Chapter 78

Qixiang's divine soul closely followed the large fish, never leaving its side.

The large, black fish, after finishing its feeding, began to swim towards its nest. It moved slowly, leisurely, as if digesting its food.

After swimming for about ten minutes, the fish disappeared into a crevice at the bottom of the lake.

"Huh?"

At first glance, Qixiang was both surprised and puzzled, for he noticed that the crevice was on a raised hill-like area, like a small hill.

However, this hill was submerged by the lake water, with aquatic plants growing all around, making it very inconspicuous.

If someone were to dive and see this small hill during the day, they would likely overlook it and never notice the hidden crevice among the dense aquatic plants.

The crevice was not large, and even if someone discovered it, they probably wouldn't be able to squeeze through.

Of course, this was not a problem for Qixiang. With a movement of his divine soul, he slipped into the crevice. He observed carefully and found that the crevice was very narrow and long, dark and winding, which was quite strange.

After a moment of observation, Qixiang was even more surprised. He discovered that the crevice was filled with silt, and beneath the silt was a rock tunnel. Moreover, he saw signs of excavation in the rock tunnel.

In other words, this was not a naturally formed crevice but a secret passage artificially excavated.

"What's going on?"

With this discovery, Qixiang was both surprised and delighted. He hurriedly followed the tunnel deeper. After a while, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious cave room.

The cave room, a human habitation, was about thirty square meters, with tables, chairs, and benches all present.

At first glance, Qixiang was naturally shocked. If his divine soul had a physical form, he would have been stunned there, submerged in the lake water, and his breathing would have stopped.

The entire cave room was enveloped by the lake water and had become the fish's nest.

Of course, this was not the key point. The key was that Qixiang saw traces of human life in the cave room. Beds, tables, chairs, and stoves were neatly arranged.

Qixiang also noticed that most of the furniture was made of stone, which allowed it to be preserved intact despite the erosion of the lake water.

Additionally, Qixiang saw that the walls and ceiling of the cave room were embedded with beads in a certain pattern. His divine soul moved closer and immediately confirmed that these beads were Taihu Mystic Pearls.

The Taihu Mystic Pearls were scattered sparsely, their luster very dim, and some were even cracked.

"Poof!"

While Qixiang was observing the Taihu Mystic Pearls, the fish, having returned to its nest, suddenly rammed into a wall. Its hard head collided with the wall, producing a dull sound.

At this sight, Qixiang was naturally both surprised and puzzled, feeling somewhat at a loss.

However, under the impact of the fish, a Taihu Mystic Pearl on the wall shattered and fell off. In an instant, the fish flicked its tail, opened its mouth, and skillfully swallowed the shattered Taihu Mystic Pearl.

After doing this, the fish seemed satisfied and swam under the stone table, remaining motionless as if it were hibernating and digesting.

Seeing this, Qixiang was astonished: "Didn't they say that after the founding of the country, no one was allowed to become a spirit?"

On the other hand, it was difficult to estimate how many years the large fish had survived in the lake. After all, a fish over three meters long, with scales as black as armor, as hard as a crab shell, was not ordinary.

Such a fish must have grown in a way that defied nature, beyond the norm, and could be considered a legendary spirit.

Qixiang's thoughts were in turmoil, and it took him a while to calm down and continue observing the cave room.

He was very curious about who had excavated this cave room at the bottom of the lake. And could someone who could live in the water still be considered human?

If not human, could it be a immortal, a demon, a god, or a monster?

Qixiang was somewhat excited. As his divine soul moved, he felt that many things in the cave room had been washed away by the lake's currents and scattered on the lake bottom.

Some things might have been picked up by others, while others had become food for fish and shrimp.

"Such a waste..."

Qixiang muttered, his gaze shifting. In the corner of the stone bed, he discovered a stone box. Instantly, his divine soul flew over, penetrating the surface of the stone box and seeping into its interior.

At that moment, a stream of light, like water and moon, suddenly bloomed in the box, radiating brilliance and illuminating the cave room.

Before Qixiang could react, the mysterious characters hidden in his divine soul twisted and transformed, merging with the stream of light, blending like water and milk, inseparable.

As the stream of light swirled, a series of obscure and inexplicable messages appeared in Qixiang's divine soul.

Scene after scene, fast and slow, clear and detailed, without any omissions.

After a long time, the stream of light in the box gradually dimmed and finally disappeared.

However, Qixiang's divine soul underwent a significant change. Originally intangible, it now became more substantial, casting a faint shadow in the water.

