When the two elders flew out of the extraordinarily long passage, Han Li was already floating in the high altitude outside the passage, gazing at the top of the canyon and listening intently to something.
It was then that the two elders realized that once outside, the faint rumbling sounds had grown even more indistinct. If not for the fact that all three of them were Spirit Infant cultivators with senses far surpassing ordinary people, they might have dismissed the sound as nothing more than a passing breeze.
“It seems to be coming from above, and it’s very distant. If not for the fact that this place is sealed by restrictions, creating an enclosed space with amplified echoes, we wouldn’t have been able to hear it at all,” said the Fu surnamed elder after listening for a moment, frowning slightly. “Since we’re unfamiliar with everything here, it might be best to investigate rather than wander aimlessly. Of course, it would be wise to employ concealment techniques while moving, to avoid being detected by others first,” Han Li suggested, turning his head to glance at the two.
The Fu surnamed elder and his companion naturally had no objections and readily agreed.
The elder formed a hand seal, and a surge of green light erupted from his body before dimming into a faint glow. His figure gradually blurred, eventually transforming into a barely perceptible green shadow. Unless one were to examine it up close, it would be nearly impossible to detect his presence.
Of course, this was partly due to the mountain’s suppression of spiritual sense. Outside this mountain, such concealment techniques would be far less effective against cultivators of the same level.
Bai Yaoyi, on the other hand, raised her jade-like hand, where a cold light flickered between her fingers, revealing a crystalline token seemingly forged from ice. Holding the token aloft, she chanted an enchanting incantation, and in an instant, a silver mist sprayed forth from the token, swiftly enveloping her graceful figure. With a flash of light, Bai Yaoyi vanished without a trace.
Watching the two of them employ their concealment techniques, Han Li smiled faintly. Without any visible movement, a faint glow flickered around him, and his presence abruptly disappeared entirely.
Even if the Fu surnamed elder and Bai Yaoyi were standing right in front of Han Li, their spiritual senses would barely register his existence, as if there were no one there at all.
This startled the two elders.
Only then did Han Li leisurely retrieve a concealment talisman and casually affix it to himself, causing his figure to become indistinct, as if flickering in and out of existence.
“Let’s go!” Han Li commanded in a low voice, and the three of them soared into the air.
In such a mysterious and unfamiliar place, none of them dared to fly too quickly. They maintained a speed only slightly faster than a light-body technique, following the direction of the rumbling sounds.
As they flew, the landscape they passed was lush and vibrant, brimming with spiritual energy. Every inch of the land seemed like an ideal cultivation site in the human realm. Outside, such places would have sparked fierce competition among sects.
Yet here, such spots were everywhere!
Half an hour later, Han Li and the others had encountered no mishaps, but neither did they show any signs of joy.
The lifeless scenery along the way, devoid of any living creatures, left them uneasy and deeply unsettled.
“Brother Han, have you noticed? The spiritual energy here is so rich, yet after flying such a distance, we haven’t seen a single spiritual herb or tree—only ordinary plants. This seems rather odd,” Bai Yaoyi hesitantly spoke up.
“I’ve noticed it too. While the spiritual energy here is abundant, it grows denser the higher we go. This is similar to spiritual mountains in the outside world. Perhaps the original cultivators of this mountain preferred to plant spiritual herbs at higher elevations for better results. It might have been intentional,” Han Li replied calmly, showing no surprise.
“Even more abundant than here?” Bai Yaoyi was astonished.
After all, the spiritual energy here already felt like an ideal cultivation site to her.
“Brother Han, if the summit of this mountain truly has a superior cultivation site, perhaps we shouldn’t be in such a hurry to leave. Why not cultivate here for a while?” The Fu surnamed elder, swayed by Han Li’s words, seemed tempted.
“Brother Fu, you can’t seriously think of this place as an ordinary spiritual mountain, can you? If such a spiritually rich location were safe for cultivation, why would the original inhabitants have abandoned it? Moreover, the entire mountain is sealed with restrictions, which speaks volumes about its peculiar nature. If given the chance to leave, I wouldn’t stay,” Han Li said with a cold chuckle.
Hearing this, the Fu surnamed elder’s expression shifted several times before he finally sighed bitterly.
“Brother Han makes a valid point. This is indeed no place for quiet cultivation. I was momentarily blinded by greed for its spiritual energy.”
“You can’t be blamed for thinking that way. It’s not just you—I had the same thought earlier. After all, a cultivation site like this could save us a great deal of meditation time,” Bai Yaoyi added regretfully.
Han Li smiled faintly and was about to say more when his gaze inadvertently swept past something, causing his expression to shift. He abruptly halted his flight.
