NOVEL NEXT Chapter 314: Kongming Cave Heaven
"Jiajia, Jiajia, do you still recognize me..."
"Sister Shuang'er, please let me be alone..."
Ning Lingshuang followed the sword talisman and hurried all the way to the cave. She saw Tie Dan with a speechless look guarding the entrance, while Shen Jianjia lay on a stone bed, crying and laughing alternately, much like a wronged little wife.
Were it not for noticing she wasn't seriously hurt and her Qi circulation was normal, Ning Lingshuang almost thought something had happened to Jianjia...
"Junior Brother, what's wrong with her..."
"She probably got fed some Enchanting Soup and hit with a Primordial Spirit Method. She sat on the Three-Life Stone for too long, sinking too deep into past life memories. Upon waking, she couldn't immediately regain her composure."
Tie Dan was also relying on the Daoist Collection, speaking half-truths as the Shen Family's bloodline was a non-public secret of the Sword Sect, he himself wasn't sure of the details, and it wasn't appropriate to casually tell outsiders.
Moreover, the Elixir Furnace technique is profound; the Primordial Spirit Illusion Technique is a Mountain Man's secret. He, a sword specialist, couldn't fully understand these mysterious methods that manipulate the soul and mind.
Therefore, after defeating that Zhongxuan Sect Nascent Soul cultivator, Tie Dan only used the Soul Searching Technique to find some scattered pieces of information, realizing that the other party hadn't replaced anyone's soul to seize this Mad Woman's body, but had mistaken her for his mother, the reincarnated Junior Sister of the Zhongxuan Sect. Thus trying to use the Heavenly Materials Treasures and the Three-Life Stone in the cave to awaken her past soul and remember their past affections.
Since it wasn't Body Seizing but just an identity mistake, there was naturally no life-threatening danger. At most, it recalled past life memories for the Mad Woman, and since she slept for so many days without issue, Tie Dan didn't immediately wake her.
Well, truth be told, Tie Dan also intentionally held out to see the Mad Woman's joke; after all, considering her destined encounter with the eunuch's Ephemeral Skill, she might have been a eunuch in a past life, and just might remember to get disgusted.
In any event, out of caution, Tie Dan took a distant look and found those so-called Three-Life Stones were more like fungi, possibly the fossilized remains of some lichen-like fungi.
Thus, the whole cave emitted a strange scent, an unknown chemical substance perhaps, possibly even radioactive, leaving one to wonder about its effect on brain neurons. Presumably, the basis of Three-Life Stone affecting brain cells, causing past life recall, lay here.
Unexpectedly, before he could research any conclusions, the Mad Woman woke up and seemed truly mad. She was distraught, crying, laughing, and in a daze.
Most amusingly, she refused to come down from the stone bed, appearing as if intending to return to the world of dreams with another sleep.
This made Tie Dan all the more wary; after all, the Mad Woman's will to kill his Daoist Heart was surprisingly resilient, yet she ended up in such a ghastly state?
Moreover, she exhibited a complete shift in personality, sometimes casting affectionate glances his way, giving him a sudden chill every time he caught her sneaking a peek.
Tie Dan could only admit that there are indeed too many damned peculiar things between heaven and earth, and even a Mountain Man could fall for it if not careful. Anyway, he had no interest in his past life, so it was best to avoid something as bizarre as the Three-Life Stone.
In the end, Tie Dan took from his sleeve that head he'd smashed a hole straight through, showing it to Ning Lingshuang,
"This is the mastermind of the kidnapping, just tunneled here, which I removed. Senior Sister, do you recognize this villain?"
Ning Lingshuang shook her head, using her orchid fingers to calculate and analyze,
"It's not from our contemporaries, likely a True Man of the previous generation. Junior Brother, truly you have great skills.
However, I just found in this mountain a Crane Temple. By examining the Earth Vein spiritual nodes here, it belongs to their Daoist field, so they can't be entirely unaware.
Previously, when I came to visit, they closed their doors, and I haven't sensed anyone else flying away, so it must be the people within the temple."
"Oh? What kind of deity is this Crane Temple and its Daoist inheritance?
I once saw someone transform into an immortal crane. Is this Crane Transformation their unique technique?"
"Uh, Crane Temple doesn't mean that..."
Ning Lingshuang explained,
"In the Ancient Xuan Sect, there was originally no concept of a Hidden Immortal, the heir jungles were a later addition. Therefore, the initial Mystic Sect branches didn't distinctly differentiate their transmission; they weren't branched out like today, and each temple was differentiated by Dragon, Tiger, Lu, and Crane.
"That's right, back in the day, when establishing the Mystic Sect, Xuan Nu's direct disciple, who compiled the Heavenly Book Daoist Collection's Ancestral Court, constituted the Dragon Temple.
Accompanying Thunder Ancestor in subjugating the Immortal Palace, later sealed in the Nine Provinces, to suppress Evil Demons and Heretics and guard demon magic veins, became the Tiger Temple.
Originally independent Earth Immortal cultivators, who later, due to the legacy of the Ancient Dao, defected from the Immortal Palace and actively joined the Mystic Sect, formed the Lu Temple.
As for the Crane Temple, it was originally founded to care for the orphans of those fallen warriors of the past battles, or when suitable Dao Seeds were found in the mountains, or when a Cultivator had children they didn't wish to raise, they'd use immortal cranes to deliver them for care, earning the name Crane Temple over time.
However, after Xiao Yao's Chaos, concepts like Dragon, Tiger, Lu, and Crane became obsolete."
Tie Dan calculated with his fingers holding the head, indeed sensing intuitively.
Anyway, the Mystic Sect doesn't emphasize evidence; suspicion-based guilt can suffice to infer causality.
"I see, then Senior Sister, please do me the courtesy of escorting her back to the village, while I will go visit the Crane Temple."
Ning Lingshuang hurriedly stopped him,
"Junior Brother, although this no longer prevails, the disciples of Crane Temple nonetheless belong to the bona fide Mystic Sect, with Ancient Dao lineage. Each has extensive sources, laden with connections and ties, deeply rooted and vast. They're not easily offended."