novelraw Chapter 23 : The Deepest Part of Luoxia Valley
Chapter 23 : The Deepest Part of Luoxia Valley
Chapter 23: The Deepest Part of Luoxia Valley
Within the purple poisonous mist, several disciples of the Li Family, dressed in earth-yellow garments, rolled on the ground and screamed, unable to escape that zone of death.
The two people standing atop the rocky outcrop paid no attention to the tragic scene, continuing their conversation as if nothing had happened.
“Actually, I also want to take a walk into the deepest part. It is said that place is the true mysterious core of Luoxia Valley—perhaps it could help me advance further.”
The man beside her shook his head and advised, “Forgive my boldness, Senior. Although you are already at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, your body transformed beyond the ordinary—what the people of Luoyang City call a ‘Martial Grandmaster’—the deepest part of the valley… according to the intelligence I’ve gathered, that place is treacherous. There are unsolvable labyrinth formations and restrictions. Not to mention the fourth layer—even experts at the eighth or ninth layer, if they fall into it carelessly, may be trapped until death!”
“Risk and opportunity always coexist. It’s just a pity—I’m getting older, and there are too many constraints on me…” she sighed, then turned her head slightly. “After the Medicine King Gathering ends, are you prepared for your breakthrough?”
The man’s expression turned serious as he nodded. “Everything is ready. With the resources gained from this Medicine King Gathering, along with my recent accumulation, I will soon reach the fourth layer of Qi Refinement.”
The woman addressed as Senior nodded.
After a moment of silence, the man asked, “Senior, I feel that recently… you seem a bit different. Did something happen that made you happy?”
“Me?” She smiled faintly. “Indeed. Recently, I met an interesting little one. At first glance… she felt very much like my younger self. It makes me a little nostalgic.”
……
At the northern ravine—the deepest part of Luoxia Valley.
Dew clung to Lin Xiaowan’s eyelashes. Looking ahead, she could barely make out objects within half a zhang. Beyond that, everything dissolved into blurred, distorted white shadows— even the outlines of rocks were impossible to discern.
“For the fog to be this dense… it’s unusually abnormal.”
The girl frowned, extending her spiritual sense outward. Within the gaps of the dense mist, she occasionally caught glimpses of extremely discordant “objects”—a half-collapsed stone temple, a broken rain pavilion, a stone statue tilted into the mud, a headless ancient Buddha; even eaves of unknown material growing out from rock walls, with indistinct beast carvings, all appearing eerily unnatural.
With every step forward, the surrounding scenery seemed to shift. Under the veil of dense fog, the entire world felt compressed, as if covered by a giant hand.
Yun Yazi manifested, floating ahead of Zhang Fan and Lin Xiaowan.
“Three steps to the left—there’s a ground-collapse trap. Detour.”
“The fog ahead is slightly darker—contains miasma. Hold your breath and pass through.”
“There’s a faint fluctuation of spiritual power on the rock wall to the right—likely a trigger-type restriction. Move left.”
His voice was clear, guiding them away from danger.
As they advanced, Lin Xiaowan noticed that every place Yun Yazi told them to “avoid” was marked with warning symbols—fork-shaped signs, “Danger—Do Not Enter,” or even blood-red carvings of the word “Death.”
These markings varied in age, but all carried a heavy sense of warning and the terror left behind by those who had entered before.
“If not for Yun Yazi, relying on myself alone, I would have died in some trap long ago—let alone trying to obtain treasures here.”
Lin Xiaowan thought to herself, a faint smile forming. Following a powerful figure into a secret realm without having to deal with danger personally… it was truly hard to resist.
As they went deeper, the surrounding light diminished, and even vision began to fail.
Zhang Fan took out a transparent bottle from his robe. Inside floated a pill the size of a longan, entirely crimson, as if liquid fire slowly flowed within it.
This was the “Fire Pill” he had refined using Flameburn Grass as the main ingredient, supplemented by other fire-attributed herbs, through the Heaven and Earth Natural Alchemy Method.
The Fire Pill could amplify fire-attributed techniques—and illumination was another of its functions.
Zhang Fan infused a strand of spiritual power into the pill.
“Buzz—”
The Fire Pill trembled slightly, releasing a golden glow that pushed back part of the mist, illuminating an area nearly one zhang wide. Though still limited, it was far better than before.
Under the golden radiance, the writhing mist even took on a strangely eerie beauty.
