The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 273 Xuanji Platform, Buddhist Shackles and Divine Locks
Zhao Ti explored several more caves without finding anything. After a while, he came to a cave entrance that resembled a leaf.

This place is also heavily guarded, second only to the Abyss Cave in terms of security.

He stepped out of the shadows, swiftly struck the pressure points guarding the entrance, and then stepped inside.

The scenery inside the cave is completely different from other caves. Other caves are full of strange rocks and the scenery is nothing more than bells and reeds, but here it is covered with greenery and the scenery is charming.

The cave is covered with lush green moss, and small grasses and trees grow on the rock walls, their colors pleasing to the eye.

Seeing this, he had a slight guess in his mind and went straight inside. After a while, he saw that the scenery was becoming more and more exquisite and beautiful. Suddenly, the view opened up and a pebble path appeared on the ground.

Zhao Ti followed the path to its deepest point and saw a large crystal-carved pool amidst the beautiful scenery, with a delicate crystal in the shape of a teapot spout extending into a crevice in the rock.

He walked over and found a dozen small silver pots in the crystal pool, one of which was facing the crystal spout above.

Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows, wondering to himself, "Is this the Everlasting Spring? But why isn't a drop of water flowing out?"

He carefully observed the crystal spout in the wall; it was not blocked, nor did it have any mechanism to open for the spring water to flow. He fell into deep thought.

Could it be that the spring is about to dry up? He quickly retreated outside the cave and released the pressure points of one person at the cave entrance to inquire.

The man was originally prepared to die, but he couldn't resist the ravaging power of the Illusionary Yin Finger within his body, so he recounted what had happened to Changchun Spring.

After listening, Zhao Ti pondered and realized that it was related to the great changes in the world. Changchun Valley was built on a unique spiritual vein, which is why this spring was born. However, the great changes in the world caused the spiritual vein to dry up and disappear, or to move to another place, so Changchun Spring was going to dry up and disappear.

He asked some more questions about the Changchun Spring, and what would happen if one drank from it outside the valley. Then he re-pressed the man's acupoints and went back into the cave.

Since the spring is about to dry up, we will not leave any for Changchun Valley; we will take everything that has accumulated in the pool with us.

Drinking this spring water outside or inside the valley and then leaving will cause a person to age rapidly within a few days and then die.

But he possesses the secret to eternal youth and longevity, so he is not afraid of these things. Since it can preserve youth and prolong life, he might as well take it all for future use.

He then returned to the crystal pool, glanced at the dozen or so silver pots, took off his outer robe, and placed the pots on it one by one. However, when he placed the last pot, he had a sudden thought and opened the lid to take a look.

A refreshing scent immediately hits you, invigorating your mind and making your eyes brighter.

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes, then looked at the clear, transparent spring water in the pot, which was faintly shimmering. He couldn't help but lift it up and take a small sip.

He found the spring water incredibly sweet, with some of it dissolving and disappearing in his mouth. At this moment, the Everlasting Youth and Longevity Technique within his body began to circulate on its own, with his internal energy flowing through the eight extraordinary meridians, showing signs of boiling.

"It tastes so good?" Zhao Ti licked his lips. According to the guard at the cave entrance, one only needs one cup of this spring water to achieve the desired effect. In the past, whether it was people from Kunlun or outsiders entering the valley, they would only drink this amount and would not drink more.

This pot can be divided into three cups. Even though it tastes good, no one dares to drink too much, because everyone is hoping to get out of the valley in the future and is afraid that if they drink too much, their hopes will be dashed.

Originally, the current spring water reserves were not enough to supply drinking water for all these years, but many people in Kunlun have not lived and drunk from the spring in the valley for the past 60 years. They are waiting for a great change in the world and hoping for some miracle to happen so that they can delay aging and death while they are away from home. That's why they have accumulated these dozen or so pots.

Zhao Ti felt the pulsation of the Everlasting Youth and Longevity Technique within his body and felt relieved. Since the two resonated, the technique must be effective, and he would be able to leave the valley without any problems after drinking the spring water.

He gulped down the entire pot of spring water, and felt the internal energy of the Changchun Gong surge straight up to the Twelfth Floor.

Even the illusory Yin True Qi, which had been dormant for a long time, began to leap and thrash within the Heavenly Pivot Lock of the first level of the Twelve-Story Tower.

