Chapter 306

Wang Yu didn't even glance at the elixir furnace in the stone chamber; after stowing the Thousand-Breath Mask, he flipped his hand once and produced a small pale blue banner, giving it a slight shake.

A soft "puff."

A blue spiritual rune pattern surfaced on the ground before the furnace, and streams of blue light surged forth from the pattern, coalescing into a shimmering sphere of water before Wang Yu.

Wang Yu merely waved the banner over the water sphere, and instantly, the sphere spun rapidly, transforming into a curtain of blue water.

Clear images appeared on the water curtain—depicting a certain area near the small hilltop.

Wang Yu continued to wave the blue banner expressionlessly; the images on the water curtain shifted rapidly, revealing every scene within several li around.

Suddenly, Wang Yu's banner halted; atop a large tree in a nearby forest, two faint human silhouettes stood on the branches, gazing toward his cave dwelling.

A faint light shield enveloped their bodies, making them flicker in and out of view; without the banner and the hidden restrictions he'd placed nearby, Wang Yu likely would have missed them entirely.

Seeing this, Wang Yu sighed.

"It seems I can't return here anymore—I'll have to abandon the Hundred Treasures Pavilion lead."

He flicked his wrist, and the small banner vanished into the ground rune pattern.

The next instant, a rumbling sound echoed as the ground beneath the rune pattern slowly split open, revealing a dark tunnel.

Wang Yu's figure blurred, and he leapt directly into the tunnel.

Moments later, the ground slowly sealed itself as if nothing had happened.

At the same moment, thin strands of white mist began rising from the small hilltop—initially sparse, but quickly multiplying until, within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the entire hilltop was shrouded in fog.

The two figures in the distant forest watched this sight, exchanging glances; after a brief whisper, one of them hurled a transmission talisman toward the marketplace.

A quarter-hour later, after receiving another transmission talisman, both figures rose into the air and hurried toward the hilltop.

After forcibly breaking through the white mist's restrictions with several artifacts, they stormed into the cave dwelling—only to find it empty, save for a single furnace and a few simple pieces of furniture.

Three days later, Wang Yu appeared in a large marketplace under the Thousand Bamboo Sect, wearing the face of an old farmer; after selling over a dozen carefully hoarded entry-grade artifacts, he purchased nearly ten thousand spirit stones' worth of alchemical and artifact-making materials, then left without hesitation.

Several days later, Wang Yu resumed his true appearance and flew a pale green flying boat into the skies near Tianzhu Mountain.

He did not fly directly into the vast array of restrictions surrounding Tianzhu Mountain; instead, he circled far around and entered the sect's grand array from the remote rear slope.

In his hand, Wang Yu toyed with a pale golden plaque, one side carved with a black xuan tortoise, the other inscribed with the character "True."

The plaque emitted waves of spiritual energy identical to his own, causing every layer of restriction along his path to ignore him entirely, allowing his boat to pass unimpeded.

Occasionally, he spotted other disciples entering or exiting the grand array; upon noticing them, he veered far away, clearly avoiding any contact.

In an instant, Wang Yu passed through the sect's grand array and flew straight toward the upper half of Tianzhu Mountain, finally entering a massive pavilion embedded halfway into the mountainside.

The pavilion had two floors; the first floor was a vast hall, but inside, apart from a colossal stone door and two towering statues—each three zhang high—there was nothing else.

The two statues were pitch-black humanoid armored warriors, clad in thick iron armor; one held a massive silver axe, the other two giant hammers, their faces fearsome yet their eyes tightly shut.

The moment Wang Yu landed his boat and entered the first-floor hall, he heard a splashing sound from the second floor; a large black-green shadow leapt down the stairs and slammed into his body.

It was a black-green giant crocodile, two zhang long, its thick, rigid tail accounting for half its body; it stood upright on short hind limbs, its front claws resting on Wang Yu's shoulders, its long snout rubbing insistently against his cheeks.

"Big Green, that's enough—I've only been gone a few days, don't act like I've been gone for years." Wang Yu pushed the black-green iron-headed crocodile away, sounding slightly exasperated.

The giant crocodile let out a mournful whimper, then opened its mouth and spat out a yellow transmission talisman, which landed on the ground.

"Someone sent me a message now?" Wang Yu raised an eyebrow and flicked his finger toward the talisman.

With a soft "puff," the talisman burst into a ball of flame; within the firelight, Wan Shan's grave voice echoed.

"Brother Wang, based on recent intelligence, it's confirmed someone plans to challenge your status as True Disciple soon. From my investigation, this is being pushed by the Yun family, with other major clans following along. As for who specifically dares challenge you, I'm still investigating—please prepare your response in advance."

"So these families still can't sit still."

After hearing this, Wang Yu merely murmured to himself, his expression calm—as if he'd expected it all along—then strode straight toward the massive stone door and waved his True Disciple plaque before it.

Golden light flickered across the plaque's surface, and the distinct spiritual resonance reappeared.

The massive stone door groaned open slowly on either side; Wang Yu walked in calmly.

Moments later, the great door slammed shut with a thunderous crash.

The black-green crocodile lazily climbed back up the stairs to the second floor.

On the second floor, a massive pool had been built; beside it, several stone platforms emitting white frost held clumps of frozen beast flesh.

Big Green merely flicked its thick tail, sending one large chunk of frozen meat tumbling from the platform into the pool; then it leapt in with a splash, seized the meat, and crunched it loudly.

…

After Wang Yu passed through the stone door, a green stone corridor stretched behind him; after walking seven or eight zhang, the space suddenly opened up into a colossal cavern.

The cavern stood thirteen to fourteen zhang high and covered over a hundred mu; at its center stood more than thirty rooms of various functions, while around its perimeter were terraced herb gardens and a small lake spanning three or four mu.

The lake's surface steamed thickly; as he drew closer, he felt intense heat radiating from it, along with a strong aroma of medicinal herbs.

Wang Yu stepped toward the lake, sniffed the herbal scent rising from the mist, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he murmured:

"The medicinal properties seem sufficiently infused—I can take another herbal bath. One more should purge all the dantian toxins from my body."