730: Chapter 726: The Back Mountain of Lingyin Temple 730: Chapter 726: The Back Mountain of Lingyin Temple “Look!
Big brother and Elder Ye are testing their Qinggong against each other!”
“It seems their injuries have almost healed!
Now, Night King Hall need not fear other enemies coming to harass us!”
“But from the look of it, they seem to be headed towards the distance!”
…
Amidst the discussions of the martial artists, Ye Zhirong and Ye Tian’s silhouettes became more and more distant, already having left the manor and entered into the woods.
At this point, the martial artists could no longer see the two figures…
“Kid, performing Qinggong in the woods is much harder than on the tree tops.
Have you mastered the trick?”
Elder Ye spoke loudly amidst the woods.
Even though the woods were full of trees obstructing the way, Elder Ye’s body moved like an eel, weaving through the forest, his speed unslowed…
And Ye Tian followed close behind!
Ever since he had integrated his powers, Ye Tian’s Qinggong naturally reached a new level.
Even though he couldn’t match Elder Ye, that old eel, in agility, Ye Tian relied on his own absolute acceleration, preventing Elder Ye from shaking him off.
The two maintained a distance of a few meters, chasing one another through the woods for more than an hour.
An hour later, neither of their speeds had diminished, and their breathing had not become rapid either; it was clear that both had deep reserves of Inner Strength, and such a chase hardly spent any of their energy!
“Chirp chirp, twitter twitter!”
The birds in the forest, startled by the pursuit of the two extraordinary experts, flew up, creating a cacophony of noises.
Meanwhile, Elder Ye suddenly stopped!
Ye Tian also came to a halt and stepped forward to Elder Ye, asking, “Elder Ye, why have you stopped, not chasing anymore?”
Elder Ye smiled and said, “No need to chase!
Because we have already reached our destination!”
“Destination?”
Ye Tian’s brow furrowed slightly.
Since a while ago, he had been chasing Elder Ye through the woods without paying attention to where Elder Ye was leading him.
Initially, he thought he couldn’t discern the direction, but when Ye Tian looked up slightly, he realized this place was one he had visited before!
“Isn’t this the back mountain of Lingyin Temple?”
Just as Ye Tian said, this was indeed the back mountain of Lingyin Temple, where Ye Tian had once fought a great battle with Huang Bo, defeated him, and even encountered the Sima Family’s mythical beast, the “Great Ape King,” a flying creature that left a deep impression on Ye Tian.
Unexpectedly, the forest outside the manor of Night King Hall was connected to the back mountain of Lingyin Temple on the outskirts of Jiang City…
“Elder Ye, why did you bring me to the back mountain of Lingyin Temple?
Are we going to Lingyin Temple?”
Ye Tian asked directly; he and Bai Lan had been here before, and he had seen the “Map of Yu’s Tribute to the Nine Provinces” in this temple, seeming as if there weren’t any more clues to uncover here…
“Hehehe!
We’re not going inside the temple; we are heading to the mountain top!”
Elder Ye said with a smile, then led Ye Tian towards the summit of the back mountain.
The back mountain of Lingyin Temple was extraordinarily steep and had no paths to the summit, so Elder Ye and Ye Tian had to climb the sheer cliff from the base to the peak.
If it were an ordinary person, of course, they couldn’t possibly climb such cliffs, but Elder Ye and Ye Tian were exceptional experts, so their climb was as easy as walking on flat ground, without any pressure!
Not long after, the two reached the peak of the back mountain!
At the mountain top, there was actually a pavilion!
Elder Ye and Ye Tian arrived inside the pavilion!
Ye Tian marveled, “There’s no path to this mountain top; how was this pavilion built?”
Elder Ye laughed and said, “Kid, nothing is difficult for those who are determined.
Do you think only you and I could come up here?
Any person with decent Qinggong could leap up and build this pavilion.”
“Hehehe~~~~ indeed!”
Ye Tian also smiled, then he noticed a stone stele in the center of the pavilion, on which eight characters were inscribed—
“The Universe transforms, the seas turn to mulberry fields.”
“Eh?
These words, I feel like I have heard them somewhere before?”
Ye Tian echoed the words carefully and then recalled that when he had spoken in detail with the Abbot Ling Tong at Lingyin Temple, the latter had once mentioned these eight characters to him.
However, Ye Tian did not know what these eight characters meant; he didn’t know then, and naturally, he didn’t know now!
“Kid, the goal of the Sima Family is these eight characters!”
Ye Zhirong said with a cold smile, and from his expression, Ye Tian read a touch of desolation.
What kind of scene would it have to be to make the always dignified Elder Ye Zhirong show such emotion?
“The goal of the Sima Family is these eight characters?
Elder Ye, what do you mean?
Could it be that the thousand-year scheme of the Sima Family is about defying heaven and changing fate?”