"Does this spring water also enhance one's martial arts skills?" Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows, but then shook his head. He suspected that although the spring water could enhance one's martial arts skills, it was limited by the level of one's martial arts cultivation. Otherwise, why wouldn't the people in the valley drink more of it?
However, it's also possible that the profound martial arts skills within the valley are of little use, and in recent years, the spring water was to be allocated to people from Kunlun, making it impossible to drink freely. Furthermore, people here harbor the hope of getting out of the valley by chance and dare not drink too much.

Regardless, he felt that the improvement in his internal strength was real. The Everlasting Youth and Longevity Technique and the Illusory Yin True Qi both reacted. This was not only a significant increase in internal strength, but also a more refined and pure one.

Zhao Ti closed his eyes slightly and looked inward at his body. He saw that the Everlasting Spring Skill was hovering below the Twelve-Story Tower, just a little short of breaking through to the top.

As for the Illusory Yin True Qi, it was also eager to rise and attempt to break through the second level of the Twelve-Story Tower, the Xuanji Platform.

Zhao Ti thought for a moment, then picked up another pot of Changchun Spring water and gulped it down. He felt incredibly comfortable all over, as if his pores were open, breathing in the outside air.

However, although this pot of water continued to improve his skills, it still did not bring the two techniques to the critical point of advancement, so he picked up another pot of spring water.

The moment the third pot of spring water was finished, the Everlasting Youth and Longevity Technique emitted a crisp sound of breaking through the walls within the body, directly leaping onto the first level of the Twelve-Story Tower, the Heavenly Pivot Lock.

Zhao Ti was overjoyed. There was no bottleneck. This was the benefit of cultivation without bottlenecks. Otherwise, even with a divine object like the Everlasting Spring Water, breaking through to a higher realm would be a great struggle and would not be so smooth and effortless.

After the internal energy of the Longevity and Everlasting Youth Technique entered the Heavenly Pivot Lock, it became domineering like an emperor, wanting to occupy all positions and constantly touring back, forth, left, and right.

After the Illusory Yin True Qi entered, it became indistinguishable from the real thing, appearing and disappearing almost imperceptibly. Even when the Everlasting Youth Skill's internal energy circulated everywhere, it could not detect the slightest presence of the other party.

Seeing this, Zhao Ti seemed to be deep in thought. Logically speaking, the Everlasting Youth and Longevity Technique came from the divine book that Xiaoyaozi brought out of the valley, so the level of the technique should be extremely high. If the Illusionary Yin True Qi's realm far exceeded that of the other party, it would be possible not to be discovered. But why is it that the Illusionary Yin True Qi can still deceive the Everlasting Youth Technique when the two are on the same twelfth floor?
Could it be that the Illusory Yin True Qi is of a higher standard? This technique comes from the Southern Tang Mountain and Sea Temple, and in theory it shouldn't be stronger than the Everlasting Spring Technique. Could it be that the Illusory Yin True Qi or the Mountain and Sea Temple has some other explanation?
However, at that time, the Mountain and Sea Temple only had six layers of the Illusionary Yin Scripture, and there was no follow-up. The first and second fingers of the Illusionary Yin Scripture were not recorded in the original technique. Even the one he is practicing now is derived from the past. Is it related to these?
Zhao Ti was puzzled. At this moment, he released a little of the martial intent of the Eternal Youth and Longevity Skill, and two other auras appeared on his body.

These two qualities are clearly youth and old age; his expression sometimes radiates youth and sometimes shows signs of aging, constantly shifting and reflecting each other.

Zhao Ti sensed it for a moment, then withdrew his martial intent and observed the Illusory Yin True Qi within the Heavenly Pivot Lock. He saw that this true qi was eager to ascend to the second level, but it was still somewhat lacking.

He glanced at the silver pot containing spring water. He had just drunk three bottles, and now there were ten left. He couldn't help but reach out and pick up another bottle and pour it into his mouth.

It was indeed delicious. After finishing this pot, Zhao Ti couldn't help but take another pot. After finishing this pot, the Illusory Yin True Qi in the Heavenly Pivot Lock suddenly changed. A mirage pattern appeared in his body, flickering. Two sharp horns instantly pierced through the Xuanji Platform.

It was as if a great bell was ringing within his body, causing his blood vessels to pulsate and surge. His skin, muscles, and bones seemed to have undergone a baptism, and his Illusory Yin True Qi increased exponentially, becoming so refined that it seemed to transform his inner energy into Gang Liquid, and then into a solid form of Heavenly Gang True Form.

