Chapter Forty-One: The Cavern of Coiled Strings

In the blink of an eye, the celestial crane had already flown to the mountain range near Panxian Cave. Wei Yu glanced at the forest below, where ancient trees soared and strange rocks rose sharply. She said, “We should land earlier. The area ahead is desolate; since it's a forbidden place, we must avoid being seen. Caution is best.”

Both companions agreed with her. The celestial crane descended gently. The Supreme Young Lord stroked its feathers and patted its back, saying, “Go on now. And don’t tell anyone you’ve been out playing!” The crane seemed to understand; it rubbed its long neck against his face, then let out a long cry and soared into the clouds, gradually vanishing from sight.

Hua Sheng, Wei Yu, and the Supreme Young Lord followed the winding path along the mountainside. After a short distance, the trail became increasingly cluttered with soil, stones, and weeds, soon making the way almost impossible to discern.

They relied on intuition, venturing deeper into the forest. The path grew steeper, and before long, they found themselves hemmed in by dense trees, with no way forward.

“It should be nearby. Shall I fly up and take a look?” The Supreme Young Lord rose on his cloud, floating low to survey the area.

“Since Panxian Cave is a forbidden place, it certainly wouldn’t be an obvious opening. I'm afraid nothing can be found from above,” Wei Yu replied.

Indeed, the Supreme Young Lord soon landed and said, “All I see is dense forest, no sign of any cave. By rights, it should be here. Strange—could it be hidden by magic?”

“Should we try searching over the mountain?” Hua Sheng suggested.

“If we search like that, we may spend days and nights without finding it. Most likely, the entrance is concealed by a barrier; unless we locate the precise spot, we could walk right past and never notice,” Wei Yu said.

“How about I try a navigation map?” The Supreme Young Lord produced the Ruihua Treasure Mirror.

Both Hua Sheng and Wei Yu said in unison, “Are you joking?”

The Supreme Young Lord, unwilling to give up, searched the mirror but found nothing and had to abandon the idea.

“Quiet, you two,” Wei Yu raised her right hand. “Let me try.”

She closed her eyes, sweeping her palm through the air as if searching. After a long while, the Supreme Young Lord grew impatient, about to speak, when Wei Yu pointed in a direction, saying, “This way!”

“Wait, are you some kind of radar?” the Supreme Young Lord asked in amazement. “How did you sense it?”

“Panxian Cave holds vast energy strings. When these unformed energy strings accumulate, some inevitably vibrate. Any vibration causes spatial ripples—though the energy strings make no sound, they generate waves. Have you heard of gravitational waves? By detecting these spacetime ripples, we can find Panxian Cave. But our world is permeated by many gravitational waves—eliminating interference took time,” Wei Yu explained, striding forward.

Hua Sheng and the Supreme Young Lord exchanged puzzled glances, each reading confusion in the other's eyes.

Wei Yu glanced back at them. “This is knowledge from centuries ago! What did you two learn at the Academy?”

The Supreme Young Lord said, “Fine, but how can you detect things invisible to the eye? This technique is amazing—when did you learn it?”

“Self-taught,” Wei Yu replied curtly.

“Great Immortal, perhaps you could teach it someday!” The Supreme Young Lord seemed deeply curious about this so-called gravitational wave.

A short walk later, Wei Yu suddenly halted.

“What is it?” Hua Sheng asked.

Wei Yu, eyes closed, confirmed with her palm. “We’re here,” she whispered.

Yet all around them was dense, dark green forest—no cave entrance in sight.

The Supreme Young Lord stepped forward, probing the air. “Nothing here; the surrounding plants are not illusions. This concealment surpasses mere illusion-level magic.”

“If it were so easily penetrated, it’d be no different from leaving it uncovered,” Wei Yu said.

She pressed her hands together, making a forward-thrusting gesture. Electric sparks flashed around her palms, tearing the air like a curtain; behind this invisible veil, a black cave appeared.

