356: Chapter 351 We'll have to try to find out.

Just as Chu Weiwei's fingertips were about to touch the center of the man in the green shirt's brow, Su Lin suddenly raised his hand.

"Wait."

Chu Weiwei stopped immediately and turned her head obediently: "Does Revered Master have further instructions?"

Su Lin stared at the man in the green shirt who had been immobilized by the Space Law, calculating in his mind.

Wiping his memory and throwing him out would certainly be clean, but the things in this guy's head were far more valuable than the insect corpses all over the ground. The ins and outs of the Star Abyss Pavilion, the layout of the Heavenly Dipper Star Lord, and the distribution of forces in this Star Domain. This intelligence was exactly what he lacked most right now.

The matter of wiping his memory could be delayed.

"Keep his brain for now." Su Lin changed his mind. "Just deal with those two pieces of trash; I still have use for this leader."

The man in the green shirt had already been in absolute despair, but upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope for survival reignited in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist! As long as you are willing to spare my life, I will tell you all the secrets of the Star Abyss Pavilion! I also know a lot of other things, about the Heaven Beyond Heaven, about those mighty figures, I will tell you everything!"

Fearing that Su Lin might change his mind, he began to spill everything like a rapid-fire cannon.

"What's the rush?" Su Lin couldn't be bothered to listen to his fawning tone. "If you want to live, just follow obediently. I will ask you when it's time to speak."

Su Lin felt that he had made a killing on this deal.

He had been worried about being completely blind, unable to even find someone to ask for directions in this Heaven Beyond Heaven. Now, it was great; a free guide had been delivered to his doorstep, and it even came with its own intelligence database. This luck was even smoother than Gu Qiuyue picking up stones.

Chu Weiwei flipped her wrist, and two strands of pale purple mist sank into the bodies of the short, fat man and the sharp-chinned Cultivator, respectively.

The two didn't even have time to scream before their immortal essence was completely churned into a mess. Trying to condense magic power again would be harder than ascending to heaven. A Golden Immortal with crippled cultivation was merely at the Mahayana level, and they wouldn't be able to survive in this area at all.

"Throw them out." Su Lin ordered.

Su Hongling walked up happily, grabbing one in each hand like she was carrying little chicks, and tossed the two limp, crippled men straight out.

"Oh, these two are light as feathers, they have no weight at all." Su Hongling clapped her hands, her face full of disdain. "And they call themselves Late Stage Golden Immortals; once their cultivation is crippled, they aren't even as good as a rock."

After dealing with these two burdens, Su Lin's gaze fell back onto the open stone gate.

After Ye You cleared the insect nest with her vines, the passage leading to the core of the Immortal Cave was completely revealed. Behind the door was a deep, dark corridor, pitch black and endless.

"Revered Master, are we going in now?" Gu Qiuyue's eyes lit up, and she rubbed her hands together.

Hearing that they were going to explore the Immortal Cave for treasure, her greedy expression appeared again. It was the Legacy Immortal Cave of an ancient Stone Venerable; who knew how many good things were piled up inside. Just thinking about it made her hands itch.

"Go in." Su Lin nodded. "But tie him up first."

He glanced at the man in the green shirt.

Chu Weiwei understood, and another blast of poisonous mist hit him. This time, she didn't cripple his cultivation; she just sealed most of his magic power and planted an extremely sinister Restriction on him.

"Big Brother, don't you go having any crooked thoughts." Chu Weiwei leaned into his ear with a smile. "Weiwei has planted a Life-Chasing Gu on you. If you dare to run away or lie, this Gu will follow your Meridians and gnaw your internal organs into slag, bit by bit. That feeling is something I guarantee you will never forget for as long as you live."

The man in the green shirt felt a chill run down his spine and nodded repeatedly: "I wouldn't dare, I absolutely wouldn't dare."

He had finally figured it out now.

Among this group, that ordinary-looking man in the green shirt was the real big shot. And these stunning female Cultivators around him were each more ruthless than the last. That red-haired one could shatter an Immortal Artifact with her bare hands, this pure-looking one could cripple a person's cultivation with a wave of her hand, and there was another one who ate insects and could swallow a Golden Immortal's arm in one bite.

He had kicked an iron plate—an impossibly hard iron plate that he had never seen in his entire life.

"What is your name?" Su Lin asked.

"This humble one is named Zhou Mu." The man in the green shirt answered hurriedly.

