My Sexy CEO Wife-Chapter 163 - 162: Journey to Kunlun (Part 5)

"I'm not dead?"

Gao Fei looked at himself with a face full of surprise. He was still standing in front of the bronze gate, his hand still resting on it, only that the peculiar chill had disappeared...

"Creak..."

The tightly shut bronze gate suddenly began to open slowly. He instinctively wanted to pull his hand back, and this time there was no resistance; his hand easily separated from the bronze gate.

As the bronze gate opened, it revealed a pitch-black space.

Gao Fei stood at the entrance, frowning tightly.

What on earth was going on?

After calming down and thinking it through, Gao Fei remembered that his hand had been stuck to the bronze gate as soon as he touched it. Then, a cold air surged from it, freezing his body solid, and then that cold air rushed into his head, and next... he passed out...

Afterward, Gao Fei found himself lying in a coffin, then saw his parents and Su Xiaorou, among others... Finally, he chose self-destruction, to perish together with those monsters...

Gao Fei had thought he was dead, but who knew... he had been revived...

As things were figured out bit by bit, Gao Fei gradually had some ideas. From beginning to end, he had never left the ancient tomb, and all that he saw— the coffins, his parents, Su Xiaorou, and others— were all illusions, very realistic hallucinations. Perhaps this was a test? A test to see if he would abandon his parents and escape alone? Different choices would lead to different consequences?

Now it seems, I probably made the right choice, and then I woke up.

This was the only explanation so far.

"Incredible, unfathomable! Unbelievable!" Gao Fei used three idioms to express his feelings at that moment. After being "ambushed" by the bronze gate once, Gao Fei became cautious, no longer daring to take risks lightly.

This ancient tomb was very peculiar, with many unknowns, and a slight oversight could lead to irredeemable disaster.

To increase his cultivation, he had to take some risks.

With the bronze gate open and the mysterious power gone, Clairvoyance had found its use again. He pushed Clairvoyance to the limit and started examining the interior of the bronze gate.

"What is this..." Gao Fei was stunned: "So many palaces... This... This is simply..." Gao Fei thought for a long time but couldn't find the right word to describe it.

Behind the bronze gate was a huge underground square, on which stood many palaces, all built of stone—majestic, grand, and awe-inspiring!

Building palaces a hundred meters deep underground, and so many of them, what was the purpose?

Gao Fei couldn't figure it out, "Let's go in and see." After calming his emotions, he stepped through the bronze gate and walked a few dozens of meters, encountering a palace with a plaque hanging above the entrance bearing several ancient characters!

Indecipherable! The text was too profound and entirely incomprehensible.

Gao Fei activated Clairvoyance, intending to examine the interior of the palace, but to his frustration... the exterior walls of the palace were filled with a mysterious power that blocked his probing.

It was indeed frustrating to say the least; ever since entering the ancient tomb, Gao Fei's Clairvoyance had been constantly suppressed, a truly unpleasant feeling.

For Gao Fei, who habitually relied on Clairvoyance, its sudden loss of function was disconcerting, uncomfortable, and irritating.

"If only I knew the meaning of the characters on the plaque," Gao Fei mused to himself. "Right, Xia Tao gave me a super-powerful satellite phone, didn't he? It's said to receive signals even deep in the ocean, I wonder if it works here." Gao Fei took out a sleek little phone from his pocket, about half the size of his palm, black, the screen taking up half the device.

He shook it slightly, then smiled, "There really is a signal, though it's weak, but it should be enough to make a call." Saying this, Gao Fei quickly dialed a number.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The phone rang twice before the call connected.

"Mr. Gao?" Xia Tao's voice came from the phone.

"Old Xia, is everything okay outside?"

"All is normal!"

"Old Xia, I've run into a bit of a situation here and need your help."

"What's the situation?"

"I've encountered some ancient text, unrecognizable. I'll take a picture with my phone and send it to you, can you help me identify what it means?"

"Okay, I can do that." Xia Tao agreed readily.

Gao Fei hung up, then accessed the camera function and began photographing the palace's plaque. After capturing the images, he sent them to Xia Tao.

After waiting for about two minutes, Gao Fei received a text message from Xia Tao. He opened it and saw it contained five characters: "Hall of Grand Supreme Elderly Lord." What? This is the Hall of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord? The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was a very famous immortal character in ancient mythology, best known for refining elixirs, with a high status in the Immortal Realm.

"The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord is a legendary figure; whether he actually exists is unknown to anyone."

"What is the purpose of building a hall for the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord here? Could it be for paying homage to him?"

"What secrets are hidden inside the palace?"

...

Curiosity filled Gao Fei's mind: "Let's go inside and see." After being fooled by the bronze gate once, Gao Fei had learned his lesson and no longer dared to touch things randomly. He took out a coin from his pocket and flicked it.

