Chapter 2 Family Heirlooms

  Under the Cangfeng Ridge, a strange person quietly watched Lu Yun, with a hint of smile in his eyes. At this time, Lu Yun wore a pale blue long shirt, with his hands behind his back, and a three-point smile on his handsome face, which was enchanting. His clear eyes hid a hint of mystery, making him very attractive. The whole person looked like a Jiangnan talented scholar, weak and delicate, giving people a feeling of slender beauty.

  The strange man smiled faintly and said, "Twelve years have passed, and you've finally made some progress. You've learned all of my skills, although your mastery is still far off. But with effort, there will come a day when you'll catch up to me. My skills are vast and varied, unparalleled in the world. In twelve short years, you've managed to learn everything I've spent centuries mastering - that's truly unprecedented. Your life is full of variables and uncertainties, whether or not you can contend with the heavens in the future depends on yourself, no one else can help you. Now that you're leaving, let me tell you a few things, remember them well when we meet again." He paused slightly, his expression strange as he gazed at him, seeming to hide some secret.

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "Master, just speak your mind, no need to be too cautious. There's only the two of us here, no one else." After finishing his sentence, he gave a faint smile, which subtly hid a hint of evil, making it difficult to discern clearly.

  "The strange man thought for a moment, then said: 'Firstly, I have taught you all the techniques of the five sects - Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, Demon and Ghost. You must remember not to use them lightly, or they will bring you trouble. Among these techniques, the Taoist "Tai Xuan Lie Tian Dao" and the Buddhist "Xin Chan Bu Mie Jue" are the most powerful. The Confucian "Hao Ran Tian Gang" is the most vigorous, the Demon's "Xin Yu Wu Hen" is the most mysterious, and the Ghost's "Hua Hun Da Fa" is the most vicious. In twelve years, you have already mastered them all, although they are only small achievements. But for someone of your age, you are absolutely unparalleled.'"

  Secondly, the world is vast and there are countless factions of the Cultivation Sect. Each faction has its own merits worth learning from. However, over thousands of years, the differences between them have become increasingly deep-seated, leading to mutual hostility, causing many factions to decline. But among the most famous five factions and six institutes in the world, you must be cautious. I hope that after retrieving your ancestral artifact, you can go to Yi Garden in Western Shu to learn from their teachings. There are also mysterious aspects there; if you plan to go in the future, remember my words today.

  Yi Garden, as one of the six institutes in the world, is the most peculiar place among the six institutes. It recruits two types of students: those who cultivate their true selves and ordinary scholars who specialize in cultivating Chinese classical literature for thousands of years. The other five institutes only recruit cultivators, which is why Yi Garden ranks last among the six institutes but is also the most popular place. In the cultivation world, Yi Garden is famous for its "I Ching" and its most renowned technique is the "Twelve Heavenly Laws of I Ching", which is said to be able to change one's fate after mastering it. Yi Garden has a treasure that calms the mountain, called the "Heavenly Ruler", which is an extraordinary divine instrument passed down for thousands of years.

  In addition, I also know a secret of Yi Garden. In Yi Garden, there is a set of techniques called "Five Thunder Heavenly Technique". Since the establishment of Yi Garden, no one has ever cultivated it successfully. If you have the opportunity in the future, be sure to learn this technique well. The most powerful aspect of this technique lies in its ability to slay all demons and monsters in the world, making it the nemesis of all evil spirits. It is extremely masculine and can destroy all dark and eerie energies, truly invincible.

  Thirdly, I have been watching the starry sky every night recently and discovered an ominous sign. The world is about to be in great chaos, and monsters will surely appear. Within three years at most, there will be a strange change in the world, which may affect the entire cultivation world, and it will all fall into a bloody storm. After you go out, remember this catastrophe and be careful.

