"Uh... um..." Xiaokai had originally wanted to ask Huang Bei something, but when she gave him a disdainful and icy glare, he suddenly lost interest and awkwardly put the book back into his embrace.
Ultimately, it was the Emei sect's leader, Xuefeng, who spoke. Undoubtedly, among the six major sects, Xuefeng was the most dignified and charismatic leader. He clasped his fists and said, "Fellow Daoists, today's events were unforeseeable. The Gather Spirit Conference failed to absorb the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth, and we couldn't retrieve our treasures. For all of us, it's a loss, but seeing the long silent Nameless Book display its power for the first time is not in vain. Now that Master Songfeng has left due to unexpected circumstances, I, Xuefeng of Emei, will take over. Please all stay at the Yellow Mountain Manor and return early tomorrow morning."
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to respond. They had wanted to vent their anger on Xiaokai, but seeing the power of the Nameless Book, they didn't dare to act rashly. Also, with the leaders of the six sects standing by Xiaokai, it was obvious they were ready to stand up for him. Since the six major sects were in agreement, they had no objections either, so they dispersed amidst the noise and clamor.
As people had mostly left, Xiaokai looked at Xuefeng and hesitantly said, "Leader Xuefeng, I... I want to ask you something."
"What is it? Feel free to ask," Xuefeng looked at Xiaokai with a smile, and his demeanor was effortlessly elegant and out of the ordinary.
"I heard... you took Xiaozhu as a closed-door disciple?" Xiaokai, for once, blushed a little, "I just wanted to know why she didn't come today."
"Oh, she really didn't come," Xuefeng's face showed a trace of awkwardness, and he smiled, "Xiaozhu has extremely high aptitude and is currently practicing the basic introductory method of Emei in the sect. To avoid disturbing her state of mind, I didn't bring her along."
"Oh, her practice is more important, then," Xiaokai asked with a tinge of disappointment, "Can I visit her? You can rest assured, I won't disturb her; I just want to take a distant look."
Huang Bei stood behind Xuefeng, a trace of contempt flashed in her eyes. She thought to herself, "This fellow, he has committed to a lifelong relationship with Xiaoyun, yet is still thinking about other women. Truly a fickle man, utterly worthless. I wonder why Xiaoyun took a liking to him."
"Well, that may not be convenient," Xuefeng showed a hesitant expression, "As you know, our Emei's techniques are not to be shown to outsiders..."
"Oh, then forget it, hehe, forget it," Xiaokai, out of consideration for Xiaozhu, was very polite to Xuefeng, and hastily waved his hand, "That's fine, I'll go rest too."
"Wait," Xuefeng called out to Xiaokai, "If Master Xiaokai has time, I wonder if you could accompany me for a walk?"
"Of course," Xiaokai never thought to refuse the master of Xiaozhu, and followed Xuefeng, gradually taking a turn, where several huge rocks blocked the view of others. Along the way, Xuefeng explained in detail, "This Tian Du Hidden Peak is not actually the Hidden Peak as people say. Everyone knows that the Yellow Mountain has three peaks, with the highest being the Tian Du Peak. However, what people don't know is that above the Tian Du Peak, there is actually another peak. It's just that this peak was already sealed by an ancient immortal with great divine power at the beginning of creation, and ordinary people simply cannot see it. Where we are standing now is the Hidden Peak that ordinary people cannot see, named the Tian Du Hidden Peak."
"Indeed," Xiaokai nodded, "I was wondering, Tian Du Peak is supposed to be a tourist attraction, so why can't we see any tourists? It turns out that it's simply not a place for us ordinary people to visit."
Xuefeng smiled and nodded, "You're not an ordinary person. Even though you didn't learn any cultivation techniques due to the hurried departure of the 249th Sect Master, as the chosen Sect Master, possessing the legendary Demon-sealing Incantation, you obviously should be considered one of us cultivators. Moreover, based on the anomaly of the Non-Scripture today, it's clearly been activated by you. Perhaps the key to transcending the cultivator realm and ascending to the immortal realm lies with you." After saying this, he stared relentlessly at Xiaokai, trying to discern something from his expression.
Xiaokai was quite pleased with this speech and chuckled, "If I can discover this secret, I promise to tell you first thing."
Xuefeng then asked, "Earlier, Master was staring straight down the cliff. Did you see any clues?"
"Yes," Xiaokai replied, "That pool below does indeed seem peculiar. Don't you think so?"
"A pool? What color is it?" Xuefeng seemed excited. "You can really see it?"
"You can't see it?" Xiaokai pointed to the deep part of the cliff with his hand from a distance. "Look over there, it's all clear now, a clear cyan color, quite beautiful."
