Chapter 1005: Stone Monument

**Chapter Six: Heavenly Spirit Treasures**

As the two elders flew out of the incredibly long tunnel, Han Li was already floating high in the sky outside, gazing at the top of the canyon and listening intently.

It was then that the two elders realized the faint rumbling sound had become even weaker after they emerged. If the three of them weren't Nascent Soul cultivators, with senses far surpassing ordinary people, they probably would have dismissed the sound as a mere whisper of wind.

“It seems to be coming from above, and it’s very distant. If this place weren't sealed by a restriction, creating an enclosed space, the echoes would be too strong, and we wouldn't have been able to hear it at all,” the elder surnamed Fu said with a frown after listening for a moment.

“Since we’re unfamiliar with everything here, why don’t we go and take a look? It’s better than stumbling around blindly. Of course, it’s best if we use concealment techniques while traveling to avoid being discovered first,” Han Li suggested, turning his head to look at the two.

Naturally, the elder surnamed Fu and Bai Yaoyi had no objections. Both readily agreed.

The elder clasped his hands, and a large expanse of green light suddenly erupted from his body, then quickly dimmed as its radiance receded. His figure also blurred, finally transforming into a faint green shadow. Unless one looked closely up close, it would be difficult to detect his presence.

This was also due to the significant suppression of divine sense within the mountain. Outside this mountain, this concealment technique would be far less effective against cultivators of the same level.

Bai Yaoyi, however, raised her jade hand, and a cold gleam flickered between her fingers, revealing a crystalline token, as if refined from ice crystals.

Holding the token with one hand, she simultaneously chanted a melodious incantation, and a silvery mist instantly sprayed forth from the token. In moments, it enveloped her graceful figure.

Then, with a flash of light, Bai Yaoyi's figure vanished into thin air.

Seeing the two of them cast their spells to conceal their tracks, Han Li smiled faintly without making any visible moves. A slight flicker of spiritual light on his body, and his aura suddenly disappeared completely.

Even with the elder surnamed Fu and Bai Yaoyi standing directly in front of him, relying solely on their divine sense, they would almost believe there was no one there.

At this, both elders were startled. Only then did Han Li unhurriedly take out a concealment talisman and casually stick it onto himself. Immediately, his figure also became indistinct.

“Let’s go!” Han Li uttered in a low voice, and the three of them immediately ascended into the air.

In this mysterious and unfamiliar place, none of them flew too fast. They moved at a speed only slightly faster than a light-body technique, following the rumbling sound.

The three flew on, and everywhere they passed was lush and verdant, filled with spiritual energy. Almost every spot was an excellent cultivation ground in the human world. If such places existed outside, countless cultivation sects would fight tooth and nail for them.

But here, they were ubiquitous!

Half an hour later, Han Li and the two elders encountered no mishaps, yet showed no signs of joy.

The desolate scenery along the way, devoid of any living creatures, made them uneasy and deeply suppressed.

“Brother Han, have you noticed? The spiritual energy here is so abundant, yet we’ve flown such a long distance without seeing any spiritual herbs or trees—only common plants. Something doesn’t seem right,” Bai Yaoyi said hesitantly.

“I noticed it too. Although the spiritual energy here is good, it becomes even more abundant the higher we go. This is similar to spiritual mountains outside. Perhaps the original cultivators of this mountain found it more effective to cultivate spiritual plants higher up. It was probably done intentionally,” Han Li said calmly, without any surprise.

“Even more abundant than here!” Bai Yaoyi was somewhat aghast.

After all, the spiritual energy here already felt like an excellent cultivation ground to her.

“Brother Han, if there truly is a better cultivation sanctuary at the top of this mountain, perhaps we shouldn’t be in a hurry to leave. How about we cultivate here for a while?” the elder surnamed Fu said, sounding somewhat tempted after hearing Han Li.

“Brother Fu, you don’t genuinely believe this is an ordinary spiritual mountain, do you? If a place with such abundant spiritual energy could be safely cultivated, why would its original cultivators have abandoned it? Moreover, the entire spiritual mountain appears to be sealed by restrictions, which highlights its strangeness. If there’s a way out, I, Han, will not stay,” Han Li said with a cold chuckle.

Upon hearing Han Li’s words, the elder surnamed Fu’s expression changed several times before he finally let out a bitter laugh. “Brother Han is right. This place is indeed not suitable for quiet cultivation. It seems I was momentarily deluded by my greed for the spiritual energy here.” “It’s no wonder Brother Fu thought that way. Not just you, Fellow Daoist, but I too had the same idea just now. After all, having such a cultivation place could save us a lot of meditation time,” Bai Yaoyi said with regret.

Han Li smiled slightly. Just as he was about to say something more, his gaze inadvertently swept across something, and his expression subtly changed. He instantly halted his flight.

A blue glow flickered in his pupils as he gazed intently at something.

The elder and Bai Yaoyi were both puzzled and followed Han Li’s gaze.