"Zhou Mu." Su Lin recited it once. "Fine, then you lead the way in front. Since you were ordered to plunder this Stone Venerable's Immortal Cave, you must have done your homework. Tell us clearly in advance what mechanisms and traps are inside."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhou Mu wiped away cold sweat. "This humble one has indeed checked some ancient texts. The most dangerous thing in the core Immortal Cave of the Myriad Transformation Palace is the Petrification Restriction set by the Stone Venerable. Once triggered, any living thing within a hundred zhang radius will be instantly petrified and trapped for eternity."

"Those stone statues outside are the fate of the intruders through the ages."

Su Lin nodded.

This matched his previous judgment. Those pained stone statues were all unlucky souls dealt with by this Petrification Restriction.

"What else?" Su Lin continued to ask.

"And then there is..." Zhou Mu thought for a moment. "It is said that in the deepest part of the Immortal Cave, there is a trial personally set by the Stone Venerable. Only those who pass the trial can obtain his Legacy. But as for what the trial specifically is, it is not recorded in ancient texts. Not a single person who went in before came out alive, so naturally, no one knows the truth inside."

"A trial?" Su Hongling got excited as soon as she heard that. "That's great. I love these 'pass five passes and cut down six generals' kinds of things."

"Second Senior Sister, can you be a bit more steady?" Luo Ximei waved her folding fan and rolled her eyes helplessly. "The trial of an ancient mighty figure, is it really as simple as you imagine? Maybe if we are not careful, we will end up keeping company with those stone statues outside."

"What is there to fear?" Su Hongling said nonchalantly. "The Old Man is here."

Su Lin's temples started to throb again upon hearing this.

This girl treated him like an all-purpose talisman. She didn't even think about the fact that he himself only had a half-understanding of this Stone Venerable's background. If there was some evil thing hidden inside that even he hadn't seen before, who would be protecting whom was still up for debate.

"Alright, enough with the banter." Su Lin waved his hand. "Zhou Mu, lead the way. Everyone follow closely; without my order, no one is allowed to touch anything inside."

He specifically glanced at Gu Qiuyue, who was rubbing her palms together.

Gu Qiuyue felt guilty under this gaze and sheepishly retracted her outstretched hand.

"Understood, Revered Master. Disciple is just looking, I definitely won't touch anything randomly."

Zhou Mu walked in the very front, his face pulled tight. Every step he took was cautious, looking like he was stepping on burning charcoal. He feared death more than anyone, and with Chu Weiwei's Life-Chasing Gu planted on him, he naturally dared not be the slightest bit careless.

The corridor was long, and the further they went, the stronger the ancient, decaying scent became.

The stone walls on both sides were no longer blank; ancient murals began to appear.

The content of the murals was very strange.

On the mural was a blurred figure standing on a vast land. He raised his hand, and everywhere he passed, mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, and even the clouds in the sky all turned into gray-white stone.

The entire world, under his hand, turned into a silent stone forest.

"This Stone Venerable's hobby is truly unique." Su Lin looked at the mural and couldn't help but complain. "Turning the whole world into stone, what is he aiming for? Is it fun to look at?"

"Revered Master, this mural exudes a sense of resentment." Mu Qingxue had been silent, but she suddenly spoke up. Her pale blue eyes stared at the mural, her brows slightly furrowed. "This Petrification Dao does not seem to be purely for killing."

"Oh?" Su Lin became interested. "What have you seen?"

Mu Qingxue extended her finger and gently tapped on the petrified figure in the mural.

"Revered Master, look. Although these petrified living beings have pained expressions on their faces, their bodies are extremely well-preserved. Not even a single hair is damaged."

She paused, her voice carrying a bit of gravity.

"This Stone Venerable seems to be collecting. He didn't want to kill them; he wanted to keep their most perfect moment forever."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the corridor eerily froze.

Su Lin's heart sank slightly.

Collecting.

These two words were far more chilling than simple killing.

An existence that treated living beings as collectibles, sealing them in eternal stone shells. This kind of twisted obsession was enough to make one's spine chill just thinking about it.

"Who cares if he's collecting or not." Su Hongling carried her great sword and broke the silence nonchalantly. "If that old guy's Restriction dares to show its head later, I'll chop all his broken stones to pieces with one sword."

"Second Senior Sister, can you use your brain?" Chu Weiwei rolled her eyes in annoyance. "He is an ancient mighty figure; is the Restriction he left behind something your broken sword can chop open?"

"You have to try to know."

Seeing that these two were about to bicker again, Su Lin couldn't be bothered to pay attention and continued walking forward.

At the end of the corridor, a light finally appeared.

It was an extremely vast underground space.

