Chapter 14: Ancient Tomb Under the Imperial Palace
Another month passed, during which Nalan Ruoshui treated Chen Nan once again, but there was still no "improvement". Chu Yue also once came and gave Chen Nan a thin book with a few internal martial arts techniques, asking him to choose one of them and try to cultivate it from scratch. It could be seen that Chu Yue no longer had any hope of restoring his power.
However, Chu Yue was immensely disappointed, as Chen Nan cultivated any of the heart techniques to no avail, unable to condense even a trace of true qi. The Rapunzel was a bit anxious, and finally brought the Houyi Bow from the palace to the Qishi Mansion, asking Chen Nan to try to see if he could pull it apart without internal force, with predictable results. Chen Nan pretended to pull a pass, and finally deflated, "No, I can't pull it open."
Chu Yue's eyebrow slightly frowned, said: "How can it be like this, it makes no sense ah, Ruoshui never lies, she said that your power theoretically can be restored, and from the new cultivation of martial arts should not have any effect".
Chen Nan timely said: ''I feel that my body is a bit odd, but the feeling of holding Hou Yi bow in my hand just now is very special, it's as if I feel that the true qi in my body seems to have signs of reviving over.''
Chu Yue's eyes lit up and said, "Really?"
''Really, I do have that feeling.''
Chu Yue considered for a while and said, ''Alright then, I will place the Hou Yi bow here with you, you can sense it with your heart, and you might be able to recover your power. However, I need to send some manpower to guard it, after all, the divine bow is the heirloom treasure of my Chu Kingdom, in case the thieves know about it and come here to steal it, it would not be good.''
Chen Nan put on a look of gratitude and said, ''Your Highness has even lent me the national treasure in order for me to be able to recover my power, such a kindness, if I recover my power, I will definitely vow to serve the Chu Kingdom to the death.''
Chu Yue smiled faintly and floated away.
From that day onwards, there were more guards outside Cinnan's courtyard, guarding his compound day and night.
"Is it to prevent thieves from stealing, or is it afraid that I will abscond with the Houyi Bow?" about this question, he did not think deeply, after all, Chu Yue gave him a pretty good impression.
Love because of love, love does not need reason.
Chen Nan was now a little confused, he admitted that all along, he had a hint of good feelings for Nalan Ruoshui and the fantasies that male compatriots often have, but he thought that it was never love. But lately, if he couldn't see the beautiful and famous doctor any day, he would feel empty in his heart.
At first, he didn't quite believe in his feelings until Nalan Ruoshui had something to do and disappeared from his sight for a few days, then he believed in that feeling, and during those few days, he felt an overwhelming loss in his heart. Chen Nan knew that there was already a little bit of Nalan Ruoshui in his heart, and he had already fallen for her a little bit.
"Could it be that I really fell in love with her, just because of spending time together and falling in love over time that is the reason for love"
He didn't know what the beautiful famous doctor was thinking but felt that Nalan Ruoshui seemed to be running away from something and was no longer as open as she used to be when facing him.
"Is she also"
"She's hesitating, she has concerns."
"Because I don't have a prominent birth because I don't have strong strength" Chen Nan shook his head and stopped thinking about these annoying things.
On this day, after walking into the library of ancient books, Chen Nan completely translated the last few pages of that ancient book for the old man.
The old man held the organized volume and said, "I've got what I need, what about you, have you found what you want"
Chen Nan was startled and said, "Ah, what did you say"
"Hehehe" the old man laughed, the furrows on his face shuddered.
"Young man you are quite something, at a young age, your cultivation is already so amazing, and you also know ancient languages, what a wizard"
"Ah, what are you talking about old man, how come I don't understand ah"
The old man said, "Young man, don't act anymore, I don't mean you any harm. In fact, since the first day you stepped into the library, I have already realized that you are a profound cultivator, your cultivation should have just reached the third stage."
