504: Chapter 504 Stone Wall

The gains in Array Talismans made him feel even more incredible than his cultivation. The Spirit Gathering Array at the bottom of the lake was like a tireless teacher, operating before him day and night. He sat beside it, watching it rotate, listening to it rotate, and feeling it rotate; knowledge of those runes expanded like a dry sponge meeting water. By the day he prepared to leave the Spiritual Qi Lake, the number of Array Talismans he had fully mastered had grown from three hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty.

It wasn't the number that was important, but that feeling—now, when he looked at a rune, he no longer just saw its shape and function, but could see its position within the entire system. It was like looking at a tree; he no longer just saw a single leaf, but could follow the veins to see the branches, the roots, and the direction in which it burrowed into the soil.

Su Ming stood up and brushed the dust off his robes. Shadow jumped back onto his shoulder, and Lin Yu floated behind him.

He took one last look at that Spiritual Qi Lake. The faint blue light on the lake's surface seemed a bit dimmer than it had been two months ago—perhaps it was an illusion, or perhaps this depression had indeed been somewhat depleted after sustaining him for so long. He bowed slightly toward the basin.

Then he turned and stepped onto the flagstone path.

A familiar, faint ripple of spiritual power came from beneath his feet. The Ancient Path continued to extend unhurriedly beneath him.

Su Ming watched as he walked. The range of his Divine Sense at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage had expanded by nearly fifty percent; he could simultaneously perceive the differences in the spiritual power fluctuations of three flagstones beneath his feet. He could also see deeper into the ancient trees by the roadside; whereas he could previously see at most the flow of the outer two layers of Array Patterns, he could now see three layers. He picked up a fallen leaf, held it high, and let go. The arc of the leaf's fall was clearly discernible; he could judge the flow, strength, and direction of the spiritual power almost before the leaf hit the ground.

Gradually, the path began to narrow.

It wasn't that the number of flagstones had decreased—the flagstones still lined up one after another—but the ancient trees on both sides of the path were squeezing toward the middle. Each tree was closer than the last, their branches interlacing and intertwining, their canopies forming a continuous, verdant dome. Less and less light filtered down from above, until eventually only a few extremely thin rays remained, piercing into the mist of the forest like golden needles.

Su Ming did not walk fast.

His Divine Sense at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage spread out, covering a range of over ten zhang ahead. The spiritual power fluctuations beneath the flagstones remained stable, but the frequency was changing—every ten steps, the fluctuations would be a beat slower than the previous segment. It was like a person's heartbeat gradually slowing down, reaching a point of near-slumber.

Shadow crouched on his shoulder, its tail feathers tightening slightly.

This little thing had been unusually well-behaved lately. Since leaving the Spiritual Qi Lake, Shadow had rarely jumped around to scout the way. It spent most of its time curled up in the crook of Su Ming's shoulder, its golden eyes half-open and half-closed, occasionally twitching its ears—it didn't have ears, but the base of its feathers would vibrate slightly.

Su Ming stroked the back of its head.

"What's wrong?"

Shadow didn't cry out.

It just rubbed its head against his neck and continued to stare ahead.

Su Ming withdrew his hand and continued walking.

Lin Yu floated out from the ring.

During this period, the frequency of his appearances had been much higher than before. Previously, when walking on the Ancient Path, he mostly stayed inside the ring to observe, occasionally coming out to offer a word or two of guidance. But since leaving the Spiritual Qi Lake, he had been floating outside almost the entire time.

The luster of his soul body was much more stable than when they had entered the Secret Realm—it no longer flickered but glowed steadily and evenly, like a piece of old jade that had been repeatedly polished. The folds of his robes, the flow of his hair, and even the curve of his knuckles were all clear, appearing so solid that he didn't look like a soul body.

But his expression was not very relaxed.

Su Ming noticed that his Master's gaze was constantly fixed ahead. It wasn't the kind of look that surveyed the surroundings, but rather one that was locked onto something, refusing to look away.

"Master?"

"Hmm."

"What's wrong up ahead?"

Lin Yu did not answer.

He floated a bit faster than usual, passing Su Ming and scouting five or six zhang further ahead. Then he stopped.

Su Ming followed.

The material of the flagstones beneath his feet suddenly changed from the previous grayish-white to a deeper ink-gray. The patterns changed as well.

Straight lines ran across the flagstones from left to right, one after another, like some extremely regular scale.

Su Ming squatted down and looked for a while.

"These lines... look like markers."

Lin Yu looked back at him.

"They are markers."

"Marking what?"

"Distance."

Su Ming's heart tightened slightly. He stood up, his gaze following the flagstone path forward—the path was still there, but about thirty zhang ahead, those ancient trees that had been crowding closer suddenly disappeared.

Beyond the ancient trees was an open space.

Su Ming circulated the Breath Concealment Art, suppressing his spiritual power to the minimum, and walked forward slowly.

With every step, the spacing between those horizontal lines on the flagstones beneath his feet narrowed. At the first step, there was about half a foot between two lines; after ten steps, it became two inches; after another ten steps, the lines were so dense they almost merged into one.

Su Ming stopped in front of the last ancient tree.

He saw clearly what was ahead.

It was a Stone Wall, standing alone directly in front of the path, like a wall that had been moved here out of thin air.

The Stone Wall wasn't too high—about three zhang. Its width was much greater than the path, extending to both sides before disappearing into the darkness. Su Ming estimated the entire Stone Wall to be at least twenty zhang wide. Its surface was extremely smooth, so smooth that Su Ming could see his own blurred reflection standing ten steps away.

No cracks.

No patterns.

No moss.

Nothing at all.

It was just a Stone Wall. Smooth as a mirror, blocking the path directly ahead.

Su Ming stared at it for a dozen breaths.

Then he stepped forward.

Shadow's body tensed on his shoulder, its small claws gripping his clothes, but it didn't cry out.

Su Ming stopped two steps away from the Stone Wall. He raised his right hand, hesitated for a moment, but still reached out.

His fingertips touched the surface of the Stone Wall.

Ice-cold.

A bone-chilling coldness spread from his fingertips along his arm to his shoulder, and then from his shoulder down to his chest.

Su Ming withdrew his hand.

There was nothing unusual on his fingertips.

He took a step back, circulated his spiritual power, and probed into the interior of the Stone Wall with his Divine Sense.

Buzz—

As soon as his Divine Sense touched the surface of the Stone Wall, it was bounced back by a gentle force. Su Ming's Divine Sense was unable to penetrate the Stone Wall in the slightest.

He frowned.

He tried another way—sending a tiny strand of Water Spiritual Energy to his fingertip and gently pressing it against the Stone Wall.

The moment the spiritual power touched the Stone Wall, it disappeared.

Like a drop of water falling onto scorching sand, it was instantly swallowed up without leaving a trace. Su Ming didn't even have time to perceive the path through which the spiritual power was sucked away—it was too fast. It was gone upon contact.

Su Ming stepped back a few paces.

He looked at the Stone Wall and remained silent for a while.

The Stone Wall also looked back at him silently.

Su Ming's reflection was mirrored on the smooth, mirror-like stone surface, blurred yet complete. Even Shadow's silhouette was clear—a person and a bird, standing before a blank Stone Wall.

"It's not the end."

Lin Yu's voice came from behind.

Su Ming turned his head.

Lin Yu floated to the front of the Stone Wall, only a foot away. His soul body was reflected on the stone surface more clearly than Su Ming's reflection—because the soul body itself carried light, it cast a pale blue figure onto the Stone Wall.

Lin Yu stared at the Stone Wall for a long time.

"It's a door."