“This... Is this Celestial-level magic? What spell is that?” The Supreme Young Lord gaped. “No wonder you’re a Registrar of the Disciples’ Association! Incredible!”

“Quick, get inside! This spatial fissure won’t last long—it’ll heal itself soon.” Wei Yu entered, beckoning the others like lifting a curtain.

“How do we get out later?” Hua Sheng asked anxiously.

“If Wei Yu can get us in, she surely can get us out,” the Supreme Young Lord replied, ever carefree.

Inside the cave, they could barely see their hands before their faces. Using the Light Manipulation Technique, they illuminated their fingertips, finding themselves in a vast, pitch-black space with no visible boundaries. Hua Sheng tried to brighten his light, but no amount of luminosity revealed any wall.

“How big is this cave? There’s no roof or sides!”

“It’s not that the cave is huge—the walls simply don’t reflect light. The light is swallowed, leaving no reflection,” the Supreme Young Lord said.

Hua Sheng reached out, walking a few steps until he touched a hard, wall-like surface—utterly black, nothing visible.

“Let me try to pass through.” Reciting the Wall-Passing Spell, Hua Sheng probed forward but was bounced back by a soft, repelling force, nearly tumbling over.

“If the walls absorb light, it stands to reason that even Mystic-level spells can’t penetrate them,” the Supreme Young Lord said. “This cave is not naturally formed—it’s an array.”

“How do we proceed? Floating in darkness, we’re like blind men, likely to bump into walls.”

“Let me try.” Wei Yu pointed ahead, sending a thin, high-intensity beam of light from her index finger. “If the beam shoots straight, there’s a path ahead. If it shortens, it means we’re near a wall.”

Hua Sheng thought the light seemed familiar. “Is this like a laser beam?”

“You have many unique skills, Wei Yu—did you learn them all outside class?” The Supreme Young Lord marveled at the laser. “But we must be careful; if the cave twists and turns, anyone rounding a corner might appear invisible. We shouldn’t stray too far from each other.”

Panxian Cave was unlike ordinary caves; there were no signs of life, nor cold dampness. As the Supreme Young Lord had said, its structure was not of nature. They walked for about a quarter of an hour when a faint green glow appeared in the distance.

Hua Sheng felt a chill run down his back, as if he were in the underworld. He was grateful to have two masters of celestial arts beside him; otherwise, his steps would have been weighed down a hundredfold. Yet, he reminded himself that this forbidden cave was unknown to all—who knew what dangers might await?

Lost in thought, Hua Sheng was startled when Wei Yu, leading the way, withdrew her beam of light and raised a hand, stopping them.

“Quiet! It seems we’re near the bottom of Panxian Cave.”

At a bend ahead, Hua Sheng and the Supreme Young Lord crept forward, peering around the corner.

Beyond, the cave’s only source of light revealed a dreamlike scene: a towering Bodhi tree stood at the center. Its immense size made the cave seem even vaster.

The dense leaves glowed fluorescent green, and a sparkling fruit hung at the very top.

“That must be the Time Bodhi,” Hua Sheng whispered.

“I’d wager the same,” the Supreme Young Lord replied. “It’s quiet here—no guards. Perhaps we could simply climb up and pick the Time Bodhi.”

Wei Yu was more cautious, studying the tree. “I don’t think it’s so simple. See how the ground around the Bodhi is covered in a network of glowing lines—there’s something more here.”

As she said, the Time Bodhi tree stood at the heart of a giant spiderweb, encircled by rings of glowing strands, all sharing the leaves’ fluorescent green hue. Though the threads were not vividly bright, a keen eye could discern them. From afar, the ancient tree seemed to float in a starless night, radiating mysterious allure.

“The web below must be energy strings. It’s my first time seeing them—quite beautiful,” the Supreme Young Lord said, ever fearless. “Let me greet it!”

Before Hua Sheng could stop him, the Supreme Young Lord was already airborne, landing atop the spiderweb-like energy strings. The cave remained silent.

