'Pansion Grotto!
There were thirty-six sacred Taoist grottoes in the ancient times. Is the Pansion Grotto one of them?'
The name of the grotto surprised Austin, and he became curious about its origins.
The entrance of the grotto was guarded by an ancient array,
which would have prevented ordinary people from even seeing this grotto.
As usual, handling the array was a piece of cake for Austin.
He used the laws of space and time and broke through the array as if it were made of butter.
Crossing the threshold of the grotto,
he found himself inside a small world.
This was nothing else but the grotto itself, which was actually a small world hidden in plain sight.
The area inside was strange. A vibrant wave of spiritual energy was all around Austin and it felt
imposing.
Compared to the outside world, this would have been a much suitable place for cultivation, with ample
spiritual energy and law power in the environment.
Austin walked around in the small world and discovered no signs of living creatures anywhere. The
place was dead as a doornail!
And yet, it felt quiet and peaceful instead of dreary and boring.
The world was uninhabited, but still developed. There were buildings in some areas which were grand
and magnificent, or delicate and elegant. They were built in the ancient style of the Brilliant Kingdom.
One other common denominator about them was that they were all empty.
Austin was surprised to see that numerous spiritual herbs were growing in various parts of this world. In
fact, some of them were of a very high level.
What's more, hundreds of vessels of spiritual stones were hidden underground.
"These resources are highly suitable for new cultivators,"
Austin murmured as he looked around curiously.
'Wow! Is that even possible?
Those are... divine crystals...
and magical herbs!'
Austin suddenly found himself shocked to the core when he discovered divine crystals piled in heaps in
a secluded area.
Several magical herbs were running around, but as soon as they sensed Austin's existence, they
immediately disappeared into the ground.
From where he stood, he could see the entire world around him, and it was magnificent. It was a world
full of dazzling lights and a dense divine aura.
Every inch of this underground palace was emitting a soft and gilded luster,
giving it the appearance of a solemn and sacred space.
'Hey hang on!
These symbols are related to the human body!'
Austin's eyes suddenly fell on the picture of a human body that was drawn on one of the walls of a
secret chamber. He discovered that it was painted using various kinds of mysterious runes and lines.
'Oh! It looks like the cultivation method of the Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation!'
Austin found the runes familiar.
'Yes, that's it!'
He studied the picture carefully and was able to confirm that it was indeed what he thought of it.
Unfortunately though, the steps given in the picture were
incomplete.
However, that wasn't the only strange thing.
'Hey, it looks slightly different from what I cultivated.
There are a few extra patterns here, in addition to what I have already mastered.'
Austin noticed the discrepancy after examining the picture for a while.
'It's said that the Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation and the Triple Avatar Skill are both secret skills
of the Triple Sect based on Earth.
Could the stories surrounding its origins be true?
Is it possible that the Triple Sect gets its roots from the Taoism of the Brilliant Kingdom?'
Austin became lost in thought as he pondered over the implications the painting had.
He recalled that there were three almighty figures in Taoism.
These were the three most revered figures in the Taoist culture.
Austin suspected that the Triple Sect of the three thousand big and small universes was in fact, the
Taoism of the Brilliant Kingdom from the Earth!
If that were true, then finding this grotto carved with the Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation of the
Triple Sect was not a strange thing at all,
especially since the Pansion Grotto was one of the thirty-six sacred Taoist grottoes.
'Even though this is only a part of the Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation,
it is still more complete than what I have cultivated before.
Maybe this is the missing piece. If I didn't cultivate the complete method,
then it was no wonder that I could not make any progress.
So the bottleneck is due to incomplete method and not my own inability!'
Austin then memorized the picture on the wall.
'Wait! This grotto is just one of the thirty-six sacred grottoes. And if this contains a part of the real
Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation,
is it possible that the remaining grottoes record the other parts?'
Austin became extremely excited at the possibility.
It was obvious to him now that there was something missing in the Introduction to Vital Energy
Circulation he had mastered. He had felt it earlier on as well, and now he had confirmed it.
Austin was not going to miss this opportunity to find and complete his cultivation.
'All right then. I should go and check the other grottoes!'
Austin left the Pansion Grotto and headed towards the other ones.
It was not difficult to find the location of the remaining thirty-five grottoes,
since they were well recorded in numerous ancient texts.
It was just that ordinary people could not find them because all of their entrances were covered by
protection arrays.
Even if people somehow found them by accident,
they were unable to enter.
Austin was a powerful cultivator and therefore, had no trouble finding the next one.
This grotto was situated in the southeast corners of the Brilliant Kingdom and was thirty-four thousand
feet high with rolling hills as far as Austin's eyes went.
Once again, Austin easily broke the array at the entrance of the grotto and walked inside.
This grotto was also a small world
of similar dimensions and environment as the Pansion Grotto.
Austin thoroughly searched every single inch of the grotto, and his dedication bore fruit.
He found another part of the Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation in a magnificent underground
palace.
'My speculation seems correct.
Each of the thirty-six sacred grottoes holds one part of the Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation!'
Austin clapped his hands together in excitement.
One by one, Austin went to each of the thirty-six sacred grottoes and collected the thirty-six parts of the
Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation.
Finally, he put all the pieces together in his mind and.
'No!
It's still not complete. From what I can tell, this is less than half of what I need!'
Austin frowned when he realized this.
He had thought he'd be able to gather the entire Introduction to Vital Energy Circulation method after
visiting all the sacred grottoes,
but finding less than even half of it was rather disappointing. To make it worse, he had no clue where to
find the rest of it.
"After the thirty-six grottoes, what other place could possible hold the remaining pieces?"
Austin asked himself.
All of a sudden,
"Taoist traditions speak of seventy-two holy lands in addition to the thirty-six sacred grottoes... Of
course!"
Austin cried out.
"So looks like I'll have to visit the seventy-two holy lands as well to find the missing links!"
Austin rushed out. He was going to gather the pieces right now.
"The Eternal South Mountain... One of the seventy-two holy lands must be somewhere nearby,"
he said to himself as he landed on a lofty mountain.
After a while,
'There, I found it!'
Austin was overjoyed as his eyes fell on something and he dashed off towards a cliff.
He landed on a protruding rock that was suspended in midair.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the entrance to another space,
and it was also blocked by an ancient array.
With a wave of his hand, Austin broke the array and walked in.
Just like he had expected, there was a small world on the other end of the entrance.
"So these sacred grottoes and holy lands are nothing but small worlds hidden inside famous
mountains!"
Austin murmured to himself.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda