fantasy novels Chapter 106 Mountain Valley Cave Star Advancement
Chapter 106 Mountain Valley Cave Star Advancement
The fog in the western valley was several times thicker than that in the surrounding dense forest.
Milky-white spiritual mist flowed gently around his feet, soft and yielding underfoot, like walking on clouds. Unlike the malevolent aura outside, the air here was filled with a faint, ancient, pure energy. Taking a breath, the true energy within his dantian would begin to circulate autonomously, as if it possessed a spirit. Lin Chen could even feel the vibration frequency of his Star Martial Core change, from a steady heartbeat to a rapid drumbeat, as if excited and urging him on.
"The spiritual energy concentration here is more than three times that of the outer areas." Su Ling'er took a deep breath, her eyes shining like stars. She crouched down, her fingertips gently brushing against a cluster of pale blue flowers growing on the rock wall. The petals, as thin as cicada wings, trembled slightly in the spiritual mist, emitting a cool, delicate fragrance. "Look, this is a third-tier spiritual herb, the Ice Soul Orchid! You couldn't buy a single one outside for a fortune, yet here it grows in abundance!"
As she spoke, she had already begun picking the plants, her movements as gentle as stroking a baby's cheek. She carefully removed each plant, roots and all, and placed it gently into the insulated compartment of the medicine box. She muttered to herself, "One, two, three... I'm rich! I'm rich..."
Chu Fan did not participate in the herb gathering. He squatted beside an exposed bluestone, his fingertips lightly touching the ground, his brows slowly furrowing. He pushed up his glasses, then touched the patterns on the stone surface that had been almost worn smooth by time, his expression becoming solemn.
"No. These bluestones show signs of artificial polishing." He ran his fingernail along the grain. "There are also remnants of array runes, although most of them are no longer effective, but you can tell that the craftsmanship was extremely high back then. They are very old, at least a thousand years old." He stood up and scanned the terrain of the entire valley. "This is not a naturally formed valley, but a secluded place modified by an array. The entire valley may be a huge array base."
The Demon-Slaying Array Flag in Su Muyue's hand suddenly moved without any wind.
One by one, the star runes on the flag lit up, emitting a faint silver light, as if responding to some kind of summons. She gripped the flagpole, closed her eyes, and frowned slightly, carefully sensing that faint summons.
"I can sense the aura of the first Martial Emperor." She opened her eyes, her voice tinged with a rare excitement. "It's faint, but very pure, like... like a mark left on an old object that hasn't completely faded after thousands of years. This should be the cave dwelling of some powerful figure under the Martial Emperor."
She paused, seemingly recalling records from her family's ancient books.
"According to the ancient records of the Su family, the first Martial Emperor had twelve guards, each a powerful expert above the Earth Martial Realm, who followed the Martial Emperor in conquering all directions and quelling the chaos of the evil race. After their deaths, most of them were buried around the Martial Emperor's Mausoleum, guarding the secret realm for generations." She looked at the slightly glowing array flag in her hand, "This flag is sensing, which means that the Martial Emperor's star power still remains in that powerful expert's relics."
Leng Feng did not participate in the discussion. While the five were talking, he had already walked around the edge of the valley, his eyes scanning every possible hiding place—bush, rock crevices, and the top of the cliff. When he returned, his battle sword was already three inches from its sheath.
"I'll go and keep watch around. To prevent anyone from following us, and also to prevent anyone from ambushing us from above." He looked at Lin Chen. "You guys explore carefully. Most ancient cave dwellings have protective barriers, so don't touch anything carelessly."
Lin Chen nodded. His gaze had already been drawn to a cliff deep in the valley.
It was a nearly vertical rock wall, several tens of feet high, its surface covered with dense, impenetrable vines, some as thick as an adult's arm, others as thin as fingers, intertwined together, like a giant green tapestry. But through the gaps in the vines, he could vaguely see regular angles and lines behind it—not the texture of natural rock, but traces of human carving, the outline of a door.
The door was engraved with patterns, which were blurred by wind and rain, but the general shape could still be made out—stars, countless stars, large and small, dense and sparse, arranged in the same way as the patterns on the star-patterned breastplate on his chest.
The chest protector is getting hot.
It wasn't a scorching heat, but a gentle, trembling heat, like a piece of activated spiritual jade. Lin Chen placed his hand on his chest and could feel the protective mirror vibrating, its frequency perfectly synchronized with the Star Martial Core in his dantian.
"The entrance to the cave is over there." He pointed and walked over first.
The vines were thicker than he had imagined. He drew his Star Sword, and with a swift stroke, the vines snapped in two, oozing a cool sap and filling the air with the scent of fresh grass. Su Muyue stepped forward to help, and the two of them, one on each side, cleared the vines covering the stone door.
The stone gate was completely exposed.
Standing three zhang tall and two zhang wide, the gate is carved from a single massive piece of lapis lazuli, its surface smooth as a mirror, faintly reflecting human images. The gate is covered with celestial patterns—the Big Dipper, the Southern Dipper, and the Twenty-Eight Mansions—each star's position precisely corresponding to the constellations in the sky. The gate frame is engraved with dense, ancient runes, their lines flowing and simple; though thousands of years have passed, its imposing grandeur is still palpable.
There is a groove in the very center of the stone gate.
Its irregular shape and rounded edges perfectly matched the size of the Starry Heart Mirror on Lin Chen's chest. It wasn't a coincidence; it was intentional—this door was prepared specifically for the person who possessed the Heart Mirror.
"It seems we need the Starry Heart Mirror to open it," Su Muyue said softly, her tone carrying a hint of "I knew it."
Lin Chen removed the protective mirror. The moment the mirror left his chest, he felt the vibration frequency of the Star Martial Core in his dantian change, as if it had lost an anchor point, but it quickly stabilized again. He held the protective mirror in his palm; the silvery-white mirror surface shimmered softly under the spiritual energy of the cave.
He stepped forward and inserted the breastplate into the groove.
Perfectly fitted.
A burst of golden light erupted from the protective mirror, not a blinding glare, but a gentle yet powerful golden halo, like the rising sun, like ignited stars. The star patterns on the stone gate lit up one by one, spreading outwards from the center: the Big Dipper, the Southern Dipper, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, one after another, line after line, transforming the entire stone gate into a dazzling star map.
With a heavy rumble, the stone door slowly opened inward.
A rich spiritual energy surged out from the crack in the door, carrying with it a pure aura accumulated over a thousand years, along with a faint scent of ink and medicinal herbs. The ink was not ordinary pine soot ink, but spiritual ink used by ancient cultivators to write cultivation techniques, which had not dissipated for a thousand years; the medicinal scent was not ordinary herbal medicine, but the unique aroma of fourth-grade and above medicinal herbs, carrying a spiritual fluctuation.