128: Chapter 128 Exploring the Cave Abode and Obtaining Another Inheritance, the Spirit-Nourishing Wood Space Undergoes a Transformation

Ye Qing moved like a wisp of shadow, silently creeping toward the direction of the Restriction fluctuation.

His figure darted between the grayish-black miasma and the twisted dead wood, not stirring a sound of wind, and even the rotting leaves beneath his feet did not make a noise.

The closer he got to the location of the Restriction fluctuation, the more eerie the surrounding environment became.

The poisonous mist in the air became thicker, carrying a chill that seemed capable of eroding the bone marrow.

On the ground, irregularly distributed moss emitting a faint fluorescence began to appear, casting shadowy reflections on the surroundings and adding an extra layer of eeriness.

Finally, he stopped in front of a steep rock wall covered in dark green vines, which looked as if it were integrated into the surrounding environment.

The source of the Restriction fluctuation was right behind this rock wall.

"It is hidden quite well."

Ye Qing reached out his finger and tapped the rock wall lightly, producing a dull sound.

The thickness of the rock wall far exceeded his expectations.

He did not forcibly break open the rock wall; instead, he condensed his Divine Sense into a beam, like an invisible drill, and carefully probed into the interior of the rock wall to meticulously perceive the structure and type of the Restriction.

"Hmm? This is... a compound Restriction? The outer layer is an illusion Formation, the inner layer is a killing Formation, and there are some small Restrictions for warning and trapping enemies mixed in between. The technique is quite exquisite, and it carries an ancient aura; it is at least a product from thousands of years ago."

A look of interest flashed in his eyes.

This type of compound Restriction is already very rare in the current cultivation world.

Setting up such a Restriction requires extremely profound attainments in Formations, runes, and energy circulation, and it is definitely not something an ordinary person could achieve.

"It seems that behind this rock wall, there is indeed an Immortal Cave of some ancient cultivator hidden. Moreover, this ancient cultivator has impressive attainments, at least in the way of Formations."

He had a plan in mind and began to set about breaking the Restriction on the rock wall.

He did not use violent methods to break the Formation; although that would be simple and direct, it might damage the items inside the Immortal Cave or even trigger some self-destruct Restrictions.

He chose a more gentle and technically demanding method—using a Formation to break a Formation.

He sat cross-legged in front of the rock wall, closed his eyes, and his Divine Sense, like a fine net, covered the entire surface of the rock wall, bit by bit outlining and restoring the Restriction patterns hidden beneath the vines and rock textures.

This process was extremely draining to the mind.

Those Restriction patterns had been eroded by thousands of years of time; many places were already blurred, and some had even fractured or become misaligned.

Ye Qing needed to rely on his deep attainments in the way of Formations, as well as the keen perception of energy circulation from the "Void Dao Seed," to complete and correct these incomplete patterns one by one and find the location of their core hub.

Time passed quietly during the focused cracking process.

One hour... two hours... three hours...

When the three moons of different colors hung high in the sky again, casting fantastical brilliance, Ye Qing finally slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes held a hint of fatigue, but more so a sense of satisfaction and excitement.

"So that's it... the core of this set of Restrictions is not in defense or killing enemies, but in 'concealment' and 'sealing.' That ancient cultivator seems to not want others to discover his Immortal Cave, nor does he want others to disturb his slumber."

He stood up, walked to the rock wall, reached out his hands, pressed them onto several seemingly ordinary rock protrusions, and injected Chaos Infant Essence in a specific order.

"Hum—!!!"

Following the injection of his last wisp of Chaos Infant Essence, the entire rock wall shook violently!

The dark green vines covering the surface of the rock wall withered and fell off rapidly like living things, revealing the smooth-as-a-mirror cyan stone wall beneath.

On the stone wall, complex, silver-glowing Formation patterns emerged and flowed slowly like blood vessels.

Immediately after, a low "clack clack" sound came from the center of the stone wall, and a stone door three zhang high and two zhang wide slowly opened inward!

An aura mixed with dust, decay, and faint Spiritual Qi, as if it had been sealed for eternity, rushed toward him from behind the stone door.

Ye Qing stood in front of the stone door, gazing calmly at the deep darkness behind the door, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Let me see what good things this ancient cultivator Senior has left behind."

He adjusted his robes, took a step forward, and his figure disappeared into that deep darkness.

Behind the stone door was a long, downward-sloping corridor.

On the walls on both sides of the corridor were embedded some moonstones that had exhausted their energy, emitting a faint, almost negligible light.

Ye Qing did not pay attention to these; his Divine Sense had already surged out like a tide, covering the entire corridor and the space at the end of the corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a stone chamber several dozen zhang in circumference.

In the center of the stone chamber, there was a stone table and two stone stools.

On the stone table sat a bronze lamp; the lamp oil had long since dried up, and the wick had turned to fly ash.

Behind the stone table sat a skeleton cross-legged.

The skeleton was wearing a cyan Daoist robe that had mostly decayed; the skeleton remained intact and emitted a faint, translucent white luster, clearly indicating that its cultivation was not low during its lifetime.

