In the center of the courtyard, two elderly men with white hair stared blankly at the sight before them, gazing at the stone statue that had long been swallowed by the black hole.
Only the black hole was left, and looking into it from the outside, one could only see endless darkness, as deep and mysterious as the cosmic night sky, with no clue as to where it led!
Just standing nearby and observing it caused a chill in one’s heart; the abyss seemed capable of devouring one’s soul, drawing it into the black hole!
The two elders remained silent in their daze, watching the black hole for a long time until dusk fell, and the disciples returned to their respective courtyards to wash up and rest.
Under the night sky, the two elders watched as the moonlight faintly illuminated the black hole and emitted a strange blue glow!
Aside from this, there was no other anomaly.
The entire Dragon Tiger Mountain had ceased shaking from the earthquake earlier, just as the base of the stone statue was completely engulfed.
The tourists who had been standing at the mountain-top observation platform also took the opportunity to descend the mountain and evacuate, though some stayed to observe.
Some still remained at the peak, wanting to see the cause and capture some materials for broadcast once they descended.
But before night fell, the Celestial Master dispatched disciples to persuade those lingering to descend, and warnings of the danger of climbing the mountain were posted at the foot of it.
Orderly personnel at the base closed off the mountain entrance.
The Dragon Tiger Mountain was thoroughly cleared of all lingering tourists.
As for the Celestial Master’s Mansion, it remained tightly closed throughout.
The Celestial Master understood well that if news of a black hole appearing out of nowhere in the courtyard spread, it would cause massive upheaval.
This would bring unnecessary trouble.
That night, the two elders observed the black hole for half a day, confirming that there were no further changes before they left the courtyard and surrounded the black hole with wooden boards, assigning elders to guard it day and night.
After arranging everything, the two elders headed to the Scripture Pavilion within the Celestial Master’s Mansion to consult the books left by the previous sect leaders.
Hoping to glean more secrets about what was suppressed beneath the stone statue.
The inner layer of the Scripture Pavilion was always accessible only to the sect leader, requiring the sect leader’s seal to enter. Today, the pavilion slave guarding the pavilion, upon seeing the previous and current sect leaders arrive together, was surprised, sensing something amiss, but did not obstruct their entry.
Upon entering the inner layer of the pavilion, countless old bookshelves filled with various books came into view.
There were bamboo slips, woven fabric scrolls, and finally paper material books; at first glance, these ancient texts had clearly been around for a long time.
Fortunately, the pavilion slave regularly cleaned and maintained the pavilion, so it was not dusty.
In the inner layer of the pavilion, there was a secret passage accessible only using the sect leader’s seal, and only previous sect leaders owned the key.
Even the pavilion slaves, despite spending their lives in the pavilion, had no authority to enter the secret passage within.
Entering the passage, surrounded by enclosed stone walls, there was only an old wooden table and an oil lamp.
On the table lay an ancient wooden box.
Relying on memory, the Celestial Master unlocked the mechanism on the box.
Inside the box, he pulled out a severely worn, yellowing paper book.
"This is it!"
"The previous sect leader once warned that if the stone statue showed any abnormality, we should consult this book, and under no circumstances should we read anything else!!"
Clearly, the Celestial Master was also somewhat shocked upon seeing the book.
This was left by his predecessor, the current sect leader’s predecessor, spanning two generations!
The elderly man in a purple robe, following the Celestial Master closely, was unaware of everything here. This was the first time he had been led into the pavilion by the Celestial Master.
Unaware of the contents of the wooden box.
In truth, the Celestial Master had been planning to reveal everything he knew to the current sect leader in due course, so he could retire and enter hermitage.
But before he was ready, the stone statue became abnormal.
With the sudden incident, he had to lead the current sect leader to consult the book he himself had never read.
Opening the book, lines of ancient script appeared before their eyes.
The elderly man in the purple robe struggled to comprehend, but the Celestial Master could read the general meaning.
Upon flipping to the first page, the elderly man in the blue robe gasped!
He was shocked!
"This was left by the founding sect leader of the Celestial Master’s Mansion!"
"Seven hundred years ago!"
Hearing this, the purple-robed elder was equally stunned, realizing that from the very beginning of the mansion’s establishment, this day had been envisioned!
Thus, the book was left behind.
The elder in the blue robe continued flipping through the book, with a general conjecture forming in his mind!
Each sect leader had left writings within, detailing a method of communication, continuously updated!
The general message in the book was to use a particular communication method if the stone statue showed abnormality, but the final contact person was not specified in detail.
The book only documented up to the fourth sect leader, ending there, without any inscriptions or explanations from the subsequent leaders.
"Who exactly to contact?"
"It’s been four generations, and now you are the fifth!"
"After such a long time, is the contract and communication method mentioned in the book still valid?"
"In today’s ever-changing modern world, can the final communication method still be effective?"
Looking at the book in his hand, the Celestial Master sighed repeatedly, questions filled his heart, unanswered!