something was wrong, but he couldn't say what was strange about it.

And the old Daoist opposite him continued to ask: "Since fellow Daoist has just arrived, may I ask how the mortal world is now, and if the Great Tang is still prosperous?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, "The Great Tang is long gone; it is now the Great Da Xuan Dynasty, and the Tang has been destroyed for five hundred years."

"Five hundred years..."

The old Daoist was stunned, his eyes clearly showing some panic, but he still sighed forcefully, "Sigh~ one year in heaven is a hundred years on earth."

Just as he was speaking, light suddenly shone outside the cave.

The old Daoist's eyes were filled with wild joy, and he immediately said: "Fellow Daoist, follow me quickly; let us go see the Immortal Venerable..."

Immortal Venerable?

Li Yan felt increasingly strange, but the old Daoist had already rushed out of the cave dwelling, so he had no choice but to follow behind.

After leaving the grotto, Li Yan was instantly stunned on the spot.

He saw that it was still the Fuxi tribe ruins before his eyes, but it had changed its appearance, turning into a high mountain, surrounded by clouds and mist, and there was no underground river.

And in the direction where the underground river had originally been, a huge pearl stood tall, with an old man in leather clothes sitting cross-legged on top of it.

It was the same as the first ancient corpse he had seen in the cave.

The light he saw was all emitted by the pearl, as if this dark world was lit up by this object.

Subsequently, quite a few people walked out from the surrounding stone wall caves.

Most were ancient ancestors with thick hair and leather clothes, and there were several others who, like the corpses he had seen, wore clothing from different eras.

Unlike the Fuxi tribe ruins he had seen before, the mountain rocks here appeared white, and coupled with the pearl below, it was clearly an unprecedented giant clam!

Li Yan felt his scalp tingle and couldn't help but ask: "Where exactly is this?"

The old man stroked his beard and smiled: "This is the Guishan of the Immortal Realm; the Immortal Venerable is the Guishan Immortal Lord, a person of the ancient Fuxi clan."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at him, his eyes filled with anticipation, "Since fellow Daoist has come to this place, was it by the order of fellow Daoist Xing Hepu?"

These words left Li Yan feeling inexplicable, and he shook his head: "Not at all; I just entered this place by mistake and have no acquaintance with Xing Hepu..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw gazes looking toward him from within the ruins, filled with cold resentment.

The old Daoist was also furious, "Good, that thief Daoist was indeed lying to us!"

Just as he was speaking, everyone suddenly turned their heads again.

He saw that outside the ruins, clouds and mist surged, and dense figures appeared; it was none other than Lu San, Wu Ba, and the others, and even the Tuoshi and the East Lake Ancestor had appeared, their faces full of vigilance, looking around.

"Hahaha..."

The old Daoist laughed heartily again, "Fellow Daoist, you really like to joke; bringing so many sacrifices and still saying it has nothing to do with fellow Daoist Xing."

After saying this, he rushed toward the outside of the ruins rapidly, and at the same time, his figure changed rapidly, resembling a fierce tiger, his whole body covered in sharp thorns, with wings growing from his back, flapping and rising into the air.