Chapter 265

Chapter 265

Iron Granny was once a maid serving beside Su Molan's mother.

It is said that when Su Yijie was young, she encountered Iron Granny as a nearly starving child on the roadside during one of her outings for training. She brought her back to the valley.

Iron Granny was an orphan, with no knowledge of her parents. She was abandoned in a dilapidated temple at birth and survived thanks to the kindness of an old beggar who fed her some rice porridge. After the old beggar died, she managed to survive until the age of five by eating irregularly. One day, driven by hunger, she ran onto the street to snatch a steamed bun and was severely beaten and left by the roadside.

Fortunately, Su Yijie passed by at that moment; otherwise, Iron Granny would have died from hunger and injuries.

After bringing Iron Granny back to the Pleiades Valley, Su Yijie entrusted her care to the servants of the valley.

Initially, they planned to send the child to a nearby town after she recovered and find her a simple family to adopt her. However, it turned out that Iron Granny had the potential to cultivate, and her spirit root quality was not bad. Thus, Su Yijie took her under her wing and allowed her to train alongside the disciples of the Pleiades Valley.

Not long after Iron Granny began her cultivation, she learned that the Pleiades Valley was selecting maidservants. She volunteered to serve Su Yijie, taking care of her diligently.

As Iron Granny's cultivation progressed, Su Yijie officially admitted her into the Pleiades Valley as a disciple.

However, Iron Granny was grateful. She believed that without Su Yijie's life-saving and nurturing grace, she would not have achieved what she did. She always remembered this kindness and regarded Su Yijie as her mistress.

Later, when the Pleiades Valley was annihilated, Iron Granny fought fiercely against the black-clothed men to protect Su Yijie, who was giving birth at the time. The scars on her face were inflicted during that battle.

"Was Iron Granny's facial injury caused by poison?" Ning Yuzhou asked.

Su Molan nodded, her mood somewhat downcast. "The enemy who injured Granny used poison. It was very potent, but Granny focused on protecting Mother and couldn't attend to anything else. By the time everything settled down, the poison had already invaded her heart meridian. If not for her profound cultivation, which suppressed the poison, she might not have survived."

Although Iron Granny appeared normal most of the time, everyone knew that she was merely suppressing the poison with her cultivation and could not live much longer.

Over the years, due to the need to suppress the poison within her body, Iron Granny could not cultivate, leading to stagnation in her cultivation progress.

Her inability to break through would eventually cause her body to deteriorate and die.

Originally, Iron Granny could have sustained herself for a few more years, but this time, in order to resolve the threat posed by Elder Wan, the previously suppressed poison resurfaced. Additionally, Elder Wan inflicted a severe injury on her before his death, accelerating her physical decline and transforming her appearance into that of an elderly person.

"The poison in Granny's body is even more potent than the venom of the Black Devouring Scorpion. Ordinary detoxification pills are useless."

At this point, Su Molan's eyes welled up with tears, and her mood became heavy.

She knew that Ning Yuzhou and his companions possessed detoxification pills capable of neutralizing the venom of the Black Devouring Scorpion, but that did not mean those pills could cure Iron Granny's poison.

Over the years, while living with the Xiao family, she had thought about finding a cure for Iron Granny. However, she did not even know the type of poison that afflicted her, making it impossible to find a remedy. As for the heavenly treasures capable of detoxifying, they were beyond her reach, even if she knew about them.

Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou remained silent after hearing this.

They did not know the specifics of Iron Granny's condition and thus refrained from commenting. They decided to examine Iron Granny's condition after leaving Cangyun Peak if necessary.

As they spoke, another stone door appeared ahead, deep within the mountain.

Su Molan walked over and tossed out a token.

There was a groove on the door where the token fit perfectly. Su Molan flicked a drop of blood from her fingertip and made hand seals to unlock the restriction on the door.

The stone door creaked as it slowly slid open, revealing the scene inside.

Su Molan sighed in relief and said, "You two, this is our Su family's treasure chamber. You can go in."

Behind the stone door was a spacious stone chamber.

The chamber contained many shelves lined with various items, mostly pills, talismans, artifacts, and formations. Some were stored in jade boxes, while others were placed casually. At the end of the chamber was a staircase leading upward.

Su Molan explained, "This chamber has two levels. This level contains spiritual artifacts and various materials, while the upper level holds cultivation techniques and historical records."

The three of them ignored the items on this level and headed toward the staircase at the end.

The second level was smaller than the first, with fewer items displayed. Each shelf held something, such as stone slabs, bamboo slips, books, and jade slips. These items were protected by restrictions to prevent damage from prolonged exposure.

Su Molan said, "These all have restrictions. I don't know how to unlock them, but Iron Granny said that the Su family's bloodline is unaffected by these restrictions. If you want to examine them, I can help you retrieve them."

