Chapter 305 - 304: The Ancient Dongtian and the Secret of the Sacred Grounds (2)

"Amitabha Buddha. There is no need to be so formal, Almsgiver Lin. You have already demonstrated an extraordinary understanding of the Great Dao, and accompanying you may even help this poor monk broaden his own horizons. If you wish to cultivate in a more suitable location, I shall take you there."

He glanced toward Bai Qingyue.

"However, the place I have in mind is somewhat farther away from the plaza. The journey should not be difficult for you, but the pressure increases as we approach the area. We will have to proceed carefully."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"That will not be a problem."

Ku Ming gave him a meaningful look.

"I suspected you would say that."

He turned and began walking toward the eastern side of the plaza, his sandaled feet barely stirring the dust beneath them.

"Come. I shall show you where this poor monk usually cultivates."

Bai Qingyue moved to Lin Yuan’s side, and the two followed him.

As they left the jade plaza, the surrounding cultivators gradually returned to their previous activities. Some continued meditating, while others discussed the Dao Fruits they had witnessed and attempted to understand the principles behind Lin Yuan’s breakthrough.

A few people cast curious glances in his direction, but none approached.

The formation of a Dao Fruit was already an extraordinary achievement. The fact that Lin Yuan had accomplished it so soon after arriving in the Sacred Grounds naturally attracted attention.

However, Lin Yuan paid them no mind.

His attention had already returned to the subtle fluctuations he could perceive in the surrounding environment.

The farther they walked, the more pronounced those fluctuations became.

At first, the difference was barely noticeable. The spiritual Qi merely appeared slightly denser, and the pressure of the surrounding laws increased by a small degree.

After several hundred steps, however, Lin Yuan began to notice something unusual.

The spiritual Qi did not simply grow denser as they moved deeper into the forest.

Instead, it became increasingly orderly.

Streams of spiritual energy flowed through the air like invisible rivers, converging at certain points before separating into smaller currents. The ancient trees grew in seemingly irregular positions, yet their roots followed the same general direction as the spiritual Qi.

Even the rocks scattered across the ground appeared to occupy specific locations within this arrangement.

Lin Yuan slowed his steps.

Ku Ming noticed immediately.

"Almsgiver Lin?"

Lin Yuan did not answer at once. He lowered his gaze toward a cluster of pale stones beside the path, studying them with the same unhurried intensity he had once reserved for mortal enemies.

There were no visible runes carved into their surfaces, nor did they contain any particularly strong spiritual fluctuations. To an ordinary cultivator, they were nothing more than stones that had remained in the forest for countless years.

Yet, when Lin Yuan examined them through his enhanced perception, he discovered that the spiritual Qi passing through the surrounding area would subtly change direction whenever it approached them.

The stones were not attracting spiritual energy.

They were guiding it.

He looked toward another cluster farther away.

Then another.

A faint light appeared in his deep purple eyes.

"Master Ku Ming, are these stones part of an ancient formation?"

The monk followed his gaze.

"Those?"

He examined them briefly before shaking his head.

"I cannot say for certain. They are scattered throughout this region, and some have existed for longer than the oldest records preserved by the cultivators who entered the Sacred Grounds. I once attempted to examine them, but I found no obvious formation runes or spiritual inscriptions. Their influence on the surrounding Qi is also relatively weak."

Ku Ming paused, his gaze lingering on the pale stones a moment longer than necessary, as though revisiting some old, unresolved curiosity of his own.

"Perhaps they are remnants of an ancient formation whose primary components have already disappeared. Perhaps they serve some other purpose. Without further investigation, I would not dare to make a definitive claim."

Lin Yuan nodded slowly.

The monk’s answer was reasonable.

He had far more knowledge concerning ancient cultivation and the history of the Sacred Grounds, but he was also careful not to claim certainty where he possessed none.

Lin Yuan, on the other hand, was beginning to notice something that the monk’s familiarity with the environment had not necessarily revealed.

The stones did not merely guide the spiritual Qi.

They guided it along a particular path.

And that path seemed to connect the surrounding land to a location farther ahead.

He looked into the distance.

’Could it be that these are not isolated remnants of a formation?’

He continued walking, but his attention remained focused on the movement of spiritual energy, tracing its subtle currents the way a hunter might trace the faint, half-erased tracks of something far older than itself.

The ancient forest gradually opened before them.

Beyond it stood a series of towering mountains, their peaks disappearing into a layer of pale mist. Silver waterfalls descended from their cliffs, yet the water did not seem to originate from any visible river. Instead, the streams emerged from the mist itself, flowed down the mountainsides, and vanished into the earth, the faint roar of falling water echoing softly across the open valley.

The scene was beautiful.

But Lin Yuan was no longer concerned with its beauty.

He could feel that the spiritual Qi surrounding the mountains was considerably denser than the energy they had encountered along the way.

More importantly, the fluctuations of the ancient laws were unusually clear.

The moment he stepped out of the forest, the Dao Fruit within his Primordial Spirit trembled faintly, as though recognizing something kindred in the land spread out before them.

Golden-purple lightning flickered across its surface.

The silver patterns representing Rain began to circulate, while the crimson, black, and white currents of Three Rebirths moved in a slow, harmonious cycle.

Bai Qingyue, standing quietly beside him, felt the faint shift in the air as well, her gaze drifting toward the mist-veiled peaks with quiet wonder.

Lin Yuan stopped.

Ku Ming turned around.

"We have arrived."