Supreme Emptiness

"This path can also lead to the Secret Realm."

"But along the way, there are various formidable restrictions and mechanisms."

"Back then, the Tiger Demon Emperor and I put in great effort to get through."

"That old bull-nosed Taoist can't break through in just a few days."

The Evil Spirit sneered.

Jiang Fan thought to himself, as expected, there were indeed hidden secrets.

"Where is the other path?"

The Evil Spirit recalled, "Have you seen a Buddha facing east, with half its head missing?"

Jiang Fan looked around.

He really did find such a Buddha.

He didn't say anything.

Instead, he gestured toward the Dragon Binding Chain on his body to Concubine Yunxia,

"How long do you plan to keep me tied up?"

"I can't possibly go in like this, can I?"

Concubine Yunxia was looking down worriedly.

She nodded slightly upon hearing this.

She pulled the chain and led Jiang Fan to a stone pillar that extended straight into the ground.

Then she firmly tied the other end of the chain to the stone pillar.

"What do you mean? Do you think I'm cattle or a horse? You're tying me to this?" Jiang Fan was taken aback.

Concubine Yunxia chuckled and rolled her eyes at him.

"Who said I was taking you down with me?"

"Stay here obediently and wait for me to come back."

With that, she hurriedly went underground with Chun Ni.

Leaving Jiang Fan alone, tied to the stone pillar, he cursed her a few times.

"That damned woman!"

Jiang Fan was both amused and annoyed, "She has a hundred tricks up her sleeve."

The Evil Spirit frowned deeply.

"Kid, you're in trouble now."

"This chain can't be broken even by a Nascent Soul."

Even if he could break the stone pillar to move freely,

Jiang Fan's hands and feet were bound, he couldn't enter the Secret Realm this way, could he?

It was still quite dangerous inside.

Being unable to move freely was as good as losing half his life.

Jiang Fan smiled mysteriously and reached into his hair ornament.

He pulled out a key.

He inserted it into the lock and twisted.

The chain opened.

The Evil Spirit's eyes widened, "Wait!"

"Didn't that woman take the key?"

Jiang Fan put the chains into the Heavenly Thunder Stone and flexed his hands and feet, which were a bit numb from being bound.

He casually replied, "Yes, I gave it to her."

"But I didn't give her the true key."

Huh?

The Evil Spirit was confused, "Then what key did you give her?"

"The key to my house in the Green Cloud Sect." Jiang Fan shrugged, "Anyway, she had never seen the Dragon Binding Chain key up close."

"She wouldn't recognize it if I gave her my house key instead."

As it turned out,

before he was to be bound, Jiang Fan had thought to himself.

He hid both the Dragon Binding Chain key and his house key in his hair.

Getting a counterfeit key, Concubine Yunxia dropped her guard significantly.

She didn't continue to check Jiang Fan's hair.

She had no idea that the true key was always in Jiang Fan's hands.

The Evil Spirit was dumbfounded:

"Kid, you're too cunning!"

"One could play tricks like this?"

Even as a former Nascent Soul Great Cultivator,

he was awestruck by Jiang Fan's cleverness.

He had thought Concubine Yunxia had a hundred tricks up her sleeve.

But Jiang Fan himself had eight hundred tricks!

"Alright, we should set off now."

He came to the east-facing Buddha with half its head missing.

This was the only Buddha statue still standing in the temple.

After circling around it, he suddenly saw the words "Good Buddha" at the base.

He remembered the words "Good Buddha" from the adage.

It seemed the Evil Spirit was not deceiving him.

This was indeed the true passage to the Secret Realm.

After thinking for a moment,

he used his strength to try to push the Buddha.

Rumble—

As the Buddha moved, a man-sized hole hidden beneath its base came into view.

"Kid, hurry inside, lots of treasures await us," the Evil Spirit excitedly urged.

Jiang Fan did not rush in.

Instead, he bit into a Copper Coin, hung the Jade Bone Necklace around his neck, and donned the Turtle Breath Cloak.

At the same time, he held the Heavenly Mountain Silk.

