Chapter 88 The Mysterious Cavern
Yuan Ji, Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue were now back in the cave earlier.
The cave was exactly like what Xue Qianxue had said; it was really a huge cavern with many passages. After a while they had spotted several man-made markings along the walls.
"This cave is bigger than what I have thought. It seemed that there were inhabitants in this cave a long time ago." Yuan Ji said after he rubbed his fingers at the markings.
"These markings are extremely ancient." He concluded after using his divine sense to probe.
Ling Feiyue nodded as her beautiful eyes were looking curiously around the passage, "That is what I have thought so too."
After exploring for three hours, they soon came to a cavern that was quite chilly and there was a huge black door with a beautiful flower of life pattern at the end of this cavern. Next to it was a black stele with some ancient texts that were inscribed on it.
Now this black stele was unlike the black steles that were inside the trials and touching it did not yield any information.
Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue were soon deciphering the texts on the black stele eagerly and they were even having a friendly competition to decipher it together. "This is the Null Abyss Door of the Desolate Darkness…woes befall the ones that enter through it and a most terrifying curse shall befall onto the ones that break the seal…a divine calamity await those that dare to enter…"
"Qianxue, Feiyue. We can enter this door now." Yuan Ji had slashed the profound seal on the huge black door with his divine sword and he was feeling quite proud of himself when the sealed black door was forced open by him.
"With my seventh realm profound strength and the help of my heaven-step divine sword, even an ancient profound sealed door is not a match for me. Haha."
"Ji Yuan, what have you done?!" Xue Qianxue was horrified. While they were deciphering the messages on the black stele, Yuan Ji had actually hacked his way into the black door.
Even Ling Feiyue was stunned that Yuan Ji had been so reckless.
Ji Yuan laughed, "Come on, let's go in. I have already opened the way. The black stele probably got nothing useful to say except for some empty threats and curses. We shouldn't waste our time to decipher it. Usually there is nothing useful in it."
Xue Qianxue muttered to Ling Feiyue as Yuan Ji walked beyond the huge black door, "I really don't know if Ji Yuan is a genius or…foolish…"
Ling Feiyue was looking flustered as she defended Yuan Ji, "He…alas…trust him. When I was in the trials with him, I had thought that he was foolish but in the end, I was the one that was looking the most foolish."
Although she had said that, she did not believe in what she was saying in her heart.
Even Xue Qianxue did not quite believe too but she muttered, "Well, at least he is genius enough to know what the black stele is saying without even checking it."
"Agree. He looks like he is an experienced tomb raider. Do you think that he will really do something like this?" Ling Feiyue replied with a bitter smile.
Xue Qianxue muttered, "He is a sword saint. Surely not..."
Yuan Ji was shouting from beyond the door, "Come and have a look inside. It is beautiful in here."
Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue heaved a soft sigh before they entered through the huge black door.
When they had entered through the huge black door, they were gasping.
Scattered all over the passage were the rich deposits of jadeites and spirit stones.
Yuan Ji was delighted as he said, "It seems that we have found a spiritual vein. We can even establish a sect here to cultivate…"
"Maybe not." He began to smile bitterly. It was because he had suddenly remembered that the vicinity of this mountain peak was inhabited by powerful desolate beasts. Worse, these desolate beasts could even fly and each one of them rivaled a seventh realm saint.
If anyone was to establish a sect here, the sect would be destroyed in no time.
"Let's continue to explore." Yuan Ji said with a soft sigh.
Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue were cuddled together as they walked together. This place actually gave them a spooky feeling and they had no idea why.
As for Yuan Ji, he was too full of himself and his undying fighting spirit. Nothing could spooks him.
After a while Yuan Ji spotted a large fish that was gasping for breath and it was crawling on the slippery ground.
He was a little amused by it as he thought, "This fish must have accidentally got on the dry ground. If I don't put it into the water soon, it will surely die."
As he took a quick look around, he spotted a pond nearby.
Without any hesitation, he picked the fish up and threw it into the pond with a loud splash.
"Here you go!" Yuan Ji was grinning. "Poor fish!"
Ling Feiyue was gasping, "Ji Yuan, what are you doing? Why did you kill that fish for?"
Even Xue Qianxue was looking at him curiously, "Why did you kill that fish?"
Yuan Ji was really amused as he laughed, "Why do you say that? I am only trying to save the poor fish by throwing it into the water."
Ling Feiyue smiled weakly to him, "This type of fish can only dwell on land and it cannot swim. It will drown the instant that it is placed in the waters."
"That's right." Xue Qianxue nodded as she gave him a half-amused look.
Yuan Ji was stupefied, "You are telling me that there is a fish that can't swim at all?! Then why is it even a fish in the first place?!"
Xiang Li popped into his soul sea and heaved a soft sigh, "This is a unique fish that has lungs instead of grills. It doesn't stay in the waters and prefer the muddy ground. And yes, it will drown in water because it has heavy armor and will sink in the waters."
"Serious?" He was startled.
Yuan Ji began to smile weakly to Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue, "I really didn't know that this stupid fish can't swim."
He turned to glance at the pool, "I am sorry, little fellow. I was only trying to help you. May your soul rest in peace."
Then he turned to smile weakly at Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue, "Haha. Let's go..."
An hour later; as they got deeper and deeper into the passage, Yuan Ji continued to spot several of the same fishes that were crawling on the slippery ground.
