Volume 7: The Proud Journey of the Demon Emperor Chapter 12: The Falling Heaven Cave
Dugu Baitian did not give up. His divine sense perceived that sinister aura and continuously entangled with it; this was a fusion of spiritual senses. What puzzled him was that the sinister aura seemed to possess very weak intelligence, merely a fluctuation of energy. Yet, it carried a feeling he found exceptionally familiar, identical to the sensation in the underground palace beneath Tongzhou City. It was as if something connected to his very life was here, though the fluctuation was definitely not as intense as the one in Tongzhou City's underground palace.
Dugu Baitian was inwardly shocked. He couldn't understand why this was. He couldn't help but ask Leng Feng, "Senior Leng, how long has the Falling Heaven Palace sect been established?"
Faced with his abrupt question, Leng Feng was visibly taken aback but quickly replied, "The Falling Heaven Palace was founded approximately five thousand years ago. It's been five thousand years since then."
"Such an ancient sect!" Dugu Baitian sighed. Then he asked again, "Did this Falling Heaven Cave already exist when the sect was founded?"
"Correct. According to legend, the founding Patriarch accidentally fell into the Falling Heaven Cave and, through misfortune, found fortune, attaining peerless divine martial arts. On the day he achieved success, ice sealed the land for ten miles, with icy flowers and snow leaves dancing wildly across the sky. Thus, the divine art was later named by disciples as the 'Flying Flowers, Flying Leaves, Falling Heaven Art'. Some even spread rumors that this art once struck down a heavenly palace in the sky, so some also call it the 'Flying Flowers, Flying Leaves, Falling Heaven Palace'. Precisely because he gained his power here, the Patriarch established the sect here, founding the Falling Heaven Palace lineage. However, what he taught his disciples was an incomplete version. He informed them that to cultivate the complete divine art, they must personally risk entering the Falling Heaven Cave. Failure, however, meant losing their lives."
Dugu Baitian seemed thoughtful. "So, you mean the Falling Heaven Cave is an ancient, long-existent place, and your founding Patriarch's divine art wasn't self-created but originated from here?"
"Exactly."
Based on a subtle intuition, Dugu Baitian felt that this Falling Heaven Cave seemed to have a significant connection to him. He wanted to investigate it thoroughly. This thought also arose because his power had recently reached great completion. As the saying goes, skill breeds boldness. Moreover, this cave, like a gateway to hell, truly held an attraction for him, making him desire to explore its mysteries.
"Senior, I plan to go down and investigate. If Miss Leng is down there, I will rescue her."
Leng Feng and his wife were greatly astonished. Until now, they didn't know why this Undying Demon Emperor had come to Falling Heaven Peak. Hearing this now, they were even more perplexed.
Seeing their surprised expressions, Dugu Baitian felt a pang of guilt. "I once owed Miss Leng a debt of gratitude in the martial world. I came here to repay that favor. Since Miss Leng has entered a dangerous place like the Falling Heaven Cave, I can only repay her by rescuing her."
What a significant debt of gratitude this was, to wager one's own life! This favor was perhaps too great. Leng Feng and his wife were deeply suspicious.
Dugu Baitian said, "Miss Leng once saved my life. For the grace of saving my life, I should naturally repay it with my own life."
The old man beside them, who had reached the Emperor realm, spoke up, "Let him go down. I can see he truly owes Yu'er a tremendous favor. If he doesn't go down, his heart won't be at peace for the rest of his life." The old man gave Dugu Baitian a meaningful glance.
Dugu Baitian broke out in a cold sweat, feeling utterly ashamed. He thought, "This old fellow's perception is so sharp! Could he already know? Ugh... how embarrassing, it's as if this old man sees right through me."
Leng Feng and his wife declined, "How can this be? It's too dangerous inside. Young Master Dugu's fortunes are unpredictable on this journey; we would feel deeply uneasy."
The old Emperor realm expert said, "Don't worry. I, this old man, have already cast a divination for Yu'er. She can only escape her predicament with the help of a noble person. That noble person should be Young Master Dugu."
Hearing the old man say this, the Leng couple seemed to see a glimmer of light in the fog. They immediately asked excitedly, "Really?"
"Of course it's true. My divinations are always accurate, as you well know."
Leng Yu's mother said, "Really? How come I never heard you could perform divinations?"
"This... I only learned recently, just started divining for the disciples in the sect a few days ago. They all said it's very accurate."
"Oh."
Dugu Baitian: "..."
With immensely grateful hearts, Leng Feng and his wife watched as Dugu Baitian entered the dark Falling Heaven Cave.
"This old man clearly wants to push me in here, really... finding such a lame excuse..."
Inside the Falling Heaven Cave, it was dim and lightless, pitch black where one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face. Dugu Baitian descended along a winding, spiral path. The spiral cave dwelling was like a mountain road with eighteen bends, twisting and turning endlessly.
Even though he had reached the Emperor realm, the piercing cold still made his skin feel numb. One could imagine how harsh the extreme cold must have been for Leng Yu, who had only reached the King level, when she walked down here.
He didn't know how long he had walked when he felt the terrain gradually level out. But it was even colder here. If one spat, the saliva would turn into ice the moment it left the mouth, falling to the ground with a crisp shattering sound.
