The Secrets of the Abandoned Dwelling

Soon after, Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing located the abandoned cave dwelling. These dwellings were constructed from local materials, primarily green stone and red tiles. Though somewhat dilapidated, faint traces of array patterns were still discernible upon their surfaces.

“This should be a cave dwelling where a Qingyuan Sect disciple cultivated,” Chi Qiu murmured softly to Su Hanxing after a thorough observation.

“Precisely. Traces of true qi remain near this dwelling, and the Heart God Sect disciples do not cultivate true qi,” Su Hanxing affirmed, pointing toward several scattered green stone bricks not far from the entrance. Marks of true qi abrasion were visible on their surfaces. The green bricks were made of extraordinary, hard material. They had primarily been used for honing techniques and practicing secret arts, hence the numerous true qi marks covering them.

Knowing these were Qingyuan Sect disciples’ dwellings, Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing lowered their guard. They walked to the ruined cave dwellings, searching for clues.

“There’s nothing special here,” Su Hanxing stated, shaking his head at Chi Qiu after they had circled the dwellings.

“Let’s go inside and look.” Chi Qiu gestured toward the aged main door of the nearest dwelling.

Su Hanxing nodded. Activating his true qi, he approached the entrance ahead of her. With a grating squeal, the door slowly swung open under his push. “No danger,” he said.

Chi Qiu followed closely behind him, entering the dwelling that had lain abandoned for decades. The interior was simply furnished, clean and tidy. “It’s a very ordinary cave dwelling, nothing special about it,” Su Hanxing remarked after surveying the floor.

“No rush, let’s head upstairs,” Chi Qiu suggested, pointing upward. She vaguely sensed a powerful aura, hinting that something significant might be hidden above. Su Hanxing nodded. “Let’s go.”

Inside the dwelling, a stone staircase spiraled upward along the rock face. Beside it, oil lamps lined the path, thickly coated with dust. Su Hanxing led the way, a ball of true qi rising in his palm. He used it to sweep away the thick layer of dust.

“Oh!” He suddenly exclaimed in surprise, halting in his tracks. Chi Qiu immediately moved to his side. Su Hanxing’s finger tapped an oil lamp, the true qi from his fingertip gently brushing across it. As the dust vanished, an exquisite azure jade oil lamp, intricately carved with lifelike lotus flowers, was revealed.

“Is there something wrong with this lamp?” Chi Qiu asked.

“The lamp itself is fine, but it can communicate with array patterns,” Su Hanxing explained. “These oil lamps serve to maintain the arrays here. They provide the energy for the array to function by absorbing spiritual energy from the air.”

Chi Qiu’s eyes lit up. “So, if we destroy these oil lamps, the array will collapse?”

Su Hanxing shook his head. “They have existed for decades. Forcibly destroying them could cause a backlash. However, since they communicate with the array, we can use them to enter the array’s interior and locate its core.”

Su Hanxing smiled faintly, then softly chanted an incantation toward the lamp. As his words faded, the azure jade emitted soft rays of light, enveloping both of them. The next moment, they vanished from the staircase.

Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing opened their eyes to find themselves within a vast space filled with dense spiritual energy and colossal, floating lotus flowers. “This is the array’s interior,” Su Hanxing noted. He pointed toward a particularly massive lotus flower at the far end of the space. “That is the array’s core.”

Together, they surged forward. A massive barrier of light materialized to block their path, but under their combined assault, it shattered with a deafening roar. They charged the central lotus, unleashing their strongest techniques. With an earth-shattering boom, the lotus shattered, and the array space began to tremble and dissolve.

A moment later, they reappeared on the stone staircase of the cave dwelling. The oppressive aura that had previously lingered in the air had vanished.

“The array is broken,” Su Hanxing said, his expression relaxed. He lightly tapped a green brick and leaped to the second floor. Chi Qiu followed gracefully after him.

“There’s something unusual here…” The moment she reached the second floor, Chi Qiu sensed an anomaly. She quickly located the source: a pile of miscellaneous items and a jumble of iron tools. She began rummaging through the pile, causing the tools to clang together.

“This is it, Hanxing. Can you sense the aura emanating from it?” Chi Qiu picked out a palm-sized artifact from the heap.

Su Hanxing approached and took the object. It was a bronze container with a flying dragon coiled around it. After a careful examination, he shook his head. “I can’t sense any special aura. To me, it’s just an ordinary bronze artifact.”

“You can’t sense it? That’s normal,” Chi Qiu murmured. She retrieved the artifact and explained, “There’s an extremely faint Dragon’s aura on this bronze flying dragon. The carvings are remarkably aligned with the Grand Dao of heaven and earth, and this Dao intent suppresses the aura within, preventing it from leaking.”

Su Hanxing remained silent, listening intently. Sealing treasures with the Qi of the Grand Dao was a profound method of preservation. Unlike ordinary true qi seals, a Grand Dao seal could endure as long as heaven and earth themselves.

“Little Chi, can you open it?” Su Hanxing asked eagerly.

“The seal has been opened before by the previous owner; that’s how I can perceive the aura inside. Opening it shouldn’t be difficult.” Chi Qiu closed her eyes, her finger gently stroking the bronze dragon. A peculiar ripple of energy emanated from her fingertip.

Su Hanxing stood by, waiting. He couldn’t perceive the Dao fluctuations, but he knew that if such a seal were forcibly broken, it would invite a backlash from the world itself. About a quarter of an hour passed before Chi Qiu’s finger paused. With a crisp click, she opened her eyes. “It’s open.”

She lifted the lid of the bronze container. Whoosh— A faint whistling sound emerged. Su Hanxing quickly circulated his true qi to shield the room, fearing the phenomenon might attract nearby demonic beasts.

“Hanxing, no need to worry. The Dragon’s aura inside has already been taken.” Chi Qiu felt a phantom image fly out of the vessel, fluttering in her palm. The phantom was blurry, but it radiated an ancient, noble aura—a lingering anomaly from the preservation of Dragon’s aura. Apart from this phantom, the container was empty.

“Is this the same as the True Dragon’s Aura within you?” Su Hanxing asked.

“Of course not. This is merely a wisp of draconic essence, far less precious than the life-bound dragon’s breath Senior Yinglong bestowed upon me,” Chi Qiu replied. True Dragon’s Aura was unique to a True Dragon; this was merely refined essence.

“However,” Chi Qiu continued, examining the vessel, “this dwelling is far from the Qingyuan Sect’s core. For a common disciple to possess such a thing is rare. It even has the words ‘Qingyuan Sect’ inscribed on the bottom. If the sect was bestowing such treasures upon its rank-and-file, their wealth must have been staggering.”

Chi Qiu clicked her tongue in wonder. In an era where True Dragons had vanished, anything related to them was incredibly valuable. Such a grand gesture was not something a minor sect with only two Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivators should have been capable of.