Anything out of the ordinary is a sign of trouble.

A thought sparked in Shen Bai’s mind. He circulated the Qi in his body and subtly adjusted his footing.

A moment later, he shot forward like a fish, speeding toward the patch of dense moss.

In a flash, Shen Bai reached the moss-covered area.

Now that he was closer, Shen Bai could see it more clearly.

The light of the Flawless Ten Layers Body manifested around Shen Bai.

Shen Bai raised his left hand, which was now wreathed in golden Buddha’s Light, and wiped away all the moss before him.

As Shen Bai wiped the moss away, the sight hidden behind it was finally revealed.

It was a door.

The entire door was forged from bronze and carved with intricate patterns, giving it an extremely mysterious appearance.

In the very center of the door was a bronze handle, as if telling Shen Bai that it was the only way to open it.

’The secrets of the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple are related to this lake, and now there’s a door at the bottom. From the looks of it, it seems like it can be opened,’ Shen Bai mused.

’In that case, I might as well try opening it.’

At this thought, Shen Bai drew Cold Moon from his waist and grabbed the bronze handle with his left hand.

The water pressure made the door incredibly heavy.

Fortunately, Shen Bai was a Cultivator. After circulating the Qi in his body, he immediately pulled the bronze door open.

With a low rumble, the door opened, but the expected inrush of lake water never came.

Shen Bai looked closer and discovered an invisible barrier in the doorway, holding the surrounding lake water at bay.

’I see.’

Upon closer inspection, Shen Bai noticed two sheets of Talisman Paper affixed to either side of the doorway.

The Talisman Paper was shimmering with light; it was this light that was creating the barrier.

’It seems the secrets of the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple lie down this passage.’

Below him was a passage, just wide enough for one person.

After a moment of careful thought, Shen Bai, still shrouded in the light of his Flawless Ten Layers Body, stepped into the passage.

The next moment, Shen Bai felt the surrounding water pressure vanish as the air grew dry.

The passage was dark, its end shrouded in blackness.

The walls were embedded with gems, whose shimmering light faintly illuminated the surrounding darkness.

Shen Bai activated his Flawless Ten Layers Body. Its white, jade-like radiance intensified, overpowering the light from the gems and illuminating the entire passage.

Bathed in the light of his Flawless Ten Layers Body, Shen Bai got a clear look at his surroundings.

The surrounding walls were covered in densely packed text.

After reading for a moment, Shen Bai discovered it was a complete collection of the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple’s Daoist Skills.

Talismanic Magic, the Alchemy Method, the Divination Technique...

Even more shocking, it even included the Supreme Dao Fruit Technique once used by the Temple Master.

If even a whisper of these secrets were to leak out, it would be enough to cause a bloodbath in the Jianghu.

But alas, these things were useless to Shen Bai.

After a brief moment of thought, Shen Bai continued down the passage.

The path forward was surprisingly free of danger.

The light from the surrounding gems even gave off a faint warmth, making Shen Bai feel quite comfortable.

As Shen Bai ventured deeper, a flickering light appeared in the distance.

’Is that the exit?’

The thought spurred him on. Gripping Cold Moon, he quickened his pace.

The light grew brighter, and soon, the mouth of a cavern appeared before him.

Upon seeing the entrance, Shen Bai’s pace quickened even more.

But just then, Shen Bai noticed something was wrong.

A faint tremor rolled in from all directions.

And the epicenter of the tremor seemed to be the cavern entrance up ahead.

Shen Bai saw an eye.

The eye was as large as a millstone, its scarlet gaze peering through the opening, fixed in Shen Bai’s direction.

A sinister chill emanated from the eye, instantly dispelling the warmth from the gems.

’A grotesque!’

Shen Bai stared into the eye, which was filled with savagery and rage, and without a moment’s hesitation, he thrust Cold Moon forward.

’If it’s a grotesque, then I’ll just kill it. No need to hold back.’

Blood Red Sword Qi, suffused with a brilliant, righteous power, erupted from Shen Bai’s Cold Moon.

As the energy bloomed, countless streams of Sword Qi, like flowers of death, rushed toward the enormous eye.

Just then, the eye flashed, and an ashen-gray beam shot out from its very center.

The ashen-gray beam struck the Blood Red Sword Qi, throwing it into disarray.

Under the beam’s influence, much of the Sword Qi began to disintegrate.

Fortunately, the disintegration wasn’t fast enough. Within a split second, the ray was pierced by Shen Bai’s Blood Red Sword Qi.

The remaining Blood Red Sword Qi continued onward, its momentum unchecked, and slammed into the grotesque’s eye with unstoppable force.

BOOM!

A deafening roar echoed.

The Blood Red Sword Qi, like a crimson moon, caused the millstone-sized eye to burst apart.

The creature’s grotesque, ice-cold aura instantly weakened by more than half as the eye exploded.

The narrow passage was hardly the best place for a fight. Without hesitation, Shen Bai circulated the Qi within his body.

Divine Hundred Miles!

Shen Bai vanished from the passage, becoming nothing more than an afterimage.

In a flash, he shot out of the passage and into the space beyond.

Outside was an enormous cavern.

Within the deep cavern, dim, yellow light cast mottled shadows on bizarrely shaped stalactites.

Stalagmites, like towering trees in an ancient forest, were scattered throughout the cavern in a pleasing arrangement.

A cold draft wafted from the depths, mingling with the warm light to create a mysterious yet serene atmosphere.

The sound of dripping water, clear in the silence, echoed through the cavern like an ancient melody.

And amidst it all, Shen Bai finally saw the true form of the creature with the terrifying eye.

It was a grotesque that stood ten zhang tall.

The grotesque’s entire body was covered in densely carved Dao Text.

In addition to the Dao Text, chains woven from Talisman Paper were bound around the grotesque’s arms and legs.

Its eye having been blown apart by Shen Bai’s sword, the grotesque was now wailing incessantly.

Shen Bai, however, paid the grotesque no mind for the moment, his gaze instead sweeping downwards.

Below, there was a meditation cushion.

A figure was seated cross-legged upon it, head bowed, chanting scriptures.