A short distance away, white mist swirled, making things somewhat indistinct. However, the three had already encountered such mountain mist numerous times on their journey and hadn’t found it noteworthy, nor was it possible to delve into the mist to investigate every time.

“Let’s go take a look. There might be something there that could be useful to us,” Han Li said, his eyes glinting. Then, his escaping light suddenly dashed forward, heading straight into the white mist.

The elder and Bai Yaoyi were puzzled, but knowing Han Li wouldn’t act without reason, they followed without hesitation.

When they too entered the white mist, they were stunned.

Within the mist, they saw a wide white stone platform stretching from the base of the mountain upwards, its end out of sight. Beside the steps in the mist stood a misty white stone stele, over ten zhang tall and about three zhang wide.

Han Li stood with his hands clasped behind his back in front of the stele, staring blankly at something on its surface.

“What is it, Brother Han? Have you discovered something?” the elder asked curiously after landing on the platform.

“Now, I finally know what this mountain is. Fellow Daoists, come take a look! This stele happens to have the origin of this mountain carved on it,” Han Li said in a deep voice, turning his head, his expression solemn.

“Oh, let me see!”

The elder’s spirits lifted at his words, and he immediately stepped forward. Bai Yaoyi also followed with light steps.

When their eyes swept across the stele, it became clear at a glance. For on the stele were only two ancient characters, two large golden words written in a flourishing, dragon-and-phoenix style.

“Kunwu! Could this be the legendary Kunwu Mountain?!” the elder surnamed Fu exclaimed the moment he saw the ancient characters, then cried out in surprise again.

Bai Yaoyi covered her small mouth with one hand, her beautiful eyes also filled with shock.

“Yes, it must be Kunwu Mountain, without a doubt. In ancient times, this mountain was known as an Immortal Mountain, a sacred cultivation ground where ancient cultivators gathered. And judging by its immense size and dense spiritual energy, it is definitely Kunwu Mountain. But according to legends, wasn't this mountain taken to the Spirit Realm by ancient cultivators, or perhaps sunk beneath the earth due to their battles?! How could it be here?” Bai Yaoyi muttered, staring at the stele, still appearing somewhat incredulous.

“Fellow Daoist Bai, those are merely rumors. It seems the truth is that for some unknown reason, this mountain was sealed away. And the three of us happened to trigger an ancient teleportation array, being inexplicably transported here! With this mountain’s reputation, there must be countless ancient cultivator dwellings here. If we can find just a few, we are sure to gain immense rewards,” the elder surnamed Fu quickly recovered, his voice filled with delight.

“Perhaps. But considering that this mountain was sealed, those ancient cultivators likely left it with preparation. I don’t believe there will be too many useful things in those ancient cultivator caves. However, this mountain stele, though crudely refined initially, has stood here for countless millennia, absorbing immense spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and has long since become an extraordinary treasure,” Han Li said, shaking his head. Then he suddenly stepped forward, lightly patted the stone stele a few times with his hand, his eyes glinting.

“What? This mountain stele is a treasure?” The elder surnamed Fu and Bai Yaoyi were momentarily stunned, then surprised, and meticulously re-examined the stele, after which they were speechless.

No matter how they looked at it, the stele appeared to be just an ordinary bluestone monument. Although it carried some spiritual energy, it couldn't even compare to the lowest quality refining materials!

The two couldn’t help but cast strange glances at Han Li.

“Heh heh, it seems the two Fellow Daoists don’t quite believe me. However, it’s enough that I’ve decided it is,” Han Li said with a slight curl of his lips, his expression normal, but he was actually quite puzzled in his heart.

Because not only did the two beside him not see anything unusual, but even he himself couldn’t discern anything. The reason he spoke this way was that the Earth Armored Dragon, which had been resting peacefully in his spiritual beast pouch, suddenly became restless the moment he approached the stone stele.

It continuously sent agitated calls through spiritual transmission, signaling the object’s unusual nature.

Han Li even scanned the stone stele with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, yet still found nothing special. Naturally, he harbored doubts. But driven by the mentality of 'better to have captured it than let it go,' Han Li hesitated for a moment before bracing himself to utter those profound and mysterious words.

With his excuse in place, he pressed his hand onto the stele, and a green glow instantly emanated from his palm.

The stone stele trembled violently and began to shrink rapidly within the green glow.

When he saw it had shrunk to half its original size, Han Li’s eyebrows twitched. With a sweep of the green light from his single hand, he was about to lift the stele to put it into his storage pouch.

However, just as the stele was lifted a chi, a sudden change occurred.

The seemingly ordinary bluestone stele suddenly let out a hum, then emitted ten thousand rays of light.

Almost simultaneously, Han Li suddenly felt it sink heavily, and his green glow could no longer restrain the stele. With a loud “boom,” it dropped back to its original spot, as if a ten-thousand-jin object had landed, causing the surrounding ground to shake violently.

The tremor made Han Li and the two elders’ ears buzz. Furthermore, the surface of the stone platform within dozens of zhang beneath the stele cracked into countless pieces.

“What is this?” Han Li exclaimed in surprise, his eyes instantly narrowing.