Zhang Chen pondered over the words: "You say the Spiritual World has Thirty-Three Heavens. Does the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Spiritual World also have life?"
"Of course not! This is the Spiritual World, everything here is illusionary, it’s all fake, how could life exist here? There are only two things here; one is the legendary great medicine, and the other is the legendary mysterious artifacts," said Fox Fairy Nannan.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen looked thoughtful, gazing at the ruins of the palace and then the black sand covering the sky. After a brief contemplation, he said, "If there’s no life, how did this palace come to be?"
Fox Fairy Nannan fell silent upon hearing this, and after a long pause, she said, "There’s another possibility, which is that a powerful Ancient Divine Demon entered the Spiritual World and left traces behind."
This explanation seems very plausible!
"The reason the palace is in ruins must be because it was built by an Ancient Divine Demon-level expert in an acquired manner, distorting the laws within the Spiritual World, and hence was rejected and corrected by the Spiritual World, causing it to shatter. After that Ancient Divine Demon died, the palace lost the empowerment of the Divine Demon Power, and was corrected by the Power of the World in the Spiritual World, thus it was abandoned," speculated Fox Fairy Nannan.
"According to what you say, it does sound quite interesting. Your Fox Race’s heritage is quite deep; in just sixty years, you’re even able to uncover such secrets," Zhang Chen said, looking at Fox Fairy Nannan.
At this point, a doubt rose in Zhang Chen’s mind, "I have a bit of confusion. Why was the mysteriousness was only uncovered a jiazi ago (sixty years)? What about the era further before that jiazi?"
Fox Fairy Nannan gazed at Zhang Chen with eyes that seemed to look at a country bumpkin, "A jiazi ago was the Mysterious Era. There was always a flow of Mysterious Power between Heaven and Earth. Mortals could gain unbelievable power by acquiring the Mysterious Power. But a jiazi ago, someone unearthed the Ancient Divine Demon Tomb and discovered the acquired cultivation technique from it, which could extend the path of Martial Dao, allowing one to rival the mysteriousness without having to obtain it."
"In other words, a jiazi ago, there was no circulating cultivation technique between Heaven and Earth. All the powerful figures who could reach that level of power depended on how many tiers of mysteriousness they acquired. If obtaining the Twelfth Tier of mysteriousness, as one’s harmony with the Twelfth Tier increased, the mastery level increased, the grade would naturally increase. However, mysteriousness is known to devour people; it consumes life force, requiring human life to nourish it to gain extraordinary power."
"It wasn’t until a jiazi ago that someone discovered the secret technique of spiritual cultivation, giving humanity the power to combat mysteriousness. They could harness or suppress the mysteriousness using Spiritual Power, slowing the mysteriousness’s rate of consuming lifespan. For example, my Fox Race possesses a Ninth-Tier mysterious artifact, and those of the Fox Race who master that mysterious artifact never live beyond sixty years. It wasn’t until a jiazi ago, when the secret technique of the mind emerged, that our ancestor stepped into the Yin Spirit Realm, broke through the fate, shattered the shackles, and gained the ability to resist the mysteriousness," explained Fox Fairy Nannan.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen’s mind was enlightened. He felt that Fox Fairy Nannan’s explanation made sense. The mysteriousness in the world had always existed; it was just seldom known.
"Just like your Huangli Temple, I think the mysteriousness excavated by the Yellow Heaven Dao should be a special Twelfth Tier of mysteriousness. However, the Celestial Master of the Yellow Heaven Dao is extremely mysterious. Ever since they obtained the mysteriousness a jiazi ago, no one in the world has seen a trace of them, so their details are unknown. But the Yellow Heaven Dao even collects the faith of all living beings in the world, which is truly sinister," Fox Fairy Nannan remarked with a bit of emotion in her voice.
A glint of curiosity appeared in Zhang Chen’s eyes as he agreed, "Truly a wondrous world! Speaking of which, I have another question: why haven’t the ordinary folk heard anything about the mysteriousness? Moreover, there are not even related myths or legends?"
