Under One Person: My Inner Realm Connects to All Worlds!

Chapter 230 Yanfu Cave Heaven
Han Yun bowed in return, his expression serene: "Master Zhang, you are too kind. I apologize for the intrusion and for disturbing your peaceful cultivation."

“The arrival of the young master is an honor to our humble abode. There is no need to disturb you.” Zhang Xiaolian stepped aside to lead the way. “Please come inside and we will have tea.”

The interior furnishings are simple, with a small table and two chairs, and only one painting, "Subduing Evil Spirits and Demons," hanging on the wall, with vigorous brushstrokes and a strong Taoist charm.

The young Taoist priest served tea and then quietly withdrew.

The tea smoke curls upwards, filling the air with a delicate fragrance.

Zhang Xiaolian didn't exchange many pleasantries and went straight to the point: "I heard from Senior Brother Zhiwei that you, Little Ancestor, have been traveling the world. Is your trip to Qingcheng for the Ghost-Dispelling Well?"

Han Yun nodded, his fingertips lightly stroking the teacup: "Exactly. Now that I am one of the directors of Nadutong, some matters that Nadutong is not in a position to interfere with are naturally left to me to handle."

"Moreover, given the events at Mianshan and Lishan, we must be on guard. I've heard there have been unusual movements at Qingcheng Mountain recently as well?"

Zhang Xiaolian's expression grew more serious. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "To be honest, Junior Ancestor, for the past month or so, there have indeed been unfamiliar qi energies appearing around the forbidden area behind Crane Cry Mountain. Their movements are elusive, as if they are surveying the terrain. We have patrolled several times, but have been unable to capture them. Moreover..."

He hesitated for a moment: "The seal on the Ghost Well has indeed shown slight fluctuations recently. Although they are very subtle, they are by no means ordinary. I was just about to report this to the Heavenly Master's Mansion."

"Oh?" Han Yun's gaze sharpened slightly. "What are the patterns of the fluctuations? Have they been accompanied by any unusual phenomena?"

"It usually happens at midnight when the Yin energy is at its peak. The sealing talisman at the wellhead dimmed for a moment, and a wailing sound seemed to come from the bottom of the well, but it disappeared in an instant. There was a very faint smell of putridity, but when checked the next day, everything was normal."

Zhang Xiaolian said in a solemn tone, "Like a giant beast in deep slumber, occasionally letting out a breath."

Han Yun pondered for a moment: "Daoist Master, could you show me around?"

"This……"

Zhang Xiaolian hesitated slightly: "The Ghost-Banning Well is an extremely dangerous and forbidden place, heavily sealed, and not to be approached casually. However, since it is the young master's request, I shall comply. Please follow me."

The two arrived at the back of Crane's Cry Mountain. After several tests, they passed through several courtyards. The further they went, the more secluded and eerie the atmosphere became. Along the way, more and more talismans appeared, all hidden among the rocks and trees, forming an invisible barrier.

Finally, we arrived at a secluded mountain valley.

Ancient trees towered in the area, blocking out the sun and making the light dim. In the center was an ancient well, its mouth covered with a huge blue stone, which was engraved with intricate talismans. Around it stood eight dark stone pillars arranged according to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) directions, with thick black iron chains wrapped around their shafts and locked to the huge stone at the well's mouth.

Deep claw marks and some indescribable dark stains are visible on the edge of the well and the surrounding stone pillars, exuding an ancient and eerie aura that sends chills down your spine.

Han Yun stood beside the well, not immediately activating his Heavenly Eye, but quietly sensing it.

The Qi here is heavy and viscous, cold and damp, mixed with countless fragments of violent, resentful, and chaotic thoughts. Although it is suppressed by a powerful seal, it still tries to seep out and erode people's minds.

If an ordinary extraordinary person were here, they would probably be shaken and their vital energy disordered in a short time.

"Such a fierce aura," Han Yun said softly.

“Two thousand years of accumulation is no small matter,” Zhang Xiaolian sighed. “The seal was reinforced by our predecessors to ensure the safety of this place. However, the recent fluctuations have truly worried me.”

