124: Yunhe Cave Heaven

On the first day, the harvest was meager.

On Green Edge's side, they only dug up more completely decayed ashes of bamboo slips under the Library Hall, with not even a single complete character recognizable.

Beneath the Beast Rearing Valley, there was nothing but the withered bones of beasts. The burial area was dug a bit deeper, but aside from more decayed coffins and withered bones, no funerary Magical Artifacts were found—perhaps they had long since been eroded by time, or perhaps when the Yunhe Sect migrated here, they were already in dire straits and did not have lavish burials.

On Iron Pincer's side, they cleared the connection between the back of the main hall and the mountain, finding some traces of manual excavation, but most had been sealed off by rocks and thick soil; preliminary detection showed solid rock layers behind, seemingly without any secret passages.

On the second day, Gao De adjusted his approach.

He ordered his subordinates to stop the large-scale blind digging and instead concentrate on the interior of the main hall and several adjacent side halls.

"Since the murals mentioned the 'Water Eye' and the Yunhe Sect excelled in water-based Cultivation Techniques, their core secret treasures might be related to the water veins."

He ordered the Demon Soldiers to carefully tap every floor tile in the main hall and key side halls, listening for echoes and searching for hollow sounds.

Meanwhile, he personally took action, injecting pure Demonic Power into that blue jade ring.

The jade ring glowed slightly, and the water-like patterns inside seemed to come alive, but it did not point to a clear direction; it only produced a nearly imperceptible resonance with the extremely faint water vapor remaining throughout the ruins.

On the afternoon of the third day, a turning point appeared.

A Crab Demon under Iron Pincer's command, while clearing thick moss from a corner of a side hall next to the main hall, accidentally touched a wall brick that looked no different from its surroundings with its giant pincer; that wall brick actually recessed slightly inward, emitting a very faint mechanical sound!

"Master! There's something strange here!" the Crab Demon hurriedly reported.

Gao De arrived quickly; he signaled the demons to step back, protected himself with Demonic Power, and carefully pressed that wall brick with his claws.

"Clack... clack clack..." A dull sound of gears turning came from the wall and underground; though sluggish, it was not completely broken. In the center of the side hall, a huge stone slab covered in moss and dust slowly slid to one side, revealing a dark, downward-extending hole!

A stale scent, yet carrying a hint of strange water vapor, wafted out from within.

"There really is a secret room!" Green Edge and Iron Pincer were both invigorated.

Gao De did not enter rashly; he first probed with his Divine Sense, perceiving that the space below was not large and had no aura of living things, only a deathly stillness that had settled for untold years.

He then used Thunder Smite Spear, condensing a small ball of thunder light and shooting it inside; the thunder light illuminated the area below—it was a short flight of stone steps leading down to a small stone chamber.

Confirming there was no immediate danger, Gao De then transformed into his Half-Jiaoren form, holding the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd prototype, with Purple Lightning Thunder Aura swirling around him as he led the way down. Green Edge and Iron Pincer followed closely behind.

The stone chamber was not large, about the size of an ordinary room. It was empty inside, except for a waist-high stone platform in the center.

On the stone platform sat a cross-legged human skeleton. The clothes on the skeleton had long since turned to ash, and the bones showed a greyish, decayed color, yet it still maintained a complete sitting posture. In front of the skeleton lay a black token of a deeper color and a texture like jade but not jade, carved with an ancient 'Yun' character; next to the token was a small, open jade box, which was empty inside.

Most strikingly, the skeleton's hands were folded on its lap, its palms holding a blue jade ring identical to the one Gao De had obtained before! It seemed this jade ring had been specially placed here, guarding something along with the skeleton.

Gao De's gaze first fell upon the skeleton. He could feel that this skeleton's cultivation was not weak during its life, at least at the Golden Core level, but time had still taken everything from him.

The skeleton's finger bone was lightly pointing at the ground, where a few lines of small characters seemed to be carved.