Chen Nan's heart was shocked beyond measure, the cultivator's aura he emitted outside his body was extremely weak, he did not expect the old man to have already seen through him in their first meeting.
The old man said, "If you are not yet twenty years old, your cultivation is enough to be ranked among the top twenty cultivators under twenty years old in the continent, and if you are close to twenty-five years old, your cultivation can be ranked among the top two hundred cultivators under twenty-five years old in the continent. Regardless of which situation you belong to, you can be considered an outstanding young expert.''
Chen Nan remained silent and waited to see what would happen.
The old man said, "Young man you've disguised yourself well, I believe not many people can see through the fact that you are harboring great skills, but I am not one of them."
Chen Nan nodded his head and said, "The old man really does have an eye like a torch, the younger generation has nothing to hide in front of the senior."
The old man nodded and said: ''What are you looking for''
Tatsunami did not answer, instead he asked: "What was senior looking for and what did he get"
The old man laughed, his face full of wrinkles piled up and trembled gently, his appearance was somewhat frightening.
"Hey hey, young man, I asked you to translate an ancient book, but disrupted the arrangement of the sentences, you must be very dissatisfied with me in your heart"
Chen Nan said, "No, you are thinking too much."
The old man said: ''I can't help it, that book is a paraphernalia, it involves many taboos, which are not allowed by common people. I'm afraid that when you learn about it, you will despise the old man and not translate it for me, so that's why I came up with this plan."
Tatsunami said: ''Things of the sideways path''
The old man said: "Yes, I also have no choice, now I'm already over 170 years old, my body has already aged beyond recognition, I can't cultivate Taoism, I'm not gifted in martial arts, I can't make my body grow old again".
"I can't rejuvenate my body again" Chen Nan exclaimed.
"Yes, more than seventy years ago, I became successful in martial arts, and returned to my childhood at the age of one hundred, these decades, although my power is getting deeper and deeper, but I have never been able to step into a higher realm, and my body is gradually aging, and it's not time to wait for me... the realm of immortal martial arts is getting farther and farther away from me."
Chen Nan's mouth opened wide in surprise, not expecting that the old man in front of him was actually a supreme expert, the old man's words of "small success" was never "small", it must be a great success in Kung Fu.
The old man then said: "In order to continue my life, I had to study the evil books and develop other methods, in the hope of one day realizing life and death.
Tatsunami was surprised: "Studying evil books, realizing life and death"
"Yes, in fact, there is no distinction between good and evil in this world. Good is only in line with the perception of the majority of people, while evil is forbidden by the majority of people. At my age, I have seen through everything, and have long since lost the distinction between good and evil, so I don't care what books I have to practice. As long as it can continue my life, it's positive.''
Although Chen Nan felt that there was a hint of truth in these words, he still felt a cold chill down his back, and he said in his heart: ''People say that old Buddhas become devils, this old man wouldn't have fallen into the devil's path after reaching a certain level of power, right?''
He was now certain that this old man's cultivation had at least reached the fifth order realm.
The old man said: "Young man what are you looking for"
"As senior said, I am indeed looking for something. As I said, I am very interested in the myths and legends of the ancient times, especially the origin of the God and Demon Mausoleum, which has mesmerized me, and I would like to unveil its mystery with the help of the royal family's vast canonical books."
The green light in the old man's eyes flickered, saying: ''The Divine Demon Mausoleum is a mystery of the ancient times, I don't know how many generations have been troubled by it, if you are able to find the clues in it, it will certainly stir up the entire continent, have you found anything''
Chen Nan deflated, "No, I almost went through the entire library of ancient books, but the God Demon Mausoleum is like a piece of nothingness in an endless void, no book has a record of its origin."
The old man said, "Alas, the truth has long been annihilated in history, if you want to understand what really happened ten thousand years ago, I'm afraid that only by stepping into the Immortal Realm will you be able to understand."
