466: Chapter 466 The Key to the Secret Garden

As a mentor who had lived two lifetimes, Lin Yu knew better than anyone that the path of cultivation was a single-plank bridge paved with loneliness and bones.

The grievances and entanglements of the mortal world were like vines wrapped around the bridge's ropes; they might seem to offer a shred of warmth and support, but when facing the raging storms of the Heavenly Dao Lightning Tribulation, these vines would turn into the most lethal shackles, dragging one directly into an abyss of eternal damnation.

That Su Ming could cleanly and decisively sever this tangled mess in his own way, and in the process hone his Dao Heart to such a flawless and unimpeded state, pleased Lin Yu even more than his mastery of hundreds of analysis of ancient runes.

"Since the matters of the mortal world have been concluded, seal them away completely in a corner of your memory. Unless you encounter a Heart Demon tribulation, never stir them up again." Lin Yu's gaze was like two sharp swords, piercing straight into Su Ming's eyes. "The waters of the cultivation world are far deeper and far murkier than that little puddle in Daxing Kingdom."

Su Ming nodded solemnly: "This Disciple understands. After returning, I have stabilized my cultivation at the Peak of the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. Revered Master Master Xuan Heng bestowed upon me an access token for the Formation Peak Secret Realm, and this Disciple intends to enter and go into seclusion for half a year after breaking through to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment."

"Half a year…" Lin Yu lightly tapped the stone tabletop with his illusory fingers, creating a soundless rhythmic thumping. "This timing is quite reasonable. On this trip down the mountain, whether it was dueling or setting up Formations, you relied entirely on the vast spiritual power of the Foundation Establishment Stage to overwhelm your opponents; your techniques are still too crude. Seclusion in the Secret Realm will be perfect for consolidation."

Su Ming cast the mortal affairs he had just finished recounting to the back of his mind. He straightened his back and took the scroll of "analysis of ancient runes" from his Storage Pouch.

"Master, during this trip down the mountain, there was another matter lingering on my mind." Su Ming laid the Jade Slip flat on the stone table and tapped his knuckles lightly against it.

Lin Yu's soul body hovered in mid-air with his legs crossed, his hands tucked into his illusory sleeves.

"Speak." Lin Yu raised his chin slightly.

"Elder Qingquan once directed this Disciple to the ruins of the Great Yan Dynasty palace, where he mentioned the Lantai Secret Garden." Su Ming spoke at a measured pace.

Lin Yu's soul body leaned forward, and he raised an eyebrow.

"The legacy Secret Realm of the Great Yan Dynasty; it is rumored to contain treasures left behind by the previous dynasty." Su Ming continued. He recalled the massive gate deep within the rift.

"This Disciple was studying the Formation outside the Secret Garden, and the Restriction on that ten-zhang stone gate was extremely complex." Su Ming looked up at Lin Yu. "This Disciple discovered that the Great Seal script characters on the stone gate looked somewhat familiar."

Lin Yu released his hands from his sleeves and drifted down to the empty seat opposite the stone table.

"Familiar?" Lin Yu rested his fingers on the tabletop, his fingertips creating a faint tapping sound. "Draw it for me to see."

Su Ming nodded, raised his right hand, and pressed his index finger together with his middle finger.

Liquid, deep blue Water Spiritual Energy flowed through his Meridians into his fingertips, and a drop of condensed water floated in mid-air.

Su Ming closed his eyes, reconstructing the ancient patterns from the stone gate in his mind.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and slowly moved his index finger through the Void Realm. The water droplet was drawn into an extremely thin thread of water that remained solidified in the air. The initial stroke was heavy, and Su Ming's wrist trembled slightly.

He deliberately suppressed the inherent gentleness of the Water Spiritual Energy. He infused the thread of water with the murderous aura characteristic of the Great Seal script.

The lines were ancient and simple, with the sharpness of metal weapons and iron horses at the turns.

With every stroke that fell, the air inside the Immortal Cave became a bit more stagnant, and sweat began to seep from Su Ming's forehead.

Carving such characters that carried ancient Law was extremely draining on one's Divine Sense. He drew very slowly.

A full hour passed before a complex ancient seal character finally took shape in mid-air.

The water thread emitted a dim, deep blue light, and every corner of the character carried a certain aura of sealing and suppression.

Su Ming withdrew his finger, let out a long breath, and picked up his teacup to moisten his throat.

"This is the character." Su Ming pointed to the water-ink seal character in mid-air.

Lin Yu stared at the character, his brows gradually knitting together.

He drifted halfway around the stone table, observing the floating character from different angles.

"It is indeed… familiar." Lin Yu muttered to himself. He extended his fingers, which were as crystalline as jade, and traced the flow of the character from a distance.

"This habit of transitions and turns is definitely not a talisman-making technique from the orthodox cultivation world." Lin Yu narrowed his eyes. "It looks more like… some kind of imperial seal script from a mortal royal family, forcibly blended with the Law of Formations."

He looked at it over and over again, then closed his eyes and fell into thought.

His long, strong fingers tapped unconsciously on the tabletop. Although he was a soul body, the wind generated by his movements caused the debris on the table to roll slightly.

Su Ming remained quiet; he did not interrupt his Master's train of thought.

Suddenly, Lin Yu opened his eyes wide and slapped his thigh, producing a crisp sound.

"I remember!" Lin Yu pointed at the seal character. "The turtle-knobbed seal!"

Su Ming was slightly stunned.

"That thing you dug out of the waste paper pile at the Hanlin Academy all those years ago!" Lin Yu spoke faster. "The font on this, and the seal script on the bottom of that small seal, are of the same style!"

Images from five years ago flashed through Su Ming's mind: that damp, musty-smelling storeroom.

He immediately unhooked the Storage Pouch from his waist, probed it with his Divine Sense, and searched quickly.

At the very bottom of a pile of discarded Formation Plates and miscellaneous items, he found the object.

Su Ming flipped his wrist. An object the size of a thumb fell into his palm.

It was exactly that turtle-knobbed seal.

The top was carved with a cute, naive-looking turtle knob, and the material was neither gold nor jade, feeling strangely warm and smooth to the touch.

Su Ming placed it flat on the tabletop, bottom facing up.

Four complex seal characters were carved into the bottom.

He controlled the thread of water seal character, causing it to shrink and slowly descend beside the small seal.

The Master and Disciple both leaned in, their gazes sweeping back and forth between the two.

The force of the initial stroke of the water seal character, and the force of the initial stroke of the small seal's characters.

The sharp angles at the turns, the pauses at the endings.

The two were exactly the same, even the aura of suppression deliberately hidden deep within the strokes matched perfectly.

Lin Yu straightened up, staring at the small seal with deep eyes.

"The Great Seal script on this stone gate must be the Restriction of the Lantai Secret Garden." Lin Yu's voice was low. "The aura of the key and the lock came from the hand of the same person."

Su Ming rubbed his fingers along the edge of the small seal. "This inconspicuous seal is the key to the Secret Garden?"

"Nine times out of ten." Lin Yu nodded. He drifted back above the meditation cushion.

Su Ming picked up the small seal and examined the texture of the turtle knob.

"When the Great Yan Dynasty fell all those years ago, this key ended up in the pile of waste paper at the Hanlin Academy." Su Ming analyzed: "It fell into my hands by some twist of fate."

Lin Yu sneered. "There are no such things as twists of fate in the cultivation world. For the Great Yan Dynasty to be able to force the Cloud Hidden Sect to mobilize three Nascent Soul cultivators, its foundation was definitely not shallow."

He pointed at the small seal. "Try injecting some spiritual power into it."