After making thorough preparations, he cautiously descended.

The Evil Spirit rolled its eyes, "Is this precaution necessary?"

"Would an old fellow like me harm you?"

Jiang Fan chuckled softly.

Focusing entirely on the narrow passage, he made his way down.

He didn't know how the passage was carved out; it was circular and very smooth.

And extremely deep.

Jiang Fan climbed down for a full incense stick of time.

He estimated he had reached the deepest part of the mountain's belly.

Suddenly,

a glimmer of light appeared.

He looked closely.

Below was a vast hollowed-out space inside the mountain.

It had been developed into a large underground mansion.

Pavilions, rock gardens, flowing water, and the walls were adorned with Luminous Pearls that shone like stars.

Various Spirit Gathering Arrays lit up and dimmed intermittently on the ground.

As his feet hit the ground, white mist rose; it was all mistified Spiritual Energy.

In this place, one day's cultivation was worth a month outside!

"Phew! This is simply a paradise!" Jiang Fan marveled silently.

Even if he got nothing else, cultivating here for two days would greatly boost his power.

Moreover, this place didn't seem like it would let him leave empty-handed.

All around the stone walls, inner halls were carved out.

One large hall was tightly closed, while the other three were open, showing signs of disarray inside.

Obviously looted before.

Jiang Fan's eyes gleamed as he approached the tightly closed stone hall door.

There were signs of violent attacks on the hall's door.

But it had not been breached.

He didn't dare move rashly.

The people who had come here were all at the Nascent Soul Realm, or even close to the Divinity Transformation Realm.

If they couldn't open it, it meant something formidable was blocking their attacks.

Through a small broken corner of the door,

Jiang Fan peeked inside and saw what seemed to be a meditation room.

The room was filled with dust.

Meditation mats for sitting had rotted to ashes.

Kasaya inlaid with gems had decayed to just some gold threads and fabric.

Even the stone bed for resting was covered with a thick layer of dust.

Strangely,

a string of golden Buddha Beads hung on the wall.

They emitted a faint golden glow.

The dust falling on them was automatically repelled.

Thus, they remained as new as before.

Moreover, even through the restricted door, Jiang Fan could feel the strong oppressive force of the beads on the soul.

"What is this? Why didn't you take it?" Jiang Fan asked with burning eyes.

These Buddha Beads were certainly not ordinary.

The Evil Spirit was silent for a moment, seemingly unwilling to speak.

After considering, it finally confessed, "Those are Soul-Suppressing Buddha Beads, effective in suppressing vengeful souls and binding evil spirits."

"It's a spiritual artifact, a top-grade one, comparable to the Five Magnetic Yuan Mountain you have."

What?

Top-grade spiritual artifact?

Jiang Fan gasped.

Moreover, it was used to suppress souls.

He glanced around, smiling faintly, "No wonder you didn't want to mention it."

"Turns out, it's specifically designed to counter you."

The Evil Spirit snorted, "Not just me."

"Any soul body would be restrained by it."

"Alright, forget about these beads."

"This hall door is the hardest to open among the four. Even when I teamed up with the Tiger Demon Emperor back then, we couldn't break the restriction on it."

"Probably, only someone at the Divinity Transformation Realm could possibly open it."

Hence, it finally divulged,

knowing Jiang Fan couldn't break the restriction.

Jiang Fan showed a look of regret, "You two great cultivators teaming up were helpless."

"No wonder subsequent arrivals couldn't do anything to this door."

Feeling slightly unwilling,

he said, "Forget it, before they come, we should quickly check the other three halls."

He promptly headed toward the remaining halls.

The Evil Spirit sighed with relief inwardly.

If Jiang Fan obtained those beads, it would be catastrophic for him.

But he didn't notice,

although Jiang Fan had walked away,

his robe had moved slightly.

A small furry beast quietly stayed near the hall.

After they had gone far,

the little beast emerged from the shadows, sleepily eyeing the door.

It then nonchalantly slipped into the hall.

Not to mention the stone door, even the restriction posed no barrier.