Chen Nan nodded his head and agreed, Chu is one of the most powerful empires in the eastern continent, its royal books can be said to be all-encompassing, but there is not the slightest record of the origins of the Divine Demon Mausoleum, so it can be seen that it really can't be explored from the history of the truth.
At this time, he suddenly felt a strange fluctuation gently rippling within the ancient book library, exactly the same as when he first stepped into this place on the first day. Last time he didn't care, this time he closed his eyes to sense that fluctuation with his heart, slowly, a shocked look appeared on his face, that fluctuation was actually coming up from the ground.
After the old man saw his face change drastically, he nodded and said, "Young man is really not simple, even this subtle fluctuation can be sensed, it is evident that you possess spiritual roots."
Chen Nan said: ''Senior, what is that''
The old man said, "That's fine, in order to repay you for translating the ancient scriptures for me, I'll lead you to have a look."
The old man led Cinnan to a bookshelf and moved it aside with force, then after a moment of groping on the ground, a black hole appeared in front of Cinnan's eyes, and the fluctuations were coming outward precisely from there.
Chen Nan could not believe his eyes, the Hall Royal Ancient Book Depository would have such a location.
The old man said, ''Seventy years ago, when I became successful in my martial arts, my spiritual root opened up in my body, and I inadvertently sensed this strange fluctuation. I didn't realize that you were born with a spiritual root, alas, people can't be compared to each other"
Chen Nan was a bit puzzled and said, "How could the Royal Ancient Book Depository have such a secret cave entrance"
The old man laughed and said, "I secretly dug out this hole."
"You excavated it" Chen Nan was a little surprised, this old man's guts were too big.
"What's wrong with that, I am just blatantly opening a cave under the emperor's dragon chair, he wouldn't dare to say anything, because I am his Xuanzu."
Dizzy, wildly dizzy, Chen Nan was really a bit at a loss, he didn't expect this old man to come from such a big place.
"Follow me, let me lead you down to have a look."
The cave snaked underground in a spiral shape, Chen Nan followed behind the old man with one foot deep and one foot shallow, he was more or less a little apprehensive in his heart.
After walking down the dark tunnel for about thirty meters, a light came from below, and after descending for about ten more meters, the two came to the place where the light was, where the old man's tunnel and a tunnel intersected in the shape of a "D".
Tunnel monuments mottled, four walls for hard as iron adamantine rock, you can imagine that the excavation of such a road is how difficult, above the tunnel, every three feet distance will be inlaid with a night pearl, the light is precisely these beads released.
Chen Nan marveled, "What a great stroke, a single pearl is already worth a lot of money, I can't imagine that here, so many pearls are used as ordinary lighting." After saying that, his eyes emitted a golden light, and his eyes stared at those Mingzhu without blinking.
The old man said, "Be a good boy, you don't want to rob a tomb, do you?"
"Ah, this is a tomb," Chen Nan felt a chill at his back, realizing that the light emitted by those beads was a bit demonic.
"Of course, who would live underground?"
"No way, the royal palace of Chu would be built on top of a grave"
"When the palace was built, who knew what was underneath the ground and who would have dug 50 meters into the ground."
The old man led Chen Nan along the ancient tunnel towards the brighter end, the only sound in the empty tunnel was the sound of footsteps, making the ancient tomb seem particularly eerie and cold.
Along the winding ancient tunnel, the two of them came to a bright hall, although the hall was underground, free from the erosion of rain, snow, wind and frost, but it was also carved with the traces of age and monuments. The four walls of the hall are a pair of exquisite reliefs, mostly myths and legends of gods, devils, demons, monsters between the reliefs embedded beads, so that the entire hall is as bright as day. Lifelike reliefs in the illumination of the beads, as if there is a soul in general, seems to want to break out of the wall.
In the center of the ancient hall was a white jade platform, which was crystal clear, emitting a soft light, and was a superb jade. What attracted Chen Nan's eyes was not the white jade platform, but the person on the jade platform, a tall and majestic middle-aged man stood in the center of the jade platform.
