Chapter 321: Spiritual Spring
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the garden, the trees provided leafy shade, and the entire place was full of life. It was very large-scaled and was essentially no different from those gardens outside that were man-made and meticulously developed. It was very difficult to imagine that the Underground Palace would have such a garden after having been abandoned for so many years.
“Too amazing!” Gong Biluo walked into the garden in shock. She looked at the surrounding view and could not believe her eyes for a moment. They had just been walking in the dark Underground Palace, yet now they were in such a beautiful garden. It felt too surreal, as though she were in a dream.
The little forest, flower nursery, mock mountain, lotus bridge, pavilion, pond… The garden had a huge array of things and looked like an imperial garden in a palace. Mo Wen touched the surrounding grass and flowers. They all felt real, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. Once again, a surprised look flashed in his eyes.
He was very suspicious and wondered if he was actually in an illusion created by an immortal cultivator. However, the surroundings were indeed very realistic. Whether it was the texture, smells, sounds, or sights, there was no flaw in anything.
However, he knew how unusual immortal cultivators could be. Some of the immortal cultivators who had very impressive Cultivation would be able to create illusions that were basically the same as reality. When the people were in the illusion, they would feel just like they were in reality.
It was said that very long ago, there was an immortal cultivator who was very good at the Illusionary Technique and had managed to create the illusion of an entire city. From then on, the people in the city all lived in that illusionary environment. Generation after generation, basically nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary.
That illusionary world had become heaven for the people of that city. Everything was complete and beautiful. People lived peaceful lives and enjoyed their work, and there were no illnesses or disasters. Almost every good thing could easily appear before them. People who lived in that world could be free from death, illnesses, disasters; they could be immortal…
Until one day, the immortal cultivator left that city, and the illusion was lifted from that world. Everything returned to normal, and the people were thrown back into the real world. Everybody noticed that they were actually dreaming and had seemingly awakened from that dream. In the real world, only a day had passed. That was the beginning of the legend of the Illusory Dream.
Mo Wen understood how frightening an illusion could be. Hence, he naturally was not very optimistic about the situation before his eyes. Although the environment he was looking at was very beautiful, it was very possible that they would be trapped in this environment for the rest of their lives and would never be able to get out.
Mo Wen tried his best to find a loophole in the surroundings. He wanted to prove that it was just an illusion and was not reality. However, no matter how hard he looked, he was unable to find a single loophole.
“Mo Wen, why do you look so frustrated?” Gong Biluo looked at Mo Wen in shock. She noticed that there was something not quite right with Mo Wen. Previously, he had still been rather optimistic. Why had his expression changed just like that?
Mo Wen smiled and gave Gong Biluo a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing!” If they had really fallen into an illusion, it was better not to let Gong Biluo know about it. After all, at this point everything was just a wild guess. It was also possible that it was not an illusion, but reality. It was not rare for an immortal cultivator to be to be able to create such a place. Some of the most capable immortal cultivators knew how to use their spatial technique very well. It was hard to say, but the garden they were looking at could perhaps also be a segregated space.
Mo Wen went around the garden and noticed that it was really big. It was impossible to reach the boundaries within a short period of time. He purposely took note of the plants in the surroundings, and noticed that they were all normal plants. There were no spiritual items like spiritual medicine or spiritual herbs.
“Such a pretty spring!” Gong Biluo said with surprise, as though she had found something. Upon hearing her, Mo Wen and Jun Wulei immediately went over. They found that in front of Gong Biluo there was a small pond that was only about two meters in diameter. The surroundings were adorned by exquisite jade, and there were beautiful gemstones inlaid above, making it look fancy and exquisite.
The pond was filled with spring water so clear that one could see the bottom. It was not stagnant, either. There were drops of water dancing around on the water’s surface, making it look like a pond of crystals. It was the first time that Gong Biluo had seen water that clear.
“Spiritual spring!” A stunned look flashed in Mo Wen’s eyes. He looked unblinkingly at the pond. There was actually a spiritual spring in this garden! The spiritual spring was a very rare treasure, even in the world of Immortal Cultivation. For immortal cultivators, it had an unbelievable effect.
It was a pity that he was not an immortal cultivator. He could only look passively at the spiritual spring that was in front of him. Mo Wen sighed a little, vexed at his situation. It was a classic case of climbing up the gold mountain but not attaining the treasure.
“Spiritual spring, what is that?” Jun Wulei looked at Mo Wen, a little stunned. This lad’s Cultivation was not very good, but he seemed to have quite a bit of experience. He knew about some things much better than they did.
Mo Wen tried his best to explain it simply and in layman’s terms. “The spiritual spring is spring water created by the spiritual aura of heaven and earth. A mouthful of the spiritual spring water will extend one’s life. It can extend a normal person’s life by at least ten years. If a woman drank a mouthful, she would be able to maintain her youth and slow down aging. It also has a very strong beautifying effect.”
Gong Biluo and Jun Wulei did not know anything about immortal cultivation. Hence, the two of them would not understand even if he explained it all. In reality, the spiritual spring was only of great use to immortal cultivators. They belonged to one of the rare treasures of the Underground Palace.
