369: Chapter 369 The Decline of Morality

"Immortality?"

Lin Xiao shook his head. "I don't believe in that, unless they truly are the gods of legend."

"But if they were gods, living as long as heaven and earth, immortal and indestructible, why would they care about the prosperity of a tiny human dynasty?"

"In my view, the actions of the Heavenly Palace seem more like they are afraid of something; it's a display of cowardice and incompetence."

Although Old Celestial Master Xiao Dan didn't comment much, a hint of agreement flickered in the depths of his eyes.

"It seems this old man needn't say more. Your Highness is already prepared to face the threat of the Heavenly Palace."

Lin Xiao laughed heartily. "Blessings aren't disasters, and disasters can't be avoided. All I can do is live with a clear conscience. As a seven-foot-tall man, wouldn't it be a wasted life if I lived timidly, constantly hesitating and looking over my shoulder?"

"Well said, Prince of Zhenbei! Truly broad-minded and transparent!"

Xiao Dan felt a deep sense of regret that they hadn't met sooner. "If this old man had met Your Highness earlier, perhaps I would have already stepped into the Earth Immortal Realm. What a pity... what a pity!"

"You old man, instead of saying these nice words, why don't you pull out some good stuff?"

Lin Xiao glanced toward the cold pond of Ding Lake and said, "If you've hidden any miraculous elixirs, why not give my wife a few? If her power increases greatly, wouldn't she also be able to help you break through your realm?"

Lin Xiao had just used Dragon Seeking and Point Locating and discovered that the aura beneath this cold pond was actually startling.

He reckoned that this old man had hidden the good stuff at the bottom of the lake! How crafty!

"Your Highness even understands the Art of Geomancy?"

Xiao Dan was greatly shocked. The secret at the bottom of Ding Lake was considered one of the Daoist Sect's highest secrets; no one would dare leak it.

"What, you're reluctant?"

Lin Xiao said persuasively, "This Prince isn't coveting your little treasures. It's mainly because I see you've lived for nearly three hundred years and are technically my wife's ancestor, so I want to help you break through your realm."

"Of course, if you're unwilling to bring it out, this Prince won't force you."

Xiao Dan's expression was quite strange. Stroking his beard, he said, "A treasure... there is one, but it might be different from what Your Highness is thinking."

Lin Xiao frowned. "What do you mean?"

The old man's eyes held a playful look. "If Your Highness is willing, why not follow me down once?"

"To the bottom of the lake?" Lin Xiao was startled.

"Exactly."

Lin Xiao was puzzled. Could it be that it wasn't ordinary equipment or elixirs?

Since he was already here, Lin Xiao naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity, so he agreed.

Hearing that Lin Xiao was going down into Ding Lake with the Old Celestial Master, the women all gathered around, curious and nervous.

Even though their man's cultivation was profound—even stronger than the Old Celestial Master's—they were still worried.

If it weren't for the fact that their cultivation wasn't yet sufficient to dive to the depths, they would have all wanted to follow and see for themselves.

"Your Highness, the water at the bottom of the cold pond is a thousand feet deep and filled with secret passages. You must keep close to this old man."

Saying this, Xiao Dan leaped down, falling into the white, misty surface of the water.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath and jumped in after him.

This cold pond was extremely frigid, but since Xiao Dan practiced a cultivation technique of extreme Yang, it didn't affect him at all.

Lin Xiao, needless to say, didn't even need to use protective True Qi; his physical body was immune to the damage of this cold energy.

The two dived for an unknown amount of time until the water was completely pitch black.

Lin Xiao followed Xiao Dan into a grotto and passed through an underwater secret passage.

Suddenly, a halo of light appeared ahead.

The two emerged from the water, and their vision suddenly opened up. It was actually a dry, hidden space within the mountain!

All around the stone walls were various fluorites that emitted their own cold light.

And a stone coffin crafted from crystal material was placed quietly on a raised stone platform.

Inside the coffin, there was something!?

