Ethan Clark chuckled, "That was just me teaching you how to play. Your real martial arts training hasn't even started yet, but it should be soon. Master’s medicine should be almost fully gathered."

"Senior brother, what is the Lingji Cave?" Samuel Bennett asked casually. The secret he’d overheard half a month ago had been lingering in his mind.

Ethan Clark pondered for a moment and said, "You are my junior brother, so I can tell you, but you absolutely must not reveal it. Otherwise, Qingxu Temple will never know peace."

"Don’t worry, senior brother, I won’t say a word." Samuel Bennett was instantly filled with curiosity. Even the usually playful fourth senior brother had become serious—just what kind of place was this?

"Lingji Cave is the greatest secret of Kongtong Mountain. It’s said to contain relics left by those who attained the Dao and ascended to the heavens. It’s also called the Ascension Platform, a place all cultivators dream of."

"Where is this Lingji Cave?"

Ethan Clark shook his head. "No one knows where it is. The three Celestial Masters of Zixiao Heavenly Palace searched for it for twenty years and still couldn’t find it."

After a moment of silence, Samuel Bennett asked in a low voice, "Did Master find it?"

Ethan Clark gave a wry smile. "Actually, we’re just guessing. Master never says anything. We suspect he might be cultivating in Lingji Cave. Otherwise, how could he go for over ten days without eating? Master has clearly mastered the art of fasting."

"Is Master’s fasting technique related to Lingji Cave?"

"Of course it is!"

Ethan Clark’s expression became very serious as he said to Samuel Bennett, "Wei Huacun, the female disciple of the Jin dynasty Daoist Ge Hong, once practiced the art of fasting on Kongtong Mountain. In her 'Three Annotations Classic,' she wrote, 'Kongtong has an immortal cave called Lingji. The cave is deep beyond measure, filled with immortal energy, and many have attained the Dao there.'

Wei Huacun’s sesame powder and Fuling pills for fasting were both prepared in Lingji Cave. We all believe Master must have found the cultivation methods left by Wei Huacun in Lingji Cave, which is why he mastered the art of fasting."

Samuel Bennett knew of Wei Huacun, a famous female alchemist of the Eastern Jin, renowned for her fasting techniques and revered as a grandmaster by the Qing sect of Daoism.

"Did Wei Huacun leave any relics on Kongtong Mountain?" Samuel Bennett asked again.

A hint of mockery appeared on Ethan Clark’s face. "If the Daoists of the Zixiao sect heard you say that, they’d beat you to death."

Samuel Bennett was startled. "Could it be that the Zixiao sect is actually hers..."

Ethan Clark nodded. "Zixiao Heavenly Palace was founded by her own hand. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, she traveled to Luofu Mountain and never returned, nor did she leave the exact location of Lingji Cave. Lingji Cave became the greatest regret of Zixiao Heavenly Palace."

Only then did Samuel Bennett understand why Lingji Cave couldn’t be mentioned. If Zixiao Heavenly Palace found out, Qingxu Temple would truly never know peace.

He gazed at the towering mountains, feeling a sudden longing...

……

Chapter 0005: The Black Tiger Sells Firewood

An hour later, they arrived at Wutai Peak. Wutai Peak is made up of five peaks—east, west, south, north, and center—and is the core area of Kongtong Mountain. It sits at about a thousand meters above sea level, and from Kongtong Town at the foot of the mountain, there are neat, wide stone steps leading up to Wutai Peak. These were built in the first year of Tianbao, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang came to Zixiao Heavenly Palace to offer sacrifices to Laozi.

That’s why most Daoist temples are built near Wutai Peak, to take advantage of the convenient stone steps. Currently, only Qingxu Palace and Jingle Palace are built on Xiangshan.

Zixiao Heavenly Palace is located on the central peak, while Chiyuan Palace, Xuanhu Palace, Qingniu Temple, Baiyang Temple, and Huanghe Temple are located on the east, west, south, north, and center peaks respectively.

They were headed to the west peak, where Xuanhu Palace sits in the center of a flat area, along with several other small temples nearby.

From afar, Samuel Bennett could see the long stretch of tall black-tiled, yellow-walled buildings with gilded eaves and brackets, gleaming in the sunlight—a world apart from their own shabby Qingxu Palace.

Ethan Clark pointed to a grand building in the distance and said, "Little junior brother, that’s the Heavenly Hall of Zixiao Heavenly Palace. It’s the most magnificent building in all of Longyou."

Samuel Bennett saw it too—a towering, majestic hall in the center of Wutai, at least twenty stories high, truly spectacular. It was said to have been specially approved by Emperor Li Longji and built in the style of the Linde Hall of Daming Palace.

This kind of palace is the symbol of Zixiao Heavenly Palace, called the Heavenly Hall, and is the most sacred place on Kongtong Mountain.

But today, they weren’t going to Zixiao Heavenly Palace, but to Xuanhu Palace on the west peak.

Xuanhu Palace covers about thirty mu, with ancient trees towering inside, a spacious plaza, and many buildings. Over a thousand Daoists cultivate here. Among the six orthodox Daoist temples, it is the third largest, after Zixiao Heavenly Palace and Chiyuan Palace.

Samuel Bennett followed Ethan Clark up to the wall and heard the sound of synchronized shouts from inside—it sounded like martial arts training.

Ethan Clark said with a hint of resentment, "They live off imperial stipends, so of course they don’t have to work hard to find food. Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, they just practice martial arts and gather at night to recite scriptures."

The two of them came to a very small door, with a sign above it reading "Firewood Yard."

Ethan Clark knocked on the door, and after a moment, a middle-aged Daoist in a red linen robe came out. He glanced at Ethan Clark, frowned, and said, "Why did you bring it over before it was dry?"

Ethan Clark replied respectfully, "Benjamin Reed Daoist, the spring fog is heavy, it’s hard to dry the wood. We’ve tried to bring as much pine wood as possible. Please forgive us!"