Chapter 750: Qinghe Cave Abode, Mysterious Scroll (Seeking Monthly Votes)

The reason Bai Yunhua wanted to use the cave abode map in his hand to trade for a favor from Song Qingming was to pave the way for his descendants.

Now that he saw his most beloved grandson, Bai Jingyun, had officially been accepted as a disciple under Song Qingming, Bai Yunhua felt completely at ease. Without further hesitation, he handed the map he had drawn directly to Song Qingming.

Song Qingming did not stand on ceremony with him; he took the map, opened it to take a look, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"To think it is so close to Qinghe County. I haven't heard any news about this all these years; it is truly strange."

Seeing Song Qingming's confusion, Bai Yunhua hurriedly explained: "Senior, you may not know, but the entrance to this place is very hidden. Even if ordinary cultivators reach the vicinity of the cave abode, it is very difficult to find the entrance."

"If it weren't for the guidance of the runes on the array disk back then, I probably would have had a hard time discovering that cave abode. You will naturally understand once you arrive there."

Upon hearing this, Song Qingming was silent for a moment before nodding directly: "Very well. Since it is not far, you might as well accompany me on a trip today; it will save you the trouble later."

"As for Jingyun, let him stay on the mountain for now. The cultivation technique he practices happens to be similar to Yuanfang's, so Yuanfang can guide his cultivation in the meantime."

"I am willing to follow Senior's instructions."

Seeing that Song Qingming seemed to have suddenly become interested and wanted to go see the cave abode immediately, Bai Yunhua hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Now that he had already gifted this secret to Song Qingming, the items inside the cave abode naturally had nothing to do with him anymore. He had no objections to whenever Song Qingming wanted to go.

After settling things with Bai Yunhua, Song Qingming went to the side to give a few instructions to Song Yuanfang, and then left "Mount Funiu" with Bai Yunhua.

To the southeast of Qinghe County, there is a large river about thirty to forty zhang wide, named: Qinghe.

This river originates from "Mount Yunwu" several hundred miles away, flows from east to west across the entire Qinghe County, then enters Jiangling County in the west, and finally merges into "Taiyue Lake" in the southwest of the Song Guo.

When "Qinghe County" was first established, it was named directly after this Qinghe River. All the cultivators in the entire "Qinghe County" were very familiar with this river, and that naturally included Song Qingming, who had grown up here since he was a child.

After leaving "Mount Funiu" with Bai Yunhua, Song Qingming stepped onto his flying boat and headed south. After traveling for several hundred miles, he soon arrived above the Qinghe River in that area.

Then, Song Qingming, standing on the flying boat, picked up the map in his hand to look at it again, and the speed of the flying boat beneath his feet slowly decreased.

After confirming his location, Song Qingming controlled the flying boat to slowly fly upstream along the Qinghe River. Before long, he arrived at a location situated between two high mountains.

Because the two mountains here were steep and the river channel was much narrower than in other places, the water flow was turbulent and rushing. Even standing in mid-air a hundred zhang high, Song Qingming could hear the sound of splashing water below.

After stopping the "Phantom Boat" in place, Song Qingming glanced at the map in his hand again before turning to ask: "Fellow Daoist Bai, is this the place?"

"Indeed, the entrance to the cave abode is beneath the water, under a reef. Senior, please follow me."

After Bai Yunhua responded, he jumped directly off the flying boat, then stepped onto his flying sword and flew toward the river surface. In the blink of an eye, he arrived above the water.

Then, Bai Yunhua cast a spell to channel his spiritual power, covering himself with a water-repelling shield, and sank directly to the bottom of the river.

Because the current was swift and had been washing away the soil on the mountain walls on both sides for years, the water in this section of the Qinghe River was relatively murky.

Song Qingming, who also used a water-repelling spell, entered the water and found that the visibility was very blurry. It wasn't until he sank to the bottom of the river that he saw Bai Yunhua standing next to a reef in the distance.

