"Hiss hiss~," Luo Chao felt something cold and slippery on his arm, like holding an ice block in the middle of summer, and strange sounds echoed in his ears.

Opening his tired eyes, he found himself in a strange cave, lying flat on the ground. The cave ceiling was full of huge conical stalactites hanging down. He twisted his neck to look around, discovering that the cave was full of stalactites, damp and fresh. Some stalactites hung like jade columns from ceiling to floor, some like rain clouds suspended in the air, some like white waves surging endlessly—indeed, it was a mighty and magnificent sight.

The colors varied, brilliant and interwoven, lighting up the entire cave as bright as daylight.

"Hiss hiss~" The strange cry sounded again, and only then did Luo Chao remember the peculiarity on his arm. He raised it to look, finding a small snake coiled upon it.

The little snake was as transparent as jade and only as long as a chopstick, as thick as a finger.

Its tiny head swayed back and forth, curiously observing Luo Chao. It was not frightening; instead, it was somewhat endearing. Its small mouth occasionally flicking out a snake tongue, making the strange noise.

Seeing Luo Chao waking up, the small snake didn't flee in panic. Instead, it coiled its body and climbed up his arm to his neck, lifting its upper body to look down at Luo Chao.

Luo Chao saw that the little snake was spiritually intelligent and unusual, feeling a bit of joy in his heart. He gently stroked its head with a finger, making the snake obviously happy. It flicked its head, leaped to the ground, stood upright like a silver rod, and persistently flicked its tongue, swimming a few meters in one direction before turning to look at Luo Chao. When it saw Luo Chao staying still, it immediately swam back, wrapping its tail around his finger to tug him along.

"Where do you want to take me?" Luo Chao understood the little snake's intention.

Of course, the little snake couldn't understand his words and kept dragging him. Despite its small body, its strength was surprisingly substantial, pulling up one of Luo Chao's arms.

Seeing the persistence in the small snake's manner, Luo Chao had no choice but to heave his body and sit halfway up. The snake, seeing him move, immediately crawled ahead to lead the way.

Sitting up, he couldn't help but groan at the pain that spread all over his body. "This time I'm seriously hurt, Leopard, Yuan Fei, I let you both down." He realized his physical condition during this time and remembered Leopard and Yuan Fei's tragic deaths. "I will tear that werewolf to pieces," as guilt surged like a tide within him.

The little snake cried anxiously, "Hiss hiss~," as Luo Chao remained unmoving.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Seeing the snake's demeanor, he couldn't help but smile slightly, struggling to stand up to see where the snake intended to take him.

Onward, Luo Chao was once again amazed by the spectacle of the stalactite cave. Strange rocks and bizarre shapes filled his view. After walking for about ten minutes, the little snake stopped and called out to him.

Luo Chao looked in the direction pointed by its tail, his expression full of admiration. He saw a stalactite in the shape of an hourglass standing in the center, reaching from earth to sky. This massive stalactite, like the little snake, was entirely white as jade and occupied an area of over five hundred square meters. Such a formation must have taken countless millennia to come into being—Lightning Summoner.

"Hmm, why does it look like someone is sitting there?" Luo Chao noticed something amiss and looked more closely at the connecting part of the hourglass-shaped stalactite. This time he saw clearly: this giant stalactite wasn't actually connected but divided into two regular conical shapes, with a gap of about five meters in between. It was so large that Luo Chao, standing so far away, had initially overlooked the gap.

Indeed, someone was sitting cross-legged there.

"Hiss hiss~," the small snake once again urged Luo Chao in that direction. Luo Chao hesitated for a moment but decided to walk over. He believed the snake wouldn't harm him, and since he was already here, not checking it out seemed unreasonable. Besides, he was curious about who it could be.

Stepping onto the platform, Luo Chao finally saw the person clearly. An old man dressed in Daoist robes, with three long whiskers hanging to his chest and hair styled into a Daoist topknot, appeared sage-like, with white hair and youthful features, resembling an immortal.

However, his eyes were tightly closed, as if asleep. Luo Chao hesitated, unsure of what the old man was doing, and didn't dare to disturb him rashly.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Luo Chao saw no sign of the old man waking up and, bracing himself, took a couple of steps forward, "Senior, I apologize for disturbing you. I wonder what the venerable sir is doing." He used the somewhat antiquated language inspired by television, uncertain due to the old man's strange attire how to properly address him.

The elder remained unresponsive, not moving a single muscle. Luo Chao attempted to speak several times, finally realizing something was amiss.

Just then, the snake, which had been quietly coiled around his leg, suddenly leapt to the old man's head, shaking and swaying proudly, appearing rather imposing.

Luo Chao was startled; no one knew what kind of person this strange old man was, or if the snake's actions would anger him. At that very moment, the old man's body shuddered slightly, putting Luo Chao on high alert.

With a "thud," the expression on Luo Chao's face turned bizarre as the old man's body toppled to the ground like a wax figure.

Carefully, Luo Chao stepped forward to check for a heartbeat, "What on earth is going on?" Despite the warmth of the body, there was no heartbeat at all.

"Hmm, what's this?" Luo Chao noticed something before the spot where the elder had sat cross-legged. Moving closer, he found some patterns on the ground. He squatted down, brushed the dust off the ground, realizing they were actually writings.

Focusing intently, the characters were bold and vigorous, "Since Pangu created the heavens and Nuwa made humans, the ancients discovered methods of cultivation, tempering their bodies with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power, achieving the great Dao and ascending many cultivators. High abilities and great virtues flourished, with hundreds of schools contending. However, over time, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi diminished, failing to support the massive consumption of the Cultivation Realm. No new Ascension Cultivators emerged. Each sect sealed its knowledge, seeking to slow the Qi's depletion in search of solutions. Each sect pondered for a century and devised a method, merging the Spiritual Power of all sects to nurture one cultivator, equipped with sufficient Spiritual Power to ascend to the Upper Realm, and draw Spiritual Power from the Upper Realm to resolve the plight of the Cultivation Realm. Our Daoist Sect's Master Sanfengzi lived up to expectations, broke the shackles of heaven and earth at 212 years old, and ascended in broad daylight as the last Ascension Cultivator of the declining era."

"However, two hundred years passed, and until I, Xuanzixuzi, took charge of the Taiqing Sect, no news came from the Upper Realm. Throughout my life, I traversed the world, joining the mountain gate at five, achieved the Golden Core Dao during the declining era at fifty-five, exceptionally rare. Unwilling to end insignificantly, I scoured the world for everything imbued with Spiritual Power. At 130, I discovered this land of blessings and obtained the millennia-old Earth Core Milk. At this point, sensing my life's end nearing, I decided to attempt the final breakthrough here. Sadly, although my Realm and Spiritual Power reached the required levels, my physical body was too frail, lacking the grand fortune of the ancestral Sanfeng who had the support of potions from various families, leading to failure. In vain, wasting a portion of Heaven's treasure, Earth Core Milk, feeling ashamed and fortunate that I was able to return a third of it at the last moment, avoiding becoming a historical sinner."

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