Han Yun nodded, his third eye silently opening, and a barely perceptible ray of golden light shone onto the well's seal.

Mount Qingcheng, surrounded by peaks, resembles a city wall, much like a giant gate to a prison. The Ghost-Dispelling Well on Heming Mountain is like a "skylight," allowing for observation of the ghosts' reactions within.

In his field of vision, the heavy bluestone seemed to become transparent, and the layered, golden talisman seal structure was clearly revealed, most of which remained as stable as a mountain.

But at the deepest point, at several key nodes connecting the earth's veins, there were a few wisps of extremely faint, constantly wriggling black energy, which were slowly eroding the seal of the golden light. Although the speed was extremely slow, it was like maggots clinging to the bone.

Deeper still, in a chaotic darkness, countless powerful and violent Qi auras, like lurking prehistoric beasts, sensed the gaze of the Heavenly Eye and suddenly became restless!
boom--!
A chilling, venomous intent surged back up along the trajectory of the Heavenly Eye's probe!

The talisman on the boulder at the wellhead instantly shone with golden light, the eight stone pillars hummed and trembled, and the iron chains rattled, locking the impact firmly in place.

A flash of clear light appeared between Han Yun's brows, crushing the backlash from his eyes, and he withdrew his gaze without changing his expression.

"Little Ancestor?" Zhang Xiaolian noticed the sudden change just now and asked nervously.

"It doesn't matter."

Han Yun waved his hand, but his eyes turned colder.

Beneath the Ghost-Breaking Well lies a miniature world of Yama, a ghostly realm. After thousands of years of suppression and development, it has become a den of monsters, even forming a bizarre "ecosystem."

Elves also have lifespans, but unlike the lifespan of normal living beings, theirs can be called spiritual lifespan, yin lifespan, or divine lifespan.

Most of them have long lifespans, living for hundreds or even thousands of years, but eventually they will die.

The Southern Dynasties' "Youminglu" records: When a ghost dies, it becomes a '聻'; when a '聻' dies, it becomes a '希'; when a '希' dies, it becomes a '夷'; when a '夷' dies, it becomes a '微'; and when a '微' dies, it becomes invisible.

Among them, the 聻 is the residual consciousness or energy of a ghost, which still has the characteristic of intimidating other ghosts.

Xi corresponds to the phrase "hearing without hearing is called Xi" in the Tao Te Ching, and Yi corresponds to the phrase "seeing without seeing is called Yi," symbolizing the chaotic state after the extinction of perception.

The subtle death and formlessness align with the reverse cycle of the Tao giving birth to all things, embodying the concept that all things return to the boundless.

Although matter and energy seem to be annihilated, they also obey a certain law of conservation. From a scientific point of view, this is the law of conservation of energy, and from a metaphysical point of view, it is the nurturing of all things.

Taoism believes that the Great Tao, through its nameless attributes—that is, formless, emotionless, and imageless—gives birth to and continuously nourishes all things, causing all things to grow and circulate between life and death.

Thus, in the closed ghost realm of the Ghost-Binding Well, most of the former ghosts have died, but at the same time, the rich energy continues to give birth to new spirits and ghosts.

These newly born ghosts lived in that dark and sunless world from birth, and their resentment grew day by day. Meanwhile, the powerful spirits, such as the Demon King and the Ghost General, did not die and continued to exist.

These demon kings and ghost generals regarded these newly born ghosts as slaves, and over time, a system of governance was formed within the closed cave of the Ghost-Breaking Well.

It consists of six levels: Ghost Slave, Ghost Citizen, Ghost Soldier, Ghost General, Ghost Commander, and Ghost King (Demon King).

Those newly born, weak ghosts can only become ghost slaves, at the mercy of the powerful ghosts. If they are not careful, they will be skinned and dismembered, their souls sucked and their hearts and intestines ripped out by the powerful ghosts like cattle and sheep, becoming their food.

The six demon kings were also fighting each other, trying to devour one another to become the most powerful being and break the seal, which made the ghosts suffer even more.

