That night.

Inside the stone tower of Qi Yue Pavilion.

“Fairy Lingyue, how did you determine that this Immortal Gourd Cave is actually a fragment of the ancient immortal-demon battleground you mentioned?”

After holding back for a long time, Xu Taiping finally couldn’t resist asking Fairy Lingyue.

“Years ago, I was fortunate enough to obtain several maps of the ancient immortal-demon battlegrounds. One of them matches this map almost exactly in terms of terrain, especially the Jade Gourd Peak.”

“According to legend, Jade Gourd Peak is an artifact that belonged to a great ancient cultivator who fell on the battleground. The spiritual spring you mentioned is actually the residual spiritual power of that artifact.”

“That’s why I’m certain this is a relic of the ancient immortal-demon battleground.”

Fairy Lingyue explained to Xu Taiping.

“What is the history of this ancient immortal-demon battleground?”

A damaged artifact from ancient times still emitting residual spiritual power—how could he not be curious?

“If we trace it back, that great battle might have occurred a million years ago. It’s said that Nine Abyss was at its peak then, and even beings like the demonic master were considered minor figures.”

“It took human cultivators hundreds of thousands of years to devise a plan to trap the most powerful demon gods in a specific realm. Then, the nine strongest human cultivators sacrificed themselves to annihilate those demon gods, shattering that realm in the process.”

“The largest nine fragments were collected by the later Yan Emperor and refined into nine mystical realms. This was done both to commemorate those nine great cultivators and to inspire future generations of human cultivators.”

“For the demon race, these nine fragments are their greatest shame.”

“So in the subsequent immortal-demon wars, they tried everything to seize and destroy these nine fragments.”

“By the time of my generation, only two of the nine fragments remained, and the other seven, including this Immortal Gourd Cave, had disappeared.”

Fairy Lingyue spoke with a look of melancholy.

“This Immortal Gourd Cave has such a history.”

After hearing Fairy Lingyue’s account, Xu Taiping was deeply shaken. He had never imagined that human cultivators had such a tragic past in the long river of time.

Originally not very interested in the Immortal Gourd Mystical Realm, he suddenly felt a strong urge to visit it. Even if he didn’t find any treasures, just witnessing the heroic deeds of ancient human cultivators would be worth the trip.

“However, this map differs somewhat from my memory. Also, this fragment actually has two layers, but the map only marks the upper layer, which is the least important.”

Fairy Lingyue’s spiritual form stared at the map, pondering.

“Could it be that Jade Green Scholar deliberately concealed the existence of the lower layer?”

Xu Taiping speculated.

“Impossible.”

Fairy Lingyue shook her head with a smile.

“Why is it impossible?”

Seeing Fairy Lingyue so certain, Xu Taiping became even more curious.

“If he had truly known and explored that layer, and monopolized this mystical realm for so many years, his cultivation would have already broken through to the Transformative Realm, and he would have moved on to other realms.”

Fairy Lingyue said with great certainty.

“Fairy Lingyue, are you saying that the treasures in the lower layer of the Immortal Gourd Mystical Realm are enough to help a cultivator break through to the Transformative Realm?”

Xu Taiping was a bit surprised.

“It’s not exactly a treasure. There’s a large lake formed from the blood of immortals and demons in the lower layer. If the lake hasn’t dried up, cultivating in it would greatly accelerate your cultivation speed.”

Fairy Lingyue shook her head.

Xu Taiping suddenly understood.

“But Taiping, even if you find the lower layer of the mystical realm, do not enter that blood pool. The Corpse Lotus inside you loves that kind of thing.”

Fairy Lingyue immediately reminded Xu Taiping.

“Understood.” Xu Taiping nodded.

“However, near the blood pool grows a spiritual herb called Jade Bone, said to be formed from the bone marrow of cultivators who died there. It’s highly effective against demonic energy. If you can bring some back, the only thing you’ll need to remove the Corpse Lotus is a flask of spiritual essence.”

