"The power of immortality?" Zhang Chen was taken aback upon hearing this. Is there truly a power of immortality in this world?
"Once you go, you will naturally understand what the power of immortality is," Xie Lingyun replied.
As Zhang Chen looked at the unfathomable underground cavern, he hesitated in indecision. Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and his eyes incredulously turned toward the endless darkness below the cave. He sensed a faintly familiar presence: Xu Fu!
He detected the presence of Xu Erniu!
"There's actually the presence of Xu Erniu below this cave?" Zhang Chen was shocked in his heart.
He knew that regardless of the dangers lurking in this cave, he had reasons compelling him to descend.
"Will you come down with me, or will you wait outside?" Zhang Chen asked Xie Lingyun.
"I will naturally go down with you, but my physical body will remain above. My Yin Spirit will accompany you down there," Xie Lingyun replied.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded and took out the Water Stabilizing Pearl, placing it into Xie Lingyun's palm: "This pearl can ensure your physical body doesn't drown."
"This pearl has the ability to repel water, what a peculiar treasure." Holding the Water Stabilizing Pearl, Xie Lingyun's eyes revealed a hint of curiosity: "You have so many strange treasures on you."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled lightly without explanation, then his figure flashed, transforming into a mist and delving deeper into the cave.
Seeing Zhang Chen's divine technique, Xie Lingyun was shocked: "What a skill."
She then quickly emerged with her Yin Spirit, following closely behind Zhang Chen. The two continued to the bottom of the cave, where Zhang Chen revealed his true form.
The cave was eight hundred meters deep, and the cave bottom was not pitch dark. Instead, faint green light glimmered throughout the cave. Deep inside the cave, Zhang Chen could sense that the presence of Xu Erniu was even stronger.
"Where is the peril you mentioned?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Follow this grey passageway for three hundred meters, and there will be a flash of green light. As long as you're flashed by that green light once, it will take away a year's lifespan," Xie Lingyun pointed to the passage ahead.
The passageway was very wide, ten meters high and twenty meters wide, and the floor was paved with green bricks engraved with various plants, both wild grasses from outside and lingzhi mushrooms. Each brick had different engraved plant seeds.
"What strange floor tiles, I've never seen floor tiles engraved with all sorts of plants," Zhang Chen said curiously.
As he spoke, ultrasound waves spread from Zhang Chen's body, transmitting into the cave without detecting danger. Then, with cautious steps, Zhang Chen proceeded forward.
He wasn't afraid of any traps, only of his life span being taken away. His lifespan was already short, and if the stone cave had methods to steal life, getting caught would spell disaster for him.
The two walked through the long corridor, seeing a distant light flicker, and upon reaching the light, they found it to be the end of the passage.
"We've reached the end! Ahead is the mysterious ruins," Xie Lingyun said.
Standing at the end of the passage, Zhang Chen looked toward the light. It was a ten-mile wide underground basin, a desolate ruin resembling a shattered Daoist temple.
The light source came from the very center of the ruins, where a high stage stood. Above the stage, a light the size of a fist shimmered like sunlight, bright and scorching, illuminating the entire basin.
"This seems to be a Daoist temple that went through a great battle. The temple's side suffered from a formidable enemy, and the entire temple was reduced to ruins, sinking from the surface to the underground," Zhang Chen observed for a moment, giving his judgment.
Hearing this, Xie Lingyun agreed: "Indeed, that is the same conclusion I reached."
Zhang Chen's gaze swept over the area, seeing thirty or so corpses not far away, each elderly and lifeless, having succumbed to the loss of their life force.
"Those are the elite of my Inspection and Supervision Department. They accidentally had their lifespan taken and perished here. From our current starting point as the boundary, with every step forward, a green light will descend and take away a person's lifespan," Xie Lingyun said solemnly. "If you're not confident, you absolutely must not forcibly advance, lest you endanger yourself."
"Is there a green light that can rob a person's vitality?" Zhang Chen stood at the boundary, thoughtful, looking at the ruins opposite, made entirely of inexplicable jade-like materials, glimmering with an obscure radiance.
After observing for a long time, Zhang Chen didn't notice any crisis, so he turned to Xie Lingyun: "We need to find someone to conduct an experiment."
"I'll fetch a fish." Xie Lingyun's Yin Spirit said and then disappeared. Before long, she returned with a large carp. Then Xie Lingyun casually tossed the carp onto the jade stone floor opposite. Under the 'candle light' of the distant high platform, a green ray of light fell on the carp, inexplicably weakening its vitality a bit.
The carp then restlessly flopped about. With each flop, a green light would streak across, stripping away a bit of the carp's vitality, until after dozens of times, the fish died of old age, unable to move an inch.
