Chapter 53: Cave Dwelling Restriction? I'll Cleverly Seize the Opportunity!

Deep within the Bone-Rotting Hills, the baleful energy grew increasingly dense, and the twisted branches of withered trees reached toward the gray sky like ghostly claws. Following the guidance of the Eye of Truth-Breaking, Lin Xuan wove between strange rocks and dead wood, avoiding several mudflats radiating dangerous auras and small poisonous insects lurking in the shadows, until he finally reached the source of the restriction fluctuations detected by the system.

It was an unremarkable small hill, its mountainside covered by a mass of withered vines and scattered stones. Had the Eye of Truth-Breaking not been able to perceive the flow of energy, it would have been impossible to discover the anomaly here. Wisps of faint but extremely tenacious restriction light were faintly leaking out from the gaps between the rocks.

"This is the place." Lin Xuan did not rashly approach, choosing instead to observe carefully from the perimeter. The restriction appeared weak, but its structure was extremely ancient and complex, faintly connected to the baleful energy of the earth veins. If he were to attack it by force, he feared it would trigger a backlash from the entire hill or even a wider area.

He moved slowly around the hill, the Eye of Truth-Breaking analyzing the energy nodes and operational patterns of the restriction with all its might. At the same time, the system was assisting in the analysis.

[Ding! Analysis complete. This restriction is a variant of the "Lesser Expansion Five Elements Spirit-Binding Array," fused with the local Yin baleful energy to form a "Yin-Baleful Spirit-Binding Array." It possesses multiple effects, including trapping enemies, weakening spiritual power, and triggering earth-baleful attacks. There are three relatively weak nodes, but forcing a break will still trigger a violent counterattack.]

"Is there a safe way to break it?" Lin Xuan asked in his heart.

[Deducing... Recommendation: Utilize the characteristic of the Nine-Turn Chaos Scripture's chaotic spiritual power to simulate and neutralize all things. Use pure spiritual power to simulate the Yin baleful energy to deceive the array's perception, and quietly slip in through the gaps in the energy flow. This requires a high level of control over spiritual power, combined with a subtle grasp of space from the Shrinking Ground to an Inch technique.]

Another delicate operation! Lin Xuan took a deep breath; he was no stranger to this. He sat cross-legged once more, held his breath, and focused his mind, beginning to channel his chaotic spiritual power to simulate the cold, filthy baleful aura of the surrounding environment.

Having had the experience of simulating the Nine Nether Soul Fire before, although the energy attributes were different this time, the principles were the same. After failing several times, his body was shrouded in a layer of gray-black airflow that was almost one with the surrounding environment, emitting faint Yin-baleful fluctuations.

He stood up and, like a lifeless ghost, walked slowly toward the entrance piled with rocks. The moment he touched the restriction's light membrane, the Yin-baleful energy he simulated resonated weakly with the array's energy; the light membrane rippled like water, but did not trigger an attack.

Lin Xuan seized this moment, pushing his Shrinking Ground to an Inch technique to the limit. His figure seemed to transform into an intangible shadow, and along a tiny gap in the energy flow, he "slid" inside without a sound!

The scene before his eyes changed abruptly!

It was no longer the desolate decay of the outside world, but a downward-extending passage built of blue-black boulders. On the walls on both sides of the passage were embedded fluorites emitting a ghastly white light, and the air was filled with a dense, much purer Yin-baleful energy, mixed with a faint scent of medicine and... a musty odor.

"It really is a cave dwelling!" Lin Xuan felt a surge of joy in his heart and hid his figure even more carefully as he explored down the passage.

The passage was not long, and at the end was an ajar stone door. Lin Xuan slipped inside to find a small stone chamber.

Inside the stone chamber were a stone bed, a stone table, and stone stools, all covered in thick dust; it had clearly been abandoned for many years. In one corner of the chamber lay several corpses that had long since rotted into white bones. Judging by the skeletal structures, there were both humans and demonic beasts.

Lin Xuan's gaze was immediately drawn to a meditation cushion in the center of the stone chamber. The cushion looked ordinary, but the Eye of Truth-Breaking saw a mass of pure, undissipated soul power hidden within it! Beside the cushion sat a dust-covered jade box.

He cautiously checked the corpses and the surrounding area first, confirming there were no remaining traps or vengeful spirits, before walking toward the center.

He did not go straight for the jade box, but looked at the meditation cushion first. As his spiritual sense probed slightly inside, a cool, pure soul power fed back, refreshing his spirit.

"Soul-Condensing Cushion: Long-term meditation can slowly nourish the soul and increase the speed of spiritual sense cultivation. It contains a portion of pure soul power left behind by the predecessor when they passed away, which can be absorbed and refined." The system provided the appraisal.

A good item! For him, who needed a powerful spiritual sense to support various divine abilities, this cushion was of significant value. He carefully picked up the cushion, feeling the soul power contained within, and estimated that after fully absorbing it, his spiritual sense could grow by about another ten percent!

After putting away the cushion, he turned his gaze to the jade box. Brushing away the dust, he saw simple anti-decay restrictions carved on the surface of the box. He easily broke them and opened the lid.

Inside were not the brilliant elixirs or magic treasures he had imagined, but three irregularly shaped crystals of different colors, as well as an ancient jade slip.

The three crystals were dark gold, water blue, and earthy yellow, respectively, containing pure and sharp metal-attribute, water-attribute, and earth-attribute energy within them.

[Geng Metal Essence], [Mysterious Water Soul], [Wu Earth Marrow]: Tier 4 top-grade spiritual materials, containing the origin power of a single attribute. They can be used to forge top-grade magic treasures of corresponding attributes, assist in cultivating special divine abilities, or be absorbed by the system and converted into a large amount of corresponding attribute energy.

