After Zhang Yan and Song Chuyuan had spoken at length and were preparing to leave this place, he said to him, "I have been away from home for long and have yet to return. Matters here are already concluded, so in a short while I must turn back to the Mountain Gate. Daoist Song may go on your own to retrieve the Secret Volume left behind by your sect. When all is done, you may come seek me at the Han Yuan Sect of the West Divine House."

Song Chuyuan, however, bent his body and offered a formal bow, giving a wry smile as he said, "Please allow me to report myself, True Master. I fear this lowly one may return somewhat late."

Hearing that there seemed to be some hidden meaning in his words, Zhang Yan halted his steps and asked, "Is there some trouble?"

Song Chuyuan hesitated slightly before saying, "That legacy of my sect, in order to guard against outsiders coveting it, is also protected by quite a few Great Arrays. Although this lowly one has a token, it can only be used when I go to take the Prohibition Seal, but the Prohibitions outside the Cave Mansion are not the same. Those were laid down using methods from other sects so as to prevent anyone from recognizing their origin. This lowly one is powerless against them and can only slowly wear them down with Mana before gaining entry. Yet if the Prohibition Seals are numerous, I fear it will take no small number of days, and it will not be a matter of returning within a day or two."

Zhang Yan raised his brows and said, "Was this what you and your fellow disciples had originally planned?"

Song Chuyuan bent his body slightly, speaking with great care, "Senior Duan studied many Forbidden Arrays and once claimed he could handle them. Only now he is already..."

At this point, he glanced at Zhang Yan, then fell silent and said no more.

Zhang Yan pondered for a while, then asked again, "How far is that place from here?"

Song Chuyuan replied, "The legacy is not far from here. If we borrow the Gang Wind to travel, it should take only about an hour’s journey."

Zhang Yan smiled and said, "You may now be considered under my tutelage as well, so I shall accompany you once and resolve this difficulty for you."

Song Chuyuan was taken aback. "Could it be that the True Master also understands this Dao?"

Zhang Yan gave a slight nod.

Song Chuyuan was overjoyed. To wear down a Forbidden Array with Mana may sound simple, yet it is also the most foolish method. If the Prohibitions are laid down with only a bit more complexity, grinding away at them for several decades would not be unusual. Should fortune be poor, even when the sixteen years after the Dragon Pillar have passed, he might still not have attained his wish. He said cautiously, "I would not dare presume. When does the True Master intend to depart? Is there any further arrangement to be made here?"

Zhang Yan looked around and shook his head. "There is no need. You go ahead and lead the way."

Song Chuyuan did not dare say more and only said, "True Master, please follow this lowly one." He tapped his foot, and was the first to turn into a strand of indistinct gray mist, Flying up into the Heaven.

Zhang Yan likewise uttered a shout, invoked his Escape Skill, and followed. In but a moment, the two together broke through the Gang Cloud and arrived in the Heavy sky above. Afterward, they cast a spell, drew over a stream of Gang Wind and wrapped it about their bodies, then sped away like a gale, racing forward at lightning speed.

All Nascent Soul cultivators may go up into the Heavy sky above to borrow Gang Wind for Flying, yet ordinary Cultivators have very few chances to encounter this. Earlier, Zhang Yan had been Flying beneath the Gang Cloud only in order to find a place suitable to set up the Earth Fire Sky Furnace, and had Song Chuyuan and his companion not been searching here for a fellow disciple, they would not have collided with the Prohibition he set upon the surface.

When the two set out, it was roughly at the time of the declining sun. After Flying with their tunneling light for an hour, the sun was already leaning to the west. At this time, Song Chuyuan slowed his figure, looked down for a moment, then pointed and said, "True Master, that Mountain Realm below is the place."

Zhang Yan also cast his gaze outward. Below was a high mountain stretching north to south, yet its shape and terrain were shattered and chaotic, with perilous ravines and hidden streams everywhere. The mountain was filled with dangerous crags and strange stone, like collapsed pillars heaped in layers, jagged and towering. A crystal-white slender stream flowed out from the crevices of a sheer cliff, winding among broken rocks, the sound of water clear and bright. At the end of the water’s course there was actually a bamboo grove, filling a valley of no more than a hundred mu in size. On all sides steep escarpments rose high, cutting off clouds and blocking the moon. Even birds could hardly cross. Deep within, mist rose from the gullies, shrouded in clouds and fog; if one were to Fly past from Heaven above and did not pay careful heed, it would be almost impossible to discover.

Song Chuyuan lowered his body and descended his tunneling light, landing atop a precipitous cliff. After giving it a cursory glance, he then cast a spell and tapped lightly upon his eyelids. When he opened them again, a layer of green radiance shone in his eyes, extending several li outward as he probed into the depths of the valley.

Zhang Yan likewise descended and stood, sweeping his gaze in a circle. From the summit above earlier he had been unable to see clearly, but now, near the foot of the mountain, he discovered that below there were holes like ant nests, densely packed in their hundreds. It was impossible to tell which one was the place where the Corpse Pride Sect concealed its Inheritance Book. It seemed Song Chuyuan was now using a method to search, so he merely stood to one side without disturbing him.

After about a quarter of an hour, Song Chuyuan let out a breath and turned his body to the side, offering a formal bow as he said, "True Master, five li ahead there is a Forbidden Array which blocks this lowly one’s sight. That should be the Prohibition before the estate. I must ask the True Master to take action and undo it."

Zhang Yan gazed below and took a step forward, drawing out a sheet of talisman paper, clamping it between two fingers. With a slight shake, he drew up a clump of True Fire, then flicked his finger. The talisman shot out like a fiery shuttle, flying straight into the bamboo grove. After concentrating his mind and observing for a moment, he already had a clear understanding in his heart.