Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi

Chapter 350: A Millennium of Solitude, Mountain-Uprooting Might

The Spiritual Intent on the steles and murals had persisted for an incredibly long time. This was either because the engraver’s strength was astonishing, or the materials of these steles and murals were anything but simple. Of course, he didn’t rule out the possibility that this special space itself was the cause.

According to the inscriptions, this place was the legendary Taiyin Heaven, a Secret Realm habitable by people, which was extremely rare.

As far as Yang Chan knew, when the Thousand Feather Secret Realm in Silver State had closed, everyone inside was forcibly expelled.

Some Secret Realms would merge into the surrounding region after their discovery, slowly becoming an ordinary part of the landscape. This was a more common fate.

With the passage of time, they would cease to contain Spiritual Qi and become as mundane as their surroundings. This was the fate of most Secret Realms.

This, however, was the first time he had ever heard of a Secret Realm like Taiyin Heaven. For Yang Chan, this was not good news. While the place was rich in Spiritual Materials and the very air was suffused with Spiritual Qi, it lacked all kinds of necessary tools.

If he wanted to perform Alchemy to refine various Elixirs, he needed things like Earth Fire and an Alchemy Furnace. Furthermore, his future Cultivation Techniques were still in the hands of Princess Lan Yue—especially the method for breaking through to the Martial Saint realm. That was critically important to him.

Furthermore, he still didn’t know if this area held any dangers. Judging by the timing of its appearance, it likely only emerged once every thousand years, making it truly isolated from the outside world.

If he was the only person in this space, setting aside the potential dangers, the loneliness alone would be enough to drive a man to despair. Yang Chan had no confidence he could survive for a thousand years all by himself in a strange, new space.

Humans are social creatures, and he was no exception.

His spirit was resolute, but the taste of a thousand years of solitude was enough to drive anyone mad. It would only become increasingly unbearable over time. He had read accounts stating that very few people could endure even a few years of such isolation, to say nothing of a whole millennium.

Though Yang Chan was passionate about Cultivation, he was no ascetic. Remaining in Taiyin Heaven was not the path he wanted to take.

With soft jade and warm fragrance, a safe environment, and countless Cultivation Resources waiting for him, why on earth would he want to remain trapped in a place like this?

Meanwhile, Yang Chan’s gaze continued to scan the stele. He realized that the tool used for the engravings was likely one and the same. The fact that its Spiritual Power could persist for so long reminded him of the bones of the White Dragon and the Black Dragon.

The bones of an Exotic Beast possessing all sorts of miraculous powers would surely be extraordinary. If used as an engraving tool, it would very likely leave behind a special kind of Spiritual Power.

The indignation etched into the stele could very well be the indignation the White Dragon and Black Dragon felt before their deaths.

Of course, the source of this indignation didn’t matter. What did matter was that if the engraving tool still existed, it would be a great opportunity for Yang Chan. Anything capable of leaving behind such Spiritual Power was surely an Exotic Treasure, perhaps even a Treasure Weapon.

Yang Chan had seen the Treasure Weapon in Princess Lan Yue’s hands, so naturally, he wanted one for himself.

The Cyan Yuan Sect probably had Treasure Weapons as well, but they were likely in the hands of people like Sect Leader Liu Xuan, the Supreme Elder, and Elder Hua. He had no way of getting his hands on one.

If he had the chance to obtain one, he certainly wouldn’t pass it up.

Since he hadn’t detected any danger here yet, he could afford to spend some time looking around.

According to the stele’s inscriptions, the Tai’e Clan had most likely been wiped out.

That was even better for Yang Chan. It meant he had no competition.

If anyone were still alive, it would just be more trouble.

Yang Chan continued to explore the Green Brick Courtyard. All signs of life had been swallowed by dust. The thick layer of it, however, put him at ease.

The courtyard contained quite a few buildings. He walked through them, crossing corridors and inspecting several rooms. Most of the contents had already rotted away. They were just ordinary, rather primitive tools.

Very few things could withstand the erosion of such a long time.

Even the Sharp Weapon-Level Long Sword at Yang Chan’s waist couldn’t withstand the corrosion of time. Anything that could remain perfectly intact after so long had to be extraordinary.

To Yang Chan’s disappointment, he didn’t find anything useful inside the rooms.

They had either been taken by previous visitors to Taiyin Heaven or had rotted away over the vast expanse of time. While it was a shame, it didn’t really affect him.

He had partially achieved his goal for entering the Green Brick Courtyard. He hadn’t found an exit, but he had at least confirmed what this space was, which was very important.

Finally, Yang Chan returned to the stele in the center of the courtyard, his brow furrowed.

There was no way he could carry away such a massive stele. It didn’t matter now whether the stele’s material was special or if the engraving tool was extraordinary. He couldn’t take the stele, and he hadn’t found the tool—it was probably already taken by someone else.

Carrying such a huge stele on his back through Taiyin Heaven would be asking for trouble.

’I should lift it again and have a look.’

’The only place I haven’t searched is under this stele.’

Yang Chan considered it. He’d had this idea earlier but had decided to check the houses first, mainly to see if there were any dangers. If it was safe, he planned to rest for a bit.

After traveling all day, he needed to find a safe place to settle down and eat something hot.

These Spiritual Materials contained moisture, so he didn’t need to go out of his way to find a water source. With so many trees in the forest, there was bound to be one nearby.

With his Cultivation as an Inner Master, finding water was a trivial matter.

He hadn’t found a well in the Green Brick Courtyard. He didn’t know if one had never been dug or if it had simply vanished, buried deep in the earth.

Yang Chan walked up to the stele and activated the Flood Dragon Demon Breath Method. The muscles all over his body instantly bulged, and a powerful aura erupted from him.

The power of an expert at the Inner Refining of the Lungs and Spleens stage was nothing to scoff at. Their aura was astonishing. If he were to unleash his full Combat Power, this Green Brick Courtyard wouldn’t last long; it would be utterly destroyed in the blink of an eye. Such was the Combat Power of an Inner Master.

At the moment, however, Yang Chan had no intention of destroying the Green Brick Courtyard, as it could serve as his temporary shelter.

"HUP!"

Yang Chan wrapped both arms around the over five-meter-tall stele. Exerting his strength while circulating the Flood Dragon Demon Breath Method, he instantly ripped the stele straight out of the ground.

The stele, weighing several thousand jin, felt like a mere pebble in his hands as he held it aloft with ease. His strength could uproot mountains, his aura unmatched.

He looked at the spot where the stele had been. There was no hidden passage. He had been hoping for a secret chamber or some kind of mechanism, so the result was somewhat disappointing.

"Huh?"

Just as Yang Chan was about to set down the stele, he noticed a stone box attached to its base. To be precise, it was a box intentionally built into the bottom of the stele, making it one with the entire slab. Without pulling the stele from the ground, it would have been impossible to find.

A flash of joy crossed Yang Chan’s face when he saw the stone box.