Chereads / Sword pointing towards the sky / Chapter 14 - The Initial Exploration of the Cave Dwelling

Chapter 14 - The Initial Exploration of the Cave Dwelling

Lin Tian slowly stepped into the cave dwelling guided by Situ Qian, without relaxing his vigilance. The entrance of the cave dwelling was hidden deep in a dense forest. If it weren't for Situ Qian's guidance, it would be extremely difficult to be noticed. The outside of the cave entrance was covered with layers of vines, seemingly blending with the surrounding environment and being extremely concealed. The moment he stepped into the cave dwelling, Lin Tian felt an ancient aura rushing towards him. The heaviness of it couldn't help but evoke a sense of awe in him. The light inside the cave was dim, but the spirit stones embedded in the walls emitted a soft glow, barely illuminating the path ahead. The air in the cave was slightly cold, and a faint medicinal fragrance pervaded the surroundings, as if it had been accumulated over countless years, revealing a hint of mystery. Lin Tian walked cautiously on the stone-paved path, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding stone walls. The stone walls were covered with various complex runes. These runes seemed to contain some ancient power, causing him to feel a strange palpitation. Although the specific uses of these runes were not yet clear, Lin Tian understood that they must be related to the protective restrictions of the cave dwelling. "Be careful and never be careless." Lin Tian secretly warned himself in his heart, then quickened his pace and continued deeper into the cave dwelling along the path. After passing through a short passage, Lin Tian arrived at a spacious stone chamber. In the center of the chamber was a stone table on which several seemingly ancient jade slips were displayed. The walls around the chamber were engraved with various complex patterns. These patterns seemed to be telling some ancient story and were full of mystery. Lin Tian stood in the center of the chamber, his gaze falling on the jade slips on the stone table. He knew that these jade slips might contain important information, perhaps about the origin of this cave dwelling or even the hidden identity of Situ Qian. However, Lin Tian didn't act immediately but first carefully observed the surroundings. After confirming that there were no signs of danger, he slowly reached out and gently picked up one of the jade slips. The jade slip felt cold in his hand and emitted a weak fluctuation of spiritual energy, seemingly telling Lin Tian that it was no ordinary item. Lin Tian carefully extended his spiritual sense into the jade slip. Suddenly, a vast stream of information rushed into his mind, as if an ancient existence was telling him about endless years and secrets. Lin Tian held his breath and concentrated, carefully feeling the information conveyed in the jade slip. After a moment, he finally sorted out the content in the jade slip, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. "The owner of this cave dwelling was actually a powerful monk from the ancient times!" Lin Tian was secretly shaken in his heart. This discovery far exceeded his expectations. The jade slip described in detail the origin and purpose of the cave dwelling. According to the jade slip, this cave dwelling was built by an ancient powerful monk named "Cangxuan". Monk Cangxuan was proficient in runes and arrays and had participated in sealing an extremely important precious treasure. And this cave dwelling was precisely built for the safekeeping and research of that precious treasure. Lin Tian continued to delve into the information in the jade slip and learned that this cave dwelling not only had an extremely powerful defense system but also had many stone chambers specifically designed for cultivation and research. Each chamber contained rich spiritual energy and profound knowledge of arrays. "No wonder Situ Qian chose this place as a cultivation site." Lin Tian thoughtfully put down the jade slip, and his understanding of the cave dwelling deepened a little. However, the content in the jade slip was not without omissions. At the end of the jade slip, Monk Cangxuan mentioned an unsolved mystery, which was the true origin and power of the precious treasure. Although this precious treasure was sealed, Monk Cangxuan was ultimately unable to completely unlock its mystery and could only seal it in the cave dwelling, expecting someone with fate to unlock the secrets within. Lin Tian closed the jade slip, and a strong sense of curiosity couldn't help but rise in his heart. "What exactly is the secret of the precious treasure? Why is it coveted by so many powerful people?" These questions constantly echoed in his heart, filling him with anticipation for the upcoming cultivation. But Lin Tian also understood that since the power of the precious treasure was so powerful, it would inevitably attract countless dangers and challenges. His current cultivation level was still shallow. If he rashly delved into the research, he might be unable to withstand the risks. "Must take it step by step and not be impatient." Lin Tian secretly warned himself, then placed the jade slip back on the stone table and turned to leave the stone chamber. After leaving the stone chamber, Lin Tian continued to explore along the main path in the cave dwelling. There were multiple forks on both sides of the main path. Each fork seemed to lead to different stone chambers or secret passages. Lin Tian didn't rush to choose but decided to first finish walking the main path to see if there were more secrets hidden at the deepest part. As he continued to delve deeper into the cave dwelling, the surrounding environment gradually became darker. The glow of the spirit stones seemed weak at this moment, as if unable to completely dispel the surrounding darkness. Lin Tian felt a hint of coldness. This coldness did not come from the temperature but was a kind of vigilance from the heart. "There must be some powerful restrictions or arrays hidden here." Lin Tian became vigilant in his heart. He knew that this feeling often meant that danger was approaching. Sure enough, when he reached the end of the main path, a transparent light curtain appeared in front of him, blocking the way forward. This light curtain flickered with a weak spiritual glow, seemingly composed of an extremely exquisite array. Lin Tian stood behind the light curtain and felt the powerful force contained within. "This is an extremely complex defensive array." Lin Tian secretly thought. He knew that forcibly breaking through such an array was almost impossible. He had to find the key to cracking it to pass through. He began to carefully observe every detail of the light curtain, attempting to find the flaw in the array. The surface of the light curtain was covered with dense runes. There seemed to be some pattern hidden among these runes, but it was not obvious. Lin Tian knew that such an array often required extremely high knowledge of runes and the ability to sense with spiritual sense to crack. Lin Tian calmed his mind and began to mobilize the spiritual energy within his body, gradually expanding his spiritual sense to every corner of the light curtain. He carefully felt the connection between the runes, attempting to find the pattern. However, the complexity of this array far exceeded his expectations. Despite his full concentration, he still couldn't find a clear way to crack it. "It seems that with my cultivation level, I'm still not capable of cracking this array." Lin Tian felt slightly helpless in his heart but did not give up because of this. He knew that cracking the array required time and patience and couldn't be rushed. Lin Tian sat cross-legged in front of the light curtain, closed his eyes and concentrated, carefully recalling the knowledge of runes he had learned, attempting to find inspiration from it. As time passed, his thoughts gradually became clear, and his spiritual sense also began to capture the subtle changes of the runes in the light curtain morely. Finally, after several hours of contemplation, Lin Tian faintly felt an unusual fluctuation. This fluctuation was extremely weak. If he weren't highly concentrated at this moment, it would be almost impossible to detect. "Could it be here?" Lin Tian's heart stirred, and he immediately focused his spiritual sense on the place with the strongest fluctuation. As his spiritual sense delved deeper, he finally discovered that the fluctuation was caused by the interaction between several runes.

