At that same moment, Meng Hao was trying to come up with an excuse for why he had gone missing for those few days, and why his body looked different. Chen Fan smiled and nodded, and Xu Qing, seeing that Meng Hao wasn’t harmed, didn’t say anything. The three of them stepped up onto the altar, getting ready to depart.
Suddenly a roaring sound filled the air, and the entire catacombs began to shake. Their expressions changed as a giant crack split the earth in front of them and a massive stone stele slowly lifted up. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, and it had finally completely emerged.
It was approximately thirty meters tall, inscribed with golden characters. It was a scripture, none other than the Qi Condensation Manual of the Sublime Spirit Scripture!
The three of them stared in shock, especially Meng Hao. After all the trouble he had gone through to acquire the Qi Condensation manual, here it was in front of him. He looked at it in a daze. But after examining it further, a strange expression appeared on his face. The first two lines of the scripture inscribed on the stele were accurate, but the rest was a complete fabrication. It appeared to be filled abstruse mysteries, but since Meng Hao knew the details of the true scripture, he could tell instantly that this one was false.
He hesitated for a moment but didn’t say anything.
Chen Fan’s eyes glittered. He walked forward to stand beneath the stele, as did Xu Qing. They looked at it for some time, then exchanged shocked glance.
“We should take this with us,” said Xu Qing slowly, “and let the Sect Leader decide what to do with it.”
Meng Hao blinked, then nodded as if he completely agreed.
When Patriarch Reliance saw this, he laughed, more than pleased.
“Take it, take it, quickly! Take it out and let as many people know as possible. Hahaha! I’m so smart. I was worried people might break in here during my meditation, so I prepared that false stele. Of course, fearing it might be identified as false, I prepared a little trick. Once it’s removed from this place, it will project a sign into the sky which people in all directions will be able to see. Originally it was designed to cause harm, but now, it’s going to be quite helpful to me. Excellent. Excellent!” Excitement filled Patriarch Reliance’s heart, but then suddenly, his eyes widened.
“We must not!” said Chen Fan in a dignified voice. After examining the stele carefully, his face filled with resolution. He shook his head, looking at Meng Hao and Xu Qing. “This stele is extremely important. If we take it out, then we would be bringing calamity upon the Sect. If an outsider learned of its existence, it could bring about our destruction. Let’s each of us use a jade slip to make a copy of the scripture inscribed onto the stele. That way, we can take the contents out, but leave the stele in place. That is the safest method.” Chen Fan’s face was filled with sincerity and righteousness. What he said was completely selfless in nature, and also took the safety of the Sect into consideration. Xu Qing nodded, and Meng Hao, of course, did not disagree. They immediately copied the contents onto their jade slips, then stood onto the altar and make their departure.
Patriarch Reliance watched on in shock, then let out a furious howl.