He walked across the strings, testing them with a few steps and jumps, finding nothing amiss.

“Seems fine! Come over!” he called.

Wei Yu, cautious, said to Hua Sheng, “I’ll go first. If nothing happens, you follow.”

She stepped onto the web, finding it equally uneventful. After pacing a few steps, she nodded to Hua Sheng.

Feeling reassured, Hua Sheng stepped forward. But as his foot touched the energy string, the threads began to tremble, accompanied by the sound of plucked strings—sharp and startling in the silent cave, nearly scaring him out of his wits.

“What’s happening?” The Supreme Young Lord crouched to inspect his and Wei Yu’s feet—the strings beneath them hadn’t moved. But under Hua Sheng, the strings quivered and produced the sound.

Startled, Hua Sheng placed his other foot down, provoking another round of string vibrations. The entire web began to sway gently. Previously, the strings seemed like painted patterns; now, they acted as a suspended bridge, causing both the Supreme Young Lord and Wei Yu to bob up and down.

“Stop, stop!” the Supreme Young Lord called to Hua Sheng. “Please, Master Hua, don’t move!”

Wei Yu said, “It seems this web can’t support mortals. Hua Sheng, try the Cloud Riding Technique—see if you can float above, avoiding the strings.”

Hua Sheng formed a seal and chanted, but it failed. “Could the spell be sealed?” he cried.

The Supreme Young Lord looked around. “No, it’s not sealed. The array here is too strong—clouds can’t enter the cave, so there’s nothing to ride.”

“Hua Sheng, stay put. Let the two of us fetch the Time Bodhi,” Wei Yu said.

Hua Sheng steadied himself, grateful he’d only moved two steps. It would be easier to retreat once they secured the fruit.

“Watch as I pick the Bodhi!” The Supreme Young Lord leapt toward the tree. But as he neared it, his figure vanished midair!

Hua Sheng quickly scanned around for him; sure enough, the Supreme Young Lord appeared behind him, landing on the strings not far away.

He looked baffled. “Is this a joke? How am I back here? I’m getting tired of this!”

“Could it be a ghost wall?” Hua Sheng asked, recalling tales of people lost in the wilderness, unable to escape certain places.

“Don’t be ridiculous—no ghost wall can trap a deity like me.”

He was right. Such spells, even advanced, were only beginner-level illusions, barely Mystic-grade—a ghost wall trapping a celestial was laughable, especially one of his caliber.

Hua Sheng said, “Try again, Supreme Young Lord.”

“Again?”

“Yes! Maybe you’ll find a way to break it.”

“I’ve already tried a dozen times,” he replied.

“A dozen?” Hua Sheng was perplexed. “Wei Yu and I only saw you run once.”

“I ran toward the tree five times, away from it six times, then from the outside back toward the tree. Approaching the Bodhi puts me back on the web’s outer side; moving outward brings me back here.”

Hua Sheng was bewildered. “Every time you run, you pass us? I didn’t see it, and you only disappeared for a couple of seconds.”

“Every time, I passed you. Last time you said I’d only run once, and you had me draw a line on your palm to count. Check your hand.”

Hua Sheng raised his right hand—just as expected, there was no mark. He checked his left hand, nothing. Displaying both hands, he said, “See? Nothing.”

The Supreme Young Lord showed surprise, hurriedly examining Hua Sheng’s hands. “Strange! I definitely drew a black line.”

“Are you hallucinating?”

He slapped his own face. “Impossible.”

Wei Yu suddenly spoke. “Supreme Young Lord, are you sure you ran back and forth many times?”

“Absolutely.”

“Each time you passed, did our expressions change?”

“No, nothing odd. Oh, if anything, I got tired, but you two didn’t seem to notice anything strange. Last time, Hua Sheng said I’d only run once, just like now.”

“And when you weren’t on the web, did you see anything peculiar?”

“There was a short passage—a few steps ahead was light. Going forward brings me back here.”

