To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

The stone gate was no more than three zhang high. Gu Fan looked up at the pattern of the divine tree and felt a sense of vastness and weight. Upon closer inspection, he saw a scene of all spirits worshipping under the tree.

"Senior, do you know what kind of tree this is?"

When Gu Fan encountered something strange that he couldn't understand, he decisively called out to Chang Yuan.

Chang Yuan flicked his tongue, climbed up Gu Fan's shoulder, and after observing for a while, affirmed, "According to the picture drawn on the door, it should depict the Dao Source Ancient Tree."

"An ancient tree from the source of Taoism?"

Gu Fan had never heard of this name before, assuming it was some kind of spiritual root of heaven and earth, but Chang Yuan's next words surprised him greatly.

"Your realm is too dilapidated, and its heritage is pitifully severed. It's perfectly normal that you don't recognize the Dao Source Tree."

Chang Yuan pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "According to ancient legends, the Dao Source Tree existed before the creation of heaven and earth. Six Dao Ancestors descended from the tree to preach to all living beings, thus opening the door to cultivation in the void and the universe."

Gu Fan was shaken, his gaze immediately falling on the six fruits on the tree. He said solemnly, "Then these six fruits... don't they correspond to the six Dao Ancestors?"

Chang Yuan nodded his snake head slightly and laughed, "It's just a legend, who knows if it's true or not! Let alone the Dao Source Ancient Tree, in my thousands of years of cultivation, to have anyone I've ever seen attract even a single glance from the Dao Ancestor is an immense blessing!"

"The person who built the stone gate merely used legends to set up a mechanism. If I'm not mistaken, finding the right fruit and pressing it will open the stone gate. In that case, there's nothing I can do to help."

Gu Fan nodded. He had known Chang Yuan for many years and was familiar with the limits of Chang Yuan's abilities.

Chang Yuan could talk eloquently about everything from magical techniques to strange tales, but he was severely unbalanced in his cultivation skills, especially in the arts of array formations and artifact crafting, where he was completely ignorant.

In Chang Yuan's words, "It's more satisfying to devour more cultivators than to waste time trying to comprehend them!"

In fact, this is a common problem among demon cultivators. When fighting, they rely more on their strong physique and innate supernatural abilities. They rarely have high-quality magic weapons, let alone the need for amazing comprehension of array formations.

Gu Fan focused his mind and activated his Myriad Manifestations Dharma Eye. The ancient tree pattern suddenly transformed into hundreds and thousands of array patterns, connecting to the six fruits, but only one fruit lit up with a glow.

Eighty percent of the array patterns are used to confuse others!

"If one cannot decipher the confusing array patterns, there's a high chance of making the wrong choice. And since this location is beneath the immortal ship's power plant, a direct assault would have unimaginable consequences."

"Setting up a defensive array would require an enormous amount of energy to drain the immortal ship, easily attracting attention. A mystery-like concealment is truly just right."

Gu Fan thought to himself, and couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of the person who set up the formation.

Although he found the mechanism to open the door, he did not press it immediately—with Chang Yuan and Cai Xuan present, it would be too conspicuous to see through it at a glance.

Gu Fan first took out a jade slip and inscribed the Dao Source Ancient Tree and array patterns on the stone gate, then closed his eyes to comprehend them.

Cai Xuan crouched nearby, vigilantly observing the outside world, protecting Gu Fan.

It wasn't until an hour later that Gu Fan opened his eyes.

"Well, fellow Daoist, do you have a way to break this?" Cai Xuan asked, her eyes full of hope.

Gu Fan nodded slightly, stood up and went to the stone gate, selected the correct fruit, and pressed it down heavily.

With a rumbling sound, the stone door gradually sank down, revealing the scene behind it.

Gu Fan did not dare to enter immediately, but first used his divine sense to investigate.

Behind the door was a square chamber, about ten feet in diameter, with a spirit pearl hanging from the ceiling, emitting a bright white light.

The secret room contained an incense table, a futon, and other utensils, all of which had lost their spiritual energy. A white skeleton sat cross-legged on the futon.

Only then did the two dare to cautiously cross the stone gate.

After observing for a while, Gu Fan finally confirmed that this place was indeed a cultivator's cave, and the owner of the cave was undoubtedly the skeleton sitting cross-legged on the futon.

