Chapter 00134: The Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto
# The Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto
Chapter 134
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 134: The Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto
Lan Xiaobu had indeed guessed correctly; there were indeed several people eyeing the Thousand Clouds Immortal Sect.
While Lan Xiaobu and his companions did not dare to make a move, the likes of Shan Qianyue, Xuan Fu, and Qiu Liguang, who were weaker, clearly lacked in strength.
As long as Shan Qianyue and her group dared to leave their sect, they would certainly find ways to get their hands on the Kunxu Jade Tokens.
After all, the Thousand Clouds Immortal Sect was merely a two-star sect; what could they do about it?
Unfortunately, good intentions did not translate into good outcomes.
The day after Zong Zheng’s announcement about the opening of the Kunxu Mystic Grotto, the Thousand Clouds Immortal Sect had closed its doors to guests.
How could one take action when the opposing sect refused to show their face?
While some believed the Thousand Clouds Immortal Sect was still easy to bully, others held a different view.
The sect master of the Thousand Clouds Immortal Sect, Lan Xiaobu, was rather enigmatic.
After all, he had killed Gu Hai Peng and even recorded it on a crystal ball.
Though Lan Xiaobu claimed that it was merely a coincidence, this coincidence was a bit too perfect.
Just when Gu Hai Peng had gone over, Lan Xiaobu just happened to capture it? Who would casually keep playing with a crystal ball without reason?
As the day passed, near the Kunxu Square, not far from Lan Xiaobu's sect, a series of cracking sounds erupted, followed by thick clouds of mist that rolled out.
Lan Xiaobu stared blankly at the white mist, thinking whether they were making a movie.
He remembered seeing such scenes in films, where props would continuously spray white mist.
After a short while, a large gate appeared before everyone.
If it were the previous Lan Xiaobu, he would have been clueless about the significance of the gate.
Now, he understood that this was a true array gate, constructed entirely from formation patterns.
There are generally two kinds of formation gates.
One is a natural formation, while the other is arranged by skilled masters.
Looking at the formation gate before him, Lan Xiaobu felt that it did not seem natural, but rather that someone had meticulously set this up.
"Those holding the Kunxu Jade Tokens may enter the gate one by one. After entering this gate, you will be transported to an unknown location. However, no matter where you are sent within Kunxu, you will return after one year. But let me remind everyone, those whose cultivation has reached the Spirit Refining Void Realm should not enter this formation gate. You will be instantly torn apart into pieces. I wish everyone good luck. Please go in," Zong Zheng waved his hand, and a group of people with Kunxu Jade Tokens hurriedly dashed toward the formation gate.
Lan Xiaobu lowered his voice again, "Do you remember what I said?"
"We remember, Sect Master Senior Brother," Shan Qianyue was the first to reply.
Lan Xiaobu had already warned them that as disciples from the Thousand Clouds Immortal Sect, once they entered Kunxu, their cultivation would surely be the weakest.
Their first task should be to hide among the many treasures within Kunxu, as there was no need to compete with anyone else for them.
Only when faced with life and death would they need to reach out to one another.
Though many others were envious of the Thousand Clouds Immortal Sect having four spots in Kunxu, they could only watch helplessly as the four entered.
There were around a thousand Kunxu Jade Tokens.
Soon, it was Lan Xiaobu and his companions' turn.
As soon as they stepped into the array gate, a tremendous force pulled them apart, sending each one of them to different corners of Kunxu.
Lan Xiaobu had experienced this sensation before and was already familiar with it.
When the teletransportation power dissipated and he landed on the ground, he immediately felt a rush of comfort.
It was similar to when he had traveled to Jade Dawn Star, where he had come from a place with thin spiritual energy to one rich in it.
If the spiritual energy of Jade Dawn Star was rated at thirty percent, then here it must surely exceed seventy percent.
At this moment, Lan Xiaobu wished he could take out the Spiritual Veins right away and improve his own cultivation technique.
However, he was also pondering about the true Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto.
If the records of the Yuan Continent in the Ten Continents Records were indeed talking about Kunxu, then surely there must be Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto here.
According to the Ten Continents Records, "The Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto, where the water is as sweet as syrup, drank for longevity, matching that of heaven and earth. Consuming these five mushrooms grants eternal life and the blessings of immortals."
This Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto could very well be the true location of the Spiritual Essence Pool, meaning that once he found it, he would not need the Spiritual Veins to improve his techniques.
Since flying was not permitted in Kunxu, Lan Xiaobu could not use Blue Asia and Kunlun to cover large areas of Kunxu to search for the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto along with other treasures.
Even though he couldn't fly, Lan Xiaobu did not want to miss out on the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto.
Even if he spent a year here without anything else to show for it, as long as he found the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto, it would be worth it.
So, as soon as he entered Kunxu, Lan Xiaobu ignored the various low-grade spiritual herbs around him.
Instead, he frantically absorbed the spiritual energy in the area, allowing the Seven Sounds Model to speed up the construction of his cultivation technique while he swiftly moved southward.
He firmly believed that the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto mentioned in the Ten Continents Records must lie to the south.
The records concerning the Yuan Continent were quite vague, merely stating it was located in the North Sea, spanning three thousand miles, and ten thousand miles to the south shore.