In the center of the space stood a high platform carved from pure white jade. On the high platform sat a huge stone statue in a cross-legged position.

The stone statue was carved in the likeness of an Old Man sitting cross-legged, his face peaceful, eyes slightly closed, and his hands forming a strange hand seal.

The entire stone statue exuded an extremely profound aura of Law, as if it could come alive at any moment.

"Is that the Stone Venerable himself?" Su Lin narrowed his eyes.

"It... should be." Zhou Mu swallowed his saliva, his voice trembling. "Ancient texts say that after the Stone Venerable fell, he turned his own Physical Body into stone and guarded the core of this Immortal Cave forever."

Su Lin carefully probed the stone statue with his Divine Sense.

As soon as his Divine Sense touched the outer perimeter of the stone statue, it hit an invisible barrier.

The barrier was extremely tough, exuding a cold, dead silence.

But the moment Su Lin's Divine Sense touched the barrier, the eyelids of the stone statue, which had been slightly closed, suddenly trembled.

Immediately after, an old and calm voice echoed throughout the entire underground space.

"Another guest has arrived."

The voice carried not a hint of emotion, but it made everyone present's hearts tighten.

"Visitors, are you willing to become a part of my eternal collection?"

As the voice fell, the temperature of the entire underground space dropped suddenly.

Su Lin clearly felt a terrifying Petrification Law spreading from the stone statue, covering the sky and the earth as it enveloped them.

Everywhere this Law touched, the air began to solidify, turning into strands of gray-white dust.

"Watch out! Everyone fall back!" Su Lin shouted sharply.

He raised his hand, and the world tree seedling within his body emitted a soft Chaos clear light, instantly erecting a barrier in front of everyone.

The spreading Petrification Law crashed into the barrier, emitting a teeth-grinding friction sound.

The Chaos clear light and the gray-white Law clashed fiercely, with neither being able to do anything to the other.

"Such a domineering power." Su Lin frowned tightly.

Although this Stone Venerable had already fallen, he possessed such terrifying might with just a residual imprint of his Law. If he were in his prime, what kind of terrifying existence would he have been.

"Revered Master, would you like this disciple to try?" Cold Moon, dressed in a purple-gold Phoenix robe, stood behind Su Lin with a solemn expression.

"Don't move yet." Su Lin shook his head, his gaze fixed on the stone statue. "This guy's Petrification Law is too strange. Going head-to-head is not the way; we must find its flaw."

He completely sank his mind into his Inner World.

The branches and leaves of that world tree swayed wildly, beginning to analyze the spreading Petrification Law.

A moment later, Su Lin's eyes lit up.

He saw it.

Although this Petrification Law was domineering, its root lay in the hand seal formed by that stone statue.

That strange hand seal was the core of the entire Restriction.

"Hong Ling." Su Lin suddenly spoke. "Get your sword ready."

"Hey, is it finally my turn?" Su Hongling became excited immediately upon hearing this.

"When I break the stone statue's hand seal, you strike immediately and smash the stone statue to pieces." Su Lin said in a deep voice. "Move fast; you only have one chance."

"Leave it to me!" Su Hongling carried her great sword, and her blood and Qi power began to circulate crazily.

Su Lin took a deep breath, and all the Chaos Immortal Energy in his body gathered at his fingertips.

He put his fingers together like a sword and pointed from afar at the hand seal formed by the stone statue.

A stream of extremely pure Chaos Sword Qi followed the spreading Petrification Law and precisely pierced the core of that hand seal.

"Becoming a collection is an honor." The old voice sounded again, seemingly having sensed Su Lin's intention. "You cannot escape."

The gray-white Law around the stone statue suddenly surged, turning into a destructive torrent that counterattacked toward Su Lin.

"In your dreams."

Su Lin's eyes turned cold, and the speed of the Sword Qi at his fingertips accelerated suddenly, piercing heavily into that hand seal just before the torrent could submerge him.

"Click."

A slight, crisp sound.

A tiny crack appeared on the hand seal formed by the stone statue.

"Now! Hong Ling!" Su Lin shouted loudly.

Su Hongling had long been ready to go.

Hearing this order, she turned into a red stream of light, her great sword carrying a terrifying gravity that collapsed the Void Realm, smashing heavily toward the stone statue.

"Mountain Splitting!"

The crack at the core of the hand seal spread wildly along the body of the stone statue, covering it completely in the blink of an eye.

The stone statue completely shattered.

The gray-white Petrification Law that had filled the entire space instantly dissipated after losing the support of the core hand seal, turning into dust all over the sky.