The righteous path punishes Heaven

Chapter 33 Ancient Realm

"This is a fifth-grade Ganoderma lucidum that I found in the mountains a few days ago. It is said to have the effect of prolonging life when taken with your favorite liquor. Please accept it, Master."

"And these too, this is second-grade golden wheatgrass suitable for feeding hens, weighing several hundred catties. I see that Master only has about ten hens in his courtyard, so this should be enough for them to eat for a while."

"By the way, you personally taught me this True Yang Finger Technique. In order to always remember your teachings in the future, I would like to ask you to sign your name on the book."

Zhang Yunling stood in front of Duan Weihuang and rattled off a series of items and accompanying statements. Finally, looking into Duan Weihuang's cloudy eyes, his expression couldn't help but darken.

“Master, as you said at the beginning, after I have mastered my skills here, I will go and help you fulfill your wishes. Before leaving, I present these gifts to you, and I hope you will not refuse them.” Seeing that Duan Weihuang did not move, Zhang Yunling knelt on one knee again and respectfully bowed.

Duan Weihuang turned his head away, waved his hand impatiently, and said in a deep voice, "Fine, fine, go ahead! Now you've really grown up. You brat, once you're gone, no one will go to town to buy wine for me anymore, and no one will feed the chickens for me. Humph! Let's see if you have any conscience and if you can do a good job for me!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunling smiled helplessly, changed from kneeling on one knee to kneeling on both knees, and kowtowed three times heavily. "Thank you, Master. This disciple will certainly not fail in my mission and will set off immediately! However, if this disciple is ever in trouble in the future, please be sure to come and save my life!"

Duan Weihuang still had a stubborn look on his face. He waved his hand and threw out a jade slip, saying calmly, "This is my identity token from when I was in the Quanzhen Sect. Remember not to let outsiders see it. You can keep it; it might come in handy."

After saying this, he didn't say anything more. Watching Zhang Yunling's smiling face as he took the jade slip and turned to leave, the old man's eyes became even more clouded and desolate.

After a long time, as dusk approached, Duan Weihuang, who had been sitting blankly on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), slowly moved his hunched back.

He straightened his back and looked at the setting sun in the distance, muttering to himself, "I've been stuck in this lousy place for quite a few years, it's time to go out and stretch my muscles."

......

Zhang Yunling flew through the air, skimming over forests and grasslands, heading straight for densely populated towns, hoping to find out some information about the sect there.

They had already traveled dozens of miles, but the town they remembered had not appeared in their sight. Instead, a faint mist began to appear in front of them. This strange atmosphere made Zhang Yunling realize that something was wrong. Just as he was about to turn around and fly back in the original direction, an invisible suction force suddenly came and dragged him directly into the ground.

"Holy crap! What's going on?!" Zhang Yunling had no time to react. Just as he was about to activate his Swift Ghost Step, his body was sucked into the black vortex on the ground, leaving no trace of his life.

Deep underground, a tall, dark red stone gate appeared out of nowhere. A crowd of people stood on the stone platform outside the gate. At a glance, everyone was dressed in fine clothes, and there were exquisite storage bags hanging from their waists. Clearly, these dozens of people were all cultivators.

One of the elders, leaning on his cane, said slowly and in a deep voice, "This Mysterious Ancient Realm can only be opened once every few thousand years. Each time the gate opens, it will only last for twelve hours. After that time, it will automatically close. Those who have entered the ancient realm will encounter danger or opportunities within it. Everything depends on their own strength and luck. Those who can survive until a year later, when the gate of the ancient realm opens again and they escape, will benefit for life from the opportunities they have obtained."

The middle-aged cultivator beside the old man whispered to him, "Elder Ming, besides us, Sanqing Mountain and Wudang Mountain have also sent people here. It is no surprise that this mission is difficult."

The old man with a cane, known as Elder Ming, chuckled and, without any attempt to hide it from the disciples of other sects, spoke frankly: "We have all come here for good fortune, but opportunities are reserved for those who are destined. You all still have to rely on your own efforts. Trying to be clever will only backfire."

