Meanwhile, Li Ling had already ventured deep into the Dead Swamp. Looking at the enormous tree roots that stretched as far as the eye could see, Li Ling had never seen such a colossal tree before.
Li Ling did not linger under the tree. Instead, he rode his magical artifact straight up the giant tree. Although the ancient tree was surrounded by miasma, it could not stop Li Ling in the slightest.
Even if you flew, you would probably be tens of thousands of meters high, but all you could see was an endless wooden wall, seemingly without end.
Occasionally, a branch will extend from the ancient tree, stretching out to an unknown distance, as if the ancient tree has spread its branches and leaves.
At this moment, Li Ling noticed a deep ligature mark on the extremely wide tree trunk. The width of the tree trunk was already terrifying, but although the ligature mark was not as astonishing as the tree trunk, it was still more than ten meters wide, leaving a mark several meters deep on the ancient tree. A foul stench also emanated from the mark.
Li Ling couldn't help but reveal a nostalgic smile, thinking to himself, "This should be what the Blackwater Serpent left behind. It seems that, just as the original story said, it was indeed attracted by the treasures of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury. It really is an old acquaintance."
Ten years ago, Li Ling had the courage to face this ancient beast. Now, Li Ling's cultivation level is far higher than it was back then, so what is there to be afraid of? However, guessing that the Black Water Serpent might appear nearby, Li Ling was still much more cautious.
After flying for an unknown amount of time, the unchanging trees in front of him suddenly opened up into a wide field of vision. Li Ling had already passed over the tree trunks and flown to the top of this truly towering ancient tree.
Amidst a riot of vibrant flowers, a magnificent and ancient stone gate stands tall. Above the gate are the four large characters: "Heavenly Emperor's Treasury."
------------
Chapter 372: The Heavenly Book Acquired
Li Ling arrived at the stone gate, gently touched the ancient stone gate, and exerted force, but the stone gate did not budge. He thought to himself, "According to the original work, the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault is opened by the phenomena of heaven and earth. Now is not the time for the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault to be opened."
"But even when that time comes, I can't guarantee that the third volume of the 'Heavenly Book' will fall into my hands..."
Thinking of this, Li Ling's heart stirred, and with two 'whoosh' sounds, the Dragon Slayer Sword and the Qiankun Sword were drawn from their sheaths at the same time. Then, the swords spun rapidly, like drills, and landed on the stone door.
With a series of 'plop plop whooshing' sounds, stone chips flew everywhere from the stone door of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault. After a while, the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault, which had withstood the impact of the Black Water Serpent for so long, was finally broken open by Li Ling.
A hole large enough for a person to enter and exit has appeared ahead. The principle behind it is simply breaking through a surface from a point, coupled with a strong drilling ability.
Li Ling entered the stone cave. In front of him was a pitch-black environment. Apart from a few glimmers of light coming through the broken stone door behind him, this huge hall, known as the 'Heavenly Emperor's Treasury,' was only illuminated by that extremely faint beam of light from the front.
The small beam of light ahead was a dazzling display of seven colors, and it also brought the scene inside the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury into view.
As it is called the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury, its area is naturally extremely vast. What is even more surprising is that this Heavenly Emperor's Treasury seems to have been created by heaven and earth, purely formed by the natural growth of the trunk and body of the towering ancient tree underfoot.
Inside, countless intertwined tree trunks form an extremely flat ground and walls, and the surrounding area is extremely spacious. The most striking feature, however, is the platform in front, which is entirely supported by trees.
On that platform, an antique wooden cup was placed flat, and inside it was a shallow, crystal-clear liquid. In the center of the liquid, a small pebble was gently floating on it, and the seven-colored light came from there.
The Heavenly Emperor's Treasury contained only this one treasure, which seemed extremely meager, yet one could imagine how astonishing its value was.
Li Ling walked slowly forward, frowning as he looked at the stone emitting a mysterious light. This object had attracted the attention of ancient beasts like the Blackwater Serpent and the Yellow Bird. In the original story, it caused the Three-Eyed Monkey to unleash its power, but Li Ling didn't know what effect it had on humans.
Sometimes you can't just eat anything. Didn't you see what happened to Lei Zhenzi when he ate whatever he wanted? Even though he had powerful supernatural abilities, Li Ling had no intention of imitating him.