At the skull's feet lay a jade bottle, which was empty.

But Gu Fan and Cai Xuan were not discouraged, because a purple bracelet was clearly visible on the skeleton's wrist.

Storage magic item!

"Kid, don't touch that bracelet!"

In his mind's eye, Chang Yuan suddenly reminded him.

Gu Fan was startled and quickly pulled Cai Xuan back, who was about to step forward to observe.

Cai Xuan was startled by Gu Fan's actions. Turning around, she saw Gu Fan's solemn expression and asked in surprise, "Fellow Daoist Gu, have you discovered something?"

Thanks to Chang Yuan's reminder, Gu Fan also carefully examined the skeleton and discovered that the seemingly ordinary white skeleton actually had a touch of five-colored radiance, but it was previously hidden under the white light emitted by the spirit pearl and was extremely difficult to detect.

"Senior, is there poison on the bones?"

Upon seeing the five-colored radiance, Gu Fan immediately thought of the Five Poisons Sect in the Wu Kingdom's demonic path.

The Five Poisons Sect cultivators are famous for refining various rare poisons. The most famous of these is known as the Five Absolute Divine Water, which is said to be so potent that even Golden Core cultivators dare not touch it.

"Not bad." Chang Yuan affirmed, "A Primordial Demonic Cultivator might be refining something into his Dao Body. This one is clearly inclined towards poisons, and his poison skills have penetrated deep into his bones."

"If you rashly touch his objects, with your cultivation level, you might immediately turn into blood."

Gu Fan gasped and told Cai Xuan about the abnormality of the skeleton, which startled her so much that she patted her small chest.

The two tried to retrieve the item remotely, but found that the bracelet remained completely still.

Gu Fan sighed as expected.

High-end storage artifacts are engraved with restrictions to prevent others from retrieving items remotely, thus avoiding disruption during magical battles.

"It seems the only solution is to refine the poison off the bones."

Gu Fan gave an order to Cai Xuan, took out several array flags, formed a protective barrier, and then threw a Six Armor Divine Fire at the white bones.

The Six Jia Divine Fire can subdue evil spirits, so Gu Fan could only hope it would be effective.

The silvery Six Armor Divine Fire poured onto the white bones, and in the next instant, thick five-colored smoke evaporated from the bones, sizzling as it landed on the stone wall.

Gu Fan took out a jade bottle to contain the thick smoke, while simultaneously casting a spell to maintain the Six Jia Divine Fire.

Fortunately, although the poison on the bones was potent, it was ultimately inanimate and could not take effect once the two were prepared.

Half an hour later, the thick smoke in the jade bottle had gathered into a ball, emitting a colorful glow, and the white bones had disappeared, while the purple bracelet fell to the ground.

Gu Fan took out a bottle of spiritual spring water, poured it onto the purple bracelet, and then purified and cleansed it with the Six Jia Divine Fire.

After several attempts, and after repeatedly confirming with Yuan, he finally dared to reach out and touch it.

The purple bracelet was neither jade nor metal, and Gu Fan couldn't identify its material at first glance. It was still warm to the touch.

Just then, Gu Fan noticed that there were several lines of fragmented small characters carved on the ground in front of the skeleton. They had been covered by dust before, but were revealed after some effort.

Cai Xuan also noticed the small print and read it aloud softly.

"The immortal ship crashed... the demonic cultivators were annihilated... they hid..."

"Internal strife...fighting among brothers..."

"This world is shattered... We cannot linger here..."

"The method of refining... is sealed away... hoping future generations will revive the ship..."

Gu Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind racing with thoughts of the ancient battlefield surrounding the immortal ship.

The celestial vessel enshrines the Primordial Dao Ancestor, and according to the text, it also harbors demonic cultivators who caused chaos after the celestial vessel crashed.

"Both sides share the same legal system as the states of Wu and Yan; could this be the origin of their martial arts practices?"

The celestial ship crashed too long ago, and Gu Fan had no idea what the information behind it was, but the "refining method" mentioned in the text caught his attention.

Due to its age, the divine imprint on the bracelet had become very faint and was erased in a short while. In front of Cai Xuan, Gu Fan poured out all the stored items inside.

Suddenly, a bunch of things appeared in front of them.

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