"Your Highness, go and take a look." Xiao Dan stepped onto the platform. The water vapor on his body had already evaporated with incredible speed.

After Lin Xiao emerged from the water, he also used True Qi to dry himself quickly before stepping forward.

That crystal coffin radiated cold energy; it was clearly a treasure!

[Millennial Cold Jade Coffin: Crafted from cold jade collected from beneath ten-thousand-year-old glaciers. It can keep a physical body from decaying and is an excellent item for practicing certain cultivation techniques. Grade: Heaven Grade]

A Heaven Grade coffin! No wonder its treasure aura could overflow even deep inside the mountain!

However, Lin Xiao was currently more concerned with the female lying inside...

Snow-white skin, facial features so exquisite they were flawless, and a well-proportioned figure—it was a perfect ratio.

The key point... was a head of blue hair!

"This is... a Celestial Being?"

Lin Xiao paused for a good while before asking.

Although he had known about the blue-haired Celestial Beings from the Western Qiang temple, seeing it with his own eyes was still too shocking!

Could it be that they really weren't human? But if they were aliens, they shouldn't look so much like humans.

Moreover... he felt that this appearance was too exquisite, like a designed work of art!

"Indeed. This is the biggest reason why the successive Celestial Masters of our Daoist Sect need to stay at Dinghu Peak all year round."

Xiao Dan's eyes showed a look of reverence. "This is the ancestral master of our Daoist Sect. As far as I know, she is the only one among the Five Ancestors of Celestial Beings whose corpse has been preserved! It has been over ten thousand years!"

"It is precisely because I witnessed such a miracle with my own eyes that this old man dares to believe that if the Five Ancestors of Celestial Beings can return to the Heavenly Palace, they can truly achieve immortality."

Undecayed for over ten thousand years!?

Lin Xiao frowned. Even with the help of low temperatures, could an ordinary person do that?

"Then why weren't the other Celestial Beings preserved?"

Xiao Dan said, "There are two reasons. First, this Millennial Cold Jade Coffin is a rare treasure of the Tianwu Continent."

"Second, the other Celestial Ancestors didn't particularly want to preserve their remains. It's said that the one from the Buddhist Sect requested to be cremated."

"There's also a saying that among the Five Ancestors of Celestial Beings, only our Daoist Sect's ancestral master was a woman, so she alone enjoyed this cold jade coffin."

Seeing Lin Xiao staring intently, Xiao Dan said with a smile, "Your Highness, you should be satisfied now. This old man didn't lie to you; it really isn't some miraculous elixir."

Lin Xiao scrutinized her for a while and asked, "Can I... prop her up to take a look?"

"Ah!?"

Xiao Dan was dumbfounded. He never expected that Lin Xiao, far from being satisfied with just looking, would actually want to get his hands on her!?

"Don't panic, I'm not doing anything. I'll just pull back her collar to take a look."

Through his perception, Lin Xiao discovered that there seemed to be something on the back of this Celestial woman's neck.

But he couldn't be certain without confirming it with his own eyes.

"This... Your Highness, the Ancestral Master has been dead for over ten thousand years!!"

Even if she was beautiful, she was still a corpse!

Even having lived for nearly three hundred years, Xiao Dan was deeply shocked!

Moral decay! People these days wouldn't even let a dead person be?!

"It's fine, I'm not afraid," Lin Xiao said with a smile.

"You might not be afraid, but... but this is simply too scandalous and against all human decency!"

Xiao Dan was getting truly angry. If he didn't feel that he couldn't beat Lin Xiao, he would have wanted to strike!

Lin Xiao finally understood and couldn't help but be furious. "You bull-nosed old Daoist! What kind of wild thoughts are you having!?"

"This Prince is surrounded by beauties; why would I covet a female corpse?!"

"This Prince is trying to verify your Ancestral Master's identity! What kind of person do you take me for?!"

Xiao Dan then calmed down and said hesitantly, "Verify her identity? How... how do you check that?"

Lin Xiao couldn't be bothered to waste words with him. He reached out directly and propped up the Celestial Being's back.