"What a bizarre method. Can even Commander Xie not resist it?" Zhang Chen asked.
"If my father could resist it, you'd never have a place here," Xie Lingyun said helplessly.
Zhang Chen stroked his chin, his eyes fixed on the Golden Finger interface, seemingly without a way to deal with the strange green light.
However, Zhang Chen was, after all, Zhang Chen. Having read countless books in the Five Villages Temple, he was far from the novice he once was when he first entered the cultivation world. After a moment of contemplation, he already had a plan. He placed his right hand near his mouth and took out the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror from the Ba Snake Space.
Don't get the wrong idea; he wasn't planning to use the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror to break through the green light. He just wanted to test whether the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror could reflect it.
Zhang Chen held the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror and gently stroked it, watching as it slowly opened, revealing its polished, reflective surface.
Then, holding the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, a droplet of water fell inconspicuously from his pants leg to the ground. If the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror couldn't block the green light, he would instantly teleport out of there. Being extremely cautious, Zhang Chen would never put himself in danger. Having considered every step thoroughly, he finally stepped into the cave, his expression unchanged.
"Be careful!" Xie Lingyun, seeing Zhang Chen recklessly step into the cave, cried out in alarm, her face paling with shock.
Zhang Chen was, of course, very careful. As soon as he stepped in, the green light rushed toward him almost instantly, giving him no chance to take a second step. The green light moved too quickly, reaching Zhang Chen in the blink of an eye, ready to engulf him. But at that moment, the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror in his hand emitted an inexplicable glow, somehow absorbing the green light.
Zhang Chen could then feel an inexplicable emotion coming from the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror in his hand, an emotion that seemed like satisfaction, joy, and eagerness.
"Hmm? My Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror can actually absorb that green light?" Zhang Chen thought in amazement, "What is the origin of this green light? It can actually nourish the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror?"
"It blocked it!" Xie Lingyun, standing outside, saw the four-sided Copper Mirror in Zhang Chen's hand dissolve the green light and a wave of joy flashed in her eyes.
Zhang Chen took a step back and moved next to Xie Lingyun: "Sister, follow me closely; let's go in together."
Xie Lingyun hurriedly followed Zhang Chen, and the two stepped inside together. In the next moment, two beams of green light flashed by, and Zhang Chen's Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror actively met them, swallowing the green lights as easily as drinking water.
"What an incredible artifact!" Xie Lingyun stared wide-eyed at the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, her gaze filled with curiosity: "Where did you get such a capable artifact?"
She found herself more and more bewildered by this younger brother, who even possessed such miraculous artifacts.
"It's just an ordinary, somewhat peculiar mirror." Zhang Chen replied casually.
The Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror was an important matter, and he didn't want to reveal its details to Xie Lingyun. No matter how close someone was, some secrets needed to be kept.
As wise as Xie Lingyun was, she sensed Zhang Chen's unwillingness to elaborate, so she refrained from asking further questions and followed Zhang Chen into the ruins.
The entire ruin looked as if it had been bombed by a large missile, appearing dilapidated, with only a rough framework remaining; the rest had been completely destroyed.
"That high platform over there..." Xie Lingyun pointed toward the high platform.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded and followed Xie Lingyun toward the platform. As the two walked, beams of green light assaulted them, all of which became nourishment for the Treasure Mirror.
The two walked slowly, observing the ruin's conditions as they moved. After they had walked about 800 meters, suddenly, a strange sound came from the ruins, causing Zhang Chen and Xie Lingyun to halt.
"There's movement." Xie Lingyun looked toward the ruins, a hint of caution in her eyes.
With a wary expression, Zhang Chen gazed at the ruins, where the continuous clattering came from. Dust clouds rose, and a figure broke through the ruins, stepping out.
Upon seeing the figure, Zhang Chen was deeply shocked, his eyes filled with disbelief as he exclaimed, "This is impossible!"
He recognized the figure in front of him, someone who should absolutely not exist in this era.
Who, you ask, is that figure?
Bai Lu!
Bai Lu, the first of the four great disciples of the former Five Villages Temple.
"Hmm, it's you! You look familiar!" Bai Lu steadied his figure, looking exactly as he did before, scrutinizing Zhang Chen with a hint of suspicion and uncertainty in his eyes:
"Have we met somewhere before?"
"Who is he? You know him?" Xie Lingyun asked, picking up on Zhang Chen's surprised exclamation.
"I do!" Zhang Chen subtly shielded Xie Lingyun, "You need to run! As far away as you can, and never come back."
"Is the enemy really that hard to deal with?" Xie Lingyun's pupils contracted at Zhang Chen's words, and she revealed a hint of horror. She had never seen Zhang Chen with such an expression before.