"The Dragon Elephant Taoist?"
Everyone was completely bewildered upon hearing the name, having no idea who this august personage was.
Even Wang Xingzhi, who came from a prominent family and was well-versed in many matters, seemed to be hearing it for the first time.
Wen Qianqian smiled sweetly and said, "My father once left behind an ancient tome. It recorded the travels of a great Loose Cultivator, and in it, the Dragon Elephant Taoist was mentioned... However, this Loose Cultivator's deeds were quite obscure, and not many Cultivators back then knew of the Dragon Elephant Taoist."
She had previously recognized the Dragon Elephant motif on the Jade Talisman and vaguely guessed its connection to the Dragon Elephant Taoist, which was why she had gone to great lengths to trade for it.
"Cultivator Wen, what was the Dragon Elephant Taoist's Cultivation?"
Chen Yu Yan suddenly asked.
Wen Qianqian's beautiful eyes swept over the four of them as she slowly said, "According to the records in the ancient tome, he was at least at the Life Soul Realm..."
The Life Soul Realm!
The four of them were shocked. That was the level of a Supreme Elder of the Yinluo Sect!
Sensing, Life Talisman, and Life Soul.
Three great realms, three celestial chasms!
To think this was the Heritage Mansion of such a powerful figure.
If that was truly the case, how precious must the original treasures in the main hall have been?!
But who could have taken them?
A hint of regret appeared on Fang Cheng's face. He sighed and said, "Wealth and poverty, prosperity and decline—is it not all fated? No matter how formidable the master of this place was, it's meaningless to us now."
Wen Qianqian's lovely eyes shifted. She gave Fang Cheng a playful look and, with a "Pfft," chuckled. "That's not necessarily true."
The charming demeanor of a young matron she revealed in that instant was a pleasant sight to behold.
Observing her expression, Wang Xingzhi, who was standing to the side, said joyfully, "Cultivator Wen, could it be that there's some other Profound Mechanism here?"
Wen Qianqian simply smiled without a word. Her slender, jade-like hands formed a mysterious hand seal, and then she gently tapped the jade pillar.
RUMBLE!
The jade pillar in the hall trembled slightly, then sank down with a great roar!
This stunned everyone.
Just moments before, they had all carefully scanned every inch of the hall with their Divine Sense but had not detected any Profound Mechanism beneath the pillar.
This Wen Qianqian...
Fang Cheng and Wang Xingzhi exchanged a look, each seeing a profound meaning in the other's eyes.
This delicate young matron was definitely hiding many secrets!
After the pillar sank, an entrance was revealed. From below, multi-colored streams of precious light shone out, looking extraordinary.
"Fellow Daoists, after you!"
With a lovely smile, Wen Qianqian gracefully floated up and drifted into the entrance like a flower.
"Let's go!"
Without a second word, Wang Xingzhi followed right behind her.
Chen Yu Yan and Yang Heng looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, then jumped in as well.
Fang Cheng pondered for a moment. After sensing the area for a few breaths, he carefully flew down.
Beneath the palace was another world entirely!
An even grander and more magnificent Earth Palace appeared before Fang Cheng.
This Earth Palace was ninety-nine zhang in length and width, and nine zhang from floor to ceiling. In the vast, open space, Fang Cheng felt like a small bird that had flown into a giant's palace.
The ceiling of the Earth Palace was forged from cold gold and inlaid with countless Five-Colored Shells. The golden light emanating from the cold gold and the radiance of the Five-Colored Shells reflected off each other, creating a dazzling, iridescent display. It shimmered with a thousand layers of colorful, otherworldly light, mesmerizing all who saw it.
At that moment, from a small hole in the enormous ceiling, five bird-like Cultivators descended one after another into the Earth Palace.
The eastern, southern, and western sides of the Earth Palace were three-foot-thick Crystal Walls. Outside the Crystal Walls, the azure water was calm and still, with not even the lake sand being stirred. The crystal light from within the palace shone outward, creating a clear, bright view that stretched far into the distance.
The strange fish, shrimp, and shells in the lake—the largest several zhang long, the smallest as large as a carriage wheel—were all of peculiar and indescribable shapes. They swam about, near and far, coming and going, their movements leisurely and unhurried.