His pupils flashed with blue light as he stared intently to one side.
The elder and Bai Yaoyi, puzzled, followed his gaze.
In the distance, a white mist swirled, obscuring their view. However, such fog-covered scenes were common along their journey, and they hadn’t found anything unusual before. It wasn’t feasible to investigate every patch of mist they encountered.
“Let’s take a look. There might be something useful there,” Han Li said after a moment, his eyes glinting. With that, he abruptly changed course, darting straight into the mist.
Though perplexed, the elder and Bai Yaoyi knew Han Li wouldn’t act without reason and followed without hesitation.
When they entered the mist, however, they were stunned.
Before them stretched a broad staircase of white stone, leading endlessly up and down the mountain. Beside the steps in the mist stood a towering white stele, over ten zhang tall and three zhang wide.
Han Li stood before the stele, hands clasped behind his back, staring intently at something inscribed on it.
“Well, Brother Han, have you discovered something?” the elder asked curiously after landing on the platform.
“Now we finally know what this mountain is. Come and see for yourselves—this stele bears the mountain’s origins,” Han Li replied solemnly, his expression grave.
“Oh? Let me see!”
The elder perked up and hurried over. Bai Yaoyi followed gracefully.
At a glance, the inscription on the stele was unmistakable.
Two ancient characters, written in bold, flamboyant strokes, gleamed in golden light: “Kunwu.”
“Kunwu! Could this be the legendary Kunwu Mountain?” the Fu surnamed elder exclaimed upon recognizing the ancient script, his voice filled with shock.
Bai Yaoyi covered her mouth with one hand, her beautiful eyes wide with astonishment.
“Yes, it must be Kunwu Mountain. In ancient times, this mountain was known as the ‘Mountain of Immortals,’ a sacred cultivation ground where ancient cultivators gathered. Given its immense size and dense spiritual energy, there’s no doubt it’s Kunwu Mountain. But according to legends, wasn’t this mountain either taken to the Spirit Realm by ancient cultivators or sunk into the Yellow Springs due to battles? How could it be here?” Bai Yaoyi murmured, still unable to believe it.
“Fellow Daoist Bai, those are merely rumors. The truth seems to be that the mountain was sealed away for some unknown reason, and the three of us happened to trigger an ancient teleportation array, bringing us here. Given this mountain’s reputation, there must be countless ancient cultivators’ caves here. If we can find some, we’ll surely reap great rewards,” the Fu surnamed elder said, quickly recovering but unable to hide his excitement.
“Perhaps. But given how the mountain was sealed, the ancient cultivators likely left prepared. I doubt their caves would contain much of value. However, this stele, though crudely forged initially, has stood here for countless millennia, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It has long since become a rare treasure,” Han Li said, shaking his head. He then stepped forward and lightly tapped the stele, his eyes gleaming.
“What? This stele is a treasure?” The Fu surnamed elder and Bai Yaoyi were stunned, then scrutinized the stele again, only to remain speechless.
To their eyes, the stele appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary stone slab. Though it carried a faint spiritual aura, it couldn’t even compare to the lowest-grade refining materials!
They exchanged puzzled glances at Han Li.
“Heh, it seems you two don’t believe me. But as long as I’m convinced, that’s enough,” Han Li said with a faint smile, his expression calm. Yet inwardly, he was equally baffled.
Not only had his companions failed to detect anything unusual, but even he, with his enhanced vision, saw nothing extraordinary. The reason for his claim was the sudden agitation of the Earth Armored Dragon in his spirit beast pouch the moment he approached the stele. The creature had been frantically signaling through their mental link that the object was anything but ordinary.
Even after scanning the stele with his Spirit Eyes, Han Li found nothing remarkable, leaving him torn between belief and skepticism.
However, adopting a “better safe than sorry” mindset, he decided to play along with the dragon’s instincts and made his cryptic declaration.
Seizing the opportunity, he channeled azure light from his palm onto the stele.
The massive stele trembled violently under the glow, rapidly shrinking in size.
When it had halved in size, Han Li’s eyebrows twitched. He wrapped the stele in azure light and attempted to lift it into his storage pouch.
But just as the stele rose a foot off the ground, an anomaly occurred.
The seemingly ordinary stone slab emitted a resonant hum, followed by a blinding burst of white light.
Simultaneously, Han Li felt an immense weight, as if his azure light could no longer restrain the stele. With a thunderous crash, it slammed back onto the ground, shaking the entire platform violently.
The impact left the trio’s ears ringing, and the stone platform beneath the stele cracked into countless fissures.
“What’s this?” Han Li’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes narrowing sharply.
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