“It occurs to me—could it be that we’re in an array, a place where time shifts? Each person running back and forth returns to a moment a short time before, about the span of a cup of tea.”

“What you say makes sense. Could this be a time wormhole?” The Supreme Young Lord put his hands behind his head. “Are we going to be trapped here?”

“Let me try!” Wei Yu walked toward the Bodhi tree. As she approached, her hand was repelled as if by an electric wall. Startled, she tried again; her palm was surrounded by currents in the air. Sliding her hand along, it was as if a vertical river blocked her, rippling with electric waves. Though it felt soft like water, no matter her effort, she couldn’t penetrate the electric barrier.

After several attempts, she gave up. “No luck—I can’t get through.” She walked to the web’s edge, but unlike the Supreme Young Lord, she easily stepped out, returning to the bend where they’d entered.

“This array responds differently to each of us. Hua Sheng, perhaps you should try?” the Supreme Young Lord said.

“I’m willing, but I’m stuck on the strings—any movement makes noise and the ground sways. If I move quickly, it could cause a collapse,” Hua Sheng replied.

The Supreme Young Lord crouched before him, palms stacked. “Try stepping on my hands; I’ll toss you over.”

“Good idea!” Hua Sheng leapt, placing his foot on the Supreme Young Lord’s hands. With a forceful throw, Hua Sheng flew toward the Bodhi tree.

Midair, he heard Wei Yu call from behind, “Supreme Young Lord, if he hits an electric net like I did, aren’t you afraid he’ll be electrocuted like a bug?”

“That’s a valid point!” the Supreme Young Lord replied, unhurried.

Unlike their calmness, Hua Sheng, once confident, now shouted as he flew, “Hey! Why didn’t you warn me sooner?”

Too late—he couldn’t dodge, tumbling forward.

Luckily, he didn’t encounter an electric wall, but disappeared midair like the Supreme Young Lord, reappearing across from them, dropping heavily onto the ground. Perhaps due to the sudden fall, the Supreme Young Lord couldn’t catch him in time, and Hua Sheng landed hard.

With a dull thud, the energy strings vibrated violently. The once-solid ground heaved like a waterbed; Wei Yu and the Supreme Young Lord scrambled to keep their balance. Meanwhile, the strings, as if plucked by a wild, unskilled musician, emitted a cacophony of harsh sounds.

“I saw strange visions passing through the tunnel,” Hua Sheng said, clutching his head.

“What did you see?” the Supreme Young Lord asked.

“I saw a stormy night, walking on a cruise ship deck, ahead were two girls in white dresses. One had a badly wounded eye, her face covered in blood...” Hua Sheng recalled, his headache worsening.

“What else?” Wei Yu pressed.

“I can’t remember—not like now, just images that flashed in my mind as I passed through. I don’t know why, but my head hurts terribly!” His mind held only a few slide-like images, no details.

As the strings resonated, more threads vibrated. Unlike before, the once-still strings now quivered in patterns. They detached from the ground, transforming into countless fine, short fibers. These “hair-like” strands continued to break and vibrate, filling the cave’s center with glowing green tufts.

“Disaster! If the energy strings disperse and vibrate, they’ll become elementary particles!” Wei Yu exclaimed.

“What will happen then?” The Supreme Young Lord struggled to keep upright amid the swaying.

“Elementary particles form quarks, protons, neutrons, then combine into atoms and molecules. It means the energy strings have absorbed the vibration’s energy and are now turning into matter—but what kind, I can’t say!”

“I meant to ask—if there’s a giant spiderweb, why haven’t we seen a giant spider?” the Supreme Young Lord said.

“Oh, don’t jinx it!” Hua Sheng, as the weakest of the three, certainly didn’t want that prophecy fulfilled, especially not with a terrifying spider.

The floating fluorescent green tufts inevitably attracted and entangled, organizing themselves rapidly.

Soon, as the Supreme Young Lord had predicted, a gigantic hairy wolf spider appeared, its size surpassing all three combined, with a gaping maw and blood-red eyes!