After half a day of preparation, Chen Che came to the back mountain again.
Now, he stared without blinking at the Cave Mansion's Grand Array, which had begun to tremble violently from the attack.
When the ripples showed a clear anomaly, he immediately followed Master Wu's instructions and threw the Explosive Array Disc he had prepared straight ahead.
WHOOSH!
The churning, turbulent water curtain paused for about half a second, then, as if torn apart by a pair of invisible, great hands, it revealed a cave entrance more than ten feet in diameter.
"It's open!"
Suppressing his excitement, Chen Che didn't rush inside immediately.
Instead, he took a sheet-iron washbasin from his Storage Pouch and tossed it deep into the Cave Mansion.
CLANG!
A piercing noise immediately echoed from deep within the cave.
After waiting another moment and seeing no Cave Guardian Demon Beast emerge, nor hearing any furious roar like, 'Which rat dares trespass in my Cave Mansion?', he finally stepped into the Cave Mansion with relief.
However, he immediately discovered that this Cave Mansion had likely been abandoned for even longer than he had imagined.
The ground was covered in a layer of dust an inch thick, making the footprints he left behind distinct.
Looking up, he saw the Cave Mansion was deep, its end out of sight.
'Was this entire mountain hollowed out to create this Cave Mansion?'
As he thought this, Chen Che took out the Array Lock he had bought from Master Wu and placed it directly at the entrance.
As he poured his True Essence into it, a stone wall instantly rose from the ground.
He then walked back outside and examined it carefully, discovering that the stone wall blended perfectly with the cliff face behind the waterfall, making it almost impossible to discern with the naked eye.
After confirming the entrance was sealed again, he continued exploring forward.
The cave was spacious, with smooth, well-finished walls wide enough for several people to walk abreast. Despite being sealed for a long time, the air was still fresh.
After walking for a few minutes, he saw a spacious main hall. Luminous Beads embedded in the ceiling provided just enough light to see the surroundings.
Chen Che glanced around.
In the center of the hall, he saw circles of faint golden Array Patterns etched into the floor, with a small well at their center. Mist-like Spiritual Qi was surging out from it. Beside it was an exquisite, lotus-shaped meditation platform, covered in a thick layer of dust.
'This must be where the Cave Master practiced his Cultivation.'
Thinking to himself, he noticed several side chambers.
Grasping the Demon-Slaying Sword in one hand and an Earth Armor Talisman in the other, he walked directly to the nearest side chamber.
The layout inside resembled a bedroom. Besides an exquisitely crafted canopy bed, a ten-foot-long altar table was set against the wall, covered with miscellaneous items. He glanced at the bed and saw a clothed skeleton lying there.
'Could this be the master of this Cave Mansion?'
Chen Che thought for a moment, then flicked his finger.
The Demon-Slaying Sword flew in and stabbed the skeleton seven or eight times. Only after confirming it was truly dead did he boldly step inside.
There were quite a few items on the altar table. Besides a dust-covered Incense Burner, the most conspicuous object was a wooden stand. On the stand was a hexagonal Bronze Disc engraved with runes, but it was now mostly shattered, with fragments scattered all over the floor.
Chen Che picked up a fragment; it was still slightly warm to the touch.
'This must be the Cave Mansion's Array Disc.'
After studying it for a moment, Chen Che came to a conclusion.
Both Array Banners and Array Discs could be used for Array Formation.
Array Formation with Banners depended entirely on one's Cultivation and Dao Practice. While the setup was slower, it was far more flexible and versatile. Even if the Array was broken, as long as the Banners were intact, it could be set up again, but this required a sufficiently high skill in arrays.
As for Array Discs, they didn't require extensive knowledge of arrays; one only needed to inject True Essence. Although the Array Disc would shatter if the Array was broken, its main advantage was convenience.
'I used brute force to break the Array, so I shattered the Array Disc.'