  Fourth, you've never had a weapon. When you have time, it's better to find one. In the Cultivation Realm, weapons are divided into four types: Divine Artifacts, Immortal Artifacts, Spiritual Artifacts, and Law Artifacts. Law Artifacts are the most common and ordinary, while Divine Artifacts are extremely rare, with only a few existing in the entire realm, making them something that can be encountered but not sought after. As for Immortal Artifacts, they are all left behind by Cultivators who have achieved enlightenment and ascended to immortality, and are extremely overbearing and rarely seen in the world.

  The so-called spiritual instrument is the result of further refinement by a cultivator after they have refined their magical tool. There are many methods for refining instruments, but the most common ones are two. The first method used by orthodox practitioners involves using one's own cultivation to forcefully inject one's spiritual energy or magical power into their original magical tool, greatly increasing its might and allowing it to transcend the boundaries of a magical tool and become a spiritual instrument.

  The second is the demonic path's refining tool method, which generally involves forcibly adding a living soul or some demon's yuan Shen into one's own tool, in order to increase its power and reach the level of a spiritual tool. This is the most commonly used method by cultivators of the true way, but unfortunately it is extremely poisonous and looked down upon by the righteous path. However, demonic path practitioners love using this method the most, because it is the fastest and most effortless, far surpassing the speed at which righteous path practitioners cultivate spiritual tools.

  One last thing, from my years of experience, you'd better remember. That is, among all things in the world, apart from humans, there are also other spiritual beings cultivating the truth, hoping to transform into humans and become immortals through their cultivation. However, in human eyes, they are considered anomalies, called demons, ghosts, and monsters. These supernatural beings, just like humans, have a distinction between good and evil, not all demons, ghosts, and monsters are bad, just as not all people are good. So when you venture out into the world in the future, don't be blinded by people's words about slaying demons and exorcising evil spirits, instead discern for yourself the other party's good or evil, then make your decision. The most wicked things in the world aren't those strange spirits, but rather humans themselves - remember this phrase well. Alright, I won't say more, you'll slowly come to understand on your own later, go now, and feel free to come back and visit me when you have time.

  Lu Yun carefully savored Master's words, smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, I won't be like those people. Master, take care of yourself, Yun'er is leaving now. This land and water, please take care of it for me." After finishing speaking, he glanced around subtly, as if with a hint of reluctance.

  "The strange man said, 'This doesn't need to be said by you, I also understand. Go! The vastness of the sky and the strangeness of all things, in the future you will understand many principles that you don't comprehend now. The path of cultivating truth is against the heavens, it's not smooth sailing for everyone. This road is difficult to walk, I hope you take good care of yourself. Go! The world and everything in it are fleeting like clouds and smoke, all things in the world are illusory.'"

  Lu Yun slightly bowed, which was considered a repayment of the twelve years of master-disciple relationship. Turning around, he looked at the distance, and Lu Yun's body suddenly rose into the air, transforming into a cloud in the sky, like blue starlight, instantly disappearing without a trace. How mysterious and magical, it's really hard to believe. The strange man looked at the sky, let out a slight sigh, turned around and entered the cave. The mountain wind blew by, and the fragrance of flowers wafted out, everything returned to calmness once again.

  On a towering mountain peak, a blue figure suddenly fell from the sky, silently and without warning, with no one knowing where he came from. He just appeared out of thin air, shrouded in mystery. Quietly gazing down at the foot of the mountain, this young man in blue was around twenty years old, extremely handsome, and it was indeed Lu Yun. A hint of a smile played on Lu Yun's face as his body swayed slightly, darting through the forest with incredible speed, like a cloud drifting across the water.

  Before long, Lu Yun arrived at the top of a deep valley. Looking down, Lu Yun slightly furrowed his brow and said: "It should be here. Why did our Lu family's ancestral burial ground choose to be in this place? This is an extremely yin location, with very heavy yin energy. I'm afraid there are many ferocious and evil things hidden below." Silently gazing at the deep valley, a thread of shock slowly flowed out from Lu Yun's eyes, his expression extremely strange.