"No need," Ning Yuzhou replied, already standing in front of a stone slab.

Su Molan: "..."

When she saw Ning Yuzhou quickly make hand seals and personally retrieve the stone slab, she was speechless.

Wen Qiao patted her shoulder. "No need for your help. My husband can unlock restrictions; it just takes some time."

Su Molan: "...Alright, then you two can look around. I'll take a walk nearby."

Su Molan confidently left the two behind, exited the stone chamber, and went to inspect other treasure chambers.

This was a treasure chamber accessible only to the Su family's bloodline, whereas other areas were open to disciples of the Pleiades Valley. As the current head of the valley, Su Molan needed to familiarize herself with these places.

After Su Molan left, Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao began examining the various collections and historical records of the Su family.

In addition to historical records, there were cultivation techniques, but Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao did not touch those. Instead, they focused on the stone slabs and books used for recording information.

Ning Yuzhou handed the retrieved stone slab to Wen Qiao and continued unlocking the next one.

Wen Qiao held the stone slab and discovered that it was used to record text and contained inscriptions and accompanying illustrations. However, she found that she could not understand the text.

Wen Qiao: "..."

Suddenly rendered illiterate, Wen Qiao fell silent and carried the stone slab to Ning Yuzhou. "Husband, is this ancient script?"

Ning Yuzhou nodded. "If you can't read it, focus on the illustrations. They should depict ancient mythical creatures."

Wen Qiao responded, "Oh," and studied the illustrations on the stone slab.

Indeed, the Pleiades Valley was an ancient sect that had been passed down since ancient times. The records in this treasure chamber clearly documented the evolution of the Pleiades Continent from ancient times to the present, as well as the rise and fall of various forces on the continent.

It was essentially a record of the continent's evolution and development.

The information inscribed on stone tablets and bamboo slips wasn't particularly significant; these were likely preserved by the Su family as a way to honor their ancestors. The most valuable items were the jade slips.

The protective enchantments on the jade slips were highly advanced. Ning Yuzhou spent considerable time before he could open one and retrieve a jade slip.

Next, he placed the jade slip before his sea of consciousness and probed it with his divine sense to examine its contents.

After finishing his examination, he handed the jade slip to Wen Qiao.

Wen Qiao also inserted her divine sense into it. Her face then showed a puzzled expression as she said, "Husband, this jade slip is written in ancient script. I can't understand it."

Ning Yuzhou smiled, "It's normal that you can't understand it."

Wen Qiao: "...What do you mean?"

Ning Yuzhou explained, "It's no wonder no one knows what the Twenty-Eight Mansions Four Symbols Map is or how to open it. Since no one can read these jade slips, they naturally wouldn't know."

Wen Qiao blinked, finally understanding, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"You mean there are records about the Twenty-Eight Mansions Four Symbols Map in these jade slips?"

"Yes," Ning Yuzhou replied matter-of-factly. "Since the Su family is the guardian of the Twenty-Eight Mansions Four Symbols Map, it's natural for them to have records. It's not strange."

How could it not be strange? Who could understand the ancient language now? Even the Su family probably couldn't comprehend it, which is why they remained ignorant about the Twenty-Eight Mansions Four Symbols Map. Perhaps someone in the Su family knew in the past, but with most of them dead, only Su Molan, who was equally ignorant, remained, leading to a lack of knowledge.

"What exactly is the Twenty-Eight Mansions Four Symbols Map?" Wen Qiao asked curiously.

Ning Yuzhou didn't answer immediately but said, "There's a lot of information. I'm still reading through it."

Upon hearing this, Wen Qiao stopped bothering him and joined him in examining the jade slip.

However, most of the jade slips were written in ancient script, which differed significantly from the current script used in the cultivation world, making them difficult to understand. As a result, she couldn't make sense of anything = =!

"Husband, how do you understand ancient script?" Wen Qiao couldn't help but ask again.

"It's in my inheritance," Ning Yuzhou answered casually. "I would occasionally go through the inheritance, thinking I might need it someday. So, I learned it whenever I had free time, ensuring I could read and write it without issues."

Wen Qiao was speechless.

She suddenly felt envious of his inheritance. Everyone awakened their divine bloodline, yet why was her inheritance incomplete while his was so powerful? Even though the Divine Sound Treasure Tree pitied her and gave her some inheritance related to the tree, it wasn't hers and didn't help her learn ancient script.

As if sensing her resentment, Ning Yuzhou turned to look at her and smiled, saying, "If Chui wants to learn ancient script, I can teach you another day."

Wen Qiao happily agreed. More skills never hurt, and learning it would certainly be beneficial, especially since similar situations might arise in the future.

