Chapter 241: Ancient Jade Pool
In the Northern Domain, the temperature difference between day and night was immense. Under the cold, clear moonlight, a bone-piercing chill permeated the air. On the horizon, several white silhouettes appeared ethereal, flickering in and out of existence, as ethereal as immortals, soaring into the sky.
Ye Fan vanished with each step, leaving over a dozen afterimages across the empty land. He chased for a great distance but caught nothing. Standing in the night, he gazed up at the boundless starry sky.
"What were those things?" he wondered aloud. The few white figures had vanished into the vast night sky, nowhere to be seen.
"Jade Pool Flying Immortals," the big black dog replied.
"Flying Immortals?"
Ye Fan was puzzled.
To cultivators, immortals were illusory and unreal. Though legends always spoke of their existence, there was no evidence. Even records in ancient texts couldn't withstand scrutiny.
"It's hard to explain," the big black dog shook its head.
Jade Pool was an ancient site. Under the night moon, the rare spectacle of flying immortals occasionally appeared. No one could explain it—vague from afar, elusive up close.
Legend said these were afterimages from the Primordial Era, reflections from endless ages past, replays of ancient events.
"It can't be immortals..." Ye Fan didn't believe it.
"I never said they were immortals," Black Emperor said, its eyes gleaming with a green light, no different from a wolf in the dark.
The empty land held nothing but sand and gravel. The latter half of the night was utterly still. Ye Fan and Black Emperor searched for most of the night without finding anything.
Back then, the Jade Pool had established its sect here because the landscape held spiritual beauty, a rare immortal land. But now it was desolate, nothing but red sand as far as the eye could see.
The Jade Pool Flying Immortal phenomenon had appeared, confirming this was undoubtedly the ancient Jade Pool site. Yet no matter how they searched, they couldn't find a single flaw.
Morning glow burst forth—crimson, golden, making the reddish-brown earth shine. Ye Fan and Black Emperor had worked all night, finding not even a pottery shard, let alone ruins.
"You're really unreliable. You told me there was a scripture here, but I can't even find the door."
"Do you know what 'good things come to those who wait' means? That scripture was created by the legendary Western Emperor. How could it be so easy to obtain?" the big black dog made excuses.
"Before we came, you made it sound so simple, saying it was carved on a cliff face, that we'd find it as soon as we arrived. And now?" The big black dog pulled a long face, sulkily walked aside, squinted, and pondered for a long time before saying, "This place is sealed. This Emperor has a slight ailment and probably can't open it right now. We'll have to find another way." It suddenly stood up and said, "Let's go to the edge of the Jade Pool. The seal is weakest there. We might be able to sneak in."
They traveled for half a day, searching and digging large pits in the sandy ground, before the big black dog finally confirmed, "Search here."
The midday sun was scorching. The blazing sun hung overhead, making man and shadow almost overlap. Black Emperor paced back and forth, then suddenly jumped up, shouting, "Found it!"
Hearing this, Ye Fan rushed over.
Ahead, a patch of red sand glittered. The fierce sunlight flowed toward it, making it like a great furnace.
"Is there something strange underground here? Can this lead into the Jade Pool?"
"I remember there was an ancient well at the edge of the Jade Pool immortal land. It should be here. We can probably enter through it," the big black dog replied.
"Old Black, are you reliable or not? Don't mess with me again," Ye Fan said, not trusting it.
The big black dog bared its teeth and threatened, "Call me Black Emperor!"
Ye Fan slapped out with his palm, sending red sand flying, revealing a large pit with some big stones.
"That's right, it's here. Time is merciless—even this ancient well has been buried by wind and sand," the big black dog crouched down to examine it carefully.
When they cleared the ground, an ancient well appeared below, lined with ancient jade stones. The mouth was sealed with a large rock.
Sunlight was being drawn into this well, making it as hot as a great furnace.
"The ancient Jade Pool site is indeed extraordinary. Even sealed, it can still absorb the essence of the sun and moon. This well is devouring sunlight." When Ye Fan lifted the large rock, a pitch-black well mouth was revealed. It was very deep, with no end in sight.
"Are you sure this well leads to the Jade Pool?" Ye Fan looked at it suspiciously.
"It should be about right," the big black dog said in an uncertain tone.
"What do you mean 'about right'? Are you sure or not? Have you ever entered through here? This well is so deep, who knows where it leads."
"We have no other choice. We need to explore slowly," the big black dog picked up a stone and threw it into the ancient well. For a long time, no echo was heard.
"This is a bottomless pit."
Ye Fan was startled.