Just as he was speaking, he felt a light breeze around him, and a voice that sounded as if it had suffered a severe injury came over, "Hehe, my Yellow Mountain clouds and mist are indeed renowned as one of the scenic spots. Master has a keen eye." Xiaokai turned his head and saw Daoist Songfeng swaying as he walked over.
Daoist Songfeng was indeed profoundly skilled; his clothes had been shredded to pieces by the thunder and lightning earlier, but after just a moment, he had mostly recovered. His erect hair had also become smooth, and his dirty face had been completely cleaned, with a floating figure and fluttering Daoist robe. However, to Xuefeng's discerning eye, his steps still seemed somewhat unstable, clearly not fully restored.
Xiaokai appeared nervous. "Elder, don't come over. Be careful of the heavenly punishment..."
"Heavenly punishment? Hehe, indeed it's the heavenly punishment," the old Daoist said with a self-deprecating tone, shaking his head in lament, "The Non-Scripture is indeed a treasure of the world. It seems that for the past tens of thousands of years, we've all been blind.”
"No, I didn't mean that," Xiaokai swallowed and subconsciously took two steps back. "I meant to say, this heavenly punishment... It's not just one time. Manager Jia suffered twice after touching the scripture last time."
"What?" Daoist Songfeng tilted his head and wanted to come closer, but...
"Boom!" A deafening sound echoed through the sky, and another bolt of lightning struck right on the top of Daoist Songfeng's head.
"My god!" This time the old Daoist didn't sink into the stone, instead, he was bounced up. The next moment, his face was entirely black, and his body was electrified, and the robe had shattered again.
"Good heavens..." Daoist Songfeng took a deep breath, his expression uncertain whether he was crying or smiling. He looked at Xiaokai, then at Xuefeng, then lowered his head to look at himself as a gust of cold wind blew by. The venerable old sect leader, seemingly seeing a ghost, let out a strange yell and turned into a glow of light, disappearing around the corner.
"Phew!" Even the composed Xuefeng couldn't help but let out a breath and laughed.
Fortunately, thankfully, this place was rarely visited by people, so the people on the peak only heard the thunderous sound but didn't see Daoist Songfeng's glorious image, which could be considered an extremely lucky misfortune.
After calming down slightly, Xuefeng said, "Master, I indeed can't see the cliff below. Based on my analysis, there must be a very powerful restriction set up down there. Therefore, what we see with our eyes is all just a hazy blur. It seems that, due to the Non-Scripture, Master is not affected by this restriction. In that case, can you help me describe what it's really like down there?"
"It's not a big deal, just a cyan-colored pool," Xiaokai gestured with his hand. "Here, it looks a little strange. The pool is peculiar, without even a ripple. Those magic instruments flew into the pool. Or... should we go down together to explore?"
Xuefeng's expression brightened, "Alright."
In fact, it was all just speculation beforehand, Xiaokai had long wanted to go down, but he didn't even have a flying sword, so he had to rely on Xuefeng's strength to go down. While Xuefeng could fly with his sword, he couldn’t see the situation below. So, the two were actually in complete agreement and worked together happily.
"Get on." Xuefeng's flying sword wasn't very spacious, but unlike Xiaolin and Huang Bei, it was different. When Xiaokai stood on it, although there were no handrails, he felt a natural adhesive force under his feet, firmly anchoring him to the sword. His posture was also upright, as stable as standing on level ground.
"Indeed, different power levels yield different capabilities," Xiaokai marveled, giving directions to Xuefeng, "Here, go this way, then turn down, wow, a large rock has protruded here; you need to go around it..."
The further Xuefeng flew, the more astonished he felt. This cliff's underside was the most mysterious place in the entire Yellow Mountain and was also universally recognized as the most spiritually abundant place in the entire realm of cultivation. However, flying down this path, he couldn't sense any trace of spiritual energy, which was truly inexplicable.
Most frighteningly, Xuefeng distinctly felt that he had flown into an array he couldn't comprehend. Before his eyes were wind, snow, thunder, lightning, and occasionally even naked beauties flitting past, all illusions that could confuse cultivators. Luckily, having gone through rigorous training, he could truly keep a steady mind, strictly following Xiaokai’s guidance. Every step Xiaokai pointed out seemed to lead him into the most dangerous place, but he knew those were the true paths.
Of course, the most incomprehensible and enviable thing was that Xiaokai wasn't affected at all by this array; everything he saw was real.
Could it be that the Non-Scripture, ridiculed for thousands of years, had truly found its rightful owner?
Finally, Xiaokai paused and said in a low voice, "We're here."
Xuefeng's flying sword came to a stop, and suddenly everything became clear before him!