LRAB Page 197
Page 197
"From today onwards, that area is a forbidden zone. No one may approach it without my permission."
"Also, find some people and build her a small courtyard in the middle of that forest."
As Zhang Yunyuan spoke, he turned to the side, revealing the silent girl behind him.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Heming's face immediately showed a troubled expression.
He glanced at the girl with vacant eyes and an eerie aura, then looked at Zhang Yunyuan, and hesitated before speaking:
"Young Master, this...this is probably against the rules."
"The back mountain is a place for our disciples to cultivate in seclusion. There has never been a precedent of outsiders staying overnight, let alone... a woman of unknown origin."
"Moreover, that purple bamboo forest is one of the most spiritually abundant spots in the back mountain. Normally, only a few distinguished elders are qualified to cultivate in seclusion there. And to just give it to an outsider like this..."
He couldn't finish his sentence and could no longer continue.
Because Zhang Yunyuan only glanced at him indifferently.
That glance was calm, without any emotional fluctuation, like looking at a roadside stone.
But that calm glance sent Zhang Heming plummeting into an ice cave, a chill emanating from the depths of his soul making his blood seem to freeze.
He felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, making it difficult to even breathe.
He understood instantly.
This is not a matter for discussion.
It was an order from the most senior and unfathomably powerful junior master of Longhu Mountain, an order that brooked no questioning.
"...Yes, disciple...obeys."
Zhang Heming managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth, his forehead already beaded with cold sweat.
"No need."
Zhang Yunyuan waved his hand, turned around, and walked towards the purple bamboo forest.
"What you built was too slow and too crude."
Without turning his head, he threw out a sentence: "No one is allowed to set foot in this place today."
Zhang Heming stood there blankly, staring at that seemingly frail yet imposing figure.
Only after the other person's figure completely disappeared into the depths of the bamboo forest did he breathe a long sigh of relief, feeling that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
Zhang Yunyuan led Chen Duo into the purple bamboo forest.
The spiritual energy here was even more concentrated than he had imagined.
The bamboo leaves swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground, creating a scene that was both tranquil and full of life.
He chose a flat, open space near a clear mountain spring and stopped.
"This is it."
He turned to Chen Duo and said something, without caring whether she understood or not, and then busied himself with his work.
He pointed his fingers like a sword and made a vague stroke on the ground. A condensed stream of Dao energy, like the sharpest plowshare, instantly carved a clear trench in the ground, serving as a foundation.
Immediately, he made hand seals and began chanting incantations.
Although it was only a rudimentary principle that Zhang Yunyuan had learned from Wugensheng, when combined with his already unparalleled Thousand-Faced Ghost Hand, its effect was still astonishing.
The surrounding bamboo seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, breaking off, peeling, and polishing itself, and finally being precisely pieced together and assembled according to his wishes.
The soil and rocks on the ground, guided by the Dao Qi, separated and reshaped themselves, transforming into a solid foundation and stone steps.
This process was incredibly fast.
Chen Duo stood aside, watching quietly.
She looked at the man, and with just a few casual gestures, the bamboo and stones that were nothing special to her seemed to come alive, spontaneously forming an exquisite house.
That's not magic; it's a more fundamental "rule creation"!
It is the art of turning the rotten into the miraculous.
In just one day.
A small, exquisite, and elegant bamboo courtyard has sprung up.
The courtyard has two main rooms, one side room, and a small yard enclosed by a fence.
In the center of the courtyard, there was even a reclining chair made of bamboo, with a small tea table next to it.
After doing all this, Zhang Yunyuan casually set up a few simple formations around the courtyard.
One is the Spirit Gathering Array, which can gather all the surrounding spiritual energy into this place to nourish the body and mind.
The other is a defensive formation, which, though simple, is sufficient to deter ordinary thieves from spying.
He walked up to Chen Duo, pointed to the small courtyard in front of him that embodied his hard work, and spoke in a calm voice, but with a hint of gentle warmth that was hard to detect.
"From today onwards, this is your home."
"Do whatever you want. Sleep if you want, daydream if you want."
He paused and added.
"You can even raise Gu here in the back mountain. As long as you don't harm the innocent, I will take care of anything that happens."
