Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 185 - 178: Cave Mansion (4/5)

Chapter 185: Chapter 178: Cave Mansion (4/5)

Of course, they could no longer stay in the restaurant, so Zhou Heng left with the two women, returning to the inn to settle down and rest.

He was not afraid of Zhang Donglin’s grandfather from the Heaven-Opening Realm at all. After all, he had forced the four Heaven-Opening Realm experts from the Mao Family to flee in complete disarray, so why would he care about another from the Heaven-Opening Realm?

A cave dwelling left behind by an expert from the Spiritual Sea Realm signified endless opportunities!

The world of martial artists is like a pyramid, the higher you stand, the fewer people there are, but the more resources you can have! For instance, if a Nascent Soul Realm expert declared that all the spirit stones mined in the Cold Blue Country belonged to him, who would dare disobey?

The Spiritual Sea Realm, ah! Even in the Bright Moon Country, one would be considered among the cream of the crop, the three great families Ying, Mei, Bai each possessed an Old Ancestor in the Nascent Soul Realm, illustrating the esteemed status of the Spiritual Sea Realm.

A cave dwelling left by such an expert, and moreover, one left just before death, would surely be for the purpose of passing down his peerless technique. Whoever obtained it would surely have the hope to make it to the Spiritual Sea Realm in the future!

Zhou Heng had no great aspirations towards cultivation techniques. Although the Moonshadow Heart Jue was only an Earth Level Lower Grade technique, he seldom relied on directly absorbing spiritual energy to improve his cultivation level. The rank of the technique did influence him, but it was almost negligible.

Of course, he wouldn’t mind cultivating an Immortal Level Upper Grade technique, even if he didn’t need it, he could still offer it to his father or to Xiao Huoshui.

——The more superior the cultivation technique, the easier it is to resonate with the natural world, the quicker the absorption of spiritual energy, and with significant help in breaking through realms.

However, in the cave dwelling of a Spiritual Sea Realm expert, there surely wouldn’t be any Immortal Level Upper Grade cultivation techniques, right?

At most, an Immortal Level Lower Grade!

Zhou Heng made some inquiries, but it seemed that the secret of Ma Buqian’s cave dwelling was only circulated within a small circle. He had probed around for a long time and had not found any clues, as others hadn’t even heard of the name Ma Buqian.

Not finding out any news didn’t matter. Zhou Heng switched to asking about the location of the Zhang Family, and that was something everyone knew.

Upon arriving at the Zhang Family estate, he found the entire household tense due to the death of Zhang Donglin. People were constantly coming and going; they were the ones the Zhang Family had sent out to find Zhou Heng’s whereabouts. After sensing for a while to confirm the location of the Zhang Family’s Old Ancestor, Zhou Heng entered the Nine Mystic Trial Tower and leisurely waited.

The Zhang Family Old Ancestor would definitely go to Ma Buqian’s cave dwelling, so he just needed to follow him. As for restrictions and such, he had the Void Shattering Talisman given to him by the Old Swindler!

Xiao Huoshui was not the kind of person to endure hardship and labor. In just these days, she and Orchid Concubine worked together to transform the first level of the treasure pagoda, adding a large number of furnishings. Moreover, they built an extremely large bath, with everything that should be there and nothing missing.

Zhou Heng paid them no mind, but the Nine Mystic Trial Tower was originally intended for trials, to temper martial artists’ skills. Now it had become a place for pleasure, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the creator would spew blood in anger if he knew.

He waited quietly, most of the time cultivating, but when in the mood, he would also engage in interesting activities with Xiao Huoshui and Orchid Concubine. After all, men and women together are never bored.

Xiao Huoshui was originally just born naturally charming, but Orchid Concubine had competed for her position in the palace harem, having a wealth of techniques in matters of men and women; otherwise, how could she have pleased the Emperor?

Under the guidance of Orchid Concubine, Xiao Huoshui’s skills in that aspect matured daily, pampering Zhou Heng to the point of ecstasy, making him want to devour this seductive woman in one bite.

However, while both women were entirely focused on improving their bedroom skills, their actual battle power remained stagnant. Zhou Heng sent them to the second level of the tower to struggle, but they were beaten to pitiful defeat in just a few moves.

Forget it, even if these two women managed to luck through the challenges, the rewards they’d get were probably pitiful. There was no need to force them. They had no talent for combat, so they might as well concentrate on studying bedroom techniques.

Just thinking about Xiao Huoshui’s skill that was even better than the original made Zhou Heng uncontrollably aroused.

Four days later, the Zhang Family’s search for the criminal did not stop, and that Old Ancestor quietly left, taking more than a dozen family members with him, leaving the city and heading into the mountains, quickly traveling dozens of miles.

Zhou Heng exited the Nine Mystic Trial Tower and unfurled the Swift Cloud Radiant Step, following them. He stayed roughly ten miles behind them. Within this range, even the Divine Sense of someone from the Heaven-Opening Realm couldn’t possibly detect him, and as for being seen by the naked eye, that was even less likely.

After traversing mountains and valleys, the Zhang Family Old Ancestor soon came to a stop at the foot of a mountain, a white-haired old man with a face full of deep wrinkles—his age was a mystery, emitting a decaying aura all over.

Clearly, the lifespan of the Zhang Family Old Ancestor was nearing its end. If he didn’t break through to the Mountains and Rivers Realm, his time would be up.

This cave dwelling from the Spiritual Sea Realm was his only hope. If he could obtain the treasures within to break through to the Mountains and Rivers Realm, he would gain another five hundred years of life; otherwise, within ten years, he would inevitably perish.