Is this the legendary martial arts realm of combining strength and gentleness, and transforming qi into form?
At this moment, Zhao Ti felt that his eyesight and hearing were far superior to before, and he could even injure people by spitting out a gust of wind. He didn't need to practice any sonic martial arts like the Lion's Roar; he could injure his opponents with just a few words.

He took a deep breath and was about to put down the silver pot when suddenly his mind exploded with a series of random thoughts.

Could it be that inner demons have arrived? Zhao Ti examined the celestial palace's treasure books and learned the names of the twelve-story towers and the corresponding twelve levels of inner demon tribulations.

The first level, the Heavenly Pivot Lock, corresponds to the first level of inner demonic possession, which represents the purity and innocence of the body.

The second level, the Xuanji Platform, corresponds to the second level of the inner demon refining pill fire tribulation, which represents the unwavering faith in martial arts and Taoist cultivation.

At this moment, all those distracting thoughts were questioning the practice of martial arts, and all those noises were mocking, ridiculing, and dismissive, showing utter doubt about the practice of martial arts.

Zhao Ti remained motionless, listening quietly with a blank expression. These voices were actually his latent inner thoughts, which he had suppressed due to his firm belief in martial arts. Now, as he advanced to a higher realm, these inner thoughts took the opportunity to surface.

Inner demons arise from within the mind. If one's mind is free from any distracting thoughts or extraneous ideas, inner demons will not arise.

But unless one is born with a pure heart, or reaches a state of mind where even a clear mirror is not a platform and there is nothing in the world, everyone has inner demons, and no one is an exception.

The inner demons can be large or small. If small, they disturb one's mind and will. If large, according to Taoist teachings, it means that the mind is tempting external demons, demons outside the body, and demons from beyond the heavens, attacking from both inside and outside, thus destroying one's cultivation.

Zhao Ti was unsure whether external demons existed, since he practiced martial arts. If he couldn't control these distracting thoughts, they would inevitably harm his body. At best, he would suffer internal injuries and his cultivation level would drop; at worst, he would lose all his martial arts skills, go into qi deviation, and be in danger of losing his life.

He squinted slightly, listening to his own inner voice, which was full of sarcasm and doubt. As he listened, he couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.

All the negative views I had about martial arts since childhood surged up at this moment, clamoring endlessly in my mind.

What's the point of training hard in the coldest and hottest days of winter? It's better to eat, drink, play, and have fun.

What's the point of getting up at the crack of dawn and practicing day and night? It's better to be surrounded by beautiful women, with soft, fragrant flesh filling your arms.

What good is superior martial arts against a massive army? With powerful crossbows and bows, and the clash of swords and the thunder of hooves, who can truly be invulnerable to blades and spears? Who can withstand the onslaught?

Under the heavens, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the land, all people are subjects of the king. When a king is angry, millions will die and blood will flow for thousands of miles. What great use can personal martial power be?
Despite the constant questioning, Zhao Ti remained silent, neither refuting nor debating, as if he were an outsider watching a spectacle.

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds gradually weakened from their initial fierce and excited tone. It was as if they could find no one to disturb and were powerless to retreat, just like the tide that came in fiercely and receded with greatly diminished volume.

Zhao Ti shook his head with a faint smile. It seemed that his inner demon was still too weak and powerless. Inner demons are born from the heart and attack the loopholes in the mind, but his martial arts mindset was already solid. At this moment, attacking with some old ideas was useless.

Just as all those distracting thoughts faded away, a very faint yet rather hurried sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside.

The sound was inaudible to ordinary people, but Zhao Ti heard it clearly. He turned to look outside, and a figure had already slipped in. The figure seemed to be trying to hide silently, but Zhao Ti turned to look, thus breaking the figure's intention and revealing itself.

Zhao Ti looked over and saw a tall, imposing old man with long, flowing hair, a face as red as a jujube, and a broken left eyebrow. He was staring intently at the silver pot in his hand.

"What are you doing?" the old man shouted in astonishment.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Ti glanced at the empty jug of spring water in his hand and threw it into the pool. "Can't you see what I'm doing?"

"You, you drank the water of Changchun Spring?" The old man trembled with rage. "What use is this spring water to you, you wicked monk? Don't you know that once you drink it, you will never leave Changchun Valley?"

Zhao Ti ignored him, wondering if it was Changchunzi. Judging from his appearance, he was no ordinary person from the valley, and at this time, he was definitely not just anyone.

