Chapter Forty-Three: The Mysterious Stone Monument

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The Rules of Dimensional Trading

It is said that Wood unexpectedly encountered a remarkable woman in the tomb chamber. Her beauty was beyond description, like a fairy from a painting, causing Wood to instinctively recall a passage from "The Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River"—only such words could begin to capture her loveliness.

Upon closer inspection, though the woman was prostrated on the ground, she appeared to stand about one hundred and seventy centimeters tall. Her skin was as flawless as white jade, her eyebrows delicate, her eyelashes long, and her large, beautiful eyes glittered like gemstones set in her face. Not only was she born beautiful, she also resembled a newly blossomed rose still adorned with morning dew, radiating an alluring fragrance. Wood was utterly captivated by her.

Yet suddenly, Wood felt a jolt in his heart and, mustering his courage, shouted, "How dare you, demon, attempt to enchant me!" As he spoke, he channeled his true essence between his hands, causing the Demon Refining Pot to emit a brilliant silver light.

In truth, Wood had no idea how to activate the Demon Refining Pot; he simply encountered this woman in the tomb and naturally assumed she was some sort of demon. The pot bore the words "Refine Demon," so he took it out as a show of force. As for how to capture "special lifeforms" and contain them within the pot, he had not the slightest clue. His sole purpose was to frighten her away.

The woman, however, had no idea that Wood was bluffing. The object itself did indeed startle her, and she hurriedly prostrated herself, pleading, "Merciful immortal, merciful immortal, my physical body has been bound, and only my spirit remains here. I have been imprisoned in this place for several thousand years, longing for deliverance from suffering. How could I possibly do you any harm?" As she spoke, she looked as if she might cry, stirring great pity.

Wood saw she seemed genuinely frightened, and her clear eyes did not resemble those of a liar. He withdrew his true essence but still dared not put away the Demon Refining Pot, holding it in his hands as he asked, "You say you’ve been imprisoned here for thousands of years—what was the cause?"

The woman replied sorrowfully, "My original form was that of a silver carp. Thousands of years ago, I lived in a lake called Pure Water Peach Grove, a tributary of the Yellow River. It was a blessed place for cultivation. By chance, I overheard immortals teaching the art of transformation, and so I devoted myself to arduous cultivation for a thousand years, finally able to transform and ascend, achieving the Great Dao."

Here she paused, then continued, "However, as a silver carp, my transformation and ascension meant becoming a dragon." Hearing this, Wood recalled ancient legends from China: Yellow River carp leap through the Dragon Gate and become dragons. Many classical texts recorded this, such as "Pi Ya: Explanation of Fish," which says, 'Folk tales say fish leap through the Dragon Gate and become dragons, only carp succeed.' Unexpectedly, this legend seemed to hold some truth, at least as evidenced by the woman before him, who was a carp transformed into a dragon.

The woman continued, "As the saying goes, joy can turn to sorrow. At that time, I had taken on a dragon form and was about to leap through the Dragon Gate to become a true dragon. But as soon as I moved, the Yellow River flooded. My sole intent was to pass through the Dragon Gate—the narrowest part of the Jin-Shaanxi Grand Canyon, now called Yumen Pass—unaware that my actions caused the river to overflow and devastate the creatures on both banks. Thus, though I became a dragon, the immortals bound me and imprisoned me here."

Her tale was incredibly strange. In other circumstances, one might think her mad. Yet Wood believed her almost entirely—not only did her story align with ancient Chinese legends, he sensed genuine fear in her heart, as if she truly dreaded him and could not be lying.

"Are you to be confined here forever? It can't be right to imprison you for thousands of years," Wood mused.

"You are correct, immortal," the woman replied, "I committed a grave error, so I was bound to the Dragon-Binding Pillar, suffering the agony of ten thousand needles every three days. I was to endure five hundred years of such punishment, then re-enter the world to cultivate merit and atone for my past sins."

She seemed confused. "However, after only a hundred years of my punishment, a strange anomaly appeared in the heavens. The earth shook, day became night, and the sun was completely eclipsed by a mysterious object. After that, the primordial energy of heaven and earth vanished for several centuries, only slowly gathering again. Moreover, since that day, the Dragon-Binding Pillar lost its punitive effect—I no longer suffered the agony of ten thousand needles every three days."

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"Oh! That’s a stroke of good fortune! Why do you remain here, then?" Wood asked.

The woman gave a bitter smile. "But since then, no immortals have come to release me. Though I am spared suffering, I remain imprisoned, unable to be freed for thousands of years. Only my spirit can leave my body for brief moments, able to wander within a few miles of this place. That is why I beseech your mercy, immortal, to relieve me of this tribulation!"

