Shrouded Sky

Chapter 237 - Ancient Jade Pool

Mist filled the air. Water splashed as the black dog raced across the lake, dashing over waves like an arrow and rushing to the shore.

“What’s going on? Why are they moving?” It looked panicked, glancing back as it fled.

Damn mutt, Ye Fan thought. He almost stepped forward to smack it back into the water and shot it a sideways glance.

“Kid, you’re really heartless. You just stood there watching me suffer, didn’t help at all!” the black dog bared its teeth.

“I was going to step in, but only to give you a beating,” Ye Fan said, looking again at the murky shapes in the water. “What exactly did you see?”

The black dog knew it was in the wrong and didn’t argue. It circled the lake muttering to itself.

“What are you muttering about?”

“I saw fairies, each one with icy grace and unmatched beauty, enough to move the heart. Let’s go down together and check it out,” the black dog said.

“If you felt moved by them, they’re definitely not fairies, probably just giant she-dogs.”

“Woof! Kid, are you asking for a beating?”

“Chill out, stop acting up. I still need you to help me find the Western Emperor Scripture.” Ye Fan soothed it, not wanting to provoke it any further.

The spiritforce around the lake was so dense it nearly turned liquid, an ideal place for cultivation.

Mist drifted over the water, making it hard to see below. Several human-like figures slowly sank deeper into the lake.

They were stiff, dressed in rough hemp robes, with long black hair floating. Underwater, they looked terrifying, like water ghosts, strange and eerie.

“They’re corpses,” Ye Fan confirmed after a closer look.

The black dog’s face darkened. “Damn bad luck. This is clearly supposed to be an immortal lake, where peerless fairies bathed. I dove in excitedly looking for treasure, and what did I find? A damn death trap.”

“You wanted to keep the treasure for yourself, and when you saw something cursed, you tried to drag me down with you.” Ye Fan glared at him.

“Let’s go down together, maybe we’ll find something valuable,” the black dog suggested.

“No thanks. I’m not interested in corpses.” Ye Fan declined.

“Don’t regret it later. This is the most important place in the Jade Pool. If it weren’t full of corpses, I’d try to collect all the water.”

In ancient times, this lake was famous across the world, known as the most renowned spirit pool in the Northern Region. It brimmed with spirit essence and had even produced source.

Drinking from the lake could extend mortal lifespans and greatly benefit cultivators. The women of the Jade Pool Sacred Ground were holy and pure largely because of it. After years of soaking, their bodies became flawless and immaculate.

The lake’s water was also one of the best materials for refining medicine. Many great sects and holy lands had once come to draw it when concocting rare pills.

“The materials for the Western Emperor’s Paragon Artifact came from this lake. If we go down, we might find something too,” the black dog tempted him.

“Keep dreaming. If there was anything left, it would’ve been taken long ago.”

Paragon Artifacts required the rarest materials. Even a Grand Emperor’s lifespan wasn’t long enough to easily gather them all. Many of these materials, like Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold, might only appear once in a thousand generations.

That’s why, since ancient times, all lost and existing Paragon Artifacts combined barely amounted to a handful in the entire Eastern Wilderness.

“That’s not certain, there could still be a piece of divine material buried in there.” The dog’s eyes gleamed.

“Jade Pool evacuated. Even if something was left behind, it would’ve been cleared out. You really think they'd leave anything for you?”

“You don’t understand. This lake is mysterious. The Western Emperor founded the sect here because of it. Something could still be hidden. I even suspect the so-called ‘Jade Pool Soaring Immortals’ are tied to this lake.”

“They’re obviously corpses, you saw them. What’s left to investigate?”

“Aren’t you curious why Jade Pool withdrew? Why there are so many corpses? Don’t you want to get to the bottom of it?” the black dog pressed.

“If I had the strength, I’d dig up the entire Primordial Mine and even the nine ancient mountains in the Forbidden Ancient Realm. But right now, I just want the Western Emperor Scripture. I’m not risking my life.”

“If you don’t come with me, forget ever getting that scripture!” the black dog growled.

Damn dog, even threatening me now. Ye Fan cursed internally.

The lake water was warm, sparkling like jade. Spiritforce entered through his pores on its own.

“No wonder the Jade Pool disciples advanced so fast. Just soaking here improves your cultivation. Once I find enough source, I’m coming back to cultivate in seclusion.”

“Now you get it! Would I lie to you?” the dog said smugly.

“Cut the attitude. Get down there, I’ll follow.”

“Let me soak a bit longer, gather some energy first. I’m still feeling uneasy,” the dog hesitated.

“You’ve been in here before, haven’t you?” Ye Fan asked with his eyes closed, enjoying the bath.

“I wanted to, but never had the chance. Just heard about it. I’m savoring it now while I can.”

“Only the important figures in Jade Pool could probably enter here, right?”

“Yes. The Western Emperor’s Paragon Artifact was always submerged here. Only the Sacred Lord, Saintesses, and Grand Elders could enter. But the water could be drawn for other disciples.”

“There was a Paragon Artifact under this lake?” Ye Fan was shocked.

“Yeah, but the Jade Pool took it when they left. What a shame,” the dog said greedily.

Water splashed as the black dog dove again. Ye Fan followed, descending over 100 meters before reaching the lakebed.

Holy crap… Ye Fan’s scalp went numb. The bottom was full of beautiful young women’s corpses.

This wasn’t an immortal lake, it was a mass grave. Hundreds of corpses filled the central area, stacked atop one another.

Their limbs were long and graceful, still gleaming faintly. But their bodies were stiff and lifeless.