"Commoners don’t possess the guilt of holding a jade; even the mysteriousness will constantly hunt and defy each other. After securing benefits, who would flaunt and reveal their family affairs to the world?" Fox Fairy Nannan retorted grumpily.
Zhang Chen pondered over these words, realizing it’s just like certain groups in later generations. Truly wealthy individuals keep silent about their fortunes; who would loudly proclaim their riches to the world?
"I wonder if it’s possible to bring objects from the Spiritual World back to the real world."
"Impossible! The Spiritual World is like a mirage, fundamentally unable to transition from the Spiritual World into the Material Realm. Ancients have tried this thought before and failed," Fox Fairy Nannan dismissed Zhang Chen’s idea.
Zhang Chen thought about this, looked down at the ruins underfoot, and said, "I plan to clear this ruin, wondering if we might unearth something good. Come quickly and help."
Though Fox Fairy Nannan was reluctant, she couldn’t refuse, and with a face full of helplessness, she went forward to help Zhang Chen clean up the debris on the ruins.
"If only I had the ability to transform into water, I could enter these building crevices and look for any treasures within," Zhang Chen’s words suddenly stopped midway, and he looked thoughtful as his eyes gazed at the Spiritual World before him.
"What nonsense are you thinking? Even if you had the ability to transform into water, this is the Spiritual World, and there’s simply no water here. What could you possibly transform into?" Fox Fairy Nannan sneered, ridiculing Zhang Chen’s ignorance.
Yet Zhang Chen did not laugh. He not only didn’t laugh, but his expression became unprecedentedly serious.
His gaze fixed on the Fox Spirit, and he posed a serious question: "Do you think there’s water in the Spiritual World?"
"Has water flooded your brain? This is the Spiritual World! Do you know what the Spiritual World means? Everything here is constructed from Spiritual Power. Even the palaces you see, the black wind, it’s all illusionary and fake; it’s only real relative to the soul. How could there be water in the Spiritual World?" Fox Fairy Nannan suddenly thought Zhang Chen before her was crazy, believing there was water in the Spiritual World, wasn’t this madness?
But Zhang Chen ignored Fox Fairy Nannan’s taunting and cast his eyes into the void before him, "What if, I’m just saying what if, there’s really water in this Spiritual World? And it’s actually a spring?"
"I’ll give you a couple of punches to clear your mind and that would mean you’ve fallen into an Illusion Technique," Fox Fairy Nannan said.
Zhang Chen paid no heed to Fox Fairy Nannan’s ridicule, his eyes instead turned observantly towards the ruins below, because he truly sensed there’s a spring thirty meters beneath the ruins gushing.
"How could there be water in the Spiritual World?" Zhang Chen murmured, then looked at the Fox Spirit, "If there were really water, what would that signify?"
"It would signify both of us fell into an illusion! This world only has the Great Medicines and would absolutely have no water," Fox Fairy Nannan confidently assured Zhang Chen.
"Then do I now look like someone who’s under an Illusion Technique?" Zhang Chen queried Fox Fairy Nannan.
"I think you’re suffering from delusions." Fox Fairy Nannan rolled her eyes, "Wouldn’t it be better to put that time into proper cultivation? You’re actually wasting precious time clearing ruins, truly unreasonable."
Grumbling and cursing, Fox Fairy Nannan ignored Zhang Chen’s words and continued moving sand and dirt.
"Don’t move those things over there, come with me, let’s dig here! There is a spring underground here," Zhang Chen called out loudly to the Fox Spirit, moving towards a spot before the ruins.
As he spoke, Zhang Chen had picked up a pillar nearby to use as a tool, starting to clean the ruins beneath his feet, for he had indeed felt the presence of that spring.
"Haven’t you mastered the Water Control Technique? Why bother digging the ruins, couldn’t you just control the spring to flow out?" Fox Fairy Nannan looked at Zhang Chen, her voice full of quirks, seemingly looking at a madman.