From what Mo Wen knew, the Divine Pill Sect that he had been in had one spiritual spring that was formed between the heavens and earth. However, it was a treasure of the sect, and average people were not allowed to get close to it at all. He had only heard about it and had never witnessed it for himself.
Precisely because of the presence of the spiritual spring, the alchemy techniques of the Divine Pill Sect could surpass many sects that specialized in alchemy techniques, allowing them to become one of the rarer major sects. Now that there was a spiritual spring in front of him, Mo Wen did not know what he was feeling exactly.
“Does it really have anti-aging benefits?” When Gong Biluo heard that, her eyes lit up. She walked towards that spiritual spring without thinking. A woman, no matter who the woman was, cared about her looks quite a bit. Things that could help them retain their youth basically had a deadly attraction. Beauty was transient. Just how many people could defend against the erosion of time?
“Don’t.” Mo Wen grabbed Gong Biluo back, preventing her from approaching the spiritual spring. A suspicious look flashed in Gong Biluo’s eyes. She looked at Mo Wen uncomprehendingly. Why was he so uptight about a mere spring?
“Do you think there are no protective measures around the spiritual spring?” Mo Wen rolled his eyes at Gong Biluo and said helplessly, “If you don’t want to be reduced to dregs, it’s best if you do not approach that spring. There are very scary restrictions surrounding it. They are even stronger than the one you came into contact with before, probably millions of times over.”
There’s no way he could have not noticed that there were very scary prohibitions all around the spiritual spring that had been left behind by an immortal cultivator. Each and every one of them was so frightening. Although, after hundreds and thousands of years of corrosion, there were already holes in the restriction, and it was not as powerful as before.
However, it was still far from whatever they had come across. Even some immortal cultivators with very advanced Cultivation would not dare to touch the spiritual spring. Back in those times, the person who had constructed these restrictions was definitely an impressive and unique talent.
Upon hearing that, Gong Biluo exhaled a cold breath of air. She suddenly no longer had the desire to go forth and investigate. The suffering that she had experienced beforehand while being trapped in the restriction was not something that she wanted to go through again.
“Let’s go inside, perhaps we have walked into an unthinkable secret area.” Mo Wen inhaled deeply, and a bright look flashed in his eyes. He looked into the depths of the garden where there were paths and paths of stone steps. Because the distance was so far, they were positioned such that the destination was not even visible.
However, a spiritual spring had appeared in the place. It made Mo Wen realize that perhaps the place they were in was not an illusion of his mind. Instead, it was a place that existed in reality. It was almost impossible for a spiritual spring to appear in an illusion. Moreover, there was also no need for it. The spiritual spring was a spiritual item between the heavens and earth. It encompassed a special and natural law that the normal illusory technique would not possibly be able to replicate.
Although it was possible for someone very capable to replicate a spiritual spring, it would definitely not be easy. There was absolutely no need to put in so much effort. Moreover, this place had definitely existed for a very long time. After such a long time, it would have been eroded by the rays of light. If it were really an illusion, and the spiritual spring was part of the illusion, it was impossible to not have a single loophole.
Hence, Mo Wen was sure that the place was not an illusion. Instead, it looked like an immortal cultivator’s mansion. Being able to have a spiritual spring in the garden meant that the owner of the mansion had been a very impressive person back then. Otherwise, how would something as precious as a spiritual spring be left in the garden for people to admire?
In his past life, he had heard that there were some very capable immortal cultivators who could segregate space on their own. In the segregated space, they would then build their own mansions.
Since Mo Wen had already decided, Gong Biluo and Jun Wulei did not raise any objections. They had long since lost the drive to search for treasures. They would thank the heavens if they were even able to make it out of this place alive.
Mo Wen took the lead as he walked along the path with the stone steps, intending to go all the way up. The stone steps extended upwards, and the path was very, very long. Nobody knew exactly how long it was, because the end point was not visible at all.
“Such a long road to heaven!” Jun Wulei looked at the endless stone steps before him, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes. The stone stairs in front of them were indeed worthy of the name, “Road to Heaven.” They extended towards the skies and seemed to have no end.
“I’m afraid we have experienced things that people would never experience in their entire lifetime.” Gong Biluo sighed with deep emotion. Everything was too magical, and it had basically defied all her previous knowledge of the world.
Mo Wen, however, did not have an odd expression. It was not a surprise for immortal cultivators to have such skills. This place was only a mansion. They had to climb up bit by bit. However, for a capable immortal cultivator with very good Cultivation, just the idea of going up would allow him to transcend many levels and take 1,000 steps with a single foot. Such things were true and not simply a legend.
The three of them continued to climb upwards. They did not think of the tiredness nor the time they had spent climbing. They simply hoped to reach the end of the stone stairs as soon as possible.
They did not know how long they had climbed for. It could have been a day, two days, or three days…
In any case, when the three ancient martial art practitioners with very advanced Cultivation had climbed to the point they were so tired that they almost could not go on, a grand palace appeared before their eyes.
“That is…” Gong Biluo pointed forward. There was finally some life in her eyes. That sight was simply too magnificent!