After Wu Dingyuan fell into the lake water, his entire body immediately felt burning pain like fire. Then the intense pain attacked his heart. He watched his body rot into a mass – the outer skin rotted away, and his internal organs and heart and lungs actually emerged exposed. When the Nether Sea water reached him, Wu Dingyuan felt a stabbing pain in both eyes, and everything went dark before him – he had actually gone blind.

Was this the fate of such a constable?

With a drip, a drop of cool water fell and struck Wu Dingyuan’s face.

In the complete silence, he lay motionless like a corpse, lying face up in a pool of water. Purple light flickered uncertainly above, the radiance flowing and forming two lines of text: “Divine Embryo Precious Blood Accords with Heaven’s Record – A True Dragon is Born from the Sea.” In the very center flickered an image of a human face with a serpent’s body, glowing dimly in the darkness.

This was not the Nether Sea, nor were there any treacherous ministers – only a stretch of dark tranquility.

After a very long time, Wu Dingyuan gave a groan and finally opened his eyes. His entire body was weary as he slowly sat up. Suddenly he saw that the skin of his belly and abdomen had long since rotted away, and his five organs and six bowels were actually all exposed – his heart was constantly beating, and his intestines and stomach were also writhing incessantly.

Seeing this extremely cruel scene, Wu Dingyuan was greatly shocked: “Have I… have I really died?” In an instant he cried out loudly, and in his terror fainted again.

A wave of hot air sprayed onto his face. Wu Dingyuan was stimulated by this hot air and woke up once more.

Purple light flowed around him, and before his eyes was a pair of bright eyes gazing at him. Those eyes were dark green and deep blue, indescribably strange.

Wu Dingyuan’s heart jumped with alarm: “The King of Hell… the King of Hell has come…”

In the darkness, someone suddenly pried open his mouth, and then bitter water was poured down his throat. Wu Dingyuan was greatly alarmed: “Meng Po’s soup! They want me to drink Meng Po’s soup!” Thinking of how he bore grudges and vengeance, Wu Dingyuan cried out loudly: “I don’t want to drink Meng Po’s soup! I want revenge! Even as a ghost I want revenge!”

In his dazed state, liquid was poured into his mouth, and he couldn’t help but swallow the juice. It went into his stomach and felt extremely foul-smelling. Just as he was about to vomit it out, suddenly his abdomen ached. That painful sensation rushed out from his abdomen, slowly rising to his chest and stomach, then rushing down rapidly, circulating through his heart, lungs, spleen, liver, and kidneys – the five organs. The intense pain attacked his heart. Wu Dingyuan rolled about wildly, crying out, his entire body tormented as if by fire. In his extreme suffering, he finally fainted again.

No one knew how much time passed. Wu Dingyuan had dream after dream – sometimes he returned to his hometown, sometimes he was in the capital, but most often he was at the scene of the bloody case at Yanling Escort Agency.

In his dreams, he fled in panic among numerous corpses. One dying person after another kept reaching out, wanting only to grab his ankles. Wu Dingyuan covered his face and cried: “Don’t grab me! I have no way to help you! Don’t grab me!”

Suddenly, countless corpses disappeared without trace. Around him, light slowly brightened, enveloped in purple radiance. From the sky above seemed to come a voice saying lowly: “Wu Dingyuan… Wu Dingyuan… you have been chosen by Heaven, Wu Dingyuan… Wu Dingyuan… you cannot forget your aspirations…”

Wu Dingyuan gazed blankly at the sky and murmured: “My aspirations? Aspirations…”

Suddenly Wu Dingyuan’s eyes opened wide – he had awakened.

All around was deep and dark, completely without human voices. Wu Dingyuan was startled: “Where am I?” He turned to look back and saw only a stretch of darkness in the distance. Not only was Yan Ting nowhere to be seen, even Zhuo Lingzhao, Jiang Chong, An’dao Jing and the others had all vanished. Remembering how he had earlier fallen into the Nether Sea, his heart suddenly jumped with alarm: “Hell… could this be hell?”

Thinking of how all those evildoers were still living well while he, a constable, had to fall into hell and suffer endless torment, he felt Heaven was utterly unfair. His heart filled with sorrow as he held his head and wept bitterly, crying: “Oh Heaven! Where have your eyes gone? Where is the King of Hell? Where are the little demons? Isn’t this the eighteen levels of hell? Come out and judge me quickly!” In his excitement, he wanted only to pour out the injustice in his heart to the gods and Buddhas above, taking on a somewhat crazed appearance.

After a long while, he heard only distant echoes continuously, but no one answered him. Wu Dingyuan gave a wild cry and suddenly stood up. As soon as he stood, he felt somewhat cold on his body. Looking down, he saw he was completely naked, standing in an extremely wide pool of water, but his body was perfectly intact – there wasn’t even a single external wound.

Wu Dingyuan stared blankly at his own body, remembering how his internal organs had rotted out earlier. His heart was filled with doubt and uncertainty as he thought: “What exactly happened to me? What occurred?”

He looked at the pool of water beneath his feet and mused: “Whether this is the human world or hell, I must first figure out the situation.” Having suffered hardships all along the way, he had long since thrown caution to the wind. Whether what awaited ahead was the King of Hell or little demons, he would have to meet them face to face anyway. So he prepared to walk out of the pool.

