Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi

Chapter 348: Taking the Ordinary Path, Legend of the White Dragon

Yang Chan pushed open the ancient-looking gate, which was entwined with crisscrossing vines. He used his sword to slash them apart and stepped into the large courtyard.

Initially, he hadn’t planned on taking the conventional route, intending to use the Wind-Stepping Technique to enter the courtyard. After a moment of thought, however, he decided to go through the main gate instead, hoping he might find some useful clues.

As the gate swung open, a thick cloud of dust billowed out, suggesting the place had been devoid of life for a very long time.

Of course, had there been any signs of life, Yang Chan would have been far more deliberate before making a move.

The presence of other people would naturally demand greater vigilance, but even without them, he had to remain cautious. Who knew what kind of traps or mechanisms might have been laid here?

The torch in his hand helped him see more clearly.

He was in the habit of setting such things himself, so he naturally assumed others might do the same. It was always best to consider how other people thought.

He sidestepped a few places where traps or mechanisms were likely hidden. As he entered the building, however, his eyes were drawn to a series of murals on the walls on either side.

On the first mural, he saw a White Dragon soaring through clouds and mist, using the Cloud-Forming and Rain-Spreading Technique. On the ground below, peasants with hoes knelt in gratitude.

The second mural depicted the White Dragon fighting a Black Dragon during the people’s harvest. Water and fire clashed, and countless people were killed in the crossfire.

In the third mural, the Black Dragon lay on the ground, its fate unknown. The White Dragon was still alive but had also fallen, covered in grievous wounds and barely breathing.

The fourth mural showed the surviving peasants finding the injured White Dragon. They raised their butcher knives and struck at the gravely wounded beast.

Yang Chan then looked at the fifth mural, which only showed rivers flowing backward into the land; he couldn’t glean anything else from it. When he tried to walk further, he found there was nothing more to see.

The reason he studied these murals so intently wasn’t the images themselves, but an indignant will he could sense within them—the lingering remnant of a spirit.

Whose indignation it was, however, he couldn’t tell.

"Do True Dragons really exist in this world?"

Yang Chan couldn’t help but murmur.

He knew Exotic Beasts existed, but creatures like True Dragons and phoenixes were relegated to myths and legends, picture books and fantasies. Even though the Emperor of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty styled himself the True Dragon Emperor, no True Dragon had ever actually appeared within the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty.

Even when various natural disasters struck, no True Dragon had ever appeared. Any so-called legends were just baseless rumors.

He had heard about the existence of Carefree Immortals from Princess Lan Yue, but they were also the stuff of legend. It was more likely that the title of ’Immortal’ was just what people called those who had managed to break through to a realm above National Guardian Martial Saint, a feat most found impossibly difficult.

For example, a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster had a lifespan of about 180 years. With the help of a few Longevity Elixirs, they could potentially live for over two centuries. To many commoners, such a person was no different from an Immortal.

And the rarely seen National Guardian Martial Saints, who possessed even longer lifespans, were practically Longevity Immortals in the eyes of other Martial Arts Cultivators.

’If I achieve my ’modest’ goal of living for a thousand years, I too would undoubtedly be seen as a Longevity Carefree Immortal by the world.’

Thus, even though Yang Chan had been excited when he first heard those secrets from Princess Lan Yue, he had remained rational—especially upon later reflection.

He couldn’t see an end to the path of Martial Arts Cultivation, and he believed there shouldn’t be one. The so-called Longevity Carefree Immortal was likely just another realm. Once his own cultivation reached that level, he too would understand its mysteries.

This feeling of indignation from the murals must have been left by their creator. The spiritual will had persisted for so long that it must have been the work of a Martial Arts expert, one whose cultivation was at least stronger than his own. ’With my current Spiritual Power,’ he thought, ’even if I used my Sword Momentum to carve something, it would only last for a few years at most. That’s my limit.’

This reminded him of the inheritances some Cyan Yuan Sect Disciples had found early in the Thousand Feather Secret Realm. Those legacies were often hidden in places just like this.

’Sow a flower with care, and it fails to bloom; plant a willow twig by chance, and it grows into a forest. Interesting!’

As this thought occurred to him, a peculiar glint flashed in Yang Chan’s eyes.

He had wanted to get away from this unknown place the Incomplete Seal had led him to, to escape this strange dimension, but he never expected to stumble upon a potential legacy.

For the moment, he didn’t sense any danger, nor was anyone here to contest him. It would be a shame to give up and leave immediately. Besides, he needed to understand his surroundings before he could hope to leave. Wandering blindly through this unfamiliar dimension wasn’t safe.

In fact, figuring things out first was the best way to ensure a safe departure from this strange dimension.

Thus, after a brief moment of consideration, Yang Chan continued onward. He proceeded with caution, emerging from the long entryway into an open courtyard. He stopped before a stone stele standing in the center.

He saw inscriptions on the stone stele—clearly useful information that he needed to examine.

"Taiyin Heaven!"

The first thing that caught Yang Chan’s eye were the characters carved at the very top of the stele. The style of the carving was somewhat similar to the murals. He could easily read the words at the top. Though written in an ancient script, it was one he happened to have researched.

Many of the books he had studied to become a Pharmacist—various Pharmacopoeias and Medicine Scriptures—were written in ancient scripts. In order to read them, he had needed to learn these old languages, so he could understand most of what was written.

The two words "Taiyin Heaven" were particularly easy to recognize.

"Taiyin Heaven? Could it be *that* Taiyin Heaven?"

As Yang Chan muttered the name again, his expression was one of confusion, followed by uncertainty.

He had, of course, read about Taiyin Heaven. While studying to be a Pharmacist and researching ancient texts, he had delved into the history of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, which naturally included the histories of previous dynasties.

The great event of the Great Yu Imperial Dynasty extending its reign for five hundred years was recorded in those annals, and the existence of Taiyin Heaven was mentioned in that context.

Yang Chan didn’t know what level of Secret Realm it was, but anything that could allow a previous Imperial Dynasty to extend its reign for five hundred years was clearly no simple place. Now, seeing "Taiyin Heaven" as the first thing carved on the stele naturally sparked many thoughts in his mind.

He thought about the Incomplete Seal. The character carved on it was ’Yin.’ He had originally assumed it referred to the ’Yin’ in the No-Life Evil Cult’s cultivation technique, the Taiyin Heavenly God Skill. Now, however, it seemed much more likely that it was the ’Yin’ from ’Taiyin Heaven.’

Only a place of such significance could have the power to transport him directly from Yuanqing Courtyard in the Cyan Yuan Sect to this strange dimension. If this place was, in fact, Taiyin Heaven, then many things would suddenly make sense.

The massive phenomenon that had appeared over the Qingyuan River was also not something an ordinary Secret Realm could produce. Princess Lan Yue had mentioned it at the time, marveling at what kind of Secret Realm it could be. She had even tried to persuade Yang Chan to enter it and seek his fortune, but he had refused.

If this was Taiyin Heaven, it would explain everything that had happened to him. At this thought, a peculiar glint flashed in Yang Chan’s eyes.