As these clearly threatening remarks spread, the powerful cultivators all cast unfriendly glances at Elder Ming and his group. A young female cultivator even stepped forward to retort, "Hmph, who among us doesn't know how treacherous and cunning you, Elder Ming, are? You're probably saying this to your own people."

The middle-aged cultivator was clearly angered upon hearing this, but it would be unwise to take action at this moment. He had no choice but to suppress his emotions and wait silently for the door to open. The other cultivators around him also watched coldly and remained silent.

A moment later, the dark red gate was finally activated by an unknown force, and began to move. The entire stone platform trembled slightly, and the stone gate slowly opened to both sides, revealing a passageway to everyone.

"Let's go!" The Wudang Mountain cultivators closest to the gate took the lead and the five of them rushed into the stone gate together. Elder Ming and the young female cultivator's group also entered the gate one after the other. In the blink of an eye, the stone platform was empty.

"Ah!—" A shrill scream came at this moment, and Zhang Yunling, who had been sucked into the ground by the black vortex, landed face-first on the stone platform.

Because of his body tempering, the fall did not cause him any damage. Zhang Yunling got up, dusted off his clothes, and looked around in confusion.

"Where is this place...? How did I end up here without any explanation?"

All around was mud and rocks, with no way out. The sky was pitch black, clearly indicating there was no open space except for the stone platform beneath his feet. Just then, Zhang Yunling suddenly felt a pulling force emanating from the massive stone gate behind him. Looking closely, he saw that the world inside the gate was also filled with white mist, just like the eerie scene he had witnessed in the air. The sight alone made him gasp, and he only wanted to leave and return outside as quickly as possible.

No matter how much he tried to attack the surrounding rock walls with his cultivation, they remained completely still and incredibly sturdy. After searching around several other places, he realized that this was a space that was completely surrounded, and there was absolutely no chance of leaving.

Left with no other choice, Zhang Yunling turned his gaze to the dark red stone door in front of him. Since that was the case, he had no choice but to step through the door and find out what was going on. Perhaps he would find something unexpected.

Without further hesitation, Zhang Yunling stepped out, entered the doorway, and was immediately swallowed by the mist and disappeared.

Unexpectedly, the fog inside the door slowly dissipated after a few breaths, revealing a desolate scene of yellow earth and flying sand and stones. Tall but withered trees filled the ground, devoid of any life, leaving only a deathly silence.

Zhang Yunling turned around to see if the gate was still open, but strangely, the scene behind him had turned into a high rock wall, and the dark red stone gate had completely disappeared.

"Damn it... Where is this place..." The dreamlike experience, like something out of a folk ghost story, made Zhang Yunling, a teenager with cultivation, tremble slightly.

With his right index finger extended, Zhang Yunling moved forward slowly, always ready to use the True Yang Finger to protect himself in case of crisis.

"Never mind, let's see first. What if my Qiankun Qiyun Pill works? It might be an opportunity given to me by heaven."

After walking several hundred steps, Zhang Yunling realized that there was no danger, and her tense nerves relaxed a little. Just ahead, a village appeared in the blurry view in Zhang Yunling's eyes.

Just as they were about to head towards the village, Zhang Yunling seemed to suddenly remember something. He took out the communication jade slip he had used with Sun Jie and said to him, "Brother Sun, it seems I've come to another world. There might be some danger here. Could you lend me the Vajra Bracelet for a while?"

Sun Jie, far away in the Western Desert, was strolling in a town in the Western Regions when he received Zhang Yunling's message via jade slip. He shook his head and smiled helplessly, "This kid is really cautious. Being afraid of death and cherishing his life is secondary; he's always thinking about these immortal artifacts. Humph, what use are these things to me? At most, they're just fragments."

After saying that, Sun Jie walked to a side alley, stretched out his hands into the air, and directly tore open the space, creating a spatial rift. He threw the Vajra Bracelet into it, closed the rift, and then went out to stroll around the street with a calm expression.

Meanwhile, a crack appeared above Zhang Yunling's head, and a palm-sized golden ring fell out from it—the Vajra Bracelet.

"I didn't expect Brother Sun to give it so readily. It seems my suspicions were a bit too cautious. Anyway, let's go see if there's anyone in that village and find out what happened."