Chapter 1 The End of a Tunnel

Deep underground, in a rocky cavern, at the very end of what looked like a tunnel intersection.

After many twists and turns, Xiao Tan and Bei Ling had finally returned to the stone door. They each took out a stone tablet and embedded the red and blue jade-shaped slabs into the concave stone disc in the center of the door.

The *bagua* symbols were perfectly filled, seamless. At the same time, the yin and yang tablets suddenly lit up, rotating on their own within the stone disc. After a few seconds, a shower of rock chips and dust fell from above the stone door, followed by the heavy grinding sound of rock against rock. The stone door slowly rose, revealing what lay behind it.

Behind the stone door was no longer a cavern, but a rectangular stone chamber, and this room was illuminated.

Xiao Tan and Bei Ling peered in slightly from outside the door. Seeing that there didn't seem to be any living creatures like monsters inside, and they couldn't see any obvious traps for the time being, the two stepped into the stone chamber side by side.

The ceiling of the stone chamber was about five meters high and uneven. Many luminous objects were wedged between the stones. They didn't look like living things, nor were they high-end items like luminous pearls. They looked a lot like the blue crystal minerals in StarCraft, but brighter.

On the opposite side of the stone chamber was another stone door, with a turntable-shaped mechanism right next to it, presumably used to open the door.

"I say... are you still a little cold?" Xiao Tan asked, looking at Bei Ling.

When they were rushing earlier, Bei Ling had been letting Xiao Tan walk in front, and in the tunnel, they were relying on miner's lamps and flashlights for lighting, so things weren't very clear. Now, in a brighter place, Xiao Tan saw Bei Ling's face and her slightly trembling shoulders, and he realized her problem.

"I'm alright... Achoo!" When Bei Ling spoke to Xiao Tan, she tilted her head slightly, so her gaze met the light, and she immediately let out a big sneeze, splattering Xiao Tan's face with saliva.

Xiao Tan wiped his face. "Take care of yourself."

"Hmm... how come you're not affected at all?" Bei Ling covered her mouth and nose with her hand, took a breath, and said, "You were in the water too... is it a physiological characteristic of idiots not catching colds?"

"As a doctor, I must first deny your unfounded and medically unsound statement," Xiao Tan replied.

The next second, he got hit on the head.

"Secondly..." Xiao Tan leaned his face forward, making eye contact with Bei Ling.

"What are you doing..." Bei Ling instinctively shrank her neck back, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

"Hmm... the pupils don't show signs of dilation," Xiao Tan said, staring into her eyes. "That means the problem isn't too serious yet, the body temperature should be above thirty-three degrees..." He thought aloud, "Although you're pale and your lips are slightly purple now, you've been moving around and warming up along the way, so your body temperature should be rising... I guess it's the effect of the wet clothes."

"You, take three steps back and keep a distance of more than one meter from me," Bei Ling said, squinting and speaking in an unhappy tone.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Tan asked, puzzled, but he did as she said.

"When I first came out of the pool, the menu did show a [Frozen] status, which affected movement speed and stamina consumption, but it's gone now, just some physical discomfort remains," Bei Ling sighed. "Great doctor, we're playing a game here. If there's really something wrong, the data will show it. You don't need to use your *Wang Wen Wen Qie* techniques." (*Wang Wen Wen Qie* - four diagnostic methods in traditional Chinese medicine: observation, auscultation and olfaction, interrogation, and palpation)

"That's for traditional Chinese medicine, I'm..."

"Don't interrupt! Let me finish."

"Oh..."

"From now on, under normal circumstances, you are not allowed to approach within one meter of me, and you are even less allowed to make sudden movements at this distance, such as bringing your face closer," Bei Ling continued. "Understand?"

"Uh..." Xiao Tan stared blankly for a few seconds, then nodded. "Okay..."

"Okay, I'm done."

Xiao Tan didn't say anything more, just shrugged indifferently, turned around, and walked towards one side of the stone chamber.

On that side of the wall, there was a cobweb-like crack, and the texture seemed very neat, as if it were a target. Xiao Tan thought this might also be a system setting, so he wanted to touch it to see if it would trigger something.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he got a few steps closer, the wall began to shake, and the cracks on the wall rippled like waves, gradually floating from all around towards the center. After a few seconds, a white stone head broke out of the wall from the "bullseye" position.

The stone head had a square face, phoenix eyes, eyebrows like blazing flames, a wide nose and thick lips, a beard, and a topknot. Of course, all these facial features were carved from stone, and the color was all white.

The stone's eyes could actually move. He looked at Xiao Tan, then at Bei Ling, and then he even started talking, though it was unclear if he even had a throat...

"Which one do you want?" the stone asked.

"Which one?" Xiao Tan repeated, completely unsure how to answer. He immediately turned his head and looked at Bei Ling with a questioning gaze.

Bei Ling walked to Xiao Tan's side, put down the submachine gun she had already raised a few seconds ago, and said to the stone, "How many do you have in total?"

"Three," the stone replied.

"What are the three?" Bei Ling asked. When it came to the skill of talking to NPCs, although she wasn't as immersed in the role as Jue Ge, she still knew how to ask in a way that would make it easier to get information.

"Why are people so ignorant these days?" the stone replied. "Since Pangu separated the heavens and earth, and Nüwa created mankind... there are a total of fourteen supreme divine arts in the world. But the natural gifts of you mortals are getting worse with each generation. Now only three kinds of kung fu can be practiced."

The stone recited loudly: "These are the three... Heaven and Earth Reversal Divine Skill, Three Flowers Gather on Crown Divine Art, Tai Xu Non-Phase Great Method."

"Uh..." Xiao Tan was stunned. "Something that sounds so heaven-defying, are you planning to give it to us?"

"Don't you want them?" the stone asked.

"Can we have all three?" Bei Ling immediately asked.

"No," the stone answered decisively. "Oh, right, the person who came last time took the Tai Xu Non-Phase Great Method, so now there are only two left."

"How many people came last time?" Bei Ling asked again.

"One," the stone replied.

"But there are two of us," Bei Ling said.

"Hmm... the master told me that one person can only take one, and no more will be given if they come again. But he didn't say anything about what to do if two people came..." The stone seemed a little hesitant.

"I don't know him," Bei Ling said, pointing at Xiao Tan.

"Huh?" Xiao Tan was stunned.

Bei Ling smiled slyly. "Stone, give me the Three Flowers Gather on Crown Divine Art."

The stone didn't waste any words. A flash of white light appeared, and a paper manual appeared in Bei Ling's hand.

"Oh, oh..." Xiao Tan understood. He stepped forward. "I don't know her either. Give me the Heaven and Earth Reversal Divine Skill."