According to Xiao Daniu, Tang Jie was mingling among that group of young men, asking Xiao Daniu about Luo Yang's whereabouts.
Luo Yang guessed that this was most likely Lang Yifeng's attempt at revenge, and thought to himself that since the other party wanted to play, he would play all the way to the end.
The villagers had always been afraid to report Lang Yifeng for running an underground gambling den, fearing his retaliation. Luo Yang thought that since they were already enemies, why not go all out and simply report his gambling den to the police.
He picked up his phone to dial 110 but then remembered that Lang Yifeng had set up many sentries. If he didn't take out the sentries first, he estimated Lang Yifeng would manage to escape again.
It was nearing the early morning hours, but he still hadn't figured out how to eliminate those lookouts. This matter required careful consideration and planning.
After taking a bath, he went to bed and immediately entered the mystical landscape of the "Shennong Scripture". He had grown fond of it here, with its beautiful scenery and fresh air, this was his domain.
The only shortcoming was that he wasn't familiar enough with his own territory. Even with that stream, he didn't know where it eventually flowed to.
As for how vast the space in the mystical landscape was, he knew even less.
He was curious about what lay on the other side of the high mountain where the waterfall was located, but he couldn't get there. Even with his Gecko Skill, he could not climb the peaks that soared into the clouds.
Lying on the grass, smelling the scent of green grass and flowers, looking up at the clear sky, he wished he had a pair of wings to fly up and overlook the earth, which would be the fastest way to figure out the extent of the landscape's space.
Having entered the mystical landscape many times, he had seen fish but hadn't encountered other animals, leading him to suspect it might be dominated by plants.
If this were the real-world wilderness, there would be many mosquitoes, but in the landscape, there were none, so there was no need to worry about involuntary blood donations.
A young man's curiosity is very strong. Despite knowing that there were likely unknown dangers lurking, he still couldn't suppress the urge to know more.
Luo Yang thought that with such a mystical landscape, there probably weren't any ferocious beasts or old demons, and by swimming across the pond, he could reach the cave behind the water curtain. He also wanted to cross the forest to see the world beyond, but the woodland might be vast and not something he could exit in a short time.
After much deliberation, he steeled his resolve and decided to swim across the pond to find out what was really inside the cave.
Approaching the edge of the pond, he observed the Pond Water, which was emerald green, not knowing how deep it was. If there was a fierce beast hidden in the water, it would be hard to detect.
So, Luo Yang first tested the water tentatively, walking in the shallow area, lifting his feet high and deliberately making noise with the water to see if any strange creatures would swim out from the deeper area, which would also facilitate escape.
After stirring in the water for a while and noticing nothing unusual, he grew bolder.
He then waded into an area where the water was thigh-deep, remaining cautious, watching and listening in every direction, ready to flee at any moment.
After a while, he was still safe and sound, and thought to himself that a real man should not be scared off by a mere beast.
Taking several deep breaths and waiting until his courage was fully charged, he jumped into the pond. He paddled with both hands, kicked hard with his feet, adopted a dog-paddle style, exerted all his strength, and swam across the pond in one breath, climbing ashore before he finally began to relax a little.
Wiping the water drops from his face, he gazed at the water curtain falling from the sky for a while before turning to glimpse the cave. It was neither too big nor too small, inscrutable at a glance, with light neither too bright nor too dim.
Walking into the stone cave, he saw it had an elliptical shape, about 10 meters deep and 30 meters wide. Remarkably, he could see clearly inside without any lighting. There were stone benches, stone tables, stone beds, stone cauldrons, stone pots, and a mortar for grinding medicine. The cave walls were covered with line drawings of various martial arts, including sword techniques, Fist Techniques, and Foot Techniques.
In a single glance, Luo Yang couldn't understand the martial arts depicted, yet his attention was caught by an object on the stone table.
There was a thin booklet on the stone table, the cover seemed to be made of genuine leather, but it was unclear what animal's skin it was. It was yellow with spots.
"Is there anyone here?"
The words echoed through the stone cave, ringing for a good while before stopping.
After politely calling out, Luo Yang approached the stone table and, looking down, saw the "Soul Sutra" written in seal script on the booklet, ancient and vigorous.
Sitting down on the stone stool, he flipped to the first page of the "Soul Sutra", which was still written in seal script. Since the "Shennong Scripture" was also written in seal script, Luo Yang recognized many characters. Otherwise, with his less-than-stellar academic knowledge, he would never have been able to understand the seal script.
The page read: "The soul is the essence of a person, the body but a vessel; once the soul departs, one begins to grasp the Tao. By cultivating with moonlight for a long time, one can ascend to become a Ghost Immortal, ..."
At this point, Luo Yang was both shocked and delighted, not expecting to find such miraculous things in a stone cave.
Continuing on, he indeed found the method for the soul to leave the body. It read: "The soul resides in the Yintang acupoint, absorbed in the sea of consciousness. Pierce with a needle to open a small portal, concentrate on the point between your brows, forget yourself and the world, and when the soul comes forth, danger turns to success; beware of wind, thunder, fire, dogs, people, and..."
As he read that, the "Three Character Classic" flitted softly through his mind.
Closing the "Soul Sutra", he realized soul departure was actually quite dangerous, and his enthusiasm waned considerably.
Quickly flipping through a few more pages, he saw it mentioned that the Yin Spirit is extremely powerful, but very frail at the beginning. If one can endure this period of weakness, one can rush towards the great path and becoming a god, an immortal, or a Buddha would not be far-fetched.
However, there was one chilling fact: countless cultivators could not get through the initial stage of Soul Out of Body, and if the Yin Spirit dissipated, the person would die, leaving nothing but an empty vessel.
Though hesitant, his youthful nature ultimately prevailed. After only a moment's hesitation, he went out, fetched a Silver Needle, and, following the instructions from the "Soul Sutra", pierced the Yintang Acupoint half an inch deep. Pulling out the needle, he immediately cleared his mind of distractions, focusing only on a single thread of pure, calm thought, concentrating on the spot between his eyebrows, yearning for his Yin Spirit to leave the body.
Suddenly, his mind jolted violently, as if he had become enervated, and his Yin Spirit separated from the body.
Luo Yang was filled with a mix of shock and joy: shock at not knowing whether his Yin Spirit could smoothly return to his body and joy at having succeeded!
The Yin Spirit felt too light, almost dreamlike, floating and not easy to control.
Turning back to look at his own body, Luo Yang was flooded with emotions. He had seen his own appearance in mirrors before without being particularly startled; but now, his Yin Spirit viewing his physical body brought an eerie feeling of disconnect.
After several attempts to return his Yin Spirit to his body, which all went smoothly, he thought that since he had glimpsed the pathway of the Dao, he should go out and have some fun experiencing the delight of the Yin Spirit wandering at night.
He then remembered the warnings in the "Soul Sutra": beware of wind, thunder, fire, dogs, people...
The weather had been good these past few days, with no signs of windstorms or thunderstorms; however, many farm dogs were kept in the countryside, and drawing their attention could mean risking his life.
He didn't want to take the risk, but nor was he content to refrain. After some deliberation, the competitiveness of youth prevailed.
So, exiting the landscape painting, the Yin Spirit stood in the room.
Luo Yang shared a large room with his younger brother, separated by wooden boards. Inside, it was dead quiet, with only the sound of insects chirping outside.
Moonlight streamed through the window, giving the floor a frosted appearance.
He stayed in the room for a while, feeling nothing uncomfortable except for the excessive lightness of his Yin Spirit. Thinking that it was boring to stay inside, he decided to go outside and really show his capabilities.