Chapter 43: The Order of the Supreme Mystery

"Enough with the nonsense. Just tell me—will you stop me or not?"

Upon the mountainside, a stone door was concealed by an array. Xia Jiuxuan was quite curious whether something he needed was hidden within.

"Why would I stop you? If you have the ability, go on in," the old man replied, regaining his composure as he scrutinized Xia Jiuxuan with ancient, solemn eyes.

"Very well, let me recover first," Xia Jiuxuan said.

Many of his bones were fractured. Now that he was no longer in the Innate Realm, healing was not as effortless as before. He took out several healing pills—spoils from the ten alchemists he'd slain—and began to mend his wounds using a breathing technique alongside the medicine.

A quarter of an hour later, all his broken bones had healed, and his injuries were entirely mended.

This scene left the chained old man dumbfounded. In his perception, Xia Jiuxuan’s bones were knitting together at a speed visible to the naked eye. For this boy to possess such miraculous healing pills—it was truly unfathomable.

"Old man, tell me—what is so special about this Taixuan Cavern?" Xia Jiuxuan asked as he walked forward.

“Calling me ‘old man’ so rudely... If not for my curiosity about you, I’d have killed you with a slap long ago,” the elder thought sourly.

"Little one, every three hours, poisonous rain falls here. Three hours later, thunder descends from the sky. Three more hours and fire spirits will fill the air. You’re lucky—you’ve arrived during the last safe three-hour period," the old man explained.

"Is that all? Nothing else?" Xia Jiuxuan raised an eyebrow.

"You’ll see for yourself soon enough. By then, you’ll be too miserable to even cry," the old man shook his head. This boy, barely having entered the Palace Realm, could hardly comprehend the horrors of the poison rain, the celestial thunder, or the fire spirits.

"Enough talk. I’m going to see what’s behind that stone door."

Without further ado, Xia Jiuxuan approached the mountainside and stood before the concealed stone door. Upon it, nine lines of poetry were inscribed, eight of which had been completed with corresponding verses. Only after the line, "At the edge of the world, no square is seen," was there no continuation.

Xia Jiuxuan paused, studying the door. The old man slowly approached and stood beside him.

"Kid, your soul sense is strong indeed, to ignore the array and see the stone door. If you found a good teacher, you would surely achieve great things. Why have you been sealed in the Taixuan Cavern?" the old man asked quietly.

"None of your business," Xia Jiuxuan snapped, not wanting to waste words with him.

"You..." The old man was momentarily stunned. Was this boy mad? He talked back even more arrogantly than the old man had in his youth.

After a while, Xia Jiuxuan was still gazing at the stone door when the old man laughed. "Give it up. You’ll never come up with the second half of that line..."

"Square your monstrous mother’s head," Xia Jiuxuan muttered under his breath.

Boom!

The array upon the stone wall vanished automatically, and the stone door swung open with a thunderous sound.

"Wha—what in the world!" The old man hadn’t even finished his mocking remark before the door opened, leaving him speechless with shock.

How could this be? That line had stumped countless geniuses, yet a simple, flippant phrase had opened it? If those who had wracked their brains for a solution learned of this, they’d probably die of anger on the spot!

“Friend, who are you, and how did you know the second half of that line?” The old man was shaken to his core, unable to remain calm.

“Why should I tell you?” Xia Jiuxuan tossed back, striding confidently through the doorway.

Behind the stone door, nine sealed caverns awaited. Eight were already open. As Xia Jiuxuan approached, the ninth cavern opened as well.

He walked inside. It was a stone chamber about five zhang square, lined with shelves thickly coated in dust. On the floor, weapons were neatly stacked, along with over a hundred high-grade spirit stones and many jars of pills.

“So it’s a treasury after all,” the old man said, hobbling in after him.

Xia Jiuxuan glanced back instinctively, only to find the old man’s face streaked with tears.

“I’ve struggled all my life, failed to comprehend swordsmanship, couldn’t open the stone door, only for some brat to waltz in and take the prize. Why did fate torment me so?” the old man cried, throwing himself to the ground and bawling.

“What do you mean by ‘took the prize’? You just lack the skill,” Xia Jiuxuan said with a glance.

The old man, hearing this, almost wished for death, but he could find no retort.

"How dull," Xia Jiuxuan sighed softly.

He had expected some rare treasure behind the stone door, but it was all just ordinary resources. With a casual wave of his hand, he swept everything but the bookshelves into his spatial storage.

The old man looked up, utterly bewildered.

"Boy, you took the least useful things and left behind the priceless Taixuan techniques?"

Xia Jiuxuan snorted. "All of them are worthless. Why would I want them?"

“If you think they’re priceless, why don’t I sell them all to you?” Xia Jiuxuan said.

The old man’s face lit up, leaping to his feet. “Do you mean that?”

“I do.”

“Very well, name your price!” The old man was suddenly full of vitality, all traces of age gone.

“Not much—just ten thousand supreme-grade spirit stones,” Xia Jiuxuan replied blandly.

“Why don’t you just rob me, you little scoundrel!” the old man exploded.

Xia Jiuxuan raised an eyebrow. "You were the one who called them priceless. I only asked for ten thousand supreme spirit stones, and you think that's too much? You must be losing your mind."

The old man was left speechless.

After a moment’s silence, the old man said solemnly, “To tell you the truth, I’m penniless right now. But I am Su Hongde, the former head of Nirvana Institute. If you give me these techniques, I promise to guarantee your safety throughout the entire Taixuan Academy.”

Xia Jiuxuan studied him for a moment. Extraordinary cultivation, indeed. This old man was likely telling the truth.

“Deal,” he agreed.

Su Hongde hadn’t expected Xia Jiuxuan to consent so easily. The techniques meant nothing to Xia Jiuxuan—what he wanted most was free passage in and out of Nirvana Institute. Otherwise, if anything happened to little Ranran and he wasn’t there, what could he do?

To Xia Jiuxuan, Xia Ran was more important than anyone, and these worthless techniques were nothing in comparison.

“Good lad, you’re straightforward. I like that!” Su Hongde beamed, overjoyed.

“How about this—you give me the Taixuan Token as well, and I’ll guarantee your safety in the imperial capital forever. Of course, you mustn’t provoke the royal family,” Su Hongde suggested.

“What’s the Taixuan Token? This thing?” Xia Jiuxuan sensed within his storage and produced a token.

“That’s it!” Su Hongde’s eyes shone.

“What use does it have?” Xia Jiuxuan asked.

“None for you, but it’s useful to me,” Su Hongde replied evasively.

“Enough with the nonsense. I ask, you answer. If not, I’ll crush it right now.” Xia Jiuxuan tightened his grip, causing dust to fall from the token.

“Don’t! Don’t! It’s just used to create a new institute, that’s all. What use could it be to you?” Su Hongde pleaded, fixated on the token, terrified Xia Jiuxuan would destroy it.

“Truly useless, then,” Xia Jiuxuan nodded. Suddenly, he changed his tone. “But I simply don’t want to give it to you. No deal. Sorry.”

With that, Xia Jiuxuan put the token away and strode out of the cavern, leaving Su Hongde behind in confusion.