He applied slight force with his feet, and with a thunderous sound but no splash of water, he had actually flown to the shore.

This shock was truly extraordinary. The pool was three zhang in length and width, yet with a light leap he could actually fly across the wide surface of the pool. Wu Dingyuan stared blankly at his own bare feet and thought: “What… what has happened to me? Even a first-rate martial arts expert might not be able to accomplish this leap… how have I become so formidable?”

Slightly gathering his true qi, instantly a hot flow like boiling water surged from his dantian, flowing hot and scalding through his four limbs and hundred bones. Wu Dingyuan was greatly shocked. This internal power was tremendously strong, far exceeding his past internal cultivation by more than a hundred times. For a moment his heart was terrified as he thought secretly: “What exactly has happened? Why have I become like this?”

In his bewilderment, Wu Dingyuan reflected on past events. At that time he had already jumped into the lake to commit suicide and by rights should have died long ago in the Nether Sea. How had he appeared in this extremely wondrous place? And how had he changed into this strange appearance? He pondered: “What exactly happened? Where is Yan Ting? Where is Zhuo Lingzhao? Where have they all gone?”

He looked down at the pool and saw the water was a pale purple color, faintly giving off phosphorescent light. In front of the pool stood a stone tablet inscribed with four characters: “Fuxi Precious Pool.”

Wu Dingyuan mused: “So this pool is called ‘Fuxi Precious Pool.’ I wonder what connection it has with the strange internal power in my body.”

He looked around and saw he was in a huge stone chamber. The chamber was pentagonal in shape with a round dome above. On the stone wall opposite were carved three large characters: “Heart of Benevolence.” Wu Dingyuan was slightly surprised and looked around at the other stone walls. In an instant he saw written on each wall: “Liver of Righteousness,” “Kidneys of Trust,” “Spleen of Wisdom,” “Gallbladder of Courage,” and other characters. He pondered carefully: “Fuxi Precious Pool, benevolence, righteousness, trust, wisdom, courage… what place is this exactly…”

Suddenly he saw the pool water faintly reflecting purple light. Wu Dingyuan looked up and suddenly saw purple light flowing dimly on the cave ceiling – exactly the two lines of text: “Divine Embryo Precious Blood Accords with Heaven’s Record – A True Dragon is Born from the Sea.”

Wu Dingyuan was startled: “Aren’t these the two lines from the Divine Ghost Pavilion? How am I seeing them again?” His mouth fell open, and in an instant a thought flashed through his mind: “I’m not in hell – I’m still alive, and still in Shenji Cave!”

With this realization, he couldn’t help but be overjoyed and thought: “Wonderful! I’m not dead! I’m not dead!” He couldn’t help dancing with joy, extremely happy.

After a long while, Wu Dingyuan slowly calmed down. He touched his own face and saw his body was perfectly intact. In his joy and surprise, a blazing flame of survival arose in his heart – he wanted only to leave this place alive and escape the clutches of these numerous demons.

Wu Dingyuan looked at the distant stone door and thought: “If I want to leave the cave now, I’ll definitely encounter Jiang Chong and the others. Let me investigate first to see if there are any other exits.” He immediately recovered the alertness and agility of a constable and walked out of the chamber, wanting to find an exit.

Walking outside the door, he saw before him a long corridor, but it was pitch black and difficult to distinguish directions.

Wu Dingyuan frowned and wanted to turn back to find torches or similar objects. Suddenly he felt the corridor slowly brightening. Wu Dingyuan was stunned for a while and thought: “What’s going on? How did light suddenly appear in the darkness?”

While he was wondering, he felt the corridor becoming brighter and brighter until everything was clearly visible. He turned back to look into the stone door and instantly the light was dazzling, making his eyes sting painfully. Wu Dingyuan suddenly realized: “It’s not that the light became bright – I’ve developed night vision!”

His heart was terrified, not knowing what other abnormalities his constitution might have. For a moment his heart was filled with inexplicable fear, afraid he had already turned into a monster like that human-faced, serpent-bodied beast in his dream.

While walking, suddenly a wave of hot air sprayed from behind. Wu Dingyuan was startled and hurriedly turned to look back. Behind him was a creature spitting out its tongue, covered in golden scales – it was actually a living golden dragon!

Wu Dingyuan was scared out of his wits. This place had many strange creatures, and seeing another demon, he immediately rushed forward and fled far away.

His soul fled to the heavens. After running for a while, he looked back and saw the golden dragon only staying in its original place, with no sign of pursuit.

Wu Dingyuan’s heart was filled with doubt and uncertainty as he thought: “What exactly is this monster? Is it really a dragon?”

That day when he and Zhuo Lingzhao were surveying terrain by a lake, they had seen a snake-like creature over one zhang long, which was somewhat similar to this monster. Wu Dingyuan remembered the cave secrets Jiang Chong had mentioned, and his curiosity greatly increased. Seeing the monster remaining silent and motionless, he boldly walked forward two steps.

Walking closer, Wu Dingyuan looked carefully at the monster and saw it was about ten zhang in length, with a multicolored crimson head and eyes that shone brilliantly. It seemed that if it just grew two deer antlers and six clawed feet, it would become the legendary golden dragon.