Gao De leaned down and carefully identified the handwriting, which had been carved with finger strength and was almost filled with dust:

"The Yunhe Legacy is severed, the guilt lies with me. A powerful enemy arrived suddenly, and the Water Eye collapsed. The ancestral artifact is the key, the grotto-heaven hides the truth. The spark of Legacy is here, hoping to continue the destiny..."

The writing stopped abruptly there, carrying endless regret and expectation; perhaps there were a few more words unfinished before his strength was exhausted.

"The ancestral artifact is the key, the grotto-heaven hides the truth?" Gao De's heart stirred, and he looked intently at the blue jade ring held by the skeleton.

He had injected Demonic Power before and only triggered a weak resonance; it seemed a specific environment or method was needed?

He cautiously wrapped the blue jade ring with a strand of pure Demonic Power and slowly removed it from the skeleton's hands. The moment the jade ring left the skeleton's palms, a sudden change occurred!

"Buzz—"

The blue jade ring suddenly burst with a warm and bright blue light, and the water flow patterns inside seemed to come completely alive, circulating rapidly.

A beam of light shot out from the jade ring, hitting the seemingly empty wall of the stone chamber.

The wall rippled like water, light and shadow distorted, and a light gate about the height of a person, emitting faint spatial fluctuations, slowly emerged!

Behind the light gate, another hazy space was vaguely visible.

"The entrance to a grotto-heaven!"

Green Edge whispered in shock, her snake pupils filled with astonishment. Iron Pincer also opened his giant pincers wide, clearly stunned by this display.

A sharp light flashed in Gao De's eyes, his heart filled with both vigilance and anticipation.

He took a deep breath and was the first to step into the light gate. Green Edge and Iron Pincer followed closely behind.

Behind the light gate was not the vast and boundless world one might imagine, but a tiny grotto-heaven about several dozen yards in circumference.

The light here was soft, as if at the bottom of the deep sea, and the surroundings were barriers rippling like water waves.

The Spiritual Qi within the grotto-heaven was several times denser than outside, carrying a pure water element aura, but one could still feel a sense of 'exhaustion' and weakness, and even a faint messiness from a hurried cleanup.

The furnishings inside the grotto-heaven were extremely simple, even shabby, and there were obvious signs of missing items:

In the center was a small white jade altar, but the top of the altar was empty, with only several clear indentations where some kind of spherical or Seal-shaped objects should have been placed; now they were covered in fine dust, as if the most important things had long since been taken away.

On the left were several jade material shelves that had long since run out of Spiritual Qi and turned dull.

Most of the shelves were empty; only on the shelf in the furthest corner were a few scattered, dim-colored Ores with weak Spiritual Qi and almost withered roots of Spiritual Plants—clearly leftover scraps of low value.

On the right was a stone desk, on which dozens of Jade Slips and several scrolls made of specially tanned, seemingly immortal beast skin were neatly arranged. These were the best-preserved things in the entire grotto-heaven.

Gao De's gaze swept over the empty indentations and barren shelves, understanding in his heart: "It seems that at the final moment, the Yunhe Sect still took away the most precious Magic Treasures, Medicinal Pills, and spiritual Materials they could use. Was it to face a powerful enemy, or to preserve the final spark for the Sect?"

He stepped forward, his Divine Thought sweeping over those Jade Slips and scrolls.

What was recorded in the Jade Slips were not mountains of Cultivation Techniques, but the core Legacy of the Yunhe Sect—the Cloud River Water Control True Art containing complete water methods up to the Nascent Soul Stage, the Water Vein Surveying Secret Art, and the Yunmeng Marsh Record of Unusual Things, which detailed information about many dangerous places, resource points, and powerful existences in the Yunmeng Marsh—though much of the data might be outdated after so much time, some would surely be useful. There were also some notes on Alchemy and Artifact Refining; though not of high grade, the system was complete.

This knowledge-based material might have been considered less urgent than physical Magic Treasures and Medicinal Pills at the time, or perhaps because it was not easy to replicate and was the Sect's Foundation, it was left behind.