That ghost realm was like a furnace of purgatory, filled with the dense and persistent resentment of tens of thousands of ghosts and spirits accumulated over thousands of years, a truly overwhelming aura of resentment.

Just a spark, or a tiny leak, is enough to ignite this powder keg.

Once opened.

At that time, all kinds of ghosts will emerge.

These ancient ghosts, the six great demon kings, will inevitably carry this resentful and malevolent energy. Combined with the energy of heaven and earth in the present world, they will give birth to countless ghosts and monsters, and in a short time, they can create an army of ghosts and monsters.

At that time, the world will truly be in chaos. And the most critical thing is that the original seal is still intact, but it seems that someone wants to release these demons, and the actions are extremely secretive, which means that there are indeed outsiders interfering.

Han Yun frowned and said to Zhang Xiaolian, "There is indeed external demonic energy eroding the depths of the seal. It is not a natural loosening, but rather someone using an extremely insidious method to infiltrate from the external earth veins in the opposite direction, intending to corrupt the seal from its foundation."

He pointed to the well opening: "And what's inside the well is waiting for its chance to move. The ripples just now were merely a test."

Zhang Xiaolian's expression changed drastically: "Who is so bold as to find the earth vein node of the Ghost-Breaking Well and erode it?"

"This method cannot be accomplished by one person alone. It requires extremely profound knowledge of array formations and earth veins, and it must rely on powerful tools or secret treasures," Han Yun pondered.

It was no easy task to deceive the Taoist priests from the many sects of Qingcheng Mountain, after all, these Taoist priests who were sent to guard this place were all highly skilled.

So who could possibly have such a grand gesture?

All-rounder?
It doesn't look like it.

The Quanxing Sect may seem prestigious, but in reality it is extremely disorganized. To put it bluntly, they don't listen to orders at all, and no one respects anyone else. Without a unified leader, they are unlikely to achieve anything significant.

Moreover, Gong Qing, the current acting leader of Quanxing Sect, is still a Taoist acolyte on Longhu Mountain and it's impossible for him to come here to make arrangements.

Moreover, such secret matters are rarely known to the general public. Releasing these ten thousand ghosts would be a harmful act that benefits neither oneself nor others. One should preserve one's true nature and not be burdened by material possessions.

Unless they truly wanted to have no place in China, the Quanxing sect wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

Or rather, certain aristocratic families?
The idea flashed through Han Yun's mind, but he shook his head and rejected it.

For the same reason, the connection is too great.

Han Yun had just seen that the Ghost Realm Cave Heaven beneath the Ghost-Breaking Well was actually like an underground world, intricately connected to the earth's veins in the real world. This was the reason why those who tampered with it attempted to interfere with this Ghost Realm through the earth's veins.

Back then, Celestial Master Zhang Daoling used talismans and the power of the earth's veins to create a grotto-heaven out of thin air, sealing and suppressing countless ghosts.

This is essentially a cocoon.

Layer upon layer of networks intertwine to form a cocoon. These networks are the earth's veins, and the cocoon is the celestial realm. Although it overlaps with the space of the real world, it does not affect it. If a few lines of the network are broken, it will not have too much of an impact.

The problem now is that the cocoon is a powder keg that could explode at any moment. Once a problem occurs in a certain part of the earth vein, it will have a ripple effect, and the Ghost Realm Cave will be fully exposed in the real world.

This is equivalent to squeezing out a space within the underground space covered by the cave, which will likely cause a large-scale earthquake in the Sichuan region!

Wait... the earth dragon has turned over...

Han Yun suddenly thought of something.

The world of Under One Person is different from the world Han Yun lived in his previous life. Some things are ambiguous, and some things that happened did not happen in the world of Under One Person.

But the world of Under One Person is so similar to the world of my previous life. What if some things were delayed for some reason? What if the location and the reason changed?
Han Yun didn't want to gamble, nor did he dare to.

Immediately, he suppressed this terrifying suspicion and activated his Heavenly Eye once more to search for the tampered earth veins.

