Chapter 153: Shocking Revelations from Old Memories

It is rare to find a spring amidst the desolate and dense forest; in fact, this is the first time running water has been seen even within this Clear Spring Valley. Su Fan could not help but marvel at Li Mingxuan's ability to produce such a thing, yet his previous question still lingered in his mind.

"What is the ultimate purpose of cultivation?"

Li Mingxuan glanced at the pool of clear water, sighed softly, and said, "My Taoist Temple's Master once said that cultivation is simply about understanding the world and changing it. Yet the world is so vast; when could one ever fully understand it all? As for changing it, that is nothing more than wishful thinking."

"Perhaps cultivation is merely for the sake of seeing tomorrow's sunrise, to see if it is the same as today's," Su Fan said with a calm smile, before speaking slowly.

Li Mingxuan smiled faintly and said softly, "It seems Daoist Su has already attained a degree of enlightenment."

Su Fan nodded silently, walked over to the spring, cupped a handful of water, let it slip gently back down, and said calmly, "Cultivation is for the sake of staying alive, and staying alive is for the sake of seeing tomorrow's sunrise. Naturally, one lives for oneself, and therefore, cultivation is also for oneself."

Li Mingxuan nodded slightly, a trace of fervor gradually rising within his cold gaze, and replied gently, "I had long heard that the Profound Mystery Sect had produced a cultivation prodigy who defies the heavens. I initially thought it was an undeserved reputation, but it turns out to be entirely true."

Since Li Mingxuan said the reputation was well-deserved, it must indeed be so, for Su Fan believed that Li Mingxuan was incapable of lying. There are two kinds of people in this world: those who never speak a falsehood, and those who never speak the truth.

Occupying opposite extremes, Li Mingxuan belonged to the former category of people who never lie. This impression stemmed largely from his incomparably icy gaze.

Such people are usually proud and aloof; the act of deception is something they hold in utter contempt. Perhaps Li Mingxuan was not particularly aloof, but he was certainly proud, given that he had not bothered to fight Blood Cloud simply because Blood Cloud's cultivation realm was inferior to his own.

After a slight smile, devoid of any flattering or polite pleasantries, he said softly, "Judging by your temple master's words, she must be a person of immense boldness and formidable spirit."

Li Mingxuan suddenly chuckled. His somewhat feminine face took on an extraordinarily alluring charm when he smiled. He shook his head and gently corrected, "My temple master is a woman."

The worldview he had just reconstructed instantly collapsed. Su Fan's stunned expression left Li Mingxuan quite bewildered, but out of courtesy for their newly formed acquaintance, he quickly composed himself.

"For a woman to possess such breadth of mind, she must be exceedingly powerful," Su Fan hurriedly asked, masking his discourtesy.

Li Mingxuan nodded lightly and replied, "Powerful indeed. It is said she is on par with the sect master of the Everlasting Joy Sect, and furthermore, my master spent several days in the Imperial Capital back in the day."

Being on par with the sect master of the Everlasting Joy Sect was already enough to prove her strength, but the fact that she had once resided in the Imperial Capital denoted something far beyond mere power—it signified sheer, terrifying might.

Years ago, the Transcending Dao Realm expert known as the Drunken Immortal could only gaze at the Imperial Capital from afar, and the disciples participating in the Thirty-Six Counties Trials were merely permitted to pass by its borders. Her strength was therefore unquestionable; what aroused curiosity was just how terrifying her background truly must be.

Perhaps this topic involved too many sensitive matters, so Li Mingxuan swiftly and tactfully brushed past it, tapping his storage pouch to retrieve a piece of animal hide which he handed to Su Fan.

Su Fan frowned slightly, then took an identical piece of animal hide from his own storage pouch and handed it to Li Mingxuan. Li Mingxuan froze momentarily, asking in confusion, "It seems your presence in the dense forest was not just a coincidence."

So she still believed Su Fan's previous words. It appeared that someone who never lies also assumed others incapable of deceit. While inwardly sighing at the naivety of this talented youth, he simultaneously congratulated himself on his own cunning.