After Song Qingming walked over to his side, Bai Yunhua moved a huge rock from beneath the reef and pointed to a hole under the stone, saying: "Senior Song, the entrance is right here."

"When I first found this place, most of the entrance was covered by sand and gravel. If I hadn't been sensitive to array restrictions and noticed something wrong below, I probably would have had a hard time discovering this place."

Seeing a pitch-black hole in front that could only accommodate one person, Song Qingming couldn't help but smile and nod: "There is no spiritual energy leaking out here; it is indeed hidden enough. If you hadn't led the way, I probably wouldn't have noticed anything even if I had passed by here."

Just as Bai Yunhua had said before, there were no people in the vicinity, and with the cave abode entrance located in several zhang of murky river water, it was indeed very well hidden.

Even a Core Formation cultivator with powerful spiritual sense like Song Qingming passing by this place would not have detected that an ancient cultivator's cave abode opportunity was hidden beneath, let alone the ordinary cultivators and mortals in the vicinity.

With the cave abode hidden in such a concealed place, it was no wonder that in the thousand-plus years since "Qinghe County" was founded, no one had ever discovered it.

However, after all these years, no matter how hidden a place is, someone will always find it. Even this cave abode hidden in the water had been reached by others before Bai Yunhua entered.

Following Bai Yunhua into the black cave below, after exploring forward for about ten-plus zhang, a suction force suddenly came from ahead, causing the two to fall rapidly.

Seeing this sudden anomaly, Song Qingming instinctively wanted to cast a spell to resist, but heard the voice of Bai Yunhua beside him stopping him.

"Senior, do not be nervous. This is just a water-separating restriction at the entrance of the cave abode. Just follow the current downward and you will soon enter the cave abode."

Hearing Bai Yunhua's reminder, Song Qingming lowered his hands that were about to cast a spell and followed the current downward. Before long, the two passed through a thin film and entered a very simple and ancient hall.

This hall was located more than ten zhang deep at the bottom of the river, and there was a restriction above isolating the water flow, so the hall had not been eroded by the flowing water and instead appeared very dry.

Song Qingming, who had just entered the hall, hurriedly stood up and scanned his surroundings, discovering that apart from some useless stones, the place was empty everywhere, and he couldn't even feel a trace of spiritual energy.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual around, Song Qingming cast a spell to release a night-luminescent pearl to illuminate the surroundings before asking Bai Yunhua beside him again: "Is this the cave abode?"

"Indeed, this is the place. However, there are many powerful restrictions inside, so Senior Song should be a little careful. When I first came here, I didn't know the situation and almost died in one of the restrictions inside."

"Hmm! Restrictions set up by such ancient cultivators cannot be underestimated; one must naturally be careful. Fellow Daoist Bai, you lead the way; just take me directly to the place you mentioned to have a look. Let's not go to other places for now."

Bai Yunhua nodded slightly upon hearing this, then cast a spell to release a defensive magic treasure to protect himself, and carefully led Song Qingming slowly toward the depths of the hall.

Seeing such a cautious appearance, Song Qingming couldn't help but concentrate his attention and released his natal magic treasure, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," in advance.

This hall looked empty and seemed to have nothing, but the space inside was indeed very large. Song Qingming followed Bai Yunhua and walked for several hundred zhang before arriving beneath a high platform at the end.

Upon arriving here, Bai Yunhua stopped his footsteps and pointed to the wall behind the high platform: "Senior, there are several passages hidden behind this, and one of them is where I found those magic treasure fragments, and it is also the location of that restriction."

"However, there is a very powerful restriction on this high platform, making it difficult for cultivators like us to pass directly. Please wait a moment, Senior."

After speaking, Bai Yunhua patted the storage bag at his waist, took out a second-tier array disk, then cast a spell to release five or six array flags, set up a second-tier array, and summoned five or six golden-armored fierce tigers formed by spiritual magic from it.