'A pretty clever setup. Placing the Array Disc in the bedroom means you'd be woken up even if you were sleeping when someone attacked the Cave Mansion.'
There were also several White Jade Bottles on the table. Chen Che checked them one by one, finding them either empty or that the Pills inside had long since lost their potency.
Just then, he noticed a journal on the altar table and casually picked it up.
The first line he saw read:
Cultivation is difficult, as hard as ascending to heaven. Such regret! Such regret! I, the unfilial Ye Dai, will die today!
I studied diligently from a young age, becoming a Child Student and then a Scholar. Later, I chanced upon a Daoist Scripture in a book. I studied it with trepidation and thus embarked upon the Immortal Dao, a path I have walked for two hundred years...
Reading this, Chen Che finally understood.
The master of this Cave Mansion was named Ye Dai.
He had been an ordinary Scholar who accidentally discovered a Cultivation Technique in a book, and by chance, set foot on the path of Cultivation.
He continued to read. What followed was the Cave Master's personal account.
It mainly recounted some events from his life. When he first set out on the Immortal Dao, Ye Dai was carefree and full of confidence. He even mistakenly believed himself to be a legendary chosen one when he discovered this Cave Mansion left behind by a predecessor.
But he soon discovered:
The path of seeking immortality was far more difficult than he had ever imagined.
Low-level Cultivators would fight and kill one another desperately over Cultivation Resources.
Although he managed to reach Foundation Establishment before the sixty-year lifespan limit, thanks to this Cave Mansion and his exceptional Alchemy Skill, the road ahead was full of setbacks. He spent his entire life unable to break through to the Late Stage, and the Golden Core realm remained an unattainable dream.
As his lifespan neared its end, he looked back and realized he had given up too much on his path to immortality:
Watching his childhood sweetheart marry another man, being unable to see his parents on their deathbeds, watching his childhood friends grow into decrepit old men...
"...Now, at two hundred and sixteen years old, my end is near. In my entire two-hundred-year life, I have never even touched the true Immortal Dao, leaving behind only endless regret."
At that point, the journal ended.
The immense regret in those last few lines was palpable.
'Cultivation was never meant to be easy.'
Chen Che let out a long sigh.
He had abandoned everything, only to end up stuck at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
Li Xiaoshuang once said in class that Cultivation is like a besieged city: those outside want to get in, and those inside want to get out.
This was because the path was far more brutal than anyone could imagine.
'But, according to the Cave Master's last words, he used up all his wealth just to reach Mid-stage Foundation Establishment... Doesn't that mean I've come all this way for nothing?'
Chen Che's expression turned grim.
But then, he suddenly remembered something. He quickly pulled out his phone and opened an app with an icon resembling a car's speedometer.
It was a Spiritual Qi measurement software.
The moment he opened it, the numbers on the screen began to skyrocket.
And near the stone platform in the main hall, the value nearly broke 200!
'What a high concentration of Spiritual Qi!'
The Spiritual Energy Value in a normal area was usually below 10.
Xianmen First Middle School had a Spirit Gathering Array, so its Spiritual Energy Value was maintained at around 40 year-round. The valley where he had been before reached 70. This meant the Spiritual Energy Value in this Cave Mansion was three times higher than his previous cultivation spot.
'With such a high Spiritual Energy Value, this trip is worth it even if there's nothing else in the Cave Mansion.'
Despite saying that, Chen Che still went to inspect the remaining side chambers.
The second side chamber was a study.
The bookshelves against the wall were filled with Bamboo Slips, Books, and silk scrolls. However, due to their age, they had long since rotted away.
The third side chamber appeared to be a reception hall.
It contained a stone table, stone stools, and a tea set. In a corner were several wine jars, but when he opened them, they were completely empty. The wine had evidently evaporated long ago.
However, when he reached the fourth side chamber, he was suddenly blocked by an Array.
Chen Che was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but fly into a rage.
"There's someone home, and they still locked a room from the inside? What kind of lunatic does something like that!"