Wood was moved. "Since you are imprisoned here, why have you set up a strange formation to harm living beings?"

"Immortal, you see clearly!" she hurried to explain. "This strange formation was not set by me. This place is a geomantic treasure, where a noble mortal is buried. The formation was arranged by that noble’s family to protect the tomb from being plundered. Your companions merely triggered a mechanism and fell into the secret chamber; their lives are not in danger."

Wood found her words sincere and wished to help free her from her millennia of captivity. Yet she had said she was already transformed into a dragon, possessing the power of an immortal. The object binding her must thus be a relic of immortals—how could Wood possibly break its restraint? He hesitated, uncertain.

Seeing his indecision, the woman solemnly declared, "If you have mercy and deliver me from my suffering, I am willing to become your mount, serving you for life."

Wood sighed. "It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but to be honest, I am not an immortal—just a cultivator. The Dragon-Binding Pillar is an immortal’s artifact; I doubt my abilities can break its bonds."

The woman replied, "As far as I know, cultivation and immortality are one lineage. Please try, immortal. Regardless of success or failure, I shall be endlessly grateful." Her eyes filled with tears. "I have been bound here for thousands of years, unable to remember the passage of sun and moon, unable to live or die. I beg your mercy!"

Moved by her pitiful appearance, Wood could not bear to refuse. "Very well, I will go with you to look. If I fail, do not blame me!"

The woman was overjoyed, finally standing upright. "Immortal, please follow me!" She floated ahead, and Wood descended to the ground, following behind. The room was originally a small chamber of several dozen square meters. The woman led the way, turning left and right, seemingly heading deeper underground.

"Here, immortal!" she led Wood to another chamber, this one vast. Unusually, there was a high platform in the center, atop which sat a massive coffin. Less than a meter away stood a pillar, around which a silver dragon was coiled.

Upon entering, Wood caught a strange fragrance. Looking closely, he saw a seven-colored fungus growing where the dragon’s mouth faced the coffin. He had heard that the brighter the fungus, the more poisonous it was, yet wondered how a mushroom could grow in such darkness.

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He paid it little mind, only noting that the scent made him feel invigorated, even strengthening his true essence by a fraction.

"Immortal, this is the object," the woman pointed to the pillar.

Wood stepped forward, formed hand seals, and tried every cultivation technique he knew, but none elicited the slightest response from the pillar. He felt disheartened, but seeing the woman’s pleading gaze, suddenly recalled how certain magical artifacts in fantasy novels recognized their master via blood. With nothing to lose, he bit his finger, dripping several drops of blood onto the pillar.

But reality does not follow the logic of fantasy novels. No matter how much blood Wood spilled, the pillar remained inert. He dejectedly said, "It’s no use, it seems—"

He had not finished speaking when a drop of blood accidentally fell to the base of the pillar. Instantly, a rectangular silver stele rose from the ground, radiating dazzling rainbow light that dazzled the eyes. Wood looked closely: the stele’s surface, bathed in multicolored light, was covered with strange characters. The letters moved upwards on the stone, much like the credits on a movie screen—a wondrous sight. What shocked Wood most was that these characters formed groups of ancient patterns: not quite seal script, not quite pictographs, with sun, moon, insect, fish, bird, and other odd motifs. They were remarkably similar to the fragments of mythic artifacts held by Uncle Li.

Wood was stupefied. The woman cried out, "Quickly memorize the contents, force yourself to remember!"

Wood’s heart tightened. He knew this was a rare opportunity. Though he did not recognize the script, he resolved to memorize it first and puzzle it out later, concentrating with all his mind. Yet Wood was no prodigy, and stranger still, the stele seemed to possess a peculiar power that interfered with his thoughts. Each time he memorized a line, he forgot the previous one.

Desperate, an idea struck him: he took out the jade bead gifted by Carefree Child, and, using his divine sense, inscribed the symbols onto the bead one by one.

No sooner had he begun than the stele blazed with rainbow light, and a speck of brightness flew in from outside the tomb, merging with the stele. As the light fused, Wood was suddenly dazed; his true essence spun uncontrollably, and was swiftly drawn away by the strange symbols he was carving.

At this moment, Wood felt himself compelled by a mysterious force, unable to stop his actions, forced to watch as his dantian’s true essence drained away like water. In mere moments, it seemed nearly exhausted. Alarmed, he used his mental power to retrieve a “Vitality Fruit” from his storage bracelet and popped it into his mouth.

Instantly, the fruit rapidly restored his depleted true essence. Wood felt a bit steadier, yet noticed the restored energy continued to be swiftly consumed by the runes drawn by his fingers…

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