15. As the old saying goes,

“Qin Fen, do you want to go back and lie down?”

Lin Fan glanced at him. The latter’s face was pale, his lips trembling—clearly terrified.

Lin Fan, however, was just a little shaken before quickly regaining composure. His cultivation of the Jade Void Breathing Technique, combined with opening six meridians, had greatly enhanced his strength, making him unafraid of ghostly creatures.

“You… still want to move forward?”

“Yeah.”

Qin Fen hesitated briefly but ultimately chose to continue exploring alongside Lin Fan. He couldn’t bear to just lie down; his curiosity was too strong, and being by Lin Fan’s side made him feel safe.

Lin Fan didn’t stop Qin Fen from following, but he didn’t recklessly venture into the eerie area either. Most parts of the ancient ship were fraught with danger, where one could easily be devoured by humanoid ghosts if careless. Lin Fan observed the swirling ghostly mist within the Stele Forest, seeming like another world. At the exit stood two fresh graves recently covered with soil—those of Ma Yinan and Qi Yangxia, buried right at the exit.

Though Lin Fan had no close ties with them, out of respect, he bowed.

Afterward, Lin Fan only cast a distant glance at the Stele Forest without entering. According to Chen Cunyuan, he had fallen into this place eight days ago. Lin Fan was curious to explore it; how was it possible to fall from such a height without dying?

Qin Fen followed Lin Fan’s example and bowed as well.

“Let’s go, let’s check out the Pagoda Forest!”

Lin Fan was most interested in the Pagoda Forest. According to the records in True Martial Mountain, the Pagoda Mountain was a graveyard for meritorious individuals. Perhaps there would be useful information there. He just wasn’t sure if this Pagoda Mountain was what he imagined.

“I feel this place has become even colder and more sinister.”

Qin Fen tried to stay close to Lin Fan.

“The yin energy here is stronger than on the ninth level.”

The two descended from the ninth to the eighth level. The eighth level was more spacious, with researchers still working there. Seeing Lin Fan able to walk, they were both surprised and puzzled.

Lin Fan ignored them, instead observing the environment. The area was filled with pagodas of various sizes, made from a mix of earth and wood—not ordinary soil, but mountain-top earth as hard as steel. The wood was golden nanmu, known for its durability lasting thousands of years.

“Why are some pagodas so short? The tallest is only about two stories. And there are some ancient inscriptions on them.”

Qin Fen, having momentarily forgotten the horrors seen in the sea of blood, curiously examined the small pagodas.

Most people were familiar with pagodas—tall, grand, or ornate—but these had a different aura altogether.

---

“Each pagoda here contains the buried remains of an individual. The ancient inscriptions likely record the life deeds of the pagoda’s owner.”

The Pagoda Forest matched the records Lin Fan had seen. The tallest small pagoda was seven stories high, representing the highest merit.

“What?! So this means there are hundreds of graves here?” Qin Fen’s mouth dropped open. He hadn’t expected the small pagodas to be tombs, let alone how Lin Fan knew this. He stared at him in astonishment.

“This is what I read on the mountain. Those who have made great contributions can build an immortal golden pagoda.”

Lin Fan explained. While training on the mountain, he was particularly curious about strange things. Having seen many such things, he naturally memorized the information.

Qin Fen suddenly understood.

“Do you know what those writings say?”

“Pang Jinglan, aged 572, in the Battle of the Immortal Burial Star, killed dozens of powerful enemies, built a three-story immortal pagoda!”

“Tian Yixiu, 231 years old, killed a hundred powerful enemies in the Immortal Burial Star battle, built a five-story immortal pagoda!”

“Wen Miaowei, 133 years old, killed a thousand strong enemies in the Immortal Burial Star, built a seven-story immortal pagoda!”

“…”

The ancient script resembled bird-shaped characters—not oracle bone script, nor bronze inscriptions, nor hieroglyphs, nor demonic script—its era far more ancient. Others couldn’t understand it, but Lin Fan recognized it, identical to the script he had seen in True Martial Mountain. At that time, he found it strange and just noted the general meaning. Now, unexpectedly, he encountered it again here.

What was the Immortal Burial Star? Everyone here had died there. It must have been a massive battle, but Lin Fan was utterly confused.

What shocked Lin Fan most was that these people had lived for hundreds, even thousands of years—far beyond his understanding.

The only certainty was that they had been cultivators in life, achieving immortality through cultivation.

However, there were no records of their cultivation level or strength; otherwise, Lin Fan could have gauged his own power.

After opening six silver meridians, Lin Fan felt he had reached a bottleneck. The silver meridians had been opened to their limit. He didn’t know how to advance further. Any bit of information would be far more helpful than trying to cultivate blindly.

“You really… understand!”

Qin Fen was shocked again, hearing Lin Fan fluently read and translate. He had heard that even researchers couldn’t decipher these ancient scripts.

So, Lin Fan was even more formidable than the researchers?

“Who told you to leave your sickbed without permission?”

Suddenly—

A cold voice rang out. Qi Lingshan appeared with the researchers, passing by and hearing some noise. To her surprise, it was Lin Fan and Qin Fen.

“You’re all too reckless. Are you all healed now? Do you know how dangerous it is outside? It’s full of ghosts and monsters. If the yin wind enters your body, all early treatment will be wasted.” Qi Lingshan wore a stern face, her tone reproachful. She glanced at Qin Fen. “Did you drag Lin Fan out of the ward?”

“Not me… we just went for a walk, moving around helps recovery!”

Qin Fen, faced with the fury of a tigress, quickly dodged her sharp edge.

“If not you, did your junior brother run off by himself?” Qi Lingshan’s aura carried a trace of hostility—something Lin Fan had never seen.

“Senior sister, I came out on my own. I’ve heard all the strange tales about the ship and wanted to see it with my own eyes.”

Lin Fan spoke up for Qin Fen. If he didn’t, Qi Lingshan might have devoured him! Lin Fan knew Qi Lingshan was under tremendous pressure lately, unknowingly carrying a severe bitterness.

There was no helping it. Working under such conditions, maintaining a stable mindset was already commendable.

She had to take care of Lin Fan, analyze the Golden Crow’s blood, and deal with food issues… the pressure was immense.

“Your injuries aren’t healed yet. How can you move around freely?”

“I’m almost healed. I can barely walk without issue.”

“There are many places on the ancient ship even we dare not tread lightly. You should go back quickly.” Qi Lingshan glared fiercely at Qin Fen, then added, “And you too!”

“I… I’ll go back immediately!” Qin Fen seemed to have encountered something scarier than the sea of blood, sweating on his forehead, not daring to say another word.

Lin Fan had no choice but to return the same way with Qin Fen. Along the way, Qin Fen kept complaining, “Women are terrifying!”

“Dr. Qi is such a strong-willed woman. Whoever marries her will definitely be henpecked! Fan Ge, don’t look for someone like her in the future.”

“But nowadays, women are too materialistic—only talking about money, not feelings. Our ancestors had a good saying!”

“What saying?”

Qin Fen grinned: “Want a car, want a house—thinking about it, being single is still better!!”