  He slightly raised his head, gazing at the horizon. Every time Lu Yun fell into deep thought, he would always look up at the sky, as if roaring at the heavens, revealing his unyielding determination. Looking out at the deep valley again, Lu Yun muttered to himself: "It seems that our Lu family's ancestors must have been extraordinary talents, or else how could they have hidden the ancestral tomb on top of this dragon vein's dragon eye, thus preserving the prosperity of the Lu family for generations? Truly an unconventional idea."

  Lu Yun's body swayed slightly and slowly fell, the speed was not fast, it seemed very slow. At the same time, a burst of dazzling red light suddenly erupted from Lu Yun's body, like the scorching sun in the sky, extremely dazzling. For safety, Lu Yun still deployed the Confucian "Hao Ran Tian Gang", tightly protecting his own body. As he slowly descended, Lu Yun found that countless strange and bizarre beasts appeared around him, all of which were unfamiliar creatures, some with towering bodies, others with astonishing length, all staring at Lu Yun as if looking at their food.

  Lu Yun carefully observed for a while, and it was all right, they were just some weak and small monsters that had just entered the spiritual stage, which could not pose a threat to Lu Yun. The deep valley was very deep, with a distance of hundreds of feet. As Lu Yun fell deeper, he felt the surrounding yin energy becoming heavier, and the bottom of the valley seemed to reveal a fierce and evil aura, making Lu Yun vigilant. Lu Yun understood in his heart that there must be a powerful spiritual monster hiding at the bottom of the valley, because the breath was very obvious, with a fierce and evil air, it didn't seem like a benevolent spirit, he had to be careful.

  Looking down at the ground slowly approaching, Lu Yun exerted his full strength, carefully observing the surroundings, constantly searching for the source of that evil and eerie aura. Unfortunately, after looking around for a while, Lu Yun found that the valley was surrounded by strange rocks with no grass growing, making it impossible to hide, but he didn't see that strange spirit. This made Lu Yun's heart skip a beat, followed by another shock - what a formidable Cultivation Spirit, it actually knew how to conceal itself.

  Lü Yun's body was suspended in mid-air, three feet off the ground. A red glow burst forth from his body, illuminating the valley below with a bloody light, making everything visible. Yet, there was nothing strange about it. He glanced around and saw a cave entrance to his left, about ten feet away, which looked particularly ominous and eerie, filled with evil energy. Lü Yun's eyes narrowed slightly as he made a hand gesture, and instantly two beams of light, one blue and one gold, appeared in his hands. With a slight downward pressure, the ground beneath him began to sink. Suddenly, an astonishing surge of energy burst forth from his body, causing the earth to erupt and form a wave of true energy that radiated outward from Lü Yun at incredible speed, sweeping everything up in its path. The air was filled with thunderous roars, as if the heavens were collapsing, the momentum was awe-inspiring.

  Dark winds rose from the valley, accompanied by strange and eerie whistling sounds, as if the dark souls of hell were roaring in anger. A black aura suddenly enveloped Lu Yun's head, and a three-headed serpent emerged from the darkness, its body over a hundred feet long, coiling and uncoiling ceaselessly in mid-air like a dark cloud, casting a gloomy shadow over the surrounding area, dimming the light. The three heads of the serpent were each as thick as ten feet, with six eyes that shone like lanterns in the dark valley, emitting a blood-red, eerie glow that was terrifying to behold. Each of the three red tongues was several feet long, darting in and out ceaselessly, as fierce gusts of dark wind burst forth from the three massive mouths, carrying a poisonous, eerie energy that corroded everything it touched.

