The answer was obvious. No one knew where the Heavenly Spring was, so they had to go and find it.
Hearing this, everyone felt more or less a flutter of excitement.
Regardless of whether they had come for the Heavenly Spring before, before getting close, they had more or less felt it was too far away from them, and they had other things on their minds, so they had not thought too much about it. But when they realised they might actually be able to touch upon “longevity”, that they might actually possess an immortal body, to say they felt nothing at all would be a lie.
Subconsciously, they all looked around.
Yu Qing asked again, “There is the Earth Spring, the Human Spring, and the Heavenly Spring. If we find the three springs, how do we tell them apart?”
Wu Hei: “I do not know. Even my father and uncle were not too clear. However, back then, after they accidentally learned that the ‘Three Life Springs’ were actually three springs, they heard a saying…” At this point, he seemed somewhat hesitant, glancing at everyone, clearly unsure whether he should say it.
Everyone’s eyes met. They could understand his feelings. Such a secret was indeed not something to be spoken of casually to outsiders.
Yu Qing glanced at the golden coffin he was carrying, and finally asked, “You said this is the Earth Spring, so the greatest danger has already been ruled out. Whether what remains is the Human Spring or the Heavenly Spring, both are harmless. No matter which one we find, anyone can soak in it without distinction. Is that not so?”
Wu Hei thought about it and agreed, finally speaking out, “Heaven is governed by nine, earth is governed by eight, and humanity is governed by six.”
Everyone looked at each other in confusion after hearing this. Nan Zhu asked, “Is that it? Just this?”
Wu Hei nodded.
Nan Zhu asked again, “What does it mean?”
Wu Hei: “I do not know.”
Alright then. Nan Zhu acted as if he had never asked, and looked at the others, asking, “Does anyone here understand?”
Yu Qing put down the golden coffin, took the fluorescent stone, and walked around the pool platform looking for any connection to that saying. When everyone saw this, they realised something and followed to look, including Wu Hei. It was also his first time seeing the Earth Spring here, having only heard of it in his elders’ legends before.
Upon closer inspection, they found the carvings on the pool platform were extremely strange, seemingly depicting various demons and monsters.
Shen Qingcheng muttered, “What does it mean to carve these things inside a grand immortal palace? It feels rather odd.”
Everyone shared this feeling, and continued to observe. Under the light, the pool water remained very clear, with bubbles gurgling up from time to time.
“Eight!”
Ning Chaoyi suddenly called out, stopped, and pointed at the people gathered around the pool.
Everyone looked at him in unison. Nan Zhu asked back, “Mr Ning, what do you mean?”
Ning Chaoyi pointed at them again, who had almost formed a full circle. “The pool platform, look, it is petal-shaped, exactly eight petals arching together. Eight, earth is governed by eight, does that not match perfectly!”
Everyone looked as he said, and indeed, it was eight petals.
“Are the Three Life Springs distinguished by the number of petals on the pool platform?” Nan Zhu asked everyone.
Everyone was speechless. Who would know this?
So everyone continued to examine it, but in the end could not make anything of it. There was no need to say more. If they could not figure it out, they would go and look. They could continue studying after finding the other springs.
Led by Nan Zhu, the others followed him towards the main entrance.
Not the entrance they had just come through, but the main entrance of the immortal palace. The former was the entrance of the pavilion, which now seemed more like a back door.
The main gate was like a city gate tower. Coming out of the hall and going down meant exiting the gate. Without going down the steps, walking to either side led directly onto the city wall. The group walked to the wall and gazed at the scenery outside the palace.
Stars and moon shone together, with mist surrounding the immortal palace.
“As expected, this is the main entrance.” Nan Zhu sighed with satisfaction.
Wu Hei, walking while holding his son’s hand, gestured towards the eaves of the gate tower and reminded everyone again, “Walking out of the seal will not give you any sensation. All places that can be entered or exited are basically bounded by the eaves. Once you cross the boundary, you are outside the restriction. To enter again, you will have to go around once more.” After speaking, he turned and left, holding his son’s hand.
Yu Qing also turned to leave, calling out to his two senior brothers, “Find the Heavenly Spring!”
Nan and Mu knew he was set on trying to use the Heavenly Spring to resurrect Qiao Qie’er, so they immediately put aside the sightseeing and hurriedly followed him back.
Faced with the possibility of longevity that might be right before their eyes, the others also lost interest in the view and quickly went inside.
After they had all gone in, from behind a hill outside the gate tower, the Iron Masked Man and his group slowly emerged. How to master the method of entering the immortal palace had clearly become their most urgent matter.
The main hall of the immortal palace was exceptionally large and empty, with almost no furnishings to be seen. The dome was high above, and no one knew what the immortals of that time had used such a palace for. In any case, it did not look like a normal palace.
As soon as Yu Qing and the others returned, they immediately went up the stairs around them, and the group once again shuttled through the pavilions and towers inside.
The mountain walls outside the palace were covered with pavilions and towers, and the inside of the palace was also full of pavilions and towers. This was quite a spectacle.
So the group outside the palace immediately noticed something unusual. From time to time, they saw lights flashing inside the pavilions and towers. The group quickly moved towards the lit areas, quietly following the lights all the way.
