Chapter 122: The Immortal of the Nether Spring

Ning Xianyu’s weed-killing spray was, in fact, quite scarce; it ran out after only a few bursts. Had she possessed enough of it, she would have used it to clear a path through the vines from the very beginning instead of waiting until now.

The four of them sprinted through the tunnel for quite some time, and they could feel that the path was leading upwards. This suggested that they might actually find a way out. Encouraged, all four of them picked up their pace. However, after running for a while longer, the tunnel stopped ascending and began to level off. They continued for a short distance before the space suddenly opened up, revealing a vast, grand hall.

Calling it a "hall" didn't quite feel right, as they were clearly deep underground where such structures shouldn't exist. Yet, there were chairs arranged in the front and along the sides, pillars, rows of chests, and even bookshelves, making it look exactly like someone’s private chamber. Looking toward the side, they saw doors leading into smaller rooms.

Su Yun'er looked at the floor and remarked, "Look, the ground is wet. There’s even a pool of reddish water here; the spring water we were in must have flowed from this direction." This meant that the water from this room had filled the cavity they had just navigated, and they had simply followed the flow through the passage.

Yi Tianling observed, "This must be an ancient tomb, constructed to resemble the place where the master lived during their lifetime."

Ning Xianyu agreed, though she couldn't help but think it was a stroke of bad luck for the owner to have their tomb flooded, leaving them to soak in water for all eternity.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan noticed a door nearby, pushed it open to investigate, and returned with a strange expression on his face. Curious, Ning Xianyu followed him inside, only to discover a bed with a corpse sitting in a cross-legged, meditative posture. The bed was damp, and water was still dripping from it. The deceased must have been remarkably handsome in life, with sharp, arched brows, a high bridge of the nose, and well-defined features. The body was so lifelike it looked as if it were merely sleeping, though it had an eerie, reddish hue.

She was instantly struck by the realization that she had absorbed the spring water earlier—the very water that had been soaking this corpse. And when she had fallen into the spring, she had...

"Blegh!"

Coughing violently, Ning Xianyu scrambled to find a spot to retch. She had drunk that water—water that had been soaking a corpse.

"Blegh!"

Watching her reaction, Su Yun'er immediately recalled her own journey through the water and rushed off to find a place to vomit as well. Yi Tianling’s expression turned bizarre; his face flushed beet-red until he, too, could no longer hold it back and joined them in retching.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan looked at the three of them with disdain and told them to move further away, while he remained to examine the body. The spring water likely had preservative properties, as the corpse remained remarkably fresh despite the passage of many years. He leaned in and noticed an identity tag made of spirit stone hanging on the body, which he picked up to inspect.

"The Youquan Immortal?"

Once Su Yun'er finished retching, she said, "Isn't the Youquan Immortal a cultivator from the ancient era? My master once told me that he possessed vast supernatural powers and had defended the safety of the myriad living beings in the Six Realms of Yunhuang by repelling their enemies."

Xuan Yuan Tunhan was naturally aware of this as well. Looking around, he began to understand why the Youquan Immortal’s remains were here. It turned out that after repelling the ancient tree, he had remained behind to guard the space.

The system was already shouting impatiently at Ning Xianyu: [This is the place! The stone that Yi Tianling is looking for must be in the Youquan Immortal’s underground palace. It turns out he hasn't found it yet—hurry up and snatch it!]

[Snatch it, my foot! Why would I want that stone?] Ning Xianyu had no interest in it; she was more concerned with finding other treasures or a way out. Besides, she wasn't suicidal enough to compete with the male lead for a plot-critical item.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan overheard this and realized that Yi Tianling had not yet obtained the stone. And that stone was something he absolutely had to have. In his years of searching, records of the Sky-Mending Stone fragments had been incredibly scarce, with many locations unknown or entirely undocumented. He hadn't expected that having this woman around would accelerate his progress in finding the stones so significantly.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan began searching the room thoroughly, telling the others he was looking for an exit. When he couldn't find one, he noticed Yi Tianling's unusual behavior. Yi Tianling was searching everywhere as well, but not for an exit. It was clear he was hunting for the stone, prompted by the system he carried. Xuan Yuan Tunhan decided to keep a close eye on him.

Meanwhile, Su Yun'er and Ning Xianyu were genuinely focused on finding an exit. They rummaged through the room and actually uncovered quite a few treasures—chests upon chests filled with spirit stones. The two exchanged a look and decided to split the spoils. They also found some bones inscribed with strange characters. Ning Xianyu took one, but couldn't read it.

Su Yun'er explained, "These are cultivation techniques from ancient cultivators. By carving them into bone and reinforcing them with magic, they can be preserved for hundreds of thousands of years."

What a clever method, Ning Xianyu thought; if these had been written on paper or books, they would have disintegrated long ago. She wasn't interested in the cultivation techniques, but she did want the value they held. However, looking at Su Yun'er—the female lead—she thought it might be beneficial to stay on her good side. With a generous gesture, she pushed the bones toward her. "I don't care much for cultivation; you take these."

Su Yun'er was deeply moved that someone would give away such a treasure trove of techniques. "Senior, thank you! I will accept them with gratitude." She collected the items, thanking her repeatedly.

The system couldn't help but chime in: [You're being generous with someone else's property; none of this even belongs to you.]

Ning Xianyu replied defensively, [Mind your own business. Why don't you figure out how the male and female leads get out of here?]

The system fell silent, as the book provided only vague descriptions of how the protagonists escaped; after all, the readers were never interested in their exit, only in the treasures they found. Seeing the system go quiet, Ning Xianyu knew it had no idea either, so she had no choice but to keep searching.

Su Yun'er carefully packed away the bones and joined her in the search. After some time with no success, they sat down to rest. Ning Xianyu was terrified of the Youquan Immortal’s corpse; every time she saw it, she was reminded that she had drunk his "bathwater," which made her feel sick. She stayed near the edge of the hall and found a stone chair to sit on. It was hard and uncomfortable, so she took out a cushion to lay over it. That felt much better.

After sitting for a while, she grew bored and began to study the hall. It was truly massive, likely carved directly out of the bedrock. She imagined that back then, before the space became a prison for the ancient tree, they could still use spiritual energy, making the excavation much easier.

As she looked around, she tilted her head back to stretch her neck, but then let out a startled "Oh!" and fell right off her chair.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan, who had been searching for the stone, immediately rushed over. "What happened?"

Ning Xianyu clutched his arm, trembling. "Up there... there’s someone up there."

She was terrified. High above, someone was clinging to a pillar, looking down at her with a chilling, eerie smile.