Chapter 157: Chapter 19: The Solitary Island Cave, Message from the Demon Lord
“We’re here!” Linghu Chu reminded.
His divine sense had swept over the island ahead, confirming the absence of any signs of magical competition— the probability of other cultivators being on the island was not significant.
Luo Yan and Shi Liuli on the deck had been on alert for the past fifteen minutes and immediately became tense, ready to follow their senior brother off the boat.
The spot where the vessel docked was a concave-shaped cape, a natural harbor.
Linghu Chu dropped the anchor and moved the boarding plank from the side of the deck to connect with the cape, testing its stability before calling his junior brother and sister to disembark.
The terrain of the island was extremely steep, rising roughly ten meters above sea level, presenting sheer cliffs all around when viewed from outside.
The three of them raised their magical treasures, the Flying Swords, ready to confront any enemies, and carefully made their way forward.
After traversing through the dense jungle and killing some attacking demonic beasts, the group arrived at the central mountain range of the island—the same peak that Luo Yan had seen from the sea.
The mountain towered high, about a kilometer in height, with many areas consisting of vertical rock faces.
Linghu Chu quickly scouted the vicinity and found a narrow path up the mountain, but with no steps, just barely sufficient footholds that seemed to be carved out by wild beasts.
“Judging from the demonic beasts we encountered earlier, there shouldn’t be any demons capable of transformation on this island,” Linghu Chu pondered for a moment before warning, “But just to be safe, stay close behind me and don’t wander off.”
He gave Luo Yan a meaningful glance, who immediately understood and instructed Miss Shi to walk in the middle of their group while he covered the rear.
This mountain was incredibly steep, its perilousness surpassing that of Shushan, though its vegetation was not as dense, with many places exposing bare rocks, pocked and uneven, evidently weathered over time.
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About two-thirds of the way up, a natural cave suddenly came into view.
The cave was large, approximately five meters in width and three meters in height, with its inner depths shrouded in darkness.
Linghu Chu took out a magical treasure, a Luminous Pearl that emitted light on its own, and let it float into the cave ahead of them.
Wherever the pearl went, the terrain became visible. The deeper they went into the cave, the more narrow and constricted it became, until at last, it was barely wide enough for a single person to pass through.
“Let’s go in and take a look,” Linghu Chu said gravely, “Be ready to follow my commands at any time. If I give the order, turn around and run out with all your might.”
Seeing his senior brother look towards him, Luo Yan nodded earnestly, understanding that Linghu Chu actually meant, “You grab Shi Liuli and run.”
Yet Shi Liuli, unaware of the exchange of glances between the two men, clutched Luo Yan’s left arm tightly, both excited and afraid.
The three moved through the narrow rock corridor for some distance, the light around them growing dimmer, the temperature dropping, and their footsteps beginning to echo.
After several turns, the passage suddenly opened up.
They entered a large cavern where the temperature turned chilly.
The cavern was filled with stalagmites and stalactites, with water droplets falling from above to the ground, producing prolonged echoes in the tranquil chamber.
“Are there characters on the wall?” Shi Liuli suddenly said.
Linghu Chu shone the pearl towards the wall and indeed saw several lines of large characters carved onto a relatively smooth surface, ancient seal script characters…
Other cultivators might have been unable to translate and been left baffled, but Yuqing View encompassed the teachings of many ancient scholars, and reading ancient seal script was one of the required subjects, so everyone present could read it without difficulty.
The wall bore the following message:
I am the True Lord Suan Ni, having strayed into the You Ming Sea for two thousand years with no escape, I discovered this natural cave on this island. To preserve our lineage’s teachings, I hereby inscribe our Suan Ni clan’s Body Refining Technique “Swallowing Smoke and Gleaming Gold Technique.” Should any descendant from the Demon Race come upon this, you may learn it based on how closely related you are to our clan. If you are of the Human Race, withdraw on your own volition.
The diagrams below depict a large long-haired cat stretching its back and limbs vigorously, posing in various bizarre breathing positions.
There are countless acupoints and energy pathways on the cat’s body, alongside various cues like “Here the demonic energy turns back again” and “Here one must accumulate physical strength to break through the acupoint”, filling the entire stone wall densely, leaving not a single blank space.
Linghu Chu: ………
Luo Yan: ………
Shi Liuli: ………
No, but what’s the deal with “For Demon Race only”? Are you kidding me?
Nowadays, the Demon Race has all rolled off to the Eastern Emperor Demon Realm, okay?
“Truly unfortunate,” Linghu Chu said with a wry smile. “There is a fortunate encounter, but it’s specially prepared for the Demon Race; we can’t use it.”
As for the Human Race, the Body Refining Technique from the era when the Ancient Times were at their peak has also been lost and can only be traced back to the prehistoric times.
If it were possible for the Human Race to practice it, Linghu Chu would also like to learn it to improve his own physical quality.
However, Luo Yan was not giving up and asked the Kunlun Mirror in his Sea of Consciousness:
“Ah Jing, is there really no way for me to learn this? Don’t you have any Suan Ni bloodline template that could grant me the Suan Ni’s talents, so I could learn this Body Refining Technique?”
“It’s like you’re pouring vinegar just to eat dumplings, but now you see a plate of vinegar and you’re asking me if I have dumplings, right?” the Kunlun Mirror said, torn between laughter and tears. “Of course not.”
“Furthermore, to disguise as a member of the Demon Race using Mirror Flower Water Moon, one must have the corresponding race’s Essence Blood. The difference between human bodies and those of the Demon Race is too great, without the matching Essence Blood, the Mirror Flower Water Moon can’t bridge the gap.”
“Of course, the main thing is that I haven’t recorded the Suan Ni’s bloodline talent. Such Demonic Beasts prefer quietness and are not fond of movement. Unless you specifically go looking for them, it’s hard to encounter them in the outside world.”
“Tch,” Luo Yan said with regret. “To think there’s something even Ah Jing can’t do… It seems I’ve overestimated you.”
“Asking for a beating?” Kunlun Mirror replied with a laugh born of anger. “Say that one more time, and I’ll withdraw your Mirror Flower Water Moon!”
“Ah Jing, don’t be like this! I take back what I said!”
While Luo Yan was bickering with the Kunlun Mirror, Linghu Chu spoke up:
“It seems this Ancient Great Demon had a deep sense of exclusivity, and didn’t leave anything useful for us on this island, shall we go?”
“Let’s look a little more.” Shi Liuli was still not convinced—how could my metaphysics fail?
I even sacrificed a High Grade Spirit Stone! Damn Heavenly Dao, give me my money back!
“At the very least, we should thoroughly investigate this place…” she said, still hopeful as she fumbled in the darkness, “Hey, look, isn’t there a cave here?”
Linghu Chu shone the Luminous Pearl in that direction and saw sure enough, beyond the stalagmites and stone forests, there was a smaller cave, about a meter high, which required adults to stoop to enter.
“This cave doesn’t seem like it’s passable…” Before he could finish his thought, Shi Liuli had already ducked inside, startling Linghu Chu and Luo Yan to their cores.
If anything long or short happened to Miss Shi inside, wouldn’t Elder Shi Ding flay our skins off when we get back?!
Both men hurriedly shouted, “Wait,” and bent over to follow her into the cave, only to hear Shi Liuli suddenly clap her hands and laugh ahead:
“Big Senior Brother, Little Junior Brother, come over quickly and take a look!”