Chapter 718: Beyond the Stone Doors
The greatest flaw of a manmade Banished Immortal was that it was a dead-end path. After achieving immortality, there was nowhere else to go. However, the advantage was akin to those found in unorthodox perfected methods. In the Heavenly-Being stage, manmade Banished Immortals had tremendous advantages. Though Qi Xuansu would not claim he could definitively defeat Zhang Yuelu, in certain aspects—like physical resilience—he clearly surpassed her.
Thus, if there was danger behind the stone doors, he would be more resilient to endure it, so it was the safer choice for him to open them.
“There’s no rush,” Zhang Yuelu said, standing still. “Tian Yuan, did you notice? These four murals all point to something.”
Qi Xuansu realized it. “Since the murals mention the great uprising at the end of the Golden Horde era, that means this place likely wasn’t built in the early Golden Horde period but in its final years or even the early Wei Dynasty.”
Zhang Yuelu said, “Strictly speaking, it indicates the last time someone used this place.”
Qi Xuansu asked, “Then what is the purpose of this structure?”
“Perhaps the answer lies beyond this door,” Zhang Yuelu said, gazing at the stone doors. “Something could be sealed behind the door, like a ferocious beast or a demon. Or it could be a place of secluded cultivation, where the remains of a Daoist elder lie. If it’s the latter, then it’s just a corpse. But if it’s the former, and we recklessly break the seal, wouldn’t we be placing ourselves in grave danger?”
Qi Xuansu looked again at the first mural that depicted the Quanzhen Sect Patriarch Lin Lingsu in a magical duel. He said, “I remember this Imperial Preceptor from the Jin Dynasty didn’t ascend to the heavens, but mysteriously died. The exact timing of his death is unknown. Some say he was struck down by heaven’s wrath, others say that he fell into madness, and some say he faked his death to retreat from worldly affairs. Could it be him behind this stone door?”
Zhang Yuelu rejected the idea. “Though Sage Changchun and Lin Lingsu—also known as Master Tongzhen Daling—were both patriarchs of the Quanzhen Sect, they weren’t of the same lineage. Sage Changchun was from the Longmen lineage, and Lin Lingsu was from the Shenxiao lineage. It’s like the difference between the Cihang lineage and the Zhang family. Even if an elder in the Cihang lineage passed away, they wouldn’t go to rest in a Zhang family estate. This place was clearly built by disciples of the Changchun lineage. So why would it be Lin Lingsu’s final resting place?”
Qi Xuansu offered another theory. “Could it be that Elder Lin went mad and was suppressed here by Sage Changchun?”
Zhang Yuelu still disagreed. “It was precisely because Sage Changchun ascended and departed that the 30-year conflict between the Buddhist Sect and the Daoist Order broke out, leading to the Quanzhen Sect’s decline. If this place were a suppression site, how would you explain the murals dating from the end of the Golden Horde period?”