Wu Dingyuan’s mind cleared – the sheepskin recorded that this Shenji Cave had always been guarded by four beasts. They had already seen Changyu, Bangzei, and Feiyi, so this monster must be Jinlin. Wu Dingyuan swallowed his saliva and thought: “When I was unconscious, there were eyes staring at me. Could it have been this monster?”

While thinking, the great python swayed for a while and actually swam over with incredible speed. In a moment it had already moved to his front. Wu Dingyuan was both shocked and afraid, so he raised his foot to kick, wanting to scare the python away. Who knew the python only raised its head and flicked its tongue, neither fleeing nor attacking.

One man and one snake stared at each other face to face, both motionless. Wu Dingyuan’s face was full of terror as he thought: “What does this monster want to do? Could it want to eat me?”

Wu Dingyuan slowly retreated, wanting to take the opportunity to leave. Who knew that as soon as he moved slightly, the python also swam forward. Wu Dingyuan was startled and hurriedly stopped. The python also stopped moving, only raising its head and flicking its tongue at him, shaking its head repeatedly.

Wu Dingyuan knew something was strange, so he cupped his hands and said: “This old brother, I didn’t intentionally intrude into your precious territory. Please be merciful and stop following me.” Speaking thus, he retreated two steps backward. Who knew the Jinlin great python also moved forward again, not allowing him to leave at all, but also not coming to attack – only shaking its head, looking as if it wanted him to follow.

Wu Dingyuan became suspicious and thought secretly: “This snake is somewhat supernatural. Could someone have tamed and trained it to guard the cave? I can follow and see.” He coughed once and slowly stepped forward one step. The snake seemed overjoyed and turned around to move toward the depths of the corridor. Wu Dingyuan followed step by step behind the snake.

Whenever Wu Dingyuan stopped, the snake would also stop moving until Wu Dingyuan caught up. If Wu Dingyuan turned and ran away, the snake would chase after him, absolutely refusing to let him leave.

Wu Dingyuan was increasingly shocked as he watched, thinking: “This snake is so intelligent, it’s definitely no ordinary creature. What kind of person does it want to take me to see? Could it be an immortal?”

At that time Jiang Chong kept threatening everyone, wanting people not to investigate deeply into the cave’s secrets. Now that Wu Dingyuan was inside the cave, how could he not be curious? Thinking of how he had fled from Xiliang all the way to the capital, running around everywhere for the sheepskin, and now finally about to discover the final secret, he couldn’t help being both excited and worried.

The python moved over a hundred feet and suddenly stopped motionless. Wu Dingyuan’s heart jumped as he saw ahead there seemed to be someone living in a stone chamber. His heart was shocked as he thought secretly: “Who lives here? Could it be the person who makes Jiang Chong unable to eat or sleep peacefully?”

This place was called “Shenji Cave” and was said to be connected to the world’s fate, blocked by four obstacles and guarded by four beasts. All the mysterious and incomprehensible aspects were related to this stone chamber. Wu Dingyuan thought of those four lines: “In the year of Wuchen when the year ends, the Dragon Emperor moves the world, Heaven’s mystery is still true, ghosts and spirits are free” – he couldn’t help but tremble all over.

Wu Dingyuan stood at the cave entrance and called loudly: “Is anyone there? This humble one, Wu Dingyuan from Xiliang, pays respects to the senior!” He shouted several times but no one came out, nor did anyone speak in response.

Wu Dingyuan was completely naked at this time and couldn’t meet people, but he couldn’t just stand there stupidly. He steeled himself and shouted: “Senior, if you don’t come out, this humble one can only presume to enter!” He then covered his body with his hands and walked forward awkwardly.

Stepping into the chamber, he saw emptiness all around. In the center was a high platform, beside which was a stone tablet inscribed with four characters: “Nuwa Heaven Platform.” On the platform was placed a huge stone coffin, with blue light faintly shining down on the coffin. There was nothing else.

Wu Dingyuan walked up the high platform and stood beside the stone coffin. His body was also reflected in deep blue, like azure seawater. He looked up and saw the cave ceiling was inlaid with a piece of colored glass – this was where the blue light shone down from, just like the purple light from the “Fuxi Precious Pool.”

Wu Dingyuan looked down at the stone coffin and thought: “This coffin is very mysterious. I wonder what person is inside?” He wanted to open the coffin, but then thought this place was indescribably strange. All along the way there had been many strange beasts in ambush – Changyu, Feiyi – and if there were zombies or monsters hiding in the coffin, that wouldn’t be surprising either.

Wu Dingyuan shook his head and smiled bitterly, not daring to touch the stone coffin. He could only jump down from the high platform and walk around the stone chamber in a circle. After looking for a long time, he saw no people and no objects, and couldn’t figure it out no matter how he thought. He couldn’t help but worry. He had wandered for many years, suffering hardships, all because of that sheepskin. With great difficulty he had survived nine deaths and one life to reach this place where the final secret lay. If he still couldn’t discover the truth, how could he be reconciled? He looked at the coffin and thought: “It seems I can only open the coffin to look.”

Although he said he would open the coffin, this place was dark and terrifying, so he absolutely couldn’t act rashly. He first respectfully knelt down and called to the stone coffin: “This humble one, Wu Dingyuan from Xiliang, only by chance and coincidence has presumptuously come to this place, absolutely not intending to disturb. Please forgive this offense.”