"Whoosh!"

The coin transformed into a shooting star and flew directly toward the palace gates.

"Ding-dang!"

When the coin struck the palace doors, it emitted a crisp, pleasant sound, "Gaga gaga..." To Gao Fei's surprise, the doors to the palace opened effortlessly.

What frustrated Gao Fei was that even after the doors opened, he still couldn't see clearly inside the palace. Whenever he activated his Clairvoyance, a mysterious power would emerge within the palace, completely blocking his line of sight.

After a brief hesitation, Gao Fei stepped forward and walked into the palace.

The interior space of the palace was vast, with a high platform in the center. Atop the platform stood a statue, wearing a Taoist Robe, with kind eyes and a benevolent expression, holding a horsetail whisk, and its facial features were carved with striking realism.

"Hmm, it bears a striking resemblance to the legendary Taishang Laojun," Gao Fei observed the statue for a long time before nodding, "The craftsmanship is impressive, very lifelike."

"Eh?"

"There's something strange about Taishang Laojun's horsetail whisk in his hand."

"I can clearly feel the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy."

...

After observing for a while, Gao Fei discovered that the horsetail whisk in Taishang Laojun's hand was made from a kind of metal. As for what type of metal it was, Gao Fei couldn't tell.

"Never mind, I'll first absorb the Spiritual Energy from the whisk." Gao Fei sat cross-legged on the ground, silently recited the spell, and began to absorb the Spiritual Energy from the whisk.

Threads of Spiritual Energy drifted out from the whisk and then turned into fine streams that entered Gao Fei's body. After circulating through his Meridians, the energy entered his Dantian... As the Spiritual Energy continued to pour in, Gao Fei's cultivation started to increase bit by bit.

Several hours later.

Gao Fei's body shook as he reached the Fifth Layer of the Inedia Stage.

Another hour passed.

Gao Fei finally opened his eyes and then broke into a broad smile, "To enter the Fifth Layer of the Inedia Stage so quickly, this Cultivation Speed is really too fast." Gao Fei stood up and began to search meticulously within the palace, hoping to find a few more items containing Spiritual Energy. Unfortunately...

after searching through the entire palace, he did not discover a second item rich with Spiritual Energy.

In the end, Gao Fei could only leave, disappointed.

A few minutes later, Gao Fei encountered a second palace, equally magnificent and awe-inspiring. He took a photo of the inscription on the plaque with his phone and sent it to Xia Tao. After waiting a few minutes, Gao Fei received a text message from Xia Tao.

"Hall of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable."

"Is this the palace of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable?"

"Another famous mythological figure!"

In terms of status, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable is almost on par with Taishang Laojun; both are representative figures of Taoism.

"Pfft!"

Gao Fei flicked another coin, and just like before, after being struck by the coin, the palace doors automatically opened, and Gao Fei walked in without hesitation.

In the center of the palace, there stood a high platform, and on it was another statue dressed in a Taoist Robe, with white hair and eyebrows, a smile on its face, and holding a Jade Token in both hands. There was no need to ask; this was the statue of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

The carving was so lifelike it seemed almost real.

Gao Fei's gaze was quickly drawn to the Jade Token in the hands of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, for he could feel a surge of pure Spiritual Energy radiating from it.

Another exquisite item!

Gao Fei sat down calmly and began to absorb the Spiritual Energy from the Jade Token after reciting the spell silently.

Several hours later.

Gao Fei concluded his cultivation, though he seemed not quite satisfied, "My cultivation has advanced to the peak of the Fifth Layer of the Inedia Stage... It was just a little short of reaching the Sixth Layer... Just a tiny bit short..."

Just as Gao Fei was preparing to break through to the Sixth Layer of the Inedia Stage, the Spiritual Energy within the Jade Token abruptly ran out. It felt to Gao Fei as though... a man walking in the desert, upon seeing an oasis and rushing toward it to drink his fill, suddenly collapses to the ground, exhausted... The oasis within sight, yet tantalizingly out of reach...

He found the feeling utterly vexing.

Gao Fei stood up, searched the entire palace inside and out, and after finding nothing, turned and left the palace.

...

In the time that followed.

Gao Fei entered several more palaces: the palace of the Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Venerable, the palace of the Goddess Nüwa, the palace of the Great God Pangu, the palace of the Jade Emperor, and even the palace of Buddha Tathagata...

Each palace had a high platform, and on each platform was a statue carved so vividly, it seemed as if it might come to life.

Within these palaces, Gao Fei's gains were considerable.

The Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Venerable held a gourd, Goddess Nüwa held a colorful stone, Great God Pangu wielded an axe, the Jade Emperor held a Jade Ruyi, and Buddha Tathagata was clasping a string of Buddha Beads...