The northern side of the Earth Palace, however, was a stone wall, upon which a massive relief sculpture was carved.
The relief depicted a middle-aged monk in monastic robes, riding a Dragon Elephant. The monk had a dignified and solemn appearance, his face filled with compassion. His gaze was distant and profound, fixed upon a towering stone gate before him.
Next to it was a line of text: "Respectfully offered by this unworthy disciple, Dragon Elephant!"
Below the relief was a Meditation Mat, and beside it, three clusters of light flickered intermittently.
By the time Fang Cheng descended, Wen Qianqian and the other three had already gathered beneath the relief sculpture.
He flew over and took a closer look. Next to the Meditation Mat were three shimmering jade slips!
On the ground nearby were four large words: "Left for the Fated."
Other than that, there was nothing else.
'Could these be the Dragon Elephant Taoist's true legacy?'
Fang Cheng wondered to himself as he looked at Wang Xingzhi and the others.
A delighted expression appeared on Wen Qianqian's face. She picked up a jade slip, pressed it to her smooth, fair forehead to read it, and let out a soft cry of surprise.
Wang Xingzhi and Chen Yu Yan also picked up the remaining two jade slips. After reading his, the former had a strange expression on his face, while the latter looked pleasantly surprised.
Fang Cheng asked with a smile, "What's recorded in the jade slips?"
Wen Qianqian said, "Mine contains a Demon Skill called the Li Hen Demon Light!"
Chen Yu Yan added, "This one has the Nine Heavens Cold Ice Technique. It should be a Life Soul Level Cultivation Technique."
Finally, all four of them looked at Wang Xingzhi.
Wang Xingzhi gave an embarrassed smile and said, "This jade slip records a Dual Cultivation Secret Method called the Joyful Zen Skill."
Everyone: "..."
Wen Qianqian said, "How about we all make a copy of these three Cultivation Techniques, so everyone gets one?"
No one had any objections.
After they finished with the jade slips, there was nothing else of value in the Earth Palace. Wang Xingzhi even tore apart the Meditation Mat that the Dragon Elephant Taoist had presumably sat on, but found nothing new and gave up in resignation.
The five of them swore a new great Heart Demon Oath, agreeing to keep the secrets of their experience together. They would not reveal it to outsiders, lest they attract the greed of other Cultivators. To work together to comprehend the three Cultivation Techniques and verify their learnings with one another, they also vowed not to harm each other in the future.
All five understood the principle that possessing a treasure invites disaster.
Those three Cultivation Techniques were all supreme legacies of the Life Soul Level. Although it was unknown if they could compare to the Yinluo Sect's ultimate legacy techniques, given the rarity of Life Soul Level inheritances, their value was immeasurable.
All five knew that by obtaining the Dragon Elephant Taoist's legacy, they had become bound by karma. Thus, they constrained each other with a Heart Demon Oath, forming a loose alliance.
Among them, Chen Yu Yan and Yang Heng already knew each other and were on fairly good terms.
Wen Qianqian, Fang Cheng, and Wang Xingzhi had met earlier and could also be considered a small group.
After their discussion was complete, the five left the Earth Palace.
Before leaving, Fang Cheng couldn't help but look back one more time at the stone wall's relief sculpture.
...
「Half a day later.」
Spirit Wind Lane, Jia Shen No. 19 Courtyard.
When Fang Cheng returned home, he didn't say a word, immediately sitting cross-legged to meditate and recover his Magical Power.
It took him a full three days to completely recover and stabilize his Cultivation Realm.
This adventure in the Dragon Elephant Wanderer's Abandoned Mansion had nearly damaged the foundation of his Qi Sea, which would have caused his Cultivation to regress back to the Early Sensing Stage.
Fortunately, though it was perilous, there were no real disasters, and he had returned with a full bounty.
Fang Cheng began to take stock of his gains from this venture.
His harvest could be divided into three parts:
The first was the contents of the old Daoist's storage bag, of which Fang Cheng received one-fifth.
The second was the three Cultivation Techniques from the Earth Palace.
And the third was the relief sculpture on the stone wall!