Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

The yak chewed the grass noisily.

An Zhisu patted its honest head and then took out a handful of highland barley to feed it, and the yak kindly stretched over its head to nibble on the barley.

Ling Yunpo watched boredly from the side.

Although he was "clearing remnants on the southern edge of the plateau," he had been prepared to not encounter enemies for two or three days, but after six or seven days of not meeting anyone, even Ling Yunpo found the bad luck hard to accept.

Could it really be that I came here to tour? I haven't even become daoist companions with Senior Sister, and here we are prematurely fulfilling our honeymoon, what a loss!

Interestingly enough, when first assigned to the southern edge, An Zhisu felt a bit regretful, while Ling Yunpo was greatly relieved.

Now, after six or seven days without encountering enemies, Ling Yunpo grew impatient, but An Zhisu, strangely enough, calmed down, began to explore the mountains and waters, taking great pleasure in it.

Of course, the plateau scenery is also very beautiful, especially the boundless, pure blue sky, which can really make one feel broad-minded.

If Qiu Changtian had not become sick of such scenes at Kunlun, it would have been even better.

An Zhisu, who was born in Yangzhou and lived in Sichuan Shu, rarely went out for practice, and she truly enjoyed the magnificent scenery. Although Ling Yunpo was bored inside, seeing that Senior Sister liked it, he patiently accompanied her as she frolicked.

After feeding the yak, Senior Sister An pointed excitedly at the distant snow mountain, saying:

"Junior Brother, let's go to the top of that mountain and have a look?"

"Okay, okay," Ling Yunpo agreed indulgently.

The distant snow mountain appeared to be the highest peak around, so the two of them flew towards the snow peak rapidly, sword riding.

Since the plateau was already near the sky, the two continued to climb even higher, and amidst the oncoming wind, they gradually heard the low whispers of Heavenly Demons, dream-like and illusory, beguiling and irresistible.

As Qiu Changtian, who went to the Kunlun Heavenly Pillar each time, could hear similar words of the Heavenly Demon, even though Ling Yunpo did not have Daoist Heart Clarity, he was well-prepared, keeping his mind guarded.

An Zhisu, having condensed the Sentiment Inquiry Path, guarded her mind at this moment as well, contemplating her junior brother's appearance and words, suddenly feeling her chest filled with endless positive emotions, hence she couldn't even hear the beguiling voices of the Heavenly Demon anymore.

Among the three major schools, if it weren't for the Sentiment Inquiry Path's downside of having a lover, the enhancement effect on one's mood is actually higher than that of the Forgetting Love Path and the Ruthless Love Path.

The two carefully resisted the low whispers of the Heavenly Demon, passing through the icy mist and wind-blown snow, eventually landing on the summit of the snow peak.

This summit was a huge plateau with not even a single stone on it, as flat as if a road roller had passed over it.

An Zhisu's playful spirit surged, and she elegantly stepped with her hands behind her back atop the peak, walking along the edge as if she was measuring the area with her steps.

Ling Yunpo watched, thinking that it was impressive that Senior Sister had such a girlish side.

"Huh?" the Kunlun Mirror suddenly spoke.

"What's the matter, Ah Jing?" Ling Yunpo asked with a smug smile, "Is it your first time seeing such an adorable Senior Sister? Don't be jealous, study hard, and you can also be adorable..."

"Who's talking about your Senior Sister An?" the Kunlun Mirror replied irritably, "I mean there's an illusion on the mountaintop! A large illusion, got it? Do your eyes only see women?"

"Mind your tone, Ah Jing!" Ling Yunpo said, contemplating, "An illusion? What kind of illusion?"

"Of course, the flat mountaintop that you see," the Kunlun Mirror responded, "The mountaintop actually has a recessed crater, but the illusion has completely concealed it... Do you want to go down and take a look?"

Ling Yunpo did not immediately agree, but pondered and said:

""""

"Why would someone obscure the mountain pass with an Illusion Domain?"

"I don't know," the Kunlun Mirror responded. "I have no recollection of this place, so it must not have been built in the distant past... It feels like it should be a product of the late ancient times or the early ancient era."

"Then let's dispel this Illusion Domain," Ling Yunpo said with sudden interest. "I want to explore this mountain pass with Senior Sister An!"

The Kunlun Mirror fell silent, but soon the mountaintop trembled violently.

Suddenly, the ground underfoot collapsed inch by inch, and Ling Yunpo quickly pulled out the Myriad Bamboos Sword to stabilize his falling figure.

He looked forward and saw An Zhisu also flying back on the Harsh Cold Sword, laughing:

"Who would have thought that inside this mountain, there hides another world."

"Senior Sister, shall we go down and take a look?" Ling Yunpo proposed.

"Naturally," An Zhisu nodded in agreement.

The two spiraled down on their swords and saw that deep within the mountain, along the cliff face, seven Buddhist Pagodas had been constructed.

The Buddhist Pagodas were in the style of the Central Plains but had incorporated many highland characteristics, such as wind chimes with engraved tags hanging at the eaves corners and walls carved with complex and obscure Sanskrit, among other things.

Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu landed on a platform and then entered a pagoda along the gallery.

Descending the spiraling staircase, they saw a large number of embedded rock caves in the walls on either side.

In each cave, there sat a mummified monk draped in a kasaya, each with a death expression incredibly fierce, whether with an open mouth, bared teeth, or bulging eyes, which was rather unsettling to behold.

An Zhisu looked closely and said:

"These monks seem to have suffered a Heavenly Demon invasion and died after their spiritual essence and blood were drained away."

"Mmm," Ling Yunpo nodded. "With no injuries on the body, the flesh withered, and a gaunt appearance, that's the only explanation."

"Strange," An Zhisu said, puzzled, "Since their deaths are all uniform, it's possible they were all meditating together when they suddenly and simultaneously suffered a Heavenly Demon invasion and died."

"Yes, it would be normal if an individual monk had a lapse in his mental state and then deviated," Ling Yunpo also noticed the abnormality, "So many people being invaded by the Heavenly Demon at the same time can't be explained by deviation... It must be that they were collectively plotted against."

What exactly they fell victim to, however, remained unknown.

Ever since Nuwa mended the heavens, Heavenly Demons had been unable to descend in hordes to the Lower Realm, only catching occasional, scarce opportunities to invade alone—such as being summoned by the Heavenly Demon Path as a sacrifice.

Although An Zhisu was unaware of this, Wei Dongliu, having learned a great deal of Demon Cult techniques from the stone statues, knew that the Heavenly Demon Path did indeed possess some secret techniques that could summon extremely powerful Heavenly Demons.

If it was a Demon King-level Heavenly Demon, consuming so many monks in an instant might be within its capabilities.

The two continued to look around as they walked until they finally reached the bottom of the pagoda. After leaving the high tower, they saw a large number of skeletons scattered on the ground in the center of the seven high towers.

Unlike the bodies from which the essence and blood had been drained, these skeletons were all charred and carbonized, clearly having been burnt to death by some extremely powerful Fire System spell.

In the center, surrounded by the charred bodies, there stood an ancient-looking lamp stand.

The lamp stand was empty, but underneath it, vertical lines of Sanskrit were inscribed.

Ling Yunpo looked carefully, only to see that the translation of the Sanskrit clearly read:

Eastern Pure Light Glazed Lamp.