The Path to Another World

Hearing his mother getting more and more excited, and her stories becoming increasingly outrageous, even detailing her future marriage, children, and how many children she would have, Ye Fan felt a headache coming on. He was on the verge of tears, thinking that he hadn't even visited his grandfather since returning home. He decided to use this as an excuse to escape. Old Master Ye was the matriarch of the Ye family, and he knew that neither of them would say anything. Even if they were reluctant to part with their son, they still let Ye Fan's plan succeed.

Ye Fan finally managed to escape his nagging parents and followed the bamboo path to a bamboo house not far away. Surrounded by a sea of ​​bamboo and a vibrant display of yellow and white chrysanthemums, the house had a stone table with a teapot and teacups in the courtyard, revealing the reclusive nature of its owner. Ye Fan respectfully approached the door, gently knocked, and said in a respectful voice, "Grandpa, I'm back!" Inside lived not only his master but also his grandfather.

As soon as Ye Fan finished speaking, the bamboo door opened by itself without any wind, yet there was no sign of anyone emerging. An ordinary person would have been terrified, but Ye Fan was clearly used to it all, showing no emotion whatsoever. If he had no skill whatsoever, how could he be called a living immortal? Of course, to Old Man Ye, these were all trivial tricks. A hoarse yet powerful voice came from inside the house: "Come in, Fan'er. I knew you had just returned to the village." With the voice, an old man with white hair and beard emerged, yet he gave off a strange feeling. Despite his advanced age, his face showed no signs of aging; his skin was as smooth as a newborn baby's. These two contrasting qualities combined. His slightly open eyes were bright and incredibly wise, his youthful face possessing a dignified air. He wore a Taoist robe, which, combined with his white hair and beard, gave him an air of otherworldly grace. This was Ye Fan's grandfather, the local living bodhisattva, Old Man Ye.

Hearing his grandfather's words, which seemed to suggest he knew the future, Ye Fan wasn't surprised; he'd seen this many times before. "Then Grandpa knows why I've come?"

"I know a little bit." Old Master Ye's divination skills were also exceptional, so he naturally knew a few clues.

"Grandpa, take a look at this. It can restore or even slightly increase mental strength. It's quite extraordinary." Ye Fan quickly took out the sapphire pendant he had gotten from Tian Jun from his pocket. This problem had been tormenting Ye Fan for several days, like a kitten scratching an itch in his heart every day.

Old Master Ye took the pendant from Ye Fan's hand and examined it carefully. A flicker of emotion crossed his usually calm face. Old Master Ye's discerning eye was far superior to Ye Fan's and Tian Jun's; he immediately recognized the unusual, chaotic lines engraved on the outside, suggesting a profound array. He had seen similar array diagrams before, but couldn't recall where. Even with his keen eyesight, he couldn't identify the gemstone in the center. Following Ye Fan's instructions, Old Master Ye activated the strange power contained within the gemstone again. A deep blue light once more enveloped the entire building. Old Master Ye unleashed his spiritual power, forming a needle-like object, attempting to penetrate the gemstone to understand its nature. After a short while, even the formidable Old Master Ye began to sweat, and the needle formed from his spiritual power had only advanced a tiny bit. This further fueled Elder Ye's fighting spirit. He mustered his strength and drilled deeper into the gem. Just as he was about to succeed, Elder Ye began to relax his somewhat tired mental energy. Suddenly, an even more powerful mental energy erupted from the gem, like a giant wave that shattered Elder Ye's mental energy in an instant. It then attacked Elder Ye's sea of ​​consciousness along the direction of his mental energy. If it were to hit him, even if Elder Ye's skill was extremely strong, he would inevitably be seriously injured.

Even the usually composed Elder Ye was startled. He had never encountered anything so strange before—being attacked by the power contained within a gemstone. Feeling the immense intensity of the approaching spiritual force, he quickly severed his spiritual connection with the gemstone. A slight delay allowed a wisp of spiritual force to strike Elder Ye's sea of ​​consciousness. Even someone as strong as Elder Ye couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood sliding from the corner of his mouth. Ye Fan, watching from the side, was even more shocked. Such a powerful attack! He quickly pulled out some tissues and handed them to Elder Ye, asking, "Are you alright, Grandpa?"

"What a powerful thing! The power contained within is immense. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have definitely suffered. But this incident has reminded me of the meaning of the lines on its surface." Old Ye waved his hand dismissively to indicate that he was alright. Just now, with the powerful blow from the gemstone, a flash of inspiration struck Old Ye, and he suddenly remembered a group of lines he had seen during a trip abroad many years ago, which were basically the same as this.

"What does it mean?" The question that had been bothering him for days finally had a clue, and Ye Fan was very anxious.

"Many years ago, I traveled to the West. In southwest London, England, there is a megalithic structure called Stonehenge. If you've studied archaeology, you should know its significance. I've also observed it carefully. Actually, it's just a part that has remained over so many years. If you turn each megalith into a straight line, the general structure is consistent with the pattern on the surface of this pendant. The prehistoric Stonehenge was even more powerful, with countless stones. In fact, those stones are a kind of mineral containing special energy. Can you guess what the purpose is of gathering so much energy together to form such a mysterious formation?" Old Master Ye said, astonishingly.

"I really can't guess that. Archaeology can only determine the year they existed, but not their purpose." Ye Fan was somewhat shocked by Elder Ye's words. It was the first time he had heard someone else have such a view on Stonehenge.

"Teleport!" Old Ye said, dropping a bombshell.

"Teleportation? But that was in prehistoric times. Where would such a highly advanced civilization exist?" Ye Fan was completely shocked by Elder Ye's words and couldn't quite process it. Teleportation was a magical artifact that only existed in the legendary magical world.

"What's so strange about that! If you can learn Taoist arts, then why can't Westerners learn magic?" Old Ye, who had obviously already seen Western cultivators, replied dismissively.

"But our Taoist methods have been passed down since ancient times!" Ye Fan still couldn't quite believe it.

"Don't forget, Western mythology is not lacking in gods! Moreover, the time period when they disappeared is roughly the same as the time period of the Investiture of the Gods in our East. I guess that the construction of this megalithic structure was done by Western gods to escape some kind of disaster." Old Ye continued to express his speculation. Of course, if he said it out loud, he would definitely be scolded to death by those so-called experts.

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