On the skeleton's left side was a palm-sized, entirely emerald-green Jade Slip.

On the right side was a long, narrow iron ruler that was entirely pitch-black, ancient in style, and unsharpened.

Ye Qing's gaze first fell on that emerald-green Jade Slip.

He could clearly sense that the Jade Slip contained a powerful Divine Soul imprint that had not yet dissipated.

"This Senior seems to have left part of his Legacy in this Jade Slip before dying."

He walked forward and bowed respectfully to the skeleton.

"Junior Ye Qing, by chance, has entered Senior's Immortal Cave. I hope Senior will forgive any offense."

After the salute, he reached out his hand, carefully picked up the emerald-green Jade Slip, and probed it with his Divine Sense.

"Hum—!!!"

A massive stream of information, like a dam-bursting flood, surged into his mind!

It was an extremely ancient and profound Cultivation Technique—the "Myriad Poison Evergreen Art"!

This Cultivation Technique did not purely Cultivate toxicity but emphasized using myriad poisons as a catalyst to temper one's body, eventually reaching the Realm of being immune to all poisons and achieving evergreen immortality.

It not only contained the Cultivation Technique but also recorded a large amount of experience in Alchemy, poison making, and cultivating poisonous insects and herbs, as well as a set of supporting flying needle-type attack Spells called the "Azure Wood Poison Emperor Needles."

"The 'Myriad Poison Evergreen Art'... Good heavens! This is a top-tier Cultivation Technique that points directly to the Nascent Soul Late Stage, and even has the potential to Breakthrough to Soul Transformation! Moreover, it actually shares similar principles with the 'Hunxu Yandao Scripture' that I Cultivate!"

Ye Qing was shocked and hurriedly memorized all the contents of this Cultivation Technique firmly in his heart.

He did not intend to switch to this Cultivation Technique, but the concepts and techniques regarding Alchemy, poison making, and cultivating spiritual plants had great reference value for perfecting his own cultivation system.

Especially the several methods for cultivating highly toxic spiritual plants recorded within it made his eyes light up; they could be used to Cultivate the mutated ancient tree he had just transplanted into his Cave Heaven World!

"Thank you for your generous gift, Senior!"

Ye Qing bowed respectfully to the skeleton again.

Then, his gaze fell on the long, narrow, pitch-black iron ruler.

He picked up the iron ruler; it was icy cold to the touch and extremely heavy.

The surface of the iron ruler had no patterns or runes and looked unremarkable.

But when Ye Qing injected his Chaos Infant Essence into it, the iron ruler shook violently and emitted a low hum!

A sharp, overbearing, and terrifying aura that seemed capable of severing all life force erupted from the iron ruler!

"Good ruler!"

A flash of brilliance appeared in Ye Qing's eyes, and he exclaimed in praise.

Although this iron ruler looked inconspicuous, its quality had definitely reached the level of a Nascent Soul-level Magic Treasure!

Moreover, it seemed to contain a trace of extremely obscure poison Law power that shared the same origin as the "Myriad Poison Evergreen Art"!

"It just so happens that I lack a handy close-combat weapon. This iron ruler can be used."

He put the iron ruler into his Cave Heaven and prepared to refine it properly after returning.

He carefully searched the stone chamber again, confirmed there were no other missed items, and then bowed to the skeleton once more.

"Senior, Junior will take his leave. I will definitely carry forward your Legacy."

After speaking, he turned and left the ancient cultivator's Immortal Cave.

Walking out of the Immortal Cave, he waved his hand, used his Chaos Infant Essence to close the stone door at the entrance again, and erased the traces he had left behind.

"This trip to the Black Miasma Swamp has yielded far more than expected. Not only did I get a Poison Python Demon Core and a mutated spiritual tree, but I also unexpectedly obtained the Legacy of an ancient cultivator. It's absolutely a huge profit!"

He was in a great mood, even humming an unknown tune, and turned into a streak of light, flying toward Zhenbei City.

"After returning, I will first study the 'Myriad Poison Evergreen Art' properly to see if I can extract some useful methods from it to Cultivate my Cave Heaven World. Then, I will find an Opportunity to refine that iron ruler."

He calculated his next plans in his heart, and the streak of light cut through the night sky, soon disappearing into the horizon.

Inside his body, the 38,000-zhang Cave Heaven World began a new round of evolution due to the addition of that mutated ancient tree and the nourishment of that Poison Python Demon Core.

Near the Poison Source Land, the roots of that mutated ancient tree had already deeply pierced into the earth, greedily absorbing the Yin Qi and toxic essence from deep underground.

On the branches of the ancient tree, some tender, dark green new buds began to emerge, emitting vigorous vitality.

And the Poison Source Land, due to the feedback from the ancient tree, had its toxic Law fluctuations become purer and deeper.

Between the two, a subtle, mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship was formed.

"Developing according to this trend, it won't be long before this Poison Source Land can evolve into a true 'Poison Domain.' By then, I can plant more varieties of highly toxic spiritual plants inside, and even try to Cultivate some ancient exotic poisonous insects."

Ye Qing was full of anticipation and had a clearer plan for future development.