As the stream of light faded, the fish under the stone table suddenly rushed out, opening its mouth and spitting out a jet of water. The jet of water, like a sharp arrow, fiercely pierced toward Qixiang's divine soul...

The water jet was swift and sharp, causing the lake water to tremble.

Moreover, there seemed to be a faint current within the water jet, which was quite eerie.

The commotion caused by the fish's water jet was significant, and Qixiang definitely noticed it. He glanced at the fish, and his divine soul suddenly flashed, instantly breaking through the layers of lake water and reaching the surface.

A moment later, Qixiang's divine soul returned, and he opened his eyes on the small boat. A faint light flowed in his pupils, resembling a mysterious character.

"Water Moon Secret Script!"

Qixiang calmed himself, slowly organizing his thoughts, and couldn't help but sigh.

In the stream of light from the box, he finally understood the origin of the cave room. It was the abode of a cultivator who called himself Water Moon Hermit during the late Northern Song Dynasty.

During the late Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji revered Taoism and, like many emperors and generals throughout history, desired immortality. Therefore, he recruited many extraordinary people and high Taoist priests to the capital to help him achieve immortality and sainthood.

In feudal society, the emperor was supreme, and with the power of the entire nation, if he was determined to do something, the process would be very lively, regardless of whether the outcome was successful.

Water Moon Hermit was just an ordinary scholar at the time. Due to his failure in the imperial examinations, in that environment, he decided to join a famous Taoist priest, hoping to achieve his goals indirectly and rise to prominence.

By chance, he was brought into the palace by the Taoist priest and was responsible for organizing the Taoist scriptures and secret texts submitted by nobles and officials to the emperor.

Although most of these Taoist scriptures and secret texts were garbage, full of empty theories that were useless in practice, when the quantity reached a certain level, there was a chance for quality improvement.

Like sifting through sand, there was a certain probability of finding gold.

Water Moon Hermit had a certain amount of wisdom and, by chance, obtained a mysterious character from an ancient jade. He had a certain level of insight and managed to understand the mystery of the character.

From then on, he embarked on the path of cultivation.

He was very smart. After obtaining the opportunity for immortality, he did not leave the palace. Instead, he used his position to take advantage of the emperor's resources, secretly gaining many benefits, and his cultivation progressed rapidly.

Unfortunately, good times did not last long. The Jin army besieged the city, and the Northern Song Dynasty faced a catastrophic disaster.

Water Moon Hermit saw the situation and, despite his desire to fight, realized he had no power to change the outcome. With his strength, dealing with a few dozen people was not a problem, but facing thousands of soldiers was a death sentence.

With no other choice, he had to protect himself and left in disappointment.

After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Central Plains were in chaos. Water Moon Hermit, seeing the turmoil, decided to retreat from the world and cultivate. However, due to the nature of his cultivation method, he did not choose to live in famous mountains but instead excavated a cave room at the bottom of Taihu Lake.

Time passed quickly, and after several decades, Water Moon Hermit encountered a bottleneck and failed to make a crucial breakthrough, ultimately meeting a tragic end.

However, sensing his impending death, Water Moon Hermit made two arrangements.

Ancient people seemed to have a habit of passing on their knowledge. Water Moon Hermit was no exception. Although he had no time to teach disciples during his lifetime, he arranged two legacies before his death.

One was the cave room at the bottom of Taihu Lake, which contained his lifetime collection of treasures and legacies.

The other was the blank scroll that Qixiang obtained from Zhu Qiao. On the back of the blank scroll, the mysterious character that Water Moon Hermit had obtained was hidden.

Water Moon Hermit himself did not fully understand the nature of the mysterious character, so he named it the Water Moon Secret Script.

Qixiang spent some time to fully understand the legacy information of Water Moon Hermit. For a moment, he felt the frustration and anger that Water Moon Hermit had experienced.

With Water Moon Hermit's talent and effort, he had a chance to break through his limitations, extend his life for a few hundred years, and become a land immortal in the eyes of the world. However, the arrival of the end of the Dharma era cut off his path.

It was a matter of time and fate!

Qixiang shook his head, but his eyes brightened. As the saying goes, "One generation plants the trees, and the next generation enjoys the shade." Water Moon Hermit's misfortune became his opportunity...

In an instant, Qixiang made a decision, summoned the turtle shell, and lightly leaped into the lake.

The turtle shell emitted a stream of light, forming a thin, yet very strong, transparent shield that separated the lake water from Qixiang's body.

With the help of the turtle shell, Qixiang easily dived to the bottom of the lake and walked step by step toward the cave room.

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