He secretly clicked his tongue in surprise. After another period of time, the terrain became completely level. He estimated he had reached deep within the mountain's belly.
Then, a faint light gradually appeared ahead. He quickened his pace forward and saw numerous bright pearls embedded in the icy walls above his head, illuminating the entire passage as bright as day.
How similar this place was to the underground palace in Tongzhou City! Except that place was an extravagantly luxurious, massive palace carved from white jade, while this one was chiseled out of natural ice. Dugu Baitian instantly grasped something, but that spark of inspiration slipped away immediately.
After moving from darkness into light, the temperature here dropped even more sharply. The cold currents flowing over his body felt as uncomfortable as being cut by knives. In this bright place, Dugu Baitian had already discovered several dozen ice sculptures – people who had been frozen to death here. These people included old and young, men and women. Without a doubt, these were all outstanding disciples of the Falling Heaven Palace from the past who sought the secret manual but failed, dying here.
The further in he went, the more frozen corpses he found. Dugu Baitian was secretly alarmed. Over these thousands of years, who knew how many people had died here? Looking at those ice sculptures, he felt a wave of emotion. These were all seniors from a thousand years ago! The divine art had attracted so many, yet also harmed so many. Human desire...
Later, the number of corpses gradually decreased. Those who could reach the innermost part must have been experts, at least having reached the King level. But their ends were miserable; after death, their bodies were utterly frozen and shattered, littering the ground, without a single intact corpse. Fortunately, Dugu Baitian had not yet found Leng Yu's body.
After the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Dugu Baitian entered a great hall. Here, the cold had become unbearable even for him. Waves of dizziness assaulted his mind, and his skin had gone numb, losing all sensation.
At this moment, the three divine arts and the Undying Demon Art within him suddenly began circulating at ten times their normal speed. The feeling of dizziness gradually receded, and his mind cleared once more.
"How perilous! This place simply isn't fit for humans." He now truly began to doubt whether Leng Yu was still alive. If even he, an Emperor realm expert possessing divine arts, was in such a state, how much worse must it be for her, a mere King level expert?
"She should still be alive, right? She's been cultivating this cold art since childhood; she should be able to adapt to the temperature here." He comforted himself inwardly.
Passing through this hall, he entered another great hall. This hall was countless times more magnificent than the previous one. The vast hall, the dazzling pearls, were dreamlike and illusory. The icy walls were carved full of various talismans and totems.
Three shattered corpses lay scattered on the ground. In the very center of the hall stood an ice sculpture – a woman of peerless, exquisite beauty, yet somewhat cold and aloof, was sealed within the ice.
"Leng Yu!" Dugu Baitian cried out in shock.
Leng Yu within the ice seemed thoughtful. Her gaze was fixed on the symbols on the icy wall, as if pondering something.
"This... did I arrive too late?" Dugu Baitian stood stunned. He didn't have deep feelings for this girl; mostly, he felt guilt. But at this moment, he sincerely hoped to save her life.
Looking at the girl's jade-like countenance within the ice, he felt a pang of heartache. It could be said that it was entirely because of him that she was in this state. After he entered the martial world, the world had wronged him too much, but he had also wronged someone – and that person was Leng Yu.
He stretched out his hands, channeling all his power towards the ice sculpture. After a burst of white mist, the ice gradually melted, but the moisture immediately froze again not far away, falling to the ground as ice.
Leng Yu's perfect form was freed from the ice sculpture, but her body remained utterly stiff.
Just as Dugu Baitian was about to channel his power again, an angry shout rang out: "Who dares disturb my disciple's cultivation?"
The icy voice was like a sharp blade, making Dugu Baitian feel a bone-chilling, heart-piercing cold. He hadn't expected there to be someone else in this icy hall.
"Which one is it? Which one is barking?" Dugu Baitian, startled by the voice and feeling extremely displeased, spoke without any respect.
"Is that how you speak to your elder, boy?"
"How should I know if you're human or demon, let alone an elder? Who are you? Hiding in the shadows, why don't you dare show yourself?" In truth, he was very uneasy inside. The speaker's voice drifted ethereally, making it impossible for him to pinpoint its origin. He himself knew a similar sound transmission technique, 'Peak's Nine Turns'. Precisely because of this, he could usually quickly locate the exact position of the transmitter. But now, he couldn't find the slightest trace of the speaker. This shocked him; the speaker's power was clearly superior to his.
"Me? Haha, I'm afraid no one in this world remembers my name anymore. Boy, I see you care quite a bit for this girl. I know you mean her no harm, so you'd best listen to me and don't move her again. She is currently cultivating the Falling Heaven Art I transmitted to her. She is not in any danger, but she has reached a critical juncture."
"Falling Heaven Art? Falling Heaven Art, Falling Heaven Art..." He muttered it a few times softly, then suddenly understood. So the so-called divine art here was one of the Nine Great Divine Arts.
"Who is this person? Didn't Leng Yu's father say no one has ever come out alive from here in a thousand years? Could he be..."
Dugu Baitian was utterly shocked. He knew he had encountered a legendary Martial Saint, an ancient monster thousands of years old.