Seeing her pleased expression as she studied a jade slip containing records, Ning Yuzhou's gaze deepened slightly. Looking at the jade slips protected by enchantments on the shelves, he suddenly felt reluctant to investigate the secrets of the Twenty-Eight Mansions Four Symbols Map any further.

He even hesitated to delve deeper into the mysteries of the cultivation world, fearing he might uncover something he couldn't handle...

He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his expression had returned to normal.

The two stayed in the Su family's treasure chamber for a month.

After checking the other treasure chambers, Su Molan came to find them. Seeing them still busy, she couldn't help much due to her inability to understand the ancient script, so she helped Wen Qiao sort out the records they could comprehend.

While they couldn't understand the ancient records, they could understand those closer to the present era.

The Su family's collection wasn't limited to ancient records; it included materials from various periods, making it rich and diverse, requiring careful scrutiny and sorting.

Su Molan said, "This is my first time here. Whenever I returned to the Su Star Valley, I always had people around me, preventing me from coming in. I never imagined our Su family had so many records."

"Wow, I didn't realize the Pleiades Continent didn't have the four major families before. They only rose to prominence a few ten thousand years ago." Su Molan was amazed. "Back then, the most powerful forces were the Eight Great Sects. Unfortunately, they've now retreated, and the four major families have taken over, suppressing them completely..."

After studying the rise and fall of various forces on the Pleiades Continent, Su Molan couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, wishing she could have been born a few ten thousand years earlier to suppress the four major families before they rose to power.

Wen Qiao said, "What's the big deal? Once you reach the Primordial Saint Realm, you can suppress them all."

"The Primordial Saint Realm?" Su Molan looked at her incredulously, finding her thoughts unrealistic. "The Primordial Saint Realm is legendary. Who can guarantee reaching such a realm? The Pleiades Continent hasn't seen cultivators ascend for many years. The Primordial Saint Realm is just a legend..."

"You can break the legend," Wen Qiao confidently encouraged. "Then, the four major families will bow before you, and no one will dare to bully you again."

Although Su Molan found her words audacious, she was secretly moved.

Who doesn't want to become strong enough that no one can bully them? However, the path to strength is fraught with danger, and there are too many things to consider. No one can ensure what will happen in the future or whether they can reach the end of the road to power.

At that moment, Su Molan's wavering heart suddenly became resolute, determined to walk the path of strength, despite the dangers. What sustained her was her unwavering heart of a warrior.

"Wen Miss, thank you!" Su Molan sincerely said.

Wen Qiao waved her hand, "No problem, just don't cry so easily."

"I'll try," Su Molan said dejectedly. "Some instincts are hard to control."

"When you can't control it, go fight. Fight until you're too tired to cry."

"..."

Ning Yuzhou, who had been silently observing, handed them a stone tablet.

Thinking they needed to work, they quickly took it, only to find that it had no text but a single drawing.

"A sea map!" Su Molan exclaimed joyfully.

Wen Qiao also happily asked, "Husband, where did you find this stone tablet?"

Ning Yuzhou pointed to a corner ahead. They looked over and were momentarily stunned because the treasure chamber had so many shelves that some corners were overlooked. Due to their perspective, they hadn't noticed a small shelf hidden between two larger ones.

Su Molan and Wen Qiao hurried over with the stone tablet, moving the obstructing shelves to reveal the smaller one behind.

There were quite a few stone slabs on the small shelf.

Su Molan ignored the prohibitions, reaching through them to retrieve the slabs and then examining each one.

"There are also sea charts."

There were three stone slabs that depicted sea charts.

Wen Qiao placed these three slabs on the ground and pieced them together, forming a complete sea chart. She then compared it with their own, her eyes shining brightly.

"Husband!" She looked at Ning Yuzhou, unable to contain her excitement.

Ning Yuzhou smiled at her and pointed to a corner, saying, "Chui, this is the Sacred Martial Continent."

Wen Qiao and Su Molan looked where he was pointing. The markings on these three slabs were in ancient script, which they couldn't read, but Ning Yuzhou could. Since he was certain, it must be so.

Wen Qiao jumped up in joy and threw herself into Ning Yuzhou's arms.

"Husband, we can go back to the Sacred Martial Continent!" she exclaimed happily, her heart filled with excitement.

Wen Qiao had always thought that apart from Lian Yue, who had cared for her since childhood, there wasn't much on the Sacred Martial Continent worth missing. But at this moment, she thought of the Wen family and Ning family in Dongling, the Red Sky Sect and her fellow disciples in the Central Continent, and even the blue-winged demon wolves in the shifting desert...

It turned out that along the way, she had encountered so many people and experienced so many events, forging deep bonds with them.