“And this spiritual essence usually requires a large amount of spirit stones to refine, but the artifact that formed Jade Gourd Peak likely contains even purer spiritual essence.”

“So it seems, you must go to the Immortal Gourd Cave three years from now.”

Fairy Lingyue said seriously.

Xu Taiping nodded firmly.

The Corpse Lotus inside him was undoubtedly his greatest threat. The sooner he could remove it, the better.

“Moreover, I just checked. If this list is accurate, you should be able to gather all the herbs needed to refine the Flint Fire Pill inside.”

Fairy Lingyue added.

The Flint Fire Pill was an essential elixir for Xu Taiping, who had Mortal Bones, to break through to the Profound Realm.

“And the Grass Returning Elixir.”

Xu Taiping nodded, adding.

He had also noticed that the list included several rare herbs needed to refine the Grass Returning Elixir.

“Although your Second Senior Brother says the Immortal Gourd Cave isn’t very dangerous, based on my understanding of these ancient battleground fragments, there are dangerous beasts in both the upper and lower layers.”

“You haven’t encountered them all these years because they’re likely in deep slumber.”

“But even so, you must be fully prepared.”

Fairy Lingyue reminded Xu Taiping again.

“For the next three years, I’ll focus on closed-door cultivation to digest the gains from the Ruins of the Cloud Dream Marsh.”

Xu Taiping nodded seriously.

Because he had been dealing with the Blade Ghost, he had only skimmed through the body technique “One Step to Heaven” and the “Green Bull Saint Fist” without truly starting to cultivate them.

So for the next three years, he wanted to focus entirely on cultivating these techniques.

…

Time flew by in the Immortal Mansion.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

At Moon Scooping Lake on the Seventh Peak.

As he had done every morning for the past three years, Xu Taiping, with his hands and feet bound by the Mountain-Suppressing Iron Rings he had obtained from demonic cultivators, jumped up the mountain step by step.

Compared to three years ago, even with seven or eight thousand pounds of Mountain-Suppressing Iron, his steps were still incredibly light.

His physique had also become much taller and stronger than three years ago.

As usual.

Upon reaching the lake, Xu Taiping first took down a wooden board from the cliff and glanced at it.

“Hmm? Not a single word today.”

To his surprise, Elder Sansan hadn’t left any words on the board today.

This was the first time since he started practicing swordsmanship.

“Maybe he forgot?”

Xu Taiping thought as he placed the blank board aside.

“Zheng!”

With a slight lift of his two fingers, the long sword embedded in the cliff flew to his side like a stream of light.

The once rusty long sword had become sharp and radiant after accompanying Xu Taiping in his daily practice, no longer resembling its broken state from three years ago.

“Elder Sansan’s requirement yesterday was five thousand characters with one sword stroke. Today, I’ll try six thousand characters.”

Xu Taiping glanced at the blank board and decided.

With that thought, he took a deep breath and raised his sword fingers.

“Zheng!—”

With a piercing sword cry, beams of sword light converged into a waterfall, cascading down from the cliff.

In an instant, the entire cliff was covered with powerful and vigorous seal script characters.

This was the result of Xu Taiping’s three years of relentless practice.

“Since Elder Sansan has no other requirements, let’s meet again tomorrow.”

Xu Taiping looked at the long sword that had flown back to his side.

The long sword trembled as if reluctant.

In the past, even after finishing his practice, Xu Taiping would stay a while longer before descending the mountain. But today, he needed to prepare for his trip to the Immortal Gourd Cave, so he had to leave early.

“Why the rush?”

Just as Xu Taiping was about to insert the long sword back into the cliff and leave, a majestic and elderly voice suddenly rang out.

Immediately, a figure descended from the sky, landing like a sharp sword on the large rock in the center of the lake.

“Elder… Sansan?!”

Xu Taiping was stunned.

After more than three years of practicing swordsmanship, this was the first time Elder Sansan had appeared before him.