Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Xia Dong carefully made his way deeper into the dark passage from which the ghost-faced spider had emerged.

As they ventured deeper, the chilling aura around them grew increasingly intense, almost solidifying into a tangible substance.

Large patches of grayish-white spiderwebs began to appear on the rock walls and ceiling of the mine tunnel.

However, these spider webs, eroded and frozen by the constant yin energy over the years, have become dry, hard, and fragile, turning into dust and falling away at the slightest touch.

With his newly acquired Qi Refining Level 6 divine sense, Xia Dong was able to detect even the slightest movements within a radius of several dozen feet. After confirming that there were no other lurking dangers, he quickened his pace.

Before long, the view opened up, revealing a spacious underground cavern. This was clearly the lair of the ghost-faced spider.

The nest's layout exudes a nauseating eeriness and bloodshed.

Thick piles of white bones and shriveled, foul-smelling animal carcasses lay in the corner, while heavy spiderwebs, like giant cocoons, hung from the stalactites overhead, dividing the space into a sinister and terrifying atmosphere. However, what first caught Xia Dong's attention was not these horrifying objects, but a stone in the center of the nest, half-buried in grayish-black slime and broken bones, emitting a soft, eerie light.

Xia Dong strode forward and used his sword energy to remove the filth from the surface, revealing a piece of jade that was dark in color, clear in texture, and warm to the touch.

"Yinling Jade?" Xia Dong was overjoyed.

In places like the Yinling Mine, although ordinary Yinling Stones are abundant, the accompanying "Yinling Jade" is extremely rare. Usually, even after digging through several veins, one might not be able to find a single piece.

Yinling Jade has excellent effects in isolating and nurturing spiritual energy. Containers made from it are very suitable for storing all kinds of delicate natural treasures.

In particular, when you put a yin-attribute spiritual object into it, it will not lose its spirituality, but will instead be nourished by the jade's aura day after day.

Xia Dong immediately thought of his "Mysterious Yin Divine Water," which needed to be stored in a container made of Yin Spirit Jade.

He came to the Yinling Mine with the intention of searching for Yinling Jade, but he had no clues after searching for a long time. Unexpectedly, he found it in the nest of the Ghost-Faced Spider.

After carefully storing the Yin Spirit Jade in his storage pouch, Xia Dong continued to scan the nest with his divine sense. Soon, behind the thickest spiderweb barrier, he discovered a seated skeleton.

As Xia Dong approached for a closer look, her pupils constricted slightly, and she gasped in shock.

The flesh on the skeleton had been completely devoured, leaving not a single strand of meat.

What's chilling is that the skeleton wasn't withered or weathered; its surface was covered with a warm, jade-like luster, as if it were carved from the finest mutton-fat jade, and it exuded a metallic toughness in the dim light.

Xia Dong judged that this skeleton was definitely a martial arts master at the "Transcendent Realm" level in life!

In terms of strength, he is at least on par with cultivators who have reached the peak of Qi Refining.

Martial arts masters of this level can even engage in hand-to-hand combat with some demonic beasts of the same level.

"I see." Xia Dong suddenly realized.

That ghost-faced spider is so powerful probably because it ate the flesh and blood of this Transcendent Realm expert.

Xia Dong's gaze slowly moved down along the jade-like bones.

On the ground beside the skeleton's thigh, two things lay quietly: a jade slip with fine cracks on its surface, and a black token that was neither gold nor wood, and was carved with intricate totems.

Including the dry well in his family home and Zhang Ping's cave in the deep mountains of Tiger Hill, this is the third time he has encountered the remains and relics left by his predecessors in a secluded place.

And coincidentally, the first two times were related to the Xuan Yin Sect.

"Is the plot going to be the same again? Is it some unlucky senior from the Xuan Yin Sect again?" Xia Dong couldn't help but silently complain in his heart. "God, at least change the formula, it's so boring."

Despite her complaints, Xia Dong acted without the slightest hesitation.

He released his divine sense and carefully probed into the broken jade slip.

According to the common sense of the cultivation world, ordinary martial artists, because they have not developed divine consciousness, are unable to inscribe or use cultivation items such as jade slips.

However, the owner of this skeleton was obviously extremely powerful in life, not only reaching the Transcendent Realm, but also touching the threshold of the legendary "True Realm".

Before dying, the opponent, relying on his incomparably powerful and almost tangible martial intent, forcibly imprinted his final information on the jade slip, much like a cultivator using divine sense.

However, when Xia Dong's divine sense swept over the jade slip and read the brief contents left inside, his originally relaxed and sarcastic attitude vanished instantly, replaced by an uncontrollable surge of emotions.

The identity of this skeleton is not that of a demonic cultivator from the Xuan Yin Sect at all, but rather an inner guard of the Eastern Palace Guard of the Great You Dynasty!

Xia Dong knew very well that since the earth-shattering incident of deposing the crown prince, the current emperor of the Great You Dynasty had never appointed a crown prince again.

Therefore, to be precise, the true identity of this skeleton before its death was that of a confidant of the deposed crown prince.

He had heard Zhao Ting gossip about some secrets in the capital when they drank and chatted before.

The inner guards of the Eastern Palace Guard were all the Crown Prince's most trusted confidants, who were almost always by his side, responsible for his loyal protection.

Moreover, those selected to serve as inner guards were often core members of prominent noble families in the capital, including some from aristocratic families with "Taoist titles".

Therefore, it can be inferred that the owner of this skeleton likely possessed a Taoist certificate, just like Xia Dong, during his lifetime.

Moreover, unlike Xia Dong, who was a "wildcat" who didn't even know how he obtained his Daoist certificate, the owner of this skeleton must have been a person with a very deep background and a prominent position in life.

Who would have thought that such a powerful figure with connections to the heavens would die quietly in such a remote and cold corner of the abandoned mine in Lin Yuan Prefecture, and that even his flesh and blood would become food for a demon to advance.

The incident of the deposed crown prince in the Eastern Palace back then has always been an absolute taboo that is kept deeply hidden throughout the entire Great You Dynasty.

Zhao Ting usually didn't dare to talk about these things with Xia Dong. Of course, given Zhao Ting's previous rank, he himself didn't know much about the inside story.

However, Zhao Ting did say for sure that when the court purged the remnants of the deposed crown prince, the bloodshed was far-reaching, with tens of thousands of people being beheaded or exiled.

In that terrifying political storm, even the most prestigious Daoist families were not spared. For example, the renowned Duke of Qi's mansion was severely implicated and subjected to harsh suppression because its daughter was a concubine of the Crown Prince.

Xia Dong gathered her scattered thoughts and began to sort through the information in the jade slip.

The jade slip contained very little information; it was clear that the person on their deathbed did not have the energy to write a lengthy discourse.

The main content of the message was about the black token that had fallen next to the skeleton.

It turns out that this plaque, which is neither gold nor wood and is carved with intricate patterns, is actually a token of the Penglai Dao Sect, a major overseas cultivation sect in the Three Islands Sea.

The owner of the jade slip left behind a final wish: that if anyone were to find the token in the future, they would kindly return it to the Duke of Qi's mansion in the capital.

To ensure that future generations would serve diligently, the other party also reminded in the jade slip that as long as the token was delivered, the Duke of Qi's mansion would surely reward them handsomely.