Working in government service, he naturally preferred to believe such ghostly and spiritual matters existed. Although in past years he had drawn his sword and made vows with heroic spirit, now being in this mysterious place and having experienced frightening encounters with monsters, he should naturally be extremely respectful in his manners, lest he offend demons and such.

Wu Dingyuan kowtowed for a while, then boldly reached out to lift the stone coffin’s lid. As soon as the lid was lifted, he hurriedly leaped backward and avoided it from afar, afraid some zombie or ghost might jump out.

After a long time with no strange creatures emerging, Wu Dingyuan sighed in relief and crept toward the stone coffin, boldly and slowly poking his head over.

Looking inside, he saw the stone coffin was empty of people – there was only a yellow robe.

Wu Dingyuan let out a long breath and thought: “Good thing there are no monsters.” Then he thought again: “Even this coffin has nothing in it. How can I continue investigating?” For a moment he felt quite disappointed.

He sighed and took out the yellow robe. Since he was completely naked and couldn’t go without clothes to cover his body, he thought: “I have no choice but to borrow this outfit for now!” Thinking that this garment was taken from a coffin and was probably a dead person’s burial clothes, he couldn’t help feeling creeped out, but having clothes to wear was better than being naked. So he put it on.

Wu Dingyuan put on the garment and felt the material was light and comfortable throughout. He couldn’t help but wonder secretly: “This clothing’s material and tailoring are extraordinary. That dead person’s status must have been extremely noble. I wonder what his background was.” Looking by the blue light, he suddenly saw embroidered on the clothes he wore was a five-clawed golden dragon. Wu Dingyuan’s heart jumped with great alarm, and his hands couldn’t help trembling slightly.

This garment was no small matter – it was actually the emperor’s dragon robe!

Wu Dingyuan’s face was full of amazement as he pondered: “This… this garment is worn by an emperor. Could this Shenji Cave be an ancient tomb? But where is the corpse from this stone coffin? Why is it gone? Could it have been taken away by tomb robbers?”

While he was puzzling over this, he suddenly felt a wave of hot air spraying from behind. Wu Dingyuan’s heart jumped with alarm as he quickly turned around, only to see the Jinlin great python swimming toward him, opening its bloody maw as if to bite him. This python had been extremely docile before – why had it suddenly become so fierce?

Wu Dingyuan’s mind awakened as he thought: “Oh no! This snake must be a guard watching over the tomb. As soon as it saw me steal things from the coffin, it came to bite me.”

He saw the great python had already reached his front, its snake mouth biting toward his arm. Wu Dingyuan was greatly shocked and shouted sternly: “Get away!”

The great python paid no attention and rushed forward even more urgently, its upper and lower jaws opening wide. Wu Dingyuan was greatly alarmed. Seeing he could delay no longer, he swept out with his right palm and immediately struck.

With a “crack,” this palm struck squarely on the giant python’s belly. The great python immediately flew out and crashed heavily against the stone wall.

Wu Dingyuan saw his palm power was extraordinarily great and was also terrified in his heart. He shook his head and then walked toward the great python. He saw the great python was still writhing on the ground, its belly corroded with a large hole as if soaked by some poisonous liquid – it clearly wouldn’t survive.

Wu Dingyuan’s heart jumped with alarm as he pondered: “What’s going on? How did this python’s belly rot like this?” Looking at his own right palm, he saw the palm faintly emitting a purple light, especially striking in the darkness. Wu Dingyuan’s heart jumped with alarm: “My palm contains deadly poison!”

The great python, struck by one palm, was not yet completely dead. It writhed on the ground for a while and then swam toward Wu Dingyuan again, its mouth still wide open. Wu Dingyuan thought: “Isn’t this python afraid of death? Why is it still coming to get beaten?” This time he didn’t dare be rash. Looking at the python’s great mouth, he suddenly saw it actually contained something in its mouth, as if wanting to give it to him.

Wu Dingyuan said “Ah!” and finally understood the python’s intention. It turned out it wasn’t trying to bite him to death but had something to present to him. Wu Dingyuan saw the python’s belly was pierced through and its life hanging by a thread, and felt slightly guilty in his heart.

He crouched down and received the object from the python’s mouth. He saw it was already quite damaged – an old, tattered booklet. The python, seeing Wu Dingyuan had received the item, seemed very pleased. It swam up to Wu Dingyuan’s leg and placed its huge head on Wu Dingyuan’s knee, its eyes seeming to show a sorrowful expression.

Wu Dingyuan felt sad and said: “I’m sorry. I struck too heavily and injured you like this.”

The python flicked its tongue and slowly stiffened its body – it had actually died.

Wu Dingyuan sighed deeply and thought: “My martial arts now are extraordinary. When striking, I must definitely hold back, otherwise in the future those who receive my palm power will either die or be severely injured, causing too much killing.”

He reached out his right hand to gently stroke the snake’s head. Instantly, the great python’s forehead also rotted out a deep hole. Wu Dingyuan was greatly alarmed, looking at his own right hand and murmuring to himself: “What’s going on? How… how did my palm become so poisonous?”

Since leaving the “Fuxi Precious Pool,” first he had discovered his internal power was vastly stronger than in the past, then he realized he had developed night vision, and now his right hand also had palm poison, like a monster. Wu Dingyuan was stunned for a while and couldn’t make a sound. He looked at the Jinlin great python’s body and felt both pain and pity. He then reached out his left hand and gently moved it aside.