The middle-aged man had a head of long pitch-black hair flowing casually over his shoulders, a bronze-colored face, long eyebrows into his temples, a straight nose and a square mouth, and a pair of dark eyes that were so intimidating that looking at them caused one to feel chills. However, the most mind-blowing thing was the middle-aged man's aura, the absolute dominance, the majestic posture of looking down on the world, making the middle-aged man look like a demon god looking down on all living beings.
Chen Nan's eyes were hot, tears almost rolled down, the middle-aged man's demeanor and his father is too much like, the same wise, sharp eyes, the same domineering aura, that kind of unique world posture deeply shocked him.
The old man said: "See, that strange fluctuation is issued from the deceased person in front of you, this senior is really a person of great talent".
When Chen Nan heard the word "deceased", his mind was shaken, he couldn't believe his ears, he once again carefully surveyed the person in front of him, and finally found a bit of light in his long hair, which was clearly the hilt of a sword. The word "Flying Sword" flashed through his mind as the overwhelmingly domineering middle-aged man was killed by a flying sword through the top of his head.
"Dead, such a great master even died under the flying sword" Chen Nan was a little unbelieving, the middle-aged man in front of him was never weaker than his father, Chen Zhan, and must have long surpassed the fifth order realm, when Chen Zhan stepped into the peak of martial arts, even those Taoist multiplication of the monks were also difficult to oppose his front. He had heard his mother say, cultivating martial arts to that kind of heaven and earth, the earthly world no longer has a sword to hurt, and it is difficult to meet the opposing hand again.
He circled around the jade platform and found a piece of bone powder behind it, and not far away from the other, there was a pile of broken bones with inches of roots. He didn't even have to think about it, he knew that these two people died under the middle-aged man on the stage's world-class power.
The old man said, "I got that book from here, judging from those fonts on the book, everything here should be 6,000 to 7,000 years old. And this senior's body is so immortal, still standing tall, it's simply unbelievable.''
Chen Nan sighed, "This senior's power is heavenly, he has condensed his body into an indestructible body, a strong man is always a strong man, his aura is still so compelling after death."
The old man said, "Go, go up and watch, there is still writing at his feet."
''Oh,'' Chen Nan's spirit was revitalized, and along with the old man, he leaped onto the jade platform.
On the crystal jade platform, there were only a few lines of words, carved with finger power, like iron hooks and silver scratches, strong and powerful, and there was an air of sadness that greeted the face, making people sigh infinitely in their hearts.
"Demon road to become immortal, heaven is intolerable, cut off the demon to eliminate sins, in order to warn the world. Sigh, the demon has a brother, coinciding with the return. He is seriously injured and fights against it, but he is not able to return to heaven, so he dies together. The body of the demon, the silence of the demon cave, my body is ashamed, sealed in this."
"So that's how it is, alas" Chen Nan sighed and sighed, "Although the Demon Road has just stepped into the realm of the Immortal Road, but after all, it is already an Immortal, this senior's bravado is so great that he has destroyed an Immortal, I admire you, I admire you"
The old man was also a bit emotional: "Yes, if he hadn't missed one person, I'm afraid there would have been another powerful Martial Immortal in this world."
Cinnan sighed: "In life, one's divine power is worldly and heavenly. After death, his form is immortal, standing tall. Thousands of years of domineering aura, condensing but not dispersing, a great hero of the absolute generation, looking down upon the earth."
Then he suddenly laughed out loud, "Haha I am now full of confidence in the martial arts, immortals are so powerful, but they are still not destroyed by a person who is at the peak of the martial arts, one can imagine, if a person who practiced martial arts stepped into the realm of immortality, hehehe"
The old man said, "Let me take you to the place where the Demon Dao is practiced to have a look."
