Cultivating immortality begins with discerning the secrets of heaven.

Lin Yun lit a tinderbox and followed the trail of the speed puppet deeper into the mysterious cave.

By the faint light of the fire, he could see the situation ahead.

The space suddenly opened up, and it was a place similar to a hall, with several stone tables and chairs.

However, the place was covered with a thick layer of dust, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time.

"It is indeed a cave, but it doesn't look like there's anything there."

Lin Yun's voice echoed inside, so he simply stuck a torch in each of the rooms to light up the space completely.

Soon, he saw a half-closed stone door appear on each of the left and right sides of the hall and directly in front of him.

The Swift Puppet slowly retreated from the stone gate directly in front of it, seemingly unharmed.

Seeing this, Lin Yun urged the Swift Puppet to explore the stone doors on both sides again, but there was still no movement. The puppet retreated safely.

After confirming that there was no danger, Lin Yun breathed a slight sigh of relief and walked towards the stone gate directly in front of him.

Inside, there was only a stone bed and a shelf, on which were placed some old, dusty books and records.

However, these books had been stored for too long and had not been properly preserved, resulting in severe weathering.

The pages inside turned to dust the moment I touched them, with only the leather cover barely surviving.

As for the contents inside, they are no longer accessible.

From these barely preserved leather covers, Lin Yun could make out the names of several books.

"A Record of Local Customs and Products," "An Introduction to Alchemy," "An Illustrated Compendium of Monsters," "Identification of Spiritual Herbs"...

"It's a bit of a pity, it looks like it was once the cave dwelling of an alchemist."

"It's not Tuoba Ye's cave. Judging from the books and records here, that person's cultivation level shouldn't be high either. I'd guess he's at most a mid-grade first-level alchemist."

Lin Yun sighed, his excitement subsiding considerably.

If that's the case, then the value of this place isn't really worth his attention.

The few remaining legacies of the first-tier mid-grade alchemist have all turned to ashes, leaving only a few books with animal hide covers.

Next, Lin Yun entered two more stone gates to check the situation.

Seeing what was inside confirmed his earlier guess.

Behind the stone door on the left, there were some bottles and jars containing pills whose medicinal properties had been completely lost.

Behind the stone gate on the right is a small medicinal field and a broken alchemy furnace, the furnace's spiritual energy having completely dissipated.

As for that medicinal herb field, not a single herb survived; they all turned into withered, yellow plants.

  

"A wasted trip, with no results whatsoever."

"But since this place isn't Tuoba Ye's cave, I'll go look for it again. Feiliujian isn't that big, but it's not that small either."

"With a little time, we should be able to find the location of that insect master's cave."

Lin Yun sighed regretfully, and then retreated towards the cave entrance.

However, as he reached the cave entrance, he stopped.

"wrong!"

Suddenly, he turned around and realized that something was wrong.

"There were no remains or other clothing inside the cave!"

"Something's not right. If the owner of this cave died in an accident outside, he would definitely have taken everything inside before leaving."

"Let alone the bottles and jars containing pills, if it were me, I would want to put all the books and records, as well as the alchemy furnace, into my storage bag as soon as I left the cave."

"Surely a cultivator who has mastered alchemy can't even afford a storage bag, right?"

Lin Yun's eyes flickered, and his thoughts raced through his mind.

This is too unreasonable. If there are the cave owner's belongings here, then there should also be his remains.

Even if it has been weathered into ashes, it should still leave traces of bone meal.

But he saw nothing!

Thinking of this, he turned back again and carefully examined the furnishings and layout of the place.

The stone benches next to the stone table showed signs of having been moved!

It is indeed difficult to notice without careful observation.

Lin Yun walked to a few stone benches and pushed them with his hand, but they didn't budge!

"Several stone benches connect to the cave floor, so what about these marks?"

He activated the magic power within his body, and a wisp of eerie green light emanated from his fingertips. He quickly sensed the hidden restriction below.

Or rather, the mechanism behind a few stone benches.

"So it turns out that spiritual power is used to rotate these stone benches."

Lin Yun moved the stone benches according to the remaining marks on the ground. After moving three benches in succession, a vibration was heard inside the cave.

Rumble!

With a tremor, the stone table slowly descended.

And below that, there was a hidden space.

"The cultivator who built this cave dwelling is truly a talent..."

Lin Yun grumbled and then threw the speed puppet down.

There is still no danger!

He then jumped down as well. The height of about ten meters was nothing to him, given his martial arts skills, and he landed easily.

The underground space was brightly lit because it was surrounded by glowing beads.

Lin Yun glanced around and couldn't help but gasp.

Inside this space, there was an opened stone coffin, and in front of it stood a stone tablet.

Several passages of text are engraved on this stone tablet:

"Tuoba Ye used this place to raise corpses, hoping to become a corpse-dissolving immortal and live another life."

"If any fellow Daoists from later generations find this place, please do not open the coffin without authorization, lest the corpse transform into a flying zombie and bring disaster to the world."

"My life's learning is vast and varied, but only insect control and alchemy are truly noteworthy. All of my life's knowledge and skills are inscribed within each of these luminous pearls."

"The luminous pearl must not be moved or taken away, as it is the foundation for maintaining the Yin Gathering Formation. Once it is taken away, the formation will collapse, and all the inheritance within the luminous pearl will be erased."

"If future generations are interested in what I have learned, they can infuse spiritual power into the luminous pearl to reflect the inscriptions within."

"Left by the Mushishi Tuoba Ye!"

After reading the inscription on the stone tablet, Lin Yun took a deep breath, his eyes filled with emotion.

"So this place is actually a corpse-nurturing ground. That insect master named Tuoba Ye wanted to use this place to refine his own corpse and then become a Corpse-Dissolving Immortal to live another life?"

"How is that possible? Even if a corpse were truly possessed by a spirit, it wouldn't retain its original consciousness."

As Lin Yun spoke, he paused slightly, then looked at the luminous pearls embedded around him and fell into deep thought once more.

If the corpse is sentient and truly transforms into a Corpse Immortal, then regaining the memories engraved within these luminous pearls would be equivalent to being reborn in some sense.

"Also, this stone coffin has already been opened, presumably by that Foundation Establishment cultivator named Zhao Chengshun."

"This person is too unethical. He obtained the inheritance from the deceased, but he still wants to destroy the corpse-nurturing ground and cut off the last possibility of the deceased becoming a corpse-dissolving immortal."

As he spoke, Lin Yun curiously stepped forward to take a look.

The stone coffin was found to be completely empty!

...