Each corpse had long black hair and wore white hemp robes marked with the Jade Pool emblem. Their hair floated like snakes, twisting eerily in the gloom.

No wonder the dog bolted the first time. It had tried to drag Ye Fan down to share the horror.

The lake had no fish or plants, only death.

“You go search for treasure, I’ll wait here,” Ye Fan said via divine sense.

“I’m not feeling good about this,” the dog muttered.

A dozen corpses floated up, swaying with the current. Though they didn’t rise of their own power, it was still chilling.

Their skin had a waxy texture. They’d long become “wax corpses,” but strangely hadn’t decomposed.

“Are you searching or not? If not, let’s go find the scripture,” Ye Fan urged.

“Check if they have any wounds, how did they die?” the dog said shamelessly.

“Why don’t you check?” Ye Fan wanted to punch it. “You said they’re beautiful, go enjoy the view yourself.”

“Damn kid, that’s no way to talk.”

In the end, both dove deeper to inspect the bodies. After careful examination, none of the corpses had visible injuries. There were no fatal wounds at all.

“Let’s go. This place isn’t right,” Ye Fan said.

“I need to know why Jade Pool withdrew, maybe it’s tied to this lake,” the black dog insisted.

“If we find something dangerous, we’ll be in real trouble. The whole sect evacuated. If just we uncover the cause, it’s practically suicide.”

Even the black dog grew nervous. Despite its usual arrogance, the idea of an entire holy land fleeing unsettled it.

“What could have driven the most powerful sect in the Eastern Wilderness to retreat?”

It searched for a while but found only a few jade hairpins, no divine materials.

Suddenly, Ye Fan felt a chill on his back and turned sharply. Behind him, among the piled corpses, hair was writhing wildly.

For a moment, he thought he saw a pair of eerie eyes open, staring coldly through the heap.

He panicked, kicked off the lakebed, and shot toward the surface.

A corpse’s hair wrapped around his ankle. He violently shook it off and burst from the water.

The lake trembled. The black dog surfaced right after, dragging three corpses by the tail.

“Kid, help me!” it cried, tail wagging like it was on fire.

The corpses’ hair had latched on to its tail. Once on land, they quickly dissolved into puddles of fluid.

Ye Fan felt nauseated. He had just been soaking in that same water moments ago.

“There’s something down there. What did you see?” the dog asked grimly.

“I thought I saw a corpse open its eyes. Or maybe it was two beads embedded in the lakebed. Why don’t you go back down and check?”

“Forget it!” the dog shook itself dry, sleek and dripping. “The immortal pool’s become a ghost pool. Whatever’s down there... those aren’t soaring immortals, they’re soaring ghosts!”

“Why are there so many corpses? Jade Pool should’ve buried them. Why throw them into the lake?”

“Who knows? Maybe someone else did it. Either way, I’m not going back down,” the dog muttered, clearly shaken.

They left the lake. Looking back, the swirling mist seemed sinister now, no longer sacred.

This was once a core area, full of towering peaks and massive palaces. They still stood, preserved by ancient Dao runes.

Ye Fan entered a vast palace. Jade tiles paved the floor, spotless after all these years, its purifying runes still active.

Clack... clack... clack...

His footsteps echoed through the empty hall.

Creak... Bang!

He opened a door untouched for endless years. The sound reverberated through the palace, like stepping into the ancient Jade Pool Sacred Ground of legend.

Standing there, he seemed to sense past glory, a time when peerless women shone brightly under these stars.

Ye Fan stood silently for a long time before moving deeper.

Each grand hall was empty. Nothing remained, just the silence of time.

The black dog wandered through over a dozen giant halls, also finding nothing.

“Wasn’t there a medicinal field? After so many years, maybe some divine herbs still grow,” Ye Fan said.

The dog shot off like a black bolt, faster than a rabbit.

Damn mutt’s totally unreliable, Ye Fan cursed, chasing after it.

Thanks to his old master’s footwork technique, he barely kept up. The dog stirred up a black wind as it ran.

After 20 miles, they reached a lush region among the mountains. The dog finally stopped and paced about.

“Black Emperor, you ran faster than a hare at the word ‘medicine.’ Why stop now?”

“Am I that heartless? I waited for you so we could look together,” the dog said.

“You must’ve found nothing,” Ye Fan said.

The mountain was full of greenery, but not a single herb. No medicinal scent at all.

“That’s odd. Not even basic herbs? Let alone rare spirit herbs,” the black dog whispered.

Ye Fan’s face darkened. As expected, it had found nothing and was bluffing.

Finally, the dog sighed. “Too ruthless. The Jade Pool took the entire field, even the soil.”

On close inspection, there was a massive square pit ahead, completely stripped clean.

Ye Fan felt uneasy. Don’t tell me the Western Emperor Scripture was taken too...

“Let’s hurry and find the scripture. If it’s gone, I might kill someone.”

“Relax. No one can understand those scriptures. Even past Sacred Lords couldn’t decipher them. Even if it’s sitting out in the open, no one would recognize it as hers.”

“Then how do you know?”

“I’m not just anyone. I once heard the secret personally,” the dog said proudly.

Leaving the empty field, they rushed toward a mountain range.

This area was barren, nothing but cliffs and stone mountains. No soil, just rock.

Upon entering, Ye Fan froze. One of the stone walls held a carving of a woman. She seemed to embody the Dao itself, one with nature.

“It’s just a sculpture, no technique shown, yet it radiates oneness with the Grand Dao,” Ye Fan murmured in awe.

“There should be more carvings. If you want to look, go ahead,” the black dog urged.

Ye Fan reluctantly moved forward, the image of that figure lingering in his mind.