"This is the node of the array!" Lin Tian was overjoyed and knew that he had found the breakthrough. Without hesitation, he quickly injected spiritual energy into that node, attempting to crack the array by adjusting the flow of spiritual energy. However, as the spiritual energy was injected, the fluctuation of the light curtain gradually intensified. But the array didn't loosen because of this. Instead, it became more complex and elusive. Lin Tian's heart shuddered, knowing that he might have triggered the self-protection mechanism of the array. "It seems that the defense of this array is much stronger than I imagined." Lin Tian wasn't discouraged by this. Instead, he adjusted the input of spiritual energy more carefully. He knew that he had to overcome with softness and gradually guide the power of the array instead of forcibly breaking through. After several attempts, the fluctuation of the light curtain finally gradually subsided, and the power of the array began to loosen. Lin Tian felt a weak spiritual energy seeping out from the node, seemingly responding to his efforts. "Success!" Lin Tian was delighted. Then he concentrated all his energy and continued to guide the spiritual energy to gradually unlock the seal of the array. A moment later, the light curtain finally dissipated slowly under Lin Tian's guidance, revealing the passage behind. Lin Tian let out a long breath, feeling tired but filled with a sense of achievement. "Finally, I broke through." Lin Tian stood up and looked firmly at the passage ahead. At the end of the passage, it seemed that there was something more mysterious waiting for him to uncover. After breaking through the array, Lin Tian carefully stepped into the passage. This passage was narrower than the previous main path. The walls around were covered with various complex runes and etchings, as if telling the history of this place. As he went deeper into the passage, Lin Tian felt a gradually increasing fluctuation of spiritual energy. This fluctuation carried a hint of coldness, making him feel somewhat uneasy. Lin Tian understood that this fluctuation might mean that there was some powerful force or restriction hidden ahead. "Must not be careless." Lin Tian was secretly vigilant. The magical artifact in his hand was already tightly held, ready to deal with any possible danger at any time. At the end of the passage, there was an ancient stone door. The stone door was engraved with complex runes, which were somewhat similar to the runes on the previous light curtain but more profound and difficult to understand. Lin Tian stood in front of the stone door, carefully sensing the power fluctuation and finding that these runes actually contained an extremely powerful restriction. "It seems that there must be some important secret hidden behind this stone door." Lin Tian speculated in his heart, but he didn't act rashly. Instead, he decided to observe first. He slowly extended his spiritual sense into the gap of the stone door, attempting to sense the scene behind the stone door. However, the stone door seemed to be blocked by some powerful force. Once the spiritual sense touched it, it would be bounced back by an invisible force, preventing him from further exploration. "This kind of restriction is extremely powerful. If it is forcibly broken, it might trigger unpredictable consequences." Lin Tian thought secretly and decided not to touch this stone door for the time being but return to other areas of the cave dwelling to continue exploring more clues. Lin Tian turned and left the stone door, returning to the main area of the cave dwelling along the passage he came from.