Wu Dingyuan picked up the thin booklet the python had given him and thought: “I wonder what the origin of this book is. Could it be related to the secrets of this Shenji Cave?” Reading by the blue light in the cave, he saw written on the cover four characters: “Wearing Purple Qi” – it seemed to be the name of a martial arts manual.

Wu Dingyuan was startled: “Wearing Purple Qi? Is this ‘Wearing Purple Qi’ the reason my right hand is so sinisterly poisonous?” He opened the first page to look and saw that the text recorded on this page was not martial arts methods but rather a narrative record. Wu Dingyuan knew it must be related to the cave’s mysteries, so he immediately read carefully word by word.

“You first obtained the heavenly talisman, then took the code words, shed fresh blood, threw it into the Nether Sea, passed through four obstacles and four trials. By Heaven’s mandate, you have already inherited my will and become a true dragon of a generation.”

Wu Dingyuan was stunned for a while and thought: “What does ‘true dragon of a generation’ mean?” He continued reading below: “Heaven’s way is difficult to fathom, hidden and unclear. If you see this record, by this time dynasties have already changed. Though I consider myself outstanding with no rival in the world, treacherous ministers flourish, causing my personal campaign to end in defeat and the nation to be like a precarious egg. I had no choice but to seal this cave and temporarily welcome the imperial presence here in Shenji Cave of this mountain, waiting for the situation to calm so we may later return to the Three Treasures throne.”

Wu Dingyuan was shocked and pondered: “What does this mean? What is meant by ‘personal campaign ending in defeat’? Isn’t the Emperor happily enjoying himself in Beijing? How is there talk of ‘temporarily welcoming the imperial presence’?” On this journey, entrusted by Liu Angtian, his purpose was to investigate the sheepskin’s origins, but he didn’t know there were such strange matters.

Wu Dingyuan was bewildered and confused, thinking: “Never mind, after I leave the mountain, I’ll ask Imperial Physician Yang then.” He thought with Yang Suguan’s vast learning, he could surely discover the origins.

Reading further: “Shenji Cave is extremely secret. Without the heavenly talisman’s guidance, no one in the world can find its entrance. But one cannot be without caution regarding people’s hearts. Jiang Chong’s physiognomy is no small matter – he has the appearance of Three Dukes. If this person has other intentions, His Majesty’s safety could be in danger. To ensure His Majesty’s safety, I released the heavenly beasts in the cave for protection, and also hid secrets in the Divine Ghost Pavilion. Without the pavilion’s code words as guidance, even with the heavenly talisman, it would be difficult to find traces of His Majesty. This is truly a precautionary measure.”

Wu Dingyuan was stunned for a while and thought: “What exactly does this person do? Who is he going to such lengths to protect? Could the person in the coffin really be the Emperor? How is this possible?”

For a moment he couldn’t understand, so he could only continue reading: “You obtained the Evil-Suppressing Heavenly Talisman first, then threw yourself into the Nether Sea afterward. Such great benevolence and courage must have Heaven’s protection. Given this immortal and Buddhist opportunity, you should strengthen yourself and serve the country. Drink Nuwa’s heavenly wine, bathe in Fuxi’s precious pool, obtain the heart of benevolence, regulate the liver of righteousness, the kidneys of trust, take the spleen of wisdom, gain the gallbladder of courage. Divine embryo precious blood accords with Heaven’s record – a true dragon is born from the sea.”

Wu Dingyuan’s mind suddenly cleared as he understood the whole story. The Divine Ghost Pavilion contained two code phrases. The first was called “Divine embryo precious blood accords with Heaven’s record,” intended for sprinkling fresh blood on the sheepskin to break the various mechanisms in the cave. The second was called “A true dragon is born from the sea” – thinking back now, it originally required those who had seen the code words to jump into the Nether Sea. Only then could they break the secret of the final obstacle in Shenji Cave. Without this, the peerless martial arts in the cave could never be obtained.

Wu Dingyuan reflected on the situation at that time. When he jumped into the sea, it was only from momentary grief and indignation. He hadn’t thought that his suicide would coincidentally solve the final difficult obstacle.

He pondered in his heart that the predecessor who arranged the cave’s mechanisms extremely valued character and moral conduct. Not only did he test visitors’ character in the Heart Station, but finally used this method of transcending life and death to test people’s hearts. It seemed this person was worried that his successor might do evil in the future, so he used this as a test. Who knew it would be solved by his accidental success, actually inheriting divine martial arts through this. Wu Dingyuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, thinking: “This is truly Heaven’s will. Perhaps I really am, as the book says, someone with Heaven’s protection.”

In the past, whether it was the holy Abbot Lingzhi or the treacherous minister Jiang Chong, all considered his physiognomy strange. Thinking back now, there was indeed some truth to it.

He pondered for a good while and thought again: “Is this ‘Nuwa heavenly wine’ and ‘Fuxi precious pool’ mentioned in the book the source of the strange internal power in my body?”

When he was unconscious, he seemed to have been forced to drink bitter water by that Jinlin. At the time he thought it was hell’s “Meng Po soup,” but who knew it was actually something called “Nuwa heavenly wine.” As for the cold pool water that soaked his body, that was the “Fuxi precious pool.”