Chen Nan followed the old man through the ancient hall and along the tunnel to an ancient cave that was like an inferno on earth. The bright pearl was glowing with an eerie light, the ground was white, and upon closer inspection, there were thousands of dead bones, some of which had been completely crushed, and the slightest gush of air currents swirled up gusts of powder, and a sinister aura permeated the ancient cave. In the center of the thousands of dead bones is a dry blood pool, the pool's four walls are black and red and demonic, flooded with a cold air, as if there are ghosts floating above it.
This was an eerie and terrifying mass grave, and in the extreme silence, it was as if there were thousands of living souls hissing, causing one's scalp to tingle and one's heart to chill.
Chen Nan watched in horror, saying: "This is where the demonic path is practiced really brutal and inhumane ah, in order to satisfy one's own selfishness, butchered thousands of living beings, such a person to become an immortal, it is really intolerable."
After saying that, he couldn't help but look at the old man, if he wasn't wrong, the so-called evil book in the old man's hand must be the evil method that the demonic path used to practice, he couldn't help but be flooded with a chilling aura, and it was possible that the person standing in front of him was the second demonic path.
The old man laughed, the wrinkles of his face trembled, said: "Young people do not need to be afraid, I am a person who practiced martial arts, how can I go back to cultivate, and moreover, it is the dangerous blood cultivation way. A person who practiced martial arts to go back to monasticism, not the talent of the heaven and earth is difficult to do, the two are essentially different. I'm just borrowing some unique insights from that evil book, that is, the need for raw blood, I think the livestock slaughtered by the Imperial Cuisine every day will suffice.''
The coldness on Chen Nan's body slightly decreased, and then the two of them left this eerie ancient cave.
After arriving at the ancient hall, Chen Nan came to the jade platform, gazed at the overwhelmingly powerful man, and said to the old man, ''When I was in the ancient book storehouse, I had sensed this strange fluctuation twice before and after, why didn't I sense it during that time''
The old man said: "Your two times coincided with the night of the full moon, only at this time will the fluctuation become strong, I think it has something to do with the layout of this place, there may be some ancient formations hidden here that gather heaven and earth yuan qi".
"There are ancient formations here."
"Not bad, I think it was laid by the demonic path back then, if you cultivate here, you will definitely get twice the result with half the effort. However, the risk will also increase, if the cultivation is too smooth, without experiencing the corresponding state of mind to sharpen it, it will definitely cause the mind to grow, and it will be easy to go overboard."
Chen Nan nodded his head in agreement and said, "As the saying goes, there must be losses with gains, this world is balanced, one must learn to have and know how to give up. The Demon Road was too greedy and ferocious back then, after setting up the great formation that gathered the energy of heaven and earth, it also slaughtered so many living beings, or else it wouldn't have gotten into the trouble of killing people."
The old man said, ''Saying is one thing, doing is another, many bad qualities are rooted in the depths of one's soul, and it's hard to hold them in the face of great temptation. For example, right now you have the possibility of obtaining a great power from a great master, can you not be tempted?"
Chen Nan laughed and said, "Be moved, of course I am, but I don't have such a chance."
The old man said, "What if there really is such a chance?"
"I'm tempted, but I'll give up in the end."
The old man stared at Chen Nan without blinking and said, "Why?"
Chen Nan said, "The power from the outside world is never as pure as the power from one's own cultivation, I'm afraid that it will shackle the development of one's own power."
The old man sighed: "Young man, you are very conceited, but you have the qualification to be conceited, but I can't, death threatens my life all the time, if there is such a powerful force, I will never give up".
Chen Nan smiled and did not say anything.
The old man said, "Young man will you give me a hand to get me out of the shadow of death."
Tatsunami revealed a perplexed look.
The old man's wrinkled cheeks trembled as he said, ''Young man do you know that the first time you stepped into the Ancient Book Depository, I sensed the aura in your body, and under careful observation, I discovered that you were born with a spiritual root. If I can get the help of a person born with a spiritual root, it is possible for me to get a huge power so that I don't have to cultivate the evil books and be able to continue my life for several decades."