"You, how many jugs did you drink?" The old man's face was fierce, a mixture of regret and anger.

Zhao Ti said calmly, "Didn't you see those five empty jugs over there? This water is so delicious, I drank from five jugs."

"Five jugs? Aren't you afraid of drinking so much that you'll burst?" The old man gritted his teeth in anger and grief, but seeing Zhao Ti packing the remaining silver jugs into his robe, he immediately snapped, "What are you doing now?"

Zhao Ti said, "Let's save the remaining eight jugs and drink them later."

"What?!" the old man roared. "You actually want to take it?"

Zhao Ti finished packing the package, turned around, grinned, and said, "Aren't you going to take it with you and leave it for your Changchun Valley?"

A hint of doubt appeared in the old man's eyes, and he suddenly said, "You... are not the demonic monk?"

Zhao Ti shook his head: "What kind of demonic monk am I? The entrance to the abyss in that cave has already been opened. Since you are a person from the valley, why are you here instead of stopping the demonic monk?"

The old man remained silent, his eyes fixed on Zhao Ti, his long hair fluttering even without wind, clearly indicating that his internal energy was constantly circulating.

Zhao Ti laughed and said, "Could it be that this useless Changchun Spring water has some other use that is more important than the demonic monk crawling out of the abyss?"

"Who exactly are you? What else do you know?" the old man asked, his tone extremely sinister.

"I don't know anything else, but you can tell me if you're willing." Zhao Ti reached out and picked up the bundle wrapped in his robe, making as if to walk outside.

"You wicked scoundrel, no matter who you are, I swear I will not let you live today!" The old man's aura suddenly changed, and his face showed both fiery and cold temperaments, which complemented each other.

"Hmm?" Zhao Ti glanced at him and chuckled, "What kind of technique is this? It can actually cultivate two martial intents, warmth and coldness? That's quite rare."

As he spoke, he released the martial intent of the Illusionary Yin Scripture, and his body immediately began to alternate between real and fake, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake, and his whole being became somewhat unpredictable.

"You... you actually opened the divine lock too?" The old man's voice was shocked, as if he couldn't believe it.

"The Divine Lock?" Zhao Ti's eyes flickered upon hearing this. The other party actually called releasing this kind of martial arts technique "opening the Divine Lock"?

The external manifestation of martial arts is the surge of internal energy to the twelfth level, an outward manifestation of the essence of martial arts one possesses. Only masters at the twelfth level have this characteristic.

He had heard from Kumārajīva that the Buddhist community called the bottleneck of this twelve-story building a "Buddha's Shackles," and now the old man in front of him was calling it a "Divine Lock." It seemed that these were two different names for the same level of spiritual attainment.

The Buddhists call it the Buddha's Shackles, the martial arts call it the Divine Locks, and the Taoists simply call it the Twelve-Story Tower? Zhao Ti nodded as he thought of this.

"Are you Changchunzi?" he asked.

"It is indeed I, the old man. Who exactly are you? If you are not a demonic monk, why are you opposing my Changchun Valley?" Changchunzi's face flashed with a cold and indifferent expression, clearly indicating that he was ready to strike at any moment.

"Just passing by." Zhao Ti said as he walked out, carrying his bundle. "Who knew we'd encounter a demonic monk causing trouble? Instead of stopping him, you're just blocking my way. Once he's all climbed up, it'll be too late for you to regret it."

"Leave the spring water behind!" Changchunzi roared in anger. He had actually wanted to make a move when he came in, but he couldn't see through the other party and was worried that something might go wrong. The demon monk was powerless to stop him. But now that he saw that the other party was really going to take the Changchun Spring water away, he could no longer bear it.

The Changchun Spring is about to dry up, and these springs are the last remaining treasures, like precious fragments. He knows some of the secrets of these springs, which can greatly increase one's power under certain conditions. However, once one drinks the spring water, one must stay in the valley and never leave again, so no one is willing to drink more, just for that little bit of luck in their hearts.

However, with the world about to undergo a great change, if in the future drinking the spring water will not be restricted by Changchun Valley and one can freely enter and exit, then this water will be considered a divine object, something that is priceless and cannot be found even if there are no precious martial arts manuals.

Not only did the other party drink five pots, but they also wanted to take the remaining eight pots with them? This was unacceptable. Even if there was the matter of the evil monk, we cannot allow the other party to take the spring water away.

