True Paradise

Lin Mo's gaze fell upon the array diagram, and he nodded with a calm expression.

"Just as I thought."

In truth, the moment he stepped through the gates of the Celestial Master's Mansion, his vast divine sense had already swept through the entire estate, naturally discovering this anomaly.

In his vision, the space above the array diagram was rippling with invisible waves, like ripples on a water surface, profound and mysterious.

Interestingly, the old Daoist priest beside him seemed completely oblivious to this.

"Invincible Cultivation System, come out and explain what this thing is."

Lin Mo muttered in his heart.

[Ding! According to the system's analysis, this is a spatial node. Behind it lies a stable passage leading to a heavenly grotto.]

That explained it.

Lin Mo understood. The seventy-two blessed lands recorded in Daoist classics must all be like this, hidden within the folds of the mortal realm, inaccessible to those without destiny or the proper methods.

However, he still looked up, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.

"Wait three days? Is there no one in your Dragon Tiger Mountain who can open it early?"

This question seemed a bit offensive, but Lin Mo never liked wasting time.

Hearing this, the old Daoist priest was taken aback for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Honored guest, you must be joking. Naturally, there are predecessors who can forcefully open the passage, but those are all highly respected grandmasters of our Dragon Tiger Mountain."

He sighed and continued to explain, "Moreover, every forceful opening requires several grandmasters to cast spells together, expending a great deal of effort to prepare. The cost is too great, and the gains do not make up for the losses.

Therefore, unless it is a matter of urgent importance, we follow the laws of nature and wait quietly for the passage to open on its own."

The old Daoist priest said as he bowed deeply to Lin Mo, keeping his posture very humble.

"So I ask our honored guest to linger here for three days. At that time, the passage will open on its own and last for a week. If you miss this chance, I'm afraid you'll have to wait quite some time for the next opening."

His words were full of sincerity and helplessness.

However, before he could finish speaking.

Lin Mo had already raised his hand somewhat impatiently.

"Too troublesome."

He softly spat out these words, and then slashed casually at the rippling void, as if tearing a piece of paper.

"Riiiiip—"

A tearing sound, so soft it was eerie, echoed.

Under the old Daoist priest's utterly horrified gaze, the air in front of him was actually torn open like a fragile piece of cloth, revealing a pitch-black rift!

Drops of rain fell into the rift and vanished instantly.

Immediately after, the rift was forced open to both sides by an invisible power, gradually expanding into an oval portal of light over a person's height.

Light swirled within the portal, and dense spiritual energy mixed with the fresh scent of vegetation rushed out, blowing the old Daoist priest's beard and robes wildly.

The old Daoist priest's mind went completely blank. His mouth hung wide open, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, and his finger pointing at the portal trembled violently. He couldn't utter a single word.

It... it just opened like that?

Something that required several grandmasters working together to accomplish, he just did it with a casual wave of his hand?

Is he even human?!

Lin Mo, however, ignored the petrified old Daoist priest behind him. He patted nonexistent dust off his sleeves and glanced back at him.

"Let's go. What are you standing around for? I'm in a hurry."

With that, he took a step inside.

The old Daoist priest behind him took a deep breath and looked at Han Lu.

"Layman Han Lu, what exactly is the background of this honored guest?"

"Don't ask me. I was just called here to be a tour guide. He's just a very casual big shot, that's all."

The mountain had a small opening, from which a light seemed to gleam. He left his boat and entered through the opening. At first it was extremely narrow, barely allowing a person to pass. After walking several dozen paces, it suddenly opened up into a wide expanse.

"The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring didn't deceive me."

Lin Mo muttered softly to himself. He could clearly feel that the air here was completely different from the outside world.

Leaving the passage, he found himself on a broad platform.

This place was probably originally a cliff, but it had been converted into an area to receive guests.

Fine rain drifted down from the gray sky, dampening the tips of his hair, but carrying a refreshing coolness.

Every drop of rain seemed to contain pure energy.

He expanded his divine sense. Invisible perception rippled outward from him like water waves, instantly covering this unfamiliar world.

Lin Mo spread out his divine sense, using himself as the origin, expanding outward.

By the time the old Daoist priest and Han Lu followed him in, Lin Mo had already retracted his divine sense.

This was indeed a heavenly grotto and blessed land.

The abundance of spiritual energy was at least three to four times that of the outside.

What did this mean?

Xie Yuling would be able to control her paper airplanes here for at least twice as long.

Even Lin Mo still needed spiritual energy, it was just that the system gave him far too much.

He turned his head, his gaze falling on the smiling old Daoist priest, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Your Dragon Tiger Mountain hides quite deeply."

"I'm guessing the first Celestial Master Zhang refined the Nine Heavens Divine Pill right here, didn't he?"

The old Daoist priest nodded. "Indeed. The patriarch refined the Nine Heavens Divine Pill here, and from that time onward, he began establishing a dojo here. Later, for the convenience of our sect's affairs, the fourth-generation patriarch moved the public-facing dojo over."

A public-facing dojo and an actual dojo.

Biding their time in a heavenly grotto to develop their foundation, this calculation was truly shrewd.

"Interesting."

Lin Mo nodded. "Then let me take a tour of the real Dragon Tiger Mountain."

He hadn't taken two steps.

"Swish!"

The wind tightened, and from the shadows of the trees on the left and right, four gray figures suddenly lunged out!

The four figures moved in perfect unison. With longswords unsheathed, they brought up four arcs of cold light, the tips of their swords aiming directly at Lin Mo's limbs, arriving in an instant!

The entire process was as fast as lightning.

The magical fluctuations emanating from these four were far more powerful than those of the little Daoist priest Shouzhen.

Yet, facing this sudden killing blow, Lin Mo didn't even bat an eyelid. His footsteps didn't pause in the slightest, as if the four longswords about to strike his body were mere illusions.

He merely spoke indifferently, his voice not loud, but it clearly spread across the entire platform.

"Dragon Tiger Mountain's way of treating guests is quite unique."

The four gray-robed Daoist priests felt a chill in their hearts. Just as they were feeling bewildered by their opponent's unshakeable composure in the face of imminent danger, the corners of their eyes finally caught sight of the old Daoist priest behind Lin Mo.

The four men's offensive instantly vanished into thin air. With a swish, the four longswords returned to their sheaths, so fast it almost made one think everything just now was an illusion.

"Elder Gongyue!"

The leader hastily bowed and asked urgently, "Elder Gongyue, today isn't the scheduled time. How could..."

Daoist Priest Gongyue still maintained his smiling demeanor.

"It is indeed not the time, but an honored guest opened the way. Alright, I must take this honored guest to see the Celestial Master. You all keep an eye on the gate."

"Yes! Elder!"

Saying this, Daoist Priest Gongyue looked at Lin Mo.

"Layman Lin, please come this way."