Ye Tian was puzzled but Ye Zhirong was not in a rush to reveal the answer.
Just then, Ye Zhirong found a secret compartment at the back of the stele, from which he retrieved something…
Ye Tian was startled by the object.
“Elder Ye, you had the Ice Heart Awl hidden here!”
Although the Ice Heart Awl was originally uncovered by himself, it had been taken by Elder Ye.
Now, however, Ye Tian no longer desired the Ice Heart Awl.
His goal, like Ye Zhirong’s, was to thwart the Sima Family’s actions!
“Exactly!
The people of the Sima Family know this back mountain extremely well, but they would never guess that I would hide the very thing they want most in this place.
The most dangerous place is the safest!”
Ye Zhirong spoke with considerable pride, and Ye Tian also smiled.
This Elder Ye was as innocent as a child…
“Kid, now let me explain it to you in detail.
First, the Sima Family wants to obtain the Ice Heart Awl, which is the only magical instrument capable of taking the Spirit Vein of Jiang City.
You know this, don’t you?”
Ye Zhirong asked back, and Ye Tian immediately nodded.
“Elder Ye, I am indeed aware of this!
You told me that the Sima Family is controlling the puppet Yi Zhongyuan in order to secure Jiang City’s Spirit Vein.
Unfortunately, Yi Zhongyuan, who possessed the Ice Heart Awl, regained his senses after obtaining a shard of the Spirit Vein Stone and betrayed the Sima Family, even going so far as to hide the Ice Heart Awl!”
Ye Tian relayed everything he knew, which was exactly what Ye Zhirong had told him…
“Correct!
From the beginning to the end, the goal of the Sima Family has been to obtain the Spirit Vein hidden deep beneath Jiang City, and this Spirit Vein is crucial to the Sima Family’s millennium scheme.
Only by acquiring the immense power within the Spirit Vein can the Sima Family’s grand plan possibly succeed!”
Ye Zhirong nodded and said.
Ye Tian immediately asked, “Elder Ye, after all this talk, what exactly is the thousand-year plan of the Sima Family?”
“Well…”
Ye Zhirong paused slightly and pointed to the eight characters on the stele!
“The cosmos changes, the sea turns into mulberry fields.
Kid, do you understand the meaning of these eight characters?”
Ye Tian thought for a moment and said, “Elder Ye, although I do not understand the deeper meaning behind them, just from their literal sense, I can guess that these eight characters refer to a place where the yin and yang have completely reversed, and the landscape has undergone violent change!”
“Well explained!” Ye Zhirong nodded again, “Just as you said, the meaning of these eight characters is indeed about the reversal of yin and yang and a drastic change in the landscape, and such a transformation was not achieved over an extended period but in a short time!”
“Such a severe event happened in such a short time!?”
Ye Zhirong’s words startled Ye Tian, who then thought of what Abbot Ling Tong had told him…
“Could it be that this refers to the great catastrophe that struck Jiang City over a thousand years ago?”
“Yes!”
Ye Zhirong earnestly stated, his face immediately displaying a sorrowful expression.
“Kid, as you said, over a thousand years ago, there indeed was a great disaster in Jiang City!
In Lingyin Temple, there is a map of the ancient Jiang City.
The geography of Jiang City depicted on that map is completely different from today’s Jiang City—it’s as if they are two different cities!”
Ye Zhirong spoke at length, yet he seemed unaware that the “Map of the Nine Provinces” stored in Lingyin Temple had already been destroyed by Abbot Ling Tong…
“Kid, since you were able to find the location of Jiang City’s Spirit Vein, you must have obtained the ancient map of Jiang City, right?”
“Yes!”
In response to Ye Zhirong’s probing, Ye Tian did not hide the truth.
“In fact, I did not obtain the ancient map of Jiang City from Lingyin Temple, but from the ancient tomb of Jiang City.
At the time, I did not know what it was.
It was only after investigating in Lingyin Temple that I realized it was the ancient map of Jiang City.
Finally, following the red dots on the map, I located the position of the underground Spirit Vein!”
“The ancient tomb of Jiang City?
So the ancient tomb also had a map of Jiang City!
This is quite astonishing!”
Ye Zhirong was slightly surprised.
Ye Tian originally did not wish to explain further, since the ancient map was found on the inside of a skeleton in the tomb.
Revealing this could disclose his clairvoyant ability.
But then he thought that since Ye Zhirong could use him to find the Ice Heart Awl, the elder might already know something about him…
“Elder Ye, when I arrived at the Jiang City ancient tomb, the Sima Family had already emptied it, leaving behind a worthless skeleton lying in a stone coffin.
However, this skeleton was clearly the most important treasure because the ancient map of Jiang City was drawn on the inside of the skeleton’s bones!”