  Lu Yun looked at the enormous creature, his heart also filled with shock and awe. He had never seen such a massive demon spirit before, it was truly terrifying. Recalling what his master had once told him about the Three-Headed Spirit Snake, Lu Yun felt a sense of foreboding in his heart. It was said that this Three-Headed Spirit Snake was an extremely rare spiritual creature, already extinct, and yet he had encountered such a primordial beast here, it was truly unimaginable. Legend had it that this creature was a variant of the dragon, with a lifespan of several thousand years, or even tens of thousands of years. Its three snake heads contained three different kinds of evil natures, capable of spitting out fierce flames, icy coldness and deadly poisonous gas, making it the rarest evil spirit in the world. This creature was extremely intelligent, its cultivation far surpassing that of ordinary demon spirits, ranking among the rarest of demon spirits and evil spirits in the world. Anyone who encountered it would find it difficult to survive.

  Lu Yun did not expect to encounter this today, and he didn't know whether to be happy or sigh. Lu Yun took a look at the cave, fortunately, the entrance was not large, and the three-headed spirit snake's massive body couldn't enter. Now, his only option was to hide inside and see if he could avoid its attack. Thinking of this, Lu Yun's body bent in mid-air and shot rapidly towards the cave.

  In mid-air, three serpent heads with six eyes gleaming with cold light, a massive tail swung, and with full force swept towards Lu Yun. Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind arose, accompanied by the power to split mountains and rocks, and an incredibly fast whirlwind enveloped Lu Yun's body. Lu Yun was in mid-air, feeling the powerful force approaching, his heart greatly shocked, both hands fully extended backwards, fiercely chopping with two palms. Firstly, he hoped to block the three-headed serpent's attack, secondly, he wanted to borrow the counter-shock force to accelerate forward and quickly enter the cave to hide.

  In the dark depths of the valley, a deafening explosion shook the sky, with massive boulders flying everywhere, accompanied by an astonishing momentum that deeply shocked heaven and earth. Lu Yun took a step forward and shot into the mountain cave just in time, dodging the three-headed serpent's crazy and world-shaking blow. Behind him, the stone walls on both sides of the mountain cave were struck by the three-headed serpent's massive tail, instantly producing a deafening explosion that shook the entire valley, causing the hard stone wall to be shattered with a huge hole, strange rocks flying everywhere, the momentum was astonishingly unparalleled.

  Lu Yun's heart was racing as he stepped into the cave, his eyes wide with shock. He felt like the entire valley was trembling beneath his feet. "A spirit of this magnitude," Lu Yun muttered to himself, "even Master would have to retreat in its presence. I'm lucky to be alive...I wonder why our ancestors chose this place. It's indeed a treasure trove of spiritual energy, but it's also so remote. The spirits here are endless, who dares to come and take that thing? It's really treacherous." As he spoke, Lu Yun carefully observed his surroundings, his mind on high alert. Outside the cave, three serpent-like spirits let out an eerie hiss, sending shivers down one's spine, but Lu Yun ignored them.

  The cave was not small, and it seemed to be bottomless. As Lu Yun walked deeper into the cave, the eerie atmosphere grew thicker, making him feel increasingly uneasy, as if some ferocious beast was waiting for him below. The surrounding area had many small forks in the path, each one hiding countless strange and exotic spirits of various shapes and sizes. At this time, Lu Yun's "Hao Ran Tian Gang" had been replaced by the Ghost Sect's "Hua Hun Da Fa", a black aura slowly enveloping his entire body. The evil and mysterious techniques of the Ghost Sect emitted an eerie and malevolent energy, causing all the spirits to retreat far away, not daring to approach him. This was because his body contained a hint of an evil aura that devoured everything, striking fear into the hearts of these spirits.

  Time slowly passed, and Lu Yun walked for a while before finally arriving at a large cave that was tens of meters in diameter. This seemed to be the belly of the mountain cave, as there were three passageways around it, forming a triangle, leading to other places. In the center of the large cave, there was a fist-sized bright pearl that illuminated the surroundings brightly. There was a stone coffin in the center, surrounded by four stone statues, all of which were armed guards with weapons in hand, standing guard and waiting, their swords and knives at the ready. Outside these four armed guards, eight murals appeared on the ground, each depicting ferocious-looking devils that seemed to be malevolent spirits from legend, extremely frightening.