He promptly asked, "Does this animal hide have any special characteristics?"

"You don't know?" Li Mingxuan's expression shifted once more as he asked in astonishment.

Su Fan shook his head expressionlessly and replied calmly, "I snatched this from Ye Yang's hands."

This simple statement left Li Mingxuan utterly astounded. His previously restrained expression vanished entirely, leaving nothing in his eyes save for an astonishment that defied description.

What manner of person was Ye Yang? He ranked fourth among the disciples of the Everlasting Joy Sect, surpassing ordinary men in both scheming and cultivation. Moreover, his party included four Nascent Soul cultivators; even though Feng Shan might have temporarily departed to attend to other matters, there were still three Nascent Soul cultivators remaining.

As for the Profound Mystery Sect's side, Yu Ming was a recognized talent of the current era and undeniably formidable—a fact known to all. Yet even so, confronting three Nascent Soul cultivators would be an arduous task, let alone managing to rob them of their animal hide.

In truth, if Li Mingxuan knew that the ultimate outcome of that encounter involved crippling Ye Yang's cultivation and intimidating the remaining two Nascent Soul cultivators to the point where they dared not make a move, it was impossible to guess what expression he might wear.

Naturally, Su Fan was hardly going to volunteer this information unprompted. After offering a modest gesture, he continued to press on, "I see that this animal hide appears to be a map, but for the life of me, I cannot make sense of it."

Li Mingxuan smiled faintly and said, "This is indeed a map, but one needs someone to interpret it in order to understand it."

"Who is capable of interpreting it?" Su Fan asked urgently.

Li Mingxuan handed the map back to Su Fan, unfurled another section of it himself, and continued, "This map requires interpretation from the person who delivered it in the first place, and naturally, the Profound Mystery Sect does not possess such a person."

Observing Su Fan's skeptical expression, Li Mingxuan finally felt a sense of relief, accompanied by a touch of uncharacteristic schadenfreude. He had initially thought this person was a genius who knew everything; now it seemed there were still things beyond his comprehension.

"I have heard that Daoist Su entered the Profound Mystery Sect only in recent years, so you may be unaware of certain past events. Naturally, it is not a glorious history, and your sect's elders would hardly speak of it."

Su Fan nodded gently. Indeed, his knowledge of the Profound Mystery Sect was scant, and he knew even less about the Everlasting Joy Sect.

Li Mingxuan paused briefly before continuing, "Actually, within Everlasting Joy County, grand trials are held even when the Thirty-Six Counties Trials are not taking place, though the objectives differ. One purpose is to secure quotas of participants for their respective sects, while the other is to undergo trials here within Clear Spring Valley.

While outwardly proclaimed as a trial, the reality is a treasure hunt within Clear Spring Valley. Naturally, these treasures originate from a major sect that perished many years ago. Even its name remains unknown, and factions can only deduce the existence of great treasures here based on fragmented records within their respective sect archives.

This has gone on for many years. The secret has been kept hidden out of fear of offending the Imperial Capital. Any sect that knows the secret behind the fall of this major sect naturally understands the reason for its demise—they incurred the wrath of the powerful elites in the Imperial Capital and thus suffered that fate.

If this secret were to leak out, no one would stand a chance of enjoying this mountain of treasures, for even a long-fallen major sect still possesses things worth taking such risks for.

There are very few sects that warrant the Imperial Capital dispatching forces to personally annihilate them, so no one doubts whether this major sect possesses great treasures.

Even if there are no ready-to-use magical treasures or complete cultivation manuals, it matters not. As long as one can acquire some insights into the methods of reaching the Transcending Dao Realm, that alone is more than enough."

Su Fan's expression flickered, and he asked in a deep voice, "Is the Transcending Dao Realm not a matter of personal comprehension? If not, how did those seniors in Everlasting Joy County who reached the Transcending Dao Realm achieve it?"