"I remember now. This place can definitely lead into the Jade Pool. Someone entered through here before. Kid, go down first and scout the way."
"Why don't you scout the way?"
"This Emperor is having some issues with my cultivation right now and shouldn't fly. You'll have to go down."
"You're the guide, but you want me to scout?" Ye Fan glared at it.
"Hey, there's light down there," the big black dog suddenly peered into the well.
Ye Fan was surprised and looked down, but saw nothing. Just then, he felt the massive dog head bump into him, knocking him down.
"Bald-tailed dog, you're truly wicked!" Fortunately, he had been on guard against the big black dog. He grabbed its mane and pulled it down with him.
"Kid, it's enough for one person to go down. No need for both of us to enter."
"Yeah, I think you're enough on your own. How about I just throw you down?"
Ye Fan was about to let go and fly back up.
"I can't fly. Kid, if you let go, I'll never let it go!" The big black dog bit into Ye Fan.
"Dammit, bitten by a dog again!" Ye Fan didn't fly up. He grabbed the big black dog and descended together, trying to find a path.
The ancient well was truly deep. They descended over two thousand meters before reaching the bottom. There was no water, only mud on the ground. The stone the big black dog had thrown in was deeply embedded.
Landing, a rotting smell hit them. There were even withered leaves in the mud.
The ancient well connected to an underground river, but the water had dried up. It ran horizontally into the distance, with occasional small puddles where blind fish swam.
"This dry riverbed can definitely lead into the Jade Pool. Even if there's a seal, it's at its weakest here," the big black dog's eyes gleamed green.
The riverbed was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. They could only rely on spiritual perception to sense their surroundings. Ye Fan trudged forward, stepping deep and shallow, with Black Emperor beside him.
"You can find a path like this. Did you dig this tunnel yourself?" Ye Fan swallowed back the words "dog hole," afraid of provoking the big black dog.
"Dammit, kid, are you cursing me?" The big black dog was incredibly sharp, as cunning as a human, and immediately caught the meaning.
Afraid of being bitten, Ye Fan quickly changed the subject, "No, you're overthinking. How did you discover this path?"
"In the past, the ancient well was full of water, making it nearly impossible to find this path. But someone did enter through here before. It has nothing to do with me—I just heard about it."
They traveled on and on, covering thirty to forty li. Ye Fan felt the terrain gradually rising as they slowly ascended toward the surface.
Here, the seal was extremely weak. There was faint light and some array patterns, but they couldn't block anything, allowing them to go straight ahead. After a few more li, daylight filtered down. They were very close to the exit.
"This place really can lead into the ancient Jade Pool site," the big black dog muttered.
"So you really had no idea!"
Ye Fan wanted to hit it a couple of times but was afraid of being bitten.
It was a large lake, now dried up, its bottom cracked. This riverbed connected to a large crack in the lakebed.
Emerging from the riverbed, a dense spiritual energy rushed at them, refreshing the mind and body, like a spring breeze.
The lake bottom was dry and barren. If not for the large cracks, it would have been shaped like a flat-bottomed pan.
Many huge fish bones lay on the ground. The lake's drying had killed them. Their sizes were astonishing—several were over ten meters long, nearly twenty meters.
"Such big fish—they were almost becoming spirits." Around the lake, towering ancient trees stood on the shore, sturdy and mighty, but all had withered. Only one or two still had a few green leaves.
"Look at how scared you were just now. There must be something strange here. You wanted to drag me down with you, didn't you?" Ye Fan stood on the shore, arms crossed, looking at it.
"Kid, you're overly suspicious. Would this Emperor be that underhanded?" the big black dog said.
"When have you ever been straightforward? Hurry up and get out here. Take me to search," Ye Fan urged.
"The water quality of this immortal lake is special. In the past, only the Jade Pool's fairies could enjoy it. This is where peerless beauties bathed. Outsiders couldn't even see it, let alone enter. Don't you want to come down and experience it?"
Suddenly, Ye Fan's heart raced. He saw several figures in the water, gliding beneath the surface—pale white, sending chills down his spine.
"You bald-tailed dog really are wicked!" The big black dog seemed to sense something. It leaped high out of the water, shouting, "Why are they following? Why are they still moving? Dammit, this dead dog really wanted to drag me down with him," Ye Fan cursed inwardly.
The big black dog scrambled and charged, skimming the water's surface, its bald tail straight up, racing toward the shore.
Under the lake water, several blurry figures, with black hair loose, dressed in white, glided past. Watching them made Ye Fan's heart pound. What were those things?