Wu Dingyuan sighed and thought: “Now the internal arts in my body must be the Tianshan martial arts that Zhuo Lingzhao dreams of day and night. These treacherous people do all manner of evil and calculate everything, but instead let someone else gain the advantage. How ridiculous!” Thinking of how Zhuo Lingzhao and others would surely be disappointed and upset, he couldn’t help but find it amusing and suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

Wu Dingyuan was laughing heartily when he suddenly saw mud and sand falling swiftly in the cave – it was actually shaken by his internal power. He hurriedly controlled his mind and spirit: “I’m still in a mysterious place and haven’t escaped danger yet. I mustn’t get carried away.”

He breathed and circulated qi for a moment, then continued looking through the booklet, reading: “You bear Heaven’s mandate and have inherited divine martial arts. You cannot forget the will of a true dragon. The matter of His Majesty being in Shenji Cave is known in the world only by myself and Jiang Chong. You absolutely must not spread this news. At this time, Jiang Chong has already betrayed the country. In this national crisis, you especially need to exhaust your heart and strength to welcome our Emperor back to the capital, enabling him to ascend the throne again and implement benevolent government, only then will you be worthy of the name ‘true dragon.'”

Looking at the signature, there was no name or title, only a line of small characters: “The affairs here cannot be spoken of to outsiders, otherwise it will only cause court turmoil and allow treacherous parties to profit instead. Remember this! Remember this!”

Wu Dingyuan carefully went through the entire book and saw that besides this record, there were the training methods for “Wearing Purple Qi.” His mind was in chaos, and for the moment he had no time to study carefully, so he put the book in his chest.

He looked at the empty stone coffin before him and murmured: “If dynasties have already changed, then Jiang Chong has already betrayed the country? What does this mean? The Emperor is fine and well in Beijing – when did dynasties change?”

As he thought about it, his heart suddenly jumped with alarm as he remembered that the current Emperor was originally called “Prince Min.” This Emperor didn’t ascend the throne as Crown Prince but was the younger brother of the previous Emperor Wuying. Only because Emperor Wuying died young did Prince Min inherit the throne. Wu Dingyuan’s mind awakened – only now did he understand that what was hidden in this cave was none other than Emperor Wuying, the elder brother of the current sage and former Emperor.

Wu Dingyuan was terrified in his heart. He looked at the dragon robe on his body and pondered: “Could the clothes I’m wearing actually be what Emperor Wuying wore? This… how can this be?” This Emperor Wuying had already passed away thirty years ago. If he hadn’t died but was hiding here, he would be over fifty years old by now.

His heart was filled with doubt and uncertainty as he pondered: “Wasn’t this Emperor Wuying already killed by treacherous people? He’s been dead for decades – how could he run out again? This… Heaven has no two suns, the nation has no two rulers. If this person is still in the world, how should we ministers handle this?”

The more he thought, the more panicked he became. He crawled into the stone coffin and examined it carefully, but saw there were indeed no remains or bones in the coffin. Apart from the dragon robe on his body, there really were no other traces.

Wu Dingyuan suddenly felt relieved, thinking: “It seems this record isn’t entirely true. It doesn’t even have a signature – it’s probably the work of some charlatan. This Shenji Cave is a godforsaken place – how could a living person stay here for decades? He’d probably be bored to death.”

Just as he was about to laugh heartily, a voice in his heart said: “No… if this record is nonsense, how could a sheepskin appear in this world that would cause Jiang Chong and these people to pursue and fight over it?”

Wu Dingyuan stood dazed for a while and thought: “Regardless, this Emperor Wuying has already disappeared. Since he’s neither in the cave nor in the world, it’s the same as if he’s dead. This is good too – the nation has no two rulers. Since he’s been dead for decades, let him drift away with the wind. He shouldn’t come out to cause trouble again.”

After Wu Dingyuan read the record above, his heart had some understanding. It seemed this mountain cave must have been built by sages from a thousand years ago. For some unknown reason, someone had once hidden Emperor Wuying here, but this poor Emperor probably had some accident in the cave and ended up with no corpse or bones remaining, leaving only this dragon robe for people to mourn over.

It seemed Emperor Wuying was either eaten by the python or accidentally fell into the Nether Sea and dissolved, or perhaps he couldn’t stand the stuffiness in the cave and jumped into the lake to commit suicide.

Wu Dingyuan sighed and immediately worshipped before the stone coffin: “Predecessor above, it’s not that this junior doesn’t want to exhaust heart and strength, but since Emperor Wuying has already disappeared without trace and even his bones cannot be found, how can this junior be loyal to him? Regardless of what kind of divine being you are, I still hope your heroic spirit has knowledge and can forgive this. This junior would be infinitely grateful.” Speaking thus, he kowtowed several times.

Wu Dingyuan was kneeling and worshipping when he suddenly heard sounds from the distance. Wu Dingyuan listened carefully and felt one voice was low and deep, another high-pitched, as if a man and woman were talking there. Wu Dingyuan quickly turned his head and felt his night vision flash as two gray shadows seemed to fly by, actually faster than ghosts.

Wu Dingyuan saw that the two gray shadows had something between them, looking like two monsters with connected tails. He suddenly remembered the male and female divine statues painted on the South Heaven Gate and was immediately scared out of his wits, greatly alarmed: “Ghosts! Ghosts are coming!” Those two divine statues had human faces and serpent bodies, extremely strange. If they really came out to cause trouble, how could he still live? Thinking of Qi Bochuan’s strange appearance in his dream, his heart jumped with terror as he hurriedly fled toward the corridor.