Li Mingxuan's expression gradually grew ice-cold as he said with indignation, "In order to weaken the strength of the Thirty-Six Counties, the Imperial Capital carried out large-scale hunts for experts in the Transcending Dao Realm. This resulted in a vast number of masters either rebelling and submitting to the Imperial Capital or being hunted down and exterminated without a trace.

In truth, the primary objective was to destroy all cultivation methods pertaining to the Transcending Dao Realm. Although the Everlasting Joy Sect has no shortage of seniors in the Transcending Dao Realm—several reside in Everlasting Joy County alone—they have only attained the Heart-Transcending Realm. According to my temple master, the strongest among them—perhaps including that Junior Uncle from the Profound Mystery Sect—has likely reached no higher than the peak of the Heart-Transcending Realm."

Hearing of his Junior Uncle's cultivation realm sent a shock through Su Fan's heart. Although he had anticipated that his Junior Uncle was formidable, he had never imagined he would be counted among the very strongest. As for who might be second or third, Su Fan had no interest in finding out.

"Thus, one can surmise that the destruction of that major sect in Clear Spring Valley was undoubtedly because they harbored certain critical secrets regarding cultivation in the Transcending Dao Realm. For only when one's cultivation reaches the Transcending Dao Realm is one's name inscribed in that register held by the Imperial Capital."

"A register?" Hearing this term for the first time, he initially thought the Imperial Capital was merely powerful, yet he had not imagined it to be so tyrannical as to completely slaughter anyone who posed a threat to its authority.

Noticing Su Fan's confusion, Li Mingxuan hurriedly explained, "A register is simply a roster maintained exclusively by the Imperial Capital to record those with cultivation in the Transcending Dao Realm."

Doubt instantly arose in Su Fan's mind: if someone attained the Transcending Dao Realm and chose to remain in absolute seclusion from the outside world, how could the Imperial Capital possibly discover them?

Seeming to read Su Fan's thoughts, Li Mingxuan smiled faintly and said, "Anyone in this world who attains the Transcending Dao Realm cannot escape the knowledge of the Imperial Capital, because the Imperial Capital possesses the Wordless Jade Disc."

"It is said that the Wordless Jade Disc is a divine artifact bestowed by heaven and earth. It rests within the imperial palace at the very heart of the Imperial Capital, guarded by four divine beasts. It is never shown to the public and may only be viewed by successive monarchs of the Great Song."

Hearing this explanation, Su Fan understood a little better, yet he still could not fathom what Li Mingxuan had meant earlier by the "Gates of the Ghost Domain." Could it all be some wicked scheme hatched by the beings sealed behind those gates?

"Daoist Li previously mentioned the Gates of the Ghost Domain to Blood Cloud. I wonder what kind of place that is?" Su Fan asked impatiently.

Li Mingxuan smiled faintly, looked toward the distant green mountain, and sighed, "The previous batch of seniors who entered Clear Spring Valley for their trials stayed longer than any before them—a full five years."

"Spending five years in Clear Spring Valley is like living years in a single day. I trust Daoist Su has already encountered some desolate beasts; in truth, there are far greater perils we have yet to face, for we are currently standing merely at the threshold of Clear Spring Valley."

As he spoke, Li Mingxuan gestured gently toward the distant green mountain within his field of vision and said, "Only after traversing this dense forest and ascending that green mountain can one truly be considered to have entered Clear Spring Valley."

"Then what is that unmentionable affair concerning my Profound Mystery Sect?" Su Fan asked calmly.

Li Mingxuan frowned and sighed, "The previous batch of Profound Mystery Sect disciples who entered to explore were entirely buried here. Not a single one made it out alive."

Su Fan finally understood why his Junior Uncle's tone had been so heavy when he said, "I do not wish to see a single disciple of the Everlasting Joy Sect walk out of there."

His expression turned somewhat dazed, yet he forced himself to steady his resolve and stammered, "Now that we know the truth, the two of us shall go and investigate for ourselves."