Why Does It Respond Only When You Touch It

As Lie Zhankuang recounted the events, Chen Chang'an gained a rough understanding of the situation from back then.

The villagers and snow demons here had already existed before Lie Zhankuang arrived.

According to Lie Zhankuang, they all seemed to worship a deity known as the Snow God.

This celestial pool was the Snow God's dwelling place, and the villagers called themselves the Snow God's devotees, guarding this place for generations to prevent anyone from disturbing the Snow God.

The snow demons were the same.

When Lie Zhankuang appeared here and accidentally entered the celestial pool, the villagers happened to see him and mistook him for the Snow God.

"No matter what, there must have been something here before you," Chen Chang'an said with a frown.

"How else would you explain this barrier?"

"You've lived here for thousands of years—haven't you discovered anything?"

After entering the tunnel, Chen Chang'an found no other passages; the end led only to this stone chamber.

But Chen Chang'an was certain it couldn’t be that simple.

"I had the same doubts as you back then," Lie Zhankuang admitted.

"To be honest, for thousands of years, I've been exploring, hoping to uncover the secrets of this celestial pool."

"I wanted to seize this opportunity—maybe my cultivation would skyrocket, and I’d reach the Emperor Realm."

"Then I could finally teach that ugly bastard Long Wuqi a proper lesson!"

"Damn it, he’s hideous and can’t even take a joke. Isn’t that infuriating?"

It was clear that even after thousands of years, Lie Zhankuang’s hatred for Long Wuqi hadn’t diminished—if anything, it had only grown stronger.

"Alright, I get it—you’re bitter. Can we focus on the matter at hand?" Chen Chang'an said helplessly.

"The matter at hand is that after all these years, aside from this stone chamber, I’ve found nothing."

"Such a tiny place, and I’ve been stuck here for so long. Don’t you think that’s frustrating?" Lie Zhankuang grumbled.

Just this one stone chamber?

"So… have you not taken a shit all these years?"

The sudden shift in topic left Lie Zhankuang momentarily stunned.

Shit?

What shit?

What does that have to do with anything?

But he quickly caught on and glared at Chen Chang'an. "I haven’t eaten anything in all this time—what would I even shit out?"

"Besides, with my level of cultivation, how could my body produce such filthy waste?"

For powerful cultivators, most no longer needed to eat. Absorbing spiritual energy from the world was enough to sustain them—in fact, it was far more efficient.

Even if they did consume food, it would be directly converted into energy, leaving no waste behind.

Chen Chang'an’s question was clearly meant to tease him.

"However, over the years, I have noticed something interesting."

"Every six months, the spiritual energy here surges dramatically."

"The density is so intense that even I find it astonishing."

"But I’ve never been able to locate the source."

"I’ve even dived into the celestial pool when the barrier weakened briefly, but it wasn’t there."

"I suspect there’s somewhere I haven’t discovered yet," Lie Zhankuang said seriously.

Suspect?

Wasn’t that obvious?

Still, the spiritual energy at the bottom of the celestial pool was incredibly dense. Even without the surges, Chen Chang'an could sense it was two or three times stronger than above.

Unfortunately, Chen Chang'an’s body could no longer absorb spiritual energy—otherwise, he might have discovered something.

"By the way, why did you hide when I came in earlier?"

"And why is there a separate stone wall in this chamber?" Chen Chang'an asked, eyeing Lie Zhankuang.

"Someone suddenly barged in—no ordinary person can enter this place. I thought that bastard Long Wuqi had finally tracked me down."

"As for the stone wall, it was already here when I arrived. But there’s nothing to it—I’ve checked it thoroughly."

Checked it?

Chen Chang'an believed Lie Zhankuang wasn’t lying, but that didn’t mean his inspection was foolproof.

This wasn’t just about ability—it was about intelligence.

And clearly, Lie Zhankuang lacked it.

Under Lie Zhankuang’s disdainful gaze, Chen Chang'an walked behind the stone wall.

The space there was small—only two meters wide and three meters long. It seemed pointless, but often, the most useless-looking things held the key to the mystery.

"You still don’t believe me? See? There’s nothing here," Lie Zhankuang grumbled as he followed.

He took Chen Chang'an’s skepticism as an insult.

If he hadn’t found anything in thousands of years, how could Chen Chang'an possibly uncover anything?

Then Chen Chang'an reached out and touched the left and right walls—suddenly, his hand sank straight into the stone.

Chen Chang'an paused, then turned to give Lie Zhankuang a smug look.

"This… no way. Impossible!"

"I’ve touched this spot countless times—why…?"

Lie Zhankuang was utterly dumbfounded. Why?

Was it discrimination?

Did the stone wall hate him?

Did it only respond to Chen Chang'an’s touch?

"Must be a fluke. Let me try."

Refusing to accept it, Lie Zhankuang stepped forward and touched the same spot.

"What the hell?!"

"Why?!"

He was completely baffled. While Chen Chang'an’s hand remained submerged in the wall, Lie Zhankuang’s touch met solid stone.

"Must be the position. Move your hand—let me try your spot."

"Sure, go ahead."

Chen Chang'an chuckled and withdrew his hand.

But the result was the same—Lie Zhankuang’s hand still met unyielding stone.

"Damn it! Why?!"

"I just want to know—why?!"

"Why can you do it, but I can’t?!" Lie Zhankuang fumed.

"Because I’m better-looking," Chen Chang'an replied with a faint smile.

Huh?

Better-looking?

Lie Zhankuang wasn’t bad himself—he was quite handsome. But compared to Chen Chang'an, he fell short.

"Fine, I’ll admit you’re slightly more handsome."

"At least we’re both better-looking than that bastard Long Wuqi."

Hearing this, Chen Chang'an couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Did he really have to bring that up every time?

"This is probably a barrier disguised as a stone wall."

"Since you can’t pass through, it feels like solid stone to you."

"But barriers don’t work on me, so I can go through—you can’t," Chen Chang'an explained.

"Fine, go ahead. I’ll wait here."

"Giving up so easily? Shouldn’t you be throwing a tantrum and trying to break the barrier?" Chen Chang'an asked, amused. This wasn’t like Lie Zhankuang at all.

"Crazy my ass. I've been crazy for years, and no one knows the strength of this barrier better than I do."

"Hurry up and go in already. Stop wasting time here—I’m dying to know what secrets this place holds," Lie Zhankuang urged impatiently.

"Fine, I’ll head in first. You wait outside."

"Got it!"