Lin Xiaowan steadied her mind and asked, “Senior Yun, are we really going to keep moving under such conditions? Is there a way to break this labyrinth formation?”
“The formation is hidden within nature. To break it, we must go deeper.”
His phantom drifted, observing the bizarre surroundings. “This labyrinth formation was already rare even in my era. It was not activated by human hands, but formed naturally through the unique terrain and celestial conditions here. Over countless years, it has merged with the land itself. It confuses not only the five senses, but also blocks spiritual perception, disrupting a cultivator’s sense of spiritual energy, direction, and even the flow of time.”
“It’s that powerful? Even older than your time, Master?” Zhang Fan couldn’t help but gasp.
“I am merely a figure from a thousand years ago—not truly ancient.” Yun Yazi paused, a trace of reminiscence in his eyes. “In my early years, when I was still at Foundation Establishment, I once traveled through this Cangmang Mountain region. Using a secret technique to pierce illusions, I glimpsed a fragment of this place. Back then, the formation was far more powerful—mist obscured the eyes, illusions arose endlessly, and danger lurked at every step. I studied the outskirts for months and could only vaguely sense a few areas of concentrated spiritual energy within the formation, where rare treasures seemed to be forming. The ‘Pure Water Lotus’ was one such spiritual object I deduced might exist here.”
“You never actually encountered the Pure Water Lotus, Master?” Zhang Fan asked in surprise.
“Of course not.” His tone carried a faint desolation of time’s passage. “At that time, my cultivation was shallow. In pursuit of the Golden Core path, I left this place. Who would have thought—after the vicissitudes of time, when I returned, though I could now see through the formation, I was left with only this remnant soul, reliant on the Soul-Nourishing Jade.”
Zhang Fan felt a pang in his heart. Looking firmly at Yun Yazi’s figure, he said solemnly, “Master, rest assured. I will cultivate diligently and soon find heavenly treasures to help you reconstruct your body and return to the path of immortality!”
Yun Yazi smiled with satisfaction. “With such resolve, I have no regrets.”
As they spoke, under the illumination of the Fire Pill and Yun Yazi’s guidance, the three passed through twisted structures and arrived at a relatively open area.
Here, the dense fog seemed blocked by an invisible force, forming a dome-like space.
At the center stood a long-dried platform built from jade-like white stone.
Its shape was peculiar—not square nor circular, but composed of three concentric rings stacked upward, like three layered circular altars. The bottom ring was the largest, the middle smaller, and the top the smallest.
On the smooth side walls of each ring were engraved three ancient characters, their strokes archaic, carrying an indescribable Dao resonance.
Penglai.
Fangzhang.
Yingzhou.
Though worn by time, the characters still emitted an ethereal aura.
Seeing this, Lin Xiaowan’s heart trembled.
The names of the “Three Immortal Islands Overseas,” famed in myths of her previous life, had actually appeared in this secret realm?
For a moment, a terrifying thought crossed her mind—but she quickly dismissed it as overthinking.
Yun Yazi’s voice grew complicated. “The Three Immortal Islands Overseas… seeing them again feels entirely different.”
Zhang Fan, clearly hearing of this for the first time, asked, “Master, what are these Three Immortal Islands? How do they compare to our world?”
Yun Yazi floated closer to the carvings, extending a phantom hand as if to touch them, but stopping midway.
After a long silence, he said softly, “When I first saw these names, I only felt their mystery, unable to understand them. Later, after I fortunately formed my Golden Core and traveled further, consulting ancient remnants and forbidden records, I gradually came to understand… the ‘Three Immortal Islands Overseas’ represent another path, another level—perhaps even… another world.”
A rare trace of longing entered his tone. “It is said those islands exist beyond this world, forming their own realm. There are immortal medicines, realms of eternal life. The ‘Dao’ their cultivators pursue is entirely different from the path of Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul… followed in the Cultivation World. They pursue the refinement of a ‘Pure Yang Body,’ becoming undying, indestructible immortals.”
Zhang Fan was deeply stirred. “Then this Luoxia Valley… could it be that one of those immortal islands fell here? Or perhaps a dwelling left by an immortal?”
Yun Yazi shook his head. “No. In my estimation, this place is more likely the burial ground of one or several cultivators from those ‘Three Immortal Islands.’”
He examined the platform, then said to Lin Xiaowan and Zhang Fan, “Next, follow my instructions. We will break through this outer labyrinth formation. The first lotus platform lies not far ahead.”