The old man pointed at the domineering, supreme master on the jade stage and said, "Do you know why there are strange fluctuations coming out of his body? That's because there's a huge power hidden in his body, and that's his worldly cultivation, so if he can channel that power,"
After hearing this, Chen Nan's heart was cold, he was still wondering just now, even if the old man repaid his kindness, he didn't have to lead him here ah, it turned out that all of this was premeditated by this old man.
"Elder you're overthinking it, it's been thousands of years since then, the soul of that supreme expert has long since faded away, how could there be a powerful force hidden within his body I think it's the result of his indestructible body and the resonance of heaven and earth's vital energy."
The old man said: "I can't rule out this possibility, but it could be what I guessed, how can I know unless I try, young man are you willing to help me"
Chen Nan said: "My cultivation level is far from yours, how can I help you".
The old man said: "This has nothing to do with cultivation, you have a spiritual root, it's very easy to attract heaven and earth vital energy, if you and I work together, we will be able to stimulate the power in the body of that supreme master".
Chen Nan was very unwilling to help this deep-minded old man in his heart, and even more so, he was unwilling to desecrate that supreme master, but considering his current situation, he had to agree to the old man's request.
The old man was very happy and said, "Your spiritual root is innate, my spiritual root was cultivated later in life and is far inferior to yours. Later on, you put both your palms on his back and use your heart to sense the power within him, and later guide it out, I will assist you from the side."
After ascending the jade platform, Chen Nan secretly said, "I'm offended." He placed his hands against the back of that Indestructible Body and used his heart to sense the strange fluctuations.
The old man also reached out and placed his hands against the back of the indestructible body, closing his eyes to carefully sense it.
A complex, inexplicable emotion seemed to come from the ancient times, and traveled into Cinnan's heart, making him feel as if he had experienced a thousand years of light in an instant, and his heart was lost. He was startled, and if it wasn't for the Undying Body being cold to the touch, he would have thought that this absolute expert was going to be resurrected. He knew that those complex emotions were the feelings of a supreme expert in his dying moments, there was loss and helplessness
Chen Nan meditated and concentrated, excluding all distracting thoughts, carefully sensing the strange fluctuations within the Undying Body. Suddenly the unusual fluctuations seemed to resonate with him, and a majestic force began to surge within Undying. Chen Nan was shocked, a huge power was actually hidden within the remains of a supreme expert. He was shocked, this was beyond his imagination, a person had been dead for thousands of years, and he actually still retained that overwhelming power within his body.
Chen Nan peeked out and saw that the old man seemed to be oblivious even though his hands were also against the back of the Indestructible Body, he secretly made a decision in his heart that he must not channel this massive power out and inject it into the old man's body. He felt that this old man's heart was too deep, always making people unable to see through it, if he were to let him, who was already exceptionally powerful, absorb this power, he didn't know what horrifying consequences would be induced.
After a long while, Chen Nan put down his hands and sighed longingly, "Other than that strange fluctuation, I didn't sense any power flowing within this Undying."
Hearing him say so, the old man also lowered his hands, his face unable to hide his disappointment.
After coming out from the Ancient Hall, within the empty ancient tunnels, Chen Nan was apprehensive in his heart, he was afraid that this old man with a deep heart would silence him here. It was only after drilling out from the hole in the ancient book vault that he let out a long breath.
The old man pushed the bookshelf back to its original position, smiled at Chen Nan and said, "Hey young man don't be afraid, I won't be unfavorable to you, you're my Chu's future generation of heroes, how could I destroy Chu's future fifth ranked supreme expert"
The old man patted his shoulder and said: ''Work hard, my old man can still live for another 20 or 30 years by relying on that evil book, during this period I can still guide you a bit or two.''
Chen Nan nodded woodenly, and it wasn't until he returned to the Qi Shi Mansion that he felt the icy cold sweat on his body.