The longer one lived, the more they feared death, especially characters like Old Ancestors who, with merely a command, could make millions of people shiver in obedience. Who would willingly give up such power?

Zhou Heng did not get closer, merely sitting atop a mountain peak and watching. The Zhang Family Old Ancestor brought so many people obviously wanting to let these family juniors try their luck.

After all, inheritance wasn’t about strength but luck!

Of course, if a Nascent Soul Realm expert came, they could use brute force to break through any arrangement set by a Spiritual Sea Realm expert. But what would a Nascent Soul Realm expert want with a Spiritual Sea Realm inheritance?

They wouldn’t have such free time!

Just like how a bun on the ground is a different temptation to someone who hasn’t eaten for three days compared to someone with a life of luxury.

The group led by the Zhang Family Old Ancestor set off again, and soon arrived at the base of a mountain, where many people had already gathered, varying in age and strength.

It must have been the same as with the old ancestors of the Zhang Family, where an Open Heaven Realm elder brought their descendants over.

From such a distance, Zhou Heng naturally couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he wasn’t interested in knowing either. His gaze swept past, only to see them all standing in front of a cavern, with a stone door blocking the entrance.

This was probably Ma Buqian’s ancient residence, and currently, a few people were fiddling with something there, likely trying to unravel the restrictions.

Void Shattering Talismans could not penetrate solid matter, otherwise, Zhou Heng would have already charged out by now, since Open Heaven Realm experts simply couldn’t stop him with the incredible speed of Swift Cloud Radiant Step, and once inside the restriction, these people could only stare helplessly.

Unfortunately, there was still a stone door; why couldn’t it be like the Mountain Protection Array of the Dayan Sect?

Zhou Heng soon chuckled at himself, as this was the dwelling of a loose cultivator, it naturally couldn’t be expected to have a Mountain Protection Array like the major sects, it wasn’t necessary. No one dared to intrude while Ma Buqian was alive, and after his death, this also became the place where his peerless technique was passed on—if people were not allowed in, how could they find a successor?

The stone door was not actually a restriction, but rather a mechanism; touching the correct sequence would open it.

Three days later, with a rumbling sound, the stone door slowly rose upwards, revealing a dark and deep passage.

All of them showed excitement—this was the dwelling of a Spiritual Sea Realm expert, after all!

With the passage revealed, the inheritance was within reach—who wouldn’t be moved?

There were a total of fifty or sixty people present, with only four Open Heaven Realm experts among them; the rest were of the Land Cleaving Realm, Initial Separation Realm, and even some from the Spirit Gathering Realm, accompanying the Open Heaven elders trying their luck.

After a brief discussion, they entered the cave one after another, and when the last person had gone inside, the stone door also slowly descended, leaving no gaps.

They’re really not giving any chances to those who come later!

Zhou Heng shook his head, his figure flickered, and he quickly appeared in front of the dwelling’s entrance.

"It should be here!" He arrived at a pile of disorderly stones, and quickly found a small stone of a slightly different color. Pressing his palm against it, the stone immediately sank down.

With a rumble, the stone door rose again.

Zhou Heng smiled, he had paid close attention beforehand, which is why he was able to find the method to open the dwelling so quickly.

He took a deep breath and strode into the entrance.

Right after entering, there was a protruding stone to the side, which presumably controlled the mechanism to close the stone door.

Zhou Heng thought about it and decided not to touch the mechanism; he didn’t mind if more experts joined in to make the situation more chaotic. His current strength wasn’t sufficient to confront an Open Heaven Realm expert head-on, so the more chaotic the scene, the better it would be for him.

In his dantian, the Black Sword remained still and silent.

This Master Jian’s appetite was getting bigger; while Zhou Heng was in the Body Refinement Realm, it often reacted, but after entering the Spirit Gathering Realm, there had only been two reactions so far—one was obtaining the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, and the other was the Spirit Core; of course, what the Black Sword indicated was not the Spirit Core, but rather some treasure buried deep underground.

What level of treasure was the Nine Mystic Trial Tower?

It definitely wasn’t as simple as the Divinity Transformation Realm; Zhou Heng believed it to be an immortal object, otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to manifest Divinity Transformation Realm phantom opponents, nor give out treasures like the essence blood of the Gold Devouring Clan!

Could it be that, with the improvement of Zhou Heng’s strength, only immortal-level treasures could now stimulate the Black Sword’s reaction?

Otherwise, wouldn’t there be treasures in the dwelling of a Spiritual Sea Realm expert? Why didn’t the Black Sword react!

It wasn’t that there were none, but rather the treasures were of too low a tier, not warranting a glance from the Black Sword Master!

Following this line of reasoning, the treasure buried deep underground must also be of immortal level, else why would the Black Sword have been drawn to it?

Alas, it was simply too far away!

Zhou Heng currently had no ability to venture that deep underground; the roaring earth fire would incinerate him to ashes in an instant!

In any case, others didn’t have the Black Sword and could not possibly know about the immortal object hidden so deep underground; it could be retrieved later!

Zhou Heng cast aside his idle thoughts and continued to walk through the dark passage; after only a few steps, the lighting brightened, with glowing pearls embedded on the top of the passage, emitting a soft and gentle light that was not harsh on the eyes.

He advanced further, and after traversing the long corridor, the space ahead suddenly opened up to a vast circular stone chamber; the previous entrants including Zhang Family’s old ancestor, were all here.

Upon Zhou Heng’s entrance, their gazes fixated on him, all showing a look of surprise. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)