Chen Duo looked at the small courtyard in front of her, which exuded a fresh bamboo fragrance, and then at the man standing in front of her with a faint smile on his face.
For the first time, a faint, almost imperceptible ripple of warmth appeared in her usually empty, expressionless eyes.
She didn't speak, but nodded very slightly.
After settling Chen Duo in, Zhang Yunyuan didn't linger any longer. With a swift movement, he headed straight towards the Celestial Master's Mansion.
There were some things he needed to discuss with his senior brother, Zhang Zhiwei, the current Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain.
Chapter 235 A Word That Shocks the Heavenly Master, Kunlun First Appears
The Celestial Master's Mansion, the quiet room in the back mountain.
The air is filled with the fragrance of sandalwood and tea.
Zhang Yunyuan and Zhang Zhiwei sat facing each other. On the chessboard in front of them, black and white pieces were intertwined, forming an endgame.
"Yun Yuan, your chess skills have declined quite a bit."
Zhang Zhiwei picked up a white piece and slowly placed it down, a hint of a smile in his always sleepy eyes.
My mind is in turmoil.
Zhang Yunyuan shook his head, not looking at the chessboard, but simply picked up the teacup in front of him and took a small sip.
"You know about what happened in Biyou Village, right?"
Zhang Zhiwei nodded, his smile fading and replaced by a solemn expression.
"The company has already submitted the preliminary report."
Ma Xianhong, the Divine Craftsmanship Refinement, the Body Cultivation Furnace… and, that mysterious Taoist robe-clad man who appeared at the end.”
He raised his eyes, looked at Zhang Yunyuan, and his voice became somewhat low.
"The people in the company can't see through him, but they can't hide it from me. That person's methods don't seem like something from our world."
"Senior brother has a good eye."
Zhang Yunyuan put down his teacup, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "He is indeed not from our world."
He no longer concealed anything and recounted his brief encounter with Xuan Juezi.
He also revealed the matter of the "ancient Qi" he sensed from the other party, which was completely outside the ordinary power system of this world.
"It is a purer, more ancient power, seemingly above all the 'qi' we know."
"The structure of that power is completely different from all the existing techniques we have."
It's more like... a concrete manifestation of a more fundamental set of rules.
Zhang Zhiwei listened quietly, his hand, which was holding a chess piece, paused slightly in mid-air.
"So, you suspect..."
"I'm not doubting it."
Zhang Yunyuan interrupted him, his tone resolute, each word like a bombshell exploding in the silent room.
"I am almost certain that there exists a higher-dimensional hidden world above our world, which they call the 'Kunlun Immortal Realm'."
"The people there are far more powerful than any superhuman in the world could have imagined."
"That Xuan Juezi was able to trap me, a master of innate cultivation, in a short time with just a magic weapon."
This demonstrates that their use of power and their understanding of rules were far ahead of ours by countless eras.
Deathly silence.
Inside the quiet room, only the occasional chirping of insects could be heard from outside the window.
For the first time, Zhang Zhiwei's usually calm and collected face showed an expression of disbelief and shock.
The white piece in his hand slipped silently from his fingers and fell onto the chessboard with a crisp "tap," yet he was completely unaware of it.
Even though he was already a giant in his time, and his mind had been tempered to be untainted by worldly dust, the moment he heard this earth-shattering secret, a huge wave still surged in his heart.
A higher-dimensional world?
This is no longer a simple conflict within the martial arts world; it has even transcended the realm of the supernatural and directly touched upon the most fundamental and unknown secrets of this world!
"The Jia Shen Rebellion..."
Zhang Zhiwei's voice was terribly dry, "You mean..."
A glint of wisdom shone in Zhang Yunyuan's eyes, a kind of clarity that came from connecting all the clues.
"I've always wondered why the thirty-six thieves of that time suddenly came up with those eight astonishing skills."
"Now it seems that they may have also glimpsed a corner of the 'Kunlun Immortal Realm' by chance, and obtained some inheritance that did not belong to this world."
"The Eight Extraordinary Techniques may not be their original creations at all, but rather a clumsy imitation of some higher-level power in the Immortal Realm."