The golden-armored fierce tigers summoned by Bai Yunhua using the array, although entirely gathered from formless spiritual energy, were not inferior to ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators when used for combat.

After summoning these fierce tigers, Bai Yunhua cast a spell to release several sealing talismans and stuck them on their bodies, then commanded one of the golden-armored fierce tigers to leap directly onto the high platform.

Just as the fierce tiger landed, the four stone platforms around the high platform suddenly lit up with a cyan spiritual light, and then these spiritual lights flew directly into the high sky, gathering into a group and transforming into an iron-armored giant holding a giant sword.

After this giant appeared, the aura on its body was already no less than that of a Core Formation cultivator. It saw it raise the giant sword in its hand high and slashed down quickly at the golden-armored fierce tiger not far away.

Although there was still a distance of more than ten zhang between the two, this spiritual light giant actually released nearly a hundred sword lights with one slash, like a sword rain, directly shooting the golden-armored fierce tiger in front of it into a sieve, and it soon turned into spiritual light and disappeared from the spot.

Just as the spiritual light giant was attacking the golden-armored fierce tiger on the platform, Bai Yunhua below also seized the opportunity and commanded the remaining golden-armored fierce tigers to pounce directly on the stone platforms that released the spiritual light.

The spiritual light giant had just dealt with the golden-armored fierce tiger in front of it, and the high platform that provided spiritual power for its operation had already been firmly bitten by the remaining fierce tigers.

Under Bai Yunhua's control, the sealing talismans on these golden-armored fierce tigers soon fell onto the stone platform, and before long, the aura on the spiritual light giant became somewhat dim.

Although the spiritual light giant subsequently noticed their move and arrived in time to kill a few fierce tigers.

However, Bai Yunhua had already successfully integrated the prepared sealing talismans into the stone platform by borrowing the spiritual energy on the golden-armored fierce tigers. Not long after, the talismans successfully sealed the source of the spiritual light giant's spiritual energy supply.

Song Qingming had often used this method of sealing restrictions to break arrays in the past. Seeing the other party achieve the goal smoothly like flowing water, a trace of appreciation flashed in Song Qingming's eyes.

It had to be said that Bai Yunhua's talent in array formations was indeed very outstanding. If given the chance to successfully form a Core, this person would inevitably advance to a third-tier array master sooner or later, just like Song Qingming.

"The spiritual source of this restriction has been sealed by me. Just wait for a period of time, and the spiritual power in this guy's body will be difficult to maintain and will naturally dissipate."

After hearing Bai Yunhua's explanation, Song Qingming, standing to the side, looked at the spiritual light giant not far away and shook his head calmly. "That's not so much trouble! Fellow Daoist Bai, stand further away; leave this guy to me."

After Song Qingming finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" surrounding him split into five, flying directly toward the location of the spiritual light giant from five different directions.

Seeing that someone had invaded the high platform again, the spiritual light giant immediately sensed it and directly waved the giant sword in its hand, turning it into a sword rain and shooting it at Song Qingming, who was following closely behind.

However, Song Qingming did not pay too much attention to this powerful blow from the spiritual light giant. He directly summoned the "Mysterious Light Armor" in his body to cover himself, blocking the sword rain very easily.

Just as the spiritual light giant wanted to launch another attack, a bronze mirror suddenly appeared in front, blocking its path.

Immediately following, the other four bronze mirrors of the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" also appeared around it, firmly trapping it in the middle. Then, several five-colored spiritual lights shot out from the bronze mirrors, directly binding the spiritual light giant in a light shield, making it unable to move.

Through the brief exchange between Bai Yunhua and the spiritual light giant just now, Song Qingming had already seen through the other party's reality, knowing that its strength was only at the fourth level of Core Formation.

After being sealed by Bai Yunhua, the strength of the spiritual light giant dropped by a large margin, and it no longer posed any threat to Song Qingming.