They quickly ruled out Yu Qing and his two senior brothers, and before long, they cornered Ning Chaoyi, who had shown himself from under a corridor eave.
It was Gao Yuan who blocked him from outside the railing. After cornering him, Gao Yuan immediately waved his hand to signal, and then several figures silently slipped over.
The Iron Masked Man, who had arrived first, reached out to test and touched the void ripples again. He looked at the flickering lights in other doors and windows, and immediately asked in a low voice, “How did you get in?”
Ning Chaoyi blinked. “We came in through a large cave at the foot of the mountain.”
Iron Masked Man: “I know that cave. I am asking how you got through this defence?”
Ning Chaoyi: “I do not know. That fellow called Wu Hei gave each of us a golden pill. We held that thing and came in.”
The Iron Masked Man immediately reached out his hand. “Take out the golden pill and let me see.”
Ning Chaoyi spread his hands. “Gone. As soon as we entered the cave, the golden pill vanished into smoke.”
The Iron Masked Man stared at him with a very suspicious look, and asked again, “Then how do you get out?”
Ning Chaoyi: “I can get out right now, right here. You cannot get in, but I can get out. This seal only prevents entry, not exit.”
The Iron Masked Man was about to verify his words when someone among those on guard suddenly spoke up, “Sir, there is something in the sky.”
Everyone looked up in unison, then quickly crouched down to find places to hide. Ning Chaoyi was no exception, sidling behind a pillar.
In the night sky, there seemed to be a person flying, but clearly with a pair of large wings as well.
As the newcomer flew over their heads, everyone finally made out the general appearance by moonlight. A fanged demon head, ferocious and terrifying, with clawed hands, dark skin, no hair, a golden band on the head, and fleshy winged appendages on the back. The lower half, however, was dressed like a human.
The monster circled in the air twice, then descended towards the immortal palace gate. It could be seen that it had intended to land on the gate tower, but was bounced by the void ripples, so it had to flip and land outside the city gate.
What surprised and alarmed everyone was that after landing, the monster quickly retracted its wings, and in an instant transformed into human form, becoming a bare-chested man.
At the sight of this person, Ning Chaoyi was greatly shocked. The Iron Masked Man and his group had not seen him before, but he had. This monster that had transformed into human form was actually the great master of Rift Valley Villa, Wu Dao.
Wu Dao was clearly attracted by the flickering lights inside the immortal palace, and quickly flew towards the lit areas.
Ning Chaoyi inwardly said this was bad, and immediately said in a low voice to the Iron Masked Man outside, “Sir, that is the great master of Rift Valley Villa, Wu Dao. We cannot let him escape. If he escapes, he will very likely bring the old master Wu behind him here.”
Hearing this, the Iron Masked Man immediately scanned the night sky everywhere.
His caution was understandable. If that old fellow was nearby, making a move would be tantamount to seeking death.
But because of his hesitation, Wu Dao had already transformed back into the winged monster and soared into the air. Even Gao Yuan dared not give chase.
Ning Chaoyi inwardly said it was over. That great master was definitely going to report the news.
The Iron Masked Man was clearly also somewhat anxious, and turned back to ask, “Have you found the Heavenly Spring?”
Ning Chaoyi: “No. That Wu Hei is not familiar with this place either, and is still looking. That monster just came, so I must go back and warn them. Otherwise, when that old master Wu arrives, we will all be in trouble.” He threw down these words and ran.
The Iron Masked Man was still hesitating about what to do next, and for a moment did not react to his departure.
Back inside the immortal palace, Ning Chaoyi immediately called out loudly, gathering Yu Qing and the others, and quickly recounted what had just happened.
After hearing this, everyone immediately felt worried, and looked towards the vast space inside the immortal palace. Nan Zhu scratched his face. “We have not searched most of the places in here. Would it not be a wasted effort to give up just like this?”
Yu Qing thought and said, “No. If they want to enter, they must also take the path we came in. Send someone to watch the back entrance. If you discover they have entered, report immediately. There are many exits here, and we can withdraw at any time. Old Nine, you go guard the back entrance. The rest of us will continue searching while there is time.”
He was clearly unwilling to give up easily without finding the Heavenly Spring.
Wu Hei nodded, clearly also approving of this approach.
“Alright.” Mu Aotie agreed, leaped down, and headed straight for the back entrance.
Ning Chaoyi asked again, “What about that Iron Masked Man and his group?”
Yu Qing had just one sentence. “Ignore them for now. Hurry, let us continue searching while we have time.”
The group immediately dispersed again, continuing to shuttle through the pavilions and towers inside searching…
About half an hour later, a sedan chair flew out from the mist surrounding the immortal palace.
On a simple and crude wooden recliner, Old Master Wu lay with his legs crossed, holding an ice-blue halberd in his hand. Two demons with fleshy wings carried him like sedan bearers, and another demon with a golden band on its head flew alongside, holding a golden bird in its hand.
The two bearers also had golden birds hanging from them that still moved from time to time.
The ice-blue halberd in Old Master Wu’s hand was like a conductor’s baton. The demons carrying the sedan obeyed his commands, flying him to the foot of the mountain, to the front of that huge cave, and directly passed through the void ripples to enter.