"Leave the spring water behind?" Zhao Ti glanced at Changchunzi indifferently: "Are you senile? Are you dreaming?"

"This old man..." Changchunzi's shoulders trembled with anger. The other party was also a martial artist who had broken the divine lock. He really did not want to fight the other party, but he had no choice but to take action now and take back the spring.

He snorted and struck forward with both palms, and two streaks of red and white palm wind appeared, attacking Zhao Ti.

His palm strikes were alternating between hot and cold; his left hand was red, and his right hand was white. The red one was powerful and imposing, as if melting gold and fossilizing it, while the right hand was silent and seemingly capable of chilling everything.

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes slightly. This seemed to be somewhat similar to the Ku Rong Zen skill of Elder Ku Rong of Tianlong Temple in Dali, except that one was about withering and flourishing while the other was about the vicissitudes of life.

He sneered, "Fancy and useless, utterly pathetic!"

After saying this, he unleashed the eleventh level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, and a continuous rumbling sound was heard, with the roar of the dragon and elephant hidden within it.

Although he had mastered this technique to the eleventh level, he had not yet reached the twelfth level, still falling short by a hair's breadth. However, this technique was extremely violent, and its internal force was unparalleled. At this moment, when he directly confronted the opponent's palm force, he not only did not lose the upper hand, but even had some suppression.

"Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill?" Changchunzi exclaimed, "What level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill is this? How can it have such power?"

Zhao Ti glanced at him. It wouldn't be good to just kill Changchunzi directly. Although he had a grudge against Kunlun, too many demonic monks had emerged, and it would be a problem if they really caused chaos in the world.

He said, "Don't be so eager to die, get out of the way!"

Changchunzi was furious upon hearing this: "Leave the spring water and I will let you go."

Zhao Ti said coldly, "I advise you to be sensible, or you'll regret it."

"You, you must leave a few bottles behind, you can't take them all!" Changchunzi had already discovered that the other party's martial arts were subtly superior to his own when he struck with his palm, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Zhao Ti chuckled and pointed to the crystal pool: "It's not much, it can drip a little more. You can stay here and catch it."

Upon hearing this, Changchunzi nearly fainted with anger. The spring hadn't dripped a drop for days, and it probably wouldn't even fill half a pot in a year. It could dry up at any moment, so what could he possibly get from it?

He immediately retorted angrily, "I won't let you leave without leaving a pot of spring water." With that, he flashed forward and struck out with both palms.

Zhao Ti sneered, "You're courting death!"

At this time, his Everlasting Youth and Longevity Skill had reached the Twelfth Floor Heavenly Pivot Lock realm. He wanted to test its power. This martial art was an internal skill and did not have any palm or fist techniques. It could be used in conjunction with a single move and could also be forced out of the body to injure people with palm wind.

Zhao Ti had mostly learned complete sets of martial arts, which included both martial arts skills and internal skills, with very few individual moves. So at this moment, he directly forced out this skill, and a flash of green light appeared in his palm as he met Chang Chunzi's two palms.

"Divine book, divine martial arts..." Changchunzi suddenly cried out, but he could not stop his momentum, and the two collided.

With a loud "boom," Changchunzi was sent flying backward, crashing into the cave wall.

"You, how do you know the Divine Book of Martial Arts? Who is Xiaoyaozi to you?" Changchunzi's hair was disheveled, blood was spilling from the corner of his mouth, and both of his auras were completely shattered. He was panting heavily as he spoke.

Zhao Ti, who had only used 30% of his power, was surprised by the green light emanating from the Everlasting Spring Skill when he heard this and snorted, "Who is Xiaoyaozi? I don't know him."

"Impossible! This is clearly a divine martial art. The divine martial art records the method of eternal youth. Eternal youth means vitality like evergreen trees, hence the appearance of greenery and flashing green light. Only Xiaoyaozi knows this skill. He used it when he forced his way out of the valley..." Changchunzi was surprised and doubtful. He knew that the other party had shown mercy, but when he thought that it was a divine martial art, he couldn't help but ask.

"You've misunderstood..." Zhao Ti said calmly, then his figure vanished like a wisp of smoke, heading straight out of the cave.

In the blink of an eye, they emerged from the cave, but none of the guards had appeared. They didn't know where Changchunzi had gone after releasing their acupoints.

He glanced ahead and saw that there was only one cave left to visit in the distance, so he headed straight for it.

(End of this chapter)