After running for a while, Wu Dingyuan felt his feet were like riding clouds and driving mist, incredibly fast. The more he ran, the more his heart was alarmed, but he didn’t dare stop. This cave was really too strange – he only wanted to quickly find an exit and leave.

While he was afraid, he suddenly saw light shining down from the front of the corridor. Wu Dingyuan hurriedly ran forward and saw at the top of the corridor was a broken hole about two feet square. Wu Dingyuan was overjoyed and hurriedly looked out from the hole. Outside it was already deep night with stars filling the sky above. It seemed if he could just climb out from here, he would definitely escape to safety.

Wu Dingyuan’s heart was excited – he wanted to jump directly out of the broken hole, but this break was exactly at the top of the corridor, really too high. Wu Dingyuan was secretly worried, not knowing if he had the ability to get up there.

He turned back to look at the gloomy corridor, secretly afraid that the human-faced, serpent-bodied monsters might suddenly appear. He lightly breathed out, gathered his lightness skill, and pushed forcefully off the ground with both feet. Suddenly he felt his body lighten and actually flew up high like a great bird soaring toward the cave ceiling.

Wu Dingyuan saw he had jumped too high and couldn’t help crying “Ah!” in alarm, extremely shocked. He wanted to slow his body but couldn’t find the method. He felt he was still rising gracefully when suddenly his head hurt – he had crashed into the cave ceiling, followed by a thunderous sound as the cave ceiling was actually knocked down by him.

Wu Dingyuan was greatly shocked, his dantian qi became turbid, and he fell to the ground on the spot, falling until his whole body ached unbearably.

He lay on the ground looking at the broken hole in the cave ceiling and murmured: “Is this the power of Wearing Purple Qi?”

Only now did Wu Dingyuan realize the infinite mysteries of Tianshan martial arts. If he wasn’t careful in using it, he might not gain its benefits but suffer its harm instead. He looked at the cave hole and leaped up again. This time he was much more careful, not daring to use too much force. With a light leap, his body had already flown up and in an instant had floated out of the cave. Although this time he was prepared and didn’t crash anything, seeing himself possessing such divine martial arts, moving like a monster, he still felt terrified.

Wu Dingyuan flew out of the cave top and immediately landed on the ground. He looked in all directions and saw he was on a plateau. Several li away was an endless mountain range – that must be the Tianshan Mountains.

It was currently deep night, and looking at the stars, it was already near midnight. Cold wind blew and the air was extremely fresh. Wu Dingyuan took a deep breath and felt refreshed and pleased. At this moment, whether it was Jiang Chong or Zhuo Lingzhao, no one could do anything to him anymore.

He looked at the magnificent mountains in the distance. For a moment his mental strength relaxed as he fell to the ground, staring blankly at the silvery-white moon wheel in the sky.

In the peaceful tranquility, Wu Dingyuan quietly pondered the whole story of the entire affair. He closed his eyes and thought: “What should I do? This sheepskin isn’t evidence of Jiang Chong selling out the country at all – it’s really just a treasure map. How can I use this thing to bring down Jiang Chong? I’ve greatly offended these treacherous people this time – what should I do in the future? Can Marquis Liu protect me?”

The situation before him was clear – the sheepskin was just an inexplicable divine talisman, definitely not the evidence of selling out the country that Wang Ning and Liang Zhiyi had imagined, so it couldn’t be used to bring down the treacherous minister Jiang Chong. Thinking of his year of toil and hardship, fleeing thousands of li – what was it all for? Now in the midst of this mystery, apart from seeing an empty coffin and an empty cave, he knew nothing else and had no idea how to continue investigating this case. He couldn’t help shaking his head and smiling bitterly.

He sighed for a while and thought: “Since that sheepskin isn’t evidence, it seems Censor Wang and Lord Liu have all worked in vain. Since the sheepskin is useless, no one can do anything to that treacherous minister Jiang Chong. If I want to continue opposing him, I’m afraid I’ll die miserably. Sigh… life is only a hundred years. Now I’m free – why must I return to the capital? Better to go back to Xiliang and open a shop to finish this remaining life.” For a moment his heart was gray with cold, feeling utterly discouraged. This trip to Tianshan was like going from death to life. The worldly glory, wealth, fame and profit had all become passing clouds, truly not worth his concern. At this moment he had thoughts of retiring from the world.

He closed his eyes and was about to fall into deep sleep when he suddenly thought of Yan Ting. He jumped with alarm and sat up, pondering: “No! This little girl is still in Zhuo Lingzhao’s hands. If she suffers defilement, how can I face her dead master?” Thinking of Yan Ting’s pitiful and lovely expression, he felt even more alarmed, as if she were now having her clothes torn by those shameless lechers.

Wu Dingyuan gritted his teeth and looked up at the stars in the sky. The scene of the Qi family’s entire household dying tragically floated in his heart, making him feel even more grief and indignation. He secretly blamed himself: “Wu Dingyuan, Wu Dingyuan, you beast worse than animals! What did you say when Qi Bochuan was dying? Now that you can’t fight Jiang Chong, you only want to care about your own escape? How many people risked their lives for you back then – you only want to live peacefully. How can you face them?” He suddenly jumped up and looked sternly at the mountains, shouting loudly: “I cannot! I cannot!”