  Lu Yun looked around, carefully examining the large pit. He soon discovered that there were piles of white bones on the ground, with at least hundreds of corpses. This made Lu Yun extremely cautious, knowing that this place must be hiding some kind of secret, or else so many people wouldn't have come here to die.

  Quietly circling around the stone coffin in the center, a hint of surprise appeared on Lu Yun's face. The place was filled with spiritual energy, but there wasn't even a hint of evil energy. The ominous and evil aura he had sensed earlier was now gone without a trace, which was truly strange.

  All the spiritual energy here seemed to be converging on that stone coffin. What could be hidden inside? It was inexplicable, shrouded in mystery.

  Lu Yun carefully examined the eight patterns and four guardian statues, understanding that there must be some hidden secrets and dangers within. Otherwise, they wouldn't have remained standing for so many years without being discovered. After a moment of contemplation, Lu Yun decided to take action and test the power of this formation, in order to make further plans.

  Lu Yun's right hand activated the Confucian "Hao Ran Tian Ge", instantly a strong and powerful red light appeared on Lu Yun's hand. With a swing of his right hand, a massive palm force accompanied by the power to split mountains and rocks, attacked the stone coffin in an instant. At the same time, Lu Yun's body quickly rotated 180 degrees, reappearing on the other side, with flashing red lights all over his body, tightly protecting himself.

  Only to see Lu Yun's incredibly powerful and fierce palm, instantly striking the stone coffin. However, just three feet away from the stone coffin, the eight evil demon patterns on the ground suddenly emitted dazzling light, forming a protective aura that firmly protected the stone coffin inside. At the same time, the four armored guards inside suddenly came to life, each wielding their weapons and instantly bursting forth with four-colored radiant lights, forming a four-colored mystical aura shield that circulated endlessly, forcibly blocking Lu Yun's powerful strike.

  Lu Yun's expression changed, and he slightly raised his head to ponder. It seemed that breaking through the two array formations was not an easy task. This stone coffin should be where the Lu family ancestors hid their treasures, but what kind of treasure was hidden inside? Why was it guarded so tightly? Lu Yun's heart was filled with curiosity. He walked around the stone coffin non-stop, and the five-colored light flowed around his body as he fully exerted the "Heart Desire Without Trace" technique of the Demon Sect to probe the secrets of this mysterious array with his true energy. Lu Yun continuously accelerated the frequency of his true energy, from one hundred to two hundred times per breath, and now it had increased to one thousand two hundred times per breath, yet he still couldn't enter that magical array or detect any aura from the stone coffin.

  Lu Yun's body burst forth with a dazzling light, at this moment he had already deployed his tenth layer of power, the frequency of his true energy suddenly accelerated to 2400 times per breath, this was already his limit, any faster would be impossible. If this time still didn't work, Lu Yun would have no other choice. Among the five techniques he practiced, the demonic sect's "Heart Desire Without Trace" was the fastest, the frequency of true energy could reach the highest, so he chose to use this technique to probe the mysteries of this formation.

  I remember the master saying that when he performed this technique, he could reach a frequency of 68,600 times per breath, which is rarely seen in the world. As for Lu Yun's current strength, being able to reach 2,400 times per breath is already quite impressive. Lu Yun slowly maintained his true energy frequency at 2,400 times, and his true energy began to flow slowly, slowly passing through the gaps in the formation, step by step exploring the mystery of the formation.

  Time slowly passed, and Lu Yun was already drenched in sweat, his body showing signs of weakness, a phenomenon caused by excessive consumption of true energy. After persisting for a while longer, Lu Yun suddenly collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, with sweat soaking through his entire set of clothes. Gazing faintly at that mysterious formation, a hint of a smile appeared in Lu Yun's eyes - he had finally figured out the secret of this formation and would have a chance to crack it, break through this defense, and enter within.