Even so, Li Ling decided to get his hands on it first. He reached out to grab the wooden cup, but as if sensing someone's greed, the pebbles inside the cup suddenly shone brightly, blocking Li Ling's arm from the light barrier.
"Hey! What a spiritual treasure!" Li Ling couldn't help but exclaim. He then channeled his spiritual energy into his hands, and the golden light on the wooden cup became even more dazzling, illuminating the entire stone chamber in a magnificent golden glow.
As the golden light flowed by, lines of small characters slowly appeared on the wall. It was the very thing that Li Ling had been most eager to obtain when he came to the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury: the Heavenly Book!
Li Ling had already held the liquid and pebbles in his hand. He hesitated for a long time, looking at the liquid, but did not taste it. Instead, he began to carefully read the contents of the "Heavenly Book". In just a short while, he had memorized the contents of the "Heavenly Book".
The Heavenly Book has five volumes, and Li Ling now possesses four of them, only lacking the final volume from Tianyin Temple.
"hold head high!!"
Just then, a furious roar came from not far away.
Accompanied by this familiar roar, the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury suddenly began to shake violently as if an earthquake had struck, with countless tree branches falling from the top.
A shadow flashed by, and a terrifying vertical pupil suddenly appeared in the hole carved out by Li Ling's sword. This single pupil completely filled the hole, revealing boundless coldness and anger.
At this moment, the Blackwater Serpent, which had suddenly appeared, was already surrounded by boundless rage.
I have been in this Heavenly Emperor's Treasury for a long time, and I have been relentlessly attacking it every day. I was about to get my hands on the treasures inside, but just now I went out to hunt for food because I was hungry. When I returned, I found that someone had beaten me to it.
Especially when he saw that the guy inside the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury looked familiar, the thought of it made the wound from ten years ago seem to start to ache again, causing the Black Water Serpent to hiss again.
"hold head high!!"
Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with hatred, especially now that this enemy wants to ruin his plans once again! The killing intent within the Black Water Serpent's vertical pupils was so intense that it almost materialized.
The pupils suddenly moved away from the stone cave, then suddenly rushed closer. With a loud 'thud,' the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury shook and rattled, knocking down countless trees. The entire Heavenly Emperor's Treasury seemed to begin to deform.
"Hmph, courting death!" Li Ling sneered upon seeing this. He was no longer the little guy who had just broken through to the first level of Shangqing ten years ago. He casually cast a spell, and a huge ball of flame shot towards the enormous pupil.
"Aww!"
A shrill scream rang out. The Black Water Serpent's body was as hard as diamond, but its eyes were quite vulnerable. When it was hit by this ball of flame, it let out another miserable cry.
The black water serpent's pupils vanished instantly outside the cave. The next moment, a crimson forked tongue shot in, rushing towards Li Ling. At the same time, a black, foul-smelling liquid rushed towards him along with the forked tongue.
"cut!"
Li Ling drew his Dragon-Slaying Sword and slashed at the snake's tongue. The Black Water Serpent cried out in pain as a piece of its tongue was severed by Li Ling, and a large spurt of black venom gushed out.
Regardless of what lay inside, the Blackwater Serpent then spewed out another large mouthful of venom, the continuous stream of venom turning the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury into a highly poisonous place.
Although Li Ling was not afraid of the venom with his skill, staying here was not a good choice. So Li Ling once again turned the Dragon Slayer Sword and the Qiankun Sword into electric drills and quickly spun them on the wall of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury.
With a buzzing sound, the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault, having lost the golden light of the spiritual liquid and pebbles, had become much less solid. Li Ling quickly created a gap in it and then flew away on his sword.
Before long, the Black Water Serpent seemed to have discovered that Li Ling had left the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury. It roared and bypassed the treasury. Amidst the creaking and groaning of the ancient trees, which were struggling to bear the weight, it charged towards Li Ling, who was now far away from the treasury.
"Hmph, you beast, do you think I'm afraid of you? I'm not the same person I was ten years ago!" Seeing the Black Water Serpent relentlessly pursuing him, a ruthless glint flashed in Li Ling's eyes.
------------