It took him a great deal of his willpower to resist the compassionate call of his heart to throw the fishes into the nearby pools.
"This is too ridiculous!" He was cursing softly as he accidentally kicked a fish into a nearby pool.
"Ops!"
Xue Qianxue: ...
"Don't do that...."
"Look over here!" Ling Feiyue had suddenly called out.
She was pointing to a beautiful walled part of the passage that had a golden door in it.
There was a profound seal on the golden door. But Ling Feiyue was actually quite good in dismantling the profound arrays that were sealing the golden door.
Less than a few blinks of an eye later, she had gently pushed open the golden door.
Yuan Ji and Xue Qianxue flashed next to her and the three of them were astonished to find a beautiful chamber within it.
To say that it was a chamber may be wrong.
It was more like a garden and there was a spirit plants growing all around the chamber.
Xue Qianxue gasped, "Some of the spirit plants here are tens of thousands years old. This is a treasure trove of some of the rarest spirit plants. It is no wonder that there are so many of these Titan Draconic Beasts around the vicinity."
Ling Feiyue was also nodding as her eyes sparkled with delight as the wondrous sight of the hundreds of spirit plants.
Some of the spirit herbs here were so ancient that they were giving off an invisible animus that could even nourishes the desolate beasts from miles away.
The many desolate beasts of the Celestial Realm could often be found near the company of spirit plants as the spirit plants gave off an animus that empowered and nourished the desolate beasts at the same time.
In exchange, the desolate beasts would protect the spirit plants from the celestial cultivators.
What Yuan Ji, Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue found was a huge treasure trove of so many celestial herbs that they were completely overwhelmed.
"There is also a celestial array here that distorts the true location of this chamber so that it will be off limits to the desolate beasts." Xue Qianxue said after taking a look with her divine sense. "A powerful cultivator must have created this place."
Ling Feiyue pointed to an arch way inside the chamber, "Look, there is a room over there and a black plaque on the wall."
Curious, Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue had approached the black plaque and they were already deciphering it. "None shall disturb the resting place of the Null Abyss Goddess…"
"Qianxue, Feiyue. Come inside. There is a coffin inside." Yuan Ji was shouting to them excitingly from inside the arch way.
Yuan Ji had actually walked into the arch way while they were busy deciphering the black plaque and had hacked the sealed entrance with his sword.
With soft resignations, Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue hurriedly entered the archway to look for Yuan Ji.
Inside the arch way, was a beautiful crystal coffin and Yuan Ji was rubbing his chin as he stared at the crystal coffin.
When Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue were next to Yuan Ji, they were startled to see that it was actually a transparent crystal coffin and inside it, was the lifeless body of a peerless maiden whose looks could melt the hearts of both men and women. This lifeless maiden gave off unearthly presence and did not seem to be from this world.
Yuan Ji was gasping at the sight of the dead maiden inside coffin, "What an exquisite maiden. This crystal coffin must be her final resting place."
"Who is she?" Yuan Ji muttered.
Ling Feiyue replied, "Null Abyss Goddess something like this. We got interrupted by you before we can decipher the message on the plaque outside."
"Well, it doesn't matter." Yuan Ji said. "She is dead anyway. But how did her body get preserve so perfectly? When I first found her, I really thought that she is only asleep."
Xue Qianxue said, "Maybe this crystal coffin is a rare celestial treasure that can preserve the body."
Yuan Ji nodded as he clapped his hands, "Precisely!"
All of a sudden he was trying to push open the lid of the coffin.
"Ji Yuan!" Ling Feiyue was gasping, "What are you doing? Don't tell me that you are so lecherous till you are not sparing the dead?"
Even Xue Qianxue was horrified, "Ji Yuan, what are you doing? Leave the coffin alone!"
"Of course not." Ji Yuan was frowning as he replied. He soon took out his sword and swung open the lid of the coffin with his profound sword energies. "It is really easy to open."
Yuan Ji quickly crawled into the coffin as he lifted the peerless maiden up.
Ling Feiyue was panicky, "Ji Yuan, what are you doing? Put her down immediately. This is too disrespectful to the dead…"
"Be careful of getting corpse poisoning. She seemed to be dead for thousands of years…" Xue Qianxue warned him.
Yuan Ji laughed, "I am a seventh realm golden saint. Poisons don't work on me…"
Xiang Li muttered to him in his soul sea, "If it is corpse poison then it is a different thing."
When Yuan Ji heard Xiang Li, he panicky threw the lifeless maiden to the side before he said excitingly to Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue, "Let's go!"
"Where to?" Xue Qianxue asked curiously.
"Yes, where to?" Ling Feiyue was wondering the same too.
"We are going to dig Yuxian up and to put her into this coffin. Only in this way can I see her everlasting beauty forever." Yuan Ji returned a deep sigh.
"Ji Yuan, I think what you are doing is absolutely wrong. You are too disrespectful to the dead and you are even trying to steal her coffin…"
Yuan Ji interrupted her with a solemn look, "You may think that I am wrong in doing so. But can you understand the grief that is in my heart when Yuxian dies right in front of me? Why can't I save her? If only I know her heart earlier, I would have taken her away when I was fleeing. Now it is too late for regrets. Since there is no medicine for regrets then I may as well give her a good coffin."
When Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue heard him, they did not know how to persuade him either.
Therefore they could only follow him to dig up Saintess Jian Yuluo's lifeless body again.