After Zong Zheng had explained the size and scope of the Kunxu Mystic Grotto, Lan Xiaobu determined that the records were likely referring not to the Yuan Continent but rather to Kunxu.
However, Kunxu certainly exceeded three thousand miles.
The vague description could only have been based on a few hearsays.
This suggested that the three thousand miles mentioned might actually indicate the most significant Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto within Kunxu.
As for the ten thousand miles to the southern shore, it was likely referring to the position of the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto, which lay ten thousand miles to the south of the Kunxu Mystic Grotto.
There were likely two geographical names: one being Kunxu and the other being the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto.
Due to the confusion surrounding the terms, many referred to them collectively as the Kunxu Mystic Grotto.
With this tenuous evidence, Lan Xiaobu hurriedly sped southward.
Regardless of the outcome, he decided to test the waters.
Lan Xiaobu did not possess any teleportation method.
His speed, without the aid of any flying tools or warships, was relatively slow but not excessively so.
After over ten days, he had indeed walked about forty or fifty thousand miles.
In order to avoid wasting time along the long journey, he did not pick any spiritual herbs, confident he could gather some during his year in Kunxu.
To his surprise, while traveling, he encountered many demon beasts, but none posed a threat, the strongest only being at the sixth level.
Logically, with such rich spiritual energy in this area, the various spiritual items should have been abundant, and the demon beasts should have easily leveled up.
Another ten days passed, and Lan Xiaobu halted.
He estimated that since entering Kunxu, he had traveled approximately eighty or ninety thousand miles.
Yet, there seemed to be no sign of the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto, and the spiritual energy was weaker than when he had first arrived.
Could it be that the spiritual energy in Kunxu was only strong at the entrance and gradually weakened thereafter?
Lan Xiaobu found it hard to believe; after all, Kunxu opened only once every three thousand years.
He continued his search within his estimated area, and after several days passed, he noticed something peculiar: every day, at a certain time, he could sense a surge of spiritual energy.
This sensation was clear and distinct, much like feeling the sea breeze while standing at the seaside.
Moreover, the source of the spiritual energy came from a consistent direction, which thrilled Lan Xiaobu.
He dashed toward the direction from which the spiritual energy emanated.
After over an hour, he finally laid eyes upon a misty sea.
Although Lan Xiaobu was unsure how vast this sea was, he suspected it might be the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto.
He bent down and took a sip of the seawater.
It had a sweet taste with a faint hint of spiritual energy covering his throat, confirming for Lan Xiaobu that this was indeed the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto.
However, what a disappointment it was to find that the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto was merely a sea.
The seawater, while sweet, didn’t compare to the syrup-like qualities described in the legends.
As for longevity, that seemed laughable.
After searching for nearly a month, was this all there was? Lan Xiaobu felt a pang of disillusionment.
The reason why rumors existed was often due to distortion.
When Lan Xiaobu thought of turning to leave, he scanned the surface of the sea with his divine sense.
As his perception fell a hundred miles away, it suddenly stopped; he sensed a clear difference.
The sea a hundred miles distant seemed to have denser spiritual energy.
Without hesitation, Lan Xiaobu chopped several thick logs and simply fashioned a small wooden boat.
After rowing forward for over a hundred miles, Lan Xiaobu took another sip of seawater.
It was indeed sweeter than that at the edge, with slightly richer spiritual energy.
No longer hesitating, he urged the small boat forward.
With every few hundred miles, he would taste the seawater.
After traversing about two to three thousand miles, he finally halted.
What he saw before him was the end of the sea: a sea filled with mushrooms.
This was unmistakably a Rainbow Immortal Mushroom field, showcasing colors from white to gold.
Some were as large as a foot in diameter while others were palm-sized.
Almost as soon as he spotted this mushroom sea, Lan Xiaobu leaped forward and landed amidst the mushrooms.
He casually plucked a Rainbow Immortal Mushroom and tasted it; it was sweet and delicious, with a light fragrance and subtle spiritual energy permeating into his body, yet the effects were still far from what had been rumored.
Lan Xiaobu then plucked a golden Rainbow Immortal Mushroom and popped it into his mouth.
This time he keenly felt a difference as the spiritual energy surged into his meridians, filling him with comfort.
He casually circulated the Golden Crow Technique and immediately felt a significant flow of true essence within him.
He truly found it! Lan Xiaobu's heart surged with excitement, along with a sense of reflection.
When everyone spoke of the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto, they envisioned a secluded valley.
Little did they know it was actually a vast sea.
Not to mention, only the golden Rainbow Immortal Mushroom qualified as treasure; the rest were considered ordinary.
As he passed through the mushroom sea and saw a towering flat stone appearing before him, Lan Xiaobu finally came to understand what the Five Mushroom Mystic Grotto was truly about.
The massive flat stone towered skyward, its top stretching beyond sight.
Without flying tools, he certainly couldn't climb it.
Yet a faint flow of liquid trickled down the surface of the flat stone, all flowing into the sea beneath it.
At the base of the stone were clusters of white crystals, whose spiritual energy was more potent than that of spirit stones, by at least a hundred times.
(End of Chapter)