Wu Dingyuan’s blood boiled as he thought: “No matter what, this battle can still be fought. Even without the sheepskin, we still have Marquis Liu’s support – we won’t necessarily lose to that treacherous minister.” He looked at Shenji Cave beneath his feet and thought: “The most important thing now is to rescue that little girl Yan Ting. Now that I’ve obtained ‘Wearing Purple Qi,’ if I want to return to the cave and secretly carry her away, it’s not difficult.”

He lightly breathed and circulated qi, feeling the true qi in his body was extremely abundant. It seemed as long as he didn’t face Zhuo Lingzhao directly, even if he encountered An’dao Jing or Qian Lingyi and other experts, he should still be able to handle them. The fear in his heart gradually faded as he gave a great shout and jumped down the broken hole.

Wu Dingyuan walked back into the cave, slowly seeking an exit. He heard the sound of waves in the distance and was delighted, knowing the Nether Sea was ahead. He hurried out. Indeed he saw the crimson lake water lapping the shore in the distance, with darkness on the opposite shore – Yan Ting, Zhuo Lingzhao and the others must be there.

Wu Dingyuan looked at the Nether Sea and was calculating how to cross the lake when suddenly he heard a thunderous sound from the opposite shore, followed by water splashing on the lake surface. He didn’t know what had happened. Wu Dingyuan went to high ground and looked toward the opposite shore with all his might, and was immediately stunned.

He saw on the opposite shore a person with a gloomy expression directing cannons to bombard. That person had a short beard on his lips and a gloomy face – it was exactly Jiang Chong. He heard him shout loudly: “Bombard for me! Blast everything on the opposite shore to pieces!” Then cannon fire sounded, exploding into the lake. In an instant, lake water splashed, stirring up enormous water columns.

Wu Dingyuan was alarmed and thought: “This Jiang Chong has really gone mad. Since he can’t cross over himself, he wants to blast everything to pieces.”

He heard someone say: “Lord Jiang, if you really blast the opposite shore to pieces, how can I go get the martial arts manuals?”

That person’s internal power was extremely deep. Even amid the thunderous cannon fire, his speech was still clearly audible. In the world, those with such internal power could be counted on one hand. Wu Dingyuan didn’t need to see his face to know he was the “Sword God” Zhuo Lingzhao.

Jiang Chong stopped the gunners and said: “Sect Leader Zhuo! Looking at the current situation, this Shenji Cave is too difficult to deal with. Rather than let others enter here, better to blast it to pieces with a few cannons so others don’t benefit. What do you think?”

Zhuo Lingzhao sighed and said: “This is also good. We’d rather be broken jade than whole tile.”

Wu Dingyuan stood on the shore and instantly heard Jiang Chong laughing wildly, followed by continuous cannon fire bombarding the shore. With a thunderous explosion, a cannonball exploded not far from Wu Dingyuan. The cave couldn’t withstand the bombardment and immediately began collapsing.

Wu Dingyuan was greatly alarmed and hurriedly rushed out along the corridor. He saw collapsed rocks and debris all along the way. In the dust filling the sky, Wu Dingyuan flew to the damaged area, gathered his qi and leaped upward.

Escaping from Shenji Cave, he felt the ground still shaking beneath his feet. After stopping briefly, he felt the ground was collapsing – if his feet stopped even slightly, he would fall underground. In his panic, he quickly used lightness skill to fly and flee.

After running several li, he turned back to look and saw the entire mountain had already collapsed. He hadn’t expected Jiang Chong’s cannon fire to be so fierce and powerful. After this bombardment, it seemed Shenji Cave had become ruins and could never appear in the martial world again.

Wu Dingyuan sighed and looked up. The bright moon was now high, its desolate moonlight shining down on the cold Tianshan Mountains. Wu Dingyuan thought of the countless hard battles in the future and suddenly felt discouraged, feeling utterly exhausted. He shook his head vigorously and thought: “No! I absolutely cannot be discouraged! I’ve already inherited the peerless martial arts of Tianshan – how can I still have hesitant thoughts?”

He circulated his true qi and felt energy filling his entire body. Thinking that his martial arts far exceeded the past and he was no longer the small constable who fled everywhere in former years, his heart was filled with excitement.

Originally when he received the Yanling Escort Agency case, he was only fighting with one breath of passion, but finally ended up losing his position and fleeing for his life. Later, when he met Liu Angtian, Yang Suguan and others, after fortunately regaining his official position and life, he intended to resume his former career and again be a law-abiding court official. As for the Yanling Escort Agency case, he would naturally hand it over to his superiors and no longer act strong. Because of this, he was mocked by Hao Zhenxiang and others, making him feel extremely embarrassed.

But Heaven’s will was hard to predict, and with chance circumstances, he had inexplicably mastered divine martial arts. With the power of this “Wearing Purple Qi,” he might be able to take up this great case again and seek justice for the victims.

Whether it was fortune or disaster, in any case this life was recovered. Thinking of his great progress in martial arts, he couldn’t help laughing heartily. His figure flashed as he leaped down the mountain cliff. Wu Dingyuan, relying on his incomparably refined internal power, climbed down from the cliff all the way, actually as fast as a divine eagle and forceful as a demon.