The few beast skin scrolls recorded the older history of the Yunhe Sect and more secrets about the Yunmeng Water Eye, including its approximate location, ancient Seal techniques, and... warnings of possible mutations and dangers deep within the Water Eye.

Among them, it was clearly mentioned that the 'powerful enemy' was not a human Cultivator, but an erosion from some kind of 'ancient will' deep within the Water Eye, which caused the Water Eye to collapse and the Sect's Spiritual Veins to decay, eventually leading to its destruction under both internal and external pressures.

At the end of the scroll, there was a line of hurriedly added small characters: "...Core Disciples carrying the 'Sea-Suppressing Pearl', 'Water-Dividing Flag', and other heavy treasures, led by the Third Elder, evacuated toward the southwest in hopes of revival... however, the road ahead is uncertain, and survival is unpredictable..."

Seeing this, Gao De completely understood.

This grotto-heaven was more like an emergency backup database and a final staging point before the Yunhe Sect's evacuation.

The true core combat power and the accumulated top-tier resources had already been taken away by the last batch of evacuating core personnel.

What was left behind was what couldn't be taken, or what was considered more important than physical objects—the Legacy of knowledge and the truth of history, as well as... this blue jade ring serving as a key and perhaps carrying some kind of hope.

There were no mountains of Spirit Stones or shining Magic Treasures in the grotto-heaven; the only 'physical' resource was an inconspicuous stone jar in the corner of the stone desk, containing about ten drops of 'Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Milk', a Saint Grade item for healing and restoring mana. This item might have been preserved because it was sealed so well, or perhaps it was overlooked.

Clearly, at the final moment, the Yunhe Sect had exhausted all the resources they could use, only having time to Seal the most important knowledge, Legacy, and history here, expecting a destined person of later generations to inherit their 'spark' and perhaps... one day solve the trouble of the Water Eye.

Gao De carefully put away all the Jade Slips, beast skin scrolls, and that jar of precious Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Milk.

He looked around this tiny grotto-heaven, which was about to collapse as its energy was exhausted, filled with a sense of regret and loss, and he understood.

The true essence and Treasure Trove of the Yunhe Sect were indeed not here, but he had obtained something even more precious—the experience, knowledge, and understanding of the core dangers of the Yunmeng Marsh that an ancient Sect had traded its destruction for.

This was of more long-term value than a few powerful Magic Treasures, and it made his future planning much less blind.

He exited the grotto-heaven with his harvest.

After he came out, the light gate flickered a few times and then completely dissipated, the wall returning to its original state. That blue jade ring also dimmed significantly, as if it had exhausted most of its power.

Gao De nodded slightly toward the seated skeleton, considering it an acceptance of this Karma.

Gao De nodded slightly toward the seated skeleton, considering it an acceptance of this 'bequest' focused on knowledge and warnings. He took the black token and then ordered the Demon Soldiers to carefully hide the cave entrance and restore it to its original state.

The 'digging three feet into the ground' operation thus came to an end.

The form of the harvest was different from expected—no Sharp Weapons, no mountains of Spirit Stones—but the value of the information was immeasurable.

He had obtained the final spark of knowledge and the blood-and-tear lessons of an ancient Sect, and he had also identified the direction of a possible fugitive group carrying the final treasures of the Yunhe Sect, though the hope was slim.

"When one's strength is small, one should know fear... even with the full power of the Yunhe Sect, it was like this; I must not be the least bit careless."

Gao De was alert in his heart, treating these Jade Slips and scrolls as top secrets. "For now, I need to fully digest this knowledge and improve my strength and influence. As for that possible fugitive group and the secrets of the 'Yunmeng Water Eye', they are beyond my current reach and will be left for the future."

He led his subordinates and quietly left this sleeping ancient ruin.

The burden on his shoulders felt clearer because of this heavy history, yet the mist on the road ahead had also been dispersed quite a bit by the lamps of this knowledge.