Zhao You Mountain is known as "connecting to the Heavenly River above and leading to the Netherworld below," rising isolated into the heavens, steep and towering, like a mighty pillar piercing the sky.
At the summit, there lies the expansive Heavenly Pool spanning thousands of miles. Like a celestial mirror, its pristine waters ripple and reflect icy blue hues. As fish leap and birds dart about, the sprays of water cast silver droplets into the air, creating shimmering waves of light and shadows, radiating brilliant rainbows that dance across the scene.
This place is a cradle of spiritual energies, laden with lush vegetation and teeming life. Its mountain hollows and water depths stretch endlessly—an unrivaled Cave Heaven Blessed Land. Furthermore, it produces Spirit Birds, mystical fish, and Water Attribute Cloud Sand in abundance.
When Liu Yan Yi previously condensed Xuan Guang, the Cloud Sand she obtained was meticulously selected from this very location.
Within the Heavenly Pool Water Mansion, its vast grounds span upward and downward, linking twelve layers of palaces through winding jade corridors and spiral staircases.
In earlier days, when Gui Congyao resided here, he focused solely on cultivation, with no servants at his side, leaving the interior relatively unadorned.
However, Luo Xiao, Shang Shang, and other Fish Maid Beauties had a penchant for extravagance. When Zhang Yan had ordered them not to leave the mountain without permission, their days shifted primarily between cultivation and scheming how to embellish the Cave Mansion.
As such, they sought out intelligent Spirit Beasts as servants, commanding them to erect pavilions and jade stairs alongside the Heavenly Pool Lakefront, while repairing gazebos, water pavilions, and ornamental palaces. They adorned the halls and towers with countless Spiritual Shell Pearls harvested by the Fish Maid Beauties themselves, illuminating the interiors with resplendence.
Now, two decades have passed, and Zhao You Heavenly Pond no longer bears the cool, tranquil, secluded atmosphere of its earlier years. Looking around, one senses an entirely transformed vitality.
This primary palace layer is the largest, previously used to entertain guests, whereas Luo Xiao and others resided within the third palace layer. Their reach typically extended no further than the ninth layer, as deeper levels were barred by arrays and repelled them.
The Main Mansion, however, resides deep within the twelfth layer. It served as Gui Congyao’s place of prolonged contemplation and enlightenment, where his collection of treasured books and artifacts remains securely hidden, inaccessible without the proper Dharma Restrictions or the Pavilion Master’s explicit permission.
Zhang Yan, having learned the array gate’s intricacies directly from Gui Congyao, has no need to follow the conventional entry path.
Hovering above You Pond, he issued a few brief instructions to Luo Xiao, Liu Yan Yi, and others. Then, with a flick of his spell, he activated the restrictions, causing a vortex-like waterway to appear beneath his feet.
He chuckled lightly, swept his robes close, clasped his hands behind him, and stepped forward without hesitation. With that single stride, the view transformed before him, and in an instant, he arrived inside the Main Mansion.
Raising his gaze, Zhang Yan observed the capacious expanse surrounding him. Ice curtains and Yingluo garlands hung down, adorned everywhere with Bright Pearls that emanated soft halos. The warm jade sparkled like the morning sun, and the translucent cavern walls mimicked icy crystals and clear waters, vividly reflecting the vibrant aquatic scenery outside.
Atop a three-tier jade staircase rested a large jade couch. On it sat a colossal fan-shaped shell, about two zhang in size, its interior cushioned with soft tapestry and silk, comfortably seating several individuals. The shell lay wide open, intermittently releasing icy mist and water crystals that enveloped the space in bone-chilling frost. A large mirror slanted on the shadowed side of the shell’s surface, its glimmer resembling polished liquid mercury, perfectly reflecting every intricate detail within the cavern. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel·fire.net
This was a Dharma Treasure left behind by Gui Congyao in earlier years, called the "Little Pot Mirror." Not only could it form a self-contained world, but it also had the capability to establish cave mansions and cultivate Spirit Veins. The thirteen-layer cavern mansion was entirely dependent upon this treasure for its creation, making it arguably the most pivotal item in the entire domain.
Smiling faintly, Zhang Yan ascended the jade steps and strode directly into the mirror. As its surface rippled like water, he vanished in the blink of an eye, fully immersed within.
Once he steadied himself inside, Zhang Yan gazed around, finding an entirely new realm awaiting him.
The ground beneath his feet was paved with smooth round stones. Before him stretched a pond surrounded by stacked rocks at the water’s edge. Within the pond bloomed pinkish lotus flowers and jade-green reeds, their gentle allure captivating the eye. Across the water lay a verdant bamboo grove, its emerald stalks swaying elegantly, partially revealing a distant pavilion’s eaves amidst the foliage. Stone steps led to vibrant green fields sprawling below, bursting with life.
Farther off towered a high cliff, from which a Jade Spring cascaded as a crystalline waterfall, crashing thunderously into the pond below. Golden Carps leaped energetically at the base, appearing to challenge the current and ascend against the tide. Ten zhang away, a flat-bottomed boat floated serenely atop the water, drifting with the breeze while enduring the spray of splashes. Seated on the boat was a black-clad, long-bearded scholar serenely fishing, his demeanor statuesque, seemingly oblivious to Zhang Yan’s arrival.
Zhang Yan immediately recognized this black-clad scholar as the True Spirit within the mirror, essentially the soul of Zhao You Heavenly Pond’s cavern mansion. The scholar governed all its array formations, secret mansions, and mechanisms with utter ease and mastery.