Precisely because of this, Song Qingming chose to take action against it directly, not wanting to waste too much time here.

Seeing Song Qingming take action against the spiritual light giant directly, Bai Yunhua wanted to open his mouth to persuade him.

However, before he could say it, he discovered that after only a moment of fighting a few rounds, the spiritual light giant on the high platform had been firmly suppressed by Song Qingming's natal magic treasure.

Seeing that this spiritual light giant seemed to be no match for Song Qingming at all, Bai Yunhua hurriedly closed his mouth, pressed the words that had reached his lips back down, and a look of relief appeared on his face.

After trapping the spiritual light giant, seeing that the other party had no power to fight back, Song Qingming directly increased the spiritual power injected into the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," and soon easily defeated it, causing it to turn back into spiritual light and dissipate in mid-air.

Seeing Song Qingming solve the spiritual light giant, Bai Yunhua hurriedly stepped forward to bow and flatter: "I didn't know Senior had such divine power; my previous display of ugliness was truly superfluous. I hope Senior will not laugh at me."

Song Qingming waved his hand lightly upon hearing this: "If you hadn't sealed the spiritual source of the restriction just now, it wouldn't have been so easy for me to kill it directly. Fellow Daoist Bai, don't overthink it."

"However, this restriction is indeed very powerful. It is rare to see it still have such power after so many years and having been broken by people many times."

"I don't know what cultivation and supernatural powers the ancient cultivator who built this cave abode had to be able to set up such a powerful restriction. It really caught me off guard."

"Senior is right. When I first came in, it was because of this point that I always felt this cave abode was extraordinary."

"It's a pity that my luck was a bit poor. Over the years, I have come here to explore many times, but apart from encountering these powerful restrictions, I haven't been able to find any opportunities." Bai Yunhua sighed again after speaking.

"Personal opportunities are destined by heaven and are not something we cultivators can force. This place is so dangerous, yet Fellow Daoist Bai has been able to enter many times and remain safe and sound; it can be considered that the Heavenly Dao has been looking after you."

Hearing Song Qingming's comforting words, Bai Yunhua nodded with a smile: "Senior's words are indeed correct. Although I have been mediocre all my life and haven't achieved anything major."

"However, compared to other fellow cultivators who fell early, it is indeed not easy for me to have experienced many dangers and lived safely to this day."

After Bai Yunhua recovered his emotions, he led Song Qingming to the wall behind the high platform again.

On this wall was painted a very exquisite landscape mural, and there were many ancient runes marked in the painting, which was clearly not the work of modern cultivators.

I don't know what materials the painter used back then, but after such a long time, it was still bright and colorful without any signs of fading.

"Senior Song, many of the runes on this wall hide passages, but there are no spiritual items inside; basically, they have all been reached by others first."

"After entering here back then, I was unwilling to give up and almost searched all the passages above, but in the end, I gained nothing, so I started to put my mind on these runes."

"Unexpectedly, after so many years of research, I really found a relatively special passage. The restriction inside is still intact and seems not to have been damaged by anyone."

"It's a pity that the restriction is very powerful. Over the years, I have exhausted my efforts but still couldn't enter. I don't know if I will have the chance to see the things inside in this lifetime."

"Fellow Daoist Bai, rest assured. If we can enter smoothly later and there are really good things inside, I will definitely not treat you unfairly. After all, without you, I wouldn't have had the chance to find this place."

"Hehe! Having known Senior Song for so many years, it is precisely because I know Senior is a kind person that I dared to entrust my family to you and tell you this secret from the bottom of my heart."

"I am already a person nearing the end of my life; even if I get more spiritual items or magic treasures, it won't change anything for me."

"Senior, rest assured. Since this cave abode has been gifted to you, I will never covet anything inside again. I just want to take a look to make up for the regrets in my heart."

Hearing Song Qingming's promise that he could share some spiritual items with him after entering, Bai Yunhua shook his head repeatedly, directly refusing the other party's kindness, and then began to cast a spell to search for the runes on the wall.

