Chapter 244 Forbidden Ground
"Kunlun Mountain?!" Jiang Che's pupils contracted, and his voice unconsciously raised a few notches.
Xiao Luo immediately held a finger against her lips, signaling him to be silent.
She swept her gaze vigilantly toward the window, confirming that nothing had been disturbed, before lowering her voice to continue:
"The Immortal Venerable Secret Realm you speak of... I have never heard of it. But Cold Brook Village has existed here for who knows how many years."
Thoughts surged in Jiang Che's mind—
Kunlun Mountain? But Kunlun Mountain was clearly in the Upper Realm... and even in the Upper Realm, it was a legendary place whose specific location was unknown to anyone.
Could it be that this secret realm connected to the Upper Realm? Or could it be...
A look of deep thought similarly appeared on Han Yu's face.
Chen Xingcai, however, had obviously never heard the name of Kunlun Mountain and merely repeated it curiously in her mouth.
Xiao Luo looked at the different expressions of the three and said softly:
"It seems you are even more 'outsider' than I imagined."
The group harbored their own thoughts. In front of Xiao Luo, Jiang Che did not immediately share the information he knew with Han Yu and Chen Xingcai. Furthermore, their True Essence was suppressed here, and their safety was unknown, so using precious True Essence for sound transmission was obviously not an appropriate timing either.
Thus, time continued to pass in the quietude.
The night wind suddenly intensified, and the window lattice made a subtle "creak" sound. Xiao Luo's body tensed instantly, her gaze fixed dead on the direction of the window.
"Dawn is coming," she said suddenly, a trace of urgency in her voice.
"Wait for the rooster to crow three times, and you must leave immediately. Walk straight along the small path you came from, and absolutely do not look back. Even if you see something strange, do not go to probe it..."
Soon, the sound of a rooster crowing rang out, and a sliver of skylight leaked through the cracks in the window. The three people walked silently out of the room according to Xiao Luo's words. The morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the air was filled with a damp chill.
Just at the instant they were about to leave the courtyard, Han Yu abruptly discovered an old man standing by the roadside—he was staring straight at them, his figure withered and thin. It was precisely that bizarre person from last night.
However, at this moment, he looked no different from a normal person: his skin was shriveled but the black patterns were absent, his turbid eyes did not blink, and the corners of his mouth held an inexplicable smile, as if he had already been waiting there for a long time.
Han Yu's heart tightened: Could it be that this person had guarded here for the entire night?!
Xiao Luo's expression changed drastically, her voice rapid and low and husky:
"Go, go quickly!"
The three dared not delay; they quickly passed through the thin mist, and their figures soon disappeared into the hazy morning light.
The old man stood in place, watching them go into the distance, but his neck turned slowly in an unnatural posture, finally nailing his gaze dead onto Xiao Luo. His lips trembled, seeming to want to say something, but after opening his mouth several times, his throat only emitted a vague "he he" sound, as if blocked by something.
Xiao Luo's back went cold; she abruptly retreated back into the room and slammed the door shut dead with a "bang."
...
After the three left the village, they did not truly go far, but doubled back to the high slope from before entering the village. This place was still far from the village and surrounded by dense forests. It could conceal their figures while also allowing them to overlook the entire village from a high vantage point; it was an excellent observation point.
The morning mist gradually dispersed, and the silhouette of the village was faintly visible in the thin mist. The three sat on the ground and began to exchange intelligence.
Han Yu spoke first:
"Although that girl named Xiao Luo seemed well-intentioned, this place is truly bizarre, and her words cannot be fully believed."
Jiang Che and Chen Xingcai nodded in agreement. Since they had already come here, there was naturally no logic in returning empty-handed. An Immortal Venerable Secret Realm's significance to the sect was self-evident; how could they easily give up just because of a few one-sided words from another?
What was more... that girl actually said this place was the foot of Kunlun Mountain!
Han Yu's gaze sank slightly, and he asked in a lowered voice:
"Have you ever heard of this place called Kunlun?"
Jiang Che hesitated for a split second, then spoke straightforwardly:
"I have heard of it. Legend has it that Kunlun is a fairyland in the Upper Realm drifting beyond the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Someone once entered it by mistake and obtained countless heavenly treasures and earthly riches. However..."
He paused.
"These are merely legends; no one who truly came out of Kunlun has ever proven it themselves."
Chen Xingcai shook her head:
"I have never heard of this place."
Han Yu looked grave as he slowly revealed a secret:
"I have seen records in an ancient tome within a secret realm that differ from what Jiang Che said—Kunlun is one of the forbidden grounds of the Lower Realm."
His voice gradually sank.
"The Xuanying Continent has Seven Great Mysterious Forbidden Grounds. Most have now become ancient legends, so what is even less known is that these Seven Great Forbidden Grounds are actually divided into two categories..."
The morning breeze blew past, making the forest leaves rustle, as if echoing his subsequent words:
"Four of them were formed by heaven and earth mutations in the current epoch. Such as the 'Ten Thousand Ghost Cave'; although extremely perilous, there are still cultivators who dare to risk exploring it. Over tens of thousands of years, there has been no lack of records of people obtaining earth-shattering opportunities from within and walking out alive."
"Nowadays, it has even been occupied and developed by the Ghost Suppression Army, gradually losing its deterrent force as a forbidden ground."
A trace of dread flashed through Han Yu's eyes:
"But there are three other places that have existed since the Immemorial Era, reverently called the 'Three Great Immemorial Forbidden Grounds' by cultivators. These three places..."
His voice was almost inaudible.
"Are desperate lands that even Saint Realm mighty figures turn pale at the mention of!"
"They are respectively: Returning Ruins, Kunlun, and... Buzhou Mountain."
"Ancient records state that the Land of Returning Ruins swallows all things, and can even annihilate time; Buzhou Mountain is mysterious and unfathomable, rumored to have once been the passage connecting the Upper and Lower Realms; and the Land of Kunlun is ethereal and untraceable, those who enter sink into eternal ruin..."
...
Jiang Che gazed at the village shrouded in thin mist in the distance and said in a low voice:
"So, this is the 'ethereal and untraceable, those who enter sink into eternal ruin' Kunlun Mountain? Eternal ruin..."
His brows knitted slightly.
"It actually coincides with some words that girl said."
Chen Xingcai gripped the sword at her waist tightly and turned to Han Yu:
"Then what do we do next?"
The morning light sprinkled dappled shadows through the trees onto the three people, and Jiang Che immediately cast his gaze toward Han Yu. Second Senior Brother was meticulous and famous for handling matters cautiously, so they were naturally willing to unconditionally obey his decision.
Han Yu's slender fingers gently rubbed the long sword at his waist, and he made a decision after pondering for a moment:
"Wait!"
He looked with a deep gaze toward the direction of the village:
"We were trapped inside the house yesterday, and many things could not be seen in their entirety. Since we are out now..."
His voice gradually sank.
"We might as well wait until nightfall to see exactly what the night in this Cold Brook Village looks like!"
The mountain wind brushed past the treetops, bringing up a rustling sound. In the distant village, a few wisps of cooking smoke rose curling up, appearing exceptionally tranquil in the morning light, as if all the bizarre occurrences of last night were merely illusions.
But all three knew that beneath this calm, deeper secrets must be hidden.
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