Han Yun opened his third eye again, golden light flowing around it. This time, he no longer peered into the ghostly realm in the well, but instead carefully examined the many nodes connected to the earth's veins, following the veins sealed at the well's opening.

Zhang Xiaolian held his breath and concentrated, not daring to disturb him.

A moment later, the golden light in Han Yun's eyes faded, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"How is it?" Zhang Xiaolian asked hurriedly.

"The technique is extremely skillful, and it wasn't done by one person alone," Han Yun said in a deep voice.

"The other party did not forcibly destroy it, but used a secret method to distort the flow of the earth's veins, just like quietly digging out several tiny tributaries next to the main river."

"In the short term, it seems harmless, but in the long run, the power of the earth's veins to nourish the seal will gradually be diverted and weakened, inevitably loosening the foundation of the seal. What's even more troublesome is..."

He paused, then pointed to the southeast and northwest: "Those few strands of evil energy that eroded the seal did not originate directly from the earth's veins, but rather used these two earth vein nodes as springboards to carry out their actions remotely."

"Even if we repair the node here now, if we don't address the root cause, the enemy can still find another node and repeat the same trick."

Zhang Xiaolian's expression was grim: "To be able to remotely control the earth's veins? Such a method is rarely heard of. I have guarded this place for decades and I am confident that I know the surrounding earth's veins like the back of my hand, yet I have not noticed any unusual flow!"

"It is not the Taoist priest's fault."

Han Yun shook his head. "What the other party used was not the conventional method of manipulating Qi by superhumans. It was more like they were using some kind of magical artifact that could greatly amplify spiritual power or was extremely skilled in sensing earth veins. It might even be the help of some kind of spirit with special abilities."

"Its actions mostly occur at midnight when the Yin energy is at its peak, and each movement is extremely subtle and lasts for a very short time, making it difficult to detect."

His gaze swept over the surrounding verdant mountains: "The ley lines of Qingcheng Mountain are intricate and complex, with numerous nodes. The other party has clearly been planning this for a long time and has a deep understanding of the ley lines."

"The most urgent task is to find the two points they used as stepping stones, follow the clues, and find out who is behind them."

"I will immediately gather my disciples to thoroughly investigate all possible ley lines in the southeast and northwest!" Zhang Xiaolian declared immediately.

"There's no need to make a big fuss, lest we alert the enemy."

Han Yun waved his hand and said, "The other party is acting discreetly, so we must also proceed in secret. Please give me a detailed map of the ley lines of Qingcheng Mountain, and I will investigate on my own."

"The Taoist priest still needs to stay here and guard against any changes at the Ghost-Breaking Well. At the same time, he should send more people to patrol the back mountain in a seemingly relaxed but actually vigilant manner, making it appear as if he is strengthening his defenses. This might make the person behind the scenes temporarily put an end to their actions."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Xiaolian realized that Han Yun had considered everything thoroughly, and nodded, saying, "I will do as my junior master says. The earth vein map is in the quiet room; please follow me."

A moment later, Han Yun emerged from the quiet room, holding an ancient-looking sheepskin map. The map clearly depicted the contours of mountains and the flow of the earth's veins, marked with special pigments.

"I'll trouble you to guard this place well, Daoist. I'll be right back." Han Yun cupped his hands in greeting.

"Young Master, please be careful." Zhang Xiaolian returned the greeting solemnly.

Han Yun's figure flickered, and he directly merged into the secluded mountain path, completely concealing his aura, as if he had become one with Qingcheng Mountain.

He first sped off in the southeast direction. Although his Heavenly Eye was not fully open, his perception was already at its peak, carefully sensing the most subtle changes in the flow of the earth's energy.

The forest is deep and the moss is slippery, and the caves and ravines are strange and mysterious. These are places rarely visited by ordinary tourists, but they are where the earth's spiritual energy converges or turns.

Based on the map of the earth's veins and his own perception, Han Yun quickly identified several possible nodes: one was a cave behind the waterfall, and the other was hidden beneath the roots of a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree.

(End of this chapter)