These were all top-tier materials for forging magic treasures or cultivating divine abilities! They were worth a fortune!

Lin Xuan suppressed the joy in his heart and picked up the jade slip. As his spiritual sense sank in, a stream of information flooded his mind.

This was not a cultivation manual, but a last will and a map left by a cultivator who called himself the "Five Elements Loose Practitioner."

The will mentioned that he was a cultivator from the end of the ancient era who had entered this secret realm to escape a great tribulation and had passed away in this cave dwelling. He had spent his life studying the Dao of the Five Elements, but due to limited aptitude, he had failed to achieve greatness. He left these three Five Elements essences to gift to someone fated. At the same time, the jade slip also recorded a fragmented map of the "Five Elements Demon-Sealing Land" in the center of the secret realm and some warning information.

According to the Five Elements Loose Practitioner, an ancient demon was sealed in the center of the secret realm, and the core of the seal was related to the power of the Five Elements. He warned future generations not to approach the central area easily, especially not to destroy the balance of the Five Elements, otherwise, a monstrous disaster might occur. This fragmented map marked several relatively safe paths to the central area, as well as several potential locations for Five Elements attribute opportunities.

"Five Elements Demon-Sealing Land... ancient demon..." Lin Xuan's eyes flickered as he firmly memorized this information. This information was undoubtedly extremely important, whether for avoiding risks or for seeking opportunities.

He put away the jade slip and the three Five Elements essences, feeling quite satisfied. This exploration had yielded far more than expected. Not only had he obtained the Soul-Condensing Cushion that could directly improve his spiritual sense and the precious Five Elements essences, but more importantly, he had obtained key intelligence regarding the core area of the secret realm!

After clearing out the cave dwelling and confirming there were no omissions, Lin Xuan followed the same method, once again simulating the Yin-baleful energy, and left the abandoned cave dwelling without a sound.

Returning to the Bone-Rotting Hills, the outside world remained gray and deathly silent. He found a hidden rock crevice, set up a warning array, and decided to first absorb the soul power in the Soul-Condensing Cushion here to further improve his spiritual sense.

Just as he was about to enter meditation, the Nether Soul-Suppressing Token in his bosom suddenly vibrated slightly without warning, and a faint but clear directional fluctuation came, pointing toward the deeper parts of the hills!

"Hmm?" Lin Xuan's movements paused, his heart filled with surprise and suspicion. This token had been silent ever since he entered the secret realm; why was it suddenly reacting now? Had it sensed something of the same origin, or... was it related to the "Five Elements Demon-Sealing Land" mentioned by the Five Elements Loose Practitioner?

He pondered for a moment and decided to delay absorbing the soul power. The unusual movement of the Nether Soul-Suppressing Token was no small matter and likely involved deeper secrets.

He put away the array, hid his figure again, and followed the direction indicated by the Soul-Suppressing Token, sneaking forward cautiously.

The further he went, the deeper the dark red on the ground became, and the baleful energy almost condensed into substance. A faint, shrill sound of wind began to appear in his ears, like the weeping of vengeful souls. Even with Lin Xuan's current cultivation base and soul strength, he felt a trace of discomfort.

After traveling for about an hour and passing through a strange area piled with giant beast bones, the scene before his eyes made his pupils shrink suddenly!

Ahead were no longer endless hills, but a huge basin that looked as if it had been struck by a meteorite! In the center of the basin stood five giant stone pillars of different colors, towering into the clouds! They were cyan, red, yellow, white, and black, corresponding to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water!

The five stone pillars were arranged in a mysterious formation, connected to each other by faint five-colored light bands, forming a huge five-colored light barrier that shrouded the central area of the basin. Inside the light barrier, one could vaguely see a ruin of broken palaces, and an ancient, chaotic, and indescribably majestic aura that made one's heart tremble emanated from the center!

And the Nether Soul-Suppressing Token in Lin Xuan's hand was vibrating more and more violently at this moment, pointing to the center of the five-colored light barrier! It was as if something there was strongly attracting it!

"Could this... be the 'Five Elements Demon-Sealing Land' mentioned by the Five Elements Loose Practitioner?!" Lin Xuan's heart shook violently. He had not expected to come into contact with the most core secret of the secret realm so quickly!

He observed carefully and found that the five-colored light barrier was not intact; it was covered with tiny cracks, especially the black stone pillar representing the "water" element and the red stone pillar representing the "fire" element, whose light was significantly dimmer than the other three, and which had more cracks.

And at the edge of the basin, he had already seen the figures of other cultivators! More than one group!

One group was dressed in black robes with a cold aura; they were cultivators of the Nether Sect, numbering about seven or eight. The leader was a cultivator whose face was hidden under a hood, and their aura was shockingly at the peak of the Golden Core realm! They seemed to be trying to attack the black stone pillar representing the "water" element!

The other group was the demon race that had confronted the Nether Sect outside the valley! Led by that one-horned burly man, Xi Kui, they were attacking the red stone pillar representing the "fire" element!

There were also a few scattered teams of cultivators from other factions watching from afar, not daring to approach easily.

"The Nether Sect and the demon race... they want to forcibly destroy the Five Elements seal?!" Lin Xuan understood their intentions in an instant! This was simply a crazy act! The Five Elements Loose Practitioner had clearly warned that destroying the balance of the Five Elements would release the sealed demon and trigger a monstrous disaster!

Just then, the peak Golden Core cultivator leading the Nether Sect seemed to have sensed something; he turned his head abruptly, and two cold gazes from under his hood were like substance, piercing through the void and shooting straight toward the direction where Lin Xuan was hiding!

"You little rat, hiding your head and showing your tail, get out here!"

A terrifying pressure, accompanied by a ghastly ghostly aura, swept toward Lin Xuan like a tidal wave!

(End of Chapter 53)