Seeing this, Song Qingming did not continue to say anything more and watched the other party earnestly search for the special passage he mentioned with a calm face.

Many of the ancient runes on this painting were the same as those Song Qingming had seen before. Bai Yunhua had studied them for many years and was already very familiar with them, so it didn't take much time for him to accurately find the one he wanted to open.

As Bai Yunhua injected his spiritual power into the rune, the entire mural on the wall soon lit up with a dazzling spiritual light.

Under the illumination of the spiritual light, the original painting on the wall began to change constantly, from high mountains and flowing water to rivers, lakes, and seas, and then transformed into a heavenly palace fairyland in the clouds. Various exquisite scenes flashed before the eyes of the two.

Song Qingming, who was seeing such a scene for the first time, couldn't help but show a look of surprise on his face, and in his heart, he secretly admired the person who could set up such an exquisite restriction.

"Senior Song, these runes change positions every time I come in. I have recorded them all on the back of the map I gave you. If you come in again next time, it will be much more convenient if you follow what is recorded above."

Hearing Bai Yunhua's reminder, Song Qingming opened the drawing in his hand, quickly found the rune he mentioned, and then smiled and nodded at him.

It was fortunate that he brought Bai Yunhua along this time; otherwise, if Song Qingming wanted to find the passage he wanted to enter among so many runes alone, he would have had to spend a lot more time.

After Song Qingming put away the drawing, the mural on the wall suddenly flashed with an even more dazzling spiritual light, and then a rotating pattern that looked like a teleportation entrance appeared.

"Senior, the passage has been opened. Let's go in first!"

After Bai Yunhua finished speaking, seeing that Song Qingming did not object, he walked into the teleportation entrance first, and soon his figure disappeared on the high platform of the hall.

Seeing this, Song Qingming also followed immediately. The two, one after the other, soon passed through the teleportation array and fell into an underground passage that was much smaller than the hall outside.

After arriving here, Bai Yunhua led Song Qingming along the passage for several dozen zhang, and soon their path was blocked by a white stone door.

Looking at the stone door in front of them, Song Qingming soon noticed that the restriction on it had already been broken by someone, and immediately asked: "Was the restriction on this door broken by you?"

Bai Yunhua nodded upon hearing this: "Senior is right. This restriction was indeed removed by me, but the restriction on this door is not considered powerful, and I didn't spend much effort at the time."

"However, apart from the restriction on the stone door, there is also a very powerful gale restriction behind the door. It was because I was blocked by it that I have never been able to enter."

"Hmm! You open the stone door first; I will try to see how powerful this restriction really is!"

After Song Qingming finished speaking, his spiritual power moved, and the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" flew out of his body automatically, protecting him and Bai Yunhua.

Seeing this, Bai Yunhua did not hesitate and stepped forward to push open the stone door.

As the stone door was opened, a fierce gale rushed toward them. Bai Yunhua, who was standing in front, even though he was prepared and used a protective light shield, was still blown to the point of being unable to stand firm.

Just as Bai Yunhua took out his magic treasure to prepare to resist, a bronze mirror appeared beside him first, blocking the fierce gale in front and allowing him to stabilize his figure.

"This gale is indeed a bit powerful; it is not something a Foundation Establishment cultivator can pass. Fellow Daoist Bai, you stay here first; I will go ahead and see if I can break this restriction."

Hearing Song Qingming's suggestion, Bai Yunhua hurriedly nodded in response, then took out several array flags to simply set up a defensive array on the spot and drilled into it.

After Bai Yunhua finished all this, Song Qingming retracted the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" to protect himself and walked carefully forward against the fierce gale.

The further he walked, the more Song Qingming discovered that the power of the gale seemed to be